Sharing Grace

I aptly titled this entry as sharing grace rather than giving grace. If I am giving grace, it is incredibly limited. My storehouse of grace is basically non-existent. I am not a grace-filled person. On the contrary, I am pretty much a judgmental person when left to my own devices. I mean, why do people do such stupid things at times? Why would they choose to  . . . (you fill in the blank) when it is obvious that making that decision will end in pain and despair.

Yep, I am judgmental. I know how things ought to be done. I have read Scripture, watched people choose destruction over life, so all you have to do is ask me and I will tell you that you are stupid. I will even look down my nose at you while I do it.  I just really am that good.

And . . . I am a sinner who has been miraculously saved by God's grace. I have no grace of my own to give, but I am learning to share His grace. Slowly, painfully, I am learning. I am learning that what He desires of me is to bring Him glory in all things. That includes my thoughts, emotions, actions, words, and well, all things. Why at 48 am I just now beginning to understand what He longs for of me. It really is just about my surrender to Him and in that, all things are included. I cannot give grace but I can sure share it, but only because He has allowed me to be a recipient of His grace. What a gift! What a giver of grace He is! God, would you please continue to do the miraculous and allow me to be a part of sharing Your grace with all people in all things.

GOSPEL by Propaganda

This spoken word artist does a good job of communicating in a language that just might communicate to some you know who need the GOSPEL shared in another way.

The Gospel Project

I am pretty excited about this project that we are working on that I think will help Christ-followers see Christ for Who He is rather than reduce Him to our limited view of Him.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today . . . Again

Milestones. You know those events that come along that force you to "put a stake in the ground", "set up a marker", and cause you to remember. I can be a little nostalgic at times and especially when it comes to family and specifically our daughters. I tear up just thinking about them, their accomplishments, and how quickly time passes by in life.

Today, "Janjuary" 11th, Morgan turns 20 years old. She came into the world a little after 3am on a cold, January morning in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a pretty remarkable entry for me. When Sondra went into labor with Shelbi I was in FL at camp (see that story here), so all the lead up to birth was new to me even though it was my 2nd time to witness birth.

Morgan made a great entrance and has been entering everywhere since pretty much the same way. She has a quiet demeanor, but is full of life and is hysterical. She is accused many of times of being just like me, and in many ways she is, but there are numerous ways she is her own person. I remember the night she prayed to receive Christ. I remember the times she has made some hard decisions to "go against the crowd" when the crowd was engaging in some borderline or "over the line" behavior. She is friends with everyone. She is quick to be completely honest with those she loves and cares for deeply. She is a leader who began to blossom in her middle school years.

She is scared to death of birds and bugs but is slowly moving to just moderately immobilized at the sight of either of these creatures. She is prone to injury and strep although strep is becoming more of a thing of the past. She is a good student. She loves her sorority sisters and they love her. She has a heart for God and for people. You see her here serving with kids in Honduras. She loves gifts! And she is an incredible gift to our family and to all her know her!

Morgan, I love you. Thanks for all the joy you bring to our family. Thank you for teaching your dad much about life. Thanks for loving Christ and people.

One other thing . . . when you are lying on a hospital bed after surgery and you ask me, "Am I going to die." I will answer again, "Yes sugar. You are going to die, but today is not your day." I am just that kind of comforting father. Love you.

New Year Update

Shelbi & Alcatraz

We had a great Christmas break as a family. It was big fun to celebrate Christmas with Evelyn too since this was her "first real Christmas" as she put it. On New Year's Eve. Shelbi and I flew to San Francisco to spend a few days together before I started teaching a class at Golden Gate Seminary. We did all of the touristy stuff and really just enjoyed hanging out together. How quickly she has become such an incredible young woman. Actually we are blessed with two daughters who are simply amazing. I have included a couple of pics of our time out here in CA.

May God bless you as you head into 2012. We are expecting God to do some great things in and through us. Not because He has to but we as a family are positioning ourselves to be all that He wants us to be.

Palo Alto 5k

One of the other fun things we did was run a 5k on Jan. 1 in Palo Alto. Here is a pic from that too.