More Than a Building

Blessings abound this Holy Week! Just a little over five years ago our small mission church began worshiping in shared space in the beautiful chapel of a local funeral home. We developed a wonderful relationship with the staff there as we came together every Sunday morning for more than 250 services. Life was good, but it wasn't our own space. As a congregation we dreamed big and prayed for that day, somewhere in the indeterminable future, when we might have a space to call our own. In the meantime, the church went about being God's faithful people; supporting missions, gathering for study, growing together in faith and praying as a body of Christ. We planned too: the church purchased (and paid for) a building lot when it came available, always looking to the future. But, as we all know, even the best laid plans are nothing compared to God's master plan! Just one year ago we met, and ultimately called, our first full time pastor; a young and energetic shepherd to guide the flock. We rejoiced in this blessing and carried on. Just six weeks ago yesterday our congregation learned of a church building for sale. By God's grace another scenario was presented, a divine plan; the church keys were handed over on Tuesday and at 7:00 last evening Grace Lutheran Church came together to hold a worship service of dedication, for a church building to call our own! As our pastor reminded us in the sermon, church is more than a building; yes, that's so true. We have been a church all of this time without one; but, how much more can we do as God's church with a space in a thriving community to call our own? We haven't yet even scratched the surface of ways and opportunities that exist to let our light shine as a church, giving all glory and thanks to Him! You may remember the hand and finger rhyming game we played with our children when they were small: "here is the church and here is the steeple, open the doors and where are all the people?" Last night we know where the people were: they were gathered in the NEW Grace Lutheran Church, giving thanks that God's plan is greater than we could ever hope! There's a sign that's posted over the sanctuary doors where one enters from the fellowship hall: "Make No Small Plans", it reads; no small plans indeed!

God's blessings continue as we move forward into a space to call our own, into a church that's SO MUCH MORE than a building! We move forward in faith. Oh, and that piece of land that the church purchased to build a "someday" church? It was offered up for sale and went under contract on Monday! God's grace. Welcome home, Grace Lutheran, "....open the doors and there's all the people", welcome home; thanks be to God!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,

 plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

-Jeremiah 29:11

Life is Good!

 

As Time Flies By...

It seems like I just indulged in this all-too-wonderful annual treat; the limited- time-only peppermint chocolate chip milkshake! Speaking of limits, that's exactly what I put on myself when it comes to this splurge-- ONE A YEAR. Well, it might seem like I just indulged in one but it's been a year already. Oh, my! And as if I needed further proof that time is flying and leaving me in its dust, take a look at my Chick-Fil-A dining companion this week.
Spaces are rapidly filling that smile where teeth used to be, the tooth fairy's been busy at her house and there's another very wiggly one ready to join the others on the outside! She's growing up at warp speed!

In an effort to get this beauty on the table by Christmas and stay true to the Triple-C (Carpenter's as in "wheel" Christmas Challenge) that I dared to accept, this has been loaded on Snowbird and quilting has begun.  

This is the backing on "Triple C", and old, old Michael Miller print that's been shelved for "something special"! As quickly as it's flying I decided that its time has come; if not now-- when?!!

The Chrismon tree is up and in the foyer. Once again-- didn't I just do this, like, a week ago? 🤣

And yet, with all the hubub; when I went up upstairs into our converted attic space, where I keep my huge roll of batting and set to work, on my hands and knees cutting a piece, I looked up to see this in front of me. 💗 He turned fifteen in August, our precious buddy and constant companion. He's still healthy albeit hard of hearing and with some vision loss from a cataract; his lifespan is measured by an altogether different scale. I took a deep breath. Yes, I'm aware that time is flying, but that's my time; God's time and timing is always perfect. I can relax. Sure, there's a ton to do during this season of preparation, that's obvious; however, I'm grateful that I can reflect on what's right here around me and count my blessings one at a time! After all, what are we rushing around and preparing for this time of year for anyway?  Let's slow down and make room for Him. 

Time does seemingly fly by, but only once, 

don't miss it, not even a second!

Life is Good!

up next: "Behind the Scenes"

Hope and Promise

The first bloom of the season in our yard ~ a sure sign of hope and promise for days to come.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."  - Ecclesiates 3:1

Life is Good!

From My Heart

There is someting on my mind today, something I want to bring forth to you from my heart. I've shared a lot here over the last (almost) ten years: the courtship and eventual wedding of our youngest, the births of our grandchildren, illnesses, injuries, crises, childhood memories, family, home improvements, travel journals, the adventures of Hannes, celebrations, nature, victories, failures, books, movies, friends and faith to name a few; oh, and quilts... so many quilts! If you think that this post is going to be more of the same, you would be wrong. Today I am going to share something new, something that is deeply personal, the subject of which is likely to appear in upcoming posts and I want you to hear the back-story here first and not be confused. When I was growing up my mother taught me never to discuss two subjects in mixed company: politics and religion. I have never touched either one of those here, until today; and it won't be politics!

