It was a great day hanging out with different people today as we celebrated Memorial Day.  Merideth and I rushed around this morning trying to get everyone out of the house so we would be able to get a spot down at Carney Island park on Lake Weir.  The park ranger had told me last week that it would probably be full by 9:45 am and I sure didn't want to be late and have to wait outside the park because there were no spaces left.  We made it to the park shortly after 8:00 am and got everything situated, and the kids immediately headed toward the water which is where they stayed most of the day.  

Everyone had such a good time.  One of the best parts of the day was spending time with some of our  friends from Heritage.  Everyone bought their own food and it ended up being like a dinner on the grounds.  I ended up migrating around the different tables and tasting the variety of specialties, and needless to say, I am sore as I type from all of the goodies that I inhaled.  As I sat down by the beach,  I was reminded that God created us to live in fellowship with Him and others.  It was fun sitting back and watching people interact with one another--sharing food, space and just having fun. I over heard people talking about parenting, the economy, jobs, health and also their relationship with the Lord.

I have come to understand over the years that things happen when we take a chance to rub elbows with one another!  When we get away from DOING church and start BEING the church, so much more is accomplished.

As we played yesterday, it reminded me of the stories I read in the scriptures of the early church. I thought as I sat there, "this must have been what it was like." There was such an interaction of ages and stages of life. Fellowship is not something that you make happen or that you manufacture, fellowship is intentional time spent in interaction with others where "iron sharpens iron".

May God continue to strengthen our fellowship as the church at Heritage is built, and may the fellowship become infectious as we reach out to impact the community in which we live and work.

He said to the Israelites, "in the future when your descendants ask their fathers, What do these stones mean?" tell them, Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground! For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over.  The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.  He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.  
-Joshua 4:21-24

It is so easy to forget.  The older I get, the more difficult it is to remember things.  Even with my best intentions, remembering seems hit and miss at best.  The Lord told Joshua to not forget the greatness of God and His provision by having the Israelites set up a memorial.  They were to ask twelve men representing the twelve tribes of Israel to take a stone from out of the dried up river bed they had crossed and set up the stones for people to see.  I bet the stones were placed in a spot where people frequently traveled.  Why set up a memorial and place it over in the corner behind the shed?  The Lord wanted everyone to have a visual reminder of His greatness.  

The church today celebrates two ordinances, Baptism and The Lord's Supper to help us as believers remember the sacrifice that Jesus made 2000 years ago.  Both of these require action on our part to represent outwardly what is happening inwardly within our lives.  Baptism is for the new believer as a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Moving from death to sin and raised to walk in a newness of life and the water being a symbol of the washing away of our sins and we being prepared for service.  The Lord's Supper is an ongoing celebration within the church to remember the death of Christ and the sacrifice of his life, body and blood, until He returns.

May we be faithful as a church to continue the pattern that Jesus began 2000 years ago and never forget His extreme love for us and the grace that His sacrifice provided...lest we forget.

-Pastor Sidney Brock

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
-John 15:1-2

When we first built our home, one of the first things I did out in the yard was plant fruit trees.  We planted nectarines, peaches, pecans, apples, figs, plums, pears and various other trees with the anticipation of harvesting the fruit and tasting the benefits of our labors.  We have had a good amount of fruit this year already but now it is time to get ready for next year by pruning the trees.  I have spent a large portion of my day today working on the fruit trees that we have here at our home.  I have come to learn over the years that pruning is one of the best methods of preparing the trees for a healthy crop of fruit.  It has come to my attention that a gardener not only prunes back the dead limbs but also carefully trims back healthy limbs as well so that he can shape and prepare the tree for next year's harvest. It is so easy to sit back and say, "why prune?", but a good gardener knows it is a must for the health of the tree and another good year of fruit production.  

While I was pruning today, my son, Caleb, was watching and he asked the question, "what I was doing", and it gave me an opportunity to talk to him about the facts of gardening but also share with him what the Bible has to say about how God uses pruning in our lives to prepare us for His service. Pruning is never easy and sometimes it seems meaningless, but if we look from the gardeners perspective, we can see that HE has our best interest in mind.  

Happy Mother's Day, moms! We celebrate with you the gift of being a mom and the blessings as well as the times of testings that you experience. Blessed are you!

I was blessed to have a great mom who loved us dearly.  She exemplified the Proverbs 31 woman--the one that was more valuable than rubies!  What a great compliment! Looking back, little did we realize as children the sacrifices she made to ensure that we were cared for.  I always remember Mom being busy, but never too busy for us.  I saw her burn the midnight oil many times as she carried out her other responsibilities of running a business and being a community leader.  However, those responsibilities never sidetracked her from her first priority... her family!   As I prepared to leave for college, my mom slipped me a column from Ann Landers. I laughed as I read because it gave me greater insight as to her intentions as a mom. I held on to that newspaper clipping for many years and shared it from time to time but finally lost it, but that same column resurfaced this week in an email from a friend. I thought I would pass it on to you to see if your mom was as mean as mine.  

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them,  
as my Mean ole Mom told me:
I loved you enough...
to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home. I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep. 
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
 
I loved you enough to let you see anger,   disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect. I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the  penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart. But most of all, I loved you enough...to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm  glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.    
And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them. Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the  meanest mother in the whole world!
 
While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we
had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
 
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch,  
we had to eat sandwiches.

 

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was  different from what other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were  doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less. We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.  We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.  She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!  Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16   Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.  Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today.  It just doesn't have enough mean moms! 
-author unknown

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  

-Pslams 57:10

It has been an interesting week talking to people about what they believe and why.  In my conversations, it is very obvious that much of our beliefs systems have come as a result of what we have heard or read instead of through our personal experience.  It is one thing to talk about the stories of others yet a whole different picture when you have personally experienced God first hand.  

I was talking with a friend today who found out a couple of weeks ago that she would be losing her job. This is so significant because this young lady just visited church after a long extended absence from the Lord.  Her return to church was not because of losing her job but because a family had been faithful in loving on her and her family.  It wasn't long after coming back that she got involved with a women's bible study and people began to pray for her circumstances concerning a job and other details concerning her transition.  Wow, did God show up!!  She shared with me today the offer of a job that would cover her expenses as well as take care of benefits with some to spare.  What an answer to prayer!  Did I mention that she was a single mom with three children and the only bread winner in the home?  

It is one thing for someone to talk to us about trusting God, but it is another experience to see the Father at work first hand.  This is a story that she will tell her children with a twinkle in her eye as she talks about the greatness of God and His faithfulness.