Timothy

I'm reading 1st and 2nd Timothy right now and when I get done I think I'm going to go back through and read them a few more times. In them Paul is writing to a young pastor and giving him instructions on how to lead the church Timothy was pastoring. It's full of practical insights on how to lead a church and as someone who hopes to that some day I've found it helpful, encouraging and a little bit scary. I also enjoy the personal aspect of it as well, you can tell this was someone Paul loved a great deal.

Acts 29 had this posted on their web site and it just grabbed my heart.:

I received the greatest letter this week from a seven-year-old boy along with 5 one-dollar bills. In his own handwriting he said,

“Dear Acts 29,
My name is Ravi [deleted last name for privacy].
I am 7 years old.
I want to help plant a church.
God Bless You,
Ravi”

This thrills me because of his heart for Jesus and His work through faithful church planters and those with child-like faith.

I don’t want to make this a gimmick, but for anyone who wants to match Ravi’s $5 donation to help plant a church, send $5 to
Acts 29 Network Ravi Matching Fund
3524 NE 95th St Seattle, WA 98115

Can we receive a boy’s five loaves and two fish and feed five thousand? Any funds received will be sent to a church plant in Dallas, Georgia that is launching in September.
Thank you Ravi, for your gift and inspiration!

What it's really like to be grown up

Today was one of those days that you never think about as a kid. You know, the days when being a grown up is "boring." I went grocery shopping, cleaned the dishes, took out the trash, and still have to go to work tonight. (Yes, kids it's one big party. WOO-HOO!) :) The highlight of the day was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and watching Chuck on Hulu. I enjoyed it though mostly 'cause it makes me laugh to think about how naive I was as a kid. Somehow I envisioned myself going to parties every night of the week and just hanging out being "cool", whatever that meant. Now my idea of cool is getting wheat bread buy one get one free. I almost did the happy dance right there in the bakery isle. Until I remembered that a.) I'm white b.) it's just bread and c.) I'm in the middle of Mejier.



Thinking about doing "boring" stuff reminds me of Acts 16:11-12.(No, I'm not a freak of nature I just read it a day or two ago.) Luke gives what seems to be really pointless information about their traveling. "So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days" - ESV. I'm always struck by how mundane this all sounds. Why is this even in the Bible? Are Paul's traveling habit's that important? But I stop and think about what the Bible is all about, Jesus, and it takes a slightly different appearance. Jesus was there with them in the middle of all that. The boring, everyday, unexciting routine of life. Just like He was there with me while I was shopping for bread, washing dishes, and eating PB&J. Also the fact that they were able to do all that uneventfully shows God's protection. They didn't get caught in any major storms, pirates didn't attack their ship, and nobody got sea sick. Similarly today I didn't get in a wreck, cut or poke myself doing the dishes, and I'm very thankful that I'm not allergic to peanuts. So really far from being boring this is actually a fairly comforting passage. It shows that God is always there with us not just when there's some big miracle, but when we're able to get out of bed in the morning and make it through a whole day without anything seriously awful happening that's cause for praise too.