“And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked” (Exodus 12:36).

“And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the the chief of the eunuchs...” (Daniel 1:9).

“But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh” (Acts 7:9-10).

I’ve been studying through the life of Samuel the last month or so in chapel at school. We are talking about Philippians 4:8 this year and Samuel seemed to be a good example to talk about “whatever is true.” But much of Samuel’s story intersects with the life of Saul, among other significant people in the Scripture. There is something about Saul’s life that is just so troubling. He had a great start. He seemed to be a good man with good intentions, but somewhere along the way things began to spiral downhill and the end was no where near as good as the beginning. Before being called as the king he was serving his father by looking for lost donkeys (1 Samuel 9:5-10). He went to God (through Samuel) for answers concerning the things he sought (9:11-21). He wasn’t exactly confident about taking over this new role. Unless I am misreading the text, his default setting seemed to be humility (10:17-24).

If you have every been into hiking or camping you have probably heard the phrase “leaving your footprint” — and its generally not about what the sole of your boot or tennis shoe looks like. In that context it is usually in reference to what you leave behind when you have gone through a place. Leaving your footprint is not always considered to be a positive thing in the camping and hiking world. A common phrase might be “take only pictures, leave only footprints” but more modern ethics encourage leaving as few footprints as possible. Pack out what you bring in and avoid altering the landscape through your travel and stay.

If you have ever spent much time watching sports then you have heard discussions about momentum within the game. One play can give a momentum shift to the whole game. A fumble recovery for a touchdown in football...a double play in baseball...a couple of three point shots in basketball hitting their mark in a matter of a few seconds. Moments like those tend to really turn the tide in a competition.

There are so many old adages about time. They remind me that I’m not alone in feeling that time just seems to go by too fast. Things like:

Time flies when you’re having fun. - Famous Idiom

Time and tide wait for no man. - Ancient English Proverb

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future (some of you sang that one didn’t you?) - Steve Miller Band

Time Marches On (some of you sang that one too) - Tracy Lawrence

The last few days feel like a beautiful, yet also grim, reminder of such. Not only is our summer well over half way to an end, my daughter has married her high school sweetheart and embarked on her own new journey. As I’ve reflected on this major event in life (that so many of you have experienced before me) and prepared for what to say during the ceremony I couldn’t help but reflect on all the things we have done through the years.

Thinking back on how God has blessed my life is always overwhelming. It is easy in the moment to be frustrated when you think about what you have not accomplished, but when you glance back and see what all God has done -- and especially all he has accomplished through His people -- it is hard not to be grateful. And that even seems to never really be enough.

Everyone wants a good life. That idea might make you think of the accumulation of money and things. Or you might hear that and think of a long life. Still another way of interpreting it could have to do fame and notoriety.  The meaning of that first sentence might be debated, but the idea of a good life would very likely never be turned down. Yet, Jesus interprets that in a much different way than most of us do. It is what he calls abundant life and it doesn’t have anything to do with money, stuff, length of life, fame, or notoriety. 

No matter what subject we are considering, we all see things from a different perspective. Those who grew up in the same region, town, or even the very same house will have much different views of life, relationships, faith, politics, and just about any other topic. Everyone has had their very own personal experiences and varying degrees of influence from friends and family to education and spirituality. 

Last weekend was an adventure for me. Friday I joined a group of first graders from Mars Hill at the Cook’s Museum in Decatur before I made my way over to Bridgeport for the weekend. At the time I really didn’t know that much of my trip was going to revolve around the history of Alabama as much as it did. Of course there are many interesting facts to be learned about our state and its critters at the Cook’s Museum. There are some fun activities that you can do that help you explore the various habitats we have in our state, from the Gulf to the mountains, and the swamps to the farmland. If you haven’t been to this little gem of a museum right here in north Alabama I would encourage you to. 

This past week has been an absolute blessing for me. Several months ago, I had an idea of taking a group of men somewhere to do a kind of challenge retreat. The initial thought was for us to find a mountain to climb or some trails to hike in God’s creation. The first person I thought to contact to help me think through this adventure was Matthew Morine. He is the pulpit minister at the Castle Rock congregation in Colorado, just south of Denver. He has also climbed all 58 fourteeners (peaks above 14,000 feet) in Colorado. After a few conversations with him, I had a plan. One of their members had an Airbnb, and he suggested a couple of things we should do. So with the plan in place, all we needed were some victims…I mean volunteers. And the final crew from HP ended up being Ben Bradford, Nathan Evans, Jackson Hayes, Vernon Malone, and myself. Due to available space and his expertise in hiking, I invited my good friend Halo Fernandez to come along as well.