When you live by faith you get surprised by God.
If you were to ask me: “John, what have you’ve seen about God in your first two years on this adventure to replant a church?” I’d respond with a question of my own: “Did you pack a lunch? Because this could take all day!” But near the top of that list would be that when you are willing to walk by faith you intentionally place yourself in a position where God can surprise you with His unexpected expressions of His Presence and unexpected expressions of His Provision. Last summer my biggest buddy (I'm standing two steps higher than him in the picture), Scott Morgan, drove down to Georgia from Kentucky to hang out with me during a tough stretch of life. It wasn’t convenient for him and his family to load up their van and make a road trip but I will always remember he and Lea’s visit with us and their unconditional expression of love and kindness. As I gave them the tour around The Stone Church at the corner of McCormick and Mission Roads in Cartersville, Georgia, I shared with them that one of the things that we were doing periodically was called “Free Coffee Friday.” We tried it in our parking lot because we counted 337 cars that went by between 7-8 am during the school year. Surprise—we had a total of 8 cars stop in. (I guess I shouldn’t have been the one standing on the corner spinning the sign!) But we didn't quit, we went mobile. If they wouldn't come to us we'd go to them and so we took the coffee to the teachers and staff at the schools around us. Surprise! Much better turn out! As I shared this with Scott and Lea, he told me that they had been doing that same sort of thing with a Sno-Cone machine. They go into parks and neighborhoods with their van and give away Sno-Cones. Then he completely surprised me and declared, “I’m going to buy you one of those.” If you know anything about Sno-Cone machines, they aren't cheap; but if you know Scott Morgan, you know he is a man of his word and a man of action. The Stone Church took our new Sno-Cone machine out for it’s first tour at the Euharlee Easter Egg Hunt on April 4. What a blast! Thank you Scott and Lea for being generous friends. I can’t wait to take it out again and surprise some kids. It is amazing what an impact you can make when you give away a paper cup full of ice and colored sugar! When you walk with God you never know what’s going to happen next!
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