Thursday, May 30, 2019

Girl Power


Last week in this blog, I honored a family in our church where the husband/father was currently serving our country overseas.  I have never served in the military, but admire with deep respect those that do.  For our family, Memorial Day is the kick-off to summer and both of my children and our six grandchildren were at Lake Hartwell together.  The weekend is filled with time on the dock, fun on the boat and too much food.  As you can imagine, we are running wide open keeping up with the six.  Some of my favorite moments, however, are the quiet times with these girls.  The older girls are known for their magic hugs and the younger ones still love to snuggle.  Caroline and I are so fortunate to have them close enough to us that we can see them regularly.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for them in the years to come.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Single Moms

One of the most important things our ConnectGroup at church does is pray.  While our group is not meeting over the summer, the habit of prayer will hopefully continue for us until we reassemble in the fall.  We have been praying for a mom in our church who is raising her small kids on her own.  Her husband left suddenly several months ago.  Her needs are pretty basic - food, sleep, time and good health allowing her the strength to manage a family on her own.  I really can't imagine the stress and fatigue she must be experiencing.  Our group has provided some meals for them hoping the small gesture will make that day a little easier.  As for the dad, there are a lot of things that I would like to say to him if I have the chance, but I will probably just leave it at "thank you for your service."

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Spoken like a champ


Our spoken words can be powerful, inspiring, informative, boring or cutting.  We use our voices every day to communicate something.  I came across this short video which has contains some solid advice on what we can do to make the world a better place by what we say and how we say it.   I didn't find anything revolutionary here, but I think if I were able to follow these guidelines more closely, it would be revolutionary for me and the people I am speaking with.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Moms


This photo is from several years ago.  As our family continues to grow, it seems to get harder and harder to get everyone together at one time and sit still for a minute for a photo.    I love this shot because it includes four of my favorite Moms:  my mom on the lower right, my wife Caroline third from the left on the top row, my daughter Lizzy next to Caroline, and my daughter-in-law, Emily next to my mom.   I feel so fortunate that my mom lives next door to us, and we get to see her several times a week.  She and my dad are responsible for all of this craziness, in addition to both of my brother's families.  I love that she cares deeply for each one of us, and I want to honor her especially on this Mother's Day week.  I love you, Mom.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

So Will I


Last week at The Vine, our associate pastor, Andrew Erwin, reminded us of how confident we can feel in our creator because of His creation.  The care that He took to make the world and everything in it work together with precision accuracy is no accident.  He took the same care with each of us and knew that the richest gift He could give us was the choice to love Him and love others.  I have heard this song by Hillsong Worship several times in church but had never watched the video until this morning.  The words are so rich.  "If creations sings your praises, so will I"  If you have 7 minutes turn everything else off and give it a listen.