Faith and Worship

There is no place I'd rather be on a Sunday morning than worshipping with my church family at Tallowood.  But with my recent surgery, and with everyone being sick at different times, and with Tommy's work travels and with our night nurse calling in sick causing me very little sleep last night, I feel like I have missed so much lately.  I am hoping and looking forward to being back next week.

Mostly I miss the time spent praising and worshipping our Lord.  But also a big part of that is the people we worship with each week.  From the pastors who bring us God's word, to our Sunday School friends, to the wonderful people who dedicate their time taking care of our children, to total strangers I've never met, these are the people who demonstrate God's love to us every day.  They lift us up when we are down and they celebrate with us at each milestone..

When John Thomas was born, we received visits from multiple pastors, church staff and church members that first day to help us celebrate the birth of our first son.  As the time passed and we began to understand a little more that his birth wasn't quite what we were expecting, the visits increased.  We received visits, calls, emails and cards encouraging us and letting us know that we were being prayed for.  We even joked that two staff members were having a contest to see who could visit us more often.  We received phone calls at home from total strangers who had seen the birth announcement in the church bulletin.  After seeing his birth weight was 3lbs 5oz, they realized that he was premature and wanted to call and offer us encouragement and advice on having a preemie as well as the use of preemie clothes they had used for their little ones.  One day, while sitting at the hospital with JT, I received a visit from a girl I had never met.  She was a doctor at the hospital and happened to have visited our Sunday School class for the first time that Sunday.  When she heard about us, she came to introduce herself.  She left all of her contact numbers and let us know that if we had any questions or if there was something we didn't understand, she would be glad to help us understand.  She came by to visit often and became a good friend.  These visits and encouraging words meant the world to us and helped us to realize that God has a special plan for JT's life. 

So even though I can't be there this morning to worship with these very special people, they are always in my heart.  I hope to be back among them next week, and I'm especially looking forward to the Christmas Eve service coming soon.  I just love singing Silent Night by candle light.  If you are in the Houston area and are looking for a place to worship, look us up.  We would love to have you and you will be glad you came.