It has been great for me and my family to get away to visit with some other ministries and take some time to enjoy some vacation from our normal everyday duties!  I have honestly done much better at this vacation thing than I thought I would.  I have not worked on any sermon stuff – and that is saying a lot for me, because almost everything I see, read or think almost always leads to a sermon.  I have missed preaching just a little bit, but really the break has been good.  I have not taken a serious break from preaching since I first started pastoring in 1992.

While I have done good at not doing the sermon thing.  I have not been quiet so disciplined in the area of being a pastor.  In fact, I have thought a lot about Northwood and all of the people that make Northwood so special.  The truth is, we just can’t help it!  Northwood is more than a church to me and my family – Northwood is a family to my family and Northwood is home!  While I have enjoyed some time to enjoy and learn in different environments, I am thankful for a home to head home to and looking forward to the day that we get back there.  Until then, I hope everyone knows how much we love them and just in case they don’t, I know that I will be sure to tell them when I get home!

There used to be a commercial from a bank that had a song that said:  “I’m different and don’t care who knows it, something about me ain’t the same.  I’m different and that’s how it goes, ain’t going to play any black sheep games!  Being different is not a bad thing, it is actually a good thing!  The thing that makes you different, is the thing that makes you – you!  The thing that makes you – you, is the thing that gives you the ability to be powerful and make a difference in this world!

We need to stop trying to fit in with the world and start fitting into who God created us to be!  We need to figure out what gifts God has given us and build our lives by using our gifts for God’s glory!  What is it that God has given you that makes you uniquely you?  Figure that out and use it and you will be amazed at just how special your life really is!  What do you think really matters – what kind of sheep you are, or the fact that you are a sheep?

Mistakes do not have to be a bad thing, in fact mistakes can be a good thing, if we are willing to learn from them.  I do not like to make mistakes!  I grew up believing that “if you want something done right – do it yourself!”  This is a very flawed way of thinking!  The fact is:  No matter how good or gifted we are, we can’t expect that we will do everything perfectly every time!  In fact if you are a human being – living on the planet earth – you are going to make mistakes.  Not only do we need to learn to accept our own mistakes, we must also be willing to accept the mistakes of others.  The problem comes when we keep making the same mistakes over and over agian!  Remember:  If we were perfect people living in a perfect world, we would not need grace!

So, get out there and take some of the chances that God is leading your to take!  Put your heart on the line and live like you’ve never lived before.  Let God use you to do the incredible and impossible and when you miss the boat and make a mistake, realize that God’s grace always has another boat on the way!  When you are making mistakes, you know that you are taking chances!  When you are taking chances, you are inviting grace to take full effect in your life and in the lives of others!  Take a chance, make a mistake, learn from it and grow forward for God’s glory and everyone’s blessing!