Showing posts with label #Growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Growth. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Meet Scott Boucher, author of When Goodness Finds You

Author Scott Boucher
I am pleased to introduce you to author Scott Boucher. He has been involved in numerous aspects of Church ministry for over 30 years and served as Administrator of Mount Carmel Bible Institute from 2004-2006. 

Scott describes himself as a teacher at heart.  “I love to inspire others to experience the freedom that intimacy with God provides.” Although he doesn’t have a writing background, he is a man “who simply adores God, and enjoys spending time with Him.” 

When you are passionate about something, and you know that millions are longing to experience God in the same way that I have been experiencing Him for years—it makes it easy.  By the grace of God, I began seeking the Lord passionately when I was just a teenager.  I planted my roots deep into God early in my walk with Him.  One of the important truths to developing intimacy is this: you can’t be in a hurry!  I patiently waited on the Lord till I found Him—you have to search with all your heart.  God taught me about the concept of approach.  I grew in confidence and did away with the performance-oriented approach I used to have toward God.  The deeper I believed His Word, and the more I meditated upon it—the more real He became to me.”

When Goodness Finds You, was written to “help people discover the 5 keys to intimacy with God that empowers them to approach God with confidence and begin to exhale in His presence.  Millions are longing for a breakthrough in their life.  Many are frustrated; they have been a Christian for years, but they feel like something is missing—there has to be something more.  You won’t find many books like this one.  There are countless books on prayer, but the focus of those books is how to pray.  The focus of my book is on how we relate to God, and how that affects our approach to Him, which ultimately affects whether we will experience intimacy with Him or not.”

“One of my favorite stories from the book is how I used to delight myself in the Lord.  I used to call it “taking God golfing”.  It was typically rather spontaneous.  It was similar to a man and woman saying to each other, “Hey, let’s do something tonight.  Yeah, let’s go out on a date.”  I would usually wait for a laid-back Sunday afternoon in the summer when the weather was pretty much perfect.  Then I would say to God, “Hey, let’s go golfing today, just you and I.”  God would always say yes.  So off on our date we would go.  I’ll leave the rest of the story for the readers of my book to enjoy.  Don’t want to spoil you.”

What do you want your readers to take away from it? “I want them to not only be inspired, but start taking the steps that will lead them toward intimacy with God.  I want to see them turn experience into relationship…a relationship where intimacy is an everyday reality for them.  I want each and every one of my readers to fall so deeply in love with God that their desire for God is taken to a much higher level.”

An excerpt from When Goodness Finds You -
“We are all just trying to find our way through life.  Some of us might not even be aware of that, but it’s true.  

Unfortunately for the majority of us, we rush expeditiously through this adventure called life.  We don’t take the time to smell the flowers, dance in the puddles, or linger at the crosswalk.  We rush right past a thousand faces on our way to…nowhere.  The beauty and delight of a dream is lost to the reality of a life of busyness.

I’ve watched my daughter several times from the front window of our house as she dances in the puddles during a rainstorm—with boots, a raincoat, and an umbrella.  The funny thing is that she ran outside to do that a few years ago—when she was eleven years old!  I think I’ll join her next time.  Oh—the simple pleasures that life provides!  What an opportunity that has been bestowed upon us.  If only we would allow ourselves the freedom to dance in the puddles, to linger at the crosswalks of life.  But we are too mature for all of that, of course.  That is how we think; that is who we are.  Hence, the longings go unfulfilled; the dreams remain a wish that never comes true.   

Indeed, we all have deep longings inside of us.  Some of them are as simple as the desire to dance in the puddles.  Most would admit that they are unsure as to what those longings really are.  The reason we have a hard time identifying them is because we are largely unaware of who we are, and what we are to be.  So we spend precious little time in pursuit of the discovery of these longings.  The admission of their existence reminds us of the harsh realities of life—too painful, too complex, and extremely boring at times.  We look the other way; we don’t even want to consider it.  

To find a way through the dream is to find God in the midst of the dream.  Someone may say, “I have forgotten how to dream.  I don’t like to think about my days of innocence—they are gone.  How can I return to a life of innocence and begin to dream again?”  If that’s you, I’m glad you asked.  Here’s the answer: Find God in the midst of your dreams.  God can enable you to dream again.  Set yourself free to allow the dreaming to begin in your life.” 

