On Monday, I Have Sunday on my Mind

 Every.single.Monday, I have these 3 things going on: 

1) I clean my house & do laundry. 

2)  I miss my hubs & sons more than any other day of the week. 

and
3)  I think about Sunday's church service ...
gleaning from the message & singing the worship songs over in my head.

Now, while the cleaning of the house & the washing of the laundry
 is a necessary 'evil' is necessary {cause my house somehow explodes on Saturday & Sunday},
it's definitely not the highlight of my day.
Well, it's a highlight when it's all done & everything is nice, neat & back in order.

And missing James & 2 of the boys, well ... this makes me nearly giddy when they get home from work.

But the real bonus, the treat that offsets cleaning the house & missing my men folk,
comes when I begin to think back over the Sunday service from the day before.

I begin to hum & sing songs from the worship service, & just like that, the presence of the Lord
comes flooding right back into my heart just like He did yesterday.

Then the sermon starts playing through my mind,
almost as if it was recorded & I'm pressing the rewind button.
God's funny like that ... bringing things to our memory at just the perfect time cause
He knows just what we need.

I can hear the words of encouragement shared in someone's testimony,
or a prayer request given in & I can whisper a prayer to the Father right then & there.

Now when Tuesday or Wednesday rolls around,
the thoughts of Sunday service are a bit further away.
They get crowded out by work, chores, appointments, errands ... the weekly circumstances of life.
But that's only if I let them.
I may have to tap in a bit further, but that's exactly what I'll do.
You see, the sermon, the songs, & the fellowship all work together to give me strength for my week!
It's the fuel in the tank to get me from Sunday to Sunday.

I'm very grateful, & I do not take for granted,
belonging to a church that has a perfect balance of all the above ... worship, the Word, & fellowship.
My heart is full each week ... overflowing, in fact.

It makes it easy to 'think on these things':

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, 
whatever is just, whatever is pure, 
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, 
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Phillipians 4:8 

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, 
which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:6-7

This week at church was particularly special.
The atmosphere, from the beginning to the end, was just saturated with a sweet spirit.
The songs were worshipful & heartfelt & the message was inspiring.
We take communion the 1st Sunday of each month, so that was yesterday...
& this was my favorite part of the service.
The humility & reverence at this somber event touches me to my core each & every time.
John 17 was read afterward.
That portion of scripture has come to mean so much to me personally ...
some of the most comforting I can find in the Word. 
Here's one of the parts I like best:


 "All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, 
and I am coming to you. 
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, 
that they may be one, even as we are one.
While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. 
I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, 
that the Scripture might be fulfilled."


Wow!
I am guarded in the hand of the Lord!
He's has me!
He's going to keep me ... & will keep me til the end.
What a comfort & blessed assurance!

     ________________________________________________________________________

There is one more thing that made this past Sunday, February 3rd a Sunday that I'll never forget.
Come back tomorrow & I'll share all the details!