Recapping Oct 1 to 4th 2009

What a weekend!

Last Thursday, Zoe Conference after work, then Sanctuary praise event after that!

Last Friday, Zoe Conference all day, then sabbath service at the Jewish Temple...very cool and uber meaningful.

Last Saturday, Zoe Conference in the morning, then after lunch we did a balloon release for one of Jaime's friends' baby that died in utero at 34 weeks, back to Zoe Conference that afternoon, then the Shriners' Circus downtown to cap off the day.

(Faith asked us later, while we were viewing pictures of the release, if Chase (the baby boy who died) is still with God...how precious. We answered assuredly while fighting back tears. We had written notes to Chase and tied them to the balloons. Jaime has some good pics on her FB page.)

Sunday was a great time of worship with the Otter Creek family. I am especially grateful that I have no emails regarding our "choir" that was on stage. I sincerely appreciate the openness of OC.

Then Sunday evening was a benefit concert at OC by Jah-Way (Reco's band) to benefit a victim of domestic violence. The entire event was in the stream of our Carolyn Maddux Peace & Justice Ministry...people coming together to help a sister get back on her feet when she found herself with nothing after leaving an abusive relationship. A great time to jam with brothers and sisters in "undignified" praise. My fav was the opener, "You Are Good".

Today I just tried to recover from all of this! I did manage to vacuum most of the house, mow half the yard (after Jaime got home I didn't have much time), and get groceries, and take recycling to the drop off. And hang with the kids all day. Ok, there wasn't much rest, but I'm hoping for lots of it tonight.

Peace everyone!

Thanks Paulette!

Paulette, you encouraged me (through our buddy Steve) to get back on the blog train, at least for tonight. :)

Quick updates....

Kids & I enjoyed a fun but quick trip to Memphis last weekend (down on Fri night, back on Sat night). Jaime stayed here to work at her new school, Currey Ingram. She's such a dedicated SLP!

Saturday morning, "Granlyn" (my Dad's wife) treated us to yummy Texola pancakes (my grandmother's recipe, who was born in Texola, OK), then a trip to the Memphis Zoo. I'm a big fan of the Nashville Zoo, but the Memphis Zoo makes our zoo look like a backyard full of a few chickens and an old farm dog. The Memphis Zoo rocks! I tell you, my hometown has several things going for it, and I will always defend Memphis to all middle and east TN snobs. Ok, I will say that the elephant and giraffe habitats are MUCH better here in Nashville, the zoo designers simply allowed more space for these beautiful gracious animals. But in Memphis, zoo goers can see both of these up close, and there are more of them to see. Ok, enough about the zoo, but please go if you get the chance. I wish we could have stayed all day. We were there like 5 hours. (Plus we had a DELICIOUS lunch at Backyard Burger inside the zoo!)

My sweet Mom is doing much better & going HOME tomorrow, to her very own home in Frisco, TX. She is so excited; please say a prayer that her transition will go well and she'll feel no more vertigo and have vision trouble. The rehab facility gave her the green light, but it's still scary to fly on your own again. I am so proud of her, and thankful for her fighting spirit. I've learned what stroke really means to a person, and how it robs you of dignity and normal functionality...I always knew those things happened, but when it happens to someone you love, it all becomes crystal clear.

Got some great new shoes for little Eli yesterday at Lonnie Young's in Green Hills. Can we afford to shop there? Heck no. But for Eli's wide foot we needed some expert help. The Shoe Carnival guy was just not getting it that his foot was a W and not an M. The guy (Ron Johnson) at Lonnie Young's was SO GREAT to Eli and Faith both, and spoke to them like they were real people. Imagine that. We won't always spend $43 on shoes that he'll wear for 4 months maybe, but at least now we know more about his foot size/shape. Thanks Lonnie Young's! (and thanks to my high school friend Cristi T. for the referral.)

Ok, one more thing...we sang "Glorify Thy Name" last Sunday at Otter Creek...it was one of the first p & w songs that I ever heard/learned. I'll always love it, but people, it fell FLAT. It was like a giant sucking sound taking all of the energy and pizazz out of the sanctuary. I think we as a worshipping congregation are just done with that one, and that's fine. Plus, it didn't really flow out of Josh's really great message very well. I was going for the whole "let's glorify God like Mary strove to do through her Magnificat" angle. Nice try, but let's put this song on the shelf for a while. It may have it's day again, but not soon.

