Weekend Ramblings for September 8, 2020

We'd love for you to listen to our Weekend Ramblings podcast that gives further insight to the ramblings listed below. Click here to listen now. Wait 'till you hear who my weekly host is! :-)

1. Yes, we are back! After a 90-day break, Weekend Ramblings is back. And we are striving to be better than ever.

2. We are now in digital format with our very own podcast hosted by my son Davis every week.

3. I pray that whatever we say, whatever we do will cause you to look toward Jesus.

4. People have blessed us in so many ways over the last 3 months.

5. I know of thousands of people who have been praying for me, Davis, and my entire family. We can’t say thank you enough.

6. The last three months have been the hardest days of our lives; however, God continues to be faithful to us as He provides comfort and strength every single day.

7. I honestly don’t know how someone who is not a Christ-follower could make it through such a tragedy without Him.

8. Our church family have supported us in so many ways. The prayers, errands, food, gift cards, cleaning, cards of encouragement, emails, texts, phone calls, and gifts have always arrived at just the right time.

9. Davis and I have done a ton of eating out!

10. Thank you to every one of our dear friends outside of our church family who have reached out to us from many miles away.

11. Some really close friends check on me daily.

12. It has been good to get back into the swing of things around the office.

13. Our church staff have been amazing. They worked above and beyond during Covid then took it to another level in my absence.

14. Our staff has made me laugh a lot since my return. They know what I need.

15. We have some very exciting things happening around Main Street. Currently, we are under a Next Generation Renovation on our second floor that will greatly impact 1st -12th grades.

16. We return to full children’s ministry at both services (9:30 & 11:00am) beginning Sunday, October 18. I can’t wait.

17. Our volunteers have put in a ton of hours with our renovation. They rock!

18. I am encouraged by our church attendance as we have been averaging about 40% as compared to pre-Covid. Yes, encouraged as the national average currently is 35%.

19. Our church family remains faithful in giving financially. For the first six months of the year, we met budget! Now as we are in the 3rd quarter, yes, we seen the normal summer slump, but God continues to provide.

20. My family is amazing! I am so blessed to have incredible siblings (and their families), parents, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles. They have supported us in too many ways to even mention.

21. Davis and I keep in contact through Facetime, phone calls, and texts every 4 or 5 days with Laura’s family. They are remarkable people! We’ll see them next month and can’t wait!

22. Thank you to everyone that listens to me as I talk about Laura. That really means a lot to me.

23. I just completed such an encouraging book on grief - The Christian's Journey Through Grief: How to Walk Through the Valley with Hope by Carol Peters-Tanksley. Amazing!

24. I loved preaching on Heaven this past Sunday! It is more real to me than ever before.

19. Our church family remains faithful in giving financially. For the first six months of the year, we met budget! Now as we are in the 3rd quarter, yes, we have seen the normal summer slump, but God continues to provide.