Good friends and good fish

Adam and Aaron recently went fishing with some of our good friends in the Arroyo Colorado. They were fishing in the evening off a dock and Aaron caught his first trout. He was so excited and I think the photo reflects that. He was a typical six year old boy who talked the whole time, but was faithful to shush the older boys when they whispered because they were "scaring the fish away with their noise."

The older boys set such a good example of sacrifice and love. They only had one pole on the dock (planned that way by the adult so to keep hooks out of the kids and only in the water and the fish), so they took turns casting and reeling. The older boys would sit back and allow Aaron to take multiple turns without complaining once. They knew that Aaron had never caught a trout and they had, so they allowed him to take many turns in hopes that he would catch a fish. This was probably easier because there were few bites on the line that night, but never the less, the boys were faithful friends.

Our friends, Bill and Randy, made a special effort to take our boys fishing when Jennifer and I could not go. They were faithful to us, to our kids, and to the Lord. True friends are great to have in this world. Jennifer and I are blessed to have many good friends and we are so thankful to those adults and children who are teaching our children what good friendship looks like. Sometimes it looks like a shiny silver fish, but it is always reflected in the smile of a child.

thankful for good friends,
Bro. Wade

Questions Kids will ask

Tonight was a special night at First Baptist Harlingen as we held "Popcorn with the Pastor" during AWANA. I had the privilege of spending time with each of our three main groups of children. The Cubbies started the night of feasting on popcorn and questioning the pastor. These preschoolers were fun to visit with and had some good questions as our time wound down. They were interested in where their family members and pets went when they died. They were quick to tell me verses of scripture that were their favorites. They were also like vacuums sucking in the popcorn. They were such a joy and I was blessed to get to know these children even better.

The Sparks then came to the room and they were live wires. These younger children were quick to ask questions, some even had notebooks with the questions they had written down. They also wanted to know what happened after death, but they also asked many questions about my role as pastor. They wanted to know why I was called "Brother" Wade. They shared their favorite verses of scripture and asked many questions about things I had said in sermons and things they had heard about a pastor's life. It was a joy to share with these inquisitive children.

The TNT group was the last to meet with me, but they came loaded for bear. These older children offered some of the same questions as the earlier groups, but they went a little further. Such as: "Are there days that you do not like your job?" "Why are you a pastor?" "How can we hear God speak to us?" "Why should we love each other?" and many more great questions. It was fun to take time to answer all the questions they shared and it was rewarding to see how they made some great conclusions as a result.

Tonight taught me about the spiritual hunger that our children are experiencing in this world. I am drawn to ask the question "are we listening to the questions our children are asking, or are we always trying to give them answers to questions they are not even asking." Are we listening as much as we are talking?

Trying to be a better listener,
Bro. Wade

Great Morning!!!!

What a joy it was to baptize my daughter Rachel today. She wanted everyone to see her testimony today so that someone might come to know Jesus as a result of her baptism. It was great to have her brothers sitting on a step in the baptistry and her mother on the other side; it truly was a family experience.

Now that my second child has accepted Christ, things change a little in our house. Adam and Rachel both need the constant discipleship for new Christians, and Aaron continues to need our counsel and guidance as he grows up to understand God's love to the fullest potential. We will have to be careful in how we keep Aaron from feeling left out during communion and other special events, but we will just have to rely on the Lord's leadership to help us through it. For now, we will continue to celebrate one of Rachel's most important days in her life.

We are so thankful for all who have partnered with our family to raise our children to love the Lord with all their hearts.

A thankful parent,
Bro. Wade

An Evening to Remember

Last night (February 4) I was blessed to lead my daughter through her decision to accept Jesus as her personal Savior. Jennifer and I sat on each side of Rachel and Adam sat across from us as Rachel prayed and asked God to forgive her and to come into her heart. Her prayer was filled with so much thought, as she has been working through this for many months. It was amazing to see her finally come to understand how her sin had separated her from Jesus and how she desperately needed Jesus to restore that relationship for eternity. The tears in her eyes dropped to the deepest part of my heart as I saw the grace of God pouring over her.

She then called her family, her Sunday School teachers, her children's pastor and preschool pastor and her best friend. She then went to do something to help her older brother and on the way, she looked at me and said, "I can now do many good things to help others because the Holy Spirit is now in my heart." What a great theological statement from a 7 year old.

Thank the Lord for his saving grace. Thank the Lord for all the people he has used to teach Rachel about his love.

a very thankful dad,
Bro. Wade