The Worship Marathon

I didn't run this morning since my running partner is out of town, but I did lead worship which is usually a marathon in itself. It was my first Sunday back after vacation which usually means I hear about everything that went wrong while I was gone. But today was rather mild. I preached a really good sermon based on Matthew 10 which is not an easy text to preach from. It was also the first Sunday back for the three who had gone on a mission trip to the Gulf to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina and they were full of stories and that degree of gratitude that usually only comes when you realize God has used you to make a difference in someone's life. In addition to that, I was able to tell someone whose water had been turned off that the church was willing to pay the full amount needed to turn her water back on. I was really impressed because those helping didn't even know who she was, yet they were willing to help. All of this takes me back to my goal for the church, made at the beginning of the year. I wanted to help the church view itself as more than just a worshiping community, but also as a community blessed by God to change the world. And I see this happening. It is such an honor to guide these people, and to be refreshed in order to see the vision of where we are going together. Vacation helped give me some perspective on everything. Running is also helpful to me to clear out the stress. Tomorrow I won't be pounding the pavement again (my neighbor is still out) but I may go for a swim and I'll definitely stretch. I'm amazed that even the muscles in my belly and back are sore! I expected my feet muscles and leg muscles, but not my neck muscles and muscles that I didn't even know I had! I'm actually excited about going again!