September 28, 2022
Leadership Notes
There's a chipmunk - we call him our Little Buddy - who has taken to hopping up on a bench on our backyard deck. Apparently he likes the nuts we leave out every day. The bench is right in front of our kitchen window. One morning, we didn't get the nuts out at the usual time, so he got up on the bench and stared at the window. Soon, he will slip into hibernation, so we have to help fatten him up.
I love this time of year. Fall is my favorite. A meme I recently saw completely captures my whole family's feelings about fall:
REASONS WHY FALL IS #1:
* Chilly Weather
* Halloween
* Sweaters
* Pumpkins
* Literally Everything
* BUGS HAVE RETURNED TO HELL WHERE THEY BELONG
God's beauty is everywhere to be seen in our wonderful state. We truly are blessed. Wherever I go during my week, as I take in the glory that surrounds us, I immediately think of the Psalm, "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Life is a blessing. And you cannot spend a late September day without giving God thanks for what we have here in Michigan. Life is a treasure too vast to waste time being anything but grateful.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spent years in a Soviet gulag. I love this affirmation:
"Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life. For there, lying
upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of
life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity
of the human soul."
As we approach the end of our series on The Book of Revelation, we remember that, because our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, there is nothing in this life that can disrupt or steal our joy. As we take in the marvelousness of these fall days, and think about the promise of The Book of Revelation, we know that regardless of what we experience or go through in life, all is well because Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.
When you find yourself faltering {for trials and tribulations afflict us all} remember this from Dustin Benge:
Are you afraid to approach God with your neediness? Never fear!
Our heavenly Father stands ready and waiting with open arms to receive
His children who have nothing to plead but the blood of Christ.
Cry out to Him, "Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to the cross I cling."
This reminds me of what I was saving for a closing Moment of Martyn Lloyd-Jones:
A SINNER DOES NOT "DECIDE" FOR CHRIST; THE SINNER "FLIES"
TO CHRIST IN UTTER HELPLESSNESS AND DESPAIR.
Here's how one of my favorite songs puts it:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty Who was and is and is to come With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings You are my everything and I will adore You I will adore You
- "Revelation Song"
I absolutely love being in ministry with you and that we have the privilege of sharing in the praise of God together.
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard