Faith Revolution

First Impressions

We made it!  We arrived in our new home Sunday evening around 10:30 PM.  When we walked in, there were boxes everywhere, but some ladies from our new church had the beds and some of the furniture set up for us so that we could just crash.  There was also some food prepared for us.  We really didn’t have to do anything except begin unpacking.

Ben the dog and Tink the cat made the trip quite well.  Ben slept the whole way.  Tink was a little annoyed at being boxed up in a laundry basket, but he got over it.  And so what if he didn’t?  He’s a cat for Pete’s sake!

First impressions…

The church family has been tremendous!  

They have provided us with food and gifts and anything else we have needed.  As we began the process of unpacking our belongings on Monday morning, I looked outside and noticed all the leaves that needed raking.  I had just finished telling God that I wasn’t sure how I was going to get that done when 2 gentlemen from the church pulled in with a tractor and a couple mowers.  Within an hour or so they has all the leaves cleaned up!

Moving day on Saturday was fun.  Caleb came into our old house to tell me that the guys were here from the church to move our stuff.  I walked outside to find this huge bunch of guys standing there by the truck waiting for instructions.  It was like my own Verizon network standing there. 

Back to first impressions…

I spent some time today wondering around Cambridge Springs.  I was just running some errands and trying to meet some people.  I am impressed by the friendliness here.  Everywhere I went, I was treated like I had lived here all my life.  I was welcomed and told that we would really enjoy living here.  I believe that is true.

Personal note to my friends back in The Alliance of Osceola Mills, Community Alliance in Karthaus and Messiah Baptist…

Thank you for the fine day and the gifts on Sunday.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to visiting or touching base with everyone that I wanted before we left.  There were many of you that I wanted to speak to personally but time did not permit.  Like I’ve said before, I’m like an old wart.  I’m hard to get rid of.  Someday, somehow, I’ll catch up to you in the near future.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

October 31, 2007 Posted by Clifford Cartwright | General | | 3 Comments

The Love of My Life

Linda and Cliff

On November 2nd, Linda and I will celebrate our 17th anniversary.  This picture really speaks to our journey together.  The day this photo was taken, we were on a day hike on part of the Allegheny Front Trail that skirts the edge of the Allegheny Plateau in Centre County, PA.  This part of the trail is mostly smooth and level.  There is one part that is extremely rocky.  It winds around some deep ravines.  We stopped at this spot on the edge to view the vista.

This picture is symbolic of our marriage.  We’ve enjoyed the smooth, easy parts of the adventurous trail.  We’ve skirted the edge of disaster a time or two.  We’ve walked through and around some deep ravines.  And we’ve enjoyed some incredible views. 

But most importantly to me, we’ve walked every step together. 

Words cannot express the love, admiration and appreciation that I have for her.  God has blessed me with a wonderful woman that He made just for me and I for her.  Why He chose to bless me so richly, I will never understand. 

October 22, 2007 Posted by Clifford Cartwright | General | | 2 Comments

Church Home

My dad has a saying, if you will, that I used to think was a little bit silly, but now sounds rather profound.  You see, dad never called the church he attends just “his church.”  He calls it his “church home.”  What difference does one word make?

A lot.

I am not going to start rambling about how the the church is the people, not the building.  

If you are a regular reader of this blog or sit under my teaching, you know how strongly and passionately I present the case that the people are (or should take) priority over bricks and morter.  But the term “church home” reminds me of my home which is wherever my wife and children are.  Therefore, my church home is a place where my brothers and sisters in God’s family are.

There is more to it than that, though, because another one of my passions is helping the church move from an institutionalized place where we worship buildings and programs of various effectiveness and with extremes of success to a place where the church is a dynamic group of people making an impact on their communities; at the forefront and not trying desprately to keep up or even worse yet, languishing in irrelavancy.  I think dad’s term may help do just that.  I also have to give Linda (my lovely wife) credit here too.

Imagine the church building being a place where people actually wanted to be.  I am not being sarcastic, I am being very serious.  Why do our buildings have to consist of a foyer, a sanctuary, Sunday School classrooms and a fellowship hall that rarely gets used for fellowship? 

Really, think about it.

I am giving you plenty of time.

My home is a place where my family congregates and “lives.”  We love each other there.  We laugh there.  We cry there.  We have our pets there.  We play there.  We can be alone there.  We can be together there.  We can be who we are there.  We pray and study God’s Word there.  We worship there.  We learn there.  We communicate intimately there.  It is the center of our lives.

We grow together there.

We have a living room, kitchen, family room.  It is comfortable.  We like being together there. 

How could we make our church buildings more like home?  How do we make it a place where God’s family wants to be?  How can we make it a place where God’s family lives?

You think about it and give me some feedback.  I’ll write my thoughts in a day or two.

October 17, 2007 Posted by Clifford Cartwright | General, Pastor/Church Related | | 1 Comment

Coach Jimmy V.

A great speech by a great coach who passed away just under two months after he spoke these words.  It is worth nine minutes of your life.  I hope it inspires you.

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

“Cancer can take away all my physical abilities.  It cannot touch my mind.  It cannot touch my heart.  And It cannot touch my soul.  And those three things are gonna carry on forever.”

October 10, 2007 Posted by Clifford Cartwright | General | | No Comments

In His Time

On a personal note…

God has asked us to leave our post here in Osceola Mills, PA.  We will begin working together with our friends at the C&MA church in Cambridge Springs, PA on November 4th.  We will miss those with whom we have worked, played, laughed and cried in Osceola Mills.  But, I know that our work is finished there and that God is going to lead them into a place where they can make an even greater impact on the lives of people in the Moshannon Valley.

We are excited about what God is doing in Cambridge Springs and surrounding areas.  We will be a piece of the mosaic that God has been assembling there.  Sometime in the future, I am going to write about how God led us there.  But for now I will just say that we know that Cambridge Springs is the place He wants us to serve. 

I have often said that faith is not a roadmap.  We follow Jesus, wherever He leads.  Sometimes we wonder what’s around the next corner or over the next hill.  For us it is the snow belt town of Cambridge Springs.  What will we find there?  What challenges will we face?  That is the fun of the adventure.  The Christian life is an adventure that a lot of Christians miss. 

Good bye Osceola Mills.  We will miss you.  Thank you for your love, friendship and support.  We will never forget you.

Cambridge Springs…ready or not, here we come!  God has something special for us together as we work to impact our town.  Let’s get going! 

October 10, 2007 Posted by Clifford Cartwright | General | | 3 Comments

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