Dear Family,

As I said on Thursday this has been a whirlwind of week. But it is not a whirlwind that has brought devastation. It is a whirlwind that has brought great success and peace.

As I sit here typing own my sun porch I am listening to the rain falling gently on the roof. I am thinking about all that has been done this week and of all the ways we have partnered with God as a church to get things done.

On Sunday the Cornerstone congregation came together and pulled down the old altar and tore up the old carpet so that our sanctuary can get a much needed facelift. We finished the job in two hours. Today we reset all the chairs for service tomorrow in under and hour. Thanks team!

This week I was granted guardianship of our oldest congregant who is now in a nursing home and unable to care for herself. Our church family is preparing to do visitation with her. We as a church have begun to set up a schedule for the visits. Go team!

Wednesday and Thursday the staff cleaned out Grace’s apartment and on Friday I spent the day visiting with Grace in her new home, which she loves, and then I went hospital visiting and to another nursing home to read Scripture with one of our congregants who is preparing to meet Jesus face to face.

In the meantime my devotional focus for the week has been on the eternal life God has chosen to share with us and how that effects our living now.

I have had moments of intense joy and moments where I have been intensely overwhelmed. In the end I cannot stay in the overwhelmed spot. There is just too much amazing stuff going on to be overwhelmed with anything but gladness.

I am taking this class at the local library being taught by our church treasurer and resident life coach. The class is on appreciative living. This week our study was on visualization. We were asked to visualize the house of our life. I was surprised by how clear the rooms appeared before any eyes and how deeply each room spoke to my heart about things that need to grow and change in my life. I am grateful for the glimpse and filled with expectation as the days ahead lead me into that growth and change.