Why i...LOVE Lifepoint Church!

I've commented in several of my posts about the church we've visited, Lifepoint, for the last 6 weeks. It is certainly unlike any other church that we've attended and I've been to quite a few in my near 49 years. But, right now, at this point in my life, I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is where God wants me to be. I once again look forward to Sunday mornings and no longer look for excuses for why I can't attend church. The odd thing is that I loved our other church and our pastor. It was NOT the church that was the problem, it was me. For some reason, my spirit wasn't being fed. I can only imagine (Wow, that is one of my favorite songs!) that God wanted me to serve elsewhere.I knew this church was special because my precious friend and boss, Tracy, attended for the first time last Easter and now attends faithfully with her family. She wasn't raised in the church and I remember her telling me years ago that she didn't even own a bible. I was so blessed as God led me to pick out a bible for her and give it to her as a gift. Until the last year or so, I was the one who always talked to her about my faith. However, after she started attending Lifepoint she would talk about Brother Joe and Sunday's message every Monday morning at work. I began to look forward to hearing her tell about the message she heard the day before. I have been a Christian for a very long time, a "born again believer" since 8th grade and was baptized as a senior in high school. I attended church the majority of my childhood and nearly all of my adult life. Through Tracy I saw God working in her life. I witnessed her growing in her spiritual walk as I felt stagnant. When she told me about the first message in Brother Joe's new series called "Why i..." I knew that I had to check out this church. I talked to my husband and he said let's go! That message was "Why i laugh". The next message was "Why i doubt" (our first Sunday) which was followed by messages on trust, giving, prayer, play & serving. Each week after the message and often during the week, my husband and I discussed different points in Brother Joe's message and how we thought it was interesting that though we both were long time Christians we'd never looked at things quite that way. All of the messages have been FANTASTIC and inspiring but I believe today's message, "Why i serve", was my favorite. I didn't want today's service to end. We sang "The Heart of Worship" which is one of my favorite Contemporary Christian songs which made it even more special.

So, now that I've explained in great detail how passionate I feel about the last 6 weeks, I decided this afternoon to create a small token of appreciation for Brother Joe. I had some letters that I bought to work on the letter challenge that Sandy started several weeks ago. Several weeks ago I bought two letters, "W" and "K" for Wayne and Kim. However, after church today, still on the spiritual high from today's message, I decided to use the "W" to create my gift for Brother Joe. (Wayne, I'll have to purchase another "W" for your letter sweetie!) "W" is for "Why i . . . ". For my fellow artists and crafters, I painted the letter with black acrylic paint then used Mod Podge to secure the words. I wanted to incorporate something Brother Joe said in the service today but wasn't sure how to do it until I was finished with the letter. One of the bible verses we studied today was Acts 15:19, "It is in my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God." Brother Joe said he wanted to put that verse on his wall to remind him that we need to stay focused on making our church a place for everyone, not just "church people". I LOVED that and decided to make a "tag" with the verse hanging from the letter so it was not overlooked. Anyway, I will give it to Brother Joe at our Financial Peace class on Tuesday evening. I know this is a long post with more words that pictures, but this is my heart. Thank you, Sandy, for being part of this by issuing the creative letter challenge. Thank you, Tracy, for inviting me to this awesome church. Thank you, Brother Joe, for your love for the Lord and your inspiring messages. I can't wait until Easter Sunday for your new series, "Thread". If any of you are looking for a church home, please visit Lifepoint. You can check it out on the web at http://www.lifepointworship.com/ . Hugs to all and God Bless ~ Kim