"This Old House con't"

Good morning, I pray that the day is finding you well.   I have a huge hole in my yard.    We are starting to fix up, “This old House.”  A bread that  I had talked to you about earlier, if you don’t recognize the title and want to read it, all you have to do is go to; rogerbutton.blogspot.com and it is there waiting for you.  When we are finished we will have restored the house to its former glory; I am not sure that is the correct analogy, I am being drawn to say, “When we are finished we have restored the house to its original condition.”   You will have to excuse me, the Parents Night Out coordinator just came in………………   Ok, I am back.   I am going to be a clown for Parents Night Out.  Parents Night Out is a program that we put on at the Clark County Family YMCA, where parents of young children can bring their kids, leave them with us, and then have a few hours to themselves and reconnect without the need to parent.  The  coordinator brought in a clown nose and glasses for me to try on.  We have a wig and a hat.  There will even be silly string involved.    The kids love Parents Night Out.    The parents love Parents Night Out.   We all love Parents Night Out.   It is fun to have so many kids, just having fun at the YMCA.   When I think about how amazing the house will be when we are done, I get excited.  I know that it will take time, and I am ok with that; what makes me nervous is when there seems to be no forward motion. When I contemplate Christ, I get the feeling that He thinks the same thing about us.  How in so many ways we are like, “This old House.”  I cannot help but get the feeling that Christ views us as diamonds in the rough.  He has a vision for each and every one of us, and excited about all the possibilities.  I cannot help but get the feeling that Christ too, worries about lack of forward motion in our relationship with Him.  How much He wants what is best for us and if we just let Him show us and we listen to Him and do what He says, we can be like “This old House” and be restored to His original intent for us.   One of the reasons I love Parents Night Out is that I get to see the children who are happy, and show their love for others so willingly.    There is a story in the book of Luke, where people were bringing their babies to Jesus: 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)   I am excited about all the possibilities for Parents Night Out.   I am excited about all the possibilities for the house Laurie and I are restoring.   I am really excited about the work that Christ is doing on my house.   As you go through the day, are you seeing the work that Christ is doing?   If you do, I would like to hear about it.   If you do not, my prayer is that you take another look.   Blessings,