Claire's First Birthday

Last year this time, we were up half the night trying to soothe a new born. One thing has changed! She's now a year old. Here are a few pictures of Claire's first birthday. Both of our parents came to Martietta to join the festivities. While the grandparents enjoyed spoiling her with their love and time, Nicole and I enjoyed a few nights out on a date. You parents will understand.

Poppa's favorite girl:


Claire and Aunt MiMi:

Grace...

Ruth 2:20 “Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and dead.’” I will be teaching from this verse on Sunday on the meaning of grace. Now I know that there is an exegetical problem in the text: “who is the antecedent of the pronoun, who?” Is Naomi referring to the Lord or to Boaz? Either way I believe that God is demonstrating His kindness to Naomi through Boaz. Indeed God is grace, but He chooses to use you to convey His grace.

There are so many ways that we can demonstrate God’s grace to others. When the world sees us serving and ministering to our community, our acts should represent the grace that we have received from our Lord. Joseph Sittler defines grace this way: “The fundamental meaning of grace is the goodness and loving-kindness of God and the activity of His goodness in and toward creation.” How has God shown grace to you? How are you showing it to others?

The Muscle that Needs No Gym!

There are two things in life that you can never retrieve: lost time and spoken words. These two entities are forever gone. Once you miss an opportunity in time, that moment fades into the past. Though there may be similar opportunities in the future, that particular opportunity at that moment has passed. That opportunity was ripe with its moment in time, yet one can never retrieve it again. Likewise, spoken words can never be revisited. Once words have been spoken, the possibility of taking them back is gone. To retrieve spoken words is like “letting out water,” (Proverbs 17:14), it is impossible to gather it together again.
What a vivid reminder to us about our speech. The Bible admonishes us about the use of our tongue and its influence on others. Whether we believe it or not, our words carry a lot of weight and power. Just ask yourself the last time you were encouraged or discouraged by someone’s words to you. Solomon was wise when he correctly noted that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). How do you pepper you speech? Does it build or tear down?

Christian Community

“In confession the break-through to community takes place. Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community. In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted. But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (Ps. 107:16).”

Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Here is not here...

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.' "

Mark 16:1-7

When is Spring Coming?

That is the 64 million dollar question. Last weekend we experienced the heaviest snowfall since we have arrived in Ohio. We received about 4-5 inches of snow. I am not complaining. At least we are not living in Columbus who received a record high of 20.4 inches of snow. Over the last few days we have experienced several days of sunshine but still cooler temperatures. Because my family arrived here in Ohio in November (the beginning of the winter season), it has been a long winter for us. We have been told that Marietta is a beautiful town in the spring with the foliage and flowers. We are waiting…




Here are a couple of pictures of Marietta across the Ohio River.

A Recommended Book...

One of my friends from Dallas, TX has recently published a book on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The title is self-evident: What does Jesus Say About…Christ Speaks to Us Today. Though I have not bought a copy (yet!), I would like to recommend this book to you based on my knowledge of Cecil Price. During my years in seminary, I witnessed Cecil spend many hours of diligent research and study in the library halls of Dallas Seminary. I know that he has poured his time and energy into giving his audience an accurate and helpful resource on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Indeed Christ does speak to us today. For more info on Cecil’s book, see the following website: Jesus Christ Speaks.