Friday Coffee with PJ

I hope you enjoy your coffee as much as I do! But whatever your choice of morning brew, I trust you will enjoy these random thoughts that have been rattling through my mind.

1. Next week is VBS week here at Grace. And every Vacation Bible School week brings a boat load and then some of kids to our facility (as of this morning, 210 kids are pre-registered. This compares to 150 at the same time last year. That's a lot of kids!!!). For about the fourth or fifth year in a row, I will be one of the actors. This year, four of us will provide an opening skit (to introduce the day's theme) and, on Friday morning only, a closing skit (to wrap things up). This year I am playing the role of "Stan." Stan is "a little nerdy, but he's got a great heart. He loves Jesus and wants to share Him with others. Things don't always go right for Stan - he can be a little clumsy, extremely timid, and underestimates himself. Stan should be dressed in prim and proper clothes, to match his personality."  Now I can safely say that there are some characteristics of Stan that are not true of me. For example, I am anything but "extremely timid!" But ... I do wonder if I was chosen for this part because I can be at times "a little nerdy?" Hmm . . . I will let you all make that call!  PLEASE PRAY FOR US NEXT WEEK AS WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MANY KIDS TO JESUS! 

2. All of us are prone to forgetfulness ... yes? I am constantly forgetting things. People's names. Bills to be paid. Emails that need an answer. The trash that needs put out. And on and on and on it goes. But probably one of the biggest things I forget to do is to thank God for his MANY blessings that he sends my way! God warns us against forgetting to thank God (Psalm 103:2). And God warned the Israelites not to forget him when they got into the promised land and began to enjoy the comforts of that place (Deuteronomy 8:13-15). Often we complain about how poor our memories are ... but ALL of us have really solid forgeteries!

3. Someone much wiser than me once said, "Everyone loves progress, it's just change they can't stand!" Hmm. That is SO true! Yet ... living in an ocean of change, where life tomorrow will almost certainly be different from life today, change is a constant of this package we call life in 21st century America. SO ... let's quit complaining about it and accept it. But, let's do so by anchoring our souls to one constant that we can count on NEVER changing .... Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:8).

Thanks for stopping by  . . .
pj