HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Christ Community Church!!

today marks the 5th year anniversary of our church: Christ Community Church. it was a great Sunday of realizing and celebrating all of the amazing things that God has done in us and among us as a church. (even though sandi and i have only been a part of this church for 4.5 months, the friendships we've made have a depth that surpasses those of normal introductory friendships)

through an excellent slide presentation, and CB's message detailing God's hand in bringing about the beginning of Christ Community Church, sandi and i were able to get an even clearer picture of the birth of our church, and how God honored and blessed (and continues to bless) the faithfull obedience of CB and Shannon (our pastor and his wife) and the handfull of other families that made the move to Reading in order to plant a church here.

after the service we got to be part of an annual church picture, and then enjoy some lunch together. just after sandi and i got our sandwhiches we we started talking to Dawn. (Dawn has quickly become a wonderful friend to sandi and me, and had us over to her home for an incredible meal one evening a few weeks ago) one of the things Dawn mentioned was how wonderfully God weaves together the plans and actions of complete strangers in order to care for them ALL.

isn't it so kind of God to have prompted CB and Shanon to plant a church in 2001 that would end up being 6 minutes away from where sandi and i would live in 2006? who but God could have known that sandi and i would have matched at The Reading Hospital in March 2006, be married in June 2006, and be living in Reading, PA. in July 2006? surely not i! if you asked me in October of 2004 where i would be in two years i would definitely NOT have said, "READING PENNSYLVANIA!" but God knew all along. and he not only knew, but he took kind and gracious measures to provide for us in so many amazing ways. and we thank him for being so loving and good to us...though we do not deserve his love or goodness at all. God has been so kind and so gracious to us in MANY ways. providing us with such a wonderful church is only one of the many.

i hope and pray that you would see the many ways that God has been good to you. and that you would let those "many ways" affect the way you think about God...and ultimately how you respond to him moment by moment. thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!!=)