April 6, 2025 – CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 06TH 2025, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

I’m waking up near Fort Myers in Southwest Florida this morning. But in just a little while I’ll be 100 miles north northeast at Highlands Community Church near Sebring greeting at one of our main doors, and then leading Communion on this first Sunday of the month.

18 years ago on the first Sunday of April of 2007 – I joined the Hospitality team of my first church. I had been interested in joining for the past couple of months in some capacity, and I was waiting for an invitation to do so. I accepted the invitation – no fooling. And so on April Fools’ Day – I was made an usher, and I helped my brothers and sisters to their seats inside our theatre. (My first church initially held its Sunday morning services inside the local movie theatre.)

I actually didn’t like being an Usher and asking (telling) people where to sit in the theatre – sometimes against their will. At that point I was still very shy and uneasy about being a center of attention with lots of people watching me. I felt like I was a distraction during the active church service. I think I subtly expressed my displeasure after a couple of weeks.

3 weeks later I was placed at the front doors of the movie theatre as a greeter – opening the doors and welcoming my brothers and sisters of my church family – just as they did for me 3 months earlier when I attended my first church service in over 30 years. I owned that area of service.

Through all of the other areas of church service from ushering to hosting to leading to teaching to preaching – I’ve never given up my first love of service – greeting. I greeted at the front doors of both locations of my first church. When I moved down the road to my much smaller second church – I frequently found myself at the front door greeting – not because anyone asked me to do so, but because I always felt that it was the right thing for me to do to serve God.

I’m still greeting after 18 years, and I’m truly honored to do so. And now I’m also greeting in my own neighborhood, and at the museum where I serve.

Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. (Philippians 4:21 NIV)

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, a testimony, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord – and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know – then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.