Dear Grandkids,

Today our country celebrates it’s 250th birthday.

Which means that it is only 50 years before our country will celebrate its tricentennial. That may seem like a long time away to you but take my word for it it will go by fast. I speak from experience.

I had just turned 18 years old when we had our bicentennial in 1976 and had just graduated from high school as a part of the esteemed bicentennial graduating class of Aiken High School – red, white, and blue tassels and all. Yes, I still have them.

I was 18 then. I am 68 now. And there has been so much change. Unprecedented change in the life of our country. My 18 year old self could never have imagined what our world would look like now. But can you imagine what an 18 year old living in 1776 might think. Or an 18 year old living in 1876?

The 100 years between 1776 and 1876 saw incredible change. Our nation went from relying on horses and sailing ships and hand tools to railroads, telegraphs, factories, and electricity.

• Eli Whitney’s cotton gin transformed cotton production
• Steamships revolutionized travel and commerce on rivers like the Mississippi
• The first transcontinental railroad was completed
• The telegraph was developed by Samuel Morse in 1844 allowing messages to travel almost instantly across great distances
• The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 right at the end of our first 100 years.
• Indoor plumbing began appearing in wealthier homes

The 100 years between 1876 and 1976 saw even greater change – especially with regard to communication…

• The use of telephones became prolific
• Radio broadcasts around the turn of the century could be broadcast nationwide
• Television in the 1940s and 50s became the dominant form of entertainment and news
• Computers in the the last 30 years of the centennial began to evolve quickly
• Satellites began to make international communication easy and fast
• And then you had the advent of automobiles and airplanes and space travel. 1969 saw the first manned moon landing with Apollo 11
• Medical advancements were incredible: x-ray machines revolutionized diagnostics. Insulin, penicillin, and other vaccines eliminated diseases like polio and the measles.
• And life became easier with inventions like the refrigerator, the washing machine, vacuum cleaners, and air conditioning,

The 50 years since I graduated ushered in the digital revolution. Terms that are already  a part of the everyday vernacular to you did not even exist in 1976…

• World wide web
• Internet
• Smartphones
• GPS navigation
• Streaming
• Downloads
• Social media
• Artificial intelligence
• MRI and CT imaging

Technology seems to be advancing exponentially. Can you even imagine what our world will look like in 2076? I will not be around to see it. One centennial celebration is enough for me. But all of you should be. The youngest of you will almost be 55 and the oldest will be 63. All of you will be younger than I am now. There is a good chance that you will live in a world with…

• Flying cars
• Household robots
• The eradication of cancer
• A permanent human colony on the moon
• Regular space missions to Mars
• Life expectancies over 100
• And things that no one has even envisioned yet

So much has changed over the last 250 years… and yet so much has not changed!

People still need the Lord. People still yearn for a satisfaction in life that does not come with advanced technology and more financial resources. People still recognize that there is something wrong with our world. People still long for a contentment that cannot come from anybody or any thing. People still hunger and thirst for joy and peace and hope and love and forgiveness. People still crave fulfillment that, not for want of trying, remains elusive. People still ache in their soul because they have distanced themselves from the One who created them to experience what the Apostle Paul calls the “life that is truly life.”

So, while much has changed over the last 250 years, so much has not changed.

People still need the Lord!

As you get older and get closer and closer to our nation’s tricentennial, my prayer is that you will ground yourself in this relationship that you were created to enjoy and then, and only then, enjoy the things of this world that help you to live a life that honors the Lord and reflects His character.

And never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

As you know, today is Bett’s 90th birthday. I wanted to thank ya’ll for helping Gus (Great Uncle Scott) and I celebrate our Mom’s big day this past Saturday. And I wanted to remind you of a few things that were said on Saturday just to help you (and me) remember them – and especially to remember some things about her.

