August 26, 2012  Susan and I had a good week in St Louis, helping our daughter Mary and her husband Steven with our grand daughters, Avery 7, Maya 4 and Holly 1 1/2. St Louis has great venues for the children.

We went to the Zoo one morning and the Children's Garden, part of the Botanical Gardens, another morning. Mary also gave me some tickets to a Cardinal's game so Avery and I did that the last day we were there. We went for 4 innings and that was just right for her. I felt really relaxed during the time there even though it takes effort to keep up with the kids. We enjoyed them.

Susan and I enjoyed an evening together last night as we celebrated our 41st anniversary. We went to a little French restaurant, Chez Elle, and then took in a show at the Folly Theater. We are thankful to the Lord for our lives together and the family He has given to us.

This coming weekend we will be with our whole family at Table Rock Lake for Labor Day. This is a tradition that we have been doing for 12 years.

We are feeling more and more rested. It has been good to be without ministry activity responsibility for these two months.  In September we will doing a, "Personal Contribution Assessment" at the Nav Headquarters in Colorado Springs. This will help guide us in knowing where and how we can make our most effective contribution to the Kingdom of God moving forward.

My times in the Word  have been good. I'm challenged by Hezekiah in II Kings 19:14 and how he turns to the Lord when he is threatened by the King of Assyria. "Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed,  O Lord.. you alone are God ..You have made heaven and earth..listen to the words of Sennacherib, (the King of Assyria) sent to insult the Living God.  (The Lord's response) This is what the Lord says, "I have heard your prayer concerning the King of Assyria...That night the angel of the Lord put to death a hundred and eighty five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. 

Hezekiah's instinct to go to the Lord and lay out his request to the Lord speaks to me about going to the Lord in prayer as a first response in times of need. 

I look forward to more good times in the Word this week.

Dave