How Does That Work?

I am studying for Bible Study tomorrow morning. And I read again the verse from Exodus 14,

"The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."

Three comments:

1. I like the first part (God fighting for me). I have trouble with the last part (keeping still/silent).
2. This verse was first shared with me from a friend. As I shared a concern that I not say too much at a business meeting, she gave me this verse. I listened and watched God bring those comments to fruition. I was silent; God fought for me.
3. I am still pondering this verse as I get ready for the study in the morning. It seems like a good nugget to chew on as the winter storm rages around us (literally!). [NOTE: There is not a figurative storm raging at my home!]

Hope He's in your corner too,
Mike

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

"In mirrors I see myself. But in mirrors made of glass and silver I never see the whole of myself. I see the me I want to see, and I ignore the rest. Mirrors that hide nothing hurt me. They reveal an ugliness I'd rather deny. Yow! Avoid these mirrors of veracity!...Oh what a coward I am, and what a fool! Only when I have the courage fully to look, clearly to know myself -- even the evil of myself-- will I admit my need for healing... Mirrors that hide nothing hurt me... The passion of Christ, his suffering and his death, is such a mirror."

Bread and Wine, p.11-12

What is Our Youth Ministry Action Plan

Greg Stier, author of Ministry Mutiny, wrote a very challenging article "Why Mormons Do Better Youth Ministry Than We Do". It points to the level of commitment that the Mormons expect from their young people and the aggressive pursuit of preparation of these young people for ministry. His conclusion is spot on:

"We need to push our teens. We need to turn them into active activists. We need to build consistent opportunities for service, outreach and training. We need to equip them to share their faith and then go with them, leading the way. After all, we are youth leaders.
Somebody may accuse me of looking at this as some sort of competition. It is. We are in a competition with Satan for thesouls of our young people. And we are getting our rears kicked.
My problem is not with Mormons. It's with us. Let's learn from the Mormons and turn our kids into missionaries. Armed with the power of the true gospel (not some aberrant belief system) our teens could mount a comeback and help us win this thing.
Game on."

I want to win the war,
Mike

Ordering Your Thoughts

Here's some good reminders about taking our thoughts captive today:

"Ordering our thoughts by guarding our minds against ungodly imaginations is our first defense against the schemes of the enemy. The battle for our hearts and minds takes place in our thought life. We must purpose to think thoughts pleasing to God, filling our minds with scriptures declaring the promises of God."

Life's Ultimate To Be List, p. 25

So...

what good, acceptable, pleasing thoughts are you thinking about today?

what Scriptures are reminding you that God is crazy about you and totally for you?

who is winning the battle today?

Filling up on the Word,

And thereby winning the war,

Mike

What is your WQ?

It is certainly not IQ that matters. It is wisdom that counts with God. The fourth lesson for WOL year 2 round 2 was a lesson from the book of Proverbs. I specifically went to chapter 9 and looked at the contrast between folly and wisdom.

Chapter 9 is a classic contrast of these two worldviews as they are personified as Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly who both call the simpleton to eat at their table a feast that they have prepared.

Here is the conclusion section of that lesson which asks four key questions that evaluate whether you are in the wise man's camp or the foolish man's camp.

"How wise are you? Is there a test that will measure your wisdom level? The answer is yes! The book of Proverbs not only shows us how to live, it also shows us how to measure our progress in God’s eyes. Here are a few questions to determine whether you are a wise person or a foolish person.

Question 1: How do you respond to correction? (9:7, 8)

When people share how your choices do not match up with God’s Word, do you get angry and ignore them? Then you are a fool. When parents and friends show how you can make better choices and please God, do you thank them for their concern and make changes quickly? Then you are wise.

Question 2: Are you growing “smarter and stronger” spiritually? (9:9)

Are you willing to work hard and study the Bible so that you can know God’s instructions (Proverbs 5:1-11)? You are wise. Becoming better and better at making good choices that always please God does not happen by accident. Wise people aren’t easily tricked by Satan’s lies (7:22-23) because they have studied the truth. Grow stronger as a wise warrior for God (Ephesians 6:11-16) by putting on your armor.