Here is some of the “Bett Trivia” that I shared with everyone in the form of questions…

• What was the name of her pet duck when she was a child? Quackie
• She spent most of her working career as a teacher. But what did she aspire to be when she was growing up? A movie star, a nurse, and a journalist
• Who was her favorite movie star? Tab Hunter
• What famous artist did she live next door to and play with while growing up? Bob Timberlake
• What famous rock and roll singer did her physician father give a shot of penicillin to (in the buttocks) back in the mid 1950’s? Elvis Presley
• What college did she want to attend and got accepted to but her parents would not let her go to? UCLA
• What college did she start at? UNC-G
• What college did she finish her degree at? University of South Carolina
• How many times did she travel to Paris? 18
• How many continents has she visited? 6 (not Australia)
• How many countries has she traveled to? 48
• How many cities has she lived in? 5 (Lexington, NC, Greensboro NC, Columbia SC, Aiken SC, and Chapel Hill NC)
• What was the name of her first German Schnauzer? Chivas (nickname Sheeby)
• What was the name of her last German Schnauzer? Mandy
• What was her favorite name for the male species? Charles (Both her husbands were named Charles and her first born (moi) was named Charles)
• How many children does she claim? 4. Grandchildren – 5. Great-grandchildren – 10
• How many presidents has she lived through? 15 – starting with FDR
• What is her favorite sport to play and watch? Tennis – one of her all time favorite players is Andre Agassi
• If $1000 had been invested in IBM stock on the day she was born what would it be worth today? About $200 million

Here are a few other Bett facts that  you may or may not already know:

• She grew up in Lexington, NC. Daughter of Mickey and Anel Block. She was known as Betty Block.
• She (and therefore we) are descended from Eastern European Jews
• She had an older sister Beryl and a younger sister Dee.
• She met my Dad (Charles Reyner) when she was attending The University of South Carolina in Columbia. They married in 1957.
• They were together for about 6 years. After they split up, my Mom, my brother and I moved to Aiken, SC where she taught French at Aiken Hight School. She did this for several years and then later worked as a social worker for Vocational Rehabilitation.
• She remarried in 1976 to Chuck James – this is how I became a step brother to Chuck’s two daughters Becky and Libby.
• In 1977 they moved back to Lexington, NC where she worked at North Davidson High School teaching French and sometimes Spanish.
• When they retired they moved to the Chapel Hill, NC area in 1999 so that they could root for Chuck’s beloved Tarheels.
• She has had marvelous health for 90 years. She just had knee replacement surgery earlier this year. But up until her knee starting bothering her you would find her most mornings playing tennis with a group of friends.
• She loves going to movies and plays even still – often visiting the theatre in Chapel Hill and DPAC in Durham.

The other thing I want you to always remember about her was something that Christy said well at the party: She loves people and she loves places.

Places – I mentioned above that she has been to 48 countries. Ask her sometime about her adventures to Antarctica or Vietnam, or India,  or Russia. Her love for travel was passed on and shared with her kids and her grandkids. Gus travels for a living as a flight attendant and I have been to even more countries than she has been to. And she took each of your parents (Christy, Scott, and Tucker) on trips to Paris and New York City when they were teenagers and they have already done much more traveling than most people will do in a lifetime.

People – She has an unstated goal to make every person that she comes in contact with a friend for life. As a result she has friends all over the world. There are people that she met briefly on some of her travels that she has stayed in contact with for decades. She befriends people easily by doing something that comes natural to her (but which feels so un-natural to most people). She knows how to ask questions that communicate genuine interest and lets people know that she really wants to get to know them. I have no doubt that you have been on the receiving end of some of her questions.

Bett has been a GREAT great-grandmother. An awesome grandmother. And a wonderful Mom. She is one of the kindest, most generous people that I know. She has had an incredible influence on my life and I am so grateful that she is my mom and your great-grandmother. The world is definitely a better place because she is in it. I’m already looking forward to 10 years from now when we can celebrate her 100th birthday. Perhaps we can all gather in Paris for the fete.

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Asher,

Happy birthday #9 my young soccer playing granddaughter!

No doubt you are aware that the World Cup starts in 2 days and then 2 days after that we start our Sunset Beach week together. So we will have to find some time to watch some soccer together. I love that you love soccer. It is actually a big part of your heritage.

