Friday provided me the opportunity
to speak for the Friday Chapel at GAA.
It was a full house. There was a
sweet spirit in the room as they sang songs and were led by their principal, FL. I was greeted by some of the children who
have gotten to know me over the last couple of years. I enjoyed sharing some good news with them. They seemed to enjoy the stories. I will trust the “seeds” of the Gospel landed
on fertile group.
I had a very fruitful conversation
after the meeting was over. Life is
crazy! People are going through all
types of complications that life throws our way. We prayed—that was a good moment.
Friday night I was finally able to
bring together the AWC elders. It was a
great evening of visioning and prioritizing the ministry of the elders at
AWC. We spent a thoughtful couple of
hours in honest dialogue about the future of AWC and how best to serve
God. We ended our evening with a season
of prayer in the back yard of our host’s home.
I also had my fill of some delicious “haystacks”.
Sabbath morning took Penny and me to
AWC to enjoy the service. Actually Penny
stayed in the car putting her final touches on a presentation we were going to
give at the South Mountain Church in the afternoon. She joined me in time for church. I attended the youth class—and I was
blessed. I even came out with a sermon
idea having to do with Nebuchadnezzar—go figure. CM preached a long but powerful sermon on the
two sides of the “Why Me?” question.
The original plan was to have a
board meeting at an elder’s home immediately after the morning service. This plan was dashed by the breadth of the sermon
and a realization that the afternoon seminar I thought was scheduled on the
downside of 3 o’clock was actually slated for the early side of that hour. There was no way I would be able to have even
a short board meeting and still get to southern Phoenix in time. So I quickly rescheduled the elder’s meeting
until next week (they are pretty flexible at AWC) and Penny and I rushed home
to pick up some “eats” to enjoy on our way to the church. We got there with a couple of minutes to
spare. Actually, we got there with a couple
minutes to spare before the scheduled time.
It was a good 45 minutes before we began.
Penny and I gave a seminar following
a presentation given by a couple who had been married 57 years. They spoke of the ingredients that it takes
to make a marriage last. It was somewhat
humorous that after they concluded this presentation on “marital bliss” we were
called up to make a presentation on “Couples in Crisis.” Life is full of ironies. We shared some concepts we have learned along
our 33 years together and other material we were able to glean along the
way. The people appreciated the
presentation.
From there we rushed home to change
clothes in order to go on to our next commitment at the DH home. It was a special evening planned for
individuals of “means” (I was not one of them) who were being enlisted to be
part of the renaissance of Adventist education in Arizona. It was a very encouraging evening. More than the money that was pledged or
given, what was of most import was the ripples that the meeting will produce as
these people expand the circle to others.
The future of Adventist Education is getting brighter. Pray hard!
Late night—tired but satisfied. Penny and I even went outside our duplex close
to midnight to see if we could catch any of the “falling stars” from the
remnants of Haley’s Comet that the news said would be visible between 11 p.m.
and 5 a.m. We were disappointed. Too much light pollution!
Today will be consumed with catch-up
work, the fair, and the Fall Festival at GAA.
I think my stomach is up to it!
(219.8)
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