Blessing of The Hands

It was an awesome couple of days. I was asked again this year by Lake Hospital systems to volunteer at one of their medial facilities and pray blessings for the caregivers there. I first met in the Meditation Room where an employee was my contact. We were given some balm to anoint their hands and a sample prayer. I wrote my own wanting to let them know how much I appreciated their devotion to caring for others. A handful of nurses made their way down so we decided to take our blessings to the 4th and 3rd floors. We were met with 2 responses, "I'm alright" and "Oh, Please!" Everyone seemed appreciative. I prayed for 50 nurses, police officers, surgeons and food service people.

Today was exceptional. I was asked to go to the Mentor Medical Campus. My employee contact went down all the halls and rounded up everyone. But that wasn't satisfactory for her because some people couldn't leave their office. So we went to them. In the pediatrics office, 6 nurses huddled in the kitchen area. Several had never had a blessings before and were a bit skeptical. By the time we were done, two of them walked down the hall arms around one another and one woman was brought to tears. The final stop was an office with one nurse who was very hesitant to give us the time. We arrived just as her young pregnant daughter and husband were there. I talked them into a blessing as well. I prayed for the young couple and we were all moved to realize that this was a divine appointment.

God showed up and I thank Him today for all those who care for us in the medical field.

We've Been To War and Back!

West Virginia that is! First of all, sorry for the delay in getting this blog updated and the link to the presentation. Until I can figure out how to embed it on my blog you will have to copy it and paste it into your browser and then you can watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkGCN-VK5KQ

Or you can search for it by name - it's called "1 War Mission Trip large". Weird name but it is what it is!

Our week away was one of extremes - full of laughter one moment and sadness or sorrow the other. Pushing ourselves physically to the limit every day we learned what we could and couldn't do. We could hang drywall, sand, paint, trim, lay block and cement, vinyl siding and sift through trash. We couldn't go halfway - we had to give it our all.

I want to be back there today! The needs are greater than my words or pictures can display. The opportunity for others to experience what we did is out there - we just need to strategically plan with God's direction and then do it.

I would encourage you to pray about how God wants you to be his hands and feet where you are for now and then reveal to you His plan for you in the future. In the meanwhile will you commit to pray everyday for the families of McDowell County West Virginia and specifically for Pat and Vita and family, Albert and Della and family and all our new friends at Big Creek People in Action?

Thanks you for your prayers and support in sending us - we are forever changed!

Ibuprofen is my Friend...Ibuprofen is my Friend!

Need I say more! Day one was awesome. Started with devotions from Psalm 40:5. "Many, O Lord God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us, no one can recount to you." After an awesome breakfast. Our team was split to two locations. Spent a great deal of time at one home that had experienced a fire. Pat and Vita were so gracious and thankful. We'll be there all week hoping to finish and dedicate by Friday. We have much to do - we'll need some divine intervention. Enjoy the pics.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of Jack and Susie - they were waiting when we came back from our job site!

More tomorrow.

On Our Way

As many of you know, we left He Grove at 10am Saturday morning and made it as far as Marietta, OH when Suzie Lendzian experienced a seizure. God was definitely with Brett Johnson, the driver, as he immediately exited where the hospital was. She received excellent care and it looked like after a short rest we'd be on our way. But some concern arose about a blood test and EKG and they decided that she should be admitted. So the remainder of the team went on and left Jack and Suzie at the hospital. We pressed on through the crazy winding roads and arrived at Big Creek at 1:30am. Unload the trailer and try not to wake others and we hit the hay by 2!

Up at 7, too anxious to sleep. Waited for a call from Jack. He announced that they wouldn't release Suzie til she saw a neurologist on Monday. So Jack and Suzie are there as I write hoping for her release tomorrow so they can venture down and join nus.

We've been joined by guys from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Denmark and California. We head to three job sites at 8am. The internet has been down all day so I don't have many pics tonight - hope for more tomorrow. You know what to pray for! Talk to you tomorrow.

Partakers of His Sufferings

My morning devotional from Oswald Chambers was entitled, "Partakers of His Sufferings" based on I Peter 4:13, "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Here is a short excerpt:

"If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. Oh, I can't deal with that person. Why not? God gave you ample opportunity to soak before Him on that line, and you barged off because it seemed stupid to spend time in that way."

