ANOTHER AMAZING WEEK

On Thursday of this week we had an "Arts and Worship" night at The Mission. Our group all spent time together worshipping in song, and then we went outside and all of us worked together on a giant shower curtain (seen here on the wall where we meet each week) where each of us added our thoughts, drawings, feelings, on the idea of community and "Christ in Us". It was such an amazing time!

Saturday morning Wendy and the boys and I lead our second "Kids Club" meeting for the neighborhood kids. This week we talked about what it means to "Love our Neighbor". I was reflecting on how it's less important to get our program down and more important that we model and live out the messages we proclaim. When I was young I can remember going to a Good News Club and the way I knew that Jesus loved me was that the ladies who lead that group loved me first. That's what we're trying to do here on our street...model the message of "Love Your Neighbor" more than we preach it...and if we do preach it we need to act it out in practical, tangible ways.

Saturday afternoon we lead our monthly motel service to the kids and their families at the California Studio Inn. We had a bounce house, puppet show, ice cream, and sang songs together. It, as always, blessed me more than anyone else, I suspect.

Saturday night our dearest friends, Lito and Ruthie came over and the ladies went to see "Wicked" while the Dads hosted the kids for home-made pizza, some Looney Tunes and Charlie Brown cartoons, and hung out until after midnight.

This morning we hosted our Sunday Morning house church and had an amazing discussion time about God's heart for the poor, when and how to give to those in need, and what it means to love others...(sensing a theme here?)

Tonight we're having The Wrights and The Swopes families over for some Southern food (fried okra, hushpuppies, etc.) and some deeper relationship time.

My life is good.

Tomorrow I hope to finalize my salary negotiations with Ingram Micro and then I will start my new job at Ingram Micro on Wednesday as their new Copy Writer in their marketing department.

Over a year out of work, and now I return to the company I left four years ago in order to seek out my pastoral calling. God had to lead me on a journey to discover that I could be a pastor without working at a Church...in fact, now I want to return to Ingram so I can be a minister to my co-workers, and learn to befriend people, and serve others, and still pastor our house church and serve in our community and love our neighbors.

God has brought me full circle now.

He is good.

Peace,
Keith