Happy Father's Day

Chad, Just think of this time next year??? Happy Fathers Day to all of our fathers (Daddy, J.R., and Ricky) and men that are like fathers to us and have adopted us along the way of our ministry.... Chad has so many wonderful examples of men that are loving, kind, strong, courageous, and faithful. What a blessing and a responsibility it is to be a father. I know that Chad is going to pass with flying colors!

I took this picture of Chad and Jordan (our summer intern that is living with us this summer, a.k.a. practice son) playing video games after church today. It was so cute how they matched and stuff (not on purpose, I'm assured, and Chad offered to change when Jordan came down the stairs this morning) But Thanks Jordan on being our guinea pig. But, don't give us too much credit- he's a really mature and respectful young man. And he cleans....

Today we went to church, Pastor Dave preach a really great message that really spoke to me- it was about Storms. His text was from Matthew 8:24, when Jesus and the Disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in their boat. Jesus falls asleep and a horrible storm breaks out at sea. The disciples "draw straws" on who is going to wake Jesus up because they fear certain death from the wind and waves. Jesus is awoken by Peter (who drew the short end of the stick) and Jesus rebukes them all for not trusting in Him, but then calms the storm. Maybe he does back to sleep?

When the storms of life happen (Dave said either we are leaving a storm, in the middle of a storm, or we are about to enter into a storm) we should remember these things:

1- Don't complain about the weather (It doesn't do us any good, buy an umbrella and shut up)

2- Don't fight with our fellow passengers (We are all in this together)

3- Go out to deep water. (Experienced sailors know the worst place for a boat in a storm is in the harbor; They will pull anchor and go out to the depths of the ocean.) Likewise we should trust in Him and not be afraid of not having a safety net.....

4- Face the storm head on! Have courage.

5- Hang onto the Mast. (Cling to the Cross!)

6- Enjoy the Ride.

Sometimes we feel like we are standing in the middle of an open field waiting for the storm to roll in. We can see trouble on the horizon. But sometimes, the storms of life catch us by surprise and we are left soaking wet, wondering if we should wake up God because obviously he's sleeping on the job! Whatever storms life gives us, we need to hunker down and enjoy the ride because if God is with us, whom then shall we fear?