Is This Really Necessary?

When I've arrived at church the last few Sundays, seeing the parking lot torn up, I asked myself, "Is this really necessary?" Knowing nothing about engineering or construction, that's an easy question for me. Then I reflected on the theme of the Sunrise Community Church restoration project--"Transformed Inside/Out," and asked the same question about the hardest area for me to cultivate in my spirit life--prayer. "Is this really necessary?"

I know the answer before I begin. Of course, it's necessary. I've witnessed great answers to prayer and experienced God's lavishing love. Yet, I find after spending time in God's word and recording lessons in my journal, when it comes time to pray, it's tempting to close things up and pray as I go on my way, and sometimes I do. Yet, God especially blesses me when I spend alone time, heart to heart time with Him.

The prayer team at church demonstrated to me the power of heart to heart prayer. Cheryl Marvelli, who also coordinates the watering of trees and plants during construction, said the faucet on the northeast side of the church leaked so badly, it was not usable. On one of their prayer walks, Cheryl and June Lake prayed over the faucet. Does God care about a faucet in the middle of a huge restoration project? Yes! He does.

That afternoon, Joe Hartin, who owns a pool service company, came to the church and volunteered to help with the watering. When he found out about the leaky faucet, he said, "I can fix that," and he did the same day Cheryl and June prayed.

I am encouraged to spend more alone time in heart to heart prayer with God, whether sitting at His feet or walking my dog. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for using Cheryl, June and Joe to help me grow inside-out. Amen.

WOW Sunday

The construction and traffic problems from our church restoration project did not discourage the Walk on Water (WOW) kids from leading our worship service today at Sunrise Community Church in Fair Oak, CA. Four years ago Dan Brown's eyes slipped away from Pastor Rich's sermon to the basketball hoops in the multipurpose room where we worship. He had a vision of young people with disabilities playing basket ball in that room, and that day gave birth to the WOW program.

Dan wrote notes as fast as he could during church, sorry Pastor Rich, and afterward began praying and putting the program together. He doesn't really like to call it a program because it's become a great opportunity to meet and build friendships. After he sent invitations to the first meeting, he expected maybe five or six kids would show up. Imagine his surprise to see twenty kids, many in wheelchairs, come to the meeting. More than thirty went to camp this year.

After the first year, Dan prayed for a partner and this year Young Life partnered with him to take the kids to a Young Life camp near Flagstaff, AZ. Videos of these kids having the time of their lives brought tears to my eyes. We heard story after story from the kids about their favorite activities, and several letters to God. The letter that touched my heart was from a young man who thanked God for loving him and giving him WOW friends. He said, "I hope to see You soon," and after signing his name, "P.S. I hope you like basketball." What a fulfillment of Dan's dreams!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for using Dan and his WOW team to transform lives inside/out. Amen.