I was speaking for a businessman’s outreach in Rockefeller Center not long ago, and a brother in Christ came up to me with a hugely encouraging report. He said, “Our small group’s been growing through your thirteen-week DVD series, and it’s really having an impact! This past week, you talked about the three-open prayer. So I’ve been praying it every day this week, and the results have been amazing!”
They start young with the backpacks these days. When our granddaughter was three she wore her backpack a lot. At one point, she had it loaded with her favorite books, and I do mean loaded. She walked through the living room all bent over from the weight of what she was carrying, and our son said, “Well, why don’t you let me take that off your back?” Her first response: “No, Daddy, I can carry it.” Then, just a few more steps, she looked up and said, “OK, Daddy, would you take it please?” Of course, he did and after which he asked her, “Is that better, honey?” She said, “Ah, it’s a lot better, Daddy!”
In high school, our youngest son got a puppy, and even though I didn’t grow up with a dog, well, I found this little black-and-white Shih-Tzu puppy named Missy kind of cute. All day, while our son was in school, she’d basically just mope around the kitchen, but as soon as she heard him pulling into the driveway, she ran to the back door, her tail wagging furiously. Now, if our son went to his room, Missy went to his room. If he went to the basement, Missy went to the basement. If he went out in the yard, Missy went out in the yard. Her m. o. was pretty basic. She didn’t really care where she was, she just wanted to be wherever her master was.
Our three-year-old granddaughter is clearly a firstborn. Not long ago, her mother told her no to something she wanted to do. My little angel went into her room, telling her mother that, "I need to pray." She came out a couple of minutes later to announce, "Mommy, Jesus says it's OK."
It was one of the darkest days of the Civil War for the Northern Army. The Confederate Army launched a surprise attack on the Union encampment on the Tennessee River. Ten thousand of Grant’s army were killed, captured or wounded in one day. General Sherman came to Grant to recommend a retreat across the river until he saw the determined look on the general’s face.
