Indeed

Setting aside some quiet time to spend with God each day is an essential part of our spiritual growth. Whether you are a ling time Christ-follower or a newcomer to the faith, having a devotional guide to read as a part of your "quiet time" is a great tool. There are many good devotionals out there - My Utmost for His Highest, Our Daily Bread, Morning and Evening, etc. A new one that was recently introduced to me is called "Indeed." We have ordered some to give away at church, so look for them when the next edition comes out for September-October. You can order any of the above devotionals or check them out online by clicking the hyperlink. The only one of the above not available online is Indeed.

Sunday's Baptism

Just thought I'd post a quick video of one of our baptism's on Sunday! What an awesome day! It was really great to celebrate with the three of you who were baptized! I am so proud to be your pastor and can't wait to see what God does in and through your lives!

Camp Willow Run

In case you didn't know, I am out at Camp Willow Run this week as the "camp speaker" which means I get to speak to a group of about 90 middle school students twice a day - once in the morning, and once at night. I could go on and on about what an amazing camp that Willow Run is, but I will refrain.

Anyway...for one of my last talks, I've asked the kids to write me questions they have about God, Jesus, the Bible, etc. so that I may can answer them in tomorrow's mornings talk. So, I thought you guys out there in blog land might enjoy some of the questions they had to ask:

Why do guys not like girls as fast as girls like guys?

When Adam and Eve came to earth were they grown people?

What does god look like?

And my personal favorite:

How many pounds of cheesecake can you eat in three minutes?

They also had some other questions like "How did I become a Christian?" and "How does God actually talk to us?" and "How do I know what is God's voice in my head and what's not?"

Anyway...these students have been great and I am really hopeful that they are learning to discern the voice of God in their lives. You might pray that I'll be able to answer their questions tomorrow, but probably not the one about cheesecake!

Poetry/Prayer Day

Just wanted to share a couple of poems/prayers from a couple of books I'm reading. The first, from the book, The Fight, by John White is a poem by Franics of Assissi:

Lord, make me an intsrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in the giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The other is a poem from JI Packer from his book "Knowing God." He writes:

Lord it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and share Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short - then why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?

Appreciation

Sorry I've been slack on the blogging, but I'm back in the game!

Anyway...a few people I need to express appreciation for:

1) Tim - for preaching the messages at our church for the last 5 weeks. It's been a great break for me to get some other things done! Thanks! You did a great job!

2) Jenny - with my lovely wife being out of town this past weekend, Jenny was able to come to church for the first time in a long time and was there to help watch Jackson so I could get everything else done so much more easily! What a great surprise! Thanks so much Jenny! You are such a great help!

3) Cary and Amanda - with Cary and Amanda out of town (to Destin, FL which is apparently heaven on earth since everyone and their brother seems to be vacationing there), I had to/got to lead worship at our church. I enjoy doing the music, but everytime I've done it, I completely realize that it is not my calling and certainly not my greatest gift! Everytime I do it, I think, "I can't wait to get Cary and Amanda back!" They do SUCH an AWESOME JOB. We are so blessed to have you.

4) Courtney - she went out of town this weekend and Jackson and I had a "daddy weekend." We had a good time and survived but we missed our mommie and all the wonderful things she does for us. We wrote her a note that we were "glad she got to go out of town" with friends, and that she could do it again - NEXT YEAR! Only once a year sweetie!