EXICITING Times!

Ever since my sweet wife passed onto her heavenly reward some five years ago, I find that the coming of the Holiday season always brings with it a flood of heart warming and at times… heart wrenching memories of the 48 holiday seasons that we enjoyed together!  For us, with our involvement in the church, those special memories would actually flow non-stop from the summer until Christmas! 

It was a continuous adventure of fun church events that Piper and I planned, organized and led, including Vacation Bible School in mid-summer, back to school special events and lessons in the fall, a large carnival-like Family Fun Night on Halloween and a variety of special Christmas events in the classrooms and of course, the seasonal extravaganza Christmas program for the whole church to participate in or just to sit back and enjoy!

To be honest… it was a lot of work… but we enjoyed just about every minute of it!  For me, it was a time when I could let my creative juices flow in making the gospel message to be EXCITING, fun and very meaningful to our students and the adults in our different church congregations… and it didn’t hurt having a very supportive and talented wife who could wear so many different hats throughout the organization and performance of the different events!

As the time continues to pass since her home going, I find myself crying less and laughing more, as I recall different aspects of the variety of fun events we participated in from the original song we sang together as husband and wife in the foyer of the First Baptist Church in 1975 during their annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Carol Sing, to the Adams Family themed video our family put together, acted in and filmed as a promo for the last Halloween Family Fun Night we led before leaving for Bible School in 2006.

What I realized last night as I sat in the living room with the dog at my feet, wondering if we would have many Trick or Treaters come to our door… and how I was going to hold back my over-friendly, 65lb dog and hand out candy at the same time…* was that our Christian ministry as well as the way we chose to live our Christian faith was rather FUN and EXCITING!

Going to church almost every time the doors were opened and participating in the various events on the Church calendar was far from boring… and while I enjoyed creating, writing, organizing and leading the many programs, Youth retreats, puppet skits, songs and even an original Children’s Church curriculum before moving to North Carolina in 2014, it was the honor and joy of seeing the lives of the children, youth, college age and adults mature, change and improve in the light of the EXCITING message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that drove us to put out our best effort in everything we did!

As I pray and thank the Lord each day for His continued direction for me in this new season of my life, I can’t help but to remember that old, cold-air-leaking cabin at Snow Camp near Lake Tahoe in California, that I shared with the young Junior High boys from our first youth group in the mid-seventies, when I heard the clear and concise voice of the Lord calling me into His ministry… and especially now, as I declare Psalm 71:18 from The Passion Translation saying,

“God, now that I’m old and gray, don’t walk away. Give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all your mighty miracles and your EXCITEMENT, to show them your magnificent power!” 

His Gospel message is still as EXCITING to me today as it was to Piper and I throughout our marriage.  It still ignites my heart with purpose and passion to see lives change as thy are exposed to and then spend time in learning about the EXCITING principles and promises that the Bible contains for all of us.  I find it difficult to understand how anyone can be bored in their Christian experience… especially if they are serious about their personal faith and their continued growth in it.  His message NEVER gets old and it NEVER loses its power!

So, while I may be missing my wife, my best friend and my fun-filled and talented life and ministry co-conspirator… I can and do rejoice in the fact that although my personal circumstances may have dramatically changed, God’s Gospel message hasn’t and it is still as EXCITING, powerful and life promoting as it ever was.

My life with HIM has always been… and promises to continue to be EXCITING!  Wouldn’t you agree with that statement of fact in your life as well?

Have a terrific rest of your week.  After a few days of morning freezes, followed by ice-cold northern winds and chill factors in the 20’s… our weather is forecast to get back up into the 70’s over the weekend!  So, if that isn’t EXCITING… then I don’t know what is!

May your week be just as EXCITING, and as you enjoy it… share HIS EXCITING message with those around you!

 

*As it turned out… it was especially cold in our area last night and we didn’t have one Trick or Treater all night!  So, I guess I’ll have to figure out what I am going to do with all that delicious chocolate candy I bought… He! He! He!  Yum……