This weekend was very eventful around the Brooks house. Saturday morning the Spirit Riders took our first big ride of 2007, with 21 bikers riding beautiful back roads to Greensboro, GA.

Later in the day, Ansley & Kelsey were in the Miss Dacula Pageant at the high school. It was a long night, but in the end Kelsey won her first pageant, being crowned "Miss Freshman Dacula", and Ansley took 1st runner-up honors in "Miss Junior Dacula". A great night for the whole family- we celebrated at Waffle House at midnight! (nothing else was open...)

A long, tiring day, but a great day. A good ride on my bike with good friends, and two pageant princesses in my home. It doesn't get much better than that.

Rob

Tuesday was a "voices from the past" day for me. During its course, I heard from 6 different people from various times of my life over the past 20 or so years. Most joyful, one sad.
I heard from a young lady named Sydney, or better known to me as "Scooter", who was a much-loved teenager in a youth group I pastored back in the late 1980's. She and her husband had moved into our area in the past couple of years, in fact not far from our home, and she had "tracked down her old youth minister". We emailed several times, then she came up to the church to see me- with her cute little toddler son! We sat and talked for a long time, catching up with each other's lives over the miles and years. It was a very heart-warming time for me.
Later in the day, I got an email from an old friend named Jud from my previous church, who I haven't heard from in some years either. And yet he contacted me to inform me of the death of another friend from that church, Russ, who had died the night before. Both men had worked in my children's ministry there, and I was shocked and saddened to hear of his sudden death. I'll be conducting Russ' funeral on Thursday. Jud and I caught each other up on our families, and it was great to hear from him, even though the news about Russ was sad.
Then I got another email from a fellow children's pastor in Miss., Jack, who wanted to say "hi!" and had a couple of ministry questions for me. Jack was my associate children's pastor for a while at my prior church, and it is always good to hear from him.
Lastly, I traveled to Griffin, Ga last evening to teach a conference, and was met there by another old children's pastor friend, a guy named Tracey. He used to be in South Ga., and I did some leadership training for his people there, then spoke at a children's camp for him once. I lost contact with him for several years, then here he is, at this church I was speaking at! "Its a small world after all..."
Strange, wonderful, even a little sad, day it was. But I'm left with a Bible verse God gave me that morning, that I passed on to "Scooter"-
"The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
I experience this verse almost every day of my life- esp. on days like Tuesday.
Rob

I was reading the other day in Matthew 8, about the time a leper came to Jesus and said, "If you are willing, I know you can heal me." To which Jesus replied, "I'm willing; be healed!" And instantly, his rotting, diseased body was made new- or as my wife said, "new skin- soft as a baby's bottom!" For so many years, I just read that short exchange and moved on, kinda like, "another Jesus-healing...cool..." without really thinking much about it.

I then began to consider how amazing this really was. Leprosy was the most feared disease of the ancient world- worse than we fear AIDS today. It was considered to be highly contagious, and was so gross-looking that those who had it were banished from their communities. In fact, it was thought to be the result of something evil in the person's life, so somehow deserved. They often never felt human touch or affection the rest of their short, painful, miserable lives. How terrible.

And yet here he is, before Jesus, seeking a ray of hope, a thread of help. While everyone in the crowd shrinks back in horror, Jesus steps to him in compassion. For the first time in maybe years, he is spoken to, he is touched, and he is healed. Jesus not only did what no one else could, He did what no one else would.

I am overwhelmed by this encounter, and I am undone. How many times in my life have I passed by hurting people, not wanting to bother, or somehow "grossed-out" by their looks, their lives, their sin, etc. Yet we are called to be the "Hands & Feet" of Jesus, like the Audio Adrenaline song states. If Jesus was compassionate, I must be also. If Jesus touched people, I must also. Its time the Church, the "Body of Christ" as we are called in the Bible, really be His "Hands & Feet". And it must start with me.

Rob