B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

It’s been a long, hard, amazing, wonderful blessed week.  I have experienced a whole new level of tired, and yet I have been blessed in ways I could never fully describe.  Still as I sit and reflect, counting my blessings, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude and awe.

She turned 14 yesterday. And I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming. She’s a teenager, who loves selfies, make up and her cellphone. But this kid loves Jesus and others too. She’s not perfect, she knows how to roll those big brown eyes when I’m not looking. But we both know when we’ve blown it and when to apologize.  I am blessed to be her dad.

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I have seen friendship demonstrated over the past seven days in some of the most impacting and humbling ways.  Friends sitting in an ER room with us, because they cared.  Others stopping by the coffee shop to say, “Hey – we believe in you.”  The Facebook message that offered a helping hand, and within a day that hand was right in front of us extended toward my wife and I saying, “God’s put a dream inside of you, I’m here to help that dream be a reality.”  Friends true friends have sacrificed their time, their energy, their talents because they love us.  Restoring my hope in humanity.   True friends – Wow!!

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My family has blown me away this week.  My wife has stood by my side.  She’s taken that whole “Where you go, I go” thing seriously.  She doesn’t even like coffee but this week she has poured, brewed, and blended, some of the most amazing drinks, because we’re a team, she and I.  And my kids – wow my kids.  They’ve gone to school, then went to work.  (In a matter of speaking – no worries we’re not relying on child labor.) Seriously though, If I’ve needed their help, they’ve given it freely, willingly.  More than once this week, I’ve had to step away and wipe a tear of gratitude from my face because of the family that God has given me.

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Five years ago, we were preparing for our very first Sunday Service at RiverChurch.  We had t-shirts, banners, greeters, flashy graphics and about 35 people showed up.  I preached a message called “Live Sent.”  We’ve outgrown the tshirts, the banners eventually wore out in the weather, the greeters are all different, (except for Darlene who’s been there since day 1), the flashy graphics aren’t as flashy, and the face of the congregation has changed quite a bit, but the message to our body hasn’t changed, only become even more real.  After a little more than a year of worshipping on Saturday nights, we will resume gathering on Sunday mornings to fully focus on Jesus, and tonight we’ll focus on building discipleship and building community.  The only thing “mega” about RiverChurch is our heart to “be the church.”  And after 5 years, I can safely say we are.  The best is yet to come.  (If you’d like to join us this Sunday we’ll be meeting at 10:30, but I have it on good authority there will be breakfast and coffee galore at 9:30.)

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I could go on, and probably should, but its 5a.m on a Saturday morning.  I don’t have to be awake this early.  So I’m going to close my eyes now and try to fall asleep again. . . counting my blessings.