Did you know that your dad was instrumental in what has become known around the world as the “Titanic Turnaround”? The article below came from something that was known as a newspaper – it was a precursor to what you know as an internet newsfeed.  It talks about a shootout to decide the championship match for the soccer league he was playing in. Your dad was the keeper and preserved the win for the Titans. Much like you did a few weeks ago when you blocked the last shootout kick that would have tied the match – after you had made the shootout kick that put your team ahead.

But perhaps you know that I also played soccer. I played for my high school team as a senior and was co-captain along with two of my best friends. In 1976 soccer was still just starting to catch on in the United States. There were not the plethora of recreational leagues or developmental leagues or travel teams that are available to you today. But you can see from the picture below that I was a 17 year old shaggy haired stud of a soccer player. Much has changed. I was not as good at soccer as you or your dad,  but I did have fun playing. I played left wing and even scored two goals – one with my left foot and one with my right foot. So you represent the third generation of soccer players in our family. I hope I am still around to see generation #4.

Here are a few of my observations having watched you play for several years now…

• You are fearless
• You play with passion
• You are learning and getting better and better
• You understand the concept of team and working together
• You are willing to put in the practice
• You enjoy the comoraderie and the competition

All of these are great attributes to have when it comes to soccer and being successful on the field. But they are also great attributes to have for just about anything. Apply them in school. Apply them when you get your first job.  Apply them as you get to know people and develop relationships. Apply them as you seek to know God better.

I’m looking forward to watching you on the field in the years to come. But even more so, I’m looking forward to watching you grow into a beautiful young woman. And by the way, you are only one year away from turning 10. Don’t forget.

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Miller,

Happy birthday #9 my young grandson!

I have had the privilege of knowing your awesomeness for almost a decade now. Last year I wrote you a Pop Pop epistle about unfinished sentences. Here’s one that I want to take a few minutes and finish myself:

Two things that make Miller such an awesome nine year old are…

You love BIG – Turtles. Lizards. Goats. Dogs. Elephants. And especially people. I don’t say this just because you are without a doubt the best snuggler in our family but because you communicate and express love towards others substantially. Very few people love as big as you do. Where does this come from? My guess would be that you know how much you are loved and so it comes natural for you to reciprocate. Or maybe it is just the way that God designed you. And I’m very glad that God did. It’s one way that you are like Jesus. He also loved BIG!

• Mary and Martha and Lazarus knew it: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” (John 11:5)
• The Apostle John knew it – he referred to himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (John 13:5)
• Even the rich young ruler who was not a follower of Jesus knew it: “Jesus looked at him and loved him…” (Mark 10:21)
• And everyone who has embraced His magnanimous love demonstrated at the cross knows it.

The second thing that I would mention is not unlike the first thing but I say it like this…

You feel deeply – The first time I really realized this was a number of years ago when you were loving on a fish that you had caught and I was concerned  that the fish had been out of the water too long – so I threw it back in the pond. Your reaction was immediate. You would have thought that I had killed your best friend. Sad face. Teary eyes. But mostly slumped shoulders. Most people wear their feelings “on their sleeve.” You wear your feelings on your shoulders.You felt so deeply about that fish that you had known for maybe 2 minutes. And then last month when Duke lost on that last second shot to UConn, I would have thought that your dad or your bros would have been the most wrecked – but no… from what I am told it was you, because you feel everything so deeply. Just like Jesus.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)

And when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane just before going to the cross, His deep feelings actually caused a physical reaction – “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44). Matthew said it like this: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (Matthew  26:38)

Thanks for being awesome – in a lot more ways than just these two. Hope you have a bodacious 9th birthday celebration. Nona and I are already looking forward to #10.

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Ezra,

Happy birthday #7 girlie.

I know that you are fond of unicorns. Did you know that unicorns are mentioned in the Bible?

Sort of!

