We are gearing up for our 2nd Egg Hunt for the community. We are wanting to hide 8000 eggs this year at the School field and as you know 8000 eggs means lots of candy. One of the businesses in town gave me a call yesterday and said that they wanted to donate not just some of the candy but ALL OF THE CANDY! Isn't God awesome! We can now use the money that we would have used for candy for prizes. God amazes me every day.

Walk across the room

I am reading a book right now by Bill Hybels called, "Walk across the room." It is a book on sharing your faith in simple ways. It is amazing if we just ask the Holy Spirit to use us, how He will. There are tons of opportunities for us to share our faith or God's love to someone if we are just open and listening to His voice. God has given me the opportunity this week to share God's love with my own family. As many of you know my cousin lost her husband on Saturday to a car accident. He was in his late twenties and has left behind four little children. My family is not Christian and through this tragic event, God gave has given me the opportunity to share my testimony and faith. Even though I don't believe it was God's will for my cousins husband to die so young, I do believe that God uses every opportunity to draw people to Him. I pray for God's wisdom as I conduct the services this Friday and that people will be drawn to Him.

Church Planting

I spent all my day last Thursday in Iowa City with the church planters in Iowa. My friend Rich Greene is looking at doing something out of the box which I'm really excited about. They are looking at purchasing a building in North Liberty and converting it to a box theater where bands can come and play. There is currently a larger theater in Iowa City that holds 1000 people but some bands can't fill the space. So the idea is to build something smaller. The space would have a coffee house and an auditorium that would seat 300 or so. The church would own the theater and be able to have church there on Sunday's. Jesus did something similar in the New Testament. If you read the scriptures you will find that Jesus spent most of His time in the marketplace not in the synagogues. Instead of trying to get people to go to church, the church needs to go to them. Rich is doing exactly that by this idea. People from all over the city would walk through their doors that normally would not go to church. Absolutely awesome!

THE NAME

It was great to be back in gear on Sunday and have church once again. You seem to be missing something during the week without it. Yesterday we continued our series on temptation and how to defeat the enemy. We cannot forget that one of the tools that God has given us is the power of the Name. Jesus' Name is the only name that is above everything in heaven and earth. Jesus gave us the "power of attorney" to use that name before He went back to heaven. the power of attorney simply gives a person the right to act on someones behalf. This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus said that in my Name, you will cast out demons, heal the sick and even be protected if deadly things come upon you. Peter and John understood the power in Acts 3 when the crippled man was healed. It was by the Name of Jesus that the man stood up and walked for the first time. Let us remember that when we are faced with temptation and attacks from the enemy, that Jesus has given us the right to use His Name. His Name has the power over anything that may be thrown at us.