… and it’s been great!

It’s very easy, when leading the services, to get focused on what’s coming up next or the wrong chord that I just hit at the end of the last chorus.  Sometimes, genuine worship for the worship leader can be elusive … at least during a busy Sunday morning.

So, it’s been refreshing to be led to worship by our amazing worship band.  Jillian McDougall is leading for September.  Jeff and Noelle Dupuis have also been leading throughout the summer.  Thank you guys!  You’re doing a great job of leading people into the presence of God through your gifts and your leadership of the band.

The band did a great job this morning.  Jillian was at the piano.  Faith Pettigrew was at the keys.  Faith has an amazing and humble heart.  Jordan (Faith’s brand-new fiance ) was on bass.  It’s been great to play with Jordan these last few years.  He started in the youth worship band with me and I love it when youth move into the service worship bands.  Awesome.  Tim Reid was on on drums.  Tim is currently on the youth worship band and plays in the main services whenever he’s able to.  Mike Degazio was on acoustic guitar.  I love Mike.  His musical skills and desire for excellence leaks into the other band members.  Mel Maxwell and Lindsay Bishop were on backup vocals … very good singing!  Mel took the lead on Revelation Song which has to be one of my favourite songs.  It completely suites a female lead.

Pastor Darrell’s been working through Philippians and today we were in Philippians 4.  It was a great message on “Learning to Stand.”  He gave us 3 tips on “how to stand.”

1. learn to rise above our circumstances
2. think of others more than ourselves
3. forget the past and strive for our prize in Christ Jesus

Beyond the spiritual benefits, this break from leading from the platform also gives me a chance to see different ways in which the services could be improved.

So, I’m looking forward to getting back up leading, but I’m being cautious and guarding my strength.  I was pretty tired by the end of the two services this morning … and that includes me skipping out early on the first service.  For now, I’ll take time to appreciate the rare opportunity I have to worship from the congregation.

Sure I wasn’t there in person, but my friend Bill Anderson dialed me in on Skype this evening so I could be a part of the baptisms out on Lake Vernon in Muskoka.  What an awesome use of technology.  It was great to witness the baptisms.  It was also cool to see and chat with a pile of friends who were out.  I’m certainly looking forward to chatting with everyone at Faith face-to-face soon, but this was cool.  Thanks Bill for hooking it all up … and congrats to all those who took the step of obedience in baptism today.  Well done!

You can click on any of these pictures to enlarge them. Click here to see more pictures taken at the baptism.

Jeff Dupuis chatting with me via Skype after Jeff, and his wife Noelle’s, baptism

TOMS SHOES HAITI from David Darg on Vimeo.

I was just introduced to TOMS shoes. This organization is amazing. Not only do they design and sell sweet foot attire, but for every shoe that they sell, they donate one shoe to a needy child around the world. What a simple concept. It’s often those simple concepts that can make a huge impact for the poorest of the poor around the globe. Here’s a video from their US website talking about their recent distribution in Haiti in response to the earthquake there earlier this year. I often get bogged down by wondering what I could do. I love how simple their concept is.

Toms’ Canadian Website
Toms’ US Website
Watch a video about their story … talk about the importance of “story”

For my fellow Muskokans, you can pick up Toms Shoes at Algonquin Outfitters in Huntsville. Oh ya.

My doctors said I could go home yesterday but the organization that coordinates home care could not arrange home care to start yesterday.  So, we (and the staff here) figured I’d be in over the weekend and then home on Monday.  Well, home care is saying they can’t take me on until next Thursday.  So, unless something changes (and the staff here have been trying their hardest to figure this out) I will be in the hospital for an extra week.  The staff here (and I) are very frustrated at this delay.  It sounds like it has to do with training for the TPN (nutritional IV) treatment that I’m coming home with. The nurses and I are going to be trained on it on Thursday by their pharmacist.  The hospital here was willing to send me home with some TPN and have someone else hook me up, but it just is getting too confusing so I think I’m here till Thursday unless something comes up.

So, that was a frustrating delay for Christina and I to face.

The numbness in my feet/legs continues.  It’s certainly not better and may actually be worse.  The doctors are continuing me on vitamin treatment in hopes that it is nutritional in origin.  I’m asking you to pray that this is the case.  There are other complications relating to my crohn’s that this could be and they are very serious.  The doctors are placing these potential causes down at the bottom of possibilities, but they’re still there.

Thank you for your love and prayers.  The kids are back with my parents.  I got to see them last Sunday but that was it for the week.  I really miss just being home with them.  Malachi’s been sick this week.  Christina is here with me in Toronto but is also sick.  She has a conference in the city that she may go to for part of today and then she may stop by.

My hope is that we’ll all be home soon.

Thank you again for your prayers and the many kind calls/visits/cards.

I have been blessed by many visitors. It would be a challenge to list them all but wow! Thank you to all have stopped by, called, emailed, tweeted, whatever!

It’s evening here at the hospital so things have quieted down for the day. My Dad’s coming up from Kitchener tomorrow and Christina may be by with the kids.

I had a great visit last night with some friends … Brad Sider, Laura Lewis, and Tammy Temple. We took some time of quiet worship, listening to some worship songs and praying together. What an evening. Thanks guys.

So, a big thanks to everyone for their love, support, and prayers.  We are truly experiencing the love of Christ through the body of Christ!  Talk to you again soon.

It’s another Sunday that I’m here in Toronto and not with you at Faith. I hope that you all have an amazing day! I miss worshiping together with you.

It’s a tough day. I had quite a painful procedure a few days ago to put in a drain to a new abscess that was quite deep inside my abdomen. The procedure was very painful and that pain continues (although not as extreme) to this morning. In addition, my weight has fallen. I’ve had some days with high outputs that would have made it hard to maintain the weight. Anyways, that’s quite discouraging, but there are solutions to help with the weight, they just mean more time in the hospital; something I had been hoping to avoid. We’ll see what the doctors say this morning.

On top of this, my left leg and the toes on both feet have been numb for the last two days or so. This is
very concerning to me and the doctors don’t really have an answer for it yet. They thought maybe the abscess was doing something but it doesn’t appear so. I’m asking that you pray for my feet and leg, that the feeling would be restored today. I really don’t need something new for the doctors to be investigating. Sitting on a hospital bed for 6 weeks probably doesn’t help the situation with
my toes/leg.

Christina is here with me this weekend. I’m so grateful when she is able to be here. Thank you also to all of you who have been praying, have come and visited, have phoned, and have written letters of
encouragement.

I will be coming home. I just don’t know when.

love to you all,
Matt

Here’s the songs:
Our God Saves (Baloche)
Amazed (Anderson)
Hosanna (Fraser)
Consuming Fire (Hughes)

This post is published as part of the “Sunday Setlist” program through theworshipcommunity.com. Follow this link to see other Sunday Setlists from this past week.

http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-99/