Our family has been a member of the same church since 1975. My husband even longer, he was a member as a child, in the mid 1960's. We moved away for job relocations and returned, as he had when he was a boy, always to the same church. Our children grew up there; were baptized, confirmed, married and their babies were baptized there... at the same font where their parents were welcomed into God's family. Our friends are there, relationships developed over decades of raising children together, fellowship activities and serving God on a myriad of committees together. We have strong relationships with our Pastors there, and the staff. And yet, given all of that, I felt strongly this past summer that God was calling me away from that place. It is hard to write, even now, how painful that realization was. I rationalized, I bargained, I struggled, I cried, I even tried to ignore God's nudge. It was impossible. My husband felt the same calling, his response was the same. We prayed; separately, and together, for clear discernment. What is this type of discernment we prayed for, you might ask. Well, one of the best definitions of it, in the Biblical sense, is found here:

From Grace To You by John MacArthur:

The key to living an uncompromising life lies in one's ability to exercise discernment in every area of his or her life. For example, failure to distinguish between truth and error leaves the Christian subject to all manner of false teaching. False teaching then leads to an unbiblical mindset, which results in unfruitful and disobedient living-a certain recipe for compromise. 

Unfortunately, discernment is an area where most Christians stumble. They exhibit little ability to measure the things they are taught against the infallible standard of God's Word, and they unwittingly engage in all kinds of unbiblical decision-making and behavior. In short, they are not armed to take a decidedly biblical stand against the onslaught of unbiblical thinking and attitudes that face them throughout their day.

Discernment intersects the Christian life at every point. And God's Word provides us with the needed discernment about every issue of life. According to Peter, God "has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). You see, it is through the "true knowledge of Him," that we have been given everything we need to live a Christian life in this fallen world. And how else do we have true knowledge of God but through the pages of His Word, the Bible? In fact, Peter goes on to say that such knowledge comes through God's granting "to us His precious and magnificent promises" (2 Peter 1:4).

I don't believe it was a coincidence that my husband and I felt led away at the same time. There are no coinidences with God. And yet, at the time, I didn't recognize that. After counsel with church leaders, crying gallons of tears and feeling as though we were being physically torn in two, we did leave our beloved church. "What now, God? This is scary!"

Through God's grace a new mission church has begun. It's not been easy, but God has been there directing every step; support has been supplied generously at each turn. Tomorrow will be the fourth scheduled worship service. We are in a temporary location right now and have had our share of hiccups along the way. At the inaugural worship service the organ decided to die near the conclusion of the first hymn. And yet, God's faithful people rose and sang, unaccompanied. On the second Sunday it began snowing about an hour before worship began. And yet, God's faithful people came. Last Sunday the service had to be cancelled due to snow and icy road conditions. And yet, God's people move forward; with His help and guidance, He is there with us in the Sunday School program and at Women's Bible Study. I share all of this with you today because I feel led to do so. This blog chronicles my life and faith and represents who Mrs. Goodneedle is, this new chapter is simply just too big, too good, not to share! Has the road thus far been easy? Absolutely not. From a personal standpoint, I still grieve the loss of what was, as does my husband. Has this move been worth the pain? Yes!, there is nothing but joy and excitement in our hearts and souls over what is!  God has richly blessed this new mission church. There is no doubt in my mind that stepping out in faith was exactly the right thing to do at this time. God had already chosen the path. Please join us in prayer for the future of Grace Lutheran Church. We give thanks for all that He has done and all that is to come.

Life is Good!

Time

 I believe that "time" might be the word I hear most right now:  "I don't have time, I'm running out of time, where has the time gone?"... you've heard it too. This clock hangs on the wall in my sewing room, it's a replica of a Swiss railroad clock, a souvenir of our days living in Geneva years ago.  As you might imagine, being that it is a Swiss timepiece, it keeps perfect time. During this Advent period, the weeks of preparation and waiting before Christmas, how do you mark time? Rather than get out all the decorations at once we prefer to stretch it out and focus on one item at a time: the window candles one day, the tree on another, tomorrow I will be hanging our garlands. This morning our grandson helped me to put out our cherished nativity. Together we unwrapped each figure and Gregory identified it and placed it in the stable; he was deliberate in his actions to see that every figure and animal were securely under the roof, even as it became more and more crowded. "Why?" I asked. "Because it can rain in Bethlehem" was his simple and logical response. We couldn't fit the camel underneath, but being covered with a towel satisfied his desire to keep everyone dry and comfortable..."just in case it rains"! I doubt that I will ever forget the sweet time spent together with Gregory this morning when I place this nativity scene in the years to come. How are you spending your time in preparation? Even though time seemingly flies, try and make the time to slow down and really examine the gifts that surround you today; I guarantee it may just be the best time you'll spend in these hurried and hectic days of preparation. This is the time that God has given to us: gifted time; more perfect than any Swiss clock could ever measure!

