What a Day!

It's been a long and strange weekend without Karl here.....not bad or unpleasant, necessarily.....just odd. After a lonely but jubilant celebratory dance in our bedroom Friday night after the Cardinals' World Series win, I slept for the few hours Garin allowed me. He was up before dawn Saturday, and I spent the day working on (what else) the craft show and cleaning house. It felt good to get everything spic and span, except for the bathrooms, which I will have to get to later - definitely before my parents arrive on Wednesday!

Garin was kind enough to wake me only once during the night, and thanks to the time change I got almost 7 hours of sleep! I must admit, too, that as much as I dislike what I call Daylight Wasting Time, it was nice to drive to church this morning by daylight. We have to leave here by 6:45 to get there for the band 's warm-up at 7:30. It was a touching and meaningful service today. We have spent the last month on a series of sermons titled "Just Walk Across the Room." It focused on how to share the love of Christ with people by meeting them where they are and being sensitive to their needs. Last week, we talked about telling our stories about what God has done in our lives by keeping it very short and simple. They gave us a little fill-in-the-blank to get us thinking. I didn't even have to think about the words to fill in my story. It isn't about when I first came to know Jesus as a child, it is about how God changed me in the last few years, after I had struggled and searched for answers on my own: Before God changed my life, I felt powerless to control my life, but now I am strengthened by the power of Christ and know that He has it all under control. This week, the message was about making people our priority, not things (and I extrapolated to fit my situation: being more like Mary and less like Martha), and seeing the potential in others - who they could be with Christ - rather than seeing who they are right now. At the end of today's services, people walked up from the back to the front with posters. On the front, they wrote their "before," then they flipped it over to show their "after." It was very simple, not a word spoken, but so incredibly powerful to see them share the changes in their lives. Things like "pothead"/"marijuana free"; "abused by man"/"loved by God"; "judgmental"/"accepting"; "self-centered", "God-centered". Of course, if you know me well, you already know I was bawling.

Karl is flying into bad places this week. That's probably as much as I can safely say, but you understand. Usually, it feels rather routine to me (as much as that is possible), and I don't worry much, but today was different. I was very unsettled, and my heart was heavy with concern for him. I mentioned it to Carolyn between services and asked her to keep Karl in her prayers. Next thing I knew, after third service, a whole army of prayer warriors surrounded me on the stage to pray with me for Karl. Most of you won't know them, but I want Karl to read about his brothers and sisters who were there. I know I can't name them all because a number of people walked up as we began, and I didn't pay enough attention except to know that they were there and to appreciate each one even if I didn't see their faces. The praise team was there: Carolyn, Leslie, Patti, Aneissa, Kari, Alan, Devon, Erin, Ed, Dennis, Todd, Ron, Keith, & Roy. Steve Faulkner and Jeff McKee also joined us, and I know there were others I'm not thinking of. Steve, Jeff, Ed, Kari, Erin and Carolyn all lifted Karl up aloud, while the rest of us prayed along. It was a most special moment for me, and I know that there was a reason why I felt the need to ask for prayer and that they felt an urgency to pray with me. As Kari said, we may not ever know exactly what our prayers were for or how God answered them, but we know that He is answering them.

Our treasurer is headed over to talk craft show now (at 8:30 pm!) ....oy! I guess I'd better go. Garin's asleep, and I plan to follow him as soon as she leaves. Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed week!!!