Your mother, after experiencing so much pain and discomfort, was the first one to hold, love and kiss your sweet face as you entered into the world.  Your mother loved, nurtured and helped mold you into the person you are today.  She looked after you, bathed you, cleaned up after you, cooked for you, washed your clothes and comforted you after the tears and heartaches.  Your Mother guided you, hugged you, advised you and worked with you through the classroom difficulties.  Your Mother taught you the word of God personally with her example and also with the word of God.  You are precious to your mother!  She endured many nights of worry, prayer and pacing the floor over you and all because of the love that grew and continues to grow in her heart for you.  She was in the stands cheering you on with pride.  She shared your successes and accomplishments with anyone who would listen.  She will watch you walk the aisle in marriage knowing that you have given your heart to another and she will be okay with it because she loves her/him too.  Your Mother will hold, love and kiss the sweet face of your children … her grandchildren and the cycle will continue because she is your mother.  Honor your mom while you can because she won’t always be around to hear you say … I LOVE YOU.

 “4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8 Love never ends…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

I have heard many people say, “This Is the best day of my life!,” usually after a fun or exciting experience.  Some of the feelings come after an experience to Disney World, an important date, that first kiss, a graduation or wedding, a special gift like a car, a fun birthday party, and many other significant moments.  

I have some wonderful days in my life. My first date with Christie.  Our first kiss … by the way, she laughed after it happened.  Our wedding day.  The birth of my four biological children and the adoption of my three special gifts (Joe, Madden, and Mila) from God.  And many more.

What truly is the best day of your life?  A significant but temporary experience, or something greater that has an eternal benefit?  I believe you will agree that the best day of our lives is when we are saved by Jesus Christ and all other days (as good as they are) simply don’t compare.  

I remember the best day of my life was April 23, 1991.  That was the day that I gave my allegiance to Christ and was buried with Him in baptism to have my sins washed away by His precious blood.  It is a day I will never forget because Jesus gave to me what I did not deserve and could never earn on my own.  His grace is amazing.  There is no other day that will ever compare.

When you hear someone say, “This is the best day of my life!,” pause, reflect on your best day, and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the salvation you enjoy in Jesus Christ. If you haven’t experienced the best day of your life yet, then decide today to obey and experience it!

HEAR (Romans 10:17), BELIEVE (Hebrews 11:6), REPENT (Acts 17:30), CONFESS (Romans 10:9-10), BAPTISM (Acts 2:38), and BE FAITHFUL (1 Corinthians 10:12).

The word that is on my mind as I think about our Fulshear family is the word … EXCITING.  We are definitely living out some exciting times in Fulshear right now. 

Why are we experiencing good times right now?  I believe the answer is simple. We are trying to do our best to honor the Lord and be the church that he established with his own blood (Matthew 16:18, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4).  We offer the invitation of the Lord according to His word (John 8:24, Luke 13:3 & 5, Matthew 10:32-33 & Matthew 10:22). We worship according to the word of God (Sing -Ephesians 5:19, Pray - Ephesians 5:20, Study - Romans 10:17 & 2 Timothy 2:15, Giving - 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, & Lord’s Supper - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). And, we believe what the Bible says about the church and her leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-7 - Elders, 1 Timothy 3:8-13 - Deacons). Our desire is that whatever we do as a church family we do out of love for the Lord and by His authority (Colossians 3:17).

Our love, faith, and obedience to our Great God and His wonderful word has allowed us to experience bountiful blessings from His mighty hand. 

Faithful and growing churches need special servants (Deacons - 1 Timothy 3:8-13) to fulfill ministry roles in the church. We are about to start a process that honors the Lord’s plan for the way He wants His church to function especially with deacons who serve in specific ministries. 

One of the many exciting aspects of our Fulshear Family is that we have a new and wonderful crop of faithful men along with their wives and families to select deacons to serve this wonderful church.

This certainly is a wonderful time to be a member of the Fulshear church of Christ. 

And our new youth minister Danny DiPetta (and his beautiful family) are icing on the top!!

“from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”  Ephesians 4:16

There are things that we must continue to do and maintain in order for the church to grow in the city of Fulshear.  The beauty in the body of Christ is that God uses everyone in a slightly different way to help the church develop a healthy, mature, and strong body for growth. 

In his book, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH, Rick Warren says “… since the church is a living organism, it is natural for it to grow if it is healthy … If a church is not growing it is dying ...”  We definitely have a desire to be healthy, vibrant, active, and growing in Fulshear.  

The old saying, “If you fail to plan….you plan to fail” is extremely important for a healthy church. People are drawn to a purpose, mission, and vision.  We get excited about being a part of a church that is making a difference and that has a clear mission.

We need to be proud of where we attend and worship and express our excitement openly to others!  Providing an environment that is comfortable, encouraging, exciting, and Biblical is vital to our growth.  When we are excited it permeates throughout the congregation and spills over into the community.  Who wants to attend a church that no one is excited about?

There are not many things more awkward than for a visitor to be ignored.  We need everyone on board with being a blessing and encouraging our visitors when they come, We need “the swarm!” present and actively doing their job ...“swarming!”  If you don’t know what the “SWARM” or “SWARMING“ is then just ask Jyusef and he will explain!!

If we don’t enjoy the ride then we will become disgruntled and do harm to the growth of the body.  Whether you are a senior member, youth group member, or somewhere in between, we must enjoy what we are doing!  Spending time with God is what fuels us, serving Him is what satisfies us, and obeying Him is what saves us.  Someone once said, “Don’t get so caught up in the ministry of the Lord that we forget the Lord of the Ministry.”  He is the reason for everything we do and we must always remember Him in all that we say and do. 

God is depending on you and me to do our part so that we can grow together! 

The week of our ice and snowstorm was an extremely tough week.  Temperatures dropped to single digits and Texas was struggling to survive.  Texas was simply not prepared for what was coming.

In general, many homes were not built to handle and maintain a prolonged cold spell.  Homeowners were dealing with no power, no water, and busted pipes both inside the home and outside as well.  In Texas, both ERCOT and the Governor expressed that we simply were not prepared for what happened.

For example, Dallas experienced the second longest cold weather streak with temperatures at or below freezing and at or below 20 degrees as well as reaching its coldest temperature at -2 degrees. In Houston it was -1 degree for windchill, which was its lowest since 1990 (the year I graduated High School). Across our great state the conditions experienced were unprecedented and we were not prepared for it.

Many of us knew the cold weather was coming but many were simply caught unprepared with inadequate food and water supplies.  Many people were in a desperate condition and in immediate need of necessities. In some cases, being prepared was either not a priority or simply not taken seriously. 

Being prepared for eternity must be a priority!  Many people know it is coming, and we know we must be prepared for it, but many are simply not ready. 

I am reminded of the hymn by James Stanley, “Careless soul, why will you linger, Wand’ring from the fold of God?  Hear you not the invitation?  Oh, prepare to meet thy God.  Refrain: Careless soul, oh, heed the warning, For your life will soon be gone; Oh, how sad to face the judgment, Unprepared to meet thy God.”

The Apostle Paul stated, “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. ”Behold,  now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Are you Ready to Meet your Creator and stand before Him in Judgement?  If not, why not?  We know the time is coming but the question is … ARE YOU READY FOR THE JUDGEMENT DAY?