Joel's birthday

joel's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEL!

so at church today, this kid that came for the first time last week came again. and last week, we sent out postcards to the about ourselves, with some stuff about what we like to eat, favourite color, what we are doing now etc. and she got it some time in the week and got really excited about it. she came today and gave me two rolls of sweets, and made sure to sit close to me. She also drew a picture and gave that to me.

i've never really had that sort of thing before. it's... touching. and sweet. and what great timing!

and even better, was the way my kids responded. one kid started moaning about how boring church was and how she hated it. in response to that, another quipped that she loved church and she was enjoying herself, and soon the whole group started saying that they love church and they wanted to come all the time. and soon after that, it progressed to everyone saying that they love God. little first graders all shouting very enthusiastically about how much they love God. true, they may not understand it fully, but at least, they start out young, knowing and wanting.

that touched my heart. and it was truly an answer to a prayer said juz an hour before. what can i say? the timing was so great, and all these were just so encouraging to an unsure and fumbling, inexperienced first-grader shepherd.

Thank you God. i couldn't have asked for more.

and thought for the week...from Thursday's Primetime.

"... at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

when is/was our kairos moment? not chronological time, but rather, that right time, or the decisive epoch waited for. His act of love came when we were at our most undesirable. that moment when God in effect, is saying 'I died for this moment, and for all the other sins'.