I don’t know if I’m getting busier or just getting older. I suspect it is a combination of the two. It seems that we always have an abundance of people to visit in hospitals and/or nursing homes on a regular basis. Then there are the memorial services (only one this past week) and weddings (two last Sunday) to keep you on your toes. But, we still can’t think of anywhere else we’d rather be.
Last Sunday we shared in the joy of Ruth Sandin and Ken Walter as they joined their lives together in a small wedding ceremony. Ruth wanted to keep it pretty quiet, but now that it is done I suspect we can let the cat out of the bag. Ruth and Ken will be taking off to travel around the country in their camper and then taking a cruise some time later. I don’t think we’ll be seeing them for awhile, but we certainly wish them every good wish as they share God’s blessings.
Later that day I officiated the wedding of Greg Newman and Stefanie Michaels. They are both alumni of Napa Junior Academy (Now Napa Christian) and it was a beautiful scene at Hiddenbrook Golf Course in Vallejo. Greg is the grandson of Karl and Zena Yared.
We want to wish both of these young couples all of our love and good wishes for God’s richest blessings. What fun it is to be a part of such joy!
Tomorrow John and Sherilyn and I will all be heading down to Ontario, CA for a Pacific Union Ministerial Convention. On the way down I will stop at the prison in Soledad and visit with Manny Lopez. He is in good spirits, but I am greatly looking forward to seeing him and assuring him of our love and support. We will be back Wednesday evening and then Ingrid and Hanna and I will be leaving on Thursday for West Virginia and Julie’s wedding on Sept. 1.
In case you missed the announcement a few weeks back let me bring you up to date on our daughter’s journey: As most of you know, we had a beautiful wedding here in Napa last year in June which turned into a nightmare, rather than a dream, just six months later when her husband decided that he no longer wanted to be married and chose another very different course for his life.
In the midst of heartache and broken dreams we heard from dear friends that were church members of ours in northern Virginia many years back. They were connecting with us because they hadn’t received a Christmas letter, which they had expected with all kinds of wedding pictures. In fact we had the letter ready to mail on Monday, Dec. 11, but the day before was when Julie’s world had fallen apart. These dear friends have two sons, one of which used to spend a great deal of time at our house. It seems that he had fallen in love with Julie from the first time he saw her on Labor Day weekend in 1987. He wrote to me earlier this year and told me that if Julie ever wanted to talk that I could give his email address to her. Several weeks later she did write him and the rest is history. They had dated for a year and a half way back, but both went different directions, but T, (William Turner Wootton) never forgot the fair damsel and now they will be married.
We are delighted that they have each found a partner who shares their faith. We are amazed at how quickly God has brought joy to replace broken dreams and we simply ask for your continued prayers for them as they join their lives and seek God’s blessing.
Today is a day of special commitment for some of our church family. We are offering a prayer of commissioning for any who sense God’s calling in their lives to be tools for outreach. There are no specific requirements other than a true sense of calling and a willingness to surrender to His leading and to be accountable to the church as to the results.
I believe that the time is here for many of our members to commit to being tools through which God can reach our community. We are asking those who respond to the invitation for prayer and laying on of hands to fill out the brief form found in your bulletin so that we can know who you are and can share encouragement and training opportunities with you.
This is not an attempt at sensationalism, although the results may be quite sensational in the end. This is simply an attempt to take God at His word that if we humbly pray in the name of Jesus that He will hear and answer and to further claim the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit to every one who believes. We will, then, go into all of our world and share a witness for Christ as He opens the doors. Our desire is to be sensitive to His promptings. I believe there are missed opportunities all around us and this service today is intended to bring God’s presence into focus as we go about our daily activities.
As always, Ingrid and I give thanks to God for you. Pastoring this church continues to be the highlight of our 34 years of ministry and we believe that the best days are still before us. God has not called us to complacency. But, as the title of the book by John Ortberg says, “If You Want To Walk On the Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of the Boat!”
Today’s service is intended to help you step out of your comfort zone.
