Susi and I would like to thank each of you for all of your kind words of encouragement, the cards we’ve received, and the gifts given to us during this Pastor Appreciation month of October! We feel SO blessed and privileged to be serving the Lord with you, here at Bonner Naz! Our prayer is that God will continue to bless all of us as we continue to work together to bring about His kingdom here on earth, in our part of the world! May each of you know how much we love and appreciate you all!

Let’s keep keeping on, my friends! Many times our strongest life message comes from our biggest mess. We usually try to cover up our failures and weaknesses, but it’s those very failures – the ones we try to hide – that draw people to us and helps them hear the gospel from us. The pain from the mistakes we share gives authenticity to our message.

The people I know whose lives are the most inspiring are those who have gone through great trials and have learned to live in the tension between strength and weakness. We don’t like to admit our weaknesses, but revealing them is what allows God’s strength to show through.

Regardless of who we are or how we live, we’ve all made a mess of our lives. But God stepped into that messy situation, lifted us out of the stench, and said with a smile, “You’re Mine!” He cleans us up and begins taking us to places we could never have imagined. He loves us just as we are, but He doesn’t leave us that way. That is just what grace can do with the mess of our lives!