UNUsually, I was at church EARLY for the 10am service. Well, I was there for pancakes, not the service. One of the joys in my life is the small group of 11th grade girls I've been leading since they were in 6th grade. The breakfast this morning was for parents to get to know their teen's leaders better. Having a five year head start made this really easy! :)
Can I tell you how excited I was to be EARLY?! This is barely short of miraculous, since I'm usually late for the 11:30 service. I even had time to take this selfie before I left home:
As usual, I was at the 11:30 service (on time, even after stopping by the high school area to say hello to "my" girls). Today the message was titled "Unapologetic Preaching" and, after 30-ish minutes of teaching about preaching, our pastor gave us 5 Ways to Guarantee an Awesome Sermon (as listeners).
In case you want to make YOUR pastor's messages more interesting, here are the five tips: 1) Pray for the preacher on Saturday night and Sunday morning; 2) Pray for your heart to be receptive; 3) Bring your Bible (because you should expect solid, Bible-based preaching - I'd add Take Notes); 4) Share two things with someone afterward: a) something you want to change, and b) something that gave you hope; 5) (In case the above don't work) Pray harder for your preacher next week. :)
Here are my two shares from #4:
Something I want to change: Invest more time in preparation and prayer for my "Student LifeGroup" (those 11th graders).
Something that gave me hope: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Isaiah 52:7. This reminds me not to be hesitant to share what I believe because it IS good news. (Not convinced of that? Ask me why I think it's good!)
After church, since it was a nice, dry day (usual? unusual? It's hard to say in this neck of the woods - I'm just extra grateful for every dry day), Rayna and I went to the off-leash dog park. Here's the result:
Now I'm at Qdoba - definitely not unusual! I'm certain heaven will cater from "The Q," as we call it. Mike joined me after awhile (he just got home from work).
My soul and stomach are happy - definitely usual. :) I'm so blessed these days.
Tonight will be usual things: chores like laundry and Mike's lunch for tomorrow, sweeping if I'm ambitious; some TV, a quick evening walk, and computer time - including my homework for tomorrow's writing workshop. The procrastination? Totally USUAL. :)
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