That's all for now...

We are just trying to keep up with our schedules now, it seems. I have the kids all day on Mondays, so Jaime can work. Then the kids are at OC preschool (one word: awesome) on Tuesdays/Thursdays. We are blessed more than we could have ever asked or imagined.

Jerry Rushford at Otter Creek this Sunday

Looking Ahead to Sunday, June 28^th

Church, we are in for a God-sized blessing this Sunday morning. Jerry Rushford, Director of Church Relations and Professor of Religion at Pepperdine University, is our guest speaker both in our adult worship gathering but also for the auditorium Bible class at 8:45 am. (Other adult classes are meeting as scheduled in other parts of the building as well.)

Jerry is a long-time family friend and I’m confident we will experience God and God’s Word in a memorable way as Jerry speaks to us. If not, maybe he can teach us something about surfing. ;)

Regarding our summer adult Bible classes, are there not some great opportunities out there? We’ve had incredible response, and I hope you will take advantage of these special summer offerings at 8:45 am each Sunday.

This Sunday, Jerry will be speaking in the “Nooma Class” which meets in the auditorium. Both of the regular Nooma teachers (“nooma” refers to a video series by Rob Bell which is serving as the class’ curriculum, see www.nooma.com for more info) will be out of pocket this week at Otter Creek Camp!

Jerry’s topic for this June 28^th 8:45 am class in the auditorium is:

"I Heard the Song and Strove to Join"

(Rediscovering the Power of Forgotten Hymns)

You probably know by now that I’m passionate about retaining the classic hymns in our repertoire, not only for their beauty and ability to teach/shape us, but also for the stories behind the hymns which Jerry always shares so profoundly.

If you decide to attend another Bible class this week, you will be able to download the audio recording from Jerry’s class at www.ottercreek.org at some point next week.

See you soon/Sunday!

Murray Sanderson

Yesterday at Otter Creek

Hey church,

Sorry about the extended Meet & Greet yesterday!  It dragged (drug?) on for 5 minutes...partly because of my poor management of it, but partly because of a last minute OC member need...

And if you want to hear more of Dennis Jernigan's life testimony (God's work in his life to help him defeat homosexual lifestyle), go to www.dennisjernigan.com 

If I haven't said it lately, I love this church, and am so thankful to be here!

Very helpful quote

We talk a lot about worship being 24/7...I found this quote very helpful.

“The best public worship is that which produces the best private Christianity.”  Bishop  J.C. Ryle

AWESOME!

This morning the Otter Creek Elders gave the answer to the long-awaited question, "Who will be our next lead minister?" 

Answer:  TWO PEOPLE!  It's a team approach.  I'm so pumped. 

Lead Preaching & Teaching Minister will be Josh Graves (starts September 1, 2009)

Preaching & Pastoral Care Minister will be David Rubio (transitioning out of our Youth Ministry over the next 15 months to begin full-time work as part of the preaching team in Fall 2010.)

God is so good!  I'm so excited and humbled to get to work with these two godly men.  I've known David since he was 7 yrs old, and God has had his hand on David for significant ministry all of his life.  I met Josh almost 5 years ago and have been impressed with him over the years.  

A team model, I'm so proud of our elders for breaking the mold and launching out in a new direction!  New times call for a new model.  

Go to www.ottercreek.org for an incredible video created by David Woodard that recaps the new plan...

This Coming Sunday

So excited about our new Dialogue Series...John York continues it this Sunday with a message from John 3 about Nicodemus.   The recording software crashed last Sunday morning, so we missed Rubio's sermon series kickoff, plus Charity's debut!   I'll never forget it though.  The little 4 year old taught our whole church a new worship song "We love you, Lord"...incredible. 

Songs we're singing this Sunday:

• Let God Arise (another great Tomlin song...it's on Zoe's Fearless CD)
  
• I Love to Tell the Story (don't mess with me, it's Fanny J...)
  
• Ancient Words
  
• Blessed Be Your Name (thank you, Matt Redman, for giving us language & notes to express pain and trust and praise simultaneously)
  
• How Deep the Father's Love
  
• I Will Change Your Name  (on this note, check out Jonathan Nelson's new song, My Name is Victory)
  
• Before the Throne of God
  

Happy Friday everyone!