Yesterday was a banner day for us. Our church, Metro Life Church in Casselberry, FL, turned 40.

We were part of the start in the spring of 1985. We had two of our three children at that time as 17 adults and 11 children set out on a journey we never expected.

God had plans for us to discover what New Testament reality looked like. We had no idea how to build on this vision. We just kept taking the next step as God led the way.

Many of us fell in love with Jesus during what is now called, The Jesus Revolution in the mid-70’s. This church is the fruit of the vision God had given our senior pastor, Danny Jones. We were excited then to see what God would do.

Today we got to look back and remember what God has done in and through us in 40 years. Tears overflowed!

Danny said, “Most church plants don’t survive, let alone live to recount God’s faithfulness over 40 years. Through good times, bad times and even horrible times, He has been with us every step of the way. It is overwhelming.”

As we saw long-time friends, who used to call Metro home, come and celebrate with us we were also overwhelmed.

Relationships were the building blocks of our church. Today, even those who have been led elsewhere, are still close friends. When we meet it’s as if no time has passed.

When Tom and I got home we were happily exhausted. Basking in the glow of God’s goodness to us.

A verse shared today says it well, “When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion (Jerusalem), We were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal].” Psalm 126:1 (Amplified)

Today was a banner day, one that will forever be marked in our hearts as special—worth remembering.

From the first day until now, it seems as if we blinked and God has brought us here.

This is a video made to commemorate this milestone…

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Thank you for stopping by our vineyard. We pray you have strong relationships with those who know and love you well. It takes friends willing to say hard things to help us see our need so our marriage can grow. We all have blind spots. Friends can be a clear reflection of who we really are. It’s worth the pursuit to have strong, lasting friendships.

Blessings,

Tom and Debi ❤️❤️