Hearts in Service

  Today starts week #3 of Lent and the prayer focus this week is outreach. I have updated the Guide to Help You Walk Through Lent on my website and will also post this week's focus down below.  Our church has been attempting to do a better job of getting out of our comfort zone and getting out into the community. The event I participated in on Saturday was one of those ways.  There were only a handful of booths at the community event  and they were businesses with some free handouts for the kids and were passing out their promotional literature. We didn't do any advertising for our church other than the banner with our name on it, but our focus was to be present there and focus solely on giving to our community. My prayer is that we will continue to find ways to connect with people in our community and communicate the peace, love and mercy that Christ offers.

Monday is the day to look back over the week and give thanks for the many ways I saw God at work. It was a good week and while there were hard moments in the middle of some days, I still see God's blessings, even in the hard. 💓 I am thankful that even though my inlaws are separated at the moment (dad in assisted living and mom still in nursing home, rehabilitating), they are safe. We aren't having to worry about them being hurt and one or the other of them unable to call for help. My mother-in-law wouldn't even know how to call for help if something were to happen to dad. They are well-fed, have nursing care available, and many people to interact with on a daily basis.  💓 I am thankful that Dan was able to spend the day with both his parents on Tuesday and I spent the morning with his dad on Wednesday and took him out to lunch. It's mentally exhausting, but I'm thankful. I never want to look back with regret that we didn't make them a priority. 💓 My large lis...

As it often seems in life, multiple things are happening all at the same time. It's going to be a very busy week, but I am looking forward to it. This morning I'm headed to the local river walk (paved walkway by a river) for the annual Turn the River Green  event for St. Patrick's Day. I signed our church up to have a tent there and offer a free craft for children. Myself and another woman from church will be there to greet the approximately 2,500 people who attend. I'm hoping that there will only be about 320 children since that's all the crafts I have! 😂 Tomorrow night is also the start of our annual missions conference and we are hosting two of our International Workers for 4 days. There are events almost every day where they have the opportunity to share their ministry overseas. As always, there are a lot of moving parts to this, including multiple dinners and activities. After this morning's event I need to swing by the church and make sure we have all the...

Mark 14:3-9 ~ While He was in Bethany at the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, as He was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her. Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for Me. You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body in advance for burial. I assure you: Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.” The sweet smell of perfume filled the air and all conversation came to a screeching halt. Nard, which is derived from ...

I updated the Guide to Help You Walk Through Lent with the prayer focus for this second week of Lent. You can find the complete guide here.   I hope you find this helpful. The prayer focus this week is revival. My prayer is that God would revive our church, as well as my own heart, with a renewed devotion to follow Him. It's so easy to become distracted and to lose focus. I want to renew my passion for His word, for prayer, to live for Him and bring His love to those around me.

The clocks sprang forward yesterday and while we lost an hour of sleep, it was so wonderful to have the light later in the day. Because it was also a sunny day I was able to go for a walk at my favorite place in the afternoon. I'm thankful for this little sanctuary that is close by where I can have some time to disconnect. I never quite know what type of wildlife I will see. I walk, think, pray and just enjoy the sights. It's been a tough week and a hard time in life at the moment as we continue to see my mother-in-law decline mentally with Alzheimer's. She is healing physically, but is becoming more childlike in her ability to cope with being in a nursing home facility. Until she is totally off the IV medication and also able to move with minimal help she cannot live where my father-in-law is living. She is angry and weepy and using language she has never used in her life. She says no one tells her anything even though we've told her exactly what is happening. But she ...