Dear Ezra,

A very happy birthday to you!!

I have recently been pondering a few verses about being someone who refreshes others when they are around me…

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.^[a] 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

I have been around people who refresh me and I have been around people who drain me. I want to be a refresher. And I hope that you to do. Here are a couple of things that Paul mentions to Philemon that can help us be that kind of person.

v. 5 – “I hear of your love and your faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus” – It is refreshing to be around people who genuinely and obviously love Jesus. Their faith overflows. Their hope abounds. Their joy spills out of them. If we want to refresh others we need to cultivate our relationship with Jesus.

v.5 –  “… I hear of your love toward all the saints.”  What are some practical ways that we can demonstrate love toward others? It  really is the simple things: an encouraging note or text, a well-timed phone call, a hug, an unexpected gift, a shared experience, a conversation over coffee.

v.6 – “the sharing of your faith…” – This is more than evangelism. This is sharing an appropriate word from Scripture with someone who needs to hear from God. The Word of God is refreshing to those who are inundated by the lies that we hear every day as we walk through this world.

v.22 – ” prepare a guest room for me for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.”  Two things here. 1) It is refreshing to me when I know that people are praying specifically for me. That is something we can do for others – but don’t just do it, tell them that you are doing it and how you are praying for them. 2) Demonstrate hospitality – Use your home as an oasis where people can come and be refreshed. Let them see Jesus in your home – because they do not see him in many people’s homes. And it is very refreshing when they go into a home where Jesus lives.

It is awesome watching you grow up. I can’t believe that you are already 5 and almost going to school. My prayer is that as you go to school next year and in the years to come that you will be someone who “refreshes the hearts of the saints” as they are around you. I want to be that kind of person too.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Haddon,

What in the world is a Rabshakeh? And what does a Rabshakeh have to do with you as you turn 4 years old. Great question  – so let me see if I can give you an answer.

One of the things that I love about God’s Word is that I am always discovering new things. In one of my pondering times last week I was reading in Isaiah 36 and this is what I read:

¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. ² And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. 

Now, I have read through Isaiah bunches of times over the last 50 years but I have no recollection of ever reading about some dude called the Rabshakeh. Turns out that he is a very interesting part of King Hezekiah’s story and can teach us a lot that can help us as our story is being written.

The Rabshakeh was a high ranking military officer in the Assyrian army serving under King Sennacheib. The Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (the Jewish nation had split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah following Solomon’s reign) and were now on the verge of conquering Judah. The Rabshakeh had been sent by the king to promote fear in Hezekiah and the people of Judah as well as to mock and belittle and disparage the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel.

There are a few application points that I take away from Hezekiah’s response to the Rabshakeh.

1) The Rabshakeh’s voice in many ways is similar to the voice of culture in our day – mocking what we believe, belittling our faith and disparaging the God we belong to. In our technologically advanced world there seems to be less and less of a place for the Christian worldview to bring influence to the table of decision making. To bring God into most conversations is to invite ridicule and dismissal.

2) Hezekiah had instructed his people not to respond to the Rabshakeh. Isaiah 36:21 says, “But they were silent and answered him not a word for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” I find that interesting. Hezekiah was wiser than me – and most people. We try to come to God’s defense and usually find ourselves in an argument that is not winnable. God can fight his own battles – which in fact He does in this case… see below.

3) Hezekiah’s response was this… “he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.” (37:1) He prayed and listened to the counsel of the Lord through Isaiah and then watched God go to work. It was a pretty simple strategy and prayer was what he did to begin with – not as an afterthought or after he had made things worse and needed God to bail him out.

So here is how things played out. Isaiah 37:36 reads, “And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people rose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Ninevah.”

So my young grandson, what does all of this have to do with your four year old self? You are growing up in a culture that is going to be less and less tolerant of people who follow Jesus and more and more belittling of your faith. Never forget that our God is a great God, strong and mighty. When you are confronted by those who mock your faith and make fun of what you believe – take courage, stand firm, and as a first response go to Lord in prayer and in His Word.

