My Vacation

If you had three consecutive weeks of vacation off from work what would you do?  That was the question I was asking myself as I had three weeks off of work in September.   Having three weeks in a row of vacation is something that I had not done in my life.   I thought three weeks was a long time!  I found out it is not long at all. 

I had a great time finishing projects at home.  I finished building steps to the back entrance to our house, replaced window sills and finished the tree house for the grandkids.

It felt good to accomplish long over due projects but where was the rest and relaxation?!  It was not going to happen staying in Goshen. 

Then came a week in Anna Maria Island in Florida.  It was fun for Joyce and me to get away from all the family and work responsibilities.  For one week we were privileged to be on the island and spend uninterrupted time with each other and with God.  I felt like God gave me direction spiritually, emotionally and physically for the next five years.  I have some goals that I want to work on with  education, skills, home improvements and physical exercise.   It will be interesting to see how God moves, and I want to be in step with him.

One of the coolest experiences I had in Florida was meeting other families from Indiana.  We stayed in a condo with other families in full-time ministry.   We connected and had so much fun with other families from Indiana that we have planned a reunion in October.  Each day families would get together at the pool, talk and tell stories.  What fun!   To top it all off you will not believe this.  Having the last name of Dreier, I used to get teased and people would call me "Wetter".  In Florida I met Pastor Wetter from St. Louis.  Does God have a sense of humor or what?  That was amazing!  I just had to stop and think that God loves us so much he just wants us to stop and laugh at times.  It was a God moment for me.  A time to laugh and I did.

Sometime I am going to take another three week vacation.  If you get a chance try it.  Try it.  You won’t regret it.

SonRise National Park!

What an amazing week at VBS!  Sonrise National Park was a big hit with the 120 kids and 75 volunteers.  I thoroughly enjoyed being Ranger Rick.  It was fun getting to act like a kid again.  There was something special about being with kids that were having fun and learning about Jesus. 

Ranger Rick was in awe in the way the kids participated in worship.  The kids were not spectators.  They were worshipers of God.  Seeing the kids clap their hands and raise their hands together as a group gave Ranger Rick goose bumps.  Worshiping God with the kids gave Ranger Rick hope for the next generation of believers. 

Watching the kids being impacted by the Bible stories and verses was incredible.  Hearing the kids understand what it means to ask forgiveness and come to Christ made all the effort worthwhile.  Praise God for his Word and how it impacts kids.

Ranger Rick was amazed at the way all the volunteers served together.  Thanks to all the park volunteers VBS was a great success.  VBS not only changed the kids lives it changed Ranger Rick.   Thank you Jesus for making your presence known to us at Sonrise National Park.

Ranger Rick

Play ball!

Hi Everyone,

Spring is here and there is nothing like being outside and enjoying the great outdoors.   One of the activities I enjoy is watching a softball game especially when it is people that I know.  I have a lot of great memories of coaching my daughter in little league softball.

It is time to play ball!   Harvest Community Church has a coed softball team this year.  They have been practicing getting ready for the season.  Spending time together playing softball provides the opportunity for the players, coaches and fans to get to know each other better.  Often we see each other on a Sunday morning but don't get a lot of time to interact. 

Come out and support the team and have fun cheering and encouraging one another.  Check the HCC Facebook page to see the schedule and keep up with the team.

Miracle on Main Street

The Miracle on Main Street Children's Christmas Musical was presented by the children and youth at Harvest Community Church last Sunday. I hope you were there to see the musical. The children and youth did a fantastic job. I have received many positive comments from people who enjoyed the childre'ns musical. We have a great group of children and youth in our church. It was exciting to see their talent and enthusiasm as they fulfilled their parts.

It was fun being a hippie. Joyce and I got into our parts. I especially enjoyed relating to the youth with speaking parts. The practices were fun as we related with the youth.

I appreciate all the volunteers who put time and energy into the musical. It was a team effort. There are many gifted and talented people in our church. It was the volunteers who made it happen.

The best part of the Miracle on Main Street was seeing a lady come to Christ. She was invited by a person to come to the musical. I was introduced to the lady after the service. We met this week and she picked up a red bag. After leading her to Christ she is ready to join Alpha. The Miracle on Main Street musical was the instrument that changed an individual's life. That is the reason to have events like the musical. That made my Christmas.

A Christmas without Jesus is like giving a present with no gift inside. There is nothing like receiving the free gift of salvation. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My First Friday Experience

This past Friday Joyce and I had the opportunity to reach out into our community at First Friday in downtown Goshen. What an experience it was! It was a challenge and exciting as we promoted VBS and our Cruisin' to Glory Car Show. We registered 15 children for VBS and passed out 400 VBS postcards. It was an amazing atmosphere as people were cruising in their classic cars on Main Street.

What was even more amazing was the conversations that we encountered with people. I learned a lot about our community. What was interesting to me was the importance of the name of our church. Some people knew about our name change, wondered why we changed the name of our church and wanted to know more about our church. Harvest Community Church is a name that is understandable to people especially to someone who does not know Christ. The name, Harvest Community Church, does communicate a message. This became even more evident to me.

Even with all the churches in Goshen, there are so many people who need to be reached and become followers of Christ. I was struck by the fact of how important it is to have meaningful conversations with people who do not know Christ. Do we know how to have meaningful conversations with lost people? We all have a story to share with how God has worked in our lives. What is your story? Are we ready to share with lost people at any given time? My experience on Friday was that the harvest is plentiful and we need to be ready to share what God has done in us. The harvest is here.

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you are all doing well. It is a fun time of the year spending time with family and friends. I enjoy getting Christmas cards and hearing about what is happening in your life. During this time of celebration it is also easy to get caught up with life and miss the real reason for the season.

One of the things I enjoy is watching our children at Zion Chapel perform. This year the children are presenting a 20 minute children’s musical called “Follow the Star.” It is a great opportunity not only to watch our children perform but it also allows for the Good News to come from their hearts.

What are you doing this year to celebrate the birth of our Savior? It is fun to read the Christmas story to our children and reflect on it. It is amazing what Jesus did for us. Have a Merry Christmas!

Peacemaking

I hope that you are enjoying the great fall weather that we have been having. It is great being outdoors. The conflict solutions team recently went to Washington DC to the National Peacemaker Ministry Conference. It was a great time being together with the other team members.

It is refreshing to get away from the normal routines of life and see different scenery. How do times away from your busy schedule affect you? It is often a good time of reflection for me. Learning new concepts and learning how to put them into practice is exciting. I came away deeply impacted by the conference. The Biblical teaching was outstanding.

I appreciated the foundational review of the power of the Gospel. How do you work through conflict? If we do not understand what we have received through Jesus and His forgiveness for us it will be difficult to forgive others when we are in a conflict. It gave me a deeper gratitude for what Jesus has done for me. It is so important that you and I are helping people resolve conflict.

I spent three days of my week at a reconciling marital conflict seminar. It is sobering how divorce is impacting our culture. Addressing the deepest causes of our conflict in our hearts is essential. It is important that you and I keep our marriages healthy and strong.

Let’s continue to develop a culture of peace within our families and churches. How are you doing in the area of conflict? You and I have the opportunity to have short accounts with God and the people we have contact with. God’s forgiveness is real and alive for each and everyone of us.