It Is An Honor to Serve

I have been granted the incredible privilege in my life to serve an amazing group of students. They keep me young while constantly reminding me of my fading hairline. My hope and prayer is that each and every one of them will hold onto Christ and never let go. I want nothing less than to spend eternity with every one of them.

To any of my youth that read this, I really mean it when I write that it is an honor to serve you.

Add It To The Day

I had a lot of plans for today. After being gone for a week with my youth on a missions trip, I had a lot of catching up to do. The start of my day had me driving to a nearby city to correct an order error that had been made on a batch of t-shirts we had made. About halfway there my car decided to die. Within an hour my car was in the shop and the early prognosis was a fuel pump.

That one event pretty much messed up my day. I’d like to be able to say that I was a triumphant Christian that didn’t let an expensive repair bring me down, but I did. Everything from that point on just seemed to be piling it on. The title of this post was what I kept telling myself, just add it to the day.

My emotions got the better of me when they really shouldn’t have. It wasn’t like life ended or anything. Looking back now, I see that the whole day moved rather smoothly for what happened. I had my cell phone on me so within minutes I had a tow truck coming for me and a repair shop waiting for the car. Within a half hour, I was sitting at the repair shop which conveniently is within walking distance from my apartment. I was able to get some work done before my mom picked me up and took me into the church (added bonus, she bought me a sandwich for lunch). Later, she allowed me to take her car until my car is fixed. The final thing is that I have most of the money for the repair. I’ve blogged before about the budget software that my wife and I use. Part of our budget sets aside money for repairs and thankfully it had been building up for a while.

So, at the end of the day I have to realize that God had things under control and I should have remained positive. Harder said than done, but it would have been worth the effort.

Book Review - Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes

A book review by Kelly.

Description:
When a mammogram result comes back abnormal, midlife mama Summer Finley makes a snap decision to relegate fear to the back burner and fulfill a lifelong dream. Summer heads for Holland where she meets up with tulips, wooden shoes, and her best friend, Noelle.

Pen pals since fourth grade, Summer and Noelle have never met face-to-face. Through decades of heart-level correspondence, they have sustained a deep friendship. A week of adventure helps both women trade anxiety for a renewed and deeper trust in God. When Summer confides in Noelle about the abnormal medical report, Noelle finds the freedom to share a long-held heartache, and both women discover they needed each other more than they realized.

Women ages 35 and up, readers of Christian Boomer Lit, and fans of books such as The Yada Yada Prayer Group will enjoy Robin Jones Gunn’s humorous and uplifting style. True-to-life characters and moments of poignancy bring a deeper understanding of the value of life and the gift of true friends. Readers guide and bonus material included.

Author Bio:
Robin Jones Gunn is the best-selling and award-winning author of over seventy books, including the Glenbrooke, Christy Miller, Sierra Jensen, Katie Weldon, and Christy and Todd: The College Years teen series. The Sisterchicks® series has sold more than 300,000 units, bringing her total sales to more than 3.5 million books worldwide. A Christy Award winner, Robin is a popular speaker, both at home and abroad, and is frequently interviewed on radio and on television

Kelly’s Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. The author grabs your interest right from the start and keeps you wanting more at the end. I enjoyed reading about all the places they went to while touring in the Netherlands, especially since I had been there before. I thought the spiritual transformation that both women experience as a result of their time together was good. It was a great lesson in learning to forgive as well as learning to completely trust God. The characters learn so much from each other and have a blast being together. It was fun reading it. At times I was laughing so hard and other times I was on the verge of tears. It truly is a book about sisterhood and I would recommend it to all my friends. I have never read anything by Robin Jones Gunn before but I will be looking for more of her books in the future.

Check the book out at Amazon.

Keep Pressing On

I was talking with a good friend today about the journey. That road that we are on to eternity. We were talking about how life seems so full of pain. Pain that seems overwhelming at times.

It is difficult at times to really hold on to the fact that the pains of this life one day will pass away. We suffer now, often unjustly, but in the end eternity with God will wipe away all the pains.

Our task is simple. We hold on. No matter what happens. No matter the cost. It’s the theme that I’ve been trying to drill into the head of my youth (and myself) this year.

Whatever It Takes.

That’s my prayer for anyone that reads this. I pray that you will do whatever it takes to spend eternity with God.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1