Question 3: Do you have a loving, personal relationship with God? (9:10)

A wise boy or girl hates the things God hates (6:16-19; 8:13) and loves the things God loves (7:4; 8:17)! As you choose to follow God’s ways, you will learn to love God more. As you obey Him, you will grow closer to Him. A wise person doesn’t want to do anything that will not please God. We are most happy when we are living God’s way.

Question 4: Is God blessing your life? (9:11, 12)

Trouble seems to happen more frequently in the life of the fool (6:15). Whenever he chooses the dangerous ways he gets caught! He does not have God to help him. Don’t be fooled. The blessings of God are not just about getting more money! Wisdom is better than all the money in the world (8:10-11, 18-21)!

So are you a fool or a wise boy or girl? God knows which you are, you cannot fool Him! (5:21-23)"


Praying for more wisdom,
Mike

Are You Diluted?

"Like fine wine poured into a jug of water, Jesus' wondrous message of grace gets diluted in the vessel of the church."

What's So Amazing About Grace, p. 29

I don't have to know too much about wine to get this comment. I want a vintage church (in terms of wine excellence, not in terms of musty fermentation). I want a vintage life! We will serve no wine before its time. May it be said of me, "You have saved the best wine until last".

Mike

Deuteronomistic History

For those of you who don't understand the humor of the title, it's okay. You don't really need to know about the JEPD textual criticism discussion, but if you want to....

Side Bar: For those of you who would like a boost of encouragement today, take a look at what is happening with WyBC teens online. We are engaged in a discussion about the application and lessons that can be learned from a fairly tense confusing passage of Scripture. The teens are doing admirably at their give and take in the conversation.

Back to deuteronomistic history, I just completed a week of writing conference where one of my tasks was to teach the book of Deuteronomy in three lessons for 1st -6th graders. Easy huh? Maybe if you are a third grade teacher. Maybe if you are smarter than a fifth grader.

Here is an overview of these lessons:

Lsn 1: Three Steps to Accomplishing Mission Impossible

A three step process for handling things that seem to hard to handle; look back at what God has done in the past, trust His Word, obey what you know to do.

Lsn 2: God's Top Ten Ways to Love Him Wholly

An overview of the importance of God's Law -- it shows us how to live differently in a broken world. By our obedience, we show the world that God and our friendship with Him through Jesus makes a difference in the way we do life.

Lsn 3: What Does Your Future Hold?

A look at the choice between blessings and cursings; All of our choices have consequences.

It was a good (albeit exhausting and sometimes difficult) week with a great ending. I am always glad that I went and always excited about the product that we turn out. I am sorry that I cannot give you any of the details of the lessons or send you copies since they belong to Word of Life. But if you buy the curriculum, you should see these lessons in 2 years. :) Tell them that Mike Paris sent you! (I don't think that there is a finder's fee)

Thanks for praying,

Thanks for caring,

Mike

BTW -- My second task was to summarize the difference between wisdom and folly.

Lsn 4: Test your WQ (Wisdom Quotient)

A four part test to see if you are really growing in wisdom. See the next post. :)

Prayer and Share

I am a firm believer in the whole prayer and share stuff. We used to do it in our WOL youth group before we broke up for DIA groups. Here at Wyoming, we do it as a church family in SS and in evening service. Sunday night we had an hour of sharing and group prayer!

This is a coded list so that no one is vulnerable or exposed online, but check out the praises!! :)

