Where was God at work in our midst last week?
Laura – Good morning. My daughter, Melody, is 17 and she is a senior in high school. Yes, time flies. We went on two college visits this weekend to Linfield College and Pacific University. Melody thinks she is leaning towards one over the other, but we’re waiting to see the entire financial aid package. Where I see God’s provision is in the merit scholarships they have given her that equal about half of the 25k – 27k/year for the 4 years. So, we’re kind of humbled and awed by that. And she’s worked really hard for that; it was more than we expected, exceeded what we could have imagined for her. So, hallelujah!
Pastor Brett – Praise God! Amen.
Kevin – I’m with Laura. The part of the visit that was amazing for me is that Melody is really trying to find a place that she fits, that feels right, that feels like home and feels like she’ll get to learn what she is really passionate about. So, Laura and Melody were somewhere down the other end of this really big room, we were in a library and this gal that I asked – Where’s the restroom? Wanders by and says – Well, what did you think of all that? I said – Well, I think that it’s great and my daughter might like it here, but I would really like my daughter to be able to talk to someone who went through the creative writing course here. She said – Well, I have. So, around 30 seconds later, Melody and Laura come wandering up. Melody and this recent grad just lit up the hall. They were talking writer-speak. Melody’s animated; you know how shy she is, right? And she’s like all bubbling at this gal, her name was Payton, and said – What’s your name? She looks at her name tag and says – Oh, I’m your admissions advisor. So there was definitely something happening…. and Melody felt very comfortable about the whole place after that and still does. I defer to my spouse, but it could be a really good thing. Yes.
Kristin – So, a lot of you know that I retired from hairdressing and now I’m in insurance. One of our customers, a farm client, during one of our storms last week; they had just finished building a new addition to their house and they also bought a new motor home. The motor home was sitting next to the new addition to the house and an old tree was right behind them. So, during the storms she said – I was up half the night praying, praying, praying that the tree wouldn’t come down. Now, they did move the motor home slightly, but they were limited to where they could move it. I kid you not, in the morning she sent me a picture; the tree went down right in between the house and the motor home and just barely did a little bit of damage to either. So, there you go, He heard her.
Pastor Brett – Wow, Amen.
Dave – Sally and I returned from New York earlier this week and we were there for our son, Scott, running the marathon and his girlfriend, Mari. We spent 4 days there and we all know how hard the pandemic has been on the whole country; New York has been hit as hard as any city in the world. I’m here to tell you that New York is back, the energy is back, the vibe is back; restaurants are filled the people are excited, the energy is great. So, if you’ve never experienced a marathon in New York City and you happen to be in the city at that time, please go because it’s a million people lining the streets, music playing on every block and the energy is infectious, it’s incredible cheering every step of the way. Mari loved it, she just danced like a little gazelle, it’s her first trip to New York. But what I’m here to tell you is that New York gets a bad rap also for people keeping their heads down and not wanting to connect with you at all. And sure, if you are in the subway or walking down 5th avenue, that’s true, but we experienced just the opposite. Scott has been there for 7 years now and what he said was – Mom & Dad, what people don’t understand is that life is hard in New York when you live there you just have to keep fighting every day. When you need something, they are there for you, that’s how he experienced 9/11. We experienced this every step of the way, people were so loving and gracious. The final story was related to me. We were on the subway returning back from the end of the marathon; Scott & Mari are exhausted and we are going back into Brooklyn. We had a stop and we were supposed to get off and catch another line; I’m lollygagging just looking around, the subway stops and we get up and move to the door. Scott & Mari get out, but the door closes on me before I can get out. So, I’m in the subway and they’re out; we’re just looking and waving at each other and I don’t know what to do. I’m trying to get off at the next stop and Scott is trying to text me. The story continues as I get off at the next stop, but nobody is there, not a soul is there and I’m looking around to see where I should go. I see stairs and go up the stairs. I go up to the top of the stairs on the platform and I hear Scott on the phone – Dad you need to..… As he said this, a lady spun around and said – What do you need? How can I help you? And two seconds later a couple comes up the stairs and asks – How can we help you? What’s going on? What do you need? So, they told me where to go to get the correct line… So, New York lives and it’s lovely!
Pastor Brett – Amen. That could have been a parable, Dave. The parable of the Good Samaritan, I mean New Yorker.
Merry Goldthorpe – I was able to get 3 people in to see a dentist with absolutely stunning results. It is so generous of all the people involved in giving their time to show God’s Love.
Pastor Brett – Amen. Thank you, Merry. That’s a wonderful God Sighting.