Guilty as charged!

It seems that the deeper we've gone into Life's Healing Choices, the more we realize that people and relationships most often are at the core of many of our struggles.

This week I started reading a book by Erwin McManus entitled "Soul Cravings". It's a slow read because there is so much depth to his writing. So far I've been reminded that the most dangerous place in this world is "love." In my counseling of couples and individuals and in my own life I have come to agree that our desire and need for love that God has planted in us is often misdirected, abused and neglected. A couple weeks back as we were discussing The Relationship Choice. I stated that the primary reason for so many broken relationships is that we love poorly. I think if I spend more time accepting the opportunity God gives me to "soak on that line" that many of the relationship struggles we face will be dealt with properly.

Oh Lord, help me to make the investment and teach me to love better!

P.S. Will you pray for us November 7-14th as we go on a mission trip to rebuild part of Caretta, West Virginia?

The Reality Choice

I'm not God - so why do I try to act like Him sometimes?

I have really enjoyed these last two weeks - both preaching on Life's Healing Choices and leading a couple of life growth groups. The discussion has been open and honest and I believe people are already seeing some changes taking place in their life!

Wanting to lead with integrity I have been wrestling with things in my own life and not just telling everyone else what the book says. I gave up a long time ago trying to change my past and my initial reaction to wanting to control other people was - "I can't control people, they will; do whatever they want." But then I thought deeper and realized that how I react to people who aren't doing what I think they should could be seen as a way of trying to control them. I am trying to watch that more. I do have to say (without trying to defend myself) that I believe my motives for wanting others in the game are pure. It's not as much about how it makes me look, as it is the joy I want them to experience from becoming a servant.

As for controlling my current problems - that's a daily battle. However, if I stay in the Word, commune with God in prayer and stay focused throughout my day, I find it much easier to stay on track. But when I'm hungry, angry, lonely, tired or bored (HALT-B) I'm more prone to sink back into attitudes and behaviors that are counterproductive to my walk.

This week we've been looking more into who God really is, by looking at the character of His Son. I've heard others say that what brings them the most hope is the fact that God is faithful, forgiving, loves unconditionally, and while we were yet sinners - He died for us.

There is so much more to consider, but the promise of freedom from my hurts, hang-ups and habits propel me forward. I hope you are on the journey with me!

Til next time,

Jeff

Jesus Loves You (this I know)

Several weeks back when I was mining for info off of those I follow on Twitter, I responded to Craig Gross from XXXChurch.com. He was offering pre-release copies of his new book, Jesus Loves You. He asked those who received it to write a review and to blog about the book. I was anxious to get the book and when it arrived I immediately started reading. Craig and his co-author, Jason Harper took turns writing chapters like Jesus Loves the Bitter and Betrayed, the Disconnected, the Broken, the Forgotten and more. My neon highlighter has made quite an appearance on the 196 pages which read very quickly.

The style that both authors used; personal experience and their connections to familiar Bible passages; connected me in a way that not many books have. To paraphrase a county song, "they had me from hello". I saw within the pages a frustration with parts of "the church" that have made it difficult for the disenfranchised to find their way into the body. I, like Craig, could feel myself getting angry at Christians who have done so much damage - all in the name of the gospel.

I felt convicted and challenged in much of my thinking. But ultimately I am encouraged and inspired to reach out to the forgotten, the isolated, and the discarded in our society and show them the Jesus behind the statements.

The book ends with some "What ifs". I am now more challenged to dream with Craig and Jason about being sure that the church I belong to does not divide but unites behind Christ!

Hungry?

"The Edge" at the Grove has been discussing social justice issues over the last few weeks, subjects like immigration, human trafficking, poverty and hunger.

I know I can pretty regularly remark, "I'm hungry!" But it's not that I've missed many meals (except when I planned it or something got in the way). It's just that I'm used to having my belly full. I can remember losing my job back in 1990 and the church I was attending asked Cindy and I to come down in the basement for a moment. They had collected over 50 bags of groceries for our family to help us til I found a job. That was such extravagant love - especially back then.

