A friend sharpens a friend ...

As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
Proverbs 27:17

As we prepare for our time of worship with our family on Sunday, there are some thoughts that I would like to share. Many times we will not "feel" like worship. Many times we want to just stay home. Many times we feel like we are tired of the motions and just don't want to mess with it today. That's when we need to realize this: "They are like a heap of fresh and burning coals warming one another as a great strength and freshness and vigor of life flows into all." This is a quote from Isaac Pennington, a brother from our past. So often we forget how much we need our time together in worship. We need that time of praise and thanksgiving to God, and we need that time of warming each other up in our faith.

I sat in a dark basement tonight with our boys and some of our houseparents. I watched as "our" boys took turns leading their favorite worship songs, reading scriptures, and saying prayers. They were sharpening each other and didn't even know that they were doing it. I saw our boys encouraging each other before and after the worship time. I saw some boys trying to sing and actually listening to what the words were in the songs. They were a heap of burning coals warming the fire burning in my heart.

Let's walk into worship tomorrow with an expectancy. A heart longing for what God is going to do with and through us during our time together. I can't wait to worship with our family again.

Love and blessings to you all today.

Jason