Hunting and Painting

I forget to mention last week that Friday November 9th was the opening day of deer hunting season, which runs through Thanksgiving weekend. The fact that schools around the state were closed Friday (even though the season didn't officially begin until noon) speaks volumes about the popularity of hunting around here. Some in our congregation had more luck than others in filling their tags (the license you buy for a doe or buck).

Harmony and I spent most of Monday painting our living room and upstairs hallways a shade of yellow. We might actually have chosen one shade darker than we wanted but it looks quite good, if I may say so myself. This is something we had talked about doing even before arriving and had even purchased the paint a couple months ago but I had been dragging my feet. We are planning on painting the bathrooms a shade of blue but may take a little bit of a break before starting that endeavor! If I remember, I'll put up a photo of our new look living room.

This past week was pretty busy as we helped out with the Child Evangelism "Kid's Club" at the school on Wednesday (had 40-50 kids show up!). On Thursday I had a "Healthy Church" meeting with other local EFCA pastors in Dickinson. We discussed Sunday School curriculum, ways to get to know people in your community and Mott winning the nine-man football championship (one of the pastors is from there and Underwood's only regular season loss was to Mott). Sunday evening was our monthly elder meeting in which we meet to pray for the congregation and talk about how we can lead them better. In addition we invited the deacons to join us to discuss next year's budget. I really appreciate the work the elders and deacons do for the church and especially listening to the way they pray is refreshing and encouraging.

The sermon this week was on 1 Peter 4:12-19 and entitled "Christian Pain Yields Joy." If you'd like to hear about how God uses the suffering in the lives of believers to bring about joy in their lives, click here. This was also the week I gave a talk on Charles Haddon Spurgeon during the adult Sunday School. Given the topic of suffering we've seen over and over again recently in our series through 1 Peter, it was neat to study a man who endure so much but remained so faithful to the Lord, including his committment to prayer. If you'd like to learn more about "The Prince of Preachers," check out the biography I have listed in the book section. Please pray for both Harmony and I to grow in our boldness and courage in sharing the Gospel.

By God's Grace, Jeff.