Joy.......

Last night Carol, Kyle and I headed over to Frank Lisk Park - Kyle is at a summer camp this summer for a week and is being joined by some great friends. Justin and his mom Lori who are in our Rock Group met us over there for the parent meeting. I took the kids down to the lake and watched Kyle and Justin make do with turning rocks over catching worms so they could fish. Kyle is serious about his fishing and when he has a pole in his hands - he has his game face on. They not only discovered worms - they got 2 black widow spiders, other crawly things, and a snake. So it was just as wild on land as it was in the water. They did catch some fish and nothing is finer than watching kids fishing and catching fish. It really made me think about this Sunday - again we will be trying to pull some families together at the park and let the kids go fishing. The parents will get a chance to sit back and watch our kids fish, talk and snack - bond together as our Rock Group invites folks in our church and in our community for a time to get to know each other and invest in each other. I thought about how much joy I have come to learn and experience because of other families and folks I am doing life with. I love my rock group - each person plays such an important role in this "Family" - we are together to experience things, go through things, cry together, hurt together and love each other together. It really does bring so much joy to ones life because they have people in their lives who love them and pray for them regardless of what they have been through or have done in their lives. Their kids are "MyKids" and each of them are just amazing.
Friends if you dont have people in your life who you are doing life with - then you are missing out on so much. You are missing out on the "Joy" that comes only from God when He places His people together. If you are a Christian and you are doing life alone - then you are missing out on what I am telling you. You need people in your life to do life with, to pray for you and be there for you no matter what. Its important for your children to see and experience this value in your family. There is nothing better than one of my rock group kids getting excited about Sunday evenings ... about getting together ... about praying together... about seeing the other kids from our family ... about sharing birthdays - that is exciting.
Its more than just about fishing this coming Sunday - its about not being alone in our journey with Christ, its about growing in our faith with other believers, its about being held accountable for our actions and decisions, its about having a support system around us who loves us and its about finding such "JOY" in life when we do life with others.

I look forward to my last few visits at lunch time with "MyKids". It will be sad as summer closes in and some are moving on to middle school. Carol is working on the year end parties.... really looking forward to those.
Happy Wed~
Lonnie