Joe and Carol,

Did you see it? It was quick. Almost too quick to notice actually. But it was there. And it was there in His fullest glory.  I don’t know why it happened this way. There are probably a lot of others I missed, but not these two things. Two things that, right there, in front of our noses, gave glory to God in a way that we would have never imagined.

I wonder if two years ago you ever thought this would work.  A website for churches to share with their members.  Hard enough to get members to come to Sunday service, so what would cause one to think that they would want to communicate over the web? Maybe the question should not be “what would cause one…”, but rather “Who would cause one…”

You both seem to be hard workers and have a desire to serve God and others, so it makes sense that God would put something like this on your heart.  Intel really isn’t a bad place to work. The experience you get there is second to none. Benefits are good, too. What would cause you to leave a place where you could have had an opportunity to climb the ladder of success?  Once again, maybe the question isn’t “what would cause you…”, but rather “Who would cause you…”

Will God bless this thing you call MyChurch? Is it a viable business? How will it work? What will make it grow? What is the exit strategy once you get into it?  All these are truly good questions and ones that need to be evaluated time and time again.  However, and I say this as a business man who has had both successes and failures, the only one that truly matters is the first one.   Will God bless it?  This should always be in the front of your mind, in the back of your mind, and anchored in your heart.  It may be already, but I want to remind you to keep it there.

That is the question that was in my mind that caused me to write this note…did you see it?  Like I said above, there are probably more than just the two items I am going to mention here. These are two I am familiar with because I am involved in them. In some small way, I was a part of something God was doing and still is working. The only way I became a part of it was through MyChurch. I have to imagine that I am not the only person impacted this way. I would venture to say that others were involved, too, solely because of MyChurch. If I am right, then the answer to the question, at least at this moment in time, is a resounding YES!

The first item to bring forth so that God gets the glory is Mary Ann’s not so purple sleeping bag.  What kind of spiritual topic is that? However, look what happened. That silly blog drew several of us together across the traditional boundaries of time and distance.  Through that blog we prayed for those on a missions trip to Mississippi and Cathy Diemer kept us all up to date based on daily calls from the team.  By no means am I trying to take away all the hard work by Mark Wigley and the others on the Calvary Community Church team. They did all the hard work. They are the ones who put faith into action. They are the ones who met the need head on and made the difference. However, somewhere along the way God decided to expand that team and He did it through MyChurch. Through stories, testimonies, pictures, and prayers, we learned that a lady named Denise had a need for windows in her house. Two years after Katrina and she had no windows. On that silly sleeping bag blog, someone suggested that we auction it off to raise money for Denise’s windows.  Just another silly idea on a silly blog. Yet, God’s ways seem foolish to those in the world. Those silly things were indeed part of His plan.  Within two weeks more than enough money was raised to buy Denise all new windows.  Actually, so much was being raised Cathy Diemer sent out a cry for people to send “NO MORE MONEY!”  How many churches would love to hear those words?  Clearly to me, this was a God thing. One of those moments in time when He takes ordinary people doing ordinary things and makes them all work for His glory and honor.

At the same time that this was going on, AngiePangie posted a blog asking for prayer for a little baby.  AngiePangie’s friend, Teri the Friend, was supporting this other family in the hospital and things had gone from bad to worse. It looked like little Jaryn was going to die and AngiePangie knew this would be devastating for the family.  She posted a blog not really knowing what to ask for except she knew God could do miracles.  We prayed.  AngiePangie kept us posted. We prayed more.  AngiePangie reported back that God was moving and it was obvious that little Jaryn was being healed. No doctor could explain it, but we could.  We prayed.  Then came the report. Jaryn was on the road to recovery. He still had a long way to go, but he was on his way.  AngiePangie posts an update…

…and I do the Snoopy dance!

In the end, we hear from Jaryn’s Grandpa true words of a humble heart that reflect the hand of a healing God. He notes, “As I sat here reading this blog with VERY LARGE tears running down my face with a huge smile in tack at the same time, I want to Thank EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart for praying so many wonderful and VERY meaningful prayers for my Grandson. I know I speak for my wife and daughter when we say to you THANK YOU ALL. Without your prayers and belief in OUR GOD ALMIGHTY, Our Lil Angel wouldn't be here today with us, and we all know this.”

This causes me to write this letter to you, Joe and Carol.  Is God going to bless MyChurch?  He already has. Look what the Lord has done!  I am sure there are others. These are only two I was a part of in some small way.

For Jaryn and Denise, I want to say Thank You. Thank you Joe and Carol for hearing the call of God and responding. I am sure there are times of doubt in your lives when you wonder if this is where God wants you.  You wouldn’t be doing this if you were ones that operated only where there was no doubt. Be assured, God is in this. He is moving through this thing we call MyChurch and He calls His Church.  I am sure you won’t always see His hand working and there are times when you will wonder about tomorrow. When you get to those times, look back at this letter and be reminded – you have already made a difference. What you have done matters. It has changed the world in some small way already.  Who knows what God will do tomorrow, but my Bible tells me He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and that every great and perfect gift comes from God. Suppose we should add the two of you to that list.