A little over a year ago when Jeff Jemmison, Pastor of St. John The Baptist Church invited me to see their vision of a food pantry, I was excited but not sure what The Grove could do to help. Soon after, I got the brainstorm to invite the Grove family every first Sunday of the month to take a bag home and fill it with recommended food items for the pantry. Since that time we've averaged 10-15 bags a month.

As good as that sounded I knew we could do much more. So on our 2nd anniversary every family received an envelope containing $5.00, 5 recommended food lists, and we asked them to purchase five recyclable bags and distribute them to family and friends. Then we asked them to bring them back the next week. We invited Deacon Al Jones and Deacon Cliff Bolling to come to our celebration and we could symbolically give them the food. The excitement grew as bag after bag was carried in. 20 - 30 - 40 - 70 - 90 - 100! Final tally - 107 and two boxes!

Today some awesome people helped load it all into the church van and deliver it to the pantry. We carried them down the steep steps and filled their storage room to capacity and then began filling a second. We got a tour and explanation of how they run the pantry. What we heard melted my heart. When they began an average of 25 families would show up during the 3-5pm time they were open. Recent weeks that has grown to 70-75!

They explained that when a person comes in, they tell how many members in their family. If they say 2, they get food for 2, 3 meals a day for 3 days. If its 6, then 6 for 3 meals a day for 3 days. They never challenge how many they say - they just serve and trust God to sort it all out.

I'm inspired to see what more The Grove family can do - and to enroll the support of other churches as well. Will you pay with me on how we can bless those in our community?

Ahhsummm

I am smiling and chuckling to myself right now. After watching myself on video Sunday interviewing Grovers and listening to my response so often being, "Awesome, that's awesome", I want to choke myself. My speech teacher and other word police like me would slap me.

However, The Grove is an AWESOME place. The people are AWESOME. What they did with the food collection Sunday was AWESOME! What God is doing is AWESOME! I know I overuse the word lately so I'll try to vary my responses in the future.

But there is one person who can say it over and over and I'll never get tired of it. Angus Benjamin, my 2 year old grandson is venturing into the world of words more everyday. I watched his mother's video she posted with him saying AHHsumm and my wait for them to come and visit in 2 weeks seems an eternity! If you want to smile, take a look at the video at http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1179124273881

The team I serve with at The Grove is AWESOME too. What amazes me is that they still love me when I screw up. Sunday was no exception as I had asked Carolyn to put together a slide show of our history at The Grove and then forgot to ask her to run it. I was told she was waving at me to get my attention and I, as I sometimes do, stayed in my tunnel and didn't see it. What made it worse was that she had stayed up so late to finish it. She tried to make me feel better by saying she now had more time to make it better, but I saw it and it was great in its first form.

God's grace is AWESOME and when his people extend that grace as well it is AWESOME too. Especially when you are a pastor that needs it more and more.

So year 3 has started - we have AWESOME opportunities ahead like: Painesville Party in the Park this Sunday, an outdoor baptism service at Headlands beach August 2nd, our 40 Days of Love campaign starting September 13th, and the list could go on and on.

What is the most AWESOME is the life change happening in our people and the community.

Hope you are as excited as this old pastor!

I Love My Church!

I can't believe our series on "What in the World is Going On?" is almost over - just 3 more weeks! It has caused me to look ahead to what's next at The Grove. We'll begin a 2 week series called "I Love MY Church!" as we celebrate our 2 year anniversary.

Preliminary plans are to hold an outdoor worship service on July 5th to begin our celebration.

During the following week we hope to visit all of the Life-Growth Groups and video members responses to why they love The Grove.

On Saturday, July 11th at 6pm we will feature an outdoor concert (band TBD), ice cream social, carnival games, and bonfire for the whole family.

Then we will conclude our celebration the following morning and view many of the video taped testimonies as well as a few other surprises.

Invitations are being printed, but accept this note as a SAVE THE DATE request!

Start thinking about how you would answer the question, "why I love The Grove" and let us know if you'd like to be included in this celebration. Meanwhile watch for ways to help out to make this 2 year anniversary memorable to all.

Puddle Water or Living Water?