Scott Boucher







I live in Menasha, Wisconsin with my wife, Mary, and our two children, Josiah and Victoria.  

Fun facts: I used to trade highly-volatile stock options on a regular basis.  And the most adorable looking cat in the entire world lives at my house.  She goes by the name of Macy.




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Thursday, July 14, 2016

Grapes Grace and Glory

Grace grapes and glory.
You may remember when I shared about how happy I was to plant the these "sticks in the ground."( Read Grapes and the Gardener here. ) No root, no leaves and certainly no fruit. I soaked them in a rooting hormone for a week, then babied and sweet-talked the sticks in their infancy with all the encouragement I could muster. You can imagine how very proud I was of their first tender pink leaves. They soon put out lovely little tendrils and held on to their line (clothes line strung between posts) for dear life. The more the vine held to the line, the more the foliage grew and gathered nourishment for the root system and the fruit to come later.

There was some pruning involved now and then. I didn’t enjoy it one little bit, cutting those beautiful vines that I encouraged to grow, yet it was necessary to train the vines into the proper position and to make the vine able to bear the fruit that was yet to come.


Grapes oon the vine.
The purpose of a grape vine is to (you guessed it) produce grapes! This was the year, and it was worth the wait. Cluster upon cluster of lovely purple pods of juiciness hung from vines that showed extraordinary brute strength and stamina to just to bear the load.

More pampering for each little cluster, flicking off Japanese beetles and spreading out the vines to avoid crowding. They were inspected every day for health and readiness for consumption, until this week when their color revealed they were ripe for the picking.
Brought from outside
into the master's house.

I didn’t have a way to explain to them why I was doing it but, I carefully selected and snipped these precious bundles and brought them in, so the canning could begin. They couldn’t have known they were chosen for a wonderful purpose. 

Their first stop is the sink for a washing. I gently removed each grape from its family stem and tossed them into a colander. Now, they appeared pretty clean so when a large hairy spider ran for his life, (over my finger) I almost did too. He didn’t make it. I did. (May he rest in peace.) Two more crawlies were discovered and removed, along with those grapes that did not mature.
Washed grapes,
minus a spider and two crawlies.

Their next stop was the cook pot. Now grapes have a tough skin, so it is necessary to crush them to get the best flavor. The crushing revealed the succulent insides that would ultimately provide the flavor for the jelly. The skin and seeds and insides are boiled all together for a good ten minutes. A full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.

What is left behind.
That is when you get the first sniff of the real inside of the grapes. With the skin off and the heat rising, the aroma of each grape is released. Their grapeness filled the air and anyone nearing my kitchen would have no doubt of what was happening.


Then the grapes, skin, juice, seeds and all go into a strainer to remove the unnecessary parts. While the pulp will be used for another purpose, it will not go into the jelly. Then, this luscious juice goes back into the pot for another heating and mixing then carefully ladled into jars. The jars are then yep, placed into a boiling water bath.
Back into the heat.

The result? Beautiful sparkling grape jelly that will bring delight to our tongues for the coming year! Still grapes? Yes, but different.
Glorified grapes.
Refined and preserved.

I have felt like those grapes, maybe you have too. Pruned, snipped, crushed…and at times plunged into heat that seems unbearable. I have learned that God uses those times to make something better out of me. He truly is the Master Gardener Who tends to His vines. 

Things to remember when life gets hard
  • God planted you in love. He will tend you and nurture you. He expects you to grow and mature.
  • God will prune you with love. He wants you to be strong and be able to bear fruit.
  • God will cause you to bear fruit in His time. He will bring you from outside, into His home.
  • God has a plan for you. You may not understand it but, He wants to clean you and remove anything that would be harmful to you.
  • He will allow you to be squeezed to the point of being crushed – what is inside comes out. It proves your faith is real to you and to those around you.
  • He will allow you to go through a refining fire. It will cause you to release the unnecessary, the dross that contaminates you. The refining is a process that is repeated more than once but, His grace will not allow it to consume you.
  • You will leave your skin and seeds behind. You will still be you, but you will be changed into something glorious! You will be sealed and preserved into His kingdom!


