I LOVE the faith of children...

Today, it was most refreshing to see the beauty, humility, and honesty of a child's faith--O how I praise God for the sweet faith of His beloved children (literal children in age that is, not just us adopted children) that as I was helping someone at church to find a way to teach from Scripture that God is Real to children, the Spirit touched my heart to move from Exodus and Romans to Genesis as the foundational passage for the sermon. I then turned to my left as I called Jenny Kim a cute, Korean 2nd-Grader over to us to ask her a question. I asked her, "Jenny, how do you know that God is real?" She replied just as I hoped she would, "Because He made the world!" It was then that my heart praised God for her faith and its youthful beauty. She got it. All she needed to know or to see or whatever was just God has given us to belive in Him: Himself and His Word and His Creation. She did not need long explanations, she just held by God's grace to the faith! O Lord, that we would have faith in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls that so we would trust You first and have a devout, humble, beautiful faith--childlike faith! O Holy Trinity, that we would trust in You, Your Word, and Your general revelation so easily! Hallelujah for Your gracing Jenny with such a pure, wise, passionate faith--please sustain it and keep it, while making us have faith like that!

21

Oddly enough, my 21st birthday was more of a day to serve and work than it was to relax and be served. However, Melissa did help make it special by taking me out to dinner at Giordano's (which is the best Chicago Style pizza ever--there is just so much wonderful cheese, an inch of it at least)--the pizza was quite good and she even let me put green peppers on half..mmm...and then when I took her home there was tea cake waiting for me...mmm...to be fair, my family did something for me too, but they were trying to surprise me so I did not know about and apparently missed the signals that said I needed to get home earlier...needless to say I felt bad for obstructing their plans to make my birthday special.

Certainly, since it was a Sunday, I was in Chicago for Church, where it just so happened that a child was celebrating his birthday and so I sort of celebrated with him before my church surprised me with my own cake and balloon--it was very sweet...the act that is, but I suppose the cake too. Nevertheless, due to the necessity of helping the chaotic car wash going on at the same time in the Church parking lot, I did not get to celebrate long or finish my meal. Following which, I conducted a preparation for VBS (which is next week) meeting with the Youth Group after the Car Wash was over.

So, indeed I did not spend the day drinking or anything so foolish and wicked as to celebrate drunkenness by a grand participation thereof. (As an aside, for the record, I find no Biblical problem with drinking, but rather with getting drunk; considering that Paul told Timothy to drink some wine because it would be good for his stomach, drinking is not sinful, but God through Paul makes it very clear that getting drunk is a sin. So, for those of you who do drink, I applaud your Christian liberty to drink without getting drunk as long as you do so to the Glory of God, for drinking for the sake of drinking is rather a poor motivation, curiosity does not always mean it is a good reason, for my eyes may be curious as to what scantily clad thing that they just saw stroll past, but it would be evil to indulge their curiosity.) Personally, I feel compelled to not drink whatsoever, a compelling coming from the upbringing that God Providencially placed in me and coming from the Spirit and from a certain Moody Bible Institute form that I am repeatedly forced to sign. My conscience forbibs my partaking of alcohol, but I do not miss it, nor do I desire to look down on those who do partake of alcohol to the Glory of God.

Thank you, Lord for 21 years outside the womb! May the rest of the years you bless me with be all to love, serve, know, and glorify you and to that end to love, lead, and feed the church. I love You so much, Holy Trinity!