Just a few chapters later in Isaiah 41:10 we can take great comfort in these words…

Fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

200 Pop Pop Epistles. I have thought long and hard about what #200 should be about. After all, 200 is kind of a milestone. So with that in mind, it only seems right that it should be about… pickleball.

Kind of surprises you doesn’t it. Kind of surprises me as well. But read on.

I have been hearing about pickleball for several years now. Evidently it has been around for awhile – having been invented back in the 1960’s by two dads looking for a way to entertain their bored kids. When I first heard about it, it seemed to be a game for people who had gotten too old to play tennis. But now it has kind of become a national sporting phenomenon.   I have heard (and Mr Google confirms this) that it is by far the fastest growing sport in the United States.

There seems to be several reasons for this:

1) How can you not love a game that goes by the name pickleball and in which the people who play are called pickleheads?

2) It seems to be a game that values the social aspect of sports more than the competitive aspect. Which is not to say that it is not competitive but it puts “playing together” at a premium.

3) You can have fun playing even if you do not consider yourself athletic.

4) And yes, it is much easier on the body than tennis because the size of the court is so much smaller.

All that explanation to say that I played pickleball for the first time yesterday. My 65 year old self played with three twenty-somethings and I was able to hold my own. Not the best on the court but not the worst either. I can definitely see myself playing on a regular basis as a complement to my twice a week disc golf forays. I know what you are thinking – retirement sounds awesome. Indeed it is kiddos, indeed it is – even if it is only the “semi” kind at this point.

Here are a few things that I was reminded of about myself after my pickleball adventure yesterday:

• I enjoy exercise much more when I am doing something like pickleball rather than doing pushups in my living room or riding an exercise bike.
• I love to win – but I don’t mind losing. In other words I don’t think you would ever classify me as a sore loser. I enjoy seeing other people win as well.
• At 65, I am blessed to have good enough health to do something like pickleball and disc golf – which I don’t take for granted.

Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, once said that “life is more fun if you play games.”

I don’t disagree.

Next you are over here perhaps we can go play pickleball together. Or maybe invent a new game that will one day become a national phenomenon.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Bowen,

A very Happy 9th Birthday to you.

I was recently pondering Isaiah chapter 7 and I came across a verse that I had never noticed before. Verse 18-19 says…

“In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes, and on all the pastures.”

Evidently our God is a whistler. I did not know that.

This prompted me to do a little research and I found at least 2 other verses that mention that God whistles:

“He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!” (Isaiah 5:26)

“I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.” (Zechariah 10:8)

Why do I bring this up? Well, this discovery made me realize that even after being a Christian for 48 years and reading through the Bible a bunch of times there are still things that I am learning about God. I’m sure I’ve read those verses before but evidently they did not register.

So here are a few things I want to encourage you with:

1) When you read Scripture pay attention to what it says. Don’t just go through the motions of reading the Bible just to say that you read your Bible.

2) As you make observations about Scripture write them down. I have a journal that I write in each morning making note of things that catch my attention.

3) Share your discoveries about Scripture and about God with other people. My guess is that I am not the only one who didn’t know that God is a whistler. I, for one, would love to hear about new discoveries that you are making.

The last thing that I will say is this: the next time you hear somebody whistling, be reminded that our God is also a whistler and that  at His whistle even flies and bees are quick to respond to His summons. The Lord may or may not whistle at us when He calls but we should nonetheless be quick to respond to whatever He says.

Now that you are in your 10th year of life I suspect that you will make all kinds of new discoveries. May the Lord give you eyes to see His beauty both in the Word as you read it and in the world as you pass through it. I’m already looking forward to celebrating birthday #10 with you. Can you guess why?

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Audrey,

It’s not looking like you will get any snow on your 6th birthday – but maybe for Christmas. A Christmas with snow on the ground would be magical.

