Daily Miracles

If I had blogged last year or the year before, you would have read many "Daily Miracle" entries.  It's the beginning of 2011 and the Lord God did not wait long to make his presence known to me.  Since coming to Sioux City, I have wondered how to find a Church home without "shopping" too much.    The biggest Churches are not necessarily the best.  Small congregations are, in my opinion, either new, which is not necessarily bad, or they are not growing.  My standard has long been Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where my children were raised by a staff that did not change every three years.   The mission statement is this; Orchard Hill exists to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ.  The website is www.orchardhillchurch.org.  You can look for yourself.  Even after I moved from Cedar Falls, I was able to stay connected in meaningful ways.


On Sunday morning I decided to try a Church in Sioux City.  For a long time I've noticed  Sunnybrook Community Church though I was not sure why Sunnybrook would be calling my name.  Being cautious I checked out the website www.sunnybrookchurch.org   There was something familiar in the podcast.  We can never go back or recreate our best experiences but having confidence that God's Holy Spirit would either bless or give me a big "Nope", I drove over to Sunnybrook.  Even the physical structure looked familiar.  The message really caught my attention.  The Youth Pastor spoke about the importance of "small groups".  Voila!  I hoped to find a Church with small groups.  After the service I stopped by the information desk to sign up for a senior small group.  I mentioned to the friendly lady behind the desk that I am new in the community and that my home Church was in Cedar Falls.  She asked " Orchard Hill?"   WOW!   Yes!  She smiled and told me that Doug Tenson, now a Pastor at Orchard Hill used to be the Youth Pastor at Sunnybrook.  There it was.  The affirmation I needed.  No wonder I felt so comfortable.  


No Church shopping necessary.  Although no Church is "perfect", being made up of human beings, I have found a place where I will be able to share in a faith community, find a small group and become involved in the "work" of the Church.  Daily Miracle #1, 2011    "Thanks, Lord.  Thank you very much.  I am blessed".