communion

This time of year makes it very hard to attend church on a regular basis. I'm often coaching on Sundays or home for family get togethers. I was finally back at KCC this morning . . . albeit by myself again. I don't like going to church by myself, but it has become the norm. I'm hoping that Karen & I will enjoy attending the same church some day, but we'll see.

Anywho, today was communion Sunday. I grew up in a church that did not participate in any formal church rituals like water baptism or communion. The Friends church was originally formed to break away from the Church of England because they put too much emphasis on these things and passed over the importance of a personal relationship with Christ. I am very grateful for my upbringing at Wabash Friends. Everytime I go home I feel so loved and feel the presence of God. I love singing the old hymms and knowing that I'll always have a place there. When I went to college, I began to ask a lot of questions about communion and became very interested. I can't remember for sure, but I am almost certain I took communion for the first time at KCC. It was a terrific experience because it made Christ's sacrifice really come alive for me and became quite real. I enjoy participating in communion now. It is a great time of remembrance. It's not about doing it because we have to, but because we want to, which was the original intention.

It felt so good to be at church again this morning. We sang about the wondrous cross and how amazing God's love is and I just felt God was sitting right next to me reminding me how much He cares for and loves me. I will never get tired of that feeling and pray that I never take it for granted.

God placed a lot of thoughts in my head during the service. One was about making sure I am remembering that all I have is a gift from God. I want to be more diligent about my finances and make sure I am giving back to the Lord. Not so he will bless what I give, but because I want to honor Him in that way. The message was about praying for those in our circle who may not know the Lord. God places this thought on my heart every once in a while and I find that I will pray for them for a couple weeks then give up. I want to be diligent about that and trust that God is hearing my prayers even though he might not answer them right away.

May God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.