Nursing Home Music

Finding Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Going to visit people living in memory-care can be strange, uncomfortable, and even difficult, but it is rarely boring. It seems that every day, someone has a problem. No two days, no two people and no two problems are the alike. Just when things seem to be going smoothly, new challenges unexpectedly appear: The memory care wing is on lockdown, a person we counted on to help with the service is out sick or a resident we have grown to love has passed away. How does God expect us to cope with all of this? I believe that the answer is: He doesn’t! Now, I have experienced a lot of problems over the years at nursing homes and in my personal life, but none of them can compare with the kinds of issues that the Apostle Paul experienced. Shipwreck, beatings, prison and death threats were regularly on his itinerary. As Paul faced all of these bravely, we find him singing in prison with Silas, returning to the town where he was stoned and left for dead and even writing a letter to encourage Timothy while he himself faced the death sentence. But of all these problems, the one Paul faced when he wrote a letter to the Corinthian church was different. This time Paul when pleaded with God to take a problem away from him, God spoke to him about grace:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

This time God didn’t send an earthquake to change Paul’s situation, give him some new strategy to escape, or promise that things would get better. Instead, God promised Paul what He promises you and me: “My grace is sufficient for you…” God won’t give us the ability to follow Him without grace. He has designed us, not with an inner ability to succeed at anything we hope to do, but with a weakness that will drive us to depend on Him. There in our desperate moment, God comes, restores our hope, and pours His strength into our weakness. So, pray, pray, pray. Pray for God’s grace and then buckle your seat belts. You just may be amazed at what God can do!

Happy Day at the Nursing Home!

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24 NKJV

Those who only observe nursing home ministry from a distance, may think that we pass our time as in the words of the hymn, “Softly and tenderly,” And yes, that would be accurate for that small part of each service when we slow down and come humbly into God’s presence. But were we to plan the entire song service with only the slow and hushed hymns, half our residents would be sound asleep! So, here is one of our opening songs at Friday’s church service at Life Care. We sang a Sunday school song about a happy day, when I am “livin’ it for my Lord!” I do hope you will listen carefully for their voices and ask yourself if God might be calling you to also consider volunteering for nursing home ministry in your own community. After all, it’s a happy day when, “I’m living each day on the promises in God’s word!”

It's a happy day, and I thank God for the weather
It's a happy day, when I'm livin' it for my Lord
It's a happy day, and things are gonna get better
When I'm livin' each day on the promises in God's word!

BUT
It's a grumpy day and I don't like the weather
It's a grumpy day, when I'm livin' it for myself
It's a grumpy day
And nothin's gettin' any better
Cause I'm livin' today
With my Bible on the shelf

BUT
It's a happy day, when I'm livin' it for my Lord
It's a happy day, when I'm livin' it for my Lord
It's a happy day, and things are gonna get better
When I'm livin' each day on the promises in God's word!

Revival at Nursing Home

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

What comes to your mind when you hear the word revival? Is it long lines of people waiting for the doors of church to open? Is it an altar full of people praying after the service? I would answer, “Yes and Amen!” to both. But revival is also about joy in the place of hardship and faith in an environment of wheelchairs, doctor’s visits and painful nights. Revival at nursing home isn’t about the numbers, the excitement or the breathless expectations of large meetings. Nursing home revival is about the love of Jesus breaking out in miraculous ways, of residents praying for one another and of nurses wiping a tear away when they hear their special people singing. Revival is about God breaking through in the most unexpected place and at times we never imagined. In 1962 Doris Mae Akers was directing the choir. As they neared the end of their rehearsal time, Doris felt the presence of God in a such a special way, that she said, “You are not ready to go in,” Later that night, still sensing that God had something more, she took pen in hand and wrote words that we have been singing for the last sixty-three years, “There’s a Sweet Sweet Spirit in this place. And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.” Are you looking for something more in your walk with the Lord Jesus? Then linger in prayer and worship, listen in the quiet place of prayer and determine to take whatever time is needed for God to break through. Then, “Without a doubt we’ll know, that we have been revived. When we shall leave this place!”