Marriage

There has been a lot of news this week about same sex marriage.  Same sex marriage is something I struggle to understand.  I have good friends that are gay, and I love them very much.  I did some reading yesterday to try to help me figure out if there is some position I should take due to my faith in Jesus.  The only thing I came up with seems way too simple.  I have chosen to believe the Bible, and the Bible says homosexuality is not God’s plan for us.  I have chosen to follow Jesus, and he is my perfect example of truth and love.  I will continue to seek to understand more, but I realized this morning that there is something else I do know about - my marriage to Caroline.  We celebrated our 30^th Anniversary this week.  I thank God every day for putting her into Ms. Jones kindergarten class when we were both 5 years old.  I have done a lot of stupid stuff that has made marriage difficult at times, but I am proud that we have found a way to work through those issues to make room for all of the blessings that God has rained down us.  There is no question in my mind that God intended us to be together forever.  I love you, Caroline.

Counting Sheep

Sleeping is not one of my gifts.   The sleeping part is ok, but getting to sleep is often difficult for me. And it seems that no matter what time I get to sleep, my internal alarm clock is going off between 5 and 6 – if not earlier.  I am ok with the “waking up” part.  I feel like my mind works best before 11am, so I try to take advantage of those early-morning alert hours.  The “going to sleep” part is the part that bugs me.  I find myself lying there with my head spinning about that day’s activities or the things that might be coming up for me the next day.  I think about the same things over and over again with no conclusion and no resolution.  There is one common theme in all of this mental gyration – me.   All of my thoughts are about me - what someone did to me or what someone should have done for me or what someone will do for me.  I have found that if I can stop thinking about me for a few minutes and start thinking about someone or something besides me, I can usually get to sleep.  Thinking of others and being appreciative of the blessings in our life is a lot like prayer if there is a God in your life.   I have heard people say that they are ashamed that they frequently fall asleep while praying.  For me, it is God’s way of letting me know that my mind is finally in order.  “Get some rest.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

New Arrival!

This week, we were all thrilled at the arrival of Levi Daniel, who was delivered by my daughter-in-law, Emily, who is married to my son, Michael.  I don’t think there could be any single event that is more indicative of a living God than the birth of a baby.  The whole process of conception, development and birth is so strangely wonderful, that it completely confirms for me that only a God with ultimate power and perfect love could imagine and design something as beautiful as this.  The love that I feel for my children, multiplied by the love that I see that they have for Levi is truly indescribable.

Perspectives

For the past several months, Caroline and I have been participating in a course at church called Perspectives.  Perspectives is mostly about how God is using all of us to take the story of Jesus to the unreached people groups.   Our final project was to find a people group and brainstorm about how we might accomplish the Great Commission with that group.  There is some excellent information online to assist, and one of the most helpful was The Joshua Project.  We selected  the Southern Shilha in Morocco.  This group is part of a larger group known as the Berbers.  There over 3 million people there and 99.8% are Muslim.   With the help of our friends at Café 1040, we came up with a program where our church might partner with them to begin reaching these people.  If you have past missions experience or are interested in learning more, please let us know.

Boat Church

Last Sunday, our good friends, Ed and Linda, hosted Boat Church at Lake Hartwell.  Boat Church started several years ago when a group of us who had home churches around Atlanta wanted to find a place to worship on Sundays when we were at the lake.  Usually, we drive our boats to their dock, which was located centrally, and either sit on the dock or in our boats to sing, pray and learn.  Everything is simple and casual as you can imagine, but the worship is pure.  We had to move Boat Church to their patio last Sunday because 65 people showed up and the dock was sinking.  There were even people in the balcony above! (the main level deck).  We “do” Boat Church throughout the summer, but not every week.  Let me know if you would like to join next time.

Mom's Rule

This past weekend was great for me.  I got to be with three generations of Mom’s.  My Mom, Pat.  My wife, Caroline, who is Mom to my two kids and my daughter-in-law, Emily, who is Mom to my grandson, Evan and our second grandson soon to be born.  Caroline took the lead in preparing a meal for all of us on Sunday.  It was amazing, but more amazing is her ability to serve seemingly effortlessly.  I am so blessed to have her with  me, have my Mom living next door to us and to have my kids and grandson nearby.  I hope each of you was able to celebrate with one or more of your favorite Mom’s.  I’d love to hear your stories.

That Dam Run

I haven’t run a 10k race since the Peachtree Road Race in 1985, but my daughter Lizzy inspired me when she ran a half marathon this year.   This year was the 35^th anniversary of the Hartwell Dam Run, so I committed to the race and invited my family to participate.  I was excited that we ended up with 11 family and friends running/walking with their SpotOnTheLake hats on.   I had set a goal to finish under an hour and finished in 57:59.  Setting the goal made preparation for the race easier and almost fun.  It is interesting that this past week, I didn’t run once (with nothing to prepare for).  Chalk one up for goal setting.  Making the goal felt good, but having my family there with me was the best.