Famous Last Words

I was in the book of 2 Timothy this morning. It took on a different meaning than the other times I've read it. Either I had forgotten or never realized that this was Paul's final letter. As I read it I tried to keep in mind that these were the last words of this great man of God. There's never been another like Paul,aman of deep faith and conviction. So often it is easy for us to serve Christ for the wrong reasons: it's exciting, rewarding, maybe it's relief from guilt. It's much harder to serve Him during difficult times. Paul never quit. He made the Jews mad because he claimed Jesus was God. He made the Romans mad who worshipped Caesar. The Greeks were mad at Paul for saying Jesus was human. He still didn't quit. He knew that even though he was in chains, God's word was not. (2:9)
Paul challenges us throughout this book to live a holy life, to have nothing to do with godless chatter or evil desires. He challenges us to be prepared with sound doctrine and equipped for the last days for they will be difficult. One of my favorite verses is in this book, 1:12---I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
What legacy will we leave behind? Are we training up others to carry on when we are gone? We have a responsibility to the next generation. What will they say about us?

Posted by dawn leopard at 4:13 PM

His name is on the paper

It is O-fficial!! Stephen signed with Spartanburg Methodist College. I guess that shouldn't really make it official. Actually if became official the Wednesday night that he called the coach and told him he had made his decision to come there. It took a lot of prayer and time but we didn't want him to give that verbal commitment before he was totally sure. That word out of our mouth has to mean just as much if not more than our signature. Anyway, he did sign his name so he is SMC bound and we couldn't be happier. Not only is it a great baseball school, always has been, but there's so many other positives. The coach is an awesome Christian man who is ACTIVE in his church (First Baptist Spartanburg) and active with the college ministry there. First Baptist is down the road and Stephen is excited to reconnect with Brandon Bowers and get involved in that ministry (so thankful he considered churches as well as schools when he was trying to decide). His grandparents are less than 2 miles away, don't know who is more excited about that. They've offered laundry services and nobody beats grandmother's cooking except maybe the restaurant his grandfather runs close by. His options are unlimited after 2 years there. It just seems to be the perfect fit for him.
We are extremely proud of his accomplishments and his hard work. It is definitely paying off now with a college education. However, all of that pales in comparison to how proud we are of the young man that he is. He has a firm foundation based on Jesus Christ. He has been so blessed to have student ministers who have poured into his life and he has been faithful to soak it in. He has stayed focused on the main thing and that is tending to his relationship with Christ. All the other stuff is just gravy. We continue to pray that he sees this baseball platform as a platform to share his faith and speak for Christ and trust Christ to direct his every path.
Love you so Stephen, you have been a joy and a blast. Couldn't even begin to tell you how much your presence around here will be missed.

Monday Morning Perspective

We finished up chapter 1 of Jonah yesterday. We were reminded that when we go God's way (to Ninevah), God pays the fare. When we insist on going our way (to Tarshish), we pay the fare. Also a sad reminder that Jonah was a great prophet but remembered for running from God. May that not be our legacy!!
My favorite part was part 2: Disobedience can cause others to suffer. How challenging was that? So thankful for the reminder that we don't live in a bubble. Every decision we make, every choice has an effect on others good or bad. I think we so often forget that or maybe we don't forget but we just don't care. We get so wrapped up in our own agenda and what we want that we don't care how it affects others. It doesn't have to be HUGE choices. It could be little things that we are just selfish over. Maybe we don't require much sleep so we don't care about our noise level at night when others turn in early. Or maybe we are early morning risers so we want everyone up at the crack of dawn with us. Maybe we need a t.v. or radio playing while we study but those around us need quiet, what do we do? Maybe we prefer the mountains to the beach so every vacation we want to go where we want to go. The little things of life...they can make or break relationships and usually are not worth it. Let's learn from Jonah that whether it's life and death choices that affect others or the little day to day things, we need an "others" mentality.