Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Britton worked late at the office tonight and it reminded me of how every Wednesday night of our lives has been since early 2003. With him being a youth pastor, I never expected him home until 10pm or later. And with that, I've actually been thinking about Cornerstone a lot lately. We've been discussing our church-going options and I have to be honest. I'd rather not go anywhere. It just stings a bit too much to not be at Cornerstone each Sunday. Each day, really. We were there every day. And on top of that, Miles hasn't done so hot in strange nursery/toddler room environments and Ella eats around 11am each day. So pretty much, I spend the entire service not even IN the service feeding and comforting kiddos. Which I don't mind at all, but couldn't we just do that at home? So anyway, if you're the prayin' kind, you might keep our transition into a new church home on your list. It's not been or going to be easy.

So in my nostalgic state, I was also looking through some old photos. And I came across this one...

One year ago today, Cornerstone came up with this snow cone stand. We had vision for it, but didn't know quite what to expect. While the snow cones could be used for much needed fund raising opportunities, the trailer would also house a "soup kitchen" and serve free meals to those in need each week.

So we named the weekly event "The 5-7" (read: the five to seven).

It happens every Wednesday night from... you guessed it, 5pm - 7pm. Let's keep the main thing the main thing, ya know?

We passed out some fliers and put up some posters around Pauls Valley....

And though we didn't know exactly what God was doing, we just trusted that He was going to use that little trailer and the hands, feet and hearts of the people at Cornerstone to meet needs in the community of Pauls Valley.

Tonight, 178 meals were served at The 5-7. One hundred and twelve in the first 15 minutes!

God is good. As the ministry grows, He provides. So far, there has been an endless freezer full of meat. A cow has been donated. One morning, a Tyson delivery truck driver called to say that he had a load that the Wal-Mart Distribution Center couldn't accept and we were given 100's of dollars in meat and cheese for sandwiches. Cool!

So as God continues to provide and this ministry continues to grow, I pray for the people who continue to give of themselves. I also pray that new folks would find themselves involved in some way. It's not easy. We're a selfish bunch. That's why Christ had to do what he did for us. But when we begin to serve and love one another, to work with and encourage one another, that's when we see God do something really special. That's when it gets exciting.

"We love, because He first loved us."

1 John 4:19