Have I ever told you how much I love love love walking around outside when it is snowing. One of my favorite snow memories happened about 15 years ago. I was in Prague (the capitol of the Czech Republic) in January attending a conference for leaders who would be directing International Mission Trips the following summer. I was leading a team that would be going to Botswana Africa in June. Anyway, while we were in Prague, we spent an evening walking around  as a beautiful snow fell on this beautiful city. It was incredibly enchanting as millions of tiny snowflakes fluttered all around us as we walked across the Charles River Bridge, up to the Prague Castle , and through the Old Town Square.

And speaking of snowflakes, did you know:

• Snowflakes actually start as tiny ice crystals that form from water vapor that freezes in the atmosphere.
• The size of a snowflake depends on how many ice crystals connect together.
• Each snowflake is made up of about 200 ice crystals.
• Snowflakes always have six sides.
• On average snowflakes fall from the sky at 3-4 miles per hour.
• Close to 80% of the world’s fresh water supply comes from snow and ice.
• The most snow to fall in a 24 hour period was 76 inches in Silver Lake, Colorado in 1921. Just imagine how many snowflakes that would be.
• It is believed that no two snowflakes are exactly alike because of the many possible combinations of ice crystals.

Which brings me to my point my dear little snowflake. There is absolutely no one just like you. You are uniquely created in the image of God. And I love that you don’t try to conform to anyone else’s image. There is only one Audrey and you do an amazing job of being Audrey. The older you get the more pressure there is going to be to conform to the people around you and to the world around you. So hold on God’s Word that says, “I urge you to present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. And do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.…”

Thanks for inviting me to your birthday party. I’m hoping we can take a walk together with snowflakes falling all around us sometime soon. It will be magical.

And never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grayson,

Eleven. Wow.

I turned 11 in the summer of 1969. There were 2 miraculous things that happened  that summer that I often think about – even 54 years later.

It was in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon. Upon taking the first steps, Armstrong uttered those now famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” In my mind, what NASA accomplished was nothing short of miraculous. The idea that we could shoot a rocket into space and have it land almost 239,000 miles away on an object that is moving 2,288 miles per hour is crazy. And then to have those astronauts safely return to the earth, which itself is orbiting the sun at 67,000 miles per hour is almost beyond belief. Almost as beyond belief as the second miracle I want to tell you about.

In 1967 the New York Mets had a record of 67 wins and 101 losses. In 1968 their record was 73-89. In 1969 they won the World Championship. The were dubbed the Miracle Mets. They were my favorite team and I can remember watching them play on TV that summer as they climbed out of a big hole. On August 14 they were 10 games behind the division leading Chicago Cubs. When the season ended they were 8 games in front. They won 38 on their last 49 games. They swept the Atlanta Braves in the divisional battle for the National League Championship and then beat the powerful Baltimore Orioles four games to one in the World Series. Definitely miracle material and as a young Met’s fan definitely beyond belief.

An argument could be made that neither Apollo 11 or the ’69 Mets were genuine miracles. They could be attributed to incredible technological advances and to “getting hot at the right time” respectively. But the third miracle I’ll tell you about was bonafide.

When I was 11 I had never been to church and knew very little about who Jesus was. But I had just moved next door to a family that did go to church and did know about Jesus. I started going to church with them when I was about 14 and the miracle began to percolate. Little by little I began to understand the gospel – specifically that I was far from God because of my sinful nature but that Jesus brought me near to God through His death on the cross where He paid the penalty that I deserved to pay for my own sins. And the bonafide miracle was that when I put my trust in Jesus and what He had done for me at age 16, God adopted me into His family and gave me a new heart – a heart that was no longer dead because of the necrotic effects of sin  but was alive to spiritual truth.

The miracle of new birth. Or as John 3 says, of being born again.

I think about those first two “miracles” from time to time. But I think about that 3rd miracle every. single. day. It has defined my life for the last 49 years. And it is within reason to say that you would not be turning 11, or be here at all, if the Lord had not done the miraculous in my life.

May He do it in yours as well!

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop