Family, food, and fun...

January 5th, 2024

Today we are headed back to Kansas City after spending several days with family to begin 2024 in Florida. We loved soaking in some sunshine and warmer weather while relaxing and spending time together.

We had plenty of highlights that included great food, good movies, wildlife, and…our favorite, the beach. There is something pretty invigorating about feeling the sun and sand, hearing the waves, and seeing the expanse of God’s creation.

Speaking of creation, we were able to see sand cranes and seagulls, a stingray (it was dead, but we still saw it), sponges and jellyfish, and several deer, and dolphins close up in the wild. We even had a dolphin follow our boat for several minutes…which was a first-time experience for us and it was AWESOME!!!

The deer weren’t quite as extraordinary as the dolphin, but they were plenty fun to watch and also taught some lessons along the way…no, I didn’t get too close or anything crazy.

One morning was especially memorable…while Ian was in the pool, I counted 12 deer that walked right up within a few feet. They are pretty tame since they are fed corn every day, but still, it’s entertaining to see wild animals up close. As the deer approached their breakfast, there were a few that stayed back to keep an eye on things…if you had watched the golfers out there you might know why 😊. In addition to the security deer, the older deer waited for the younger deer to get their food before going in themselves.

While observing the deer and the dolphin, we wondered out loud if the animals could communicate and what it would be like to listen to their conversations.

Although, we may never know for certain about the animal’s communication skills, their commitment to community is obvious.

God made them this way!

And He has made us for community too. This Sunday, Pastor Dave will be sharing the first sermon in our series through Philippians, “The Good Life of Christ” with a sermon entitled, “Gospel partnerships: Our community and its cause” from Philippians 1:1-11.

As we prepare together for our best year yet in 2024, I look forward to each of us building our community centered on the Gospel of Jesus, prayer, and personal investments of time and resources into each other.

I look forward to seeing you at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am (Full KidCity available), or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 9:15 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

I hope you stay warm and have a great weekend,

Troy

P.S. We would love to help with some RESOURCES for your quiet time with God.

P.P.S. We would love for you to pray with us about what God might have you invest in our BEYOND BUILDING CAMPAIGN.