GIVING THANKS

Last week was just a great time of Thanksgiving.  I was with Sarah and Matt and Matt’s family in North Carolina.  Thanksgiving really needs to be that, giving thanks!  I took some time to think back over the past few years and realized how much I had to be thankful for. 

My mind went back to the last four vacations that Mary Ann and I took before she got sick.  

2005 –Oahu, Hawaii.  Truly paradise on earth.  Unbelievably big surf. Just awe inspiring.  A week of having all your senses engaged to the max.  In addition we got a call from Bryan that he had passed his PT Boards and now was fully certified.  Did we celebrate that night!

2006 – A trip to the Outer Banks of NC with Sarah, Matt and Matt’s mom and dad.  All Mary and I did was sit in the backseat of the car and enjoy the ride.  We didn’t have to plan a thing or be responsible for anything.  All we were required to do was just enjoy the sites.  While at Kitty Hawk we got a call from Bryan and Beth letting us know that their first baby, due in December, was going to be a boy and they were going to call him Owen. 

2007 – A trip to Banff in the Canadian Rockies with Mary’s brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Patty.  What an incredible time.  The beauty of the region can’t be overstated.  We also saw wild animals galore.  Mary was enamored by the grizzlies.  One came out of the woods in front of our car.  We stopped.  Mary jumps out of the car with her camera needing a close up.  I am pulling her back in screaming, “You’re going to get mauled!”  She knew no fear.  Took on an alligator in Florida one year.  “I just have to get a little closer”.  Should have taken her camera away.

2008 – A trip to Germany.  So much history, both world and family.  We had the joy of seeing the kingdom work our niece and nephew were doing in Berlin.  We visited the little town of Lichtenburg, in which my father grew up.  My Dad left Germany 90 years ago, but the house he grew up in is still owned by family and we got to go in and have afternoon snacks with cousins I had never met.  We also visited my Mom’s home city of Leipzig.  The church her father pastored was still standing but was going to be torn down the following year so a new church could be built.  I was able to stand in the pulpit and imagine the ministry he had.  I also got to see the second floor which had been the home my mom grew up in.

What amazing trips.  How do you top all those “once in a lifetime” experiences?  Only one way. 

A trip to Heaven.   

How thankful I am for the Lord Jesus Christ who has an eternal vacation planned for His children that will never end.

THE PERFECT AGE

Have you ever wondered what the perfect age would be, where you could just freeze frame it and stay that age the rest of your life?

I always thought it was 26.  At that age I was full of energy, idealism, enough maturity to focus my life and have some impact, and maximized the possibilities of each day.

Then I thought it was 36.  I’d settled into a purposeful and meaningful ministry.  My marriage had found a good rhythm.  My kids were a blast and family times were just the best.  I was in peak physical shape and bringing my “A” game.

Then I thought it was 46.  I’d come to realize how much I had learned about life over the years, how I had matured in ways that allowed my gifts and passions to have broader impact.  Exciting new ministry doors opened.  There was greater wisdom, still great energy and health, a good pace to life, and a marriage that was fuller and deeper in relationship.

Then I thought it was 56.  I could look back over the years with satisfaction, a blessed marriage, kids who made me proud of how they were navigating life, the joy of their marriages and their maturing walk with God.  I had the opportunity to be amazed at God’s work in my life, how He had patiently and graciously been shaping my heart to desire Him above all else, guiding my life to fulfill His calling in me, yet still had passion and energy for the years to come.

Next week I turn 66.  Is this the perfect age?  I am now more fully aware of what really matters in life.  I have had the opportunity to put all this world has to offer side by side and have had enough time to determine what matters most, what is hay, wood and stubble and what is gold, silver and precious stone.   I have experienced and weathered enough crises to deepen my walk with the Lord to where He is more precious now than He ever was before.  Yet I still have strength, energy and a strong excitement to embrace the next chapter of my life.  

Every ten years seem to get me to the best year of my life.  

Can’t wait until I turn 76!!

PASSION

I have averaged three mailings a day of political campaign stuff all telling me the reasons I need to vote for their candidate.  I have been exposed to more campaign commercials then I ever care to be.  But this is America and the opportunity to elect our officials is just fantastic even with the overkill on yard signs, bumper stickers and TV/radio commercials.  We’ve looked at positions and issues and have come to a conclusion on which presidential candidate we decided to vote for.  But now the election is over.  For some there is celebration and rejoicing and for others there sadness and disappointment.  But as the emotions settle we realize once again that God is the supreme sovereign.  He is writing history.  He foreknows the hearts of people and the direction nations will take, all leading to the day when his prophetic pronouncements of how history will end will take place.  But for now our nation faces some stiff challenges, social issues, moral issues, economic issues, foreign policy, and the war on terror.  We need to be praying for our leaders, faithfully.  The Bible commands us to do so.  And as Christians I want to remind us that we are part of Christ’s kingdom and His Kingdom is an apolitical Kingdom.  He is not trying to draw men to a particular party.  He is all about drawing men into His Kingdom because He is the hope of this world who one day will reign over it.  The Bible tells us that of His kingdom there will be no end in length or in scope.  It will be a kingdom of perfect righteousness, peace and justice.  In His Kingdom men will live forever in the most prosperous, happy, joy filled existence you could ever imagine.  Now that the election is over, let’s transfer our political passions to the one who is truly worth getting passionate about.  Let’s keep advancing His Kingdom.  

LET'S GET OUR PRAISE ON!

Last Sunday morning our second service Worship Team led us in a great time of worship and praise.

Reading in Spurgeon’s devotional, Morning and Evening, I was struck by his insights into the benefits of praise to the worshipper.  Listen to what he has to say.  “Praise helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith.”  I love that.  And how true it is.  When our focus is on the One who is powerful beyond imagination, loving beyond reason, present beyond our awareness, who is committed to us in a relationship without end, whose goodness and mercy are daily companions, we experience Spurgeon’s reality.   Can I encourage you to give yourself to praise, not just Sunday mornings, but throughout the week?  Praise not only puts a smile on God’s heart, it’s of great benefit to us as well.  So let’s get our praise on!!