I listened to the weather report last night before going to sleep, hearing we were in store for a couple cooler days again and possible rain during the week. Not necessarily all day rains, but at some point we may need the wipers if driving. The highs are getting into mid 80's so I think we can say good-bye to the near record setting temps which ended our week last week. It is pretty grey out there right now but I see a strip of pink over the trees which may indicate the potential for sunshine at some point.
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This morning I thought of a few things from yesterday's events which brought smiles to my heart. At one point I was being introduced to a couple people from Victory whom I did not know yet. Rachel told the one women, Julia, whom I actually had already met before but did not say anything, that I have a dual-citizenship between G.S. and Victory, and am a good-will ambassador for the churches. When I thanked her for that she said I help to keep the congregations connected with each other. Awww, shucks....
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Later, Stephanie came through when I was standing in the back at the podium taking attendance. She was wearing a lovely green shell with a bright flowery cardigan over the top. As I greeted her I told Stephanie how much I liked her sweater and she said, "I wanted to compete with your bright colors!" and I made one of my loud guffaws. Then I slapped my hand over my mouth for being so loud, although, thankfully, it was still plenty noisy in there. She said, "Oh, don't worry, they are probably used to you by now...." What does THAT mean? More than once people have said they hear me before they see me, when out somewhere. Huh.
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As we were leaving the church to head over for the dinner, Justin and I were among the last out because of the choir being in the back. When shaking hands with Pastor, he said, "You liked that last hymn, didn't you?", more statement than question since he knows VERY well how much I love "In Christ Alone". I gushed, "Yes, I did. I am still mopping up after that one!" and his dad, our guest preacher said, "I get all teared up, too!" See? Justin was correct, he was not alone in the eye-wiping, other men did it, too. John 3:16 is considered the Gospel in a nutshell, and I find the hymn, "In Christ Alone" to be the entire story of Christ and His saving work for us in a beautifully concise hymn. Perhaps someday at sporting events, people will be holding up signs that instead of having "John 3:16" printed on them, folks will hold signs with "In Christ Alone" written on them. Our Lutheran faith is founded on what Martin Luther discovered in the Holy Scriptures: by grace alone, God's saving grace through His son, Jesus Christ, who give His life for our sins. Sola gratia, sola fida, sola scriptura....and solo Christo, "In Christ Alone..."
