Play Ball!

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You are what wakes me in the morning. You are what lets me fall asleep. You are the one’s always with me. Even in my dreams. I will always love you through good times and bad. Because you are always there; my mom and my dad.

I love the way you watch over me, and surround me with your prayers. And I am sorry for my mistakes.  Please forgive my errors. I know that you will, just because you’re my parents. Thank you for watching over me, and catching me when I fall. Thank you for loving me even when I seem lost.

I love you both very much, and pray for you regularly.  It’s probably a good thing I do. Just know what a trouble I can be. I love you both very much, and could never tell you enough. What a blessing it is to have all of your love.

Although I don’t know whom you are I love you. Even though we might have never met I love you. I know God is working with you, just as he is working with me to prepare us for each other.

That is how I already know I love you. God made us especially for each other. He made your personality fit mine, and made mine a match for yours. He has planned out how we will meet, and knows we are right for each other. He has a plan for both of our lives, and I can’t wait for it to shine out.

I already think about your smile, and wonder what you are like. I wonder if you are following His plan, and I pray daily that you are. I pray that you stay pure in heart, and that you will find joy in knowing God is your savior. I love the way you make me think of Him. Even before I know who you are. I hope and I pray that you are already in my life just waiting for God to show you who I am. Just like I am waiting.

I try to keep every relationship pure for you. Just in case I’m not with who God has planned for me. I don’t run into relationships until I am sure it is what God wants me to do. So who is to say I am not already with you, but then again who is to say God isn’t just trying to teach me something through the relationship I am in. I am not sure what God is doing right now, but I do know I am dong what he wants me to.

I have prayed long and hard, and end up with no real answer; all I can truthfully say is that I do love you. And I love that you are out there somewhere loving me. And maybe God has already put you in my life. Who am I to second-guess His plan, but maybe not?

I really get tired of wondering.

Hey guys,

I am having a blast… I was asked to manage/coach a baseball team here in Kirksville. This is a group of 16-18 yr old guys, and a lot of them are Stevens’s friends. We are called the Mustangs, and will be playing a bunch of games both in Kirksville and on the road this summer.

Most of are games are on the weekends, and we will be traveling to Booneville, Canton, Quincy, Wayland, Lewistown… and a bunch of other places.

This is a great group of guys. They are all good athletes and several of them are on the High School Football and Wrestling teams. I am excited to have Matt Small (my nephew) on the team. He is a strong guy and can really pitch and hit. Right now we are getting organized, having practice, and finding sponsors.

One thing I am finding out is that baseball at this level is not cheap. KBSA is our covering organization here in Kirksville, but we will be playing Senior Babe Ruth and American Legion Leagues. We will also play some High School and JV College type teams.

I will try to keep bogging about this experience as the summer goes on… GO MUSTANGS!!!

Wow… its been busy… Last Saturday I was called to Quincy to meet with a group that gathers on Saturday mornings at Elena Kroeger’s house for Bible study. I was glad to see that this group was growing in both number and maturity. One person surrendered their life to Christ, and another man rededicated his life back to Jesus… I taught them about how the Lord uses every situation in our life to help us grow… No matter whether we think our circumstances are positive or negative… Jesus is at work. The best way to live is in total surrender to Him.

This reminds me of the difference between commitment and surrender. I have heard many Christians talk about making a commitment to Christ, and living a committed Christian life. In fact these are terms that I have used myself. I don’t think that these words are wrong… but I do feel that they fall short of describing what He is really looking for. In fact if we live only in an "I’m Committed Zone…" we are in danger in living in legalism rather than grace.

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Over the last thirty years I have watched as the church has emphasized and re-emphasized leadership. I think that we may have followed the lead that corporate America has set, as books, tapes, seminars and material have proliferated on this subject. I personally have been called to serve leaders, and I still travel the country training and ministering to leaders. Sometimes I wonder if I am contributing more to a problem, rather than bringing a solution. Let me explain…

Much has been said about the failures of the church being as a result of failure of leadership. I wonder if the failure in the church might be a result of over emphasizing the importance of leadership. I think we have come to the point that we are worshipping leaders and leadership in general. This would be akin to idolatry and God does not tolerate idolatry well at all.

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Its been a few days since I have posted… so here’s an update. 

 I have spent a couple of days with a group of guys in Quincy. These men are  followers of Jesus who are eager to grow. It is so refreshing to talk with guys who are sincere and hungry. Several of them have backgrounds that are not so pretty, and they don’t fit into typical church settings at this time. That makes me wonder about the "Typical Church" in America… I love teaching them the bible… and watching them as they discover and experience Jesus in there lives.

 It was also a joy to spend several hours with a woman who grew up in the Kirksville church. I remember her as a little girl, and watched her grow up through our High School and then the Bible College. She enlightened me about her life, and the changes she has experienced in the past five years. 

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Grandma Bonnie: I miss you…

It was so comforting to know that you were there. Some people may think that time passed you by a long while ago… but I think you had a hold on something beyond time. The truths that you passed on to us were eternal.

How many times did I sit down in your front room after throwing a couple logs in your wood burning stove, only to listen to you talk about your latest musings? It was uncanny how right on your words were. It seemed like you were a prophetess or something. No matter what troubles I had on my mind, you always seemed to know right were I was. Your stories from the past, or the special Ozark retellings of familier bible themes, or words of advice, were always right on the money.

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Each fall the daunting task of educating a generation of children stands before today’s teachers. Each new generation demands that teachers give their highest creativity, utmost talent, extensive time, and individualized attention. Every year’s students are marked with a fresh mixture of cultural experiences, learning styles, and educational strengths. They embark upon our classrooms screaming with expectations that we, the teachers, equip them with the tools that will enable them to reach their hopes and dreams. Basic educational principles and curriculum have been developed and prove reliable tools that meet the needs of most. It is a daunting task that lies before teachers and yet within each year’s mix of children lay another group whose demands may be less noticeable. They are the students who stand just beyond the reach of “normal education”. They are individuals who do not learn in a conventional way and are often unintentionally slighted because of their differing educational needs. Although smaller in number than the average learners per classroom, their demands are just as worthy and require our immediate, active attention. So it is with a student named, Rita.

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And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

Fellowship goes far beyond casual conversation at the back of the church on Sunday, and it is much more than lazy afternoon chats over tea. Fellowship penetrates to the depths of the soul, causing us to belong to those we are in fellowship with. The light of this kind of fellowship then shines into the community. They can see that we are for real And they were continually devoting themselves to Fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, Acts 2:4

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