For Father’s Day this summer, I shared a message called “Proverbs for Fathers.” The Old Testament Book of Proverbs offers short, pithy statements of practical, godly wisdom. There is good, biblical advice on marriage, parenting, discipline, money management and a host of other areas of life. An alcoholic husband went to the doctor and was told that he had a serious drinking problem. He didn’t want to admit that to his wife so he told her the doctor had said he had “syncopation,” a word he thought he made up figuring his wife would just think it was a big medical word and not investigate it. But he was wrong. His wife looked up the word in a dictionary and it’s a word from the world of music that means “erratic wandering from bar to bar.” Yep, he had syncopation! Now, there is nothing that is more difficult for a child than to live in a community where one of his parents, especially his father, is held in disrespect because of some illegal or immoral act he has committed. The disrespect that the father has brought upon himself spills over into how other children treat his child.          But, thankfully, it also works the other way around. Proverbs 20:7 says, “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.”  Don’t be put off by the word “blameless” in that verse. It doesn’t mean perfect. Rather, it refers to  a life lived with integrity, honesty and goodness.  When a father lives such a life, the whole community treats him and his family with respect. In other words, his family is blessed by his behavior! June has been a good month with 320 in Bible Study. We enjoyed Father’s Day on the 16^th with a couple of Baby Celebrations. We kicked off our Annie Armstrong North American Missions Offering on June 23^rd with an attractive envelope board created by Joe and Judy Andrews, along with an excellent video that explained its use by Cara Grobbelaar and Carrianna Simmons, all to help us reach our $15,000 goal.  We had a couple of Work Days at Hope Tree Food Bank on the 21^st and 22^nd.  We had a Family Movie Night on the 28^th and we’ll celebrate God & Country Day on the final Sunday, June 30^th. July has some very special emphases:

On Mother’s Day Sunday, I kicked off our FAMILY EMPHASIS 2019 with a message on marriage called “Till Death Do Us Part.” It is no accident that the Bible envisions the relationship between Christ and His Church as a marriage. Why? Because marriage is the most meaningful, the most intimate and the most beautiful relationship of life. Recently, I was listening to a civil wedding ceremony from another state where, when the officient performing the ceremony got to those last words of the traditional wedding vow, she made them very untraditional. Instead of saying the words “…as long as you both shall LIVE,” she said, “…as long as you both shall LOVE.” Well, that sounded cutsy and creative, but it betrayed a deadly flaw in modern marriage.   It is the idea that you only need to stay married to someone as long as you FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH THEM! Love is not a feeling, it is a commitment!  John Drakeford, my professor of counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, shared a principle that that can help every marriage: “It is much easier to act your way into a new way of feeling than it is to feel your way into a new way of acting.” If you wait until you feel like you love your spouse to treat them like you love them, then you won’t have a very good marriage. On the other hand, if you will go ahead and treat your spouse like you love them, regardless of the way that you feel, then once again that “loving feeling” will eventually come back! May has been a very busy month with 353 in Bible Study.   We had a nice community crowd for the National Day of Prayer on May 2^nd.  Mother’s Day with its Baby Celebration on Sunday, May 12^th was a special day for us all. Thanks to all of our Mission Friends, R.A. and G.A. workers who made our Missions Recognition Program on May 15^th a success.  Graduate Recognition and the luncheon provided a record number of graduates and their families a great time of celebration.  Our Children’s Music Recognition Program on May 19^th celebrated our preschool and children’s choirs and their workers.  Last night, I greatly enjoyed our Faith Friends Academy Commencement program.  And, as I write this on May 22^nd, tonight is Baccalaureate at the Lamar County Fine Arts Center. June has some special emphases:

June is going to be a great month!   COME EXPECTANTLY! I Love You, Garth