THE VICARAGE FALLS

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I woke up this morning and noted that the house was chilly. For the first time in three months I can say I was cold. I was tempted to turn the heat on and then I realized….”THIS IS FALL WEATHER!”

WELL WE DON’T LOOK LIKE THAT YET! but the signs that The Vicarage is heading into an early fall are everywhere. The temperature is falling (today it is not slated to get out of the sixties around 18 for those of you who live in the metric system). Last week I noticed that the sumac in my back yard is already going orange, and the vegetables are slowing down in the garden. I have watched my YOUTUBE weather channels and they are leaning with me towards an early fall for New England.

With that knowledge, there are several mindset changes that I need to begin making:

Vicarage projects that were slated for the summer need to get done. It’s time to finish spreading the pea stone for the right hand drive. It’s time to finish the chicken paddock. It’s time to start burning that brush I collected all summer.

It’s time to get ready for the fall projects at The Vicarage. It’s almost time to put away the prayer tent and all the solar lights. It’s time to start thinking about winterizing the Vicarage again. It’s time to start thinking about what parts of the garden I will move inside. It’s time to start preparing for fall canning and freezing.

At church, fall always brings a shift in the mindset of people. Vacation is over and it’s time to get ready to get back into fall/ winter/ spring routines. Disciplines put by the wayside by many will be picked back up. As the back to school rhythm is restored some will also begin to experience a back to church rhythm. The church needs to be ready to minister to people who have been a bit out of the loop for the last twelve weeks.

We are also heading into high holiday season. Now is the time we begin making our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans. I will be on sabbatical for the month of October. This means September will be our planning month for the fall and winter holidays.

IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS FOLKS! WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FALL?

ALARMS AND CHICKEN ENLARGEMENTS

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This week my goal has been to begin clearing the land for the chicken paddock we are going to build. I have to cut back the bushes around the trees where the chicken coop sits.

All of this has to go and so does…

most of this.

My daughter asked me tonight how my week has been. My word was “constant”. It has not been a bad week. It has been a really good week actually. It has also been a constant work of preparing for ministry or working on little unexpected projects.

Today I had a small unexpected project pop up at the church. Our building and grounds crew has begun another project for then church. They are working on refurbishing the green room (which is a large meeting room with couches and a kitchenette. When it is all said and done, it is going to be amazing. This week the volunteer crew began taking down the popcorn ceilings which were put up in the 1980’s.

My friend and one of our deacons, Jody Clapp

All was going well until one of the smoke detectors got some of the oil being used to remove the ceiling goo on it. That set the fire alarm off which caused the alarm company to contact me (the lead contact on the fire alarm list) and then the fire department.

With the fire captain’s help we tried to reset the system to no avail. So the fire captain gave me instructions about how to clean the smoke detector. We got the alarm silenced (though we were unable to shut of the emergency strobes throughout the church) so I went home for lunch and to clean the chicken coop while Jody finished up the ceiling. Then I went back to the church and followed the instructions on cleaning up the smoke detector. It involved paper towels, Q-tips and a shop vac.

In the end, I got the detector cleaned, the fire alarm reset and I even got a wheel barrel load of brush cut from around the chicken coop. I feel really accomplished. Still, I can’t wait to get the chicken paddock built. It is a lot of work moving the chickens back and forth between their coop and their play pen.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON AT YOUR HOME?

SIPPIN’ SERENDIPITY

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There are so many wonderful things about OUR TOWN, WINCHENDON MA. I want to make revealing those wonderful things a part of this blog experience. It’s a wonderful place to live. Many wonderful people live here. And there is a growing list of exciting places to visit and events you can be part of if you come here for a visit.

One of the places I am coming to love is a new coffee shop in town called SIPPIN SERENDIPITY.

This little coffee shop is becoming one of the places my staff and I take parishioners for meetings. I was at SIPPIN’ SERENDIPITY on Thursday last week for such a meeting. We met over coffee, pastry and a game of checkers. Some of the pastry options we considered were made by one of the ladies who attends Cornerstone, Alicia Croteau.

I settled on the coffee cake and my Parishioner settled on the macarons, both great choices.

Here are the hours of operation from their website.Hours: 

Thursday6 AM–2 PM
Friday6 AM–2 PM
Saturday7 AM–2 PM
SundayClosed
MondayClosed
Tuesday6 AM–2 PM
Wednesday6 AM–2 PM

And here is a menu for your perusal along with some shots of the pastry.

May be an image of turnover

If you are in Winchendon anytime soon plan a stop at Sippin’ Serendipity.

Here is a bio piece from the TWO GRANNIES.

WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE FOR COFFEE OR TEA IN YOUR HOMETOWN?

THE ABIDING WORD IN PRAYER

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Reading the Bible is an integral part of my prayer life.

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I have set a current goal of reading at least 12 chapters in the Bible everyday. I break my BIble reading up throughout the day to read a few chapters in each of my prayer sessions.

Over the years I have tried all kinds of different reading and study plans. The pattern I am currently following is reading the Bible sequentially from the beginning straight through to the end. Each time I finish book of the Bible I read one book of the Bible before I move on to the next. Currently my chosen book for rereading between books is Genesis; so my current reading looks like this: GENESIS, EXODUS, GENESIS, LEVITICUS, GENESIS, NUMBERS, GENESIS DEUTERONOMY, GENESIS….This means by the time I reach Revelation I will have read Genesis 66 times.

WHY IS READING THE BIBLE NECESSARY FOR PRAYER?

John 15:7,8 reads, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

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To abide means, to be continually present with. the Bible verses from John indicate that if I want my prayers to be answered or my life to bear its greatest spiritual fruit, the Word of God must be continually present in my life. It is not enough to read it once a day and be done with it. I find the Word of God (like my prayer times) must be peppered throughout my day to create greater effectiveness for my life and ministry.

MINISTRY LIFE AND TWR

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I think the most important work a minister does is the work of prayer. Without the work of prayer everything else we do is devoid of power. I try to spend between three and five hours a day in prayer around the rest of my schedule. If you have read my blog before you know that much of that is restorative prayer. “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” Isa. 40:31

But restorative prayer is needed corporately as well as privately. I believe that the prayer ministry is perhaps the most corporately neglected ministry in the church, and if the church is to have power in the days ahead then the people of the church not just the pastors must learn to pray deeply.

One of the ways I am encouraging that in my own church is by encouraging people to attend The Worship Room House of Prayer in our town.

According to its website. “TWR is a missional ministry where singers, musicians, and intercessors lead live prayer and worship meetings with a focus on growing in intimacy with the Father as well as doing the work of missions from the place of prayer. This Worship Room is open to the public providing a place to pray and be in the presence of God. We believe the Lord is strategically calling His Bride to walk out the prophetic promise of Isaiah 56:7 that declares, “Gods’ house shall be called a house of prayer”

I feel so strongly about this I spend two hours of my prayer time each week at the worship room. One of those hours is spent leading the devotional hour on Mondays from 5-6 P.M.

https://fb.watch/tX1Ys35UwB/