Dear Father,
Thank You for Your loving care through my life. Thank You for watching over me and tending me and pruning me when I needed it.

While I long to be beautiful in Your sight, I struggle in the times of the refining fire. It is hard. Thank You for staying by me side through it all. May I be an example of perseverance in my trials, that another would look to You for that same faith. I pray You will give comfort to those in the fire today. I pray You will encourage those who feel alone today in their time of testing. Thank You for the grace to endure it.

Father, may any fruit borne be to Your glory and leave seeds of righteousness sown for Your kingdom. I trust You with my eternity and I trust You with my today.
In Jesus’ name I pray.


~~~~

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” 1 Peter 1:6,7
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12




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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Baby Bluebirds Time to Spread Your Wings!


Baby on bottom, Indigo above. "No I will NOT take one step to get the worm!"

They have come a long way in the few days since they were left alone to die. You may remember from previous blogs about the baby bluebirds that I came to call Indigo and Baby, that they were unconscious and near death when I took over ‘mommy-duty”.  

That first day they were too weak to take or even desire nourishment, so I stayed with them and poured just a drop (of worm soup) at a time until they gained strength.  Then, when they realized I was helping them, they began to accept what they were hungry for after all – yummy delicious mealworms! Mealworm shakes, mealworm soup, mealworm delight, mealworm deluxe, mealworm casserole was the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At first they were only able to take them softened, but gradually they advanced to crunch them up on their own.

I was delighted to call them to the table with our own secret little dinner-bell chirp that they taught me. I doubt I ever perfected it, but they acknowledged my efforts with raised heads and open mouths – thus I knew it was the “dinner’s ready” song.

Because I knew they were terribly weak, I took each little morsel to an upraised beak. I guess humans aren’t the only ones who can be spoiled. Indigo and Baby learned that is all they had to do, so that is all they did; sit, sleep, wake at the dinner bell/tweet and raise their little heads for delivery.

I knew they had gained strength because I purposely placed them different places in their container for cleaning and inspection purposes and minutes later they were in different places. Sneaky aren’t they? They also were beginning to spread their pretty little wings a bit in kind of a sweet little bird-yawn with a yoga stretch.

Baby's (bottom) indignant face tells all.
Indigo above - closed his eyes
in defiance.
Baby’s naked spots are now covered with fuzz and baby feathers and Indigo is quite the handsome bird with dark blue markings on his newly sprouted wing feathers. Even though it was apparent they are outgrowing being hand fed, they still like it and pretend they don’t see the worms I toss beside them. Sometimes they even turn around and poop on them. No lack of communication there. They are hungry, but want ME to feed them what they were perfectly capable of getting themselves. So, we had a talk. Well, I talked, they closed their little bird eyes.

So, I put them in a flower pot (snack shack) thinking a different location might inspire them to look around a bit more and sneak an ant or cricket snack. They hid under the plants. I tried to get them to just hop over to me and get their dinner from my hand. They stood firm. I tried holding the worm just out of reach so they would only have to take one little step. They stood firm.  I tried holding the worm so they would have to lean to one side, the little birds only squawked louder at my poor aim.

Bluebirds are notoriously stubborn. I have watched Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird trying to tempt their little ones out of nests before with a nice green worm, then take it away saying “if you are hungry then come and get it”. It was cute when they were donig it, but is is not so cute now that it is my turn. That may be why this Mr. and Mrs. B left these last two in the nest. They may have had their hands uhm, feet full with the other two. Even after they can fly, Mom and Dad still have to teach them where to find food and what proper food is – for weeks! Yes, I was beginning to see my job get a lot harder. Time to call in reinforcements.

Baby and Indigo refusing to lean
to get the worm from my hand.
Rehabbers (wildlife rehabilitators) always know other rehabbers, so I got in touch with some, and found a perfect place for these young ones to learn and grow and be released. As much as I enjoyed helping them be established, it was time for them to grow up and get out into the world.

It is the same with Christians - growing up that is. We each were introduced to the gospel before we knew we needed it. Each believer was taught and nourished by the Word, likely by someone hand feeding us. Many of us stay there however, and never really search the Word of Truth ourselves, just rely on someone to hand feed us.