Life is Good!

Goodbye, Summer!

Today, as I sit here wearing a pair of white slacks for the last time this season, I am thinking about how quickly the summer has sped by and stare in disbelief at a newly turned calendar page... how on earth can it be September already?  Back in April, when my parents were visiting here, they bought us a small Black-Eyed Susan plantling... I remember the anticipation associated with its potential blooming as I set it into the garden. Well, that little plant took off and grew and bloomed with complete and glorious abandon; it didn't happen overnight but slowly, one day at a time, it got bigger and brighter and better! This plant turned out to be so much more beautiful and vibrant than I had even dared to hope; that's the same way I feel about this summer's passing. Let's face it, all time seems to speed by at breakneck velocity the older we get, but these last few months have been filled with happy days and priceless moments that defined my summer of 2014 as one even better than I had ever dreamed possible! Labor Day has always represented a major shift in my mind; either it was the end of summer for me and a new school year or it was that for our children when they were still at home. New schedules for fall, new classes, and the end of lazy, summer days used to bring a certain and distinct sadness to my heart and mind.

This is a photograph of my own daughter in 1981 on her first day of Kindergarten, looking at it, even today, still brings a lump to my throat.  My own children returning to school was always a bittersweet day for me when they were growing up, I wasn't a Mom who looked forward to summer's end, not one bit. Tomorrow my oldest grandson will sit in a Kindergarten classroom and this little girl, now the mother, will experience those same emotions that I felt back on this day 33 short years ago. Change happens, it's inevitable, but it happens ever so gradually, every single day! There are those markers that signal the transitions in a BIG way... like Labor Day screaming "summer's end" in our faces, or the first day of a new school year, but also happening at the same time, almost invisibly, are those quiet, daily, transitions as each hour and day slide one into the next. All of a sudden I've become acutely aware of time's passing as I stand, looking back at a string of yesterdays and realizing how precious every day, month and season has been... and how, just like that multi-bloomed Black-Eyed Susan demonstrated to me, they slowly combine and evolve to produce memories of days-gone-by that are so much more wonderful than I had ever even hoped that they would turn out to be!

Embrace today, change will occur tomorrow... it might be a big one or you may barely even notice it, but it will happen. This evening I'll hang my white slacks back in the closet one last time, it's my way of telling summer good-bye. I'm not sad anymore, though, today I am grateful. Why? Because today, on this last "official" day of summer, I find myself looking forward eagerly; ahead of me are a string of tomorrows that each hold the promise of something so much better than I can even imagine, or dare to hope.

Happy Labor Day... it's all good!

Life is Good!

In Due Time...

God's timimg is always perfect, sometimes that is hard for us to understand.   There's a field full of Iris near where I live, it is somewhat of a local landmark. Each year when the field is in full bloom the owner (now 92) and her daughters open the gates and invite the public in to walk the rows, enjoy the beauty, and buy a plant or two.  This year the gardens, and spring itself, seems to be a few weeks behind schedule by our calculations; of course, God has his own clock!  Yesterday Mr. Goodneedle and I stopped by to pick up some plants for our daughter's garden in the Capital City. We weren't disappointed by the color and variety we'd not so patiently waited for!

To every thing there is a season, 
and a time to every purpose under the heaven... Ecclesiates 3:1

The garden's owner still spends the day among her flowers, pulling weeds, taking her time and reveling in God's glory. She doesn't dig plants for customers anymore, she's left that task to her daughters; she uses a golfcart to get around now but she was there, in the Iris garden, enjoying every minute in her favorite place on earth! 

At long last all the pieces are together for the church quilts I have been working on, yesterday I was able to lay one out in its entirety  for inspection. There are two identical versions of this same quilt, one for them to keep and one for them to raffle. There's a workshop tomorrow at the church, I'll meet with their committee to facilitate assembly and pass off all the components, plus the batting and backing for hand quilting by them. It is my sincere hope that the good people of Bailey's Chapel feel that their wait (with my part of the project) has been worth it.

Everything in due time! 

Life is Good!