A slice of humble pie

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Sorry it is so late in the day but I had a busy morning. I want to begin today by telling you about a childhood friend of mine. Tim Gernand is the brother of my sister-in-law. We all grew up together in the League City Church of Christ. Tim was an incredibly smart young man. He made the Texas All-state band as a sophomore which is no small feat in Texas. Tim was awarded a Governor's scholarship to attend Texas A&M University and be a part of their ROTC program. Tim accepted his scholarship and attended A&M for a little over year and it is at that point he made a life changing decision.

Tim walked away from a scholarship at A&M to serve his country in United States Marine Corps. Tim completed his basic training and was accepted into the language training program where he trained for a year and a half to learn the Arabic language. In the midst of all of this Tim met and fell in love with the love of his life Kerry. Upon graduation from language school Tim was posted in Georgia but because of a need in our country's war on terror Tim was called up to serve in Iraq and Kuwait.

This week Tim was able to come home. He was met with a hero's welcome when he landed in Maine and for the next few days he is in San Diego California and that is where I spoke to him today. I have not talked to Tim in several years so it was great to talk to an old friend and catch up. I consider Tim to be one of the real American heroes out there. He walked away from school in order to better serve his country and he is someone I am privileged to know.

During our conversation Tim began asking me about the work I was doing here at Woodward Park. I told him about the great teenagers we have here and the parents whose only ambition is to see their teens grow into spiritually mature adults. I invited Tim and his wife to come visit with us anytime they were able to and it was at that point I got fed a mouth full of humble Pie.

Tim is a hero and someone that is extremely good at what he does and he has made a big difference in the war on terror. But when I told him about the work here at Woodward Park he told me "I'd love to come there and see you in action". I got goose bumps when my old friend said those words to me.

I hope that in your life you have those humble pie moments. I hope that someone you love and respect takes the time to pay you a compliment like the one Tim paid me this morning. More than that though I hope that you pass those compliments along to someone who looks up to you. As Christians we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ here on Earth and it is our privilege to lift up those who need to be lifted up.

So today I issue a challenge to all of my readers. You know who looks up to you and whose life you make a difference in. I challenge you to find those people and make them feel good about who they are and what they do. This challenge comes with a time constraint in that I don't want you to put it off do it right now. I hope you are all blessed today for reading this and I hope you can bless someone by stepping up to the challenge.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul