Making disciples by the seashore

It's a cloudy, overcast day in Destin this morning. I believe that it rained during the night, for there is water sitting in some of the outdoor furniture. We've had one thing break after another, fuses blown, not sure about the pipes as the commode doesn't seem to be continually flowing properly.

Gabe is Gabe and Gavin is Gavin and through it all it is a wonderful time with the grandkids, the beach and the pool. We spent nearly four hours at one of those two places yesterday with Mary, Carrie and Karli riding horses on the beach while the boys and I played.

This has been a two-week excursion into the faith of the grandkids. We've prayed bebefore every meal, as we normally do, and they have to. We've talked about Jesus and the wonderful gifts he give us and has given us. I think of what Paul wrote to his pupil Timothy of where Timothy got his faith.

Paul wrote: "I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

My mother's name was Delores and her twin was Eunice, who died at childbirth. I wonder sometime if my churches understand that without Delores, there might not be a Billy ministry for it was her prayers and her desires and her teaching that helped lead me to the Lord.

I hope we're doing the same for the grandkids, and I wish we could do something similar to the girl grandkids in Jackson. If we could come to know them enough to take them on a trip, well, that would be about the best I could imagine.

The Bible says of children (and the same holds true for grandkids) 19 For I have chosen (Abraham), so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

He will direct his children and his household after him (grandkids?) to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.

See, it matters if they have respect for others. It matters if they learn to speak correctly (in terms of what words are acceptable). It matters if they learn basic manners. It matters if they know what the basics are.

But none of that matters if they don't know who the Lord is, deep in their hearts.

So, Mary and I preach, and occasionally we use words. (And the beach).