A Wonderful Day of Worship and Praise

Today was an awesome day! It was a family celebration today at worship service as new elders were installed. I knew God was at work when the announcement was made that Rick Baither, Paul Wert and Jeff Robertson would be our new elders. I know Rick and Paul very well,and their faith and love for God have been obvious over the years, and, listening to them speak today, it was obvious that Jeff and his wife Phyliss love the Lord, too. Worship services were uplifting and there was a feeling of close family unity like I felt several years ago....a feeling of new beginning. Sometimes we need those.

Don sang with the singers today, and I sat beside him, trying to aim my voice away from the mic. Sometimes amplifying my voice is not a good idea. I have been hoarse for several weeks now....something to do with lupus I think.

Nancy, Rick Baither's sister, and Brandon, Rick's son were there today at the celebration. I used to hang out with both of them before Rick's mom died. Helen was one of my mentors in life. I still think of things that she told me when I was going through a really hard time in life. I think of Rick and Nancy as my brother and sister even more, because Helen was like a mom to me. I'm sure she and her husband Chris are in Heaven, very proud of Rick...and Nancy for that matter. Both of them are reflections of the love Chris and Helen had for the Lord.

Don and I joined the small group at the building tonight. We have been trying to decide what we were going to do for a while now. For some time we thought we might join our neighbors at New Life Christian church, because our son worships there, and that church does outreach in our neighborhood. We thought we might be more effective in outreach closer to home, perhaps encouraging our other sons to attend there as well. But Fairfax is more than the church where we worship--it is our family. We could never walk away and not know about our Fairfax family week by week.

Also, I really appreciate the leadership that we have at Fairfax. It is obvious by the things that they do and say, the countless meetings and prayer sessions, and the earnestness of their desire to please God in dealing with problems among us, that our leaders are seeking truth and wisdom. It makes me feel secure seeing their self discipline and their humility--it gives me condfidence that I can follow them as they follow Christ. Don and I both feel very resolute in our decision to stay where we are and to serve the Lord in whatever way He gives us at Fairfax. We think, as in Acts 18, God has decided the time that we should live in and the exact location where He would use us in His service. That is exciting, because God only knows what He will do in our lives next!

I got the chance to talk with Bob Roth, our friend who has multiple myeloma. I am always so amazed and inspired by his faith. Bob and Tresa have been my heroes for a long time, even though they are about ten years younger than Don and I are. Their faith and love for God during such an enormous trial even as they are raising their 5 beautiful children....and the love of their families for them...all of it has touched my heart....and has strengthened my faith and cemented my belief that we "can do all things through Christ who gives us strength."

I was way too tired to exercise today. We stayed late at church and then went back for small group....and closed up the building, so I'm just going to do an extra hard workout tomorrow. I did okay with food...didn't eat at the reception....just talked. :)