"We Touched Heaven"

Terry said:

The Church at Winters Park was shaken by the Holy Spirit in a big and beautiful way last night. It was our first time to meet for Bible Study at Winters Park (we will be meeting every Wednesday evening at 6:30 pm), and if last night is any indication, we are all in for an incredible ride. I never dreamed that such a powerful experience could be had in such a short amount of time.

One of the residents, Dora, really got my attention; she was jumping out of her wheelchair totally moved by the Holy Spirit and excited by the Word of God. You could tell that she hung on every word that came out of Pastor David's mouth. Dora wasn't the only one alive in the Holy Spirit -- Taj, a native of India, blessed us all with words of love and encouragement that only the Holy Spirit could translate .... and translate He did. Our hearts were filled with great warmth and joy from the words this beautiful, Godly woman spoke. I couldn't help but smile (from ear to ear) as Thelma, an awesome woman from a conservative baptist background, lifted her hands to the Lord on high with emotion and joy for what appeared to be the first time. I could tell by the joy in her face, by the twinkle in her eye that she was truly in love with her Savior and that she had forgotten her physical pain. I, too, was moved by the message and the movement of His Spirit and love -- how could I not be!

The turnout was great and was received well by all -- even several of the staff often paused from their duties to hear the Word of God and sing sweet songs of praise.

I would like to personally thank Rick for his faithfulness … for sharing his gifts of music and his love for Christ, as well.

Experiencing God so deeply together with the beautiful body of Christ has me looking forward to our Sunday worship and now to the Wednesday Bible Study. Once a week just wasn't enough!

As I reflect on last night, I can only come to one conclusion: I experienced Church … the way it was meant to be. We often say: "We are going to church," but even sweeter is being the Church … the true bride of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't deserve this blessing, but through His blood, all is well with my soul.

I wish everyone a safe and glorious holiday weekend and pray with bended knee for the residents, friends, and families of Winters Park!

Blessings,
T

Rosemary said:

"Last evening, did you hear Dora or did she tell you? As she reached out to Jane next to her, she says to me, "We both agree that we have touched heaven tonight." What a blessed moment for me.

We did touch heaven last evening. As we shared Truth with one another, we were lifted higher and higher. Some of us were lifted out of our pain for a moment, being set free in the Truth that sets one free. Marie was so very thankful that we came. I sensed a peace about her."

That was part of an e-mail that Rosemary sent me this morning. Last night was our 1st Wed. bible study/fellowship and there's not much more that I can say than what Rosemary said. We laughed, cried, worshiped, praised God, sang, raised our hands to God, rejoiced, prayed, held hands, hugged, read God's word, discussed God's word...It was a great day!! D

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

Wednesday, 6-28-06, we will begin meeting weekly in the TV room for Bible study and some good ole fellowship. Everyone is welcome!! We will be discussing the sermon topic of each previous Sunday and hopefully gain some wise insights from each other to help us better understand God's will for our lives.

6:30pm - 7:30 or 8:00pm

Look forward to hanging out with everybody and talking about God!! D

My Baby Girl

My baby girl Lindsey (she's 17) has been joining us for the past few weeks for church. Although it's been tough getting her up Sunday mornings she still gets up and comes. The first couple of times she thought that it was kinda wierd but the last 2 weeks she has begun to see the beauty of the fellowship. Last night she joined us for the Lord's Supper, we just asked her if she wanted to go and she said yes! For me it's one of the proudest days of my life to see my daughter loving these seniors and actually starting to connect with some of them. I don't know how long she will keep coming but I'm savoring these moments and praying that God is using this time to really show her, and all of us, the blessings of serving. I pray that she sees God in the faces of these wonderful people and that her heart will be changed forever. Thank you, Father, my cup is running over!! D

Going Home

As I was sitting at the back of the room today the music was blessing my heart as I was experiencing a great time of worship. I noticed a lady sitting in front of me, I did not know her, she began to tremble and move about in her chair in a very uneasy manner. I approached her and asked if she was ok, she said she was. I aked her her name but she did not remember. As I introduced myself to her I gave her a hug and told her that I was happy to meet her. She told me that she just wanted to go home. I pressed my cheek to hers and began to pray for her, my cheek became moist as I noticed that she had begun to cry. As our tears blended together on our cheeks I began to sense the incredible love of God for this lovely woman and myself. What a gift to share this blessing with this lady without a name. I sensed her trembling soften a bit as we held each other and began to think how sweet a day it will be when we each reach our ultimate home in heaven. D

Rosemary's Heart

Hello David and Rick!

I was just sitting here thinking… I have never been in ministry before where ONEness in the Holy Spirit permeates as much as I experience with you guys at Winters Park each and every week. It seems that no matter what is going on, love covers a multitude of sins--all the imperfections that each of us have is covered with the blood of the Lamb, and His love and forgiveness creates total acceptance. Those people know we love them--just the way they are, and they shall know that we are His disciples by the way we love one another. We really have a Good thing going there, and I continue to be amazed, but I think it is the ONEness in His Spirit that brings such delight to my heart. I know I am trying to put God into words here as I always am trying to explain things and come to conclusions in my own mind and really there is no way to confine Him to words but I sure like trying and it thrills my soul over and over and over again to be serving Him with you. I just wanted to share these thoughts with you. I cannot contain myself sometimes. My kids think I'm crazy. Mom, how can you be so excited about old people?! If they only knew!