CR -- "It was great to be able to share a testimony this morning at the end of the morning service. Thanks for asking me!" CR also mentioned that he had a plan for the next couple of books that he would be reading: It's Not About Me; Little Red Book of Wisdom; He quoted "You will be the same a year from now apart from the people you meet and the books that you read"
NF -- There were some incredible bonds fomed during the practices and performance of the Baggage Claim drama. She was glad to have had her Mom and sister come to the drama when they could have done other things.
CB -- He and his wife had done some visiting at the second night of the drama (they came back to see it again) that had been well received; He was putting into practice something he had studied for SS -- praying and being in tune with the promptings of the Spirit; He had a chance this week to minister to a co-worker who had a car accident -- CB had arrived at the scene within 5 minutes of its happening; God had placed him at the right place at the right time
PZ -- I am an uncle; I want to be a good role model for the baby as he grows
DR -- Praise God for such a clear gospel message presented at the drama
DE -- Had a chance to talk with SD, the school administrator where we performed the drama; SD had been in a Bible study with another one of our ladies in the past.
CM -- had a chance to talk with two people after the first night of drama; one had never thought about God before!!, the other had realized that she had been harboring sin in her life and was planning to change as a result of the drama
GR -- a former co-worker really needs prayer, she stopped in and visited with GR and her husband on Sunday afternoon; GR and her husband were able to witness with another couple to a waitress using the lyrics of the Christmas carols being played as mood music!
JM -- what a delight to hear the prayers of the cast and crew as we worked together to share this drama; it was a total team effort
MP -- excited about seeing the young people getting "it" and using "it" to minister during the drama and Christmas caroling, etc.; his son (age 4) has been praying wonderful prayers thanking God for his gift, Jesus at Christmas time -- thanks to SS teachers who have been pumping the boy full of good stuff! :)
CR -- his daughter and son-in-law were going back into a diffilcut work situation after the holidays, desiring to come back to our area and church
BB -- able to give a Bible to a young boy who rides to AWANA with her; the boy is eagerly devouring the Word, setting as his goal to read through the Bible in one year; the boy and his sister are working on their memory work at home!

And that is just what I wrote down on my prayer notes. There were more and lots of stories being shared. It was a great encouragement to listen to them share their hearts with each other and conclude with prayer at the end of a longer sharing session. Praise the Lord with me!
Mike

The Next Step in the Exodus

Have you ever turned the corner in life thinking, "okay, now we're on our way" only to find that God was directing you in a round-about trip? If you have (I know that I have), then read Exodus 13:17-18, preferrably from the NIV.

God often takes in an alternate route to build us up and keep us from quitting. And He knows us better than we know ourselves. Even when we think that we are ready for the next step, to do battle with the enemy, God sometimes diverts our plans to keep us from getting crushed in our own strength.

If you are caught in what feels like a scenic route with God, enjoy the scenery! It is the best route for you right now. Just leave the driving to God! :)

With totally no concept of where God is leading me towards, and away from, at the same time, by His strength and presence,
Mike

PS -- for another look at this passage (click here)

The Ripple Effect

This is not a post singing the merits of textured potato chips. This is about infectious discipleship. The kind that ripples through the church and spills out onto everyone who is ready for change and growth.

We have been reading books as a leadership team. I have watched some of the individuals on our team totally embrace the concepts that are contained therein. Those who get it have incorporated the language into our vocabulary and have talked about it with passion and enthusiasm such that others get excited about it and are driven to read more. Then, the fresh recruits, in turn, share it with their friends and family and then the next wave catches it and gets excited about the concepts and their implementation.

This is about multiplication. The Christian life is not meant to be lone rangerism. It is meant to be a place of accountability and ripples. As I understand God's wisdom better and make successful, albeit hard, decisions, I share it with those around me. Then, the whole thing goes into other circles and suddenly, I am affecting change and growth in circles that I do not even frequent! God is good! He has enlarged our borders even without daily prayers of Jabez!! :)

NOTE: This post is about celebrating the joy of discovery and watching the aha! moments spreading in the body of Christ. These comments are based on a real situation that was just reported to me! :) YES! Remember to share the good stuff withthose who teach you! Gal 6:6

Sharing with you,
Mike

So What Report Are You Bringing Back?

Do you remember the story of the twelve spies who entered the land of Canaan first? They "scoped out the digs" for 40 days and then returned to give a report on the land before them. They had experienced the promise of God in a limited audience preview. They were the ones who were hand selected to report back on what God had in the immediate future for the nation, the people of God.

Andrew Murray draws on this image as he addresses the issue of the report of a loving community of believers, growing and bearing much fruit for the glory of God, the divine husbandman.

"Is not this [obedience to Jesus' command to love one another] some of the much fruit that Jesus has promised we shall bear, -- in very deed a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol, with which we can proveto others that the land of promise is indeed a good land? Let us try in all simplicity and honesty to go out to our home to translate the language of high faith and heavenly enthusaism into the plain prose of daily conduct, so that all men can understand it."

Abide in Christ, p. 184

What a pity, no rather, what a travesty if we see the love of God, flowing with milk and honey, and report back to others "It's too intense, it will cost you too much to have it, let's just settle for a taste, God can't give that kind of love to us". Or, in my opinion, even worse, report back to those around us -- silence about the greatness of the love of God. It would be the equivalent of the spies saying, "We had a huge cluster of grapes and they were tasty. But we ate them on the trip back from the vineyard and now there's nothing to show to you."

