Dear Family,
First, as we begin a new year let me encourage you to return some of your focus and certainly your prayer life toward our spring weekends and the work Jason and Melissa are doing building out teams.
The most immediate need is a good number of team applications. This is easy to do online by following the links below in the spring weekends section.
Next, let’s begin to ask folks to attend a weekend. We live in a highly scheduled world. Get Cursillo on their schedule and get their applications in! Weekend Application
Now some sharing and reflections… Every time I sit to write this intro section of the Scratchings I understand my circumstances will likely influence the content. Perhaps this month more than usual, but I’m confident you can relate. We ended the year on a somber note for our Fourth Day family, saying goodbye to our beloved friend, Dallas Thomas. We continue to pray for Barbara and all who love him as we grieve together. What an understatement to say Dallas will be missed. Perhaps it’s better said that Dallas Thomas will be well remembered.
I won’t go into specifics, but beyond the loss of my dear friend, my life could currently be described as a heavy hectic season. All is well in my little family but some folks whose lives run through and near ours are in their most difficult seasons. As each of you understands when the lives of those we love dearly are hurting. You are there with them; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
I share these details not because it’s unique, but because it’s not and we all walk out seasons like this. I mostly want to share how God entered on Wednesday morning. I was looking ahead at the next 7-8 days and how they would be filled with tasks, travel, great change, and time spent standing with the brokenhearted. It became clear that morning I needed to share my burdens with others. I began to text groups of men, many in this community, of our need for prayers. Within minutes a peace settled over us. My pace was just as fast and my list was just as long but my spirit was now still, and keenly aware of our omnipresent loving God. Throughout the next two days, I saw time and time again when a way was made, fears faded, and a few light-hearted moments sprouted up in difficult places.
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"
What a blessing to have brothers and sisters who love you and pray for you. As I texted our need for prayer that morning I started with some college friends and this was part of that text: Dallas, the dear friend whose funeral was last Monday, often said something like this when you told him you would be praying for him; “Good – I could use the prayers and you could use the practice.” He would also flip it around letting you know he needed the practice if you asked for his prayers.
It’s a new year and the need for prayers continues….. Let’s keep practicing family.
De Colores!
Lay Director
Kenny Quinton