Author: Brad Whitt

19 Sep

Posted at 09:04h in Fridays Are For Family
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Daddy and JonathanThis coming Tuesday, the Whitt family will celebrate our "unexpected blessing," Jonathan's, first birthday. Looking back on Jonathan's first year, I remember a piece of advice one of my senior saints in a previous church shared with me. He said, "Don't blink, they'll grow up before you know it." This year is proof of that truth. It seems just like yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting Jonathan's arrival. Then, in a flurry of activity from the doctors and nurses, a heroic effort from my wife and a near fainting spell from someone we won't mention, he was here. The weighing and measuring took place, a moment with mom and then he was off to the nursery and his first bath. I remember the soft little onesies and baby blankets. Those first nights home where we would take turns changing, feeding (Kim pretty much took care of the feeding) and snuggling with our new baby boy. It all seemed to run together.

17 Sep

Posted at 08:44h in Uncategorized
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"On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell." Ezekiel 17:23 The prophet ends this chapter, a chapter which issued a warning to a wayward people, with a perplexing promise - and at the end of that a promise a very unusual, and even surprising picture. Ezekiel says that, "...in the shadow of its branches they will dwell." Why are they going to live in the "shadow of its branches"? Why won't they rest on the branches themselves? Wouldn't living amidst those branches, and under their protection, provide a safe and secure place in which to dwell? Sure, perhaps too much safety and security. We must not enjoy the blessings and benefits, the pleasures and pursuits of life, to the point that we forget, or overlook, the memory of the shadow. How many times have we been told to "be thankful for all that you have"? What does that mean? Simply that it is impossible to be thankful for the light without thinking about the shadows. You see, to ponder our privileges, to be thankful for what we have, forces us to consider the possibility of not having them. Sadly, not every prosperous person appreciates his prosperity. Therefore, to appreciate it, he must see the shadow of his poverty.