Madison on the Boardwalk

We've been tremendously busy in preparations for the newest series - and Summer Xtreme. While at Disney, Daddy took several pictures at the Boardwalk, which is the theme of our newest series. Here's one of Madison pushing her stroller along - as well as some of the goodies we picked up at some stores there. One thing we picked up was salt water taffy, which the three of us have been munching on ever since. We got together on the way there - and even while we were there at the Boardwalk - and we came up with as many ideas as possible to make messages about. At first, we didn't think we could come up with too much - but after some brainstorming, Mommy and Daddy came up with quite a bit. We wrote a devotional "from the Boardwalk," and a few good sermons as well. June should be a good month for the kids.

Today, Daddy was pretty busy. It'll be that way for a week or so - and I'm glad we had our time to go on vacation a few weeks ago. Here's a devotional entry from our upcoming Boardwalk series:

You haven’t been to the boardwalk unless you’ve had some saltwater taffy. This delicious candy comes in all varieties of flavors, and can’t be beat. Even better, many of the candy stores along the boardwalk let you peek in their windows to see how saltwater taffy is made!

Stop for a moment, and peer in the window. See how the taffy is pulled and pulled and pulled? There’s only one way this taffy can get a light and chewy texture!

Some places have automated machines that yank and pull the taffy time and again, while other candy stores have their employees stretching that taffy by hand, twisting and turning the long strands of it. Talk about an upper body workout!

It’s all worth it in the end! Once you’ve placed a tasty piece of saltwater taffy in your mouth, you almost forget about all the work that went into making it. These candies are legendary!

Have you ever felt pulled and stretched and yanked about – like a piece of saltwater taffy? We all have. Sometimes things happen or stress comes upon us, and we feel like we are being stretched too thin, almost to the breaking point. When that happens, from this point on, remember the saltwater taffy.

God uses these moments in our lives to stretch us, and yet it is all designed to make us sweeter! Just as the taffy has to go through a process to become what it was made for, we too have to go through things sometimes, in order to become what He has designed us to be.

So trust God with all your heart. He won’t let you break, so allow Him to take you through those twists and turns – and not just into them. You’ll come out on the other side much sweeter, so much so that you’ll nearly forget all you’ve been through.