•  ^“God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.” (Numbers 23:22 KJV)
• “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. “(Ps 92:10 KJV)
• “Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.” (Ps 22:21 KJV)
• “Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?” (Job 39:9-10 KJV)

There are nine references in all, so this is just a sample. But you get the point. There are unicorns in the Bible. Sort of!

You will notice that each reference is to the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). You will not find “unicorn” in modern translations like the ESV or the NIV. In those translations you will see “wild ox.” It is thought that the word in the original language (Hebrew) referred to something like a large, wild, powerful animal  – perhaps similar to a wild ox, but that is now extinct.

Certainly it was NOT referring to the cute mythological animal so often depicted in children’s literature and coloring books today and that you are so fond of. My guess is that you would not enjoy unicorns so much if you thought it looked like a wild ox – even though oxen are cute in their own kind of way.

But the word unicorn has recently taken on a distinct meaning in our 21st century culture. It has come to mean “something that is unique, very rare, one-of-a kind.” It has been applied to businesses and people and ideas. I want to apply it here in two different ways.

Jesus is a unicorn! Have you ever wondered what the term “only begotten” means? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” That is not a phrase that you hear in everyday conversation. To be “only begotten” means one of a kind, unique, one and only. And that certainly describes Jesus. He was unique in His relationship to God the Father. He was unique in the details of His birth. He was unique in that He never sinned. He was unique in the way that He taught and the miracles He performed. He was unique in the way He provided forgiveness for sin. He was unique in His resurrection and ascension. And He will be unique in His second coming and judgement. He is indeed one of a kind. Jesus is a unicorn!

You are a unicorn! The Lord has created you to be one-of-a-kind. He has created you in His image but unlike any other person that He has ever created. This is true right down to your DNA. This is true right down to your fingerprint. But even more importantly, this is true right down to your personality and the way that God has gifted you. I can already see this in your smile and in the fun way you connect to people and in the way that you react to things that happen.There is no one else like you and He has created you for a unique purpose and to uniquely influence the people you will come across during your lifetime. So I encourage you as you grow up to be on the lookout for just how God wants to use you and who He wants to use you to influence. You are a unicorn!

It is so much fun watching you grow up. May the Lord fuel you with His joy and gladness as He continues to shape you into the one and only Ezra Louise Reyner.

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Haddon,

A very happy birthday #6 to you. Perhaps you already know that I don’t watch a lot of TV that is not sports related. But I have gotten interested in a Netflix show that aired back in the early 2000’s. The West Wing ran for 7 seasons and chronicled the presidency of Josiah “Jed” Bartlett and his staff in the White House. The dialogue is fast paced and witty and I often find myself emotionally engaged in the show – which is usually a hint to me that I really enjoy it.

I tell you that to tell you this: The 16th episode of Season 2 dealt with a rather funny  chapter in presidential history. I found the backstory to be very interesting so let me share it with you.

In 1835 Andrew Jackson was our president. A  dairy farmer named Thomas Meacham from New York gifted him a big block of cheese to honor him as “a man of the people.” Now when I say big block of cheese think BIG block of cheese. It weighed about 1400 pounds and it was about 4 feet in diameter and 2 feet thick. Not something you stick in your refrigerator. Jackson kept the cheese at the White House for about a year. Then in February of  1837, near the end of his presidency, he invited the public to come eat it. Thousands of people showed up and made it disappear in a matter of hours. I promise I’m not making this up.

So The West Wing humorously referenced this  with what became known as “Big Block of Cheese Day” – an annual meeting  of the White House Senior Staff with unusual interest groups to demonstrate that the administration was “of the people” and not just about special interest groups that could further their agenda.

So why do I share this and what is my point? Well, when you follow Jesus through the pages of the gospels, you quickly realize that Jesus was not interested in appeasing the special interest groups of the day. He was indeed a man “of the people.” Just read about the woman at the well, or Zacchaeus, or Bartimaeus, or the rich young ruler, or the poor widow, or the paralytic or….. Well, you get my point. Jesus wasn’t pushing a political agenda. He wasn’t looking for people that could advance His career or make Him a lot of money. He didn’t care about making the right connections or about being included in the best social circles. He genuinely cared about people and wanted to help them deal with the difficulties of life and to get their relationship with God straightened out.

