Good Friday Morning!

Good morning everyone -- I'm trying to creat a habit here of getting on and sharing my thoughts each day with you! I hear it takes 3 weeks to create a habit, so this is only DAY 2. That's a long way to go -- LOL!

I'm sitting here thinking of my sermon preparation for this weekend -- getting connected into God's community life and how that pertains to so many people -- people who are hurt in their relationships, people who are afraid of others seeing who they really are, people who aren't able to take the time to build friendships and instead have a variety of acquaintances-- people who are casual and distant, and yet we still seek that closeness we can only have with Jesus and with close friends.

I'm thankful God has brought incredible people into my life -- my wife first of all. What better friend could a man have than his wife! Plus she's good looking -- I love to hang out with her! Our times together with our family or alone (seldom with 6 kids!) are awesome! She cares about me...she challenges me to grow...and she doesn't expect me to be anything but me!

I have other friends that are the same way -- men and women who want the best for me and me for them. I have been extremely blessed -- all because I hopped in and got connected to the community that God is creating!

I read recently about a woman who has had difficulty building/sustaining relationships. Her quote was that she felt like she was looking through the window of a party to which she wasn't invited. I was crushed. How often does the church carry on its busy-ness without inviting people to play/work alongside us? How often do we ask people to join us in the journey? That's our business -- to be about connecting with God and connecting God with people.

We have to invite people to the party God is throwing realizing it's not just a block party, or a neighborhood party, it really is a global community party that spreads one person at a time. Today I'm praying that I can encourage and invite someone to His party. I hope you will too!
God's blessings to ya! Have a great day!