Community

We held our annual outdoor baptismal tonight. We had to postpone it last month due to the flooding rains, but God gave us a beautiful evening tonight. The highpoint was baptizing my third son, Jeremiah. What a privilege.

After the baptismal we had a mini-picnic and everyone just hung out for a while. You can't tell with the little picture, but there are some horses in the background, the sun was off to the right, the water was beautiful, there was a nice breeze, huge oak trees. The kids ran around the lake, a few jumped in, others tossed the football, some sat around building relationships and community. I love the family of God. Good times...

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."

Scripture of the Day: Genesis 2:18 "The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.""

Quote of the Day: "A man may lose the good things of this life against his will; but if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent." Augustine

Some Golden Daybreak

I just finished Mary Kirby Servey's funeral a few hours ago. The one hymn she requested was "Some Golden Daybreak." I'd never heard it before, but here's the last verse and chorus.

Oh, what a meeting, there in the skies
No tears nor crying shall dim our eyes
Loved ones united eternally
Oh, what a daybreak that morn will be

Some golden daybreak Jesus will come
Some golden daybreak, battles all won
He'll shout the vict'ry, break thro' the blue
Some golden daybreak, for me, for you.

The main passage I read today started with this verse, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." We grieved a little today. We were sorrowful a little today. But we found hope in Jesus, because Mary had put her hope in Jesus. We don't have to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. Do you have hope?

God blessed us with a beautiful fall day to rejoice and remember together.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."

Scripture of the Day: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."

Quote of the Day: Last words of Hudson Taylor "I am so weak that I can hardly write, I cannot read my Bible, I cannot even pray, I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust."

Nazarite Youth

A beautiful fall day today. Mid 60's. Sunny. The leaves are beginning to change. I'm not too excited about winter yet, but I love the cool fall after summer.

I'm giving the youth an updated Nazarite vow tonight.

1. Avoid things that damage your relationship with God
2. Make sure your private life matches your public life
3. Get rid of things that are bringing death to you

Hey, that might work for every age!

Just to keep all things equal, Isaac scored twice in a 7-0 rout in soccer Monday night.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 26:24 "As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed."

Scripture of the Day: 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.""

Quote of the Day: "Character is not made in a crisis, it is only exhibited." Robert Freeman

Precious Sad Day

Some sad and yet joyous news yesterday, Mary Kirby Servey went home to be with the Lord. Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." Mary had been suffering with Alzheimer's the last few years.

Mary was an answer to prayer for our family 12 years ago. We were moving to Sycamore with two little boys ages 3 and 8 months and we prayed that God would bless them with some surrogate grandparents and godly senior saints so our boys could be well rounded and see the faithfulness of God through generations. Both of our parents are still living, but mine are 4 1/2 hours away and Sonya's are 11 hours away. One of the answers to our prayers was Mary. She babysat, looked after them, and treated them like they were her own. She was watching them the day Jeremiah was born and was the first to stop by to see our newest addition. One year we bought her an angel for Christmas because she had been an angel to our family.

To our church she was a bright soul. Her spirit of joy could light up a room. She had played the piano at church for 25+ years with her unique style that people still talk about to this day. She had been widowed about 15 years ago and we were sad and yet happy when she married a widower and moved to WI 8 years ago.

The last time I saw Mary was a few years ago at her 70th birthday party. She was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and didn't really remember who we were. I think my mourning for Mary started then.

All through the ministry I've heard of the benefits of long term pastorates. Trust, knowing the community, deep relationships, long term vision, etc. One of the hard parts of being at a church for 12 years is realizing your not burying a "parishioner", you have to bury a friend. It will be a difficult week.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 25:13 Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.

Scripture of the Day: 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Quote of the Day: "We want to reach the kingdom of God, but we don't want to travel by way of death. And yet there stands Necessity saying: 'This way, please.' Do not hesitate, man, to go this way, when this is the way that God came to you." Augustine

On the Road

I'm heading to Carlinville today for a meeting. Eight hours on the road and four in a meeting. A long day, but I've downloaded a few sermons onto my MP3 player for the trip. A few are from a couple of old basketball teammates from college, so it should make the drive go quicker. Hopefully some good food for the spirit too. I've also downloaded a couple old sermons from our new general superintendent George Wood. I've always enjoyed his preaching. Intelligent, witty, and solid.

The chorus from yesterday has been ringing in my spirit continually. It is Here in Your Presence by Jon Egan.

