June 24,2013

Good morning all-

Yesterday, my family celebrated the birth of my two brothers.  One was born on the 12th the other on the 21st.  I had a great cake made for them that represented what they loved and what my dad loved.  It was fitting since he's gone and they are still here sharing in his legacy.

The lunch was interesting for many reasons.  I think the first was that my youngest brother and I have struggled over the last couple of years.  He isn't always very nice and he continues to do things that just aren't right.  But some things are changing.  He's going to church and learning the Bible.  The lunch made me think back to two years ago when the three of us went to lunch.  Dad was dying and for some reason, I chose that time to share my faith.  He didn't want to live his life for Jesus, if there was one.  So I began to depict what Jesus meant to me.  Dean interjected too and although my passion is great; I think Dean's logical mind met Spencer right where he was.

My dad ended up dying 2 weeks later and as we sat recanting memories for the minister; I looked at my brother and told him that I would never be silent again.  So in the service, I told the story of a daughter sitting by her dad's hospital bed praying that Christ would come to him in a dream.  I read and read my Bible asking God to do a miracle for my family and take my dad home.  As I prayed, I began to hear him mumble, his hands folded and he began to point upward.  It's the only sign I ever had that he had accepted Jesus.  As I looked upon what was left of my family yesterday, I again prayed that God would keep us whole and that the legacy of my parents would live on.

So in order to show them how much I loved them, I wrote a personal note in their cards.  It's so easy to go and buy a card today and sometimes it says what you want it to but many times it's just an easy way out.  I wanted their cards to represent my heart and I hope they did.  The cake was just something cool i could do for them and I'm glad I did it because my baby brother posted it on Facebook.  I guess that means it was really great!

God is great too!  He gives us hope when we are hopeless.  He loves the lost probably more than He loves us and He continues to show me daily never to give up on those that seem hopeless.  If you had asked me two years ago if my brother would be going to church, I would have told you, now way!  Flash forward to today and he goes every Sunday.  I'm not sure he's saved yet but he's on his way and when he gets there I will know it was Christ that did it.

I guess that brings me to my point today.  Before I went to the lunch, I sat at church hearing my pastor preach on faithfulness.  At the end of the day, that's really where we are at.  Will we be faithful to the end?  He talked about Luke and Acts and how they intertwined into a positive story of faithfulness.  It wasn't just the walks of Peter and Paul; it was the faithfulness of God.  Christ rose in a different body.  A body that was able to eat with the disciples.  A man who was God.  The point that most hit home is that the path to the cross would not have been stopped.  The journey began and ended exactly as God intended it too.  No man could have gotten between what must be completed.  Only God knew the time, the hour and the way.  So one man, born God, took the sins of all of us and landed on a cross to be sacrificed in front of all.  He bore the sin so that man could know eternity.

The story made me think of my dad and my brothers.  We must be faithful to run the race and not get weary.  There will be times when we want to cave into defeat.  I pray that will not happen.  Be strong, be courageous and remember that your Father died so that you could spend eternity with Him.  Jesus was our Savior and no matter how many times people say He wasn't; He was!

I'm running out of time and will have to finish this later.  I love you all dearly.  May God show you how blessed you are to be His.  I will try to finish this later tonight.  Many blessings my sisters!