Road to Somewhere

Our small group from church wrapped up our study of J.I. Packer's Knowing God this week.  Packer ends the book by stating that Paul's letter to the Romans is the pinnacle book of the Bible, and that Chapter 8, is the pinnacle of that book.  The world we live in leads us into seeking immediate gratification with our thought life skipping from one thing to the next without landing anywhere of significance.  One of God's gifts to us is scripture.  It is a road map for how to live our lives with greater joy and peace.  Packer challenged us to read, meditate on and memorize scripture.  I accept the challenge and have committed to just 15 minutes alone every day doing that.  I think I'll start with Romans 8.  I would love for you to join me.

Dirty Laundry

My heart aches for the denomination that my home church belongs to.  The Methodist leadership is having a hard time leading.   Some leaders want to change the doctrine that the churches abide by.   The Bible is the Bible, but doctrine defines the practices that those in our denomination agree to, and there is heated debate about what those practices should be.   There is so much discord among members that the denomination is considering dividing.   The lay leadership of the North GA conference of our denomination ran a full page ad in the AJC this week airing our dirty laundry.  I'm not opposed to people speaking out publicly.  I just wish all of the emotional energy that is being invested in the conflict could be invested in Jesus.  I pray that Jesus will somehow be glorified in the controversy, and that the Church will learn to love Him and others more than it ever has before.

All Those Moms

 This Sunday, we have the opportunity to honor our mothers above and beyond what we might normally do.  I don't know about you, but I sometimes get a little overwhelmed with all the Moms that deserve to be honored.  Everybody has a mom or had a Mom at one time or another, and there are a bunch of my family and friends that should be recognized for their roles as Moms.  My daughter and daughter-in-law are the Moms to our 6.77 grandchildren (#7 due in June. Yes, I did the math.)  My wife is Mom to our two children.  But it's a fact that I only have one Mom, and I am so fortunate to have her living next door to me.  What a blessing that is for me. I get to see her almost every day, but this Sunday is her day in my eyes.    Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  I love you so much.

Adopted

This week in our ConnectGroup from church we were talking about adoption.   Most of us know families that have adopted children when they weren't able to have children of their own.  But now, more and more often, families who have their own natural children are choosing to adopt as well.  When I was growing up, I regrettably viewed the bond between parents and adopted children as somewhat inferior to the bond between parents and their natural children - something weaker.  I'm sure any of those parents could have corrected me.   Now that I think about it, parents who choose to adopt might have more at stake in that decision than the decision to have a naturally-born child, especially if the naturally-born child is "unplanned".   The sacrifice made to adopt is usually huge.  God offers us the opportunity to be his adopted sons and daughters.  And He made the ultimate sacrifice when He let his begotten son die for each one of us.  Thank God.

Time Off

COVID-19 has caused pain and loss for so many people.  I'm sure that everyone reading this knows people that have been very sick or have died.   Many others have lost their jobs or suffered financial loss.  Our immediate family has been relatively unscathed.  The effect on us has been more of an inconvenience than anything else.  One of the things that Caroline and I have missed is time off from work.  We usually have at least one week a year where we turn work off and decompress.  That didn't happen in 2020.  I am writing this a week ahead of time, because as you are reading this, we will be having our first week off in almost 2 years.  I pray that this time will be regenerative and that we will return with a renewed passion and appreciation for all that our "normal" life has to offer.  I wish the same for you.

Adopted into The family

Last night in our small group from church, we had some spirited discussion about being children of God.  I had mostly considered all people to be children of God, but J. I. Packer, the author of Knowing God, has a different perspective - and his position is pretty well backed up in the Bible.  While we are all God's creation, and He loves everyone, we do not become children of God until we are adopted into his family.  That adoption happens when we recognize and declare that Jesus is His Son and the forgiver of our sins, and that we are choosing to do our best to follow Him.   At that point we are adopted into God's family as His children and into brotherhood or sisterhood with Jesus.  It may seem like semantics to some, but knowing God as Father and Jesus as Brother is both an awesome and sobering thought.  I think I need to take better care.

Another Mom

 

We got some sad news this week.  My wife, Caroline's Aunt Delma passed away.  Delma was Caroline's mom's sister.  Caroline's mom died when she was 18 years old, so Delma has been a mom to her since then.   Delma loved people.  She loved her kids and grandkids.  She loved Caroline.  She loved me.  She loved our children and their children.  But most of all, she loved her husband, Dickie.   She was everything to him, and he was everything to her.   He will miss her dearly.  I pray for comfort for their family and look forward to the day that we all see Delma again in all of her glory.

That's me, Delma and Michael about 35 years ago.