Don't hoard the grapes.
Don't consume all of the fruit by yourself.
Don't miss the chance to use the produce for ministry to others who maybe still don't believe there is a land of promise or a God who has promised it to them.

That I may bear more fruit,
Mike

Falling Into the Abyss

Friends,

I apologize for the long delay. I just realized that the last post was back in October. (That's not exactly true!) This is December and we are closing in on one of the busiest times of the calendar that anyone should be exposed to. Let me catch you up on some really big stuff that is going on right now in our lives of ministry.



1. A DAD&LAD TRIP -- Scott and I went to Erie PA on an overnight Father-n-Son adventure. We took in some lighthouses, shot some digital photography, ate some Chinese, played in the waterslides, ate some hot wings, played chess and ate Timmy Ho's Canadian Maple Donuts!! Oh yeah, we also had a great conversation about coming of age, becoming a young man, and following after God. We used Proverbs 3 to have a "my son" speech of our own. Scott was pretty freaked out by the whole serious conversation thing. But I tried to tone it down when I saw how spooked he got. It was a great weekend, except for being beaten in chess by a teenager!!! :)



2. A DRAMA -- Sue and I are the husband and wife in a family holiday drama called "Baggage Claim". It is an outreach drama with a great message. The family looks the stereotypical part of four people with it all under control. In fact, my character makes a speech to his son about the world respecting a man who has in all under control, who takes charge of his own life, etc. In the end, all of their internal dysfunction comes out and they leave their baggage in the capable hands of the baggage bellhop character. It is a modern day parable of Jesus Christ and his offer of rescue for today. Very good script, very grueling schedule -- very great results?? We are praying to that end.



3. A SEASON of ADVENT -- our church has included the advent candles/wreath in our worship. We light the candles each week and talk about what each one symbolizes. We use this as a time fo rthe kids to come up front and interact with me around the wreath. The problem is that it is all unscripted. And as Art Linkletter (and later Bill Cosby) said "kids say the darndest things". It has been a good time of focus for Christmas for me and for the kids. We are using the nativity poem and characters from Family Life Publishing called "What God Wants for Christmas". It is really neat to watch them open each box. I hope that they get the ending!



4. AN MP3 PLAYER -- I just bought a Creative Labs Zen Stone MP3 player and have been enjoying downlaoding sermons, books, music and other stuff from off of the web. For a guy that loves information, an MP3 player is a very cool toy. I just listened to four pastors on a Pastor to Pastor intervew series with HB London Jr. on the topic of Church Health. Great stuff!



Well, please keep blogging and reading and growing and ministering, even when this page falls silent. Be assured that I have not laid down or fallen off the face of the earth. I also have been blogging with some other sites as a contributor rather than a host. Why don't you drop me a note and tell me what you are doing?

• sites that you have visited in the past 24 hours
• books that you have been reading
• trips that you have taken, plan on taking for Christmas
• ministries that you are involved in
• etc.

I hope that you have not fallen into the abyss of busyness and that if you have that you are climbing out. I hope that you will drop me a note letting me know how you are doing,

Mike

What Did You Learn From Your Pain?

"God uses our suffering to wean us from self-reliance and cast us on himself alone."

Piper, Desiring God, p. 222

So, when I am entering an especially difficult time in my personal life, I must ask myself, "Have I become too self-reliant? Is God attempting to get my attention away from myself and on to him? Why am I trying to handle this myself?"

And when I am in the throes on such a turmultous set of rapids, I must ask myself, "Who has the strength that I need? Am I clinging onto the paddle too tightly, steering us right into the rosks that I want to avoid? Do I need to pray instead of panic now?"

And finally, as I come out into the calm waters below the raging river run, I must ask myself, "How could I have allowed to have more control in that ride? How much better would it have been if I had given him more of the rudder? Did I handle that set of rapids with better skill than the last set (ie did I allow God to have more control)? Am I more confident in my abilities now or God's? Have I praised him for his abundant power, wisdom, care, and control -- after all he did bring you through safely!"

