Another First

Happy and peaceful. Those are the two words that will forever describe Margaret to me.

I preached the first funeral ever at Midtowne Church this morning. Not my first funeral but the first one at Midtowne. It was awesome.

Now I know that saying a funeral was awesome seems a little strange but if you knew this family. you would understand. Paul told the church at Thessalonica that they should not grieve as people who have no hope and that is the message the the Hollis family held on to today and will for the weeks to come.

Margaret was a great lady. She was strong, loving, outspoken, talented, and faithful. Most of all, she loved people, her family, her church, and he God. Last Thursday night I had the awesome privilege of spending some time alone with Margaret. During our short visit we talked about her life and mostly her eternity. She clearly and confidently told me that she was not afraid at all but had peace because she knew that she had God's love through Jesus in her and that she would spend eternity in Heaven. Just two days later, God decided it was time for her to come home and she went.

Today we celebrated her life, her legacy, and her love. A love that stemmed from the love she found in God through Jesus. A love that she shared with all those around her. A love that we should all practice every day of our life.

It was the first. I'm sure it won't be the last. I pray that it will help us all find and experience God's Best for our life.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

It's a Twister!

It just skipped and bounced right through. Unbelievable damage right next to no damage at all. Minor injuries but no deaths. Homes damaged, some destroyed. Lives changed forever. Opportunities for impact now available.

"What do you need?" That's what I asked the Office of Emergency Management person Friday. They were getting things together and were not sure of any immediate needs so I left my number. They have mentioned the flooding damage in Haskell and we are in the process of assessing the needs there to see what we can do.

It is truly amazing the power of those storms. It is amazing to see the destruction and how random it is. It is amazing that God spared so many and that things were not worse than they are. We count our blessings but pray for those who are affected. I look forward to the opportunities to serve those affected by the storms and truly show them God's love in practical ways. We actually get to DO church and not just say we are a church.

It's time to invest ourselves and see the changes God will make.