Praise Report Week 41 – 2021

Okay, here we go. Welcome to my first Praise Report, Week 41 – 2021.

Looking at my previous posts, then you would have noticed that this is something I did not do before. But I would like to give it a try.

Sunday Service in Utrecht.

As a member/volunteer of the technical team, I am responsible for the multi-media in our church. Normally 2 hours before the start of the service, we start with the setup of everything. If things go okay, then 1 hour before the service, we are done with the setup and can start to test everything.

During the practice of the Praise and Worship Team, I also will go through the slides of the songs. Just to make sure that things look okay. And if needed, I will change them.

It is strange. During the practice, I will just listen and try to follow along with the slides. And still, during the service and the Praise and Worship songs, some of the songs can now and then, touch me.

When it was time for testimonies and thanksgiving, three people wanted to give their testimony. One was talking about her car history. Whenever she needed a car, one was given. As a gift.

The second testimony was from one who had car trouble. This had happened the night before. While they were on their way home, she heard a noise. Suddenly warning lights appear, one at a time. They prayed to the Lord for protection and that they could reach a gas station. Once they reached a gas station, they could call for help.

The third testimony was a thanksgiving for her birthday. She thanked the Lord for giving her one more year. And she prayed for the years to come. And that she would be able, in the future, to go back to the Philippines.

The sermon was about Ezekiel 37:1-14. In these verses, Ezekiel was brought to the valley that was covered with human bones. The Lord instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. The bones made noise and started to move to each other to build up skeletons. Slowly the skeletons were covered with flesh, muscles, and skin. The Lord then instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the bodies and breath over them. And slowly the bodies came to life.

If I would just read it, it would be hard for me to understand the metaphor of this story. Explaining it bit by bit, made some things clear to me.

If we look at things through our own eyes and with our minds, the future can look dark. In times like that, we need to have trust and faith in the Lord. That He will guide us along the right path. Also, because we cannot do it by ourselves. Maybe, in other words, we can look at things or our future, negatively or positively.

Closing.

The closing question was; What vision of a future do you see? A valley full of dry bones… Or the Spirit of God bringing it to life.

This is something to think about. Do we see our future dark and somber or do we see a bright future in front of us? I think it depends on how we look up to God. Do we trust Him and His plan for us? Do we have faith and trust in what will cross our path?

What will the future bring me? To be honest, I have no idea. Do I worry about it? Yes, I do. But I am trying to look at it positively. My health condition is not that great. Many things had happened to me. And everytime I am wondering, what will be next. But I can also look at it differently. Maybe things are happening to me, so I can tell my story to others. So they can learn from it or see that they are not alone.

I also can look at it in a bigger picture. Things that are happening to me now, are a preparation for things to come.

Maybe the bigger picture in this is, that I should be thankful that I am alive and that I can share my story with others.

This sermon taught me, that I don’t look at things through my own eyes. But that I need to have faith and trust in the Lord and let Him work in my life.

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A Personal Note.

In the week(s) before I wrote this, I had some off moments. I felt not productive and maybe a bit guilty. But after having a nice talk with one of our church members, I know and I already should know, that I should not feel guilty.

Because of my health conditions, I need the time to let my body have a rest. That also means that I also should not feel guilty for not being “productive”. I just do the things I can do, at a pace that my body accepts.

During this talk, we also had come up with this Praise Report. That maybe this also could be a way for me to write more and share my thoughts and feel productive.

I hope you liked this Praise Report. My plan is to try to do this every week.

It was not easy to do this. The first attempt I made, I had moved it to the trashcan. It felt wrong and I was not happy with it. Maybe I was a little bit too harsh on myself, but with this one, I felt better.

Please share your thoughts and comments on what you think of this Praise Report.

For now, as always, please take care and stay safe.
God Bless