I'm reminded..
In awe of what God did through Touched Twice! In what I've heard is the biggest Touched Twice event in it's history, God showed up! There were 10 professions of faith and countless other acts of service, prayer, and love. I'm so thankful for First Baptist Church and all they do to make this event AWESOME. And I'm thankful for a group of leaders who brought this idea back to Shelbyville 15 years ago! You're changing Shelbyville, and you're growing God's kingdom one person at a time!
I'm reminded that God has graciously allowed us to serve in the midst of great churches and great people!
Sometimes it's the small prayers that remind me how much God cares! We prayed all week that the Lord would hold off the rain until after Love Shelbyville, and it didn't ever look like that was going to happen. But I haven't talked to a group yet who was impacted by rain! In the grand scheme of things, holding off rain is a small prayer. It's encouraging to serve the Lord when you know he's right in the middle of it all!
I'm reminded big time that God really cares!
Randy reminded me of what matters most. Our good friend Randy and I had a conversation yesterday afternoon on the telephone. If you don't know Randy, he's a walking encyclopedia on Kentucky basketball. I asked him about his plans to watch the game later that day and he told me he planned to watch before adding this: "But you know that ain't what matters most Blake. What matters is that people hear about and meet Jesus. We gotta tell people about Jesus and get them saved!"
Amen, Randy. We love you, man. Thanks for reminding me what matters most!
The power of an invitation. An email newsletter I subscribe to linked to an article on a super practical side of relationships: hosting, being invited to events, and how to manage social commitments. I was skeptical of a cheesy how-to, but clicked through anyway. It surprised me, helped me, and reminded me both of the power of an invitation as well as the need to honor commitments. Here's a snippet before a link to the article:
"Can we take a moment to talk about how wonderful it is to be wanted? To be deemed socially desirable and worthy of a social invitation? The antithesis of that—social ostracism—triggers the same regions of the brain as physical pain, which is why some people fear it more than death. We are hardwired to want to be included, so why reject the opportunties when they arise?"
