oh the weather outside is frightful...

...but the fire in Origins Café is so delightful...It's a wintery Sunday morning in February. A mix of snow and freezing rain covered the landscape overnight. On Sundays like this, I always wonder how many folks are going to stay away from church saying, "Ah, forget it. I don't want to be driving around in that kind of weather." I know it happens. We've had a fairly rough month of February weather-wise (brutal cold, lots of snow, and now freezing rain). And attendance has been down a bit this month. However, the roads were not too bad at all this morning (so if you're reading this blog and trying to decide whether or not to brave the elements (bad pun, I know), I say, "Go for it." It's not too bad at all and getting warmer.

Back to my original train of thought now...as Jenny and I were discussing the weather situation last night, Natalie, our 11-year-old, spoke up--with distress in her voice. She was afraid that church might be cancelled due to poor weather. She said, "I don't want to miss church...it's the thing I look most forward to every week."

I can't tell you how a statement like that from one of your kids has a way of warming a father's heart. I am so glad my kids feel that way about church. They love it. Can't wait to get there. It's the highlight of their week. That's huge! In fact, we are locked in to attending that 9 a.m. service because that's when Natalie's small group meets--and there's no way she's going to miss small group...it's too important to her.

I'm thankful for a place like NewPointe that's relevant, and at the same time fun for our kids. The church I grew up in...well, let's just say...I wasn't as excited about going as Natalie is.