Not a bad reputation to have and one worth imitating.

Anyway, I’ll close with this… Some of his best friends were Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Two sisters and a brother. Just an ordinary middle class  family. He often stayed at their house when he was passing through Bethany. And they would invite friends over for some informal dinner parties so they could introduce them to Jesus (Luke 10). It would not surprise me at all to find out that as their guests were gathering, while the meal was still being prepared,  that there was a big block of cheese available as an appetizer. What do you think?

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Bowen,

Happy Birthday. Seems like we were just celebrating about a year ago and planning the Great New York City Adventure. Speaking as one who has celebrated 6x as many birthdays as you, they will seemingly come faster and faster every year. Seemingly.

For this birthday epistle I want to brag on Nona. Because not only is today your birthday, it also marks 500 days in a row that Nona has walked at least 10,000 steps. 500! Ask anyone and they will tell you that this is an impressive stat and accomplishment. How does anyone do something like that?

We are only 14 days into the New Year. Two weeks ago lots and lots of people set some goals for themselves for 2026. My guess is that at least 75% of those people have already readjusted their goals or given up on them entirely.

But not Nona. She is still going strong. So let’s talk about what it takes to have the kind of discipline in your life that your grandmother has. Why is this important? Because to accomplish anything great requires discipline. Lots of other things, but definitely discipline. Most people think that discipline starts with doing more. But discipline does not start with doing. It starts with being. It starts, first of all with deciding who you want to be.

Discipline starts with choosing today what you want to become tomorrow.

One of the reasons that so many people never complete their goals that they set for themselves is because they are rooted in doing rather than being. When the things that we do become an end in themselves they will eventually fall by the wayside. But if we have a clear, concise and articulated vision of who we want to be then our doing has purpose and meaning.

Nona will tell you that she does not have an athletic bone in her body. And yet… I would tell you that she is incredibly fit for a 67 year old grandmother. Why is she so disciplined about getting her steps in every day? Because she decided 45 years ago that she wanted to be physically fit and that she did not want her weight (something she struggled with as a girl) to be an ongoing issue. So she began running. And she ran for over 30 years until I convinced her to start walking instead to minimize the wear and tear on her knees.

Discipline starts with choosing today what you want to become tomorrow.

I’ll give you another example. This time personal. I have been a Christian for 50 years. I decided early on that I wanted to be a man of the Word. That does not just happen automatically by going to church every Sunday. For 50 years ( that is over 18,000 days) I have spent a little time just about every day reading, pondering, and studying the Bible. If you do something 18,000 times you can get pretty good at it.

Discipline starts with choosing today what you want to become tomorrow. Or to say it a little bit different: Discipline starts by choosing in the present who you want to be in the future.

So who do you want to be? Even though you are only 11 years old, it is a question that  is never too early to start thinking about.

So, think on these things!

And never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Audrey,

24,644.

2,922.

And a very happy 8th birthday to you!

So, currently as I am spending time pondering the Word in the morning, I am working my way through the Psalms. I have read through the Psalms several times in my 50 years of reading the Scriptures regularly but it has been a while. Every morning there is at least one nugget that nourishes my soul, or encourages me, or makes me think. Earlier this week I came across this beauty: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom…. Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:12,14)

I’m guessing that Moses was a senior saint when he wrote this Psalm. I say that because I find myself (at 67 years of age) wanting to make the most of the days that I have left and to live them wisely. Honestly when I was your age this was not something I gave much thought to – but maybe I should have.

So if you haven’t guessed yet those numbers at the top of this post represent how many days you and I have currently been alive. (the “number of our days” – surprise surprise mine is the higher number). Moses prays that as he looks forward to the rest of his life that he would live wisely and that he would live a satisfied life and experience gladness. This is not unlike what most people want out of life. Ask people want they want out of this life and you often get the answer, “I just want to be happy.” Well, I want to be happy too. I want to be satisfied. I want to be glad all my days. And I want that for you as well.

