Gracepoint

Smiles of genuine welcome greeted us as we made our way into the building where GracePoint is meeting. GracePoint is a new church, that is opening their doors to everyone, and folks are noticing, attending, and bringing their friends. Coming around the corner, there is Daniel Doss one of the co-pastors welcoming everyone with vigorous hand shakes, and hugs.

Rounding the corner my senses jump for joy! WOW! There is coffee of all flavors, and some amazing volunteers in their GracePoint aprons ready to serve. My eye follows the wall further down and there is a buffet of fruits and pastries calling my name. Here is where I meet another amazing volunteer who enjoys cooking so much, she prepares items to share with her church family each Sunday. The next item along the left wall is a lemon-aid stand. (here is where they are selling tshirts, lemonade, and taking donations for this fresh water for Africa mission)
Sweetie, the boys and I are eagerly waiting in line to share in the joy of giving. Coming away with t-shirts we keep walking and notice that there are more booths with various Christian books to read, music cd's, and some Bibles. Up front is a small stage area where the band has set up for worship this morning. In the middle of the room are several rows of chairs with a information sheet on the Lemon-aid  project. To the right is a bunch of curtains leading to the back, but what do I see? An amazing area for the children to hang out while their parents are in church service. We are greeted warmly even though we don't have anyone to check in. The sweet volunteer shares how she was part of the church previously located in here, and how she is so thrilled to be a part of a growing and reaching church. Following the wall back towards the enterance door is the tech area, there is a nice camera for recording the services, and rows of electronic equipment to help with sound and lights.
It's almost time for service! The lights dim, and the chatter stops as the first note is played. Wow! There is nothing quite like worshiping our Lord with fellow Christians, and other folks who are just learning who God is! After we get all warm and our hearts are overflowing with love for our Savior..Daniel comes out and we all take a seat.
Yes! Time to dig into the WORD! Today Daniel preached on Joshua and his leading the people into the promised land. He starts pouring water into cups set on a table on stage; all the while leading us further and further into the story. Each one of us is drawing pictures in our own minds eye with his illustrations. He then describes the priests as they step into the river seperating them from the promised land on Joshuas word, as they carry the Ark of the Covenant.  As he describes how the water moved away and the ground itself was dry land for them to step on..I hear a child behind me inhale sharply. That kid was really into it! Praise GOD!
They are currently in a series called STEP. Its all about finding your next step in your life. That step could be to learn about God, learn to pray, learn to give, take a step to forgive, community groups, volunteering, or even to take a step to end something.
When Daniel closed in prayer, and the service was over, the folks there didn't rush to go out! No, they started picking up trash, stacking chairs, and helping break down! Again, I say WOW! About an hour later as the last piece of equipment is being loaded into the truck, I stand in amazement and say a quick prayer for all these hard workers who are making such a difference in others lives each week by their service.
If you are ever in Valparaiso, Indiana..stop by Grace Point. Jesus is there, He is walking amongst the people of that town, and through this little church, changing lives. He is using the people that make up this church to extend His love and grace to not only this town, but to surrounding areas as well. This upcoming Sunday, the 12th of September is their 1 year anniversary! Join me in prayer this coming Sunday as they again share their Savior with whomever stops by.

Weekend Work

Weekend? What weekend? Wow! This weekend was warm and mostly sunny! Translation?
Outside projects.
To start this off right.. Saturday I promised a family friend that the boys and I would be by to help her get some yardwork done. Man! We got all kinds of stuff done! I got a bunch of plants dug up so that they can be placed somewhere else in her general plan of making it look like a Japanese garden area. Bushes were trimmed, and the boys moved rocks and have started a very nice rock wall! Looking good! Oh, I raked too. I mean I raked, and raked, and then we all raked again. This house has a lot of trees around it, and I am sure that several leaves from surrounding neighborhoods blew in also! WOW! I actually have more raking to do! Anyway, after a portion was finished it sure was satisfying to see the raked flower beds,and the raked driveway! We can see fresh green grass in areas where decaying leaves once lay. Awesome! We unearthed some flowers that were poking their heads up! Yes, we were sore! Ohh! With our tired, achy, sunburned bodies we waved goodbye to our friend and went home and melted! Showers, and a 45 minute nap for me and all was better again. (we had a dinner to attend, so I had to be perky!)
As a family we decided it was time to buy new windows for the house. We have an older home with single pane windows, so the heating bills and air bills are not a pretty sight! Cha-ching! Yes, but we were smart and scouted around and found a great deal! Friday I had the vinyl guys at the house replacing rotting wood and putting up vinyl covering so we don't have to paint! Whoo hoo! Well, and it just all around looks better. I ended up painting anyway as our gutters were all pulled down. Why not? Snatch that opportunity, right?
We found out our columns on the front porch are also rotting. Ick. Anyway, to look at our porch now we have one column to keep it from coming down and some two by fours proping up the other end of the porch. New columns are on the way. Windows & shutters have been measured (we have rotting wood shutters too!), vinyl has been installed. Now we wait for the columns to come in so that the porch is no longer jacked up. You wouldn't believe the attention our house got by neighbors this weekend. Just do a little work.. and here they come! Maybe this will start something and we can improve our streets curb appeal!
Sunday after church, the boys and I painted gutters, mowed the grass and pulled weeds. So, all in all a very productive weekend!
My hope is that this project of ours is finished before 20-23rd of this month. Reason? Our church is putting on a weekend for middleschoolers/highschool kids where they "get away" and experience God. As a host home we are part of that "get away". I'm expecting a house full of sixth grade boys, two teenagers and another set of parents to help us/me out. (I say me as Sweeetheart has to work a 12 hour weekend shift Saturday and Sunday). This means late, late nights and a full house, but most of all, being able to hang out with some awesome kids! I am looking forward to it! There will be devotionals and trips around town,snacks,cookouts,whew! To top it off the kids are involved in a Sunday skit our church puts on monthly called, CrossStreet Live. That will be a FULL weekend!