Dedication of Baby Sarita Murillo

What a wonderful Sunday we had yesterday. Stephen and Melissa Murillo came forward to have thier precious, 3 month old daughter, Sarah Judith dedicated to the Lord. What a blessed event a baby dedication is. It's so wonderful to see parents be willing to make a promise to raise their little one in the ways of the Lord. Pastor John made a point of saying, "when you raise a child in church, that child gets a grounding that is so important in life and gives them a firm foundation on which to base their life." They may at sometime stray from that teaching but in the end they will return to those blessed roots. Both John and I strayed but thank God for the grounding that our loving parents gave us, we knew where to turn when the worldly life became a burden.

John and I were invited to the Murillos after services to finish the day's celebration with a barbeque. The guest of honor was not impressed with the hoopla and slept through much of the afternoon. We did so enjoy getting to know the entire Murillo family. As many of you know the family roots reach deep into Mexico. So John and I felt right at home. Much food, chatter and music swirling around us. In Mexico one does not attend an event that isn't accompanied with loud music, food and wonderful fellowship. Thank you Stephen and Melissa and the entire family for making us feel welcome.

**Bit of a footnote - Sarita is the Spanish diminutive for Sarah. I love that affectionate "little" name. For those of you who do not know Stephen's parents raised Stephen and his brother, David in church here at Stanley. It's good to see that tradition being brought forward with a second generation.

Be Honest With God

I was just thinking this morning that some folks seem to be afraid to be honest with God about their feelings. We should never be afraid to be honest with God.

When Abraham was an old man, he laughed at the absurdity of God's promise to give him and his wife, Sarah a child, and to make him the father of many nations. Jacob wrestled with the Lord over the uncertainty of what lay ahead for his life and he accused God of being unfair. David openly expressed his despair and helplessness in circumstances beyond his contrrol.

When God seemed to be ignoring these men, they told him about it. When they thought they had an argument with God they expressed it. By being honest with God about their feelings they learned they could trust God in the dark valleys of their doubts.

Sometimes when we are having trouble and doubts with our faith in Christ it helps to break our journey with him down into small steps. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus encourages us not to worry about tomorrow since today has enough of it's own problems. In the weakness of our turbulent and unsteady emotions, we may need to settle for smaller steps. We need to seek the wisdom of the moment that the word of God gives us from James 1:5 "If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking". (NLT)

Always be aware of the ever present assurance of the one who says to us in Hebrew 13:5 "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you". (NLT)

I wish you Peace and Blessings in Christ Jesus, Pastor John