A couple of months ago, a dear pastor friend of mine passed away (prematurely at 56). I've remained in contact with the family somewhat, more so through our facebook connection. I have been so impressed with his daughters over the years. Looking at some of their photos have given me a look into their day to day lives and quite honestly I'm ashamed of myself! Why?

Because everything I see and sense from them is their daily pursuit of God, His will for their lives, and the quest to win others to Him. Am I as diligent? What about those that attend The Grove?

That's what I hope to spark in all who attend The Grove and especially in the young adults at The Edge. In my morning devotions this morning I ran across a quote from Matthew Henry. He is a theologian and has written many a book and Bible commentary. This is what grabbed my attention.

"Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires of a soul, but water out of this rock Jesus Christ, this fountain opened. The pleasures of sense are puddle-water; spiritual delights are rock water, so pure, so clear, and so refreshing -- rivers of pleasure." Matthew Henry

In essence - if you are seeking pleasure, happiness, fun, from things in this world you have been drinking puddle water. It is pleasant for the moment but it is contaminated, will dry up quickly and harden and crack your heart. Facebook, vices, sex, naps, another entertainment experience, etc, will not fulfill the longings of the heart that God has placed there for only Him to fill.

But if you drink exclusively of the "Living Water" you will find nourishment and be refreshed and satisfied.

So why not take a moment and identify where you may be trying to satisfy a spiritual hole in your life with stuff that doesn't satisfy and ask God to heal your heart and to seek after Him every day.

So Much To Say, So Little Time

My brains about to explode. OK, I can hear all the comments 6 hours away (what brain, will probably be a small explosion etc.)

Today has been overwhelming. Ken Davis made us laugh til we cried this morning - his definition of humor, "A gentle way to acknowledge human frailty." he reminded pastors of our need to be "honest" with the gospel - in our relationships. I will have to work on that - I seem to battle with the desire to be liked too much - some people I need to be more honest with.

Part of the message needs to be directly related to a reminder that in regards to our culture people respond in one of 4 ways;

#1 - condemn it
We define ourselves as Christians by what we don't or won't do.

#2 - critique it
All we do is analyze - kind of like the paralysis of analysis

#3 - copy it
When all we do do is copy our culture, we then end up looking to our culture for what we need.

#4 - consume it
We've become culturally mainstream as Christians and the church and not necessarily culturally discerning.

None of these are going to change the world for the Kingdom's sake! All of those postures are reactionary. The biblical posture is to "cultivate"; keep something going that is already good and "create" ; by creating good culture - making good movies, good music, not always trailing behind the culture.

So what does this all mean for The Grove. I hope further discussion will clarify more.

Sorry for this random flow of thought - like I said too much to absorb - hope this has some meaning to your life. More later tonight or tomorrow.

Go Make Disciples

This was the second time I've had the privilege of hearing Voddie Baucham at Moody's Pastors Conference. He is a funny guy who goes straight to the point. He reminded us today that the Great Commission is simply this - Go Make Disciples! Yes we are to go into all the world and win souls and baptize them - but the primary thing is not to leave them there - it's to help them mature and fulfill their calling in Christ.

Voddie stated that God has provided a 3 legged stool to help us in the process.

Leg #1 - God has given us older, more mature believers in the faith as a tool to disciple us.

Leg #2 - God has given us Godly Elders as a disciple making tool.

Leg #3 - The Family - Godly families are a disciple making tool.

Actually Leg #3 is the primary disciple making tool. When you think about it, the church only gets children, and people for that matter, only a couple of hours a week. How many hours a week are we in our families?

The first of the year I challenged our Steering Committee members to begin to disciple at least one person in the Grove family. It's been quite a challenge for them to find someone who would be willing to put in the time to be mentored.

I guess we need to revisit this. I hope to develop this material into a message some day soon.

More insights tomorrow. Let me leave you with a couple questions:

What is your plan to mature in your faith?

Parents - what's your plan to mature your kids in their faith?

OK, So I Need Margin!

My last post talked about the need for us to have margin in our lives. OK, so I'm admitting I wrote that to myself - not sure whether anyone else can relate!

I've known for some time that I'm an activity junkie. When you add the potential for an activity to expand the kingdom and I'm there. One of my biggest struggles is evaluating between the good and the best. In fact, Steven Covey in his book, First Things First says that the enemy of the best is the good! So I'm going to spend some time identifying where I need to delegate, where my time can best be spent, and retool myself to become more productive with a little less cost to myself and family.

