Blessed

I am truly blessed! This is not something I state on a whim, I truly can see God's hand working in my life.

Other than God's grace, which is first and foremost on the list of blessings, God has given me my wife. She is my partner in every aspect of life. I have foregone the standard reference to her as my "better half" an truthfully refer to her as my "better three-quarters." More than her outward appearance, which is beautiful, the beauty inside her always shines bright. She makes me a better father, minister, and Christian. I pray that God will bless my daughters and son with the quality of spouse that he has given me.

This brings me to my children. If you have children then you understand, my life is enmeshed with my children. Everything I do, everything I seek to become comes full circle to them and the example I desire to set for them.

Another way God has blessed me recently is with my new position at Waynesboro. I have a wonderful eldership to work under and learn from, which should be enough but God has not stopped with them. I am also blessed to work with a friend and colleague, Matthew Morine. Matthew and I are enough alike to be at ease around each other, yet different enough that we aren't running over each other trying to do the same things. Matthew's maturity despite being younger is something that inspires me, as well as his desire to see the Lord's church thrive. The constant encouragement and "gentle nudges" Matthew gives must be what it would have felt like to be in the company of Barnabas, the great encourager. Again, this should be enough, yet God has blessed me with the great members at Waynesboro who have tirelessly supported my efforts since coming here.

I could go on for ages and tell you about the titanic support of my parents or the way my brother is always looking out for his little brother, but I'll save that for another day.

My brother is always saying, "You can't out give God." Boy, is that ever true! My challenge to you is to stop right now and count your blessings. Think, then thank God for what he has done for you.

The Life of Ryleigh

Ryleigh Stegall's seven year battle with Leukemia ended Friday morning as she passed from this life and into the arms of God. Ryleigh's life ended quite similar to how it began, surrounded by family and friends, appreciative to God for blessing our lives with her life.

Anyone who ever spent time with Ryleigh found themselves captivated by her strong personality. She had one of those smiles that could light up a room. With all of the things about Ryleigh that made her special, ironically, it was her desire to just be a normal kid that truly set her apart.

Ryleigh leaves behind her parents, Steven and Michelle, her sister Keerstin, and her brother Chandler, a close knit extended family as well as an entire community who loved her. At some point all of those who knew Ryleigh will ponder the question of "Why?" Why did Ryleigh have to bear such a burden? Why did she have to go so young? Why did all the prayers for healing offered on her behalf go seemingly unanswered? I will be first to admit that I have pondered these questions. While I may not be able to answer these questions, even to my own satisfaction, I do know that God holds the answer. Ryleigh now knows the answer and her smile continues to light up rooms.

We may wonder, "What if. . ." What if she had never gotten cancer? What if God completely removed it from her body? One thing I do know is that no one who ever knew her could imagine what life would have been like without her.

Steven and Michelle never let the disease that robbed so much from their daughter's life define her and neither did Ryleigh. This attitude, this determination, is what defined the life of Ryleigh, it is her legacy to us. It is not what happens to you in life that defines you, but rather it is how you choose to live.

We would all do well to choose to live the life of Ryleigh.

Growth

In the church, the word growth is most often synonymous with numeric growth. After all, saving souls is our "business." If we are taking care of business then growth should naturally occur. We plant the seed and God makes it grow. There is another type of growth we should be concerned with and that is personal spiritual growth.

I have a friend who is very fond of the old saying, "You are either green and growing or you are ripe and rotting." I like that and it holds true for our spiritual lives. If you have been a Christian for very long you have most likely realized some significant growth in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

In my life, personal growth seems to come in waves. It seems I plod along on the same spiritual plane for a while and then something sparks a resurgence from deep inside. For me, these moments often come in the face of adversity.

One such occasion in my life took place over the course of one very long and troubling week. The week began poorly with the release of a "review" of an article I had written for a brotherhood magazine. In this "review," the writer accused me of being "woefully ignorant," and stopped just short of calling me sectarian and a factionist. In other words, the position I took was too conservative for this gentleman so I was to be "called out" and marked. Just two days later I found myself being accused of being too "liberal" for someone's liking. I'll admit, these attacks left me feeling like a "whipped puppy." Following the advice of friend and now colleague, Matthew Morine, I held my head up and soldiered on. Matthew's advice was that if I was being assailed from both sides then I must be doing something right. So I spent much time in prayer, revisited the positions that people had objected to and came out on the other side stronger and feeling closer to God. Did God send these attacks against me? I don't think so, but he definitely used them to grow my faith in him.

So what about you? Have you ever had defining moments like this? Have you ever been tempted to quit? Share your moments and help the rest of us grow through your experiences.

Labor Day and the Berean Spirit

While enjoying a Labor Day cookout at my parents house, my oldest daughter asked a good question; "Just what is Labor Day all about anyway?" As I explained the meaning of Labor Day was a celebration of the American worker as well as organized labor, my mind began to wander to other things we simply "do" without thinking about the "why."

We have a lot of these things in the church and across the broad spectrum of the Christian world. How many people actually stop to think, "Why do we do what we do and by what authority do we do them?" Often we find ourself in the church observing practices mindlessly, going through the motions and assuming they must be right simply because it has always been done this way. Why do the churches of Christ observe the Lord's Supper each Sunday while our denominational friends do not? Why do the churches of Christ practice Acappella singing while our denominational friends use instuments? Why do we have two services on Sunday and one on Wednesday and why Wednesday? I could go on but I think you get the idea.

What I encourage each reader to do is seriously think about these things and search the scriptures for yourself to find the answer. Don't just accept the mentality that "We've always done it this way so it must be O.K." If it matters to God then it matters to you.

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)