Christmas Recap

Nic helping Dad preach on Christmas Eve

Awesome week of Christmas!

• Christmas Eve service was great.  Atmosphere, crowd, music, video…right on target to set the mood for Christmas Eve.  I held my 4-month old – Nic – for the main portion of the message and talked about what that first Christmas might have been like for God, the father, to release His Son, Jesus as a baby into our world.  It was a powerful illustration of God’s gift.  I praise God for the 6 individuals who accepted this gift of Jesus into their lives on Christmas Eve.
• Amazing family time this week.  Our Christmas morning was tremendous…full of great surprises…we really shocked our kids this year…lots of fun!  Then my family (parents and sister’s family) came down and stayed for a few days.  It was so much fun…lots of relaxing family time with some delicious food!
• Yesterday’s service was fun for me.  I got to listen to our student pastor, Donald Buttram speak on missions.  He gave a powerful talk challenging each of us to fulfill our role as a missionary.  The crowd was a little down due to people traveling, but not too bad!  As a bonus we were allowed to keep our equipment set-up for another week since school is out til next week.
• Sherri’s brother, Scott and his family got into town last night and are staying with us for a few days.  Today, we are heading up to Maryland for the Stem Family Christmas.
• Our youth (2 of my kids) are getting pumped about their trip from Tuesday-Thursday to Winterfest.  We have 30 going on this new year’s retreat/festival.  It will be a blast – pray for their safety.
• Looking forward to 2009…lots of great things coming in ‘09!

Quick Weekend Recap

Yesterday turned out to be a great day at church.  The weather forecast was not so great, but the rain stopped before services and we had a pretty good crowd.  So many of our families took advantage of the 2 weeks off of school and already left town, so it was nice to see a good crowd in spite of that.  The kids choir did a great job singing a few songs with the band.  Thanks to Melody for organizing and leading our kids.

I’m looking forward to our Wednesday evening Christmas Eve service at 5 pm.  We have a great 45 minute family friendly service planned.  I will be involving a lot of kids in the message and we’ll be singing a bunch of traditional  Christmas carols.   If you don’t have plans, I hope you’ll join us.  Come a few minutes early for some cookies and hot cider!

It’s going to be a busy week…but a great one!  As a family we are staying home for Christmas for the first time ever!  My family is coming here this year.  We’re excited about this change and look forward to a relaxing, non-traveling Christmas day at home.  Got some last minute running-around to do to get ready…but it’s all good!

I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas!

Weather-related Church Announcements

If there are any announcements concerning the weather and it’s relation to church services on Sunday morning…you’ll find them right here on my blog.  If things look bad Sunday morning, check here.

The current forecast looks like we are going to have a cold rain event and should be fine for this Sunday morning.

Drive carefully – we’ll see you at 10:30 am!

(Remember that there are NO CORE CLASSES at 9:30 am tomorrow and next Sunday, the 28th)

Weekend Recap…I feel full

Ever have that full feeling this time of year?  Of course you do…with all the gatherings and all the food…but beyond the great food, I feel full in other ways.

I feel full of love for God for His goodness to me personally.  What a great year of blessing in my life.  At Christmas, we get so reflective and I can’t help but feel full of love towards God for how He’s blessed me this year.  As I was speaking yesterday of how God messed up Joseph’s plans and thought about how God messed up my plans so many times…I am so thankful that God knows what is best for us.

I feel full of love for LCC.  God has blessed our church tremendously in ‘08.  It’s been our best year of growth.  We had another baptism yesterday.  We had a great attendance.  The excitement in the air is contagious.  Last night we had a large group of church leaders to our home for our annual leader’s Christmas dinner party.  It was a great time.  What an amazing group of people that God has surrounded me with.  I feel so blessed.

I feel full of love for my family.  I have an amazing wife and 4 awesome kids.  Our lives get a little crazy at times with managing 6 different schedules…but life is so good with them.  I’ve been challenged this week to live MORE in the MOMENT…and not be so focused on what’s next.  I want to enjoy each moment…each day…each day and each moment can be the GREATEST moment in our lives…I don’t want to waste a single one.

I’m looking forward to the rest of this month.  Lots of good stuff planned.  God has filled my life with good things.

Late on my blogging!

Must be the holiday season (desperate excuse)…but I forgot to do my weekend recap blog post. I’m sure you were worried

This past Sunday at LCC was one of those days that was hard to describe. We had a great attendance. It was a lively crowd. The atmosphere was very good. The fellowship was awesome. I honestly just felt a little off my game in the service. Josh and I analyze the Sunday service in great detail every Monday morning. Neither of us was pleased with our execution on Sunday. It was hard to put a finger on why…but we both just felt like it was not one of our best when it comes to the music and the message. There will be these days…and I know most pastors don’t want to admit them…but the reality is that it felt a little flat on my part Sunday. In spite of that, I know God still worked in lives. And we’re looking forward to this Sunday!

This past Sunday was also my wife’s birthday. We went out on Monday night to celebrate. We were given a gift card to Giorgio’s Restaurant in Montclair. Awesome food and great, relaxing atmosphere. If you check it out be sure to try the amazing flaming cheese appetizer. We were able to leave Nic for 2 hours with our friend Carole – thanks! It was the first time for both of us to be away from our baby. A great date night…and Nic did just fine!

I’m looking forward to this coming Sunday. We have several baptisms at the end of the service. In the evening we are hosting a Christmas party with our church leadership team…a highlight of every year. Hard to believe it’s only 15 days til Christmas!

LCC E-news for 12.4.08

This Week at LCC… GIFTABLES – The women’s ministry Christmas gathering takes place this Saturday, December 6th from 2-4 pm. It’s being hosted by my wife at our home in Dumfries. Come join the ladies of LCC for a great time this Saturday. Click here to RSVP. THROUGH THE EYES – Our Christmas message series continues this Sunday. Click here for more. KIDS CHOIR – Our Kids Choir will be performing 2 Christmas songs with the worsh ip band on Sunday, December 21st. Practices are taking place the next 2 Sundays for about 15-20 minutes after the service. This is for all preschoolers through 6th graders. Join the fun this Sunday! MEN’S BASKETBALL – The season begins mid-January. Games will be held on Saturday mornings this year. Click here for more info and to sign-up to be on the team. BAPTISM – Our last baptism opportunity of 2008 is Sunday, December 14th. Register here. CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE – Make your plans to join us on Wednesday, December 24th from 5-5:45 PM. Hope to see you all Sunday! Steve Links: LCC Website Life Groups LCC Database Steve’s Blog