"This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24
On Tuesday, September 2nd I blogged about the Romeo Peach Festival, and our church float that promoted a special service on our church property [currently farmland at 30 Mile and Mound Rd. in Romeo, MI] with a pig roast following. Well today was the day, and what a beautiful day it's been! Below are some photos.
[Two photos courtesy of Keith Bianchini]
Tent rental employees came out late last Friday afternoon to set up the big tent in preparation for today's special service. Pastor Steve said he had just finished praying a prayer of dedication to God inside the tent asking for His blessing upon the upcoming service when a storm DTE Energy described as "one of the strongest storms to hit southeast Michigan this year" blew in with wind gusts up to 75 m.p.h. It toppled the tent on top of Steve! Fortunately he wasn't injured, but the high winds and rain downed 2,000 power lines in the area, and left more than 245,000 homes and businesses without power.
When Steve emerged from under the tent, his SUV got stuck in the mud necessitating a call to AAA's road service, only to have the tow-truck get stuck in the mud too! He was one discouraged pastor, wondering if months of planning would all have to be scrapped.
The Lord worked all the chaos out for His honor and glory, and in time Friday's nightmare will probably become one of Steve's greatest sermon illustrations on faith.
Life is like that sometimes. We can be moving along with our well-laid plans, when out of nowhere circumstances turn into a gigantic storm making us wonder how [or if] things will ever turn out okay.
In times like these we stand on Psalm 46:1-2: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear..." Faith isn't required during times when everything is going good, because we tend to think that's when we're in control. It's when the unexpected happens that we realize God specializes in circumstances that are beyond our control.
A successful service went ahead today just as planned!
When Steve emerged from under the tent, his SUV got stuck in the mud necessitating a call to AAA's road service, only to have the tow-truck get stuck in the mud too! He was one discouraged pastor, wondering if months of planning would all have to be scrapped.
The Lord worked all the chaos out for His honor and glory, and in time Friday's nightmare will probably become one of Steve's greatest sermon illustrations on faith.
Life is like that sometimes. We can be moving along with our well-laid plans, when out of nowhere circumstances turn into a gigantic storm making us wonder how [or if] things will ever turn out okay.
In times like these we stand on Psalm 46:1-2: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear..." Faith isn't required during times when everything is going good, because we tend to think that's when we're in control. It's when the unexpected happens that we realize God specializes in circumstances that are beyond our control.
A successful service went ahead today just as planned!
"STAND Powerlifters for Christ" were some of the special guests this morning. Hummm... wonder if they could have held the tent up Friday night??? ;-)
May God bless your week!
What a great illustration! Glad Steve didn't give up ... I mean, really, when the tow-truck operator gets stuck ... !
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