Don't Try This On Your Own

On August 2, 1990, Sven-Erik Soderman, driving an Opel Kadett at Mora, Sweden, set a world's record in stunt driving. Soderman reached a speed of 102.14 mph while driving his car on two side wheels. Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving a car 100 miles per hour on 4 wheels—much less on two. Have you noticed though that people have different comfort levels with risk-taking? That’s evident whether you’re talking about people’s investment strategies with their money, their willingness to climb a tall ladder, or their attitude toward approaching certain animals like snakes or spiders. While I’m not advocating that we become daredevil drivers, I think we could all stand to move outside of our comfort zones and speak up and share our faith in Christ with others whom we bump into every day. The world desperately needs to hear the Good News that we possess, and I’m convinced that God has placed us in the sphere of influence that He has for a divine purpose. Let’s risk a little embarrassment to communicate God’s love.

Grandkids' pictures

Well, after the update on the family to satisfy Guy Muse's curiosity, his wife Linda requested to see pictures of the grandkids. I don't know where my brain was when I failed to include them the first time. I think I just flunked Grandparenting 101. This is my attempt to earn a passing grade for the course.

Family Update

Guy Muse had requested that I provide an update on the family on this blog, so I'm trying to accommodate him. My wife and I will celebrate our 31st anniversary this next week on August 3rd. Annetta Marie teaches both Spanish and drama at Harrisonville High School, about 20 minutes south of where we live in Lee's Summit, which in turn is a suburb of Kansas City, MO. Our oldest son, Jason, turns 29 this Friday and we're heading down to Branson, MO this weekend to celebrate with him and his wife, Jen, as well as our 2 grandchildren. Kelsey is 21 months old and is a very bright and attractive little girl. She has an immense vocabulary for someone so young. Andrew was born on May 23rd of this year and is a delightful baby. Jason is a family practice physician who lives in Warrensburg, MO, about 45 minutes to the east of us. They are very involved in the First Baptist Church there and have also been instrumental in beginning a Crisis Pregnancy Center to help young women who are contemplating an abortion.

Joel, our second son, is 25 and serves in the US Air Force. He is stationed at Langley AFB in Hampton, VA and works in intelligence. He will be visiting with us for a couple of weeks vacation at the start of August and we're really looking forward to the time with him. Joshua, 18, just recently graduated as salutatorian of his high school class of 500+ students. He missed being valedictorian by .002 of a point because he took some unweighted choir classes. He is a National Merit Scholarship winner and received a presidential scholarship to Missouri State Univ. in Springfield. He is interested in studying political science and is talking about a couple of years with the Peace Corps in Africa after graduation. Jonathan, 13, will be in the 8th grade this year. He is a talented musician who plays the violin and is teaching himself piano as well. He is involved in Boy Scouts and has completed all of the merit badges required to be an Eagle Scout. He still needs to do his Eagle project to earn that honor. He also loves playing with our dog and cat, as well as video games.

It took us awhile to adapt back to life in the States after being overseas for so many years, but we've enjoyed being able to visit family, and it's especially nice to be able to babysit the grandkids from time to time. The ministry here at church is going well, as well as my part-time responsibilities with the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. I'll be traveling to Guatemala from Aug. 6-14 to teach a course at their seminary and to meet with convention leaders about some future missions projects.

Thanks for indulging these personal reflections.