Dear Family & Friends,

I will be taking a break from our discipleship series as we prepare to return home next week. 

The name of today’s message is Short and Sweet which describes not only this message but our granddaughter too! 

Ellie-chan celebrated her one month birthday last week. It has been pure joy watching her grow; actually watching God continuing to mold her as it says in Isaiah 64:8, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” 

In this newborn stage of life, one can see God’s handiwork in Ellie every single day. Her face changes daily, as the Zipfel and Saito genes duke it out. For the first few weeks, her eyes wandered about uncontrolled. She now stares at our faces and follows our movements, studying to remember us.

Just like Ellie, we too are constantly growing; not only our weight but spiritually too.

Have you noticed growth in yourself since receiving the Holy Spirit?

Have you noticed your priorities, values and principles of life are evolving?

Have you noticed your desires, actions and even reactions to others have changed for the better as well?

Let me leave you with this. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing similar growth.

Many of us tend to take mental polaroids of people who irk us. We then paste a label on them. Paul told the Ephesians (4:2-3), “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Can I encourage you to go through your photo albums this week, discard the old photographs of those who irked you in the past, and find a way to take new pictures? You may be surprised to find they look better than ever.

In love always,