Happy New Year!

I've always felt that fall was the best season of the year. To me, September 1st is more like the start of a new year than January 1st is. September 1st just seems to mark the beginning of so many great things. For example:

SPORTS! Fall is just the best time for sports. We have the stretch run of the Major League Baseball seasons leading right into the post-season and fall classic (O, that it would someday soon return to the city of Cleveland!). You also have the start of the college football season (Go Ohio State Buckeyes and Liberty University Flames) as well as the National Football League (Go Browns!). And if that isn't good enough, the National Hockey League will soon drop the puck as well (Go Philadelphia Flyers!). There is no doubt about it - fall is a great time for sports!

WEATHER! Okay, these thought may change after going through my first winter up here in northern Michigan. Next year at this time I may not be so welcoming of fall, but I have always loved the cooler temps and the turning leaves that would come with the fall season (although I sure have a few bazillion more leaves to rake where I live now than when I lived in Lancaster County, PA).

MINISTRY! But the best part of fall is the start of a new ministry season in the local church and we have some great things lined up here at Gaylord E-Free as we move into fall. For example, over the month of September we will go through a study on Sunday mornings in Acts 2:41-47 that we are calling, "I Love My Church" as we see how the early church didn't just "do church" together...they "did life" together. We will use this series to challenge all who come to E-Free to not just "attend" church but to "connect" here at the church. Then, October will take us into a series on "The Mansion of Prayer" as we explore the 5 rooms of prayer and find a key to open up each one of them in a greater way and with greater energy!

So, today is September 1st! Happy New Year, everyone!