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Welcome back after an extended break from the podcast! It is crazy to think that in just a few short weeks our oldest two kids will be going to school for the first time. It's a big change. But bigger ones will come in the future, because it is our goal to prepare them to leave. While they will always be welcome in our home, we know that one day they will go off to make their own. 

The exact opposite is the case with our walk with our eternal Father. Rather than the goal to be his children leaving, the goal is to bring his children home with him forever. It took a lot of preparation, but through Jesus, we now all have the opportunity to go home. 

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I know I've been gone for quite a while, and I will have an explination soon Lord willing. But in the meantime, my intern for the summer has jumped in to give you some content in the meantime! Welcome to the podcast Daniel Schoenholz. 

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I took my young intern over to the Forks on Friday to help my uncle Kerry out on his property for just a little while, and in the meantime he got a tour of the land. The tour took us to the creek bed, where we found agate, coral, and my personal favorite - geodes. Geodes look like big potato rocks, but when you crack them open, there is a beutiful treasure on the inside. 

If anyone is in Christ, they are a potato rock. Outside not much has changed necessarily, but internally Christ has shone his light on our hearts and is transforming us from the inside out. No matter what happens to these bodies, or as Paul calls them these jars of clay, we have this beatiful treasure contained within us through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

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Our summer intern Daniel was teaching the very young children last night, and they needed to get their wiggles out. So, he decided to start up a brief game of Simon Says in order to accomplish that. The kids enjoyed playing along, trying not to get tripped up and only moving when "Simon Said" to. 

The name of the game in our Christian walk is not Simon Says, but the Lord Says. Just as Israel only moved when the Lord directed them through a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, so we are still directed by God through his Word. We must not go beyond what the Lord has said or take away from what he has said either. When he speaks, we listen and act. 

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We were all outside eating when a wasp flew into our sons rainboots that we leave outside.  When I went to hose it out and take care of the wasp, I was shocked to be met with not just one wasp but several more as well as a nest. I'm so glad we caught it when we did, otherwise my son would have run outside to play one of these rainy days and stepped right into an incredible amount of pain and potentially significant harm. 

This is exactly the way Satan works in our lives. If we are not alert and careful, Satan will come and make his home in our hearts or in our homes. As a result, we can get hurt and our children can get hurt, as we walk right into his trap. We must be alert so as to keep Satan from taking up residence. But after we evict him, we must do all we can to keep him out again - because like the wasps, he will be back. 

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Our youngest, Finley, is 20 months and still not walking. She has struggled a lot, and after seeing an occupational therapist they have confirmed what we were seeing - that she has a prominent left side weakness. So, it's gonna take some work. But something special happened this week that's never happened before: she stood up on her own, and showed interest in trying. When she fell, she got back up, and she just kept going. We are overjoyed watching her walk, even through her struggles. 

Our walk of faith is much the same way. We are going to have our own weaknesses and struggles. But you know what? God is patient towards us. His grace is greater than our weaknesses, and he is there to catch us when we fall. Yes, the goal is for us to walk even better each day, but how overjoyed must our Father be just to watch his creation get up and desire to start walking closer to him. 

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I was checking out at CVS Monday and the fellow checking out next to me had his machine in sync with my machine. It felt like a race and we joked about it. In the end I won! Nothing, of course, I won nothing. But I started thinking about how many things in our culture we have turned into a competition. But guess, what? Everything isn't a competition. 

Those in the church especially need to hear this. I have witnessed members competing against each other. Local churches acting as though they are in competition with another local work. Preachers shamefully chasing their own glory and ego and trying to triumph over other preachers. My friends, Kingdom work is NEVER a competition. 

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Our dear friends and family who just moved to the area have two cemeteries on their property. The gravestones are nearly 200 years old, overgrown, neglected, and forgotten. The lives of these folks have long since been forgotten, and it brings the light the following reality: we will all be the same way too. We will be forgotten by everyone. 

Everyone, that is, except the Lord. While a generation comes and goes, one day we will all stand before God and give an account of our lives. Knowing this, it should remind us of this truth: it does not matter how many friends you leave behind when you die, it only matters whether or not you have a friend in Jesus. 

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Your spine is supposed to have a 35 degree bend at the top and base, but mine is 15 and 12. While going over my x-rays with my chiropractor, I asked him what the plan was. He told me it depends a whole lot more on me than it does on him. If I'm not doing my work at home with PT and implementing the things he's equipped me to do, and I'm merely getting adjustments, we'll be figthing an uphill battle. 

Let me ask you this...how important is your children's spiritual development? I have many tell me very important, and it's for that reason they have found a local church with lots of opportunites for youth. But friends, your children can hear the best lessons each week - but if you are not doing the work you are called to do by God at home with your children, then you are going to be fighting an uphill battle. 

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On my way home from Georgetown, KY the other night, I ran into a bit of trouble...literally. My trip was going off without a hitch, until there was one...literally. Someone had dropped a hitch with a massive drill bit being used as a pin on it in the middle of the road, and didn't see it in time with it being so dark and I hit it. Shredded my tired two minutes from home. That figures. 

We have to be careful because we could do the same to others, and I don't mean leaving things in the middle of the road. I mean leaving a stumbling block for others. Our actions do not only impact us, they impact others as well. Before we do the things that we do, even if we know they are pleasing to God, we should first consider the impact they might have on others coming up behind us. 

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