sleep

the human body's need for sleep is a curious thing.
we understand that small children require more sleep and that teenagers sleep too much. doctors recommend 8 hours per night for the average adult, though i know very few we would qualify as "average" on that scale (5-6 is normal among my friends).
but, when it hits you, it hits you hard.
such is the story of my life last night.
i had a normal with a normal schedule and normal productivity. i had plans for the evening, which is normal, and figured i'd be in bed at the normal time. but as we finished dinner, i suddenly felt sleepy.
rhonda suggested that i lay down for a few minutes and then we could go on with our schedule. it's not like me to nap at that time of the evening as it tends to make me not sleep during the night. but, i agreed that i could lay down for 15-30 minutes.
10 hours later, the alarm clock woke me up.
i'm not sure why i needed it or where it came from, but apparently God pulled another genesis 2:21, sans rib removal, in my life. again i say, the human body's need for sleep is a curious thing.

Glorious Creator, thank You for the rest you give. may we always accept the command for sabbath and never be forced to rest (i.e. please don't knock us flat so that we get the rest we need). throughout Your Word, You speak to us in dreams and visions. open our eyes while we sleep to see all that You reveal to us and give us divine discernment against other voices that try to pass as Yours.
now, i lay me down to sleep. i pray the Lord my soul will keep. if i die before i wake, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

field trip

today our staff took a field trip.

here's the story in short:
last week we had a board meeting which included all of our ministry team leaders as well. among those invited were steve & kathi cadigan. kathi related this story to me.

when they got home, their daughters asked them why they were at "big church" on a tuesday. kathi recounted the meeting in kid-friendly concepts, one of which was of a video presentation that was made regarding CCU's 10-year plan, "beyond the walls."
the cadigan's oldest daughter, 7 years old, had already decided that she wanted to attend CCU when she comes of age. when she heard about a 10 year plan, she connected the dots to say that she would be attending in 10 years. so, she needed to give her money now to invest in her future.
enter jared.
kathi asked about how she & steve could reinforce this positive behavior in a tanglible way. since kids don't really understand "10 years", she wanted to be in the moment to teach about the future.
i sent some emails, but figured i'd bring the girls for a quick campus tour and we'd move on.
however, when news of this story got to the powers-that-be, things jumped into action. of course, this is the type of support that the school wants: sacrificial giving, investments, prospective students.
so, our field trip today, which included our entire staff, was to CCU to see mya & nina give their money to dr. dave faust. it was a very special type of moment and the photographer was there to capture it all. in all, the contribution to the new campaign was a whopping $5. but, the impact on the girls was priceles.
we celebrated at la rosa's with the staff and kathi and the girls.

thank You, Lord, for all the seeds you are planting and for the gentle reminders that seeds are being planted. help us to do our part in the next 10 years to help all children to grow and mature in their faith. and, help us to reinforce the silly ideas that our kids have for we do not know the impact it will have in their lives and the lives around them.

ps - look for the story in your next CCU514

feeling good part 2

ok, so how did God bless us today?
the AC went out--again
the sound system was feeding back--again
stress, stress, stress, stress

but, we saw some amazing miracles in the spirit and soul of those here! i'll continue to update you as we start to quantify everything God did today--just in the 1st of 2 services.

thank You, again!