Across the Street, Across the Sea

....that was the theme for our annual missions awareness weekend at church this past weekend. Wow, we were privileged to have great people come to our church and participate in worship and learning of God's Word.

Bill Bagley was our main speaker and is full of energy and PASSION for Jesus and especially to see all groups of people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He encouraged and challenged us to not just walk the talk, but throw some words in there too so that other people who are watching us will know why we do what we do. There are souls that need rescued. My favorite illustration from the weekend was about the jet that went down in the Hudson river after being hit by a flock of geese. ALL staff and people riding on that plane were rescued, which was incredible, BUT are we as concerned about those who need rescued from hell!! I think I become too complacent and mind my own business. The challenge is that my business is for lost souls and I need to get busy.

We also had a great workshop Sunday morning in Sunday school with Jeff Schwartzentraub from One Heartbeat Ministries, right here in Peoria. Jeff is young, and also full of energy and passionate about leading others to Christ. He gave us a great visual and tool for learning how to start conversations with others. We practiced with our own friends in Sunday School and found out all kinds of things that we didn't know about them in just 15 minutes. It was incredible and a tool I will use and use and use, even tho I usually don't have any trouble talking to people.

It was great to have Dave and Darlene Noden there as well, who have been our missionaries for 42 years !!!! and they are still busy and being used by God in a marvelous way.

So, across the street, or across the sea, how can you and I get busy building relationships and giving others the good news about Jesus?? I now have lots of good ideas...if you need some let me know. Love, Kim

September has been great!!

We have had such a good month. We had a big birthday party for Joe, Nicole, and Justin. Oh, to be 20 something again. They are at such a great time in their lives and I don't think they realize that----until they turn 40 something!!! It was nice to have Justin home this year for his birthday. David and I have so enjoyed watching our Nicole thru the years. She is beautiful, not just saying that because she is our daughter, and I am sure we are biased, but she is beautiful and tries really hard to always look good. Must have got that from her Dad, not me. We are also enjoying seeing the boys come to Sunday School and be great daddy's for their little girls. We feel so blessed.

We all have been looking forward to the Marigold Festival. This year our dear friends, Doug and Brenda Keasal, came to stay with us for the weekend of the festival. It was so fun having them. (What is it about having friends come that causes a great cleaning motivation! Oh, if I could just get that feeling once a week, I could get so much more done around here.) Their first request was to eat at Avanti's, everyone who leaves the area, always wants to eat there as soon as they get back. Brenda took dressing home from there. Then they ate at Fairview Chicken Farm, another fav on the map!! The festival was a beautiful day, starting with the parade, and then art in the park. About every few feet we ran into people I knew, they knew, we all knew, that is fun....then the Keasals got free strawberry/lemonade drinks from Boerger's booth! Yum, those were good (did you happen to taste their chips this year?? Yum, again) We walked and walked until Doug was about walked out. Then, on Saturday night we had planned an open house for all their friends to come and visit. I had made desserts ahead of time and lots of people came. A legacy of a youth group, they had left behind and many of those kids--now adults came, they were glad to see each other and their former youth pastor and wife. I was reminded how we plant seeds in people lives and sometimes don't even know we are doing that.
I pleaded with Doug and Brenda to sing at church, which they willingly did. How beautiful, with the added bonus of Doug singing and playing with the praise team. We ended our weekend at the Brian Regan comedy show at the Peoria Civic Center and shakes at Steak n Shake on the River. What a good time.
It seems kind of boring around here now...but life has a way of picking up just when you think there is nothing to do. As I have mentioned before, who knows what is just around the corner. Love, Kim