Age-related Smiles

I’ve come to expect the phrase at every doctor and dental visit of these “golden years” and there have been far too many of the visits to suit me. Somehow the diagnosis always includes the term, “age-related.” I’ve learned to live with the term. I know there are things I will never do again – score from second base on a single to right field, teach an I-term class eight hours a day for five straight days, participate in an all-night lock-in, run a marathon (actually I never got around to that the first time.). But there are things I can do now that I could never do before – enjoy grandkids, attend fifty year reunions, reflect on the way things used to be. Did I mention enjoying grandkids? Some anonymous person, who must have been having age-related issues, wisely said, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Job, who had his own set of issues, said, “Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away . . . I will put off my sad face and wear a smile” (Job 9:25, 27). So, I’m going to smile this week and if I smile big enough, you can even see my new dental implants. Onward!

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for potential ministry partners who would like to be a part of Vision Tour to Vancouver Island, October 2-4, 2013. If interested, I can connect you to the proper person. The next metro Vancouver Vision Tour is September 16-18.
• Pray for those who minister in the rolling hills of south central China among 1.3 million people known as the Northern Dong. Less than one in 1,000 believe in Jesus Christ.
• Give thanks for new Roma believers in the Czech Republic following a volunteer outreach in May.