AMAZING GRACE

Tonight Ms. Parks sang Amazing Grace in Korean for us. She is one of the most inspiring people I know, always excited about God and ready to worship anytime. She also prayed in Korean for us, she doesn't speak much English but it doesn't seem to matter, God somehow lets us all understand each other. The Church at Winters Park is a kaleidoscope of skin colors, religions and backgrounds. We have residents, staff and family members of both that attend pretty regularly, God is growing our family. Ms. Parks is in the last photo wearing the light pink blouse.

Thelma's 85th B-day Dinner

We had a great time Monday night with Thelma. Ate dinner at Babes Chicken Dinner House til we were stuffed and then ate chocolate pie for dessert. Check out the chicken hat they put on Thelma, I love it! Our daughter Lindsey was our waitress and got the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday. We had a blast!! Enjoy the photos. D

"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!

Breaking Bread Together

Last night we broke bread together as we remembered the broken body and blood that was shed by our Lord Jesus. It's really amazing how God works, none of our group was very motivated last night and most of us would rather have simply stayed home, but God had something else in mind. As we began our service last night and everyone started coming in to the room, a very moving thing happened, God began to touch our hearts and move on Winters Park in a very special way. I can't really explain what happened other than to say that the Holy Spirit blessed us in an incredible way! We had an intimate meeting with God and each other that my words can't adequately describe. I thank God for the people at Winters Park, staff and residents, they have helped complete my life.

Living inside-out

Tomorrow we will be beginning a new series about living "inside-out". This is not my original idea but it has been at the forefront of my walk with God for some time now and I would like to share this with as many people as possible. I'm using Tim Stevenson's book "Living inside out" as my outline but I have many thoughts on this as well. I've met so many people that don't seem to have an exciting Christian life and can't seem to make "it" work, but as Tim puts it, "It doesn't work but He always does. We're going back to the basics and hoping that some people, including myself, will find a fresh and exhilarating experience with God as we continue to fall in love with our Saviour. Major Ian Thomas has described the Christian life in a nutshell, "Jesus Christ gave His life for you, so that He could give His life to you, so that He could live His life through you. This and only this is genuine biblical Christianity - Living inside out." I can't wait to see how God uses this to touch all of our lives. The photo is from Easter Sunday, we had a great time of worship, come visit some time!

Peace! David

Welcome to Winters Park

It is with great excitement and pleasure that we begin to document the work that God has called us to do at Winters Park Nursing Home. The goal of this blogsite is to link the experiences of the Winters Park community in such a way that the movement of God is evident and encouraging to every reader. We see God working in mighty ways both in our lives and the residents lives each time we meet to worship Him at Winters Park; this blogsite is our way of sharing the fruit of God's love with you.

Serving the True King

This last Sunday, I must say was a new experience for me.

I have been in nursing homes before, but never for a Christian purpose.

What touched me the most was the fact that most of these wonderful people can't go to church, and the only church they have is when it comes to them.

There is one thing I take for granted: being able to go to church.

Now I know what Jesus meant when he said: "I was sick and you visited me."

Daniel Wilson

Matthew 25:40 (NIV) The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Moved to Tears

Words cannot describe the incredible blessing that God pours out on us every time we go to Winters Park Nursing Home.

I met Anne Carpenter this week, she's 88 yrs old and had taught Sunday School for 60 yrs of her life, that's right sixty years!!! She shared with us that she was only there for a couple of weeks for a particular type of rehab they offer and would then be moving to another facility. She asked that we pray for her because the staff (I suppose) of the next facility wants her to start and lead a Sunday School when she arrives and she was afraid that she just couldn't do it any more.

I was moved to tears as I stood in the presence of this Godly woman, amazed that God had given me another unexpected gift: to meet this Godly woman and have the opportunity to pray with her.

I could go on but I won't. Come experience for yourself the beauty of these "forgotten ones", you will never be the same again.

We love you all very much and miss you! I pray that the Lord will bring us together soon.

Peace!!

Lori and David Moore

Sharing God's Word

I had the best visit with Vella and Lucille tonight! Both were awake and ready for a visitor. I read in Matthew 6 (the sermons after the Beatitudes).

We had a great discussion and I learned a lot about their lives. I am looking forward to visiting with them on Wed. and Sun. nights. I hope others will join in, too.

If there are other people who have requested a reader I can visit after I see Vella and Lucille on the same nights.

Christie B.

Resurrection Sunday at Winters Park

He gripped my arm tightly and raised his voice for the first time since I had taken the chair next to him. His plea for me to stay was far more powerful than the aged hand clenching my wrist. Until that moment he had not even bothered to look at me – concentrating instead on the empty Dr. Pepper can just out of reach and the half-completed puzzle of Dalmatian pups to his left.

I had walked up late as wobbly voices mixed with crisp sopranos marching through the old hundredth and after exchanging a few greeting smiles and nods with those singing I noticed him sitting alone away from the group hunched over and staring at the table. I went over immediately to ask if he wanted to come join us, wondering if no one else had thought to do so. My curiosity was soon allayed. I sat down initially to be level with him when I spoke – but as he ignored me and continued to mumble about ‘Betty’ I understood (or thought I did anyway) that he was delusional and most likely off in some distant memory only now all too real as his present faded.

I was getting up to rejoin the group when he grabbed me – his calloused grip like pumice against my skin. Then he spoke. His trembling voice still held power as he pulled against my intent – beckoning me to stay. So I sat back down and he went back to mumbling under his breath. Nothing changed until the group started singing ‘I’ll Fly Away’. I sang along and watched out of the corner of my eye as his lips mouthed every word. As my chest tightened I realized why I was there and why I would be back as often as possible. Today the blessing of Luke 6:36 came to life for me and I grasped the depth of mercy.

Kent Barlow

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (NASB)