Sky

The kids have been going to Vacation Bible School at our church this week in the evenings.  Holly is an attendee, but Thea took on the role of one of the crew leaders and Faith has been an all-around helper.

I was one of the program leaders at VBS my first year at this church.  I had two little kids plus a crawling baby, and I was lonely and tired in the evenings, and thought it would be a good chance for us all to get out of the house.  I don't usually like to be up in front of a group, even a group of kids, so it was out of character for me to volunteer.  I still am not sure what possessed me to do it.

But, I'm glad I did.  I met a lot of people in the church, made some friends, and focused on something outside myself and my troubles.  It was a good, good thing.

I'm gonna miss this place!  It's a flawed little church, but there are earnest and accepting people here who love Jesus, and I have been blessed to be a part of it.

Happy Sabbath

At my little church it is tradition near the beginning of the service for the congregation (as they are able) to get up out of the pews, move around the sanctuary and greet fellow members and visitors alike with a smile and handshake or often a hug. The phrase you will hear repeated is "Happy Sabbath!"

It was a happy Sabbath for me indeed this week as both Thea and Faith were baptized. What a feeling of pride and joy for me to see my daughters declare their faith in Jesus! Their grandparents (my parents) and their dad were able to make it to the service. The pastor asked their family to stand up, so we did, and then he asked their friends in the church to stand in support of them, and I felt so blessed and loved to see basically the entire church come to its feet. I can only imagine that Thea and Faith felt the same.

The baptism was originally scheduled for later in the year, but with some other family goings-on we needed to move the date forward quickly. Because of this we weren't able to get the word out to everybody that we would have liked to have invited to the service, or plan a party for later in the day that I would have liked to have had. But I think the church members who were there really came through in making it a very Happy Sabbath.