Friday Coffee with PJ

Friends ... it's Friday ... it's time for another cup of coffee with PJ! So pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew (mine is San Fransisco Fog Chaser) .... and enjoy a few random thoughts with me.

1. Wednesday marked the first day of autumn! That means winter is "on deck" as far as the seasons go. I just saw a long range forecast for this upcoming winter from one of my favorite meterologists (Joe Bastardi) who also happens to be one of the most accurate when it comes to long range forecasting (you can follow Joe on twitter at @BigJoeBastardi). Joe is forecasting a winter for our area that is below average in temperature and above average in precipitation (and given the temperature forecast I am guessing that much of the precip that will fall will be of the frozen variety ---- I am trying to avoid the "s" word!). Now ... time will tell whether or not Joe got this right (and based on his track record he is more often right than wrong). So we will revisit his forecast on the other side of winter and see how accurate he was. But we don't ever have to do this with the Bible. This book is unique among the books of the world. I happen to believe it's claim to be the inspired word of the Creator is true. And because it is God's Word ... it is accurate in all that it "forecasts!" To sum it up, I believe that the Scripture, being God’s own Word, written by men carried along by God’s Spirit as they wrote, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: it is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it affirms, obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises. What a privilege we have to open, read, treasure and obey this book of books!  I hope you spend some time in it today! 

2. This week is Fair week as the West Lampeter Fair opened for its 92nd run! What makes this fair so unique is the absence of things like carnival rides and games. This fair is about as down home as you can get. But there is plenty of food and plenty of animals (not to mention people as the community turns out in droves for this annual event). Fair booths fill numerous tents. These are sponsored by churches and other community organizations, schools and businesses (one of my favorite booths is the one sponsored by Herr's as they offer free bags of potato chips to fair goers!). Of course, our church sponsors a booth as we have been doing for over 20 years. This year along with our ongoing "Baby Comfort Station" - a clean place to change diapers, etc. - we have a photo booth complete with an assortment of props to complement any person's good looks! We spend the time and effort and money to do this to provide a window to our community of who we are as a church. We realize that we are not for everyone. But for those who decide to make Grace Church their spiritual family ... we believe we have a lot to offer! So ... if you are planning to head to the fair today, please stop in and say "hello!" I will be present tonight and would love to meet you! And always remember you can visit us online at gracewv.org or on campus at 300 Willow Valley Square (behind Darrenkamps Market). 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj

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