As I tell the story of my extreme experience of suffering, who looks like the hero? Me? or God? Does God get the spotlight or the footnote in the telling of my tale? Am I more or less dependent on Him now than I was upriver?

I want to suffer calmly, knowing that the captain of my ship is not me!

"This is God's universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in self and the world."

Piper, Desiring God, p. 222
Riding the rapids, learning the lessons, praising the pilot,
Mike

Stuff You Won't See on a BillBoard

"Human beings flee suffering. We move to safer neighborhoods. We choose milder climates. We buy air conditioners. We take aspirin. We come in out of the rain. We avoid dark streets. We purify our water. We do not normally choose a way of life that would put us in "peril every hour." Paul's life is out of sync with ordinary human choices. Virtually no advertisement slogans lure us into daily dying [to self]."

Piper, Desiring God, p. 220

Suffering for Jesus

There is an incredibly hard decision point to be made when considering the texts of Scripture on suffering. What are we to preach to an affluent, propserous Christian in the US or Western Europe? Have we experienced real genuine suffering? John Piper's Desiring God has some incredibly challengeing stuff in his chapter on the topic. But I love this statement about all forms of suffering in the life of the Christian (even the US variety).



"All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecuion or sickness or accident, have this in common: they all threaten our faith in the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience. Therefore, every triumph of faith and all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the preciousness of Christ -- whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin, or sabotage." p. 216



So if I weather the loss of a job well, I am suffering for Christ, even if I didn't lose it because of my relationship with Christ.

How are you doing today? Are you suffering well? Are you suffering for Jesus?

Definitely on the easy suffering path,
Mike

My First Beach Wedding

I just got back from Virginia from a great wedding connected with a pile of firsts.

1. 1st wedding with a condensed pre-marital counseling period (4 sessions in 1 week)

2. 1st wedding on the beach (first attended, AND first officiated)

3. 1st wedding in bare feet (the whole bridal party too)

4. 1st wedding performed out of state (I am now officially registered to perform weddings in VA)

5. 1st wedding with a unity sand ceremony instead of the unity candle (same basic principles)

Overall, it was a great long weekend with Sue at the beach. How cool is that? :) The wedding brought back a lot of memories of our wedding, almost 17 years ago now. We had some good conversation and some special moments together too. Not bad for an old married couple! :)

Still happily married to the wife of my youth,

Mike

Engage and Reflect on the WORD

May I ask you a question? It is from the study of Colossians that we are doing this quarter (and probably next at the rate that we are going at).

Is spiritual growth possible apart from God or His Word?

I believe that we, as North Americans and US citizens, have a huge deposit of truth. I saw a statistic recently about the % of the world's population that is Christian and the % of that number that were in North America. Staggering! We are truly blessed to have such a comfortable state. Yet has it really driven us to contemplative spirituality? By that I mean, have we thought long and hard about what it means to be a disciple of Christ?

We have been given God's Word in multiple translations with cover choices, study notes choices, color choices and even with our names embossed in gold foil. But has familiarity bred contempt or neglect? Can we truly grow without studying and diving into intense mediattion on God's written special revelation of Himself?

Want a place to start? Read Romans 11:33-35. Then think about this very insightful quote,

"What we know about God is only what God reveals to us. To imagine that we can fathom the depths of God is to posit a God too small.
Paul asserts the infinite distance between human knowledge and God's action. Humans do not counsel God. They can only, in a sense, think God's thoughts after God. God is the source of all knowledge and wisdom."

Then reflect on Isaiah 40:13; Proverbs 8:22-31; Job 38:2-39:30. That should sufficiently challenge you to engage in humble worship and a recommitment to growing in the knowledge of God.

I want to know You more,

Mike

Is God a Manipulative Cosmic Bully?

As we study in Exodus for the eX-Men's Bible Study on Wednesday mornings, we have discussed and discovered some amazing truths about men, leaders, and God. We have been spending a number of weeks in the 10 plagues. Normally this study would be at most three weeks long. We have been here a long time.

[sidebar: When one of the men returned from an unplanned sabbatical, he inquired about our location and found that he had not missed too much textual coverage. But he had indeed missed out on some great conversations! This study is as much about accountability to get out of bed and study with one another as it is about material coverage.]

