Sundays...

Since we have been on the road full time, our Sundays feel different than before.  It has been interesting to be on "the other side" of church so to speak.  I realize some of you are just getting to know us through the blog, so let me explain a little.  For the past 6 years, Alan served as the full-time Children's Minister at First Baptist Church of Ellisville, a suburb of St. Louis.  Alan would get up early, work on his computer at home or at church and pretty much run non-stop all morning at church taking care of details, volunteers, teaching children, and sometimes baptisms and announcements.  I would get myself and the boys ready for church and try to leave by 8:50 a.m. (We were usually running out the door closer to 9 or after!  We did just live right behind the church, so it was only a 3 minute walk to get there.) I dropped the boys off to their Sunday School classrooms, and either head to the church service by myself, or fill in wherever needed as a substitute Sunday School teacher.  There were a few Sundays here and there where Alan could slip into church late and catch part of the sermon, but that was pretty rare.  During second service, I would co-teach the children's church for toddlers through pre-Kindergarten.  Then, back to church in the afternoon to get ready for AWANA, (Bible Memory Club for children).  Alan was the commander for AWANA at church as well, so his Sundays were very full...usually 12-14 hour workdays or even longer if there was a special event or summer camp.

So- I want to be clear...I am not listing all of this to brag or complain at all! That is not my intention.  Alan and I truly have enjoyed serving in church, both as paid staff, and as volunteers for many years before going into full time ministry.  I really just want to paint a picture of how different Sundays are for us now that we are on the road.

So- now on Sunday mornings, we get ready together and sometimes we even have extra time before we go! (One Sunday we got ready for church and realized we still had over an hour until the church service started! We didn't know what to do with ourselves! HA!)  After church now we actually have a nice sit down lunch together and then a relaxing afternoon. Another thing that is different is that we go to church and actually get to sit and worship TOGETHER! We LOVE it! Of course, it did take a little adjusting for our two younger sons who typically go to children's church and are not used to sitting in big church.  But- after just a few Sundays, they are doing great.  They have their bags with coloring books and they are learning to stand with us while we sing worship, and then sit quietly during the sermon time.  It is not always picture perfect, but it really has been such a sweet time for our family.
I have to admit that I did feel kind of guilty at first just going to church and not serving anywhere.  I kept feeling like I needed to go back and serve in the nursery or something! :)  I am learning that it is OK to just get some rest for awhile.  This is a season for us to refresh and fill our spiritual cups.  We really see this RV trip as a blessing and opportunity to learn and grow.  There will be a time when we will serve again.  Alan will be speaking at churches soon (starting in February!), so we are enjoying this "mini sabbatical" while we can.

We have enjoyed visiting a variety of churches on the road and meeting lots of wonderful people. We have been to small, country churches with anywhere around 50 to 100 people, a cowboy church, a church service at an RV campground, and we have gone to a couple of large churches that offer 3-6 services on the weekends with thousands of members.

While we were in San Antonio, Texas back in December, we visited Oak Hills Church where Max Lucado was preaching.  He is one of my favorite authors and I have to say that I have really been blessed by his books. God has gifted him with an incredible way with words.  I really appreciate how he shares God's message of hope for all people.  He also has some wonderful childrens' books and videos (Hermie & Friends).  One of our favorite's is The Crippled Lamb.

So-back to Sundays...
The Sunday we visited Oak Hills back in December,  Max Lucado was preaching a series about worship.  It was a great message about how God created humans to worship. Some people may worship material things, for others it may be a person or place.  God intended us to worship HIM only. It was a great reminder, especially during the Christmas season.  After the service, I wanted to get a picture of the boys by a Christmas tree in the hallway.  As we were walking towards one of the beautifully decorated trees, I noticed there was a line for people to talk with Max Lucado personally! To say I was excited would be a total understatement!!! Alan ran out to the van to grab some of his books for him to autograph. After about 20 minutes in line, it was our turn.  We introduced ourselves, and he was so friendly and really interacted with the boys well. I was glad to tell him how much his books had meant to me personally.  We gave him our copy of The Crippled Lamb for him to sign.  (By the way, the lamb in the story is named Joshua - too cool!) We asked for a picture, and he was happy to do it.  He even bent down, scooped up Joshua and held him for the picture. :)

It was so encouraging to see how kind and gracious he was to us and everyone else in line.  This man is so busy preaching for 3 services that day, and 2 services the night before, along with everything else he does, and yet he took the time to speak and encourage people who just wanted to talk to him.  It was a blessing!

Honestly, being on the road and visiting different churches... it really doesn't matter if it is a large church with a big budget for a nice building, music, and lights, or a small church with plain walls and no extras.  We have been blessed every Sunday by the fellowship, teaching, and family worship time at each church we visited. Of course we will always miss our church families in St. Louis and Texas. It was nice to see familiar faces and friends every Sunday.  We have been so incredibly blessed by our church family in Ellisville the past 6 years, and by our church family in Texas 9 years before that as well.  God has always been faithful in providing wonderful friends to love and encourage us and we are grateful for that!

Hope you all have a GREAT Sunday! 

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)