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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 1/24/2008 9:56 AM | Well, we are now firmly into the New Year and let me be the first to ask: how are your resolutions going? It’s a loaded question, isn’t it? We sometimes make grand plans that have little hope of being fulfilled, then we get frustrated and pretty soon we have dropped the whole thing altogether. So, I’m not trying to rub salt in the wound; I only bring it up because I have had a few of you ask me about something I said in a sermon the last Sunday of 2007. It had to do with a resolution that I had pledged myself to this year, and challenged the congregation to do the same. For those who asked (and for those who didn’t) here it is: In 2008, I resolve to honor God, to do what God would have me do, so that I might be the person God would have me be.
This could take in a whole lot of things, couldn’t it? Exercise, eating right, stopping smoking, spending more time with your family, learning something new… they all involve a similar thing. That is, being a good steward of what God has given us: our bodies, our families, our minds. If we honor God by being good stewards of all we have been given, we will indeed, come closer and closer to the people God would have us be. Well, that’s fine and good…but we still have to stick to it. Yep. We do. But God will be with us the whole way. And for me it is easier to concentrate on making the right choice when I frame it not in terms of doing whatever it is for myself, but rather, think of it in terms of doing it to honor God through the best use of God’s gifts. I’m not just abusing my body when I eat poorly, make bad health decisions and let the risk of things like high blood pressure and heart disease become more pronounced. No, I’m slapping God in the face by abusing this most precious gift I could have ever been given. This same logic can apply to our time with our families, to learning something new. We are partnered with an awesome God: God gives and we are entrusted to care for all those good gifts!
The more I find myself thinking this way, the more I find myself keeping focused on God, what God would have me do, and turning my entire life into a spiritual discipline. The more I think this way, the more relaxed I am, the easier my difficult tasks become. The more I think this way, the more my life is overcome by a spirit of thanksgiving. The more I think this way, the more my resolution is achieved.
Isn’t it funny how that happens?
For a complete and updated prayer list and calendar of upcoming events, go to www.brookhavenchristian.org
For your prayer list:
Please continue to keep Evelyn Lester (and Bill), and Cynthia Freeman (and Darrell) in your prayers as they work toward recovery from recent health set-backs. Here is the latest information: Evelyn is home after being treated for pneumonia but still in some discomfort from reflux issues. She will be having some tests soon to determine if surgery is required. Cynthia is still in ICU at St. Joseph’s (no visitors yet please) but the doctor is optimistic that the initial infection in her arm has been removed as they continue to treat and monitor her. Hopefully, she will be out of ICU in the next day or two.And please keep Bill and Darrell in your prayers as they serve as major support and caregivers for their wives.
In addition, Evelyn has asked that we pray for her brother Walter Coleman who had a heart catheterization yesterday and continues to struggle with multiple health issues.
Please keep August Rhea, a friend of Kevin Kinney, Shane McLaughlin and Hannah Evans, in your prayers. August was severely injured in a sledding accident this weekend and is facing surgery and possible paralysis.
Announcements
PLEASE NOTE: The Super Bowl Party on February 3rd at Harold and Margie Kinney’s begins at 5:30 p.m. You may have seen a different time elsewhere.
It’s time for another “Dinners For Eight”. There will be a sign up sheet in the bulletin this week for our next gatherings: Saturday February 9th at 6:30 p.m. Or you can contact Lynda Anderson to attend or to host.
On Sunday February 24, join us immediately following worship as we thank Mary Mallard for her many years of dedicated service to the children of the Brookhaven Child Development Center. A reception will be held in her honor at that time. If you wish to contribute to a love offering for Mary (but SHHHHHH! It’s a secret!) please make a check out to BCC, write Mary Mallard in the memo line and get it to the office (or in the offering plate) by Sunday February 17.
I hope that I will see you this Sunday as once again we gather to celebrate the Lord’s Day together. The sermon is titled “Praying for the Impossible” and the scripture is Acts 12:1-11. Have a great rest of the week.
Be peaceful,
Brad
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