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Just rolled in from a meeting and some awesome Cajun crab dip….another incredible day!

• The air conditioning was back on today! Hallelujah! It’s working, but it’s not totally fixed. That may be mega-bucks! Pray for our air conditioner!
• Today one of the children who came to our VBS was in worship with her mom. She asked, “when does the movie start?“
• Today’s message was on Jesus coming to the disciples during the storm and calling Peter out of the boat, from Matthew 14:22-33.
• I’ve always understood this event in terms of personal application–Jesus needs to get in the boat with us, Jesus calms the storms of our lives, etc.
• But today we looked at a corporate application of the story: the boat = the church
• Jesus sent the disciples over to “the other side”–the Gentile side, those who were far from God.
• They got so disoriented by the storm that they didn’t make it to where Jesus directed them to go.
• What about those who are on “the other side” for us? Are the storms–fear, people’s opinions, etc.–keeping us from reaching “the other side”?
• Are we letting the storm keep us from going where Jesus called us to go?
• Did you ever notice that the whole “Get out of the boat” conversation between Peter and Jesus all happened while the storm was still raging around them?
• Just having Jesus there with them was not enough to calm the storm. It calmed the disciples, but not the storm.
• It took a word from Jesus to calm the storm.
• Are we content merely having Jesus with us? Or do we want a word from Him to calm the storm around us?  Do we want His Presence or His Power?
• This afternoon we had our third Dreaming Again session. We spent some time exploring how we connect with God through Worship.  We discussed some really great, creative ideas. I love the synergy of these meetings.
• Several of our people began talking about the shift from an institutional mindset to a missional mindset that is taking place in our church. They want us to have an all-church forum to share with others what we have been talking about.
• We’re working a defining our missional mandate. Here’s the draft we are considering: Leading everyday people to know Christ, love others, and serve the world.
• Our Pack-to-School project continues to gain momentum. We are almost at our goal of putting a backpack with school supplies into the hands of every student at Cradock Middle School when school opens in three weeks!
• Yesterday I was in a meeting that I can categorize no other way than Providential. Incredible, God-sized stuff!  Watch for a big announcement later this week.
• I’m heading over to Richmond tomorrow for a meeting with some ministry leaders, so I’ve gotta hit the road early. I’m going to call it a night!