But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask. – James 1:5

Sunday turned out to be a busy day, with enough adventure material to cover at least three posts. Instead, though, I’ll summarize and share a few photos.

At Church, Rebekah picked up her series on “The Fruit of the Spirit,” and today’s message focused on patience. I always enjoy and appreciate Rebekah’s preaching, but yesterday’s message was especially powerful. I’ll share one key point she made that has completely refocused my thinking on the subject.

She said we tend to think of patience in terms of “waiting for” something. But – instead – she offered the brilliant observation that patience is about waiting “in” God, “waiting “with” God. Patience is something we experience when we invite God into the process; it’s a word loaded with expectation, anticipation, and hope.

You can join hundreds of other people and listen to the message (and sing along with a couple of songs) via the live-stream link. Out technology still isn’t all that sophisticated, but you can get the message if you listen carefully. Here it is – “Patience” by Rebekah Maul at WFPC.

Then, during traditional worship at 11:15, there was a beautiful baptism, where John and Rebekah baptized two children in one family. It was one of those joy-saturated experiences where everyone in the sanctuary is smiling, and at least half are crying at the same time.

Rebekah’s interpretation of “sprinkle” is much closer to the definition of “pour,” and I love to see the expression on faces when they realize just how wet they are getting!

Then, in the afternoon – because being part of a community of disciples is as much about doing as being – I enjoyed the privilege of being part of a team bringing food to some of our hungry neighbors in downtown Raleigh. It’s a huge undertaking, carefully planned and meticulously choreographed in every detail. The result of all the work and organization is an exceptionally good, restaurant quality meal for our guests, along with clothing, food bags to go, and other desperately needed supplies.

My job was to share a welcome, a devotional, and a blessing, to assist our guests, and to visit with as many as possible during the meal. Lots of listening, lots of amazing stories, lots to learn from one another.

I will likely take the opportunity to reflect more deeply on this in a later post. But for now, another beautiful Monday morning here in Wake Forest, I’ll just share a few pictures.

Peace, love, blessings, and joy to all. Living in gratitude – DEREK

WFPC volunteers….

downtown Raleigh