A Sea of Orange!

   So Sunday was one of our family's favorite days of the year!  First of all it was my baby's 2nd birthday... sniff sniff.  Even though Addison is very important, that's not what made my kids excited to get up in the morning.  We were excited because it was....

CHURCH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!!!

  Once a year our church has our "Faith in Action" Sunday.  We meet at church... but we leave the building to serve our community.  Everyone has orange shirts that say "Church Has Left the Building" on the back and we head out to be the hands and feet of Christ.  As we gathered together I had to take a picture because this is what our sanctuary looked like-

   Because we have such a big age range of children in our family and we want to work as together, we usually choose roadside clean-up.  We have a stretch of road our church has committed to cleaning and our kids take great pride in making sure it is clean.  As we drive by throughout the year they'll comment that it looks great or needs some more work.  

   There are many choices though.  Some will visit shut-ins or go sing and visit at local nursing homes.  A group heads out to our local biking and running trails and hands out water bottles and talks with people out on their morning runs.  Another group heads to a trailer park and plant  flowers, mow lawns and ask people if they need help with anything.  I think one year they helped fix some one's porch and often help haul trash and things for people.  Still another group heads to laundromats throughout our city and they give coloring books and crayons to the kids sitting and waiting with their parents and give quarters and laundry soap to people washing.  There's still more!  A group stays back at church and prays for everyone the whole time we are out! Some stay back and work the nursery for those with little ones and last but not least some stay back and prepare lunch for all the hard working hungry people when they return!

   This year we had business size cards printed to hand out.  They say our church name and "Church Has Left the Building" on one side and on the other it says "Mark 10:45" and "Called to serve our community in Jesus' name." It's in English and Spanish.  They are to hand out as we are so often asked, "What is going on???" when people see all the orange shirts!  We love this day.  When we come back for lunch everyone has a chance to share stories of their adventures and we sing some praise music before we eat.  We love being at a church that teaches our kids it is NOT all about ME!  We are not here for ourselves but to serve others. We also love that it is emphasized that the church is NOT the building but the people in it!  We indeed ARE called to serve.

Mark 10:45 (New King James Version)

⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”