Tonight's Blog for May 17, 2013

It might be that we will laugh someday, in Heaven, when we see that it is much more like a picnic or a camp out
than it resembles the activities of our Sunday Morning worship and education expressions. Don't get me wrong, Revelation 4 certainly shows heaven as a place of singing, of "casting crowns," and worship, with GOD in the center and all of true followers surrounding and participating. That is just what Sunday morning is to be, and it is our goal to bring that focus, and that energy down here for as long as we are allowed to stay. Sunday Morning worship and education is still our highest priority and expression of our commitment to Christ. 

What I meant about the picnic thing is this, when we have the chance to see both together, as we are this Sunday morning, we get to compare the amount of preparation, energy and purpose of each activity. Both worship time and picnic activities are seen as outreach events. By that I mean that they are open to others, with our goal to reach out to folks, and to reach up to GOD as we worship Him with our bodies, our hands, our feet, our voices, our smiles, and all of our presence. The building is the focus, and sometimes is the limit of our normal weekly worship and education times. 

While most of our Sunday Morning activities find their focus inside the building or at least in the parking lot area, the picnic will expand to fill our full ten acres. I see a scavenger hunt for children, and a different scavenger hunt for prayer walk participants. I see chalk art filling all 50 squares of our sidewalk and under the "car port". We will have volleyball games, softball games, kickball games, to keep the focus on fun. When you add to that food (there will be food in heaven, right?) and side dishes, chips, cookies, and assorted treats, then you will know that we will all find ways to enjoy ourselves and to entertain our guests. 

Because we haven't had the chance to talk much, we haven't told folks to bring jackets, lawn chairs, or that we didn't plan a rain out time, so we will learn as we go. So, you have now been told to bring your jackets, and lawn chairs if you wish. You can also bring your game equipment like gloves or kickballs or volleyballs or yard games you enjoy. That is what a picnic is, and maybe, if we are lucky, that is more what heaven is like. GOD Bless you tonight, big marv