I say all this realizing there are a couple of things I can't possibly back down on. So Lord give me wisdom and insight and help us at The Grove cultivate more workers as you continue to grow us.

Do You Have Margin?

My morning devotional from Rick Warren states:

A lot of people are on overload and headed for a crash. Consider these statistics among U.S. citizens:

• People now sleep 2 1/2 fewer hours each night compared to people from one hundred years ago.

• The average work week is longer now than it was in the 1960s.

• The average office worker has 36 hours of work piled up on his or her desk. It takes three hours a week just to sort through it and find what we need.

• We spend eight months of our lives opening junk mail, two years of our lives playing phone tag with people who are too busy to answer, and five years waiting for people who are trying to do too much and are late for meetings.

We're a piled-on, stretched-to-the limit society; chronically rushed, chronically late, chronically exhausted. Many of us feel like Job did when he said, "I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming" (Job 3:26 GWT).

Overload comes when we have too much activity in our lives, too much change, too many choices, too much work, too much debt, too much media exposure.

Dr. Richard Swenson says, "The conditions of modern day living devour margin. If you're homeless we direct you to a shelter. If you're penniless we offer you food stamps. If you're breathless we connect you to oxygen. But if you're marginless we give you one more thing to do. Marginless is being thirty minutes late to the doctor's office because you were twenty minutes late getting out of the hairdresser because you were ten minutes late dropping the children off at school because the car ran out of gas two blocks from a gas station and you forgot your purse. That's marginless."

I hope you will commit with me to work on shutting down the presses, shutting up the noise and plan margin in our crazy lives!

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Disconnected Thoughts

The last few days have been a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions.

Wednesday Night - another awesome time with my small group. The questions and discussion that followed didn't even allow us time to study the questions I had prepared! How exciting it is to be among people who have a hunger for God's Word and to understand His ways!

Thursday Night - Pastor Igor in his usually humble way, shared from his heart in his presentation, "Christ In The Passover". I have attended seder meals in the past but Igor's sharing was extra special.

Friday Morning - 12 Grovers attended the Good Friday breakfast at the YMCA. A record crowd of over 120 people were led in worship by Vince Ricci and we heard a message on the "Cost of the Cross" by Kathy Dickriede a Methodist Deacon. One of the participants stated they were surprised as to how touched they were by the experience. At the conclusion a young boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old., Theo, shared with me that his middle name meant he was a Warrior of God or a Warrior For God. He then went on to say he had a prayer request. He described a battle he had been having with a brain tumor. He expressed God's blessing in that he was now 6 months free from chemo. I will be praying for him everyday and will remember his confidence as he shared his faith with me. How deep is my faith I thought - how well do I deal with the challenge of life with all my experience compared to a young boy?

Saturday - our 3rd annual pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt. Record crowd for this event as well. What a great time! Many thanks to Marcia who coordinated this event and the many Grovers that worked so hard for it to go so smoothly. How rewarding it is to look into the faces of these young children.

Now I wait. Seems I do a lot of that. I have such high expectations of what God is going to do this Easter at The Grove. So much effort goes intov every facet of our weekend experiences. I want them to have a sense of joy over their hard work, I want them to be appreciated by others as much as I do.

But I'll have to wait. The good news is that I know the rest of the story.

Fun at the Ministry Fair

Our second annual ministry fair was a huge success!

Thanks to all who helped prepare their booths and the food. The cotton candy was a hit, Steve!

There may be some who wonder what all the hoopla is all about. At The Grove we believe that getting in the game is what being a Christ follower looks like. But not just performing tasks and playing a role within the church, it's best said by John Wesley who was an incredible servant of God. His motto was: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can."

Those who took the time to play our questionnaire game (and possibly win a gift card) learned more about our Kids @ The Grove ministry, our worship team, our media team, our life-growth groups, our hospitality team, and then found out about many opportunities yet to be implemented. We hope you enjoyed hearing the passion and commitment on the part of our team members - it's truly a blessing to have so many capable people serving at The Grove.

It was especially great to see parents taking their children around to participate in the fun.

