Anchors for the Soul

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

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they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

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“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

-Lamentations 3:22-24-

How grateful I am that my own human weakness and the challenges of life can never exhaust the love and faithfulness of our God.  This summer has brought a season of increased trial for our family.  Although I have appreciated the beautiful sunny days and enjoyed long, relaxing bike rides, the turmoil within the soul has been great.  But even as we have been stretched and brought to our knees in prayer again and again, we have always received more grace and seen expressions of God's love and faithfulness.  And therefore there is hope - a hope established in the Lord Jesus Christ, in who he is and what he has promised for his people.  Because this hope is rooted in the eternal rather than the temporal, I have found my soul restored time and time again to a state of trust and peace.  

Though we have not gone on the typical summer family vacation or accomplished our long list of home improvement projects, there has been growth - growth in faith and growth in hope.  So I know I will continue to look back on these months with humble gratitude for God's provision and beautiful work.

One project I have worked on these last weeks is designing the 2017 calendar for our church.  The theme I settled upon is light, featuring pictures of lighthouses all over the world.  It has been refreshing to my soul to dwell upon the theme of light in Scripture, particularly God's promise to be our Light as we live in the midst of great darkness.  And subsequently we are equipped to be his witnesses in the world as the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ shines through our lives.

Eternal hope and everlasting light.  These are anchors for the soul through which the people of God are secure and established.  

Summer Happenings Continued

This summer has been absolutely lovely.  The milder temperatures along with numerous rainstorms have created a landscape of vibrant colors.

This rainbow that appeared last week after a thunderstorm was just splendid against the backdrop of dark clouds.  It once more reminded me of the covenant promise God made with Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood.  Oh that we would continually praise the Lord for his faithfulness and mercy!

Several weeks ago, Rachael and I enjoyed an evening on the canal downtown with some special friends.  We decided to rent two paddle boats and float on the water.  We had a blast together!  We worked up quite a sweat but cooled down afterwards with frozen yogurt.

I've been working on several graphic art projects the last weeks.  Two have been the Christmas card and birthday card we will send to all of Indiana's legislators in the coming year.  Here's part of the finished product for both:

In a future post, I hope to report on a new ministry initiative that I am very excited about and in which God seems to be opening new doors of influence.  I hope that others will catch the vision and test the waters wherever God has placed them.  

Summer Happenings

Well, we are officially into the summer with the approach of the Independence Day holiday.  The last month has been one of transition for all of us as we moved Kathy to Jackson, Mississippi for the next couple of months.  We thank the Lord that she is doing well and greatly enjoying her Hebrew class, though we all do miss one another.  I've been trying to get used to having my own room.    While barely into the second week of classes, I found myself saying to Kathy on the phone, "Having my own room is going to get old real quick!"

I guess you could say we have all somewhat adjusted to the change and settled into new routines.  Rachael and I have enjoyed walking and biking together in the evenings as well as mowing the lawn and maintaining the flower beds.  With the cooler temperatures and rain, everything is green and continuing to grow so fast - including the weeds!

With the slower pace that the summer months bring, I have appreciated the opportunity to pursue other avenues of interest and devote more time to reading and writing.  One of my projects the last several weeks in the office has been designing the 2016 church birthday and anniversary calendar.  I am very grateful that a couple in the church supplied all the images this year.  The theme that I settled upon is the names of God.

Last week, I arranged for Matt Barnes to give Laura and the family as well as some friends from church and a former ESL student from Taiwan a tour of the Statehouse.  We had a great time together!

A significant milestone last Sunday was Samuel's baptism.  Such a cute little guy...

That's all for now.  As I mentioned earlier, I have enjoyed doing some extra writing the last week which you'll see on the blog shortly!