It started with Pastor and Misty's family coming in to town to see little Levi (who is three weeks old today!) That meant I had the opportunity to go stay with the McLean family for my birthday week. We took a trip to Rocky Creek Farm, carved pumpkins and enjoyed time together.
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| Rocky Creek Farm |
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| At Rocky Creek Farm |
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| Pumpkin Carving |
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| My pumpkin :) |
Ministry-wise I had the opportunity to paint Bible verses on a couple of the walls of the church. As we painted, I was reminded of these verses, "These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on
your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as
symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the
doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deut. 6:6-9)". We were able to get the Youth Room and front foyer of the church completed and are looking forward to some more projects soon.
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| Working on the Youth Room |
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| Youth Room |
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| Front foyer |
We have also had the chance to spend a few days helping out one of the family's from the church on some construction that needed to be completed on their house before winter comes. It was sweet to see everyone come together and be willing to use their gifts for His glory.
Additionally, we had the annual church hayride which was an absolute blast. After prayer meeting outside by the fire, we got on the hayride and stopped out in the fields where the kiddos (and many of the adults) jumped off to try to feed the animals. It was hilarious to watch and just the best time with a great group of people.
Last night, we had Trunk or Treat at Kirkwood and made some good contacts with people of the community who came by. We had the cars outside and then games, chili, cider, hot chocolate and a skit inside.
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| Getting ready for Trunk or Treat to begin |
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| Alex getting ready for Trunk or Treat |
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| Jesus, Marty from Madagascar 3, a Honduran soccer player, a chef and a pumpkin making up the "Holy Rollers Praise Band!" It was a one time performance :) |
When I was with the children at school, they had Chapel and learned about how God can use our problems and everything that happens for His glory as we trust and walk with Him daily. When we went back to class we were able to discuss Psalm 40:1-3 which says, "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." This is one of my favorite passages in Scripture because it is a promise of God that when we cry out to Him, He will answer and will always give us a firm foundation to plant our feet on. That doesn't mean life is easy and there aren't painful times, but it is most often through our brokenness we see Him most clearly and He is able to restore us. Why does He do this? Because He loves us and He wants to use us so "many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." I have seen this so clearly in my own life and am so thankful that God has grown me through the hard times and places. May we all be in awe of Him in every season.
As we head into the holiday season, please pray that God will continue to open doors for us to minister to the community and for hearts to be turned to Him!
My prayer is that each of us can give thanks and remember that He is sovereign, He is faithful and His promises will always and forever be true ...
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1
Sending my love to all of you!