If you haven't been in a while, you would find that The Grove is growing rapidly. We have first time guests every week and many are deciding to stick around and get to know us. We have many exciting plans for the spring and summer months to reach out beyond our walls and encourage the community to "Become part of the song" that is The Grove.

Hope you will join us - enjoy some of the pictures from the fair!

What Are You Thinking?

Some Grovers recently told me they were continuing a fast from wrong thinking. Pastor Gregory Dickow has a daily devotional that he will send to anyone to help them move away from negative, non God honoring thoughts. You can subscribe at his site: http://fromtheinsideout.us/

I've always known how my thoughts can effect my mood and I've tried to help others get beyond the “WHAT IF”—what if something bad happens; what if I lose my job; what if God doesn’t help me; what if my children don’t turn out right.

Pastor Dickow stated in his devotion today - "Stop letting the “what if” thoughts paralyze you from trusting God and acting on His Word."

He then gave us some practical thoughts I wanted to share with you.

Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” THAT’S YOU.

Expect the power of God’s intervention. No matter what happens in life, the Scripture promises, it will turn for your good, if you expect it to; and invite the Holy Spirit to get involved. (Romans 8:26-27) 3. Make life happen. Rather than letting life just happen to you. Be pro-active. All speculation and fear disappear when we ACT on the Word of God. Do one thing in the Word of God. Give something away; pray for someone.

Expect the best. Jabez prayed that God would bless him and enlarge him. Read 1 Chronicles 4:10. WE HAVE A BETTER COVENANT (Read: Hebrews 8:7-13).

You are already blessed. Believe it. Ephesians 1:3 says, “He has already blessed us with all...”

Also, Romans 8:32 says "With Jesus, He has freely given us all things!"THINK IT & SAY IT:I expect the best beginning today. God has already blessed me and enlarged me. I expect His blessing to show up in my life beginning today. He will turn every negative situation around for His glory and for my good. As I act on the Word of God, I will see His blessing show up in every area of my life, in Jesus’ Name!

My challenge to everyone who reads this is that we will begin to practice expecting God's blessings to show up in our lives today and everyday.

It isn't pie in the sky, by and by thinking. This is real biblical truth.

Practice it today!


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Out With The Old, In With The New

As I woke up this morning I was still smiling from yesterday. It was a jam packed day, I was exhausted, but it was a good day! Our time of worship was sweet as we wrestled with the idea of persevering in these turbulent times. I keep hearing testimonies from those who have accepted the New Testament Challenge and even though some have fallen behind, the connection cards show a sincere desire to stay the course.

Worship was followed by the second half to Grove 101. We discussed our faith, the core beliefs and purposes of the Grove. There were many excellent questions from those seeking to understand and sincerely desiring to take their walk to a higher level.

Later in the afternoon, "The Edge" met. This is a group of young adults who, despite their hectic schedules, have made a commitment to live life together in a small group. We viewed a short video and then had a lively discussion of its pertinence to our lives. I love the hearts of these young people and how they are growing together. It only expands my dream and vision of a church that will effectively reach this generation.

The day was totally topped off with receiving pictures from Biloxi and our friends Jim and Jill. The pictures were of the finished home we worked on - enjoy the pics and to see what it looked like when we started, watch the youtube video on this blog as well.

So what am I doing writing this on my day off? It's therapy for me as I am able to cherish all the great things happening at The Grove and look with great anticipation to the week ahead. This weekend is only going to be more exciting as we hear from Pastor Igor and participate in our 2nd Annual Ministry Fair - hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn and a chance to see what's happening in the ministries at the Grove!

I can't wait!

Something's Brewing

I've had the privilege in recent weeks to meet with a number of pastors who have one thing on their mind - revival in Lake County! Actually there are several things on their mind - but that's the priority. A second motive is to support each other in our roles as shepherds over those God has entrusted to us.

Yesterday we were invited to join another group of pastors that have been meeting for a couple years. What has emerged from that group is exciting. They have held community wide worship celebrations they have called Unity in the Community. In fact, the Grove Worship Team has been invited to share in their next event on Sunday, May the 3rd. Our Hospitality Team Leader, Jan Lesak will also be using her gift and passion on that evening as well.