This morning in our discussion of Pharaoh and God (and their lively interchange in light of the impending doom of plague #7, hail), we discussed this question:

Is God arrogant? Doesn't it seem that the reading of 9:14 suggests that God is manipulative and using Pharaoh for his own agenda? Is God posturing in front of Pharaoh or trash-talking him or trying to intimidate him?

I believe that this discussion is helpful when thinking about those around us who reject our evangelistic efforts (technically they are not rejecting our efforts, but our Master's efforts to reach out to them). We must remember that God is longsuffering, while at the same time unwillling to wink at sin or rejection of truth. There are some consequences to rejection. Maybe we should add this after the invitation is given and rejected in our gospel presentation training!

God is unwilling that any should perish. But some are bent on it. Out of rebellious and stubborn hearts, they choose freely the way of destruction. Pharaoh is a textbook example of this posture before a patient God. God has exposed the junk in his life and called for submission. Yet, Pharaoh has refused to submit and has gripped his delegated power/authority even more tightly. In plagues #7-#10, God is beginning to unleash the destruction on Egypt. Even the "wise men"/magicians begin to see that this is a losing battle.

How like us! When God calls us to follow there are two ways, God's way (the better) and our way (the harder). Even though God's way may seem harder (requiring more effort against our old nature) it is always better. Pharaoh would have been better off if he had yielded after the pre-plague signs (snakes from rods). The results are the same -- the Israelites are released -- but the paths are different. Pharaoh could have released them willingly, but instead chose to fight God tooth and nail until the end. Then even after being bested by God, he chased the Israelites right into his own watery grave. The end result is also that Pharaoh yields -- he chooses to do it the hard way.

One of the guys commented, "Sometimes we learn better from our mistakes". While there are benefits to learning from failures, I still prefer to learn from successes! It is always much less painful and much more enjoyable. I choose to pursue excellence and growth through the pains of success than through the pains of failure.

God is not a cosmic bully. He is not simply getting his jollies watching Pharaoh squirm. He is not manipulating Pharaoh.

[sidebar: This understanding of the gods being above men's world but pulling the strngs and watching men dance is the Greek/Roman theology. Zeus is seen as a moody god, threatened in his ultimate leadership and defending it jealously with lightning bolts and bullying force. Zeus is so not my God!]

God is demonstrating a longsuffering and a mercy that is "wasted" on the stubbornness of this pagan king. Yet He still shows His character. Even in rejection, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that God is THE ONE AND ONLY GOD. God accomplishes exactly what He intends to do. Pharaoh misses out on a relationship of joy and contentment and gets the teeth of judgment. His loss. God's plan is not thwarted. God's arm is not shortened (except in His own self-restraint). God's promises are not "fluff".

Yield or be exterminated,
(I choose yielding),
Mike

Vacation Pic

Just to not be outdone by Todd. This is us as we got out at Newaygo after a 3+ hour cruise down the Muskegon River on innertubes!

Kindling for Your Soul's Fire

Great read this morning from the pages of Piper's classic tome, Desiring God. Man, I love to read this book. (This is my second time through.) His chapter on Scripture is subtitled "kindling for Christian hedonism". That is a great subtitle. It draws a great image up in my mind, especially while on vacation. The campfire at the end of the day is a great highlight and it all begins with kindling.

But Piper's point is that the fire needs to be started at the beginning of the day -- probably an allusion to the cooking fires of a day gone by. As the day begins, we must stoke the fires of the soul and plan to keep it burning throughout the day. The utility of such a fire much be highlighted -- warmth, food, and security. Piper's call is to heaping the kindling on through the regular intake of Scripture.

"If you go without the kindling of Christian Hedonism [the Scriptures], the fire of Christian happiness will be quenched before mid-morning."

Of course in the pursuit of happiness, Piper is talking about the kind of soul contentment that the Psalmist sings of in Psalm 1. This kind of soul satisfaction brings forth fruit in its season and does not wither for it finds the kind of nourishment and irrigation that sustains it through the droughts and troubles of the trees lifespan.

1. What Scriptures are you heaping up in a kindling pile to get your fire rip roaring hot?
2. Who or what has really helped nail this truth home with you?
3. Have you thought about how to pass the fire along to someone else today? (Sing a verse of Pas It On here and think of the bonfire at camp!)

Burn brightly in your happiness friend,
Mike