Back in the Saddle Again

A few days ago, a friend asked me about my blog updates and reminded me that I have not posted anything since the day after Easter. I couldn’t believe it had been that long. My world has been moving fast and although I have been having more fun and seeing God move in amazing ways, I have not been faithful to share it here.

I have my excuses… My daughter is in the height of her spring soccer season, which means weekends filled with games and some travel. Our oldest son Jackson is playing AAU Basketball (I just realized I don’t know what AAU means) and is having an absolute blast. This is his first experience of playing against people outside of our county and the challenge and training has been exhilarating. Our youngest child Asher is also playing soccer, if you can call it that. The children all run in a herd or stand in utter amazement, occasionally kicking the ball in-bounds, knocking each other down, and every now and then scoring somehow.

Beyond our children, my wife and I are simply enjoying this season of our life. We love each other and the opportunities God has given to us. The time we have together is special and we get the sense that at some point we are going to miss these days. My neighbor Tim reminds me of that pretty regularly.

In the midst of family life we are really wrapped up in the life of our church. Living Hope is experiencing a unique blessing from God right now. It is not a city-changing revival, but it is a resurgence of sorts. We have seen people of all ages, colors, and socio-economic backgrounds receive Christ and confess Him through baptism. Our Easter services were blessed and the staff and I are still following up on lots of people who accepted Christ and are ready to be baptized. We have also seen a large number of people join the church and the staff is meeting with each person and family to go over their testimony and determining how each one can best connect in the life of the church.

Within our family of faith we are also seeing God bring healing to the sick and broken-hearted and strength to those that are suffering. A day does not go by that I do not get to pray for and with a precious member of our family of faith that is finding God to be faithful in their trial. Some are being healed. Some are not. Some are giving birth to healthy babies, while others are not getting pregnant. There are children running from God and others are returning to God. Marriages are beginning and some are struggling to survive. Through every circumstance, I see the hand of God at work wooing His people to submit to His rule.

Then there is the work that is happening outside of Living Hope. This Sunday we will be collecting food items for Hope House. (Don’t forget to bring your bags of food for our struggling neighbors.) God continues to reach people through this vital ministry. God is also at work through several of our families that are pursuing adoption and others that are now serving as foster parents. Our missionaries in North America and around the world are seeing fruit. We have a team headed to West Africa next week and we have a slew of college students headed there and other places around the planet.

I am personally excited about what is happening through the North American Mission Board and in West Africa. Those have been the two places I have made contribution in this year.

So all in all, life is challenging, but so very good because God is in the midst of it. What I have listed as excuses for my not blogging are really blessings that have kept me from doing little else. What I have mentioned here is just the basic stuff. I could also mention the Bible Doctrine class that is going well, the men's ministries that are exploding, the staff focus and strategic planning, the Connection Center (Don’t forget the Celebration this Sunday after the 11 am service – get your tickets ASAP!), and so many other amazing ministries that God is blessing at The Hope and around the world through Hopers.

Continue to pray for me as I pray for many of you and join in what God is doing in our world and lives. We have such a wonderful God who has saved us, filled us, and blessed us with an eternal peace and a future.