weekend report

I swear I have never seen half of the people that were at Crossroads this weekend.  I try to stand in Town Square so I can meet as many people as possible but man, the Lord is filling the place- very exciting!

I found this room in the back full of students preparing for their Summer Mission Trip...we are so blessed!

Our Setlist:
Announcements:  Stephanie McAuley - The Coffee House
Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us)
Lay Me Down
We Believe
In Christ Alone
My Heart is Yours
Message: Unstoppable Walk - Wendell Anderson

To watch our services go to crossroadswired.com

To see what other ministries used in their worship services go to www.theworshipcommuntiy.com

waiting

I'm sitting here at The Coffee House waiting for our Artist Group to arrive.

I love them - they're worth waiting for.  They're not late - I'm early.  So conveniently it's 70 degrees and lovely outside as I sit here waiting with my amazing iced coffee outside!

I sat here and started thinking about all the waiting I'm currently doing.

-I'm waiting for dinner until later.
-I'm waiting for our first grandchild to arrive,
-I'm waiting (and not anxious) to say goodbye to our daughter and son-in-law for a year as they prepare to be missionaries in Cambodia.  I couldn't be happier that they are following God and using their talents to serve orphans over there, I'll just miss them terribly!
-I'm waiting for answers to about 20 emails I sent out today
-I'm waiting to talk to a few friends that I miss very much
-I'm waiting and looking forward to several concerts and special events that are coming to Crossroads
-I'm waiting for a difficult conversation that I know is coming


I can easily spend my whole day just waiting.

God often brings to my mind the fact that I have done nothing at the end of a busy day to move closer to Him. 

How much of my life has He been waiting for me...

the Coffee House

One of my favorite places is the Coffee House at Crossroads- 1188 Park Avenue West - Mansfield.

I love it because the quality of the coffee they serve is the highest and most fresh in the area, I love it because it directly supports Guatemalan farmers we personally know and I love it because I love all the people that work there!!

Last Friday they kicked off the official grand opening and now they will be open from 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.  They also added a daily sandwich to the menu along with their amazing humus plate and fabulous local sweets!

Although they don't have a drive-through, they offer "text ahead" ordering which allows your drinks to be ready when you come in.  Just text your order to 1-815-507-9226.  This is a number you'll want to add to your contacts for sure!

Here are some shots of activity at The Coffee House's ribbon cutting event last Friday- yes, you do hear a dog barking when everyone begins to clap on the video below!

Aaron and Jocelyn being interviewed by WMFD tv station

ribbon cutting

Hope to see you there!

sitting by fire

One of my favorite places  to sit is by a fire.

Right now I'm in The Coffee House at Crossroads sitting by their fire place - one of my favorite locations in the whole world!  Seriously!

In the summer I love to sit by a campfire.

What is it about fire?

It allows me to dream, to think, to be satisfied to be completely still.  It's warm and beautiful.

I wonder then why it's fire that describes hell.

All consuming - never ending - intense - hot.  Alone and separated for all eternity from good - from Almightily God - from satisfaction - continuously experiencing eternal dissatisfaction and agony and complete isolation.

I cannot imagine - I don't want to imagine, especially thinking that anyone I know will be lost for all eternity.  Horrible.

My pause by the fire has turned from enjoyment to examination and asking the Lord who it is that He needs me to pursue, to invite into a God filled - forever rejoicing - endless worship existence ?

Who Lord?

creating Christmas

Tonight I stayed just a little while longer to go over a few remaining Christmas service creative details at Crossroads.  Little did I know it would be a unexpected night of deep rewarding conversation.

I had one quick technical meeting planned, but that had to wait when I ran into a friend at The Coffee House that needed to chat.  I spent time encouraging them and discussing things to come and tried to catch up since we hadn't spent much time together recently.

Next my Tech appointment arrived.  We spent time looking at the small behind-the-scenes details that we prayed would make Crossroads' Christmas weekend an extremely meaningful night and just a huge blessing to all who attend!

Finally, the best surprise of all.

Following these meetings I found myself alone in The Coffee House with my daughter, just the two of us talking until it was time to close down shop.  It's funny how you can be 'around' someone an awful lot and still not communicate as deeply as you'd like due to busyness.  An amazing ending to a busy day!

Creating Christmas always holds within it many roadblocks, usually one of our team battling illness or an unexpected difficulty, and a few disappointments of projects not coming together, but in the end all the little meetings, talks and time spent creating all come together in the Savior's hands as He accepts our work and uses it as He will.

The creative process is amazing to watch and a blessing to be a part of as we cover the services with prayerful expectations of hope returned to the hopeless and lives changed forever.

Mark your calendars for Friday - Monday, December 21 -24 @7:00 p.m.  at Crossroads

weekend report

This Thanksgiving week is packed to the gills with things to accomplish and ending with Black Friday...so little time.   We had a great reminder this weekend that it takes preparation to be Thankful - so as I go into my week I plan to build in thankful time!

It was another blessed weekend designed to help us all prepare for Thanksgiving and all the countless things we have to be thankful for!

Our setlist:

Welcome and Announcements began our service with Jamie (the middle school guy) inviting us all to stop by The Coffee House on Black Friday!  Pastor Tim wrapped up the announcements by reminding everyone what an opportunity we have to serve a needy child by participating in our annual Adopt A Child project.  Click here for announcements  

Thank You Lord - Baloche
Praise Him, Praise Him - Tommy Walker
10,000 Reasons - Redman
For Who You Are - Hillsong
Everyone (Praises) - New Life
Message:  Preparing To Give Thanks - Wendell Anderson
Ending Song:  Thank You Lord - Baloche

To watch our services on Monday, go to www.crossroadswired.com

To see what other ministries used in their services go to www.theworshipcommunity.com