MIDWEEK MESSAGE #62<\/p>\n
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Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #62. I hope you and those you love are doing well.<\/p>\n
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Every once in a while it is good to look backwards (I don\u2019t recommend it when cutting grass though, especially if you are \u201cobsessed\u201d with straight lines).\u00a0 Okay, lasso me back into the corral (Diana is good at that with Ryan and me\u2026mostly Ryan). \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 Seriously, it is good to look backwards from time to time.\u00a0 I went back and looked at the very first MM I wrote. It was after the lockdown which asked us not to meet in person as a church body.\u00a0 Here were my words: \u201cWho\u2019d a thunk it just a couple of weeks ago that meeting together would be our last time for who-knows-how-long?\u201d My hope was that this MM would become a regular feature, be meaningful, informative, and a way to stay in touch. I feel it has accomplished its purpose. And I have honestly enjoyed writing it. For the longest time (what seemed like years) we were unable to meet in person, nor could I come to your house to visit, so this was one way to be \u201cin your house\u201d each week and you didn\u2019t even have to make sure it was clean! That sounds like a win\/win to me!! \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 This is now #62 and it is hard to believe that except for a week or two, this has come to your inbox. Long story short: I still hope you look forward to reading this and my attempt to communicate.<\/p>\n
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I have come to one conclusion though: doing the MM allows me the opportunity to expand on some things that we can only take a cursory swipe at on Sunday morning. For example\u2026<\/p>\n
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This past Sunday, if you were here, you know we went back to serving communion by passing the trays. We will have some of the sealed cups in each tray for those who still want to use them. We have decided to NOT pass the offering plate. There will continue to be a basket on the back table for your offering. You can also donate online or put your offering in the mailbox by the east door.\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you for your consistent giving and generosity!!<\/p>\n
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In the first service I mentioned Ryan\u2019s week at camp. I failed to at the second. Pastor Ryan and Hope, Linda St. John, Cassie Lehmann, Westin Linville and Macy Carlson are all faculty for Ryan\u2019s Senior High week of Wilderness Camp. There are several young people from OVCF who are campers: Micah Nally, Hannah Pendleton, and Mollie Wainscott. You may want to pray for them!\u00a0 (Makes you wonder who the \u201cthem\u201d is, doesn\u2019t it? Try both). I also heard we had a couple campers the previous week-Kalissa Hamlin and Tatum White. \u00a0Sorry I missed you both. You have permission to whip me with a wet noodle. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
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Each week we bring people to you to pray for.\u00a0 Mike & Ryan Laws have been on our prayer list ever since I found out Ryan needed a kidney transplant. (He is now 15). Mike donated his kidney to his son. Mike texted me Saturday night and said Ryan is doing phenomenally and has started playing soccer. The plan at this point is to bring them to OVCF on the 5th<\/sup> Sunday in August to share their testimony of God\u2019s goodness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You will get this MM on Wednesday, June 16th<\/sup>. I will be out of the office that day since I was threatened with bodily harm if I wasn\u2019t. (Just kidding. Jo is not a violent person).\u00a0 We will be celebrating our 48th<\/sup> anniversary that day. We don\u2019t have much planned since next week we, along with Tami, will be heading to Ohio to see Braden, our grandson, play some baseball (Wednesday and Thursday nights). I can<\/strong> say we will be stopping at Hilltop to visit the campers. I\u2019m honored to have spent 48 years with my college sweetheart. I\u2019d be lying if I said it was all peaches and cream or that I was the perfect husband (far from it). But I can testify to God\u2019s grace and goodness in giving me the woman I needed.\u00a0 Our first ever trip away where no one knew us was gifted to us by someone in the church in 2017. It will be two years this September since you blessed us with the trip to Alaska-what I consider an early anniversary gift. It was the trip of a lifetime. I am also not shy in saying I would go back in a heartbeat. \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0We dodged a bullet though since we initially thought about going in 2020, but went in 2019 instead. Whew! So this year we will take it easy. Visit the folks at camp. Find some place to eat (Jo\u2019s one mandate). And enjoy the day together.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My words are not few and therefore my space is up. I changed the font so I will have room to include this message on one page. Miracles still happen! I succeeded. Have a great week.\u00a0 I love you all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pastor Bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MIDWEEK MESSAGE #62 Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #62. I hope you and those you love are doing well. Every once in a while it is good to look backwards (I don\u2019t recommend it when cutting grass though, especially if you are \u201cobsessed\u201d with straight lines).\u00a0 Okay, lasso me back into the … <\/p>\n