Our prayer time was really awesome, we read scripture and prayed for each of our communities. I came away refreshed and encouraged. In the evening I then met with a group of pastors who are planning a fall celebration to be preceded by a week of service projects.

Many of these relationships began two years ago when we first participated in the Sunday celebration at Party in the Park. Our friendship has been solidified by mutual prayer and respect and a desire for the kingdom to advance. I can't wait to see what God has planned for the Grove as we partner with other churches. Save the date of Sunday, May the 3rd to join us at Unity in the Community.

Lessons From a Whirlyball Game

The men at The Grove took another trip to play whirlyball this week. We try to do so 3-4 times a year. What is whirlyball? It's a combination of bumper cars, basketball and whiffle ball hi-ly. There are 5 members on each team - red and yellow. You race back and forth passing the ball among your team members and shooting at a backboard with a hole in it - 2 pts for hitting the backboard and 4 if you get it in the hole.

Besides a great time of fun where men are allowed to be kids again and let their competitive juices flow - there are some lessons learned.

#1- Just when you think you are rolling along through life smoothly, something can rear end you!

#2- Those that judge you don't always have a clear picture of what's going on. ("I call them as I see them!")

#2a- What are we showing to others who are watching us so close?

#3- When my mother told me to keep my hands to myself, she had no idea I would need to disregard her rule when I got older and had to compete against a couple of Grovers! (You know who you are!)

#4- When you have a clear shot at something and you think you've got it in your grasp, someone or something can run it over and stall your whole plan.

#5- There will always be cherry pickers in life.

#6- Christian men can have fun and it still be legal and moral.

#7- "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1

I hope you can join us next time!

How Do You See Things?

As I've been deeply involved in preparing each week for the marriage workshop at the Y and the messages on Sunday mornings, I've had a chance to go down memory lane. I can't believe that on March 25th I will have been married to my best friend for 37 years!

An interesting thing happened last week at our first Men's Fraternity Tuesday night group. The lesson was on "What Men Need To Know About Women". The top four needs identified by women were security (relational and financial), conversational companionship, significance, and affection. I know as our conversation started that many men obviously look at things through different glasses. I'm excited to hear what men experienced when they did their homework and talked with their wives or girlfriends about this and both completed their personality profiles.

I know that the enemy seeks to destroy our marriages because he can then break down the family. My prayer for the marriages at The Grove is that we see our spouse as God sees them and receive them as a gift from Him.

Home, Sweet Home

Church was awesome today as we heard testimonies from all the team. It was truly a rich experience serving with all of them.

Looking forward to being home and the tasks at hand - a marriage workshop at the Y the next 3 weeks, the start of the Men's Fraternity on Tuesday night - and all the rest that goes with being a pastor.

The mission video is now posted on youtube. You can also watch it here.

It's A Party Day!

Our team snuck around last night getting all the supplies needed to celebrate Marcia's birthday today - "Sweet 16" (at least that's what she told us). She loved the Snikers cake and Biloxi hoodie she got from the team. We were split in two groups today - Lenie stayed at Jewels home to do finish work and the rest of us went to Darlene's house to see how much we could get done before the dedication of her home at 4:30pm.

The list was exhaustive - door knobs, door jams, doors, rehang doors that weren't right - hang closet rods, build laundry room cabinets, touch up paint in numerous locations, pick up refrigerator and stove at Lowes, install them, then load up all the garbage from weeks of construction and haul it away. BTW, the stove was a gift from the Grove!

They really were hopeful we'd get a lot of it done - WE DID IT ALL! At 4:25 I was tarping the trailer full of debris and they let Darlene into her house at 4:30. I was privileged to be asked to say a few words and pray over the home - Darlene shared that her home was 96 years old and the last 6 generations have all been Christians. She was planning on leaving it to her grandson, also a Christian. It was the most moving time as you can see from our pics.

Tonight we were invited back to Craigs home for a great meal, fellowship nd each team member had the opportunity to share the most important lesson learned this week. Can't wait for you all to hear them on Sunday.

Too much to tell right now and I'm exhausted - time for bed - will talk again tomorrow.

