I Am Not Alone

As a preacher I don't always know if the lessons I present are really making a difference or impacting people. Now, that is not to say that our church family is not extremely encouraging of me and the work I am doing because they certainly are. Everyone is great at reassuring me that they are listening and do appreciate the messages I give. However, I still sometimes wonder if the true meaning of what I have said is received and understood.

This past week I shared a lesson on grace that was rooted entirely in my own personal struggle with comprehending, appreciating and then living in God's grace. It was a very personal message and one I know many people appreciated but I wondered as I was delivering it if they were really getting it. That question was answered after worship when a man came and talked to me. With a very sincere look on his face he told me how he shared the very same struggle. As he talked, I could see in his eyes both the pain of his past doubts and also the relief that came with a new perspective. He thanked me for the reassurance that he was on the right path.

What he might not realize is how much it means to me to know someone else shares my same struggles. It is good to know I am not alone, and the truth is that none of us are. Whatever our doubts, struggles, mistakes, and successes, there is someone out there who has been there and done that. We all too often can become isolated thinking no one could possibly understand when in reality there are probably lots of people who do.

God did not intend this journey of life to be one we travel alone. For one, He is always there. It is a promise he has made. And second, he has given us a whole host of brothers and sisters in Christ who will love us and bear our burdens right along side of us if we will just open up and allow them to do so.

God Bless,

Daryl

Great Anticipation

I have been looking forward to this week with great anticipation. This is the week for the annual Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop (see link below). I look forward to the many great lessons I know I will hear. I look forward to perusing all the booths with vendors and mission efforts. I look forward to hearing some great concerts. I think I look forward most of all though to the great time of fellowship and worship. It is always so encouraging and inspiring to be with thousands of Christians from around the world and joining with one voice to praise God.

I am looking forward to being able to share the experience for the first time not only with the other staff ministers at Adams but so many of our family members as well. Several of us will be going together Wednesday evening for the opening event. I know the bus is nearly full and we have several others who will be taking their own vehicles. I really can't wait to share this opportunity with them all.

It is going to be great and I'll try to post some of my experiences and maybe even some pics on this blog as the week unfolds.

God Bless,

Daryl

A Little Spring Cleaning and Sprucing

Great things are happening here at Adams Blvd! We continue to look at ways to better serve our members and our guests. One way that we can do that is to make sure that our facility is as welcoming, comfortable and convenient as possible. In the coming weeks and months you will notice some changes as we look to clean, organize and update parts of our building. We are also going to work on improving our methods of communication by making new brochures available and improving our signage. So keep your eyes open. You don’t want to run into a “Wet Paint” sign!

There's Power in The Blood

Yesterday evening we were enjoying a nice quiet night at home. Amy was cooking supper, the boys were playing in the back yard and I was just relaxing in our room. The peace was suddenly shattered with screams and crying from the back yard. Now that is not all that unusual when the boys are "playing" together. We have learned to wait and listen at least a second or two to see if they are screams of anger & frustration or a real emergency. Most often it is the former and they either work it out or come storming into the house pleading their case about how they are being mistreated. This time, however, the crying did not stop and it was followed by Spencer yelling, "Mom, Colby is bleeding!"

I actually made it outside faster than Amy and found our youngest son sitting with his hands out in front of him, palms up, looking down, crying and blood all over his head and hands. I knew from past experiences that even minor head wounds bleed profusely but it is still very disturbing to see your own child in that condition. We quickly discovered it wasn't serious but he did have a nice little gash in his forehead. We took him into the house and got him cleaned up. It took quite a while to get Colby, who is pretty even tempered, to calm down. Even though I'm sure his head hurt I could tell it wasn't the injury that was bothering him as much as all the blood. Once the blood was cleaned up and we eventually got the bleeding to stop he was back to his normal self.

I am not a squeamish person and blood in and of itself does not bother me. I'm one of those weirdos that watches them put the needle in my arm when I give blood. I have to admit though seeing my son with all that blood all over him was disturbing. It didn't make me nauseous but it did make my heart stop when I first saw him. Even as I sit here typing and recall those first images of him sitting there bleeding in pain, my chest tightens up a little bit.

For me this was one more of those little spiritual lessons that parenting often brings. This one little incident has given me even greater appreciation for what God allowed to happen to his Son with all the abuse leading up to his death. I think we often choose to forget the absolute horror of those events. Our minor little event caused me a few moments of fear and anxiety until I knew my son was alright. God watched hours of pain and the shedding of his Sons blood knowing how it would end, and he did it so that his blood could wash away our sins. Amazing!

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

In the words of Paul Harvey, "Now for the rest of the story." I know some of you want to know how the head wound occurred. The details are still a little fuzzy. Neither boy really seems to be able to recall what happened but apparently they were wrestling around and Spencer's front tooth somehow ended up in the top of Colby's forehead. As the chaos with Colby was subsiding Spencer showed us his tooth which is cracked horizontally from one side to the other. After an early morning dentist visit, he is being sent to a specialist this afternoon to hopefully save the tooth.

Safe Travels

Next week is Spring Break, so I know we have lots of folks that will be traveling. If you are traveling, I pray that God will watch over you, keep you safe, and return you safely back to us. I hope that you have a great break where you can relax and recharge. All of us need to take a break from time to time. It helps to reduce stress and gives us a chance to think about and do things outside of the normal routine. You might say it helps to keep life interesting.

You are going to need your rest too. We have a lot of exciting events and service opportunities that are coming up in the next few months. It is an exciting time to be a part of this church family. I hope you are making the most of all the opportunities God is giving us to know, grow, and go!

God Bless,

Daryl

A New Beginning

In the age of constant electronic communication, the staff and leadership felt that starting a blog would offer one more way that we can communicate with the church family. We will use this platform to share devotional thoughts, information about upcoming events, pictures, and any other information we feel will be useful to others. Blogging is new to most if not all of us, so we will have a lot to learn. We hope this will be something that grows and becomes more and more useful to our church family. I look forward to this new adventure!

-God Bless,

Daryl