My Brother

After over 20 years, I finally was able to talk to my brother, Mark, this week. I had no idea where he was, what he was doing or even if he was alive. My friend Gaylin one time offered to go with me to Denver to try to find him. I have prayed for him and thought about him so often. I am beyond thankfulness to God for bringing him back into my life. I am filled with joy just knowing he is happy and doing well, and most importantly, that he is a believer.

This reminds me, of course, of how much God loves it when a lost person is found and brought into the kingdom. We pray for years sometimes and then our prayer is answered. Sometimes our prayers are not answered, even after many years of praying. I would like to encourage you though to continue those prayers. Every prayer stands in the presence of God, active and alive, until the day we all return to our real home in Heaven. God is faithful to cherish those prayers and the hearts that prayed them. Your prayers may still bear fruit, even if you are no longer here praying them.

Obligatory New Year Post

Goodbye 2010 and hello 2011. 2010 brought many changes to our family, the most significant of which was the addition of granddaughter Riley Danielle Arie Thomas. She is almost 9 months old and is a complete joy. Missy, her mama, works, so I get to take care of her every weekday.

In 2010, I reconnected with old neighbors and old friends from Colorado. It has been great to hear how their lives have turned out. Thanks to facebook, I'm able to keep in touch with several of them regularly.

The main reason I'm blogging today is to share a little about the teaching we had in church today. It was about being "all in" for Jesus. The study is 5 weeks long, and this week's installment was about bowing in worship. Real worship is not limited to time slots or places. It is the spontaneous exaltation of God, not entertainment. Real worship will involve wonder, witnessing and warfare. In this world where commitment seems to be a thing of the past, our pastor encouraged us not to be on the sidelines when it comes to our commitment to Jesus. The scripture he used was Acts 16:16-40.

Our local religious radio station has also issued a challenge to choose one word that will remind us during the year to maintain our relationship with God. My word for this year is "stand." No matter what, I will stand with the Holy Spirit at my side, my fellow warrior in this spiritual battle we call life.

Our home bible study group is studying the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. It is a study about the Holy Spirit. Chan also wrote "Crazy Love." I've read both and encourage you to read them if you have a chance. I'd like to hear your thoughts about them if you have a chance.

God bless you all, and I hope your 2011 is a year filled with wonder and growth (not in wealth, necessarily, but in your relationship with God).