Saturday

well actually friday, ames and the girls and i drove up to naconowhere texas to lead worship and attend a conference that my buddy, buddy was doing at his church. so we spent the night with the ritters waaaaayyyy out in the country(i still have the red dirt on the back of our van to prove it) then we did the conference the next morning. it is an extension of awana called "the roerheim institute" and it challenges parents to develop a biblical worldview in their children. it has four pillars that build a bridge to the future. it was a long conference, but it was very good. i needed to be there because it truly convicted me to be more urgent in my presentation of the bible and the importance of God's word to my children. buddy likened it to our children being in a burning house. would we risk our lives to go in and get them? then why are we not concerned with their spiritual lives, and what worldview they are developing. i'll write more about that later. i've led worship for the last 2 days with absolutely NO voice. God is so good to at least let me whisper praises to Him. it all goes to show the glory belongs to Him and not me. i can do nothing in my own strength. He is the all powerful one that makes everything possible.

i leave you with 2 things. i may have said one before, but i want to say it again.

a character in "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" by c.s. lewis, is describing aslan who is an allegorical figure of Christ and he says "Safe, who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe, but he's good. He's the King, I tell you"
that is an awesome thought.

yesterday a lady asked if we were supposed to make children the center of our lives or make the adults the center, and i was prompted to tell her to make Christ the center. He desires to be the center of attention in our lives. See Him and savor Him. Make Him the foremost of our affections. wow, do i long for that. and fall miserably short on a daily basis, but if i quit then that becomes safe. i would prefer to live life a little dangerously so that i might see how good He really is.

God bless
have a great week
chuck

ps pray that my voice will come back