We're Mudding Fools

Day 3 found our team finishing what we started. The drywall hung throughout the house -was now time to tape it and mud it. Craig - our leader gave us a tutorial on the proper way to mud. It was quite a sight to see all 10 of us - (6 Grovers and 4 HopeForce) working to get it done. A propane heater got the place warm so it would dry properly and we filled the nail and screw holes on the ceiling and walls. Finished by lunch with first coat so they sent Beth and I outside to caulk around the windows and doors to get it ready for paint on Monday.

Susie went with another team to dump a bunch of leftover drywall pieces - you should have seen her hefting all that junk!

We were blessed when Jewel, the 80 year old homeowner stopped by unexpectedly. She said she wanted to cook us all a big pot of gumbo - but instead she's taking us out Friday before we leave at her favorite local restaurant.

Our word for today was comfort- Beth read the devotion before we started the day.. The scripture we read was 1 Thes 5:11. The team has been very attentive to each other, great example of team work. Once again we were told how our team was probably the best they've had.

Thanks for your prayers and comments - can't wait to see you all Sunday. Enjoy the new pics.

A Team Divided

Not what you think! Divided in that Susie was put on waivers and ended up on the Darlene Huff team . She spent the day finishing the home that we'll participate in the dedication for on Thursday.

The rest of us completed the hanging of all the sheet rock - what a mammoth job - but we did it!

We are even more aware of muscles we didn't know we had. A strange thing happened while we worked inside. Someone driving by decided to throw a beer bottle at Tom and Marcia's van - breaking the small window on the drivers side. We'll be on a hunt for Plexiglas tomorrow. Marcia was right when she acknowledged that the enemy is working overtime to discourage us - but we will not allow these kinds of things to slow us down.

Lots more pictures today - enjoy them! We get to finish what we started by taping and mudding tomorrow. We'll all be pretty experienced but don't get any ideas.

Keep praying for us because we haven't stopped praying for all of you.

Just Hangin

Day 1 with HopeForce took us to Jewels home. She is 80 and lost her entire home. Our job today was to put up all the 12', 5/8" drywall on the ceilings. You wouldn't believe how our team worked together! Most of us have no experience and yet Susie was holding up sheets, Beth was using the rotozip and cutting sheet rock like a pro. Marcia took the measurements and kept Tom on the ball hanging drywall in the bathroom and putting up the blocks in order to eventually hang cabinets.

Lenie of course is the pro and I tried to keep up with him ( a nice way of saying I was his lackey).

Craig, the leader of the group said he had never had a more productive group hang drywall or had he seen as much accomlished in one day! Tomorrow we finsh the entire house and the other team will go to another house. Well, a good shower, dinner and a handfull of Ibuprofen and we're in great shape. Enjoy the pics - keep praying for us and we'll talk again tomorrow.

On The Coast

Well we're here - and we're freezing! Came out of the restaurant and it was only 52 degrees!

Sorry to rub it in, but you could be here too! Met Craig Snow who directs the projects for HopeForce and he showed us the home we will be installing drywall tomorrow. Jewel is 80 years old and here home was completely destroyed. A Mennonite group called Christian Aid built a new home in 3 weeks and now we get to add our touch. then we will work on Darlene's home and finish it for her before we leave.

Caught up with Tom and Marcia who arrived in their trailer - had a chance to hear their unbelievable testimony of what they had to go through to get here. Can't wait for them to share it with you all.

Pray for us that our ibuprofen will not run out and that we truly make a difference here. Craig told us he had made a 2 week commitment to HopeForce one year ago - the devotion here is humbling. Hope to share some pics tomorrow.

First Stop Music City

Hello Grovers!

Our small team arrived safely in Nashville tonight. (Beth Johnson, Susie Lendzian, Lenie Pitsenbarger and myself) Tom and Marcia will meet us in Biloxi tomorrow. Our conversation was great and the time passed quickly. We will be attending Harpeth Community Church in the morning for their 9am service - then on to Mississippi!

We are praying for all of you - pray for us.

As we embarked today each team member was given a word and scripture passage for our focus. Today's word was "Serve" and our scripture was from Galatians 5:13.

Will be keeping you updated on what God is doing in us and through us this week. Will try to post pictures as I can. See you tomorrow.

Pastor Jeff