I am starting to work on another really cool project which took me out in the woods this past week to figure out a trail alignment and location for creek crossings so I could start the design and come up with real cost estimates to figure out how to fund it. I really can't wait till it gets started and finished so all of you can experience just how beautiful this part of the city really is.
We stumbled upon a blue heron rookery. Blue herons love the big white Sycamore trees in the middle of nowhere near lakes or wide rivers for nesting. I took this video and it's kind of hard to see but I was amazed at the how graceful these large birds were when they were flying and then landing in these nests with a 20+mph wind gust. Anytime I am out in raw nature, I am amazed and reminded how there is a Creator God. There is no way that the trees, wind, rain, the birds, the cycle of winter/spring, or photosynthesis just magically happened by chance. Nothing in this video happened by chance-it's just too perfect to be the result of randomness.
Anyways, tomorrow is Easter Sunday and for those of you that might have been raised in a dying or stagnant church and you've given up on God, I want to encourage you to re-engage. There are plenty of places to go tomorrow.
I, of course, attend Antioch Bible Baptist in Gladstone. Northland Baptist in the heart of the Line Creek Valley has done some really great outreach for this weekend. If somewhere further south is better for you, there is Briarcliff Chapel. If you live downtown and want to try a new church , check out Mosaic Bible Fellowship on Truman Road.
If you have other plans or not really sure about walking in a new place I totally understand. I know that church folk, organized religion, and the media have done a great job of creating a stereotype of a Christian church but ask yourself just really how awful can true Christians be? You probably work with plenty of them but don't really know it because they just show up everyday and do the job to the best of their ability. Easter is a good day to go because you won't be the only visitor and can blend in with other guests.
Part of the reason why people have become alienated from the American church are the people in the churches. Want to know a little secret? If you walk into a church and even before you've sat down you've been judged or felt unwelcome, that's not your fault. There are plenty of messed up folks who clean and pretty up real well on Sunday mornings. The folks doing the judgement are the ones that should be ashamed or embarrassed. Don't let stereotypes or people with hardened hearts keep you away from the grace of God.
Find a place that works for you and get involved. Some of the best times I've had and people I know are ones I've met either in a Sunday school class or serving in AWANA on Wednesday nights.
I'm not a natural evangelist nor do I know everything but if you have questions or are seeking more out of life's meaning, I know people who would be willing to talk if you just drop me a note.
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