100413: I give myself an A+ for today…

Good evening all you dearly love “PEPers”! (and other special family and friends)

Well, I am closing out this day at peace; I feel like I gave a good account of myself to our LORD today.  I was back at Cracker Barrel this morning with the special group of brothers that I meet with on Tuesday mornings (great time fellows…it was great to be back!); then it was off to the campus for meetings with staff throughout the day (I’ll not bore you with the details!) but they were good meetings and very productive (we have a great group of pastors and administrative team members).  In the middle we broke for lunch \ Pastor J suggested Sonny’s Dutch Mill \ it seems that ever since my message Sunday where I talked about buying good ole juicy (another word for “greasy”) cheeseburgers while in Six Mile that he had been wanting a cheese burger \ we all jumped on board and went for the B-E-S-T cheeseburgers around (thanks Brandie for my meal and Wesley – great shirt!!).

On a more somber note \ but still a blessing \ I visited Bob Attaway today…as you probably know, he is battling cancer.  Pastor Wayne and I went.  I believe we were blessed more by Bob than he by us.  We talked of heaven, sang Amazing Grace and had a special time of prayer and worship.  (Please keep Bob in your prayers).

There’s a lot of other stuff I could write about today / but like you, it was just the stuff of everyday life.  

But one thing stands out today / I give myself an A+ for it…

It occurred during a staff meeting this morning.  My phone vibrated and when I checked it I noticed that it was my daughter and I immediately excused myself and slipped out and took the call.  We chatted a few moments and I never told her I was in a meeting \ the call ended on a good note and we hung up and I went back to my meeting.  It was a few moments later that I realized what I had done…

There would have been a day that I would have ignored a call from my family (I’m ashamed to admit this).  I would have taken at call from my State Overseer but probably not my family.  It’s not that I don’t love my family with all my heart, but the world I grew up in said that “work” (especially “God’s work”) was what mattered to a man.  Work still matters to me \ I would take very few calls while in a meeting or conference with someone (I respect them to much); but at this stage of my life I’ve learned that under God…family comes first.  Matter of fact, my family is my first “God-work”.

I think that is one reason I’m so crazy about my grandson; I’ve been preparing for him for many years.  I saw how life (even the ministry) has a way of pulling families apart and I determined that should God ever bless me with grandchildren I would do everything within my power to be in their lives regularly.  Sonja and I have been saving for years just to have a travel fund so that should many miles separate us from our children and grandchildren we’d be able to go to them on a regular basis \ and to think that my grandson is only minutes away from my house!  I am so blessed (and madly in love with that little lad) and I do not take it for granted.

So anyway, today, when I took my daughter’s call in the middle of an important meeting and did so without making her feel like she was interrupting; doing so instinctively…it dawned on my that I’m finally “getting it.”  I’m sorry it took me so many years to learn that…but history is that – history; I can’t go back and rewrite it; but I can write a new history and that I’m determined to do.

Wow, I’ve rambled on for a long time tonight!  I guess I shared that…not to pin a medal on my chest…but to encourage all of you to remember what really matters.  Treasure those that God has given you as family and friends \ don’t take them for granted and don’t count on there being a tomorrow…love them today \ express that love often and unashamedly \ you may not know it, but you’re probably already embarrassing yourself in front of people \ you might as well do it loving your family! J

And speaking of family…

I send my love to my dearly, dearly loved family and my dearly, dearly loved church family…I am truly a blessed man.

Grace and peace to you all tonight and prayers for restful and safe sleep,

dlk

Picture of the day…  My most precious and dearly loved sweetheart  Sonja … my wife and best friend…