Verse:
Found in Your hands, fullness of joy
Every fear suddenly wiped away here in Your Presence
All of my gains now fade away
Every crown no longer on display, here in Your Presence
Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders
The kings and their kingdoms are standing amazed

Chorus:
Here in Your Presence, we are undone
Here in Your Presence, Heaven and earth become one
Here in Your Presence, all things are new
Here in Your Presence, everything bows before You
(1st ending)

Other:
(Repeat)

Bridge:
(Repeat)
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
(Repeat)
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way
Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 24:27 "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 2:46-47 "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Quote of the Day: "This much is sure in all churches, forgetting party labels; the smallest meeting numerically is the prayer- meeting. If weak in prayer we are weak everywhere." Leonard Ravenhill

Weekend Review

Here's a picture of Jeremiah and his BB target from our Royal Ranger Roundup campout this weekend. About 16 or 17 of us from Bethel attended. The weather was great and we had a good time away. This is the fall quick getaway of just one night, so we only smelled moderately when we got home. Thanks to all our boy's leaders at Bethel who do such a great job with our boys.

We kicked in our fall series at church today, "God's Eternal Blueprint." We're spending a month and a half walking with the NT church digging out the eternal plan of God for His church. Methods change, technology advances, different cultures are engaged in differing modes, but at the core of the church is a blueprint of strength.

Our first piece of the puzzle today was Prayer. It isn't the flashy way to start off a series, but if we don't get that right, nothing else matters. The NT churched was birthed in prayer, persevered in prayer, and exploded with prayer. We must pray. It was a fun morning.

Elizabeth scored three goals at soccer this Saturday for all of you who are keeping stats at home.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 23:24 "The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Quote of the Day: "I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without working.” Hudson Taylor

Thursday Night Lights

After a promising start to the KYFL football season last week, the Tigers fell hard last night 27-0. Jeremiah plays mostly on the offensive line and a little defense too. You can view more team pictures at:
http://tigerkyfl.blogspot.com/

He's #30 just in case you can't make the number out above.

You can also check out the Tigers schedule at:
http://www.kishfootball.com/schedule.htm

My high school in western IL, Payson Seymour, was too small for football, so I just nod a lot and say "good job!" There is a lot of old former glory days testosterone around the side lines though. I'm sure I'm not like that at basketball games am I?

2 of the boys and myself head down to the Royal Ranger Fall Roundup Campout tonight. I think we have 20+ going from Bethel. Camping seems like a lot of work just to sleep on the ground, but it will be a fun weekend to to hangout with all the little boys and big boys. I'll post some pictures later this weekend.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 21:3 "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 4:13 "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Quote of the Day: "Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God." Samuel Chadwick

Wednesday Night Buzz

I didn't have any responsibilities last night so I poked around the building taking pictures for the new website and peeking in on all the goings on. WOW! What a great buzz from the kids especially. We're just into the third week of the fall and they are off and running and already growing.

Here's a great chance to say THANKS to all of our midweek ministry servants. I get to stand up front every Sunday and draw a paycheck, but it's the servants down in the trenches every week who make it happen. We had a couple of our veterans have to step back this fall, but God had blessed us with some great replacements. You guys are awesome!

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 20:4 "A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 3:6-8 "Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God."

Quote of the Day: "In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized." T. W. Manson

General Superintendent's Vision

I shared yesterday about the General Council I attended last month. Our General Superintendent was retiring so we had to elect another. George Wood was elected to serve as the GS. Here's a link to a sermon he recently preached at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary on 5 enduring core values expressing his vision for the AG. CLICK HERE

With 12,000+ A/G churches you'll probably never meet him, but it's neat to hear what God is laying on his heart as he leads the U.S. A/G.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 19:23 "The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

Quote of the Day: "There is no cure for laziness, but a large family helps." Herbert Prochnow

God's Pioneers

Here's a quick shot of the new floor. Still a lot of staining trim and the new doors, replacing all the outlets, etc., but this is a big jump ahead.

Last September was our big biennial national A/G pastors conference in Indianapolis. Between the General Council, Fine Arts Festival, outreaches, etc., there were probably 25-30,000 people there. But out of all the old friends, business meetings, inspiration, elections, worship, etc., the most profound moment for me came in the morning memorial service. For 20 minutes just with instrumental music playing they scrolled the name of every A/G credential holder who passed away in the past two years. I believe it was around 700 names? (There are 30,000+ credential holders) I read every name out of respect for them, but I was also counting the names I recognized. As they wound down I had counted less than 10 names I had heard of, and it hit me of the great legacy I walk in. Very few "big" names. Very few national leaders. But a lot of men and women who were faithful to plow in the field God placed them in. They were faithful in the big cities, country churches, and towns I've never heard of, but together they changed the world.

