9/11: Remember Where You Were?

So it seems like a lot of people are recalling exactly where they were on 9/11 this weekend.  I suppose since Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks on our nation, it's good to reflect.  Although I would rather reflect on how God has worked in my life over the last ten years.  Nevertheless, it is a point in time that I, too, will never forget.

I was working at IBM that day.  It was early that morning, and I was participating in a PC upgrade going on within my division.  I was breaking in (not literally!) my new laptop PC and was having some problems with it doing what I thought it should do.  So I wandered down the hall to one of the conference rooms where some PC support people were held up, helping people like me with their PC problems.

When I arrived at the conference room, there was already discussion about the first plane hitting the first tower in NYC.  I think we were all in a state of shock over the events that had just taken place.  I didn't get to stand still in shock for long.  My wife, Felicia, called me on my cell phone while I was standing in the conference room.  She was staying at home with our children at this time, a blessing from the Lord that I will always praise Him for. 

She asked if I knew what had happened in New York.  She was very upset and concerned about what this meant, and more importantly, what might happen next.  She pleaded with me to come home, and I agreed.  I took my new PC back to my office, locked everything up, and went straight home.  Our family watched along with the rest of the nation that day as the events in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania took place.

My prayer then was for God to provide, protect, and deliver us.  My prayer today is much the same.  But I also pray that God will remind us to cling to Him in the same ways we did on 9/11 and the days after that.  It seems that when things look desperate, we run to God.  But after a while, when the dust settles, we return to ourselves.  May we run to God again and not return to ourselves.  If we do, not only will our own lives be changed forever, so will our nation.

Pastor Randy

From the Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in Your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul, I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise, become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing You praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul, I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

In my heart, my soul, I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

Staycation

So, as a result of our plans getting changed, we are doing a Bridges staycation this weekend.  It's still a relaxing time so far, and we've gotten to do pretty much whatever we wanted to do.

We enjoyed a great service at Open Door Baptist Church this morning.  And a wonderful NRCA family bought our entire family lunch at Moe's.  We're now preparing to watch a couple of movies at home, assuming Redbox participates.  It's being difficult right now.

This has served as a reminder to take some time off every so often.  For family time as well as to rest.  Looking forward to tomorrow.

Pastor Randy

Everybody is Different

As a teacher, I get to see many interesting things in class and around school.  One of the most interesting things is to observe how God has made all my students differently.  Over my six years in teaching, I've noticed that God knows best how to blend people together, from different backgrounds and with different gifts.

Take today, for example.  I'm giving my first test of the school year.  As I watch the students take the test, I see some who are very detailed in how they approach it.  They are neat and organized, check their work carefully, and stay focused right until the end.  Then there are others who are a little more laid back in their approach.  They work through the test, but their work is not as organized.  They are familiar with the material, but they are looking to finish quickly and move on to something they would rather be doing.  And there are a few who seem to get distracted during the test.  You can just look at their face and wonder what they're thinking about at that moment.  Fortunately, the distraction usually only lasts a couple of minutes, then they are on their way back to working through the test.

All of these students should do well on this test today.  Most of the material was a review of what was covered last year.  However as the material gets more difficult, each student will need to focus more and more on the task at hand.  That's part of what I must teach them this year.  We can't only focus on math concepts, we must also develop good study habits that will translate to success in the future.  For this class and others they will take.  And we will learn this together with God guiding us all the way.

The Christian life isn't much different.  God made all of us with different qualities and characteristics.  We all have things we do better than others, or things that we enjoy more than others.  But God has a way of blending that all together, particularly for believers who are united by one Lord, one faith, one baptism, even if we aren't united in other ways.  In addition, God uses those gifts and talents He's given us to prepare us for the tests we all face each day.  Good study habits for the believer, in God's Word and through prayer, will prepare us for those tests as well as living a holy life unto Him.

May I continue to be a good student of the Lord.  And a good teacher that leads other to know Him more.

Pastor Randy