Kicking Off Summer

What a great day!  I am beat, but so content.  We hosted a picnic and invited several people from church, and a few we just know.  All total thirty two people came to our small apartment.  God gave us a heat wave (someone said it got to 95) and lots of sun.  The food tasted fantastic, and the fellowship was excellent.  Some new friendships were made and others greatly strengthened.  One of my favorite young mothers was incredibly impressive and her kids were a charm.  My son and his fiancée came out and we had a great time with them. 

The volley ball games were a lot of fun and were instrumental in building relationships.  The last three games were the remaining teens against the adults.  After the adults had soundly thrashed the teens, Nancy suggested that we do that for teen night.  The adults got excited and said they would attend.  Wow!  This might be a summer of strengthening families. 

I am beat, but am unsure if I am going to be able to sleep.  God is incredibly good to us!

Blessing Two

I had the most wonderful time speaking with a lovely young lady who was here visiting her parents.  I've observed her for several years and have noticed God's grace in her life even in difficult times.  As she spoke, the grace and peace of God seemed to flow with her words.  What a blessing.  I found myself excitedly saying amen more than once through our brief conversation.  Do you know how exciting it is to speak with someone who who loves God and has learned that godliness with contentment is great gain? 

Congratulations Pastor and Kathy.  I know you have no greater joy than to see your children walking in truth.  How joyful your weekend must be!

Counting Blessings

So many positives today, but there are two I really want to share and I will share them one at a time.  Here's the first of two.

Wonder Church was great.  I have the most amazing team and today two of them really shone.  Miss Patty was challenged to come up with some illustrations for some of the points in the message to really help drive it into the hearts of the kids and she excelled.  I also asked her to cone up with a few quick games to help keep the kids from losing focus without us being in control of it, and what a blessing that was.  One word: applesauce!

Miss Kali was put in charge of designing and implementing the craft for the message and I am super impressed with the ability God has given her.  She had one of the best crafts we ever did and it was planned out far better than we have ever planned.  It was a hit. 

God blessed the whole service.  The Old Folks service ran over and things downstairs were so smooth the bus captains had come beg for the kids to get on the bus.  Five kids made professions of faith, one of which is a church kid who had made a profession years earlier.  I could see the conviction on his face when he came forward.

God Played Kick Ball

I played kick ball with our Christian school kids and we had to quickly end the game so everyone could get back in time to get what they needed to do, done.  I had work, they had, well school.  I was up to kick, my team was down four to one, we had two people on base, and one out.  I had a great opportunity to tie the game, and since we were last at bat, we could win.  I booted the ball and it went sailing!  Just as the ball was clearing the infield and continued to rise, the wind picked up and started blowing it back, right into the hands of the kid who caught it.  One of the kids who was on base had started running, and was thrown out.  It was a double play and the game was over.

I hate losing, but I love seeing God do amazing things.  You should have been there.  It wasn't the wind, it was God who caught the ball and put it in the boy's hand who "caught" it.  I wonder if it was the same wind He used to part the Red Sea.

What Is Impossible With Man

I pray with my daughter every night I am home.  Last night she prayed for today's school picnic to be held in a different location than it had been scheduled for.  I knew one of the reasons for the selecting of the location, and I knew the chance of that being altered was about 0.1%.  I almost told her there was no chance of that happening, but the Holy Spirit reminded me of some of the crazy things I had asked for and received in the past.  So I left it alone and told God I hoped He did it.

This morning, my wife (who teaches at our Christian school and was unaware of my daughter's prayer request) called to ask me if I would like to attend the school picnic since it had been changed to the exact location my daughter had prayed for. 

Well, shut my mouth!  Praise God!  What an awesome God!  There is none other who cares for us like my Father on heaven!

In His Care

I've been rather lax this year toward my retirement accounts.  I thought about them a couple days ago and not really having time to concern myself with them, asked God to take care of it for me.  Yesterday I got an email that suggested I check on their status.  Feeling somewhat obligated to see whether or not Nancy and I would be eating much after I retire from secular employment, I checked on them.  They are up, on average, well over 8 percent for the year.  Just a little proof that God does care about the little things in our lives.

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Romans 8:32

Not that God won't remove those finances from my possession at some point, but by then I expect He will have prepared me to eat from the beaks of ravens.  1 Kings 17:4-6

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Mark 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.   (KJV)

I don't know that anything else needs to be said, but a question.  Am I too familiar with Jesus?  Let it never be so.

Better Than Coffee, Way Better

The best way to start the day is by praising God.  Dig deep in your heart and praise Him from the depth of your innermost being.  Focus on the things He has done for you personally, focus on the things He has done in the past, focus on the truths of the Bible.  As I did this today, my praises became much more intense, and my joy more complete.  As my prayers naturally turned to requests and supplications, they were not just reading from a grocery list, but intense, heart felt, deeply personal requests between God and I.  I could almost see Him nodding in understanding.  What a blessed prayer time I had today.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, my God, my King, and my Saviour!

Daily Riches

Another day done, another day filled with the rich blessings of God.  Safe travel, accomplishment of necessary projects, good communication, good food, wonderful rain, followed by bright sunny skies, beautiful scenery on the way, and some wonderful thoughts and meditations of the Lord.  Wow!  The only thing that could have made this a better day would be seeing more of the load of benefits God gave me.

I must say, though;I miss my wife and daughter.  Now that I think about it, I miss my son too.  I sure did enjoy spending time with him and his fiancee the other day.  God is full of blessings for us!

Surprise!

I got to witnessed God answer a prayer in a way only He can.  Someone in or church has a grandson who had a certain need that they could not afford to provide.  Nothing was ever said to anyone about this need, even as a prayer request. 

Another person in our church had some money they were sure God wanted them to give.  This individual prayed for a considerable span of time and truly labored over what ministries or individuals to give the money to.  I was witness to this process.

She finally decided who God wanted her to give the money to, and used an individual close to me to distribute it.  The first individual was extremely appreciative and told the distribute about some very important needs that money would fulfill.

Just when it seems there is no answer, no hope, no provision, God miraculously provides, and blessed several others in the process.

I Love God!

It was a great morning!  Two kids in Wonder Church received Christ, and one teenage girl who I had the pleasure of leading to the Lord.  God gives the increase!

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy...

Praising God is so much better than counting your blessings.  This is especially true when I'm feeling a little out of sorts.  The problem is, I'm not smart enough to remember that.

Great Teen Night

We had one of the best teen nights we have had on a long time.  The planning was pretty easy, the message came together well, and God blessed through it all.  He takes care of our group and never fails to load us with blessings, but tonight just seemed extra special.  Even with the added pressure from several different directions.

Thank You Jesus, my God and my Savior.

Finally

I've been trying for a while to spend some time with my son and his fiancé.  Finally I got to do so tonight.  Thank You, Lord for a truly good night.