so... TRUST GOD!

A week and a half ago we were pulling together the final details and putting up the last of the decorations for our Vacation Bible School.  The volunteers from a number of our Valley churches were getting their costumes ready as we prepared to take the children on a Wilderness Escape with the Israelites as they left captivity in Egypt with Moses and followed God into an unknown future.

During those first three evenings the messages were "God is with us", "God provides what we need", and "God gives us strength" so... TRUST GOD!

We were not able to finish the week as the wildfires burned more homes, disrupted power, and even threatened the church neighborhood. It was sad for the VBS team to not be able to complete the week and present an invitation to receive Jesus as their Savior, but we've been reflecting on the message of those first three days.  It's pretty obvious that God knew what He was doing to plant that message in all of our hearts and minds as we entered into a scary and stressful time.  We needed to be reminded to TRUST GOD!

What a difference a day makes!  I found this comparison view of before and after while scrolling through Facebook.  How many times have we driven along this stretch of road without ever imagining the inferno it became this last week?  We don't know the future... but we do know the One who holds the future!

This coming Sunday, July 27th, we'll we taking a look at Psalm 105.  It's a song that "takes us back" to remind us about God's faithfulness in the history of the nation of Israel (telling the story we focused on during VBS).  We need to remember the past - it's God's way of strengthening our faith for the future.

I'm so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful community - both within this valley and within our church!  We each face both known and unknown challenges in the weeks, months, and years to come. But we face them together with one another and with our faithful, strong and loving God. Praise his name!