More than all we ask or imagine…
This past weekend was certainly more…
The weekend kicked off with fireworks as the Phillies routed the Braves in a 8-3 win cinching the Division Championship. Only the most die-hard fans believed that we would still be in the hunt at this point in the season. Watch out Padres!
Then the Flyers grabbed center stage with their win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. For those of us who had just suffered through a humiliating Penn State loss to Michigan, these two wins were a healing balm.
The weekend capped off with an Eagles win against the Cowboys on Sunday night. There were are few nail-biting moments, but the Eagles proved their worth with a 26-17 win over their arch rivals from Dallas.
Philly sports fans are hoping that this wave of wins will carry the 76ers to a strong beginning to their basketball season tonight (Tuesday) against the Boston Celtics and their home opener on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
And maybe… just maybe… Penn State will catch the wave for a win against Minnesota next Saturday.
When was the last time Philadelphia caught such a wave of wins?
More than all we ask or imagine…
But for me, all these amazing moments pale in comparison to what God did on the Lenape Valley fields on Sunday! The amazing actually began months ago, when God birthed a dream in the heart of the faith community of Lenape Valley to offer a love gift to our neighbors. They say there is no such thing as a free lunch, but we wanted to do just that… to offer a wonderful afternoon for FREE! That dream started out in one heart and mind… then in a few… then in the commitment of LVC Elders and the resourcing from our Finance team. The dream took shape under the creative planning of staff and leaders as they took the idea and made it bigger and better over the summer. Then the whole faith community was invited to catch the wave as we kicked off the fall Art of Neighboring series. Save the date… Save the date… Save the date… And the people of Lenape Valley did!
I have to admit that I had some sleepless nights wondering: what if… We had never tried anything like this before. What if the skies open-up with a Fall downpour forcing us inside? What if the neighbors don’t come? What if the neighbors come in such numbers that we run out of all the Free stuff? What if we blow a circuit with all our power cords? What if
the blow-ups we ordered don’t arrive? So many what ifs… But there was one thing I knew for sure- our God is an awesome God! And how many times here at Lenape Valley have I have seen our God do the ‘immeasurably more’ through His people.
The weekend kicked off with fireworks as the Phillies routed the Braves in a 8-3 win cinching the Division Championship. Only the most die-hard fans believed that we would still be in the hunt at this point in the season. Watch out Padres!
Then the Flyers grabbed center stage with their win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. For those of us who had just suffered through a humiliating Penn State loss to Michigan, these two wins were a healing balm.
The weekend capped off with an Eagles win against the Cowboys on Sunday night. There were are few nail-biting moments, but the Eagles proved their worth with a 26-17 win over their arch rivals from Dallas.
Philly sports fans are hoping that this wave of wins will carry the 76ers to a strong beginning to their basketball season tonight (Tuesday) against the Boston Celtics and their home opener on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
And maybe… just maybe… Penn State will catch the wave for a win against Minnesota next Saturday.
When was the last time Philadelphia caught such a wave of wins?
More than all we ask or imagine…
But for me, all these amazing moments pale in comparison to what God did on the Lenape Valley fields on Sunday! The amazing actually began months ago, when God birthed a dream in the heart of the faith community of Lenape Valley to offer a love gift to our neighbors. They say there is no such thing as a free lunch, but we wanted to do just that… to offer a wonderful afternoon for FREE! That dream started out in one heart and mind… then in a few… then in the commitment of LVC Elders and the resourcing from our Finance team. The dream took shape under the creative planning of staff and leaders as they took the idea and made it bigger and better over the summer. Then the whole faith community was invited to catch the wave as we kicked off the fall Art of Neighboring series. Save the date… Save the date… Save the date… And the people of Lenape Valley did!
I have to admit that I had some sleepless nights wondering: what if… We had never tried anything like this before. What if the skies open-up with a Fall downpour forcing us inside? What if the neighbors don’t come? What if the neighbors come in such numbers that we run out of all the Free stuff? What if we blow a circuit with all our power cords? What if
the blow-ups we ordered don’t arrive? So many what ifs… But there was one thing I knew for sure- our God is an awesome God! And how many times here at Lenape Valley have I have seen our God do the ‘immeasurably more’ through His people.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to His power that is at work in us…
Ephesians 3:20
according to His power that is at work in us…
Ephesians 3:20
“According to His power that is at work in us…” Sunday, God’s glory shone through His people here at Lenape Valley!
Many thanks to our faithful staff and teams who worked for months to prepare all the materials we would need to have a successful event. Many thanks to the set-up team who gathered in such numbers after worship on Sunday that the work was done in a matter of minutes. Many thanks to the next wave who came at 1pm to resource every table with materials: mini pumpkins to decorate; food for our guests to enjoy; tattoos, spray bottles and paint to decorate little hands and faces; bubbles and wands, bean bags for cornhole and treasure maps for a scavenger hunt. Many thanks to the Hosts who arrived at 1:45pm to take their place. Before we knew it, there was a sea of blue LVC shirts on the field ready to welcome the neighbors. Then we all held our breath and waited… Would they come? They did! Our neighbors came to enjoy a moment of grace in a less than graceful world. What a joy to be able to offer that gift! And finally, many thanks to those who stayed to clean-up at the end- again making quick work of that task.
I’m still in the after-glow of Sunday’s Fabulous-Fantastic-Free-Fun-Fall-Fest, marveling at all that God did in and through us to bless our community. Join me in thanking the One who did ‘immeasurably more’ than all we asked or imagined.
With you, joyfully serving the Savior,
Anita
Many thanks to our faithful staff and teams who worked for months to prepare all the materials we would need to have a successful event. Many thanks to the set-up team who gathered in such numbers after worship on Sunday that the work was done in a matter of minutes. Many thanks to the next wave who came at 1pm to resource every table with materials: mini pumpkins to decorate; food for our guests to enjoy; tattoos, spray bottles and paint to decorate little hands and faces; bubbles and wands, bean bags for cornhole and treasure maps for a scavenger hunt. Many thanks to the Hosts who arrived at 1:45pm to take their place. Before we knew it, there was a sea of blue LVC shirts on the field ready to welcome the neighbors. Then we all held our breath and waited… Would they come? They did! Our neighbors came to enjoy a moment of grace in a less than graceful world. What a joy to be able to offer that gift! And finally, many thanks to those who stayed to clean-up at the end- again making quick work of that task.
I’m still in the after-glow of Sunday’s Fabulous-Fantastic-Free-Fun-Fall-Fest, marveling at all that God did in and through us to bless our community. Join me in thanking the One who did ‘immeasurably more’ than all we asked or imagined.
With you, joyfully serving the Savior,
Anita
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