I wrote this up on Sunday and am just now getting around to posting it.

Benjamin has a terrible cough. Hannah and Noah are struggling with runny noses. When Karl woke up he had an upset stomach. So, considering all that, we decided to stay home from church. In spite of the malaise, the kids starting getting ready to go as soon as they got up. When Karl announced we wouldn’t be going there was a bit of a whine from everyone, then Benjamin asked, “Can we have church here, then?”

We’ve had “church” at home several times over the years–usually when someone isn’t well or when we are running too incredibly late to make it to church on time. It usually involves Karl leading us in song and prayer and scripture reading and discussion. Today was a little different. Since we have high-speed access these days, we were able to download a wonderful sermon by John Piper. I chose one on the Spirit-filled family. It was a good one for all of us to hear. When it was over, Noah and Benjamin asked to close us in prayer. I could tell they paid attention and took the message to heart.

It was a joy to hear my son ask for family worship rather than being happy he didn’t have to go to church today. What a blessing that is!