thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend:

Family. That was the word for the weekend. Family.

There is nothing like spending time with family.

Friday was Becky's graduation day and Debbie and I got to spend the day with Christie, Becky and George (Andrew and Georgia stayed behind in Grand Rapids).

We had a blast. Two graduated. One to go.

I appreciated the formal, yet fun atmosphere that was created at the graduation ceremony itself at Michigan State - after all it is a celebration!

I thought that it's great that they carry certain traditions from generation to generation...such as getting your picture taken with "Sparty", singing the School Song and chanting the School cheer.

A lot of traditions like that in life are meaningful and healthy. We have the joy and responsibility to channel and pass on traditions in our families, our churches and in our society.

Traditions such as celebrating Christmas in a certain way or Thanksgiving (according to how your family does things).

Traditions such as calling your mom on mother's day or your father on father's day.....well you get the point.

On the other hand, some traditions are wild and crazy.

I found this:

"Wisconsin winters are brutally cold. But that doesn't stop hundreds of daring souls from jumping into the icy waters of Lake Michigan on New Year's Day.

Yes, it's the annual Polar Bear Swim in Sheboygan, where every January 1, at precisely 1 p.m., some 450 fearless folks dive right in for a frigid dip.

One description of the yearly splashdown says that "most are costumed, all are crazy."

In our family, we don't really have any wild and crazy traditions like that. Do you?

Yesterday's service was phenomenal. I sensed God's spirit in a powerful way.

I spoke on the subject of inner healing.....healing from wounds and hurts from the past....many came forward. I am thrilled at what the Holy Spirit is doing.

More and more I am sensing that our purpose as a church is to "fill in the gap" with a sane, strong, biblical pentecostal message.

More and more I am sensing that we are to have vibrant worship, biblical messages and Holy Spirit led times where we gather together as a church family and seek God's presence.

Can we meet the culture of our day and accomplish that? I believe so.

Watched the White Sox game yesterday. I am doing by best to be a fan - I will be a fan, but they are making it hard.

They played lousy. 2 hits, bad pitching errors in the field. Ozzie (the manager) has a lot of work to do! Come on Ozzie, get the kids playing some baseball!