Attitude Change

Sundays come and Sundays go. In the past I tended to look at them as just another work day. Oh sure, I enjoyed the times of worship and the teaching and fellowship but it was work. I was on the clock and doing my job. Over the past several months my attitude has changed. Yes, it is still part of my job but I am excited to be there to celebrate what God is doing in our lives as a body. One of the reasons for the change of attitude has been the fact that we have had so many baptisms lately and many more are coming. We are seeing followers of Christ, some for a few months others for many years, desiring to be obedient to Christ's call to be baptized. Every single one of them have said that they are doing it not because because it is a prerequisite to salvation, it's not, but rather that this an opportunity to let people know they are Christians and also because they want to express their love for Christ by being obedient to what He commands.

The idea of being obedient out of love for a person is something that I believe is sorely lacking in our society. Too often we are obedient because we have to. We are obedient because we don't want to be punished or disciplined. Thank you to my dear brothers and sisters who are being obedient out of love.

Thank you for helping me to change my attitude about Sunday mornings. I do not want to be there because it is my job, I want to be there because of my love for Christ. I want to be there because it is an awesome opportunity to celebrate, honor, and glorify God with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peace

Life at times can get so fast paced that one loses track of time. That is the way this summer has been for me. I cannot believe that my daughter starts first grade tomorrow. I look at her and have a hard time believing that she is my daughter. I mean, it seems like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the very first time. Just minutes old, all wrinkly and pink trying to find her thumb so she could suck on it. Now she is a confident and courageous young girl. As a family we went bike riding today with the final stop being the beach. I watched her walk out into the crashing waves laughing and hollering "woohoo!" and I am a bit overwhelmed by how fast she is growing up. My encouragement to anyone who reads this blog is to enjoy every moment and do not allow yourself to become so busy that you don't have time for family. It goes by too fast and you will find yourself wondering where it went.

Peace.