Yesterday morning... Such a great time of worship with kids leading the way. At about 10:00 on Saturday night I just about made other arrangements for the worship leading and teaching. I had battled the sore throat from hell all week. On Thursday it seemed like it was getting better, and so I let up on the rest and antibiotics on Friday, then paid for it immensely on Saturday. At one point on Saturday evening I thought my throat was going to close completely shut. I was ticked. I hate the thought of going to the doctor for a sore throat. So when we laid down to go to bed on Saturday I asked April to lay her hand on my neck and command the swelling, the soreness, the infection, to go away. I realized I had done very little spiritual battle all week long on this... and if we want to see physical manifestation of spiritual things (i.e. healing) we have to step in the ring. So she prayed. I fell asleep. Woke up Sunday still a little sore but not nearly as bad. I tried to sing in the shower but it still hurt. So we prayed some more. Between the time we left Athens to the time we pulled up beside the Legion Hall something happened... the physical manifestation of the spiritual battle. It was simply gone. I sang my head off yesterday morning with those kids. You are a good God. Thank you for giving us every good gift you have to offer, and thank you for giving us the power to release the gift of healing in our lives here and now.
Teaching Download: "Faith Like A Child"
Yesterday evening... At 6:00 a number of us gathered at the legion hall meeting place for a time of prayer and ministry to one another. This was very simple gathering. Chairs in a circle... candlelight... acoustic guitar... people expecting to hear from God, and be used by God. It happened. I would guess every life was blessed who was there. But I want to comment specifically on the children who were present. There was one point I remember in particular where tears could not be held back in my eyes. Everyone was gathered around Des, praying for him and giving him words of comfort, encouragement, and strength... including the kids. Josh, Justin, Lindsay, Brock, Cara all stood with their hands extended to touch and encourage Des right there with the adults. It was a beautiful picture (speaking of pictures, I forgot to take the digital camera yesterday and so I have no pictures... bummer). But the scene spoke so much to me about not underestimating children. They are gaining experiences in the presence of God that will mold and shape them forever. Adults... thank you for being patient enough with the children of Oasis to allow them to walk with Jesus right beside you, allowing them to watch you and learn from you. If the truth be known, and if we are willing to admit it... after looking back on our experiences with children... we probably learn more from them than we ever could hope to teach them.
+ + + God, thank you for children. I enjoy them so much. Like today, I had so much fun with my kids. My heart felt such an appreciation for their playfulness, their spontaneity, their loyalty, their seeking fun at all moments of the day. They are always seeking an "experience." They are not satisfied with a dull life. I know no child who has a dull life. They find ways to make it interesting. They are so free... so open... so honest... so outgoing. I love to hear them sing. They don't think about being on key... they just sing. I love to listen to them tell a story. They shar funny details, and then leave out others that may be more significant... but they don't fret about how they communicated. Just being able to tell you a story is what was important to them. I love their dependence. My kids know they need me. They are dependent upon me without giving it a second thought... it's almost an involuntary action. At what point in my life did I lose all of those child-like qualities? I want them back. Bring me back to life. + + +
I've never been a big fan of the western genre. I can probably name all the westerns I've watched on both hands (and three of them have the words "young" and "guns" in them). But I have to admit that I really liked this movie! It was very character driven... with Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner playing the lead roles of Boss and Charlie, two cattle-herders who've been working together for 10 years. For the most part it was just a good story about two men with conviction and character (a refreshing thing to see in a film). Not a whole lot of spiritual symbolism. But as you can probably guess, I had to find some...
What is Celebrate KIDS? Simply, there will be no separate activities, lessons, or worship for the children during our gathering. Instead, we will make special effort to include them (every age) in every aspect of our worship gathering. We encourage everyone to gather as many kids as they possibly can. And we also encourage them to bring various kinds of percussion instruments for the kids (and adults) to play during our praise and worship time. Even if they have to create them out of Pringles cans or whatever... it will all come together to be a joyful sound to the Lord.
First, yesterday's beautiful exploration of Exodus given by my wife April can be downloaded and listened to
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