November 23, 2018

By: Kris Griffith

RENEWING GOD’S HOUSE THROUGH LEARNING AND GROWING IN HIS LOVE:  Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 

As a stay at home Mom, I welcomed opportunities to grow and learn outside of the home.  I recall one season in my life that my Sundays at Salem gave me so much more. It was the cold, winter months of 2001, but my heart was warmed by God’s love.

 

I had joined the choir, Dave had not yet. Back then, the choir sang every Sunday and our kids usually sang with their choir or played bells at the service opposite of the Cathedral Choir.  So, it allowed me to give my undivided attention to at least one service.

 

Between services, I taught 1st grade Sunday School.  What a great age to teach as they are eager to read, learn and, share.  I always learned a lot not only by preparing for Sunday School lessons but considering the questions of their inquisitive minds.  After 2nd service, I would take a sack lunch and attend Gil Nolde’s “The Mighty Acts of God” Bible study.  Dave had attended the previous sessions and encouraged me to take the class even though it meant he was in charge of lunch for the kids often after being in charge of breakfast.  From Salem, I would drive to Limestone High School where Dave and the kids joined me for the “Shhh Quiet, God’s Talking!” musical practice. It was a fun way to end the day with members of Salem and other churches.

 

As I would drive home in the dark from Bartonville across the Shade-Lohmann Bridge on I-474, there it was – a billboard aglow saying “I love you.  I love you. I love you.  God”.  My Sundays maybe felt full of activity, but my heart always ended feeling full of God’s abundant, overflowing love.    

 

Dear God, We ask and you give abundantly in ways we could not have imagined.  Help us open our hearts to receive your abounding love. Amen.

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Salem Lutheran Church affiliated with the E.L.C.A. Salem is a vibrant welcoming Lutheran community that, through the grace of Jesus Christ, is connected within by love and reaching out in hope to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with one another, the community and the world.

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DUE TO THE WEATHER AND CONTINUED RAIN IN THE FORECAST OUTDOOR WORSHIP IS CANCELLED FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 8 at 7PM