Thursday, April 28, 2022

Celebration of Life

I attended the celebration of life service for Tom Larrison on Saturday.  Tom and his wife Ann go to our church, and they have participated in our small group from church.  Tom was way too young to die, but he had been struggling with multiple chronic issues for some time.  At the service, four of Tom's high school buddies from Florida spoke.  It was fun to hear their stories from 40 years ago, but it was amazing to see how those relationships had been nurtured over four decades.  Two of Tom's recent business partners also spoke.  Their perspective was shorter and more current, but the common theme from all of the speakers was that Tom always wanted to know how they were doing.  Tom never wanted to talk about himself.  I was convicted that I want to be more like Tom, my brother in Christ.  How are you doing today?

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Wonder

I like the word wonder.  It has at least two meanings depending on the context.  You can wonder what you are having for dinner.  In that sense, it just means to question or to be curious about.  But the other wonder is the wonder you feel when you see the northern lights for the first time or hear an orchestra perform a beautiful composition.  That wonder can make you lose your breath or bring you to tears.  There is nothing that brings more of the second type of wonder than the wonder that God came to Earth as a man, died on a cross to save me from my sin and then rose from the grave.  I believe that wonder will continue until I meet Him face to face, and hope that if it changes, it only becomes more intense.  That feeling of wonder reminded me of this song from Lauren Daigle - How Can It Be.  Take a moment to get lost in the wonder of God.

Thursday, April 14, 2022

His Vessel

 

In my quiet time this morning, I was thinking of this upcoming weekend and the importance of Easter.  My nature is to try to uncover some new and unique way to share that with you.   And in trying to find that, I came across this: a man, standing in the center of a stadium, in Baton Rouge, in the rain, with thousands of people listening, sitting in the rain, in 1970.  I would have been 9 years old that year, going to church, with my pastel shorts and shirt and Easter basket in tow.  I'm sure I would have heard the Easter story, but not understood it like I understand it today.  My complete reason for being on this Earth, is to know God, believe in Him, and follow Him through the example of his Son, Jesus.  None of that would be possible without Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection three days later.  52 years later, I may want to find some new and exciting way to celebrate Easter, but God's message is unchangeable, and I believe one of God's greatest vessels of all time is Billy Graham.   I hope you will find 27 minutes between now and Easter Sunday to be inspired.