21 Years....How Did That Happen?

21 years ago today CharlieD was born. Well, actually Charles D. DeVos Jr. was born. CharlieD came along later, but that's another story.

It's really cool to watch your kids grow up. It happens so quickly that if you blink you'll miss it (literally!). They learn to crawl, then walk, then run, then fall (oops.....). They go off to school, make new friends, learn new things, make more new friends, go to PE (that's always fun), play in the band and make a few more new friends.

Somewhere they go from being "your little boy" to being a full grown man. I don't exactly know it all happened, but here we are.

Somewhere along the way Charlie got hooked on RAP and HIP HOP music. So much so that he has written and recorded several songs (see his virb page as listed in my previous post) and is pursuing a degree in Digital Media. And this is where CharlieD came along. That's his stage name. He's pictured here at the Sonshine Music Festival after performing on the Impromptu Stage. Pretty cool.

The best part is that he has grown up and is a man of God. He may play in front of large or small crowds, but he truly only plays for an Audience of One.

Am I proud? Oh yeah! Can't you tell?!?!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!!!!

A T-Shirt Challenge

Do you ever find yourself reading people's T-Shirts? Some of them make me smile, some of them make me sad and a few of them make me sick. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, and guys, it's best to not read T-Shirts that the ladies are wearing at all. You know why......

Then there are "Christian" T-Shirts. One would think that, since I'm a pastor, I'd really like "Christian" T-Shirts. There are a few that are alright, but most of them, I really dislike! So many of them either scream condemnation or say "I'm a Christian so I'm better than you". No, they don't say it directly, but it's there.......

I did mention, however, that there are a few I like. A few weeks ago, my son, Charlie, and I went to the Sonshine Christian music festival in Willmar, Minnesota. We had a great time listening to dozens of bands and Charlie even got to perform on the impromptu stage. If you'd like to hear some of Charlie's music, check out http://www.virb.com/charlied.

While we were at Sonshine I saw a T-Shirt that really made me think. It was a simple, yellow shirt with black lettering and a tiny graphic. It said: God, help me be the kind of man my dog thinks I am.

Okay, so maybe I'm pretty simple, but that's a message that I can relate to. And it's a message that challenges me (and I don't even have a dog!).

How about you? Are you the kind of person your dog thinks you are? If not, today is a great day to start becoming that person!