Happy Birthday to my big sister, Marion Weller! Today she turns #@%$&* years old!

By the time I was born, Marion was almost a teenager. She graduated from high school about the same time as I began kindergarten. She got married and had her family and bought their first house by the time I was in grade 6.

What I'm really saying is that we had very little in common until Elsie and I got married and started having kids. So, it wasn't until I was into my twenties that I really got to know her.

One of my grandsons, Jace, experienced a couple of truly momentous events in his life last week. He is 21 years old, lives in Duluth, Georgia, and has two semesters left until he graduates from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science. I have no doubt he has an incredible future set out before him. I thank the Lord every day for him! I asked Jace to write today's "FIVE Minutes with Phil" so he could share his journey. Enjoy!

There are enough things in life that turn out to be drudgery. I know there are people who truly enjoy washing the dishes, but I've never understood why. Maybe that's why the dish detergent "Joy" was given its name. As you stand at the sink, with suds up to your embows, do you have "Dawn" or "Joy?"

Joy is like taking happiness to a deeper level. It's the difference between a chuckle and a belly laugh. The difference between a good burger and a juicy, mouth-watering, "Mmmm-mmm-mmm" inducing, eyes closed, experience. Joy comes from the heart and the gut.

Men - here is my desire - be holy. Get your anger under control, get your ego out of the way, and put your trust in God.

Women - here is my desire - be modest, decent, and proper - certainly while at church, worshipping, but outside of church as well.

And as I said in my last "Timothy, My Son" post, men should be included in this, too. Modesty, decency and properness aren't just for the women!

This past weekend, we entered the next phase of our lives: one of our grandsons asked his girlfriend to marry him. We have 21 year old grandsons in Duluth, GA. One (Bren) wrote a post for me a couple of months ago before heading to law school this fall, and his twin brother (Jace) will graduate from Georgia Tech in less than a year, and it was Jace who asked Hannah to be his wife.

In 1950 Dwight Eisenhower wrote a letter to a U.S. diplomat in which he said, "Peace-time plans are of no particular value, but peace-time planning is indispensable." He didn't claim it was original with him, but it is a quote worthy of remembering.

It is so easy to spend your life getting ready to get ready! I know this is something I am prone to do.

I love the planning process - as I've written about, from clarifying core values, mission, vision, purpose, through goals and priorities. And I know it's essential to create a plan. In fact, the whole idea is strategic planning.

Isn't it strange that asking the question, "Are men and women equal?" has become a politically charged conversation? I'm not interested in getting political here, but I want you to know that in the eyes of God, all are loved, all are valuable, and all are welcome.

So in 1 Timothy 2, when Paul first write to men, and then to women, what's going on?

Read my latest post at FIVE Minutes with Phil Routly, and I'll give you my perspective.

So you've got this idea. It could be a life saver, for you, your ministry, your organization, or your community.

You know why you want to do it - in fact, you believe you were called to do it. You know what life would look like when - not if - you succeed. You're going to do this. It's going to work, and it's going to make a difference.

You even have a "To-Do" list of goals that need to be achieved to get to your big goal. And each goal has some mini-goals, and some of those even have some micro-goals.

The problem is that your planning now looks like a spider web. There are so many ideas connected to so many ideas that you can't figure out what to do now.

There are dates that will stick in my mind for as long as I am alive.

November 22, 1963 is one of them, as President Kennedy was assassinated that Friday in Dallas, Texas. I was 11.

September 11, 2001 is another, as first one plane hits one of the World Trade Centre twin towers, and then a second hit the other. A third crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth was taken down in Pennsylvania. The world changed that day.

Another is July 20, 1969. I was on vacation near Kennebunkport, Maine with my family, staying in a motel, and staying up late that night. The Lunar Module, nicknamed "The Eagle" landed on the surface of the moon. And hours later, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin climbed down a ladder while the world watched, and for the first time in history, human beings were walking on the surface of the moon. What an accomplishment.

Paul writes, "Therefore" - what's the "Therefore" there for? That's always an important question to ask when you're reading the Bible.

In the previous verse in 1 Timothy 2, Paul says, here are four things that I am:

I am therefore giving you these instruction - first, to the men: "I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing." He addresses the men first - men everywhere. Then he will address women with the cultural issues, and then those men who God is calling into leadership roles. So, over the next 3 months or so, we're going to look at the rest of chapter 2 and all of chapter 3. There's a lot here, and just a heads up - a lot of it is controversial. So your prayers would be appreciated.

With that in mind, I'd appreciate it if the Lord hears your prayers. So be holy, be humble, and be humble.