I encourage you today to read the Bible for yourself. You can do it! Don’t stand around waiting for someone to give you a morsel here and there, dig in and find the truth for yourself.  There may be someone lifting their head to watch you and hope for a bite from you. We each need to be nourished by the gospel, but we also are expected to grow up in it, and become givers of life to the next generation. The time for being a baby passes and changes into feeding the next set of babies.

We have been given the mandate to go and teach others – SO keep in mind that
  • We all start as babies, but are expected to grow up.
  • We need small portions at first but should advance to more substantial food.
  • We need to stretch our wings and learn more.
  • We need to be able to gather our food.
  • We need to give some young ones life, take them under our wings and teach them.
  • We need to realize it is also part of our job to encourage them to spread their own wings.
  • Birds are made to fly.



Dearest Father in heaven,
I am so thankful for those You put into my life who fed and nourished me in Your Word. I am so very thankful that You have given us so much information to help us live according to Your will.

Be with Indigo and Baby as they continue their journey, and thank You for bringing them into my life. Help us to remember what You taught us about how You care for the birds, but much more for us.

Help us to realize our need to grow up. Help us to go to the next mark on our growth chart. Nudge us to take another step toward You and toward our mission. Show us someone today that You want us to take under our wings for a while, and help us realize when it is time to help them spread their own wings. Thank You for giving us strength and courage and nourishment and provision for the jobs You have created and called us to do.



Friday, May 22, 2015

Grape Vines

Are you as smart as a grape vine?
Just last year these were mere sticks in the mud, branches trimmed from mature vines and shared with me to start my own little vines. They were carefully nurtured all last summer. They had times of sunshine and rain then, much to my delight, little pink buds sprouted from the sticks early this spring, assuring me they had indeed endured and grown roots over the brutal winter!

My job as tender of the vines is not just to watch them grow but to give them what they need to grow properly.  That includes a brutal task of trimming. It was agonizing to break off tender little limbs that were growing at the wrong angle or in the wrong spot. It was necessary, and painful for me and for them. I don’t know if they understood it was for their good, but the result was healthy plants that have now grown (in the right direction) over six feet long in just a few weeks!

Grape vines like to grow, but they need support. Naturally, I was happy to oblige and used some stakes to give them the help they needed to stay upright while they got their “feet” under them.  Now they are able to stand firmly where they were planted because their root system is established – giving them a sound footing. Because I want them to bear fruit, I also attached some old clothesline at the top of the stakes for horizontal growth and support for the fruit that is to come.

Grape vine. Holding on to the straight and narrow.

Can you see those sweet tiny tendrils wrapped around the line? They are holding on with all their strength, and thus following the straight and narrow path laid out for them! Not being tossed to and fro with the wind, but securely anchored in a perfectly straight line! What smart little tendrils they are, protecting the vine from damage and allowing for fruit to be born at the proper time!


I can only worship God for His marvelous provision for the simple grape vines because, in many respects, it is a picture of His love for you and me. 

  • We must have a good root system to live and grow. While we are the branches of the vine, He is the root, the very vine itself.  Staked to Him and spending time with Him in His Word, we establish a firm and steady root system, without which we wither like the seeds from the parable of the sower…Firmly rooted, we will be able to grow, putting out leaves and stretching out our little branch of His vine.
  • We must grow up and grow out. Growing in Him we will be richly nourished and able to grow but, that is only the first part of our job. We must also grow out toward others in the world. In order to do that, we must stretch away from Him a bit, out into the world, while still holding on to and drawing from the Root.
  • Holding firmly to the line is essential. Growing up from the Root we are established but, growing outward we become vulnerable to winds and breaking. The Master has given us a guide wire, a path to follow. This path will be the means by which you can be of useful service. Hold on to it. Hold on to it with all your might. It will keep your path straight, especially when the winds of false doctrines blow against you. With your Root established, and your path straight, you will flourish.
  • Bear fruit in season. Being fruitful and multiplying is part of the job description. It will come after being firmly grounded in the Truth and seasons of growth (including sun and rain) leading to maturity. Leaves are nice, but the fruit is the goal.
