Good morning on this Saturday, January 8th. I hope that you enjoyed a wonderful Christ-centered Christmas and New Year holiday with family and friends. We thoroughly enjoyed having all of our children and grandchildren with us for much of the holiday season. A total of 13 of our family filled our house during the festivities, munching on an assortment of holiday goodies, visiting, and spending quality time together with lots of conversations with grandkids ranging in age from 4 to 13. One thought which I try to keep before me when I am with them is that I will never have this opportunity again. As they grow up (all too fast by the way) they will all too quickly move on to the next life stage and the chance for those exact golden opportunities for connection and influence will forever be lost. Our lives are filled with many "teachable moments" wherein we have a chance to impact, effect, and make lasting impressions upon our little ones which will count for time and eternity. Too often we fail to take maximum advantage of those chances to shape their lives and attitudes. One excellent suggestion is to sign up for the six week parenting seminar being offered at our church on Sunday evenings. The material is excellent for any parent or grandparent and will provide excellent instruction for improving your parenting skills. Our children and grandchildren are far too valuable to not bring them up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord."
Tomorrow's sermon is entitled, God's Accounting: Gain and Loss. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown