Absolutely Orlando!

So, I was thinking about all the celebrity deaths last week, and it was really weird! I sat and watched or read about each of them (Ed McMahan, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, Karl Malden) and thought about them for the first time as real people. After just recently losing my beloved "Mother", it hit me that these people were more than just the stories surrounding their deaths. They were fathers, a mother, spouses, siblings, and friends just like us! What a sad week for their families!


On a lighter note, we had a great time in Orlando with our friends and family and got to see some "old" friends, too! Kiki was elected to a very prestigous position in our denomination, and Shawn represented our district well. We enjoyed 2 days at SeaWorld which was so fun and amazing and spent lots of time at the pool!
We went to the Sunday morning service at the Orange County Convention Center with 18,ooo or so other Nazarenes from around the world and many more were watching via satellite or internet. We heard a great farewell message from the retiring Dr. Paul Cunningham, and then took communion together. It was pretty cool to be a part of! I had talked to my mom a couple of times about what we were doing, and during one of our calls, she said that she kinda wished she was Nazarene, so she could go to cool events like we do. I think that most of the time, I take for granted what I have been blessed to be a part of. I am so proud to be a child of God and so blessed that he led me to the Nazarene denomination where I am a part of something so much bigger than Valparaiso Nazarene Church!
....and speaking of Valparaiso Nazarene Church, we are having our farewell to the current sanctuary service this Sunday in preparation to begin worshipping in our new Worship Center next week! More to come on that subject later!