Here’s the weekly run down for me:

  • It was great to have Joe back from his trip and leading worship.
  • Justin and Sarah are HERE!!!! We got them moved in Monday night. I’m looking forward to his first Sunday with us this weekend.
  • Last week Rick and I got to go to a conference together. Since the conference was in Richmond the same weekend as the races, I brought him in to the world NASCAR. I think he’s hooked.
  • This past weekend the message was on “the blessing”. It’s something that we see at various places in the Bible. It’s set me on a mission to find ways to give a blessing my children as often as I can. The three main elements of the blessing are: Meaningful Touch, Affirming their Value, and Casting a Preferable Vision for their future.
  • Best thought on Scripture from the past week is realizing that God, the Father, said the words, “This is my son whom I love and am well pleased,” before Jesus ever did anything. His love and approval of his son wasn’t based on performance and neither should ours.
  • This week we are looking at “Honor”.  It kind of is the balance of the last message. Blessing is what parents give to their children. Honor is what children give to their parents.
  • Read this quote this past week from a book called Plan B, “God is most powerfully present even when He seems most apparently absent.”
  • Tim Keller was asked by World Magazine about the growth of his church and gave the following response using a surfing metaphor.  When asked about the growth of Essential, I would have to say I agree with Tim’s thoughts, “We paddled out on our board and a wave came in. You can do all the same paddling and standing and then if the wave does not come in there is no surfing. We could have easily come here, done everything that we have done, and have very, very little to show for it. I know other people who have been every bit as faithful, if not more faithful than me, and do not have anything like the same kind of amount of success. I do not look at myself as being more effective than them, but I am more successful and therefore more blessed, for only reasons that God in His sovereignty would know.”
  • Read an article about church planting that defined a “fast growing church plant” as one that reaches 250 with in 5 years. Essential hit that point at the end of our first year!!! I am humbled, amazed, and dumbfounded by it all.  As Tim Keller might say, this has been a great wave of God’s grace that we’ve been riding this past year.
  • And lastly, this is mine (and Melissa’s) favorite Mother’s Day video: