September 30, 2026
Happy Wednesday, everyone, and I am so glad to be back! I led worship on the 20th with the band to see how I would feel but then was called out of town this past weekend for a family event and missed church altogether. I hope y’all were there, and that you were singing, praising and worshiping with enthusiasm!
For those whom I have not had a chance to chat with since I’ve been back at church, my surgery went well, and I am feeling pretty good most of the time. I am still on a mechanical soft diet, adding new foods a couple times per week, and most of them have caused no problems. I have had a few painful episodes after eating something my body wasn’t ready for yet, but for the most part I am eating regularly and well. I see my surgeon for the final postop visit on November 5, and hopefully he will clear me to begin to add more complex foods one at a time until I am back to eating whatever I want. I am very much looking forward to eating all the things that have been off limits to me for years – onions, garlic, tomato products, PIZZA, BURGERS, ENCHILADAS, etc.
I have been at Salem on Sundays almost every week since the surgery, and I have very much enjoyed worshiping from within the congregation. It is so much easier to hear all your voices from the floor, and it’s so encouraging to me that y’all aren’t just worshiping because I’m up front asking you to. Does that make sense? I feel like a long-prayed prayer is being answered, and our church is finally learning to worship – not just by singing together, but by gathering faithfully, praying, fellowshipping, ministering, giving and learning from God’s Word daily. All this growth is being revealed on Sunday mornings when we gather for corporate worship and the fellowship is loud and the singing is full, and the giving is increasing, and God’s Word is being preached with power and with results. Praise the Lord!
Thank you all for your prayers for my recovery, and I hope you will continue to pray as I get back to “the job.” I have added some new songs to our library for this upcoming church year, and I know y’all are going to like them. I will post our 2026-27 canon (library of songs) on the website for you, along with links to videos so you can learn any you don’t know. Choirs will begin rehearsing again in October, and if you haven’t ever tried it, I think you should come and sing with the worship choir. We have such a great time together! Choir (and kids’ choir) is open to anyone, and I so enjoy teaching adults and kiddos to sing together, and watching them bloom in their relationship to God and in their joy in coming to church and using their gifts to honor the Lord. This is what it’s all about – passing the worship baton on to the next generation, teaching folks to worship God and Him only.
See you Sunday!
Careen
Worship Songs for October 4:
Great Things – Phil Wickham – https://youtu.be/y4CY3nf1Mvw?si=IW03gh_8w7KC_w0i
I Know a Name – Brandon Lake/CeCe Winans – https://youtu.be/U_wQonuDy-4?si=-INYkZ_aN4ft63m4
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing – The Worship Initiative/Lucy Shea – https://youtu.be/HyLKB0zo24Q?si=1FBrQUpcwC3lCfmK
Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Worship Circle/Christy Nockels – https://youtu.be/WvtaGtTeMpI?si=MQhEvoU2Fp3k1P2J