Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘Birthday’
Birthday Meditations
Birthday celebrations are special, especially when you get to enjoy them with family. The older I get the more my celebrations turn to meditations. (They tell me that reflection is just another sign of old age!) Every milestone in life is an opportunity to both glorify God and examine your own heart. I am very grateful that God has allowed me to live to my forty-second birthday. It has been a joy this week to hear from so many special friends and rejoice in the goodness of God. And it has caused me to think about so many things. God willing, tomorrow I will preach from the oldest psalm in the Bible. Not because I feel old, but because there…
Read More“Thank You, God, For 13 Years”
Today is my son’s 13th birthday. We have had a wonderful time celebrating this week as a family. How could we have three teenagers?! I asked Grant to lead us in prayer for our meal the other night. Near the end of his prayer he said, “Thank you, God, for giving me 13 years.” It was a simple statement. It made a profound impact on me. Indeed, God is the One who gives us every year…every day. And we should be grateful for every one of them. As a dad I was encouraged by his prayer. As a Christian I was convicted by it. How often do I pause just to thank the Lord for life? He gave it. He…
Read MoreA Big Day
Tomorrow is a big day for our family. In just a few hours Lauren will turn 16 and Morgan will graduate from high school. As a dad it is both joyful and sobering to watch my baby girls grow up. Later this summer our youngest, Grant, will turn 13. (Pray for us, please!) Today is reflective for me and for their mother. Where has time gone? Just last month they were all born. Just last week they were learning to walk. Just yesterday they started school. Or at least that’s how it all seems. Life…a vapor. I am not writing these things to depress you! Instead, I am encouraging you to make the most of every day. Don’t waste one.…
Read MoreThe Biggest Birthday Celebration in the World
We are only days away from the biggest birthday celebration in the world! No birthday on earth has more celebration or more misunderstanding. A recent Pew survey suggests that half of Americans will not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday this year. For more and more people Christmas is becoming a cultural holiday. “Happy holidays,” they say. Ironic since the word holiday comes from holy day. Without the holy there is no true happiness. The world wants to celebrate His birthday without using His name. There has been a good deal of debate over the actual birth day of the Christ child. It is interesting to note that Alfred Edersheim, the famous Jewish researcher and author, suggests that December 25…
Read MoreReflecting On Another Year of God’s Goodness
My elders were right when they said the years go faster as you get older. I am sitting here this morning reflecting on another year of God’s goodness in my life. The Lord has been so gracious to me. My heart is full as I think about the wonderful heritage I have been handed through godly parents. I am even grateful for my sister. (That is when you know you are officially old!) Thirty-one years ago the Lord Jesus saved me as a five year old boy. What an adventure I have been on ever since! I am overwhelmed as I think of how God called me to be a preacher and began to prepare me for that work.…
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