Month: April 2018

You Can Always Come Home

HOME SWEET HOME.  Those three simple words engage the senses.  They conjure up images of loved ones, the home place, your childhood tree swing.  Perhaps you associate it with the smell of apple pie, your favorite birthday meal, or your mother’s perfume.  Or maybe you can close your eyes and hear your father whistling while he’s working on the car.  We want to fill our own homes with that same sense of belonging and rightness, so we intentionally create good memories for our own families:  laughter around the dinner table, nightly devotionals, loving touches, and sweet traditions.  Home is synonymous with comfort and security.  When we’re away from it, we long for it.  Not every earthly home is ideal, but many would agree that “there’s no place like home.”

Thank God for the home He provides for His family!  He must want us to enjoy that same sense of love and security because He gives us a home to enjoy now and one to look forward to in eternity.  When I close my eyes and think of my church family, I can’t help but recall warm hugs, precious memories, dear songs, and loving support.  No matter where we live, we have a home made up of Christian family.  What a blessing!  I can’t imagine trying to get through this life without it.  Jesus promises a heavenly home with our Father (John 14:1-3).  This one will be big enough to accommodate all of our loved ones.  There will be no goodbyes or sad memories (Rev. 21:3-4).  It will be the ultimate Home Sweet Home.

As dear as home is, some choose to walk away from it.  Whatever the reason for it (indifference, rebellion, sin), the absence is keenly felt by the Father and family.  I ran across a song recently called, “You Can Always Come Home.”  It is based on the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.  In that passage, Jesus tells a parable of a young man who chose to leave home to experience the world.  He lived wildly and recklessly.  He cared not for his reputation or his family name.  But his new lifestyle brought no satisfaction.  The thrill was short-lived as he found himself broken and alone.  That’s when he thought of home and his wayward heart longed to return.   This passage never gets old for me.  My breath catches every time I read of his father running to meet him.  His father didn’t say, “You made your bed; now you have to lie in it.”  He didn’t say, “What do you have to say for yourself?!”  He most certainly didn’t say, “I don’t know you,” or “You’re no son of mine.”  Instead, every action on his part said, “Welcome home, my son.”

I have loved ones who have wandered away.   I pray they will long for home and make the journey back, regardless of time or distance.  As the song pleads, “Remember, you can always come home.”

My own heart has struggled with seasons of waywardness.  May I always be drawn to the real love and security offered by my Father.  May HOME remain my favorite place to be.

 

 

 

 

 

Heard the Latest about Higher Ground?

For those of you who don’t know, Higher Ground Encampment is a free Bible camp for teen girls in Sedalia, CO.  It began in 2009 and is sponsored by the Bear Valley church of Christ.

For those of you who are already familiar with Higher Ground, I wanted to share a couple of things that are new:

  1.  Higher Ground is under new directorship.  Beginning last year, Christy Swackhamer, mother of three girls and a diligent student of the Word, took over as director.  She did a great job and will continue to do so.  This year, Melody Sawyers, mother of three boys and the most hospitable woman you’ll ever meet, will begin serving as a co-director.  Teri Autrey and I will still be involved.  We are both serving as counselors this year and I will continue to teach Bible-marking.
  2. Higher Ground will be held earlier in the year.  Typically we’ve had camp in late July/ early August.  The dates for this year are June 24th-30th.  We are already accepting applications and Christy tells me they are rolling in!
  3. Higher Ground is at a different location.  A couple of years ago, the facility we’d been using was put on the market.  We had to find other accommodations, which was no easy task since we had to find something reasonable enough for us to continue to offer this camp for free.  We now meet at the Roundup Ranch (located right next to our original location).  Because it is a much smaller facility, Christy said we can only accept a maximum of 50 girls.

For more information about Higher Ground, and for a link to the online application, click here.

Please join me in praying for this effort, for the staff, and for all the girls who will be a part of it this year.  It will be a special week of spiritual growth, fun, and building or renewing friendships.

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