Sunday, June 22, 2008

Under His Care

Ps 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your hearts,

Well it's been a while since I last posted. It's been a little crazy in my world.

Last week I was in Dallas for part of the week with some of the GA staff and volunteers to do some fund raising training there. That was both fun and profitable for the school and personally for PG. It's always fun to listen to people that are really good at what they do.

This week I am currently finishing a trip to Georgia, visiting one of my friends in the stone business and looking at some of the systems they use to be more efficient. Again, it's fun to learn from those who do something very well.

The warm weather in both areas has been all the warmth I need, though when it's in the 50's at home it's nice to warm up.
Traveling it is difficult to eat really well, but I have tried to behave myself, as I know how long it will take to get the pounds off I put on while traveling.

Some family stuff.
Both Grant and Garrett have been working at PG this summer, though Garrett is helping with some of the sports camps for GA, so he doesn't get as many hours as Grant does.

Grant is feeling pretty well, and is designing his tattoo so he can get exactly what he wants. I think he is leaning towards Eph. 2:8 "Saved By Grace" which is why I am very ok with him wearing a witness on himself. It is Gd's grace alone that is the reason why he is still with us, as is evident as we visit with many people who have not been so blessed in situations like ours.

Garrett, on the other hand, is not feeling as well as we would like. He is starting to have chest pains, while just relaxing, so we are taking him to the cardiologist on Monday for another EKG. This is not something to take lightly, and Teresa, especially, is very concerned. I think this is the mother's heart and the fact that she already has had to perform CPR on one child and she is not excited to test her skill on a second. I can certainly understand that. She asked if we could get an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator)for the house. I think that is high on the list of purchases. They are actually becoming more affordable as they are getting more widely used, so that is good.

Kimmy is still in Berlin with the Green family. She is caring for the youngest 5 kids while Cary and Lois are in Israel. Unfortunately it sounds as if most of the kids have had, or do have, the flu. That will be tough on her. She is well equipped for this kind of thing, as she is a great "mom" already, but it's hard when the kids need more attention individually and she is getting little sleep. God has her right where He wants her.

God is good in everything He brings into our lives, and we are wise to grow when He gives us "special" events to prune us with those events.
We're about to get onto a plane, so I'll sign out.
Thanks for your encouragement of reading the blog.
Playing for Keeps.

Friday, June 6, 2008

At the "BIG" table

Thank you Jesus, Sovereign Grace.

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You

By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

Lover of my soul
I want to live for You

I know it's been quite a while since I posted, sorry about that. It's been pretty good crazy at work, which means I'm busy with lots of stuff. So here you go.

Have you ever been to a formal banquet? Maybe this is a place where not really sure what to wear, or who might be there. Questions come to my mind such as; Will I know anyone, is what I'm wearing appropriate (I really like to be dressed correctly, no I'm not a girl), am I going to have any idea what they are speaking about...

I was thinking this morning of this song we sing at GBC and the line in the song that says, "once your enemy, now seated at your table". I was once an enemy of Christ, working as hard as I could to thwart the things He loves, and now He has seated me at His table. That's crazy. Crazy Good.

So now think about the same banquet and you have all those same questions when you walk in the door, BUT, previously you have been an enemy of the host. This looks a little different now, doesn't it? You very hesitantly walk in the door and the Host eagerly greets you and ushers you to His table. He is excited to have you at His table as His guest. We get to sit at the "big" table; the special table. This night just got a lot more special. It doesn't matter what we may be wearing, we're at the big table. It doesn't matter if we know anyone else, we know the Host; we know the King. We're with Him. WOW, why would He do this for me? It's only because of His love for us that He would choose any. If He has chosen us to sit at His table, we had better be thankful.

What was the cost of the invitation? Jesus' blood shed on the cross for me and you was the highest cost we can possibly imagine.


Tonight is graduation at GA. Congratulations to all who are seniors. "Good job" to Chris McAuliffe and Sung Lee. These are 2 seniors from my small group. Also another "good job" to Marty and David for being the male Sr. and Jr. high "IMPACT" students of the year at GA. In my opinion that is the highest honor. Also, our friend Jessica was the Sr. high girls "IMPACT" student of the year. These kids have been through a lot of struggles and testing and have shown spiritual leadership throughout. GREAT JOB!

Remember where you're sitting.