Home!

It was great to be "home" Sunday as we celebrated our first service in our new facility.  I've paced the building almost daily for the last several months- walking "rooms" before they were rooms. It was a building- a beautiful, growing building but Sunday it became "home." Much like a house is just a house until it has a family- then it becomes home, so our building was just a collection of construction materials until it had a church to call it "home."

As a home it welcomed members and guests, visitors from the neighborhood and friends who came to share the special day. Each face, each smile told a story and together our stories bore witness to the Great Story as we worshiped. From the sounding of the shofar to the last notes of Shout to the Lord we celebrated the presence of God in God's house.

I guess I was surprised at how quickly it felt like home.  Maybe it was the familiar faces and the shared lives. We have a future now and our future is here.  There must be some truth to the old adage that "home is where the heart is." And our hearts are here, with one another, in a new place, on our way to the next stage in God's grand journey.

It is good to be home!

It's a "10"

On my way to the office this morning a  local radio meteorologist pronounced that today would be a "10" on his ratings meter. Seasonally appropriate temperatures, clear skies, and no precipitation were his rubric for an outstanding day.

At the next red light my mind remembered another way to forecast a day, "this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." The psalmist didn't know if the day was going to be a "10" or a "2"- all he knew was that it was a gift from God.

Because the day was a gift it wouldn't matter whether it was a "10" or a "2", he would be glad in it. If enemies attacked, God would protect. If friends deserted him, God would be present.  If strength failed, God would sustain. If resources dissipated, God would provide.

The honking horn of an impatient fellow-traveler brought me back to "this day" and thoughts of an unfinished building, a meeting I needed to prepare for, a call I didn't really want to make, and the unexpected death of an uncle. My "10" was quickly becoming a "2."

Yet, "this is the day the Lord has made" and because he will protect, be present, sustain, and provide, "I will be glad in it."

Geese at Church

We must have received favorable reviews on trivago or travelocity or kayak or at least the "goose" version of these travel guides.  The last couple of weeks we've been host to several groups of Canadian geese as they take a respite on their journey south.

I guess that the grass and trees and bird feed and puddles have made our church grounds an inviting place to take a break- though the squirrels- who eat most of the bird seed- will be glad to see them gone!

These geese are beautiful, though more graceful in the air than on the ground.  While here you can't escape the fact that they are noisy, messy, and sometimes belligerent- with one another and with humans who wander too close. One minute they are fussing and squawking, the next they are preening one another's feathers.

After a time of rest and renewal they will venture off again together on a journey towards home- a journey none would dare take alone.

Speak, O Lord

This morning started with a song in my head.  You never know where such things originate but I found myself trying to reconstruct "Speak, O Lord" by Keith and Kristyn Getty.  Quite honestly, it was only that first phrase and a couple of lines of the tune that I could recall.  That in itself was frustrating, yet motivating- driving me to the hymnal and the internet as soon as I reached the office.

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You to receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all Your purposes for Your glory.

I am grateful that folks like the Gettys and their partner Stuart Townend are writing new hymns for the church.  Our worship services have incorporated songs of theirs like "In Christ Alone," "Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer," "O Church Arise," and "The Risen Christ."  The canon of scripture is closed- but the song-book of the church is still open! Music has a wonderful way of expressing our hopes, prayers, and worship. Sometimes what we can't shake from our heads takes root in our hearts.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds; help us grasp the depths of Your plans for us-
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time that will echo down thro' eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises, and by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGg40zKRvAg