Home Archive by category "Spiritual Growth" (Page 18)

Category: Spiritual Growth

It’s Not What You Do That Counts

You’ve heard it said, “It’s the thought that counts.” Well, we all know that’s a lame excuse for when we fail to do what we should, but what about the thought that what you do doesn’t count either? When it comes to our walk with Christ, what we do doesn’t count either! My “mentor” Oswald Chambers (OC) writes today, “We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him.” In life you will discover that it is far easier to work for Jesus than to abide with Him. “…that is why so many are devoted to causes and so few devoted to Jesus Christ. People do not want to be devoted to Jesus, bu only to the cause He started.” (OC) This forces me to ask as I look at my “to do” list, how many of my tasks is Jesus asking me to do? How many are a result of my ideas instead of His? OC gives a warning that I can personally relate to, “If I am devoted to the cause only, I will soon be exhausted and come to…

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Dying is Easy

Dying is easy! What would you die for? Your country? Your Family? Your Savior? YES! And some are given that opportunity to show the “greatest love” by giving up their life for those they love. But we ALL are asked by our Lord to “lay down our life.” Now that’s something different altogether! As Oswald Chambers writes, “Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him.” And there is a task that is do much harder to do! You can only die for someone once! But to lay down your life is a daily, even moment by moment, sacrifice that is far more difficult, for after it is done, you must do it yet again and again. “It is far easier to die than to lay down the life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling.” A life lived with our own desires and dreams set down is a life that truly pleases our Lord, because it is so exceedingly difficult! THAT is the sacrifice. Our life is not worth as much as our LIVING. “If I am a friend of Jesus, I have to deliberately and…

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Time Flies When You Are Serving God

Saturday, May 12th, was one of those days that makes you feel old… but so happy too. It was a day of seeing another of my K.C. Krew kids getting married! The last time you’ll see “Cheek” after Krista’s name!Krista and Karl Today…. Karl and Krista in 1998! Cool Krista! (wearing a costume for Kids Church) Krista getting married, and that’s Sara’s dad doing the ceremony! This was a very encouraging day for me. You minister and invest in so many kids in your life, and you don’t always get to see what God does with their lives. Some you never even get to say good bye to, let alone, get to see them again years later. It was so nice to get caught up on what they are doing and how much they have grown up! Krista’s little sister Erin, Gwen, (me), Laura and Amy Joy. And YES, I have old pictures of all of them: (hope they still love me after this!) Erin back then! And Amy Joy too! I’ve got special stories with each of these girls, and it was fun to tell them over again at the wedding. Laura, second from the right, graduated from Moody…

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Luke Takes to Water like a Fish

I always heard dads talking about how being a father gave them new insights into being a child of God, and the same is happening to me; a lot. Be glad I don’t blog all of them. :) But I’ll save my latest lesson as a new dad for the end of this post. One of Luke’s very favorite things has been bathtime – he would sit in a tub and splash until he became a prune if we let him. He never tires of water. So as we headed off to vacation two weeks ago I was sooooo looking forward to the pool in Palm Springs where we would be for the second week of our trip. Luke’s first time in a swimming pool. As soon as we checked in, we went for an evening swim. I wasn’t sure if the vast size of a giant pool would intimidate him, but far from it… he took to it like a fish! Splash! Splash! Splash! Well, a fish being held by his father that is. The pool was giant and included a baby section with water only a foot and a half deep and a water slide where you could…

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Boy Meets Girl

Luke has taken his first step into a larger world… no, not of the Force… of Girls. :) Recently we had a family over from our church whose daughter is one of Luke’s favorite friends. Though we may have to keep a closer eye on them now…. BOY MEETS GIRL Sitting together on the couch. How cute. Luke’s got an idea… She is so lovely, and she adores the attention!Whoa! He wasn’t expecting THAT! But he doesn’t seem to mind either! Ooooo, what was that? a kiss? And no, these pictures were not posed, we were just taking pictures and letting them play, though someone may have said “give a kiss.” I cant’ wait to show these at Luke’s wedding someday! I think Luke is already fulfilling Romans 16:16, I Cor. 16:20, II Cor. 13:12, I Thess. 5:26, and I Peter 5:14!JUST FULFILLING SCRIPTURE Reminds me of the young Bible College boy who was taking a girl he fancied on her first date, and the girl’s father, who happened to be a preacher, asked him as they were about to go out the door, “What are your intentions with my daughter, young man?” To which the boy replied, “Just to…

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Easter Bunny Secret Identity Revealed!

Sara, Luke, and Karl – Easter 2007 Easter 2006 was a day that was very significant in our little family. While we took Luke into our home on April 1st last year, it was on Easter Sunday one year ago that we met with the birth mother and she made her final decision to give him to us. And then the legal adoption process began. Since that process ended in December, we’ve been enjoying our life as a little family at the beginning of this Adventure called Parenting! See how he has grown! Here is last Easter: Karl, Luke, and Sara – Easter 2006 Now he is a cool little dude who can crawl, climb stairs, and stuff Cherioes down the heating vents! Ready for Church on Easter Sunday! A man comfortable in front of a camera! And then the Easter Bunny arrived! Oh, how embarrassing, er, I mean, exciting! Yes, that is me, dressed as the Easter Bunny. (blush) But in my defense, it was not my idea! My older sister handed me the costume just minutes before the family Easter Egg Hunt and says, “put it on” and what’s a dad to do? Let pride get in the…

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