At one time the old house had been pretty nice. At least it had been sturdy enough to withstand the occasional hurricane sweeping across the narrow peninsula of central Florida. Many family gatherings had graced its board floors and non-air conditioned interior. It was home.

But with the passage of time came deterioration. Decay had taken a terrible toll on the old place.

As a small child I was not privy to the decision making process. But I envision late night whispered conferences as mom and dad planned our family future while we children slept.

Soon, our secure nest was in total disarray as the roof came off, the walls came down, the floors and foundations were dismantled and we lived in a small out building.

Little did we realize that the exciting future our parents had prepared for us required the destruction of all we held dear and familiar. The very materials of which our secure old home was made were the boards and beams that would build our brand new home. Even the children got into the act de-nailing the best of the old lumber to be re-used in the building of our dream home. 

Life often involves the necessary destruction or catastrophic change of the limited present enabling the child of God to move into the limitless future the Father has prepared. Witness the morphing of the slug-like caterpillar into the delicate soaring beauty of the butterfly.

Even now our Father moves the pieces to arrange for our miracle.  The greatest miracle of all will be when we move into our brand new home in Heaven with Him...forever!

In anticipation,

Pastor Richard Orrell

Psalm 122: 1-2 NLT

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation.

² Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”

Scripture has numerous references to the musicians and worshipers leading thearmy into battle.

When God’s children worshiped Him in song, God granted them a great victory!

I often think of that when leading worship!  

Worship brings us to the Holy of Holies and God’s  Holy  Spirit draws near.

Welcome Holy Spirit! Please   accept our praise and worship this Sunday.

Thanks for joining in heart-felt worship. He is worthy! 

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Rounding the bend from junior high into high school, it quickly became evident I would be needing some form of transportation. With Dad at work, Mom at college and my sister and I both in school, who would be available to bring me home from football practice or Glee Club rehearsal? Soon, my very own (well used) Cushman Eagle motor scooter sat among the eclectic collection of two wheelers in front of DeLand High School. It took me everywhere. 

I was amazed at the fuel economy and how long it could go between service times. The gas tank always seemed to be about half full and the oil always looked clean to me.  The tires never lost air and the chain was clean and lubricated. Never once in the three years I rode it did the spark plug have to be changed. When it finally did need some engine work, it was done professionally at the local dealer and oddly, I never saw the bill. When I inquired about it, Dad said something vague about them owing him a favor. Hmmm...

Only as an adult and sadly, long after he slipped away to Heaven did I realize how much Dad had done to keep me on the road in those care free days of youth. 

Kinda makes me wonder how many times our Heavenly Father has bailed me out and I never realized it. 

As we go from season to season in our lives it behooves us to remember the faithfulness of the Father and our inability to see the end from the beginning as He can. It is impossible to overstate the importance of daily trust in Him and commitment to Him. 

"Still guided by an unseen hand..."

Richard Orrell, Lead Pastor

God's Grace toward us

Hebrews 4:16  (NLT)

^16 "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

Daily we take our needs to the Lord and trust Him to come through for us.   Satan's lies tell us constantly, "He won't hear you, you're wasting your time, He doesn't care."

Well Tuesday, August 4, God brought the full and completely perfect answer to prayers Twila and I have lifted to him for over a year.

100 % of what we had asked Him for, in faith, He supplied on Tuesday, exactly as requested.

A chorus I love so much is  so true, "Every need  supplied",     Don't give up on Jesus friends, He won't let you down.  He answers every prayer perfectly, in HIS time.   Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!

Love ya, 

Pastor Phil      

The long wait was over. Vacation had finally arrived. Daddy and I had gotten up before daylight that early Summer morning hoping to catch a big bass lurking in the cool depths of the St Johns river. We glided along in the gentle northbound current with each taking his turn at the oars, mostly just to keep the boat straight so the other could fish.

During one of my stints as oarsman, I became vaguely aware of a powerful throbbing hum building in the background. It quickly escalated to a level of sound that was both intimidating and frightening to a small boy. I looked at Dad expecting to see my concern mirrored in his face. Instead, I saw only the calm confidence of one who has been there and done that.

He raised his voice just enough so I could hear him over the powerful throb of the approaching tugboat's mighty engine as it pushed the barge against the current.

"Turn the bow into the wake. Face it head-on", were Daddy's words to me that morning. "Get some depth under the boat so we can ride it out".

My own instincts were to get as close to the shore as possible and hang onto a tree or a vine. Had I done so, we might well have lost our boat and perhaps our lives.

It was not pretty but I struggled with the oars and managed to get the boat turned facing the large wake of the barge and tug. The bow rose frighteningly and smacked down solidly as we passed over wave after wave of rolling water. But we made it! Had we been turned sideways to the approaching waves we would likely have been swamped.

Life is rather like that, don't you think? If we will just turn and face the storm we will rise above the very waves that might otherwise crush us. We are designed to rise above them. It is only when we turn and run that we expose our vulnerabilities.

My Dad's wisdom that day came from many years experience on the river. Listen to the wisdom of One who has gone before us and has experienced it all...victoriously.

Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Do not allow the thunder and rumble of approaching trouble to intimidate nor frighten you. Turn into it and ride it out in the deep water of God's provision!

A satisfied participant in the Grace of God,

Richard Orrell, Pastor