Bow and Arrow

A friend of mine today made an interesting analogy. He gave a speech yesterday and it was about teaching kids affirmative language (TALK). I had prayed that it would go well and it was amazing to hear what God laid on his heart to share.

He talked about how we need to help kids set high targets to achieve, but it isn't enough to help them set this. Just like an arrow has a sharpened tip, we have to invest in our children to sharpen them. The Bible actually supports this thinking:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. -Proverbs 27:17

It isn't enough just to invest in them, we have to go one step further. We have to pour into our children. An arrow by itself will never hit its target. It must be shot with a bow. How do you get a bow to work. You exert energy by pulling. The amount of strength you use to shoot this arrow comes through on the other end when released from the bow. The analogy is that we need to exert energy & pull on our children to help them hit their targets.

Making a Difference

It is funny...I love to write, but blogging has been a challenge to me and I know there are a number of you out there that have encouraged me to share some of my thoughts and experiences in a blog.

SO....here I go with another shot at being more loyal to posting these.

The growth of the Seacoast Dream Center in North Charleston over the 4 months has been absolutely amazing. God has allowed us to touch well over 5,000 lives. If you haven't been involved in any of it, here are some of the highlights:

- 5,000 bookbags handed out
- 300 turkeys provided
- Over 8,000 meals handed out
- Clothing beyond what you could imagine

I think what has touched me most of all were the 13 people that were baptized during one of our Sunday Morning Services in December, including 2 of our girls in Children's Ministry. It is amazing to see God work in the lives of others and exciting to see how He will use them to grow His kingdom.

Last weekend we went out for Adopt-a-Block, which is a day where the church goes out into the community, knocking on doors, handing out food, loving on people and really being the hands and feet of Christ. Our team loaded up a grill and cooked hot dogs! Funny...a round tube steak can open the door to talk to so many people. We had went from a 2 year old little boy to a 70 year man and everything in between. Smiles came out and I really feel like we are gaining the trust and love of the people in the community.