This is the 46th Mother's Day that Gloria and I are enjoying together. Gloria desires to always minister to our newsletter family with encouragement, inspiration and comfort but seldom is she mentioned or credited for all she does behind the scenes. I was recently reading about the wonderful godly woman that Proverbs 31 illustrates. I often tease Gloria and call her my "P-31" wife (and may I add, she truly is). This time, however, when I read Proverbs 31, I was challenged when I read verse 28 which states, "Her children rise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her" (NKJV).
I recently returned from Zimbabwe, Africa. I was honored and privileged to join Pastor John Brady and eight men from First Assembly of God in Minot, North Dakota, on an action-packed mission trip, February 28-March 11. I boarded the plane on February 28th in Phoenix, Arizona, thus beginning the long journey! From Phoenix, I went to Denver to Atlanta and then on to Johannesburg, South Africa (this flight overseas was 20 hours long). We changed planes in Johannesburg boarding South African Air which then delivered us to Harare, the capitol of Zimbabwe. Needless to say, after 11,000 miles crunched between two people for 20 hours, this big Swede needed to stretch out!
In all reality, you cannot find a substitute for family! I'm a family man...we raised our three children, LaShawn, LaDawn and Donovan, "on the road." We were always an arm's length from each other living in a motor home for the better part of 16-18 years while they were with us.
With the onset of the New Year and all its immediate demands that require change, I find Malachi 3:6 very comforting.
"I am the Lord, I change not."
"I am the Lord, I change not."
"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7, NLT
Statistics tell us that 100 people die every minute. In reality, if it takes 10 minutes to read this newsletter...or 15 minutes...1,000-1,500 souls will have gone into eternity...many without Christ! Do you grieve over that or do you snore?
I know my father's love for Christ made more of an impact on my life than his mistakes. Today, I pray that you will feel the presence of the heavenly Father. Maybe your earthly father has disappointed you, made his fair share of mistakes or is even absent from your life, but the heavenly Father never will and He never leaves you nor forsakes you.
What does "Paradise" look like to you? May we always have God's Kingdom work in our minds and hearts as the highest goal that we can achieve. Look for ways to bring His Paradise to this world, and you, my friend, will experience that Paradise as you share it with others.
On a cold December night in 1914, Thomas Edison's fireproof plant made of concrete and steel lit the skies of West Orange, New Jersey, and burned to the ground. Edison's 24-year old son, Charles, frantically searched for his father. When he found him, he was watching the fire. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "Here he was, 67-years old, and everything he'd worked for was going up in flames. When he saw me he shouted, 'Charles, where's your mother? Find her! Bring her here! She'll never see anything like this as long as she lives.'" The next morning Thomas Edison looked at the smoldering ruins of his factory and said, "There's value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start all over again."
A fountain pen salesman persuaded a merchant to order 500 pens. He was writing the order in his notebook when suddenly the merchant exclaimed, "Hold on! I'm cancelling that order!" and then turned to wait on a customer. The salesman left the store in anger. A few minutes later the merchant's bookkeeper asked, "Why did you cancel that fountain pen order?" "Why?" responded the man.