Saturday, August 7, 2010
summer's almost gone...
Well... here I sit late on a Saturday night and I'm thinking where has the summer gone...? Three of my kids have already started back to school due to the year-round calendar. My kids are growing up fast... but I'm extremely proud of them!
Luke will be a sophomore at Garner High School this year. When I say he's growing up ... it is both physically and spiritually. He's within less than an inch of my height now and looks as if he'll keep on growing. He's turning into a pretty good basketball player... he's working really hard on his skills...it's kind of fun to watch him work for his dream! He just recently finished driver's ed and is now driving whenever Angela and I have the courage to get out on the road with him. He's also working this summer... just a few days a week... learning some responsibility and making a little money! Watching him grow spiritually though is what I'm most proud of... he's reading his Bible, writing some good thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, asking good questions. I think God is going to do something special with him... I am excited just to be a part of it!
Hope is in the 8th grade now... she's one of the big girls on campus. She's growing up too quick for Daddy! She is becoming a really, really pretty young lady. I'm nervous about all the boys that will soon coming knocking on the door for her... know what I mean? Hey... she's doing some pretty intense and impressive math too... algebra I think they call it. Her math book has way more words than numbers...lots of word problems... and they're not easy... trust me! I'm having to help her work through creating equations to work from... really having to dust off the old math skills! She's working hard though... and I'm really proud of her.
Noah is in middle school now... 6th grade... I can't believe my little Noah-boy is growing up so quick. His personality is really starting to come out ...and he's not near as quite as he has been. He's off to a good start... now getting ready for fall baseball season. He reminds me a lot of myself in so many ways!
Nate is the lone Thompson kid left at Timber Drive Elementary... I'm sure the teachers there wonder if this kid is really from the same family. He's so different than all three of the others were at his age. He's very outgoing... not afraid of anything! He too is getting ready for the fall baseball season... it's the sport he loves most! He's a really special kid... can't wait to see what he becomes!
Well... as summer comes quickly to another end... I'm thinking about how fast my kids are growning up... and I am very thankful. Thank you Lord for making them into what you want them to be... it is going to be fun to watch!
Luke will be a sophomore at Garner High School this year. When I say he's growing up ... it is both physically and spiritually. He's within less than an inch of my height now and looks as if he'll keep on growing. He's turning into a pretty good basketball player... he's working really hard on his skills...it's kind of fun to watch him work for his dream! He just recently finished driver's ed and is now driving whenever Angela and I have the courage to get out on the road with him. He's also working this summer... just a few days a week... learning some responsibility and making a little money! Watching him grow spiritually though is what I'm most proud of... he's reading his Bible, writing some good thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, asking good questions. I think God is going to do something special with him... I am excited just to be a part of it!
Hope is in the 8th grade now... she's one of the big girls on campus. She's growing up too quick for Daddy! She is becoming a really, really pretty young lady. I'm nervous about all the boys that will soon coming knocking on the door for her... know what I mean? Hey... she's doing some pretty intense and impressive math too... algebra I think they call it. Her math book has way more words than numbers...lots of word problems... and they're not easy... trust me! I'm having to help her work through creating equations to work from... really having to dust off the old math skills! She's working hard though... and I'm really proud of her.
Noah is in middle school now... 6th grade... I can't believe my little Noah-boy is growing up so quick. His personality is really starting to come out ...and he's not near as quite as he has been. He's off to a good start... now getting ready for fall baseball season. He reminds me a lot of myself in so many ways!
Nate is the lone Thompson kid left at Timber Drive Elementary... I'm sure the teachers there wonder if this kid is really from the same family. He's so different than all three of the others were at his age. He's very outgoing... not afraid of anything! He too is getting ready for the fall baseball season... it's the sport he loves most! He's a really special kid... can't wait to see what he becomes!
Well... as summer comes quickly to another end... I'm thinking about how fast my kids are growning up... and I am very thankful. Thank you Lord for making them into what you want them to be... it is going to be fun to watch!
surrender...
As I continue to read "The Me I Want To Be"...
I find myself challenged to surrender. The writer says, "There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender." Surrender doesn't mean to be passive... it doesn't mean you just accept circumstances... it doesn't mean you stop thinking, asking questions, using your mind. Surrender is not just an easy way for weak people. What surrender is... is an exciting acknowledgment that there is a God and I'm not him. He has bigger purpose and he is wiser.
"Jesus does not come to rearrange the outside of our life the way we want. He comes to rearrange the inside of our life the way God wants."
"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39
I need to surrender... I need to yield... I need to obey... I need to do what he says... I need to go where he leads!
I find myself challenged to surrender. The writer says, "There is no way for a human being to come to God that does not involve surrender." Surrender doesn't mean to be passive... it doesn't mean you just accept circumstances... it doesn't mean you stop thinking, asking questions, using your mind. Surrender is not just an easy way for weak people. What surrender is... is an exciting acknowledgment that there is a God and I'm not him. He has bigger purpose and he is wiser.
"Jesus does not come to rearrange the outside of our life the way we want. He comes to rearrange the inside of our life the way God wants."
"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39
I need to surrender... I need to yield... I need to obey... I need to do what he says... I need to go where he leads!
Friday, June 25, 2010
the me I want to be...
"The Me I Want To Be... Becoming God's Best Version of You" is the book I have read and almost completed while on vacation. Great book ... I would recommend the read!
One of the sections has me doing some thinking... so I thought I'd offer you the points from the book pertaining to adversity and let you ponder them as well... thoughts about embracing adversity...
John Ortberg writes... "God isn't at work producing the circumstances you want; God is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants."
...rising to a challenge reveals abilities otherwise hidden within you (and beyond you!) that would have remained dormant...
...adversity can deepen relationships...
...adversity can change your priorities about what really matters...
...adversity points us to hope beyond ourselves...
The chance to trust God when trusting isn't easy is wide open. There are some certain truths that remain unchanged: God remains sovereign, grace beats sin, prayers get heard, the Bible endures, heaven's mercies spring up new every morning, the cross still testifies to the power of sacrificial love, the tomb is still empty, and the kingdom that Jesus announced is still expanding without needing to be bailed out by human efforts.
God is still in the business of redemption... specializing in producing something very, very good at out something that may not look or feel so good...
...maybe we should embrace adversity a bit more...
One of the sections has me doing some thinking... so I thought I'd offer you the points from the book pertaining to adversity and let you ponder them as well... thoughts about embracing adversity...
John Ortberg writes... "God isn't at work producing the circumstances you want; God is at work in bad circumstances producing the you He wants."
...rising to a challenge reveals abilities otherwise hidden within you (and beyond you!) that would have remained dormant...
...adversity can deepen relationships...
...adversity can change your priorities about what really matters...
...adversity points us to hope beyond ourselves...
The chance to trust God when trusting isn't easy is wide open. There are some certain truths that remain unchanged: God remains sovereign, grace beats sin, prayers get heard, the Bible endures, heaven's mercies spring up new every morning, the cross still testifies to the power of sacrificial love, the tomb is still empty, and the kingdom that Jesus announced is still expanding without needing to be bailed out by human efforts.
God is still in the business of redemption... specializing in producing something very, very good at out something that may not look or feel so good...
...maybe we should embrace adversity a bit more...
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