  • Trust the master to prune the right things at the right time. Just as my new little plants were cut from a mature vine, the Master will need to prune you from time to time. It may hurt a bit, but you can know that He is pruning away that which you do not need. Only at the proper time and the proper place will He snip. He is worthy of our trust, whether you understand why or not.
Grape update! July 2016!
This picture is in 2016 bearing fruit. In what season are you? Is it time for you to bear fruit? Do you need to be pruned?



Dearest Father in heaven, we thank You for giving us so many examples of Your love and our responsibilities. Thank You for being the root of all our strength. Thank You for guiding us with Your wisdom along a path perfectly chosen for us. Help us to grow, nourished in Your Word. Thank You for loving us enough to give us both sunshine and rain, and to prune away the things that draw us away from You and Your will.

Help us to recognize the time to grow, the time to bear fruit, and the time for pruning each come from Your hand. May we grow in maturity, firmly holding to Your hand, and bear much fruit for Your kingdom! May our delight always be in following the path You have set before us.


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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Bluebird Graduation

Bluebird Graduation.
It has been a sweet sight to watch Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird prepare their home and take care of their precious babies. They built a dandy nest, and she laid lovely little eggs. Mrs. B sat and sat until they finally hatched, with Mr. B keeping a close eye on her and their home. He brought her birdie take-out meals and fearlessly protected their home from intruding birds.

They have worked tirelessly together to feed these newly hatched little ones for over a week. Now, it seems that it must be graduation time, except they haven’t been able to convince the babies to leave the nest. They come to the nest with mouths full of yummy worms, dangle them in front of the babes then turn and leave with their mouths still full – bird bribery of sorts. “Time to grow-up kids. You aren’t helpless anymore!” seems to be the message.

While it was sweet and cute to watch them take care of the helpless chicks, it is now time for the parents to administer a little tough love. It would be foolish for them to spend the rest of their lives feeding their children who were fully grown and capable of feeding themselves. Their job is to instruct, and the baby’s jobs are to learn and grow, then both parents and children are to do.

Perhaps we can learn from their example.

  • When we are children, we are expected to behave as children. 1 Corinthians 3:1,2 http://blb.sc/0Hl7 speaks of giving babes milk and likewise new Christians spiritual milk before either is ready for solid food. It is an important time of growth, trust, and learning that leads to maturity.

  • There is a time to listen and learn.  Make sure you are listening and learning the truth in order to grow in it. The Word of God is the one source of truth on which you can totally rely. People make mistakes, His Word does not. http://blb.sc/4Tjd 1 Thessalonians 2:13
  • Growth is expected.  We buy baby clothes with the expectation of replacing them as the child grows, and often proudly mark the progress on growth charts. We celebrate each graduation from pre-K to college as we watch them move forward in growth and maturity.  Likewise, as Christians “we are no longer to be children…we are to grow up in all aspects into…Christ.” http://blb.sc/4Sgp Ephesians 4:14,15.


  • Imitate the godly leaders. As the bluebirds want their babies to follow their example, children often like to imitate their parents, the good and the bad habits. When we find godly examples though, they are worth following.  Watch someone who is committed to serving God in good times and in hard times. Walk alongside them to learn. That is behavior worth imitating. http://blb.sc/4Ti3  1Thessalonians 1:6.

  • Keep growing. Excel still more in every aspect of your life, http://blb.sc/4Tqc1 Thessalonians 4:1. There will be graduations from level to level, but there is always room for growth.


  • Be a good example. Someone may be imitating you today. How to be a good example from http://blb.sc/F2SZ 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15:

  1. encourage one another,
  2. build up one another,
  3. appreciate your teachers,
  4. live in peace with one another,
  5. admonish (warn) the unruly,
  6. encourage the fainthearted,
  7. help the weak,
  8. be patient with all,
  9. do not repay evil with evil,
  10. always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.


Dearest Father in heaven, when we see the birds teach their young, we realize how much more You want to teach us the things we need for life and life everlasting. Help us to let go of the things which keep us as children, and be diligent to learn more and more, being good examples to those who follow.



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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Change - It Happens To Us All

