Hello friends and neighbors it is
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 and I bid you welcome. Today we pause to recognize and celebrate the birthday of our very first grandchild, our granddaughter, Tiffany. When she came on the scene all our lives changed. As with most things I do, I was way over the top in doing the first time grandfather routine, or Poppy as I am called by our grand kids, thanks to Tiffany, because she chose that name. I'm sure the people I worked with at the big company were glad to not have to hear another Tiffany story because my office was plastered with her photos, portraits, and they dare not mention anything about her for fear that I would be off and running. I had a lady one day ask me if it were possible for me to adopt her as my granddaughter because she thought that our Tiffany was very blessed to have so much love and attention. God gave her a keen intellect and talent and ability. She was a Poppy girl for many of her formative years and then that teenage thing happened and they typically then become MiMi girls. Today, we thank God for her, our first granddaughter, and she, along with J. C., her husband, have given to us our first great grand bundle of Madelyn Joy. We wish our Tiffany a wonderful birthday and send along a prayer that God will bless her, on this, her special day. Happy Birthday as we send our love, MiMi and Poppy.
As many of you know my brother Donald continues his struggle to regain some quality of life since suffering a massive heart attack last August which left him with a traumatic brain injury. On Sunday, Marilyn and I were able to visit with Donald, along with my mom and dad, his son Phil and his fiance Rennie, and Dotty who is Donald's lady friend and 24 hour care giver. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and family. Donald was in great spirits and we all laughed and enjoyed bantering forth and back. God has been good to us. When I think about mom and dad up at 4 a.m. and driving nearly 200 miles and then in the early afternoon repeating that trip back home, it's not an easy ride. In a few weeks mom will be 87 and these trips usually take a couple of days for her to get back up and going. But you cannot keep a mom away from her child. Watching her with Donald reflects what God put into the heart of a mother. My wife commented that she would most likely be the same way if it were one of her boys. No doubt. Moms are like that. It was a wonderful day and we know Donald has a long way to go but we are encouraged by the progress he his making, especially over the past several days.We are also, as a family, so blessed to know that so many have prayed for Donald and we feel humbled in knowing that folks care so much. I particularly appreciate those within our local fellowship of believers who have asked about him and have continued to lift him up to God along with mom and with those attending to him. In the end, we seek God's will and we seek to give Him honor and glory for His demonstrated love and mercy.
Amen.
On this past Sunday evening our local fellowship of believers had a guest speaker and presentation. Brother Sergio Danon, a Jewish missionary, native Brazilian who works in Brazil, affiliated with Jews for Jesus, shared with us a detailed walk through of the Jewish celebration of Passover. Our entire congregation sat at tables set for the Passover meal. (Thanks to our dear Sister Anita and a group of our ladies who spent all afternoon preparing these tables.) His presentation was entitled Christ in the Passover and it was a wonderful time of celebrating the ritual and symbols that clearly speak of the Jewish Messiah Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Brother Danon shared his own personal testimony and how he came to know Christ. His parents became believers about four years before he did. When they announced their conversion, the rest of their family considered them to no longer be Jewish, therefore, they were cut off from many family activities. For many years I was a regular watcher of the late Zola Levitt, the Christian Jew who did so much to inform Gentile communities of faith about the Jewish people, their mindset, and their needs. I remember his testimony of how his family responded when he announced his conversion. His parents actually had a funeral service for him because he was no longer considered to be alive. It's no easy believeism for anyone, but think about it, it is really difficult within their culture. We had a memorable service and then Marilyn and I were privileged to enjoy a supper with Brother Sergio and others from our congregation. The Jewish people. So close, yet so far away. Surely we can see what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said that a blindness had fallen upon his people, the Jews. However, that same text speaks that they too can be made new, born again, just the same as anyone else, when they come to recognize God's provision. For them, He is their Messiah. For us, He is our Savior. For all who believe, He is our Lord. (Read all about this in detail, from Romans Chapters 9, 10, and 11. It will be worth it!)
Amen. ......More later.
As many of you know my brother Donald continues his struggle to regain some quality of life since suffering a massive heart attack last August which left him with a traumatic brain injury. On Sunday, Marilyn and I were able to visit with Donald, along with my mom and dad, his son Phil and his fiance Rennie, and Dotty who is Donald's lady friend and 24 hour care giver. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and family. Donald was in great spirits and we all laughed and enjoyed bantering forth and back. God has been good to us. When I think about mom and dad up at 4 a.m. and driving nearly 200 miles and then in the early afternoon repeating that trip back home, it's not an easy ride. In a few weeks mom will be 87 and these trips usually take a couple of days for her to get back up and going. But you cannot keep a mom away from her child. Watching her with Donald reflects what God put into the heart of a mother. My wife commented that she would most likely be the same way if it were one of her boys. No doubt. Moms are like that. It was a wonderful day and we know Donald has a long way to go but we are encouraged by the progress he his making, especially over the past several days.We are also, as a family, so blessed to know that so many have prayed for Donald and we feel humbled in knowing that folks care so much. I particularly appreciate those within our local fellowship of believers who have asked about him and have continued to lift him up to God along with mom and with those attending to him. In the end, we seek God's will and we seek to give Him honor and glory for His demonstrated love and mercy. Amen.
On this past Sunday evening our local fellowship of believers had a guest speaker and presentation. Brother Sergio Danon, a Jewish missionary, native Brazilian who works in Brazil, affiliated with Jews for Jesus, shared with us a detailed walk through of the Jewish celebration of Passover. Our entire congregation sat at tables set for the Passover meal. (Thanks to our dear Sister Anita and a group of our ladies who spent all afternoon preparing these tables.) His presentation was entitled Christ in the Passover and it was a wonderful time of celebrating the ritual and symbols that clearly speak of the Jewish Messiah Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Brother Danon shared his own personal testimony and how he came to know Christ. His parents became believers about four years before he did. When they announced their conversion, the rest of their family considered them to no longer be Jewish, therefore, they were cut off from many family activities. For many years I was a regular watcher of the late Zola Levitt, the Christian Jew who did so much to inform Gentile communities of faith about the Jewish people, their mindset, and their needs. I remember his testimony of how his family responded when he announced his conversion. His parents actually had a funeral service for him because he was no longer considered to be alive. It's no easy believeism for anyone, but think about it, it is really difficult within their culture. We had a memorable service and then Marilyn and I were privileged to enjoy a supper with Brother Sergio and others from our congregation. The Jewish people. So close, yet so far away. Surely we can see what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said that a blindness had fallen upon his people, the Jews. However, that same text speaks that they too can be made new, born again, just the same as anyone else, when they come to recognize God's provision. For them, He is their Messiah. For us, He is our Savior. For all who believe, He is our Lord. (Read all about this in detail, from Romans Chapters 9, 10, and 11. It will be worth it!) Amen. ......More later.
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