The first words that came to my mind this morning as I started reflecting on the day were, "Thank You!"  Thank you to God for who He is and ALL He has done in my life:  from letting me born into this life; to giving me a godly mom; to giving me the grace to respond to the salvation Jesus offers everyone, when I was twelve;  to bringing Nancy into my life when I was seventeen, and giving her the grace to stay beside me for all these decades and who has helped me become so much more than I ever would have become without her, and with whom new dreams for the future continue to come; to giving us Abby and Emmy who have brought more joy to our lives than we could have ever imagined;

to bringing godly mentors in my life throughout my life including my Uncle Chuck, my brother Tom (for whom I use the term "godly" in a different kind of way!) Andy Weigand, Arthur Pace, Gary Pemberton, Mert Bomgaars, Jeff Silliman, Bill McIntyre, Dick Swain, Dale Milligan, Mark Geppert, and so many more I have known personally, and who have mentored me through books read, conferences attended, videos watched and audio tapes and CD's heard; for giving me peers and accountability partners who have helped me grow as a follower of Jesus, as a husband, dad and pastor--Kenn Marshall, my little brother (who wouldn't have made the list in the first two decades of our lives, although we were inseparable for much of that time, even if it was because I had him in a head lock), Andy Ross, Andy Stewart, Jim Brown, Bill Gebhart and others; to giving me the opportunity to serve him alongside some amazing men and women of God, too many to mention, except that I must mention Pat Fecich who has served alongside me for more than half my time as an ordained pastor, and without whom New Life would long since have gone the way of 80% of all new church plants in America--into nonexistence, and Brad French who has become the closest thing to a son I have ever had and certainly is my son in the faith; for ALL the people who have come and gone as members and participants in the three churches I have served as pastor, and who have added so much value to me, to those churches and to the advancement of God's Kingdom and who have understood the meaning of being blessed to be a blessing; for the opportunity to travel the world spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and experiencing the love of Jesus in many different languages and cultures and to do much of it with Emmy and some with Abby; for giving me the opportunity to experience great joy and great sorrow in my life, because He is at work in my heart letting me feel and experience His love in good times and horrible times--and for increasingly replacing the curse of inappropriate anger with peace over the past three years; and for New Life Christian Ministries, which He has given me the opportunity to plant and serve these ten years, and to see His hand at work in and through in so many miraculous and mundane ways over the years--Praise You and thank You God!  You are truly the one from whom all blessings flow, and to whom all glory returns!  Thank You for letting me enjoy Your grace and extend your glory all these years!  I pray You will give me many more years--as Jesus tarries--to continue loving and serving You!

Thank YOU to each of you who reads this post.  Today, is such a joyful day for me.  Thirty years ago this fall, as a first year student at Princeton Theological Seminary, I used to dream of what it would be like to plant a church and see God transform it into a "New Testament Church" where Jesus would be the center, and the Holy Spirit would be the power source.  As with many dreams God puts in our hearts,  it has taken far longer than I imagined to become a reality, but more and more with each passing day it IS becoming a reality!  Thank You God and Thank You to all whom God has used, is using and WILL USE to continue making that dream become a reality!  If I could do anything I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I would keep doing what I'm doing right now, and doing it more and more in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  How many people get to say that and mean it! Thank You!