Good morning everyone,

Is it just me, or does it seem like the days are getting shorter?

Reminder: Because we are immersed in VBS this week, there will be no Tuesday Bible study today or Thursday Bible Study. We pick up next week where we left off.

Great little story – We thought we were going to need to send out an all points bulletin on the need for more cookies for VBS. But then, yesterday afternoon my phone rang. It was from a lady who lives in Lexington, Illinois and is the bookkeeper for Fellowship of Christian Farmers International – an organization I’m involved with. Here’s how the conversation went:

But, when the time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a
woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might
receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4,5). As God’s heirs we can
claim what he has provided for us, our full identity as His children.

After reading about the happenings taking place at Martintown Community Church over the last several months, several of the faithful readers of this column have taken the scenic drive to Martintown, Wisconsin to visit us on Sunday morning. Some have even come back. One person referred to us as “a spot in the road.”  That’s a pretty accurate description of Martintown, Wisconsin and we’ve adopted that phrase as our own. We’re a tiny little town sitting peacefully on a hill overlooking the Pecatonica River in Green County, Wisconsin. The town was founded in 1850 by Nathaniel Martin, who just happens to be the great, great, great grandfather of my wife, Cindy. It was important to Nathaniel that the people of the Martintown community have a formal place to worship, and in 1879, at the age of 63, he and one of his sons built the original structure of the church building for a total cost of $1200.  To this day, we still worship in that same building.

We’re remodeling a house. By remodeling, I mean getting it ready to move into. Last week the story was about changing the pump in the well and successfully getting life-giving water to the house. The house has sat empty for a few years. Exactly how many years, no one seems to know, although I know someone knows. This week, the story continues.

Moving water is fascinating. Creeks gurgle, waterfalls plummet, springs bubble, ocean tides crash. The bubbles, foam and noise draws us. The water sustains us. We need water for our physical life, but it also somehow soothes our spirit.