Eighteen years ago my lessons in fatherhood began. It didn’t come as a surprise, we’d had nine months to prepare. But what I didn’t know at the time was that this is a class you never finish.
The total revelation however was how much I needed to learn about being a son. I’m so thankful for the lessons these past eighteen years have brought and am looking forward to those ahead. Thank you Elliot for all you have taught me, Happy Birthday! I love you.
And Happy Birthday Grandma Grace.
There are growing plants and growing businesses, the population is growing and there are growing families. We grow up, grow in wisdom and grow old. We have growing pains and some of these come from growing apart. My favorite is growing together.
Life’s a mess and I hate that, I’d rather have everything all tidy and in its place, have things happen when I think they should and never feel pain. But that’s not the world we live in and pretending it is only makes things worse. I’m so very thankful God’s at work cleaning up my mess and from His view it’s a beautiful thing.
“When you go through a disappointment, when you go through a loss, don’t stop on that page in your life. You’ve got to decide to keep moving forward. There’s another chapter in front of you but you’ve got to be willing to take the next step.” – Jen Munro
“What we learn is far more important than what we go through.” – Lindy Chamberlain (Thank you Alison)
We needn’t be defined by the tragedy that befalls us, we must grow through it.
I love this thought from E. Stanley Jones, “We must not be self-contained, we must be Christ-contained. We must depend on Him for our primary refreshment. Then if anything comes from without it is all something thrown in, a plus. Glance at the refreshments from without, gaze at the refreshment in Christ. We must give refreshment to others if we are to keep it in Him.”
Everyone is not in the same place in their relationship with the Lord as you are. To many, what you receive from Him is the only contact they will have today.
There are times when family and friends are a great comfort and a beautiful expression of God’s love for us. But there are other times when the Lord is all there is. In those times, He’s more than enough.
Sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging.
Through the innocence that we receive from what Jesus has done for us, let’s win some to Him; love those around you well today.
Your story is the one we want to hear. It’s the one God’s given you, it can’t be argued with and nothing you can share is more powerful than what you and He have done together.
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen
The excitement that’s a result of trusting God can’t be topped. Grasping the reality that we don’t know what tomorrow brings and finding exhilaration instead of worry is an incredible gift. Let’s do this day Lord!
The Better Thing 