Many of them pastored when the A/g was on the other side of the tracks. Some of them prayed in supper at times. They pioneered when there was little infrastructure to lift their hands. No conferences, no blogs, no fancy equipment, but a passion for Jesus. Faithful.

Should Jesus tarry, I hope somewhere, in some General Council, some young pastor reads my name scroll by and says, "Thanks." So to all of those who have plowed the soil ahead of us... Thanks.

Be Refreshed!

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 18:24 "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 25:21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Quote of the Day: "The reward of being 'faithful over a few things' is just the same as being 'faithful over many things' ; for the emphasis falls upon the same word; it is the 'faithful' who will enter 'into the joy of their Lord.'" Charles S. Robinson

The Family of God

I love the family of God! We kicked off our fall Suppers for Eight last night. We're giving our small groups a breather and are using Suppers for Eight to keep growing like Jesus together. People sign up and we divide them into groups of 7-9 adults for dinner once a month in each others home along with a devotional, prayer, and fellowship together. We deliberately divided the groups up to have some senior saints, younger couples, newer people and old timers all mixed in. My group had charter members (1960), a couple in their 20's, and a single lady with an incredible testimony. What a great time we had getting everyone to share their stories of life and God's grace. Getting together in each others home for a meal, ministry, and prayer sounds like a pretty God idea to me.

We finished the new flooring at home Saturday night about 9. It was a long week of painting, prep, and labor, but it looks great. Fortunately I stayed awake in church yesterday. I'll post some pictures later this week.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 17:3 "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 2:46-47 "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Quote of the Day: "To a friend's house, the road is never long." Author Unknown

In Memoriam

I want to remember my brother Robert who passed away 5 years ago today.

Robert was just 42 and a career Navy man. He was to retire from the Navy in just a few weeks, but drowned in a snorkeling outing in Puerto Rico just as he was being transfered back to Florida. He had already rented an apartment and bought a car in Florida and was returning to wind up his tour in P.R. What a horrible call to receive in the middle of the night from your mom having to tell you her son has passed away.

I was so impressed with our Navy. The members of his company who accompanied his body and stood guard at the visitation were such a blessing. We sat around my parents house late into the evening as they told us stories about Robert. Robert was kinda quiet, plus with all his travels the past 20 years, we just weren't around him that much. In fact we were looking forward to his naval retirement so we could see him more.

I remember a cartoon that was in the paper that weekend. I believe it was a Family Circus where they were looking at a tombstone and one of them asked what the dash in the dates meant. He explained what the dates meant and that the dash was all the years in between. One of the kids replied, "His dash was way too short." Robert, your dash was too short.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Scripture of the Day: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."

Quote of the Day: "Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise." Thomas Watson

Psalms

Did our background work tonight at adult Bible study on Psalms for our Wednesday night series this fall. The more I research on it the more excited I get. Passion, repentance, praise, fear, awe, and more. The Psalms contain them all. If you're a Bethelite, I hope you'll make Wednesdays priority this fall/winter.

Getting closer to a new floor at the house this weekend. We moved furniture this evening and picked up the laminate this afternoon. I've felt like I was back in college this week. Late nights working while everyone else is sleeping. It's safer to paint after the kids head to bed though. I'll post some pictures as we get it down.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 89:1 "I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."

Quote of the Day: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." Charles Wesley

9-11

It's the 6 year anniversary of 9-11 today and I want to take a minute to honor some of our Bethel men in uniform.

Adam Doden, Marines, who was recently assigned to the embassy in London.
John Harper, Army, who has returned for another tour in Iraq.
John Draper who left for Army boot camp several weeks ago.

Also, Sonya's brother, Rodney Nordin, was just called up from the reserves and will be returning to Iraq in early 2008.

We honor you today and say a HUGE THANKS for serving our country. Take a moment to lift up a prayer for our troops today.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 11:25 "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Scripture of the Day: Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

Quote of the Day: "Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. God’s voice in response to mine is its most essential part." Andrew Murray

Day Seven

Took a vacation day today to get some work done on the house. Hopefully the floor is going in later this week, so I'm working hard to get the walls done before then. Prepping and priming today, base coats tomorrow, top glaze texture coat on Wednesday. The walls were paneling before, so trying to spend extra time on the prep work to cover as well as possible. If all else fails, there's always wallpaper:)

Thanks to everyone who came out to the picnic yesterday. I came home tired and refreshed all at the same time. I hope you did too.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."

