It's been a while

It's been a while since my last post and there has been much happening. I will put up some posts to catch up over the next week or so. I guess I'll start with my Dad's upcoming surgery. He's been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has surgery this Friday. I will be traveling to West Virginia on Thursday and then return on Saturday so that I can be there with him, Mom, and my sister Amy.

The difficult thing about living so far from family is when issues such as this arise. With our parents getting older there is, at least in my mind, a thought of what to do if health becomes a distinct factor being this far away. The added difficulty is being able to travel or find childcare without having family near us. We have been away from family for almost our entire marriage and all three of our children have been born here in South Carolina so we are used to trusting in HIS provision and we are so thankful for HIS graciousness to us. Yet when times like this arise it is difficult. In the midst of the difficulty we have found that HIS faithfulness is so amazing and this aids us in making trusting HIM our default position rather than seeking to trust in and of ourselves to come up with the needed resources or answers and that is a wonderful expression of HIS grace to us.

As for this trip to West Virginia, Jill was unable to switch a scheduled shift so both her and the kids will be staying here while I travel. We are thankful for a member of the body at Oak Ridge that will be staying with the kids and taking them to school the next morning while Jill is at work that night. This is yet another way in which HIS body is caring for us and by which HE is meeting our needs.

I will post more over the upcoming weeks to catch up on all that HE has been faithful in providing over the past few months. Please be in prayer for my Dad and for us as we will be apart for those two nights.

Amazing Daddy Moment

Chloe's teacher sent this email to Jill today and she then forwarded it to me:

Chloe left with the nursery riders before I gave out KES Folders. Her folder will be on her desk Friday morning and she can bring it home. She made a 100% Spelling, 100% Reading & 100% Math!!! So wonderful!! She is such a blessing to our class. Today, our new friend needed help with her clock sheet, Chloe didn't know I was watching and she sweetly explained how to count the minutes by 5s. It was such a tender moment! I told her she should be a teacher when she grows up! Thank you for sharing your precious little girl with me!

Nicole
Nicole Gardner
Kershaw Elementary School
Lancaster County School District


I pulled the van over and I read this and began cry. I cried over the second half of the email as this is what we hope of our children because character is displayed when nobody else is looking and our sincere hope is that this character reflects Christ. I decided to have Chloe come the front of the van so we could talk. I had her read the email and as she was reading tears streamed down my face. These tears were tears of thankfulness for God's goodness. We try over and over to implant seeds of the gospel which we pray will take root and will result someday in Chloe embracing Christ as Savior. When HE graces us with snippets such as this email it makes our hearts leap for joy! After she read this we were both weeping along the side of the road in Camden. I explained to her that hearing that she is doing things such as this is so beautiful because it reflects what Jesus' heart. I told her I loved her and that I was proud of her, which I would be if we had the email or not, then held her and prayed as we both had tears streaming down our cheeks. I thanked HIM for HIS goodness and prayed that these seeds of the gospel we are planting fully take root and that she embraces Christ as Savior and fully reflects HIS beauty.

A thought about serving in rural areas

I just returned to the house from a funeral for a gentleman that was a retired Pastor. He served in churches in rural South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. He served as an interim at our church about 7 or 8 years ago. I was struck by the words shared because they were words that glorified God for the life he lived.

I did not have the privilege of knowing Thomas Taylor as the time I did get to visit him was at the end of his life and he was in bad shape. He never served in a large congregation yet served faithfully in rural contexts for over 30 yrs. There is much to be thankful for when it comes to the faithfulness of those who invest their lives in the body in what was described today as the out of the way places. He did that. The church was not packed out today but the was a definite spirit of thankfulness for one who shepherded the souls of those where many would not go serve.

I pray that it can be said of me that I was faithful to the gospel, that the gospel truly saturated my soul, and that I served well when I reach the end of my life. I have found that there is no out of the way place in His will. There is nothing easy about shepherding in a rural context yet there is nothing better than serving our Great God and King where HE has placed me. I'm thankful the HE reminded me of that today.

Amazing

Something amazing happened last night during our midweek service. Let me give some background first. We are in dire need of improving our sound in our sanctuary. The lack of quality effects our worship services. With that said we have priced what we need to improve our sound and the total comes to over $9000. The initial step in this improvement process would cost approximately $3500. Since we have just carpeted most of our church, which was needed badly as the carpet we had was 40 yrs old (yes, that is four years older than I am and it was looking that way) we did not have any money to put toward the sound.

So that brings us to last night. There was an envelop in the church office and I was asked what it was for and said I have no idea and told those in the office to tell me after service. That did not happen as our Music Minister busted through the door waving her hand for me to come to the office. When I got back to the office there were huge smiles! In the envelop was $3500 in cash and written on the were the words "Sound System"! Yes, almost exactly what we needed for our initial step in our sound improvement! God is so amazing!

I have been praying daily for months about our sound situation. It is something that will glorify God and enhance our worship in being able to do so. I am totally humbled by HIS provision! Thank you Lord!

Great Article

Read this great article today by Nancy Pearcy:

http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2010/09/secular_values.php

Ministering to those Grieving

Ministering to those grieving is a distinct privilege and responsibility. I have to admit that I'm not good at this. For the most part we are always good at the point of loss but after the funeral when the "rubber meets the road" we "drop the ball". The Lord has challenged me in this of late, especially as a dear friend of mine at the church nears the end of his life. The need for the Body to care for those well after the funeral is huge. It is such an amazing time for the Gospel to be embodied in our care for the souls of the family as they grieve. If we are the Gospel-centered community we should be then we must take on this task and serve well those in our Body whose souls are aching.

The weeks that follow should include direct care by the Pastor and the Body. The Pastor should engage his people in the process of care immediately. He should be quite visible in the beginning while bringing along others from the Body and all the while should allow the Body to function as HE so beautifully intends it to.

The goal is soulcare and seeing the Gospel applied. Grieving is needed and should happen. The function of the Body in the midst of it should be an essential part of the process. Lord, may I love and serve well as a shepherd in this and may our Body do the same.

Caitlyn is in Kindergarten!

Caitlyn is now in Kindergarten!!! She only had to go for an hour and a half today but it's official! Jill went to class with her for her first day. Jill said she was pretty shy but she'll make some friends soon enough. Here are some pics of her day:



Here she is posing before leaving the house with mama!



Here she is leaving with her new backpack on!



Entering class for the first time! I can see the apprehension on her face!



On the carpet with her new classmates!

She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl in her class! I'm so proud of Daddy's Little Girl! I can't wait to hear her stories of all she is learning each day when she gets home! WOW! We now have 2 in school!