Thursday, May 20, 2010

It's My Birthday! May 20

4 Kids

Today is my birthday! I spent it in Detroit with Darlene, our daughter Rachel, and her kids. We had fun. I opened presents, went to a garage sale, and had dinner at a special place. The ice cream was great.

In the picture above, I am holding one of my presents. It's a pair of shoes that have every color I need to tell people about Jesus. The dark toes remind us of sin. The red shows us that Jesus died for our sin. The bright white stars remind us that Jesus cleans us from all wrong and the green encourages us to grow in Christ by reading our Bibles, praying, and spending time with other believers. The yellow represents the golden streets of heaven. When we have been forgiven by Jesus, he gives us new life and we can know that we are going to heaven.

I received other gifts too. Birthdays are a time when you celebrate with family and receive gifts. The best gift anyone can receive is new life in Jesus. In the last two weeks, I have seen and spent time with all of our grandkids. This has been the best birthday ever. I love the grandkids and praise God that their parents are living for Jesus and teaching them to love God too. I am proud to be the daddy of godly people who are now sharing Jesus with their own kids.

Those are my birthday thoughts. We have a bunch of cake left over. We'll be eating some tomorrow. I wish I could share it with you. Next time you eat cake, celebrate a birthday, or spend time with your grandpa, remember that Jesus loves you and wants to make your life new.

Monday, May 3, 2010

This Summer

My dad and me with some of my brothers.
4 Kids

Summer is almost here. For me it means driving around the country seeing my wonderful kids and their families. It also means speaking in some boys and girls camps. The best part of all is that I get to spend more time with my fabulous wife, Darlene.

What does summer mean to you? When I was a boy, I got to run around all day and play with my brothers. We did our chores first thing in the morning so that the rest of the day could be ours. Mostly, I just wasted summer.

I want to encourage you to make your summer count for God. I know that you will have some vacation time with your family, but look for ways to serve God and others all summer this year. Maybe you could earn some money to give to missions, or help a neighbor with yard work for free. At the least, you can help around your house. Make this summer fun, but make it count too. I know you can do it. If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all.