Scripture of the Day: Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Quote of the Day: "And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." Nate Saint

Day Six

We had our "Back to Church" fall picnic this afternoon after church. The weather was a beautiful, sunny, upper 70's, and a light breeze. The bees loved the lemonade, but other than that it was a great day. Lots of food, inflatables for the kids, football, softball, water balloons, and the family of God. Good Times...

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Quote of the Day: "Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” Hudson Taylor

Day Five

GOOOOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOOAL!

Elizabeth (on the right) scores twice during their 4-0 victory in the cut throat world of 1-2nd grade AYSO girls soccer. Having three older brothers gives a girl an edge. She's seen it all and is afraid of no one. She was mad her first year of soccer (age 5) when they told her they didn't keep score. "But I want to win" she replied.

It's Saturday, so I hope your anticipation of Sunday is rising.
What does God have in store tomorrow?
What can I do to see it accomplished?
Are you ready?

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 8:35-36 "For whoever finds me [wisdom] finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD."

Quote of the Day: "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us." Abraham Lincoln

Day Four

Quite a mixed day today. Fridays are normally my day off. I was greeted by a van that wouldn't start. (fuel pump maybe?) But then Isaac's soccer team won 2-0 this evening. The big Sycamore-DeKalb football game is tonight, but we didn't get back from Elgin until late so we didn't make it. I really need to get finished with the walls for our remodeling project. The floors are possibly going in next weekend, so there may be some late nights next week to get all the other work done. Had hoped to get some done today, but got thrown off schedule with a down van.

Sunday is our big annual church picnic. I've jokingly started calling it our Back to Church Picnic. Every church has a different rhythm, but ours seems to be an August vacation church. Everything slows way down as we take a breather before fall. It's fun to get everyone home and kick off a fresh fall sermon series. The weather looks good for Sunday although we had to switch parks due to the flooding.

Be Refreshed!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 7:1-3 "My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."

Scripture of the Day: Acts 4:13 "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Quote of the Day: "One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always." A. W. Tozer

Day Three

It was great to hear the rustle of kids again last night as the fall ministries kicked off for another great year of midweek ministries. Summer is a nice break for the leaders and kids as the pace slows for a breather, but I'm always ready to go again by August. We are truly blessed with some great workers at Bethel.

We're going to be going the the Psalms on the Wednesday night adult Bible study this fall. I know sometimes for myself I can tend to take the Psalms too lightly. Did you know that the Psalms are by far the most quoted OT book in the NT? Wow! I would have guessed Isaiah, Genesis, or one of the prophets. So here's a cheap plug for Wednesday night Bible study... Come on out this year as we walk through the Psalms together. Joy, despair, worship, fear, glory, and repentance. The Psalms have them all.


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 6:6 "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!"

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"

Quote of the Day: "No manliness no maturity! No discipline no discipleship! No sweat no sainthood!" R. Kent Hughes in "The Disciplines of a Godly Man"


Be Refreshed!

Day Two

If you're reading this you probably already know me well, but a few background items may be good to start this journey off.

I was raised the youngest of four outside of Quincy, IL. I graduated from Seymour High School in Payson, IL in 1984, and from Central Bible College in Springfield, MO in 1989. A month after graduation I married a beautiful young lady, Sonya Nordin, and went on to grad school at AGTS and graduated with an M.A. in Missiology in Dec. 1990.

From there we headed west to start our ministry as a youth pastor in Milford, NE. In 1993 it was back to IL to youth pastor in Sandwich. Then we came to Bethel Assembly of God in Sycamore, IL as the pastor in Aug., 1995.

We added 4 more Mills along the way too. Ethan Xavier was born in NE in 1992. Isaac Judson in Sandwich in 1994. Jeremiah Taylor in Sycamore in 1996. And Elizabeth Carey brought up the rear in 1999.

That's the quick look, but I thought it might be good to give you a backdrop for the rest of this blog. Thanks for stopping by!


Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 5:21 "For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths."

Scripture of the Day: Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Quote of the Day: "If you try to find intimacy with another person before doing the hard work of achieving a sense of identity on your own, all your relationships will become a painful attempt to complete yourself." Jeanne Mayo in her book "Uncensored"

Be Refreshed!

Day One

Thought it might be time to jump into blogging and see what happens. My hope is to share my life with friends, my church, and you. I'll also be posting quotes, a Scripture, and other items to keep us refreshed. Thank God for what I ate and drank yesterday, but I need more today too. So bookmark the site and let's run together. Be Refreshed!

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 4:6 "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."

Scripture of the Day: Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Quote of the Day: "You can have all the revival you want. You can have all of God you want. As a matter of fact, you do have all of God you want." Dr. Gordon Anderson