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I was talking about this same concept last week during a meeting.  Are you settling in the Christian life?

Today we are headed back to Hesston from St Louis after vacation & ICRS 2013. We are coming home with lots of freebies.  I thought I would share the book I am most excited about. It is "Hidden in Christ" by James Bryan Smith. I look forward to reading & sharing it. 

My first trip to the arch. It was a great view! We even got to enjoy "the sway" as a storm came in. Enjoy the pictures!

Well, my third ICRS has come and gone. A few observations: A lot less people walking around compared to last few years. My kids can only handle about 1 1/2 days at the show. They did well most of the time. Disappointed by less authors & artists. It seemed like most booths cut back on their book signings & musical guests. I was disappointed!  St. Louis had less affordable food than previous two locations. Bookstores on a budget might have found this challenging. It was nice to save on plane tickets & shipping boxes since we were able to drive. Thankful for family time & two great sites for my family: City Museum & Arch!

Here are pictures from yesterday and today on St Louis for International Christian Retail Show:

Here are pictures from New Voices Showcase at ICRS:

Here are several pictures from our Sunday fun in St. Louis:

Today, I begin my time at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis, MO.  This is a working trip for Bethany, but is vacation for me and the kids.  We are excited about seeing some sites, meeting authors and artists, and spending time together.  Check back over the next few days for pictures from ICRS and vacation. 

This is the title of chapter 3 of Mark Driscoll's book, Who Do You Think You Are? I am thankful for this chapter as it repeats much of what I have been thinking about who we are in Christ and who God is.  Driscoll does a great job of explaining this from God's Word.  Here are several quotes that I highlighted from the chapter: "Rather than sinners, the Bible overwhelmingly calls us "saints," "holy," or "righteous" more than two hundred times. Biblically, then, the primary identity of a believer in Christ is not as sinner but as saint. While we still struggle with sin in this life, as Christians, our identity is not found in our sin but in Christ's righteousness."   "Sin may explain some of your activity, but it's not your identity. Your identity is in Christ, and because of your new identity, by God's grace through the Holy Spirit's power, you can change your activity. Because you are a new person posit

I am working on family devotions for Hide N Seek and plan to include a verse about our identity in Christ each week.  These might also be the verses we use for fuzion this year.  Anyway, I thought I would share what I have been working on.  Remember, this is who you are! 1.      Saint -“To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. . .” (Ephesians 1:1) 2.      Blessed -“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) 3.      Chosen -“ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world   to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Ephesians 1:4) 4.      Holy -“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) 5.      Blameless -“May God himself, the God of peace,sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept

The last few days I have been preparing for a sermon I will preach on July 7th.  It has been influenced by the book, Greater, by Steven Furtick.  I am going to look at three times in the New Testament when we are told we will be greater than someone or something else.  I have enjoyed the study and preparation for this message.  Do you believe you are greater or just ok?  Have you read these greater verses and then dismiss them? Is great good enough in the Christian life? I hope these questions will be answered when I preach the sermon.  Please be praying for me in preparation and delivery.  I will post notes from the sermon after July 7th.

I began writing devotions for next year's Wednesday night program at the beginning of summer.  I am excited about a new format.  I hope to give families more freedom to grow through our CHRIST acrostic.  Another desire is to include brief teaching on our identity in Christ as they go through the year.  Please pray for me as I write these devotions not only to get them completed, but that they will be Spirit-filled and will be a blessing to families.  Thanks for your prayers in advance!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts the last few weeks.  Since being on vacation, I have not been good about sitting down and writing.  My reading schedule has been sporadic and life has been busy.  Enough excuses, I am still blogging and hope to get some posts done this week and next.