Today, friends, I greet you with a “Hi sign” in honor of a time when life was much simpler. A time when a big stick and a handful of pine cones could keep you entertained for hours. A time when jumping creeks, running through the woods, and riding tall, slim saplings to the ground felt like your own private city park. A time when you and your cousins would play kick the bucket, hide and seek, or a friendly game of touch football that often turned into a tackle match, complete with cuts, scrapes, and bruises. 

We would play outside all day until dusk, catching lightning bugs, and if you were quirky like me, you would rub their glowing behinds on your skin to shine too! Those were days filled with endless adventure and joy. At the end of each day, you’d hear that familiar voice calling your name, reminding you it was time to come in—and you better not get dirt on my clean floors!

Life is full of surprises, with its ups and downs, bumps and bruises. It’s an adventure that can be painful and difficult, yet remains wonderfully rich. For everything, there is a time and a season—a time to laugh, a time to cry, good times, bad times, happy times, and uncertain times. 

One thing’s for sure: there will come a day when all of this will pass, and the Father of all humanity will say, “The day is done; it’s time to come in.” The question is, when that time comes, will you be ready? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” He paved the way to the Father’s house through His death on the cross.

The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. On our own, none of us are righteous enough to enter His eternal home without tracking dirt on His clean floors. But God provided His Son as a sacrifice to cleanse us from all our sins! He made us clean so that we might enter in—not by our own efforts, but by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, shed when He gave His life on the cross at Calvary. All who call on the name of Jesus are saved—saved from sin and granted eternal life in heaven. 

The kingdom of heaven is going to be a great party! Don’t miss it! 😎