70 degrees,
last week it was 20!
Our clocks and calendars remind us that every 24 hours, there is a change of date.  We no longer have the previous day, it is behind us in history.  I have a stack of calendars that chronicle my years since I was in my twenties.  Snows, sicknesses, births, deaths, weddings and other events are all listed on a square spot that represented that day in my life.  As I was told in my youth, “the older you get, the more quickly the years go by”.  They experienced it, and knew it to be true.  Now, I know it too.

Last week our weather included nearly a foot of snow.  Today - look at that happy little thermometer!  Even a big old granddaddy-sized lizard came out to stretch and yawn in the sunshine after a long winter nap.  Tomorrow, we are expecting another round of frozen precipitation – either ice or snow or a combination event.  Every year as we transition from winter to spring we experience this volley between cold and warm.  We have experienced it before, so we have come to expect it.

Lizard in the sunshine
looking for spring!
Indeed, our very lives are full of change from the moment we are conceived.  Physically, our bodies transform day by day. You may have noticed some predictable phases.  From the womb to the world.  From infancy to toddler and teething (we get used to one set of teeth, and then we turn six, and another set wants to take over!)   Teenage years often include hormone changes that bring drastic changes to both our bodies and our minds.  Even though my life, and probably yours too, is full of change and we have come to expect some of it, it still seems to take us by surprise - shocked that it happened to us!  It must be true, or Miss Clairol would be out of business.

Every event in our lives changes us.  We are transformed, so to speak, by life events and by life itself.  We experience pain and loss, and learn to carry on.  We experience hardships and learn to endure.  We are bullied or threatened and learn to forgive.   We suffer lean times and learn to share.  In defeat, we learn perseverance.  We have life scars that remind us to be thankful.  Let’s face it, even though we tend to resist change, it serves helps us to mature and grow

Last week ice, this week bloomers!
We can watch the lives of those around us and anticipate the changes the passing of years bring.  We can look at our calendars and thermometers and predict each change of season.  God has also given us a calendar of sorts about the coming days.  Not a specific date, but information about what to expect.  For instance, at the end of our lives these bodies that we use here on earth, will no longer be of use to us, so we will leave them behind.  First Corinthians 15 is an often quoted passage about the change we can expect as we transition from a mortal body to one that will not die.  It will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”.  Not all of us will die, but (like it or not) we all will – get ready for it – be changed!

Perhaps you have been deceived into believing there is no heaven or hell and when you die you simply cease to exist.  You may be counting on good deeds to outweigh the bad ones, and base your “next life” on how much good you have done in “this life” - but you still lose without Jesus, because no one can enter heaven with sin.  You may be waiting for another day, but our calendar pages are turning over quickly, and you don’t know which one will be your last day!  Without Jesus - the Son of God – as your Savior, your resurrection change will be the beginning of your eternal, non-changing life, but you will spend eternity paying for your sin.  The good news is that our sin debt (death Romans 6:23) has already been paid by the death of one sinless man, God in flesh – Jesus.  We only need to accept His payment – death – and follow Him in order to have entrance into heaven.  He gave His life for you, you give your life to Him.

If you know Jesus, you are probably like me and eagerly await that heavenly change.  I am thankful to have you as my brothers and sisters - joint heirs with Jesus!   For us, this will be a glorious change as we begin our eternal, heavenly, non-changing lives!  Do I hear a “Hallelujah”?  I am so ready to ditch this body and trade it for a new heavenly model!


Father, I pray for the one reading this today, that You will fill their hearts with the knowledge of Your truth.  I pray that the coming change will not take them by surprise.  Thank You for providing us a means by which we can enter into heaven. 
Help us to embrace the changes that come into our live every day and learn more about You through each one.  Help us to eagerly share the truth with all those around us, that they too might be saved by Your grace, through faith in our only Savior, Jesus.
                                               
Every day will bring change to our lives. Let’s embrace the changes, and let God use them to help us grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord, and point those around us to Him.  I want to see you by the river of life!  I’ll be there cheering for you!



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Other Tales From Life In My Father's World
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