September 15, 2010

the building




It has been ages since the sight of a backhoe or bulldozer could elicit excitement from the passengers in my car.  There was a time when eyes were glued to the scenery just hoping that those earth movers would appear... and once one was spotted, it would be announced with glee...
Crane!
Steam-roller!
Bulldozer!
Mulch maker!
But those days... they have passed.  Or so I thought...
After years worth of months have passed, permits have been pulled, panther studies have been completed... and our church is building.  And just like that... the little boy excitement over tractors and such has come full circle and spilled over all of us.  Land has begun being cleared, outbuildings have been demolished... and with each driving by of the property, we squeal with excitement and wonder at the progress. 
This past Sunday we celebrated the Ground Breaking, and as golden shovels full of dirt were turned, the church sang and prayed and praised God.  The visions of what is to come is overwhelming... and beautiful.
We have built the church... a community of people who have come together over almost six years.
And now... we will build our place of worship.

All who follow Jesus all around the world!
Yes, we're the church together!
The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple
The church is not a resting place, the church is a people!
And when the people gather there's singing and there's praying,
There's laughing and there's crying sometimes, all of it saying:
I am the church! You are the church!
We are the church together!




Photobucket

8 comments :

Richella Parham said...

How exciting! We helped to start a new church last year. We meet in a school building. One day, perhaps, we'll be doing the same thing y'all are doing. In the meantime, we are for sure a church! The fact that the church is not a building is one that bears repeating--thank you for the wonderful reminder.

What great photos of Eric and Cam! :)

Dawn said...

I know this scene, Dawn. It was us a few years ago...I remember the groundbreaking. We gathered and wrote our dreams for what our church will be on stakes and marked out the footprint of the building with our prayers...putting stakes in the ground. I remember all we felt at that time.

How wonderful for your church. A milestone and reason to celebrate for sure!

Kathleen said...

Particularly important message for me today (how'd you know that?). Congratulations - what a wonderful day, thank you for sharing!

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is SOOOOO exciting.
I am so happy for all of you!!

Sarah said...

I love little splashes of grace! And rejoicing with you.

Delighted to meet you today! Hope you don't mind if I splash around in your pond to get to know you.

Splashin,
Sara

Kat said...

Girl, wouldn't ya know were building a church, too!? Meeting for just over 5 years in an old skating rink. Fixed up best it could be, but when you walk in the sanctuary, "FUNLAND" is still written in big letters across floor....and typing that out...just makes me smile. Anyhoo, we've not had so much progress as y'all. They supposedly started construction a couple of months ago. But so far the big pile of dirt and some construction material is all we've seen :( But I KNOW it'll be worth the wait :)

Michelle DeRusha said...

How wonderful! I remember well the day our new new church opened for worship -- I still get the chills thinking about it!

tracie @ {tsj} photography said...

exciting stuff!! we're in the middle of an expansion at my church ... love to see God's world grow!!

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