Most people though try to find satisfaction and gladness in things that cannot provide lasting satisfaction and gladness. Fleeting yes. Lasting no! Moses seems to have learned something in his older age – satisfaction does not come from experiencing the pleasures of this world but from experiencing a relationship with God and knowing His steadfast love.

So that is how Nona and I pray for you. Our prayer sounds similar to what Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:18-19 – that you would have the strength to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.

In other words, that you would be satisfied in the morning with God’s steadfast love and may rejoice and be glad all your days. As you grow up you will be tempted to find your satisfaction in things that cannot satisfy. This is why Moses also prayed for wisdom. It takes wisdom to discern what will bring fleeting happiness or everlasting joy. Always know that Nona and I are available to help you in anyway that we can. In some ways having lived 24,644 days does have its advantages.

Never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop

Dear Grayson,

13. That’s crazy that you are already 13. If you were Jewish this would be your Bar Mitzvah year. Jews really know how to celebrate coming of age. But so do us Christians and it was a joy and a privilege to celebrate with you on Saturday and to share some Pop Pop words of encouragement along with all the other men that are investing in your life. I wanted to document what I said so that it doesn’t get lost and forgotten in the fog of time gone by.

As you know, your Dad asked me to share some thoughts with you about one of the fruits of the Spirit – joy.

Let me start with a definition of biblical joy. Joy is much more than experiencing happiness or pleasure. It is a deep abiding sense of gladness, peace, and contentment – regardless of your circumstances – that is rooted in your relationship with God. In other words, we can experience joy even when we are dealing with trials and suffering and the harshness that often comes in this life. The key word in that definition for me is the word “abiding.”

So let me show you why abiding is the secret sauce to experiencing the unmitigated joy of the Lord.

In John 15:11 Jesus says to His followers, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” The obvious question to ask when you ponder that verse is what are “these things?” The word abide shows up 10x in verses 4-10 so it is the key to understanding verse 11. So let me answer two really important questions:

What does it mean to abide? Jesus uses the illustration of a vine and a branch. As long as a branch is connected to the vine and drawing it’s nourishment from the vine then it WILL produce fruit. So abiding has to do with commitment, connection, and clinging fiercely to the vine. Jesus identifies Himself as the True Vine in verse 1, so when we are committed, connected, and clinging to Him we are abiding. When we are finding our nourishment in Him and from Him then we are abiding. But note that when He says He is the True Vine He implies that there are a lot of false vines that often capture our attention and allegiance and commitment. When we try to nourish our souls by abiding in false vines such as success, money, or sex we actually end up malnourished. It would be like eating a consistent diet of junk food. You would have the feeling of being full but little by little you would actually be killing your body. When our souls become malnourished, when we stop abiding in the True Vine, it is impossible to experience the joy that Jesus promises.

How do we abide? Jesus gives us two specific ways in this passage that answer this question. Verse 7 says, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you…” So a key to abiding is to make God’s Word a priority in our lives. Read the Word. Ponder the Word. Memorize the Word. Study the Word. Listen to the preaching of the Word. Sing the Word. Talk about the Word with others. Pray the Word. Obey the Word. Being a man of the Word will go a long way toward fostering an abiding relationship with Jesus. Secondly, verse 9 says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” Never forget that it was Jesus’ love that compelled Him to go to the cross. So think often about the cross. Think often about how our Savior suffered so that we would not have to suffer the consequences of our own sin. Think often about how you were once far from God but have now been brought near… because of the magnanimous love of Jesus. Let it daily wash over you and refresh you. Abide in His love. Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus is that they would be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, and “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19). When you abide in God’s love like that you will experience undiluted joy.

So Jesus’ promise is that when we abide in Him and His words abide in us and when we abide in His love then His joy WILL be in us and it WILL be full to overflowing. Now that is a promise worth claiming!

So happy 13th birthday and may your life be filled with joy and fueled by joy as you learn to abide!

And never forget that you are very loved!

Pop Pop