Life Here and There

Ella has finished the first grade. Hmm… strange since she was just born a few days ago! Or at least it seems that way. The past day or two, perhaps with the commencement of summer, I’ve reflected a lot on the amazing process God is allowing me to behold – the growth and development of my daughter. She’s an artist in the making.

No, I don’t mean she’s going to grow up to paint, draw, sculpt, design, or write. I don’t have any idea what direction God will take her, but I do know she’ll be an artist, nonetheless. This picture was one of her final works before getting out of the first grade. It’s part of a larger body of work attributed to the rising star that is Ella. Wherever she goes, whatever she does in the long run, she’s going to do it all artistically and creatively.

(more…)

I just returned home from a whirlwind adventure! We started out last Monday and stopped in Branson to spend a couple of nights with Angie’s family. We spent a day at Silver Dollar City, ate at some good restaurants, and spent some time by the pool with the kids.

Then we headed to my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky where I was scheduled to perform the wedding of a couple whom we had come to know over our years of ministry there. Ella had flowergirl duties to perform as well! I then preached on Sunday and we headed home again, stopping to celebrate Ella’s birthday (in advance) with her Nana and Papa. (more…)

This week is our church’s Vacation Bible School, a week filled with what I call “blessed chaos.” Yesterday, my day started around 8:30 am and ended about 11:00 pm. It was filled with a hospital visit, some technical support, a few phone calls, getting our laptop and projector to run a song DVD, talking to some rather energetic kids about missions, and a counseling chat with a couple of friends. It was fifteen hours of blessed chaos. What does that phrase mean, anyway? (more…)

Isn’t summer supposed to be our vacation from the busyness of life? This summer, for the Cox family, is flying right by in a whirlwind of activity. We’ve traveled to see family in three different states (Missouri and Georgia for Angie, Kentucky for me). We’re getting ready to spend a week at church camp. And then, it will be time for Angie to return to work, for me to get busy with a new church year, and for Ella to begin Kindergarten.

In the midst of being busy in these bigger ways, I’ve also found ministry to families and needs to be rather pressing lately. My phones are ringing off the hook and I’ve done more “people work” in the last few weeks than ever before. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I’m very thankful to be needed, to be used in God’s hands, and to watch God at work in people’s lives. On the other hand, I hate what Satan is doing to the people around me that I love so dearly. It has certainly caused me to have an appreciative perspective on my own life. God has been so gracious and merciful to me, especially when I’ve least deserved it!

I will also say that the pressing nature of many of the issues I deal with drive me to my knees. I feel the continual need to remain constant in prayer so that my own spirit is not dragged down by the multitude of problems in the world. Depravity, and its results, can be draining on our frail emotions and if we aren’t careful, we’ll be tempted to despair. But then there is that verse in Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” More than conquerors, winners, valiant victors in the war called life. And why? Because Jesus died and rose again!