United States Air Force Award

Saturday night we went to Iowa State University to the US Air Force ROTC Detachment 250 Dining Out event and award ceremony. Our son, Benjamin, received the National Sojourners Award and was recognized for his attributes of Americanism, Leadership and support of the United States. Benjamin is majoring in computer engineering with an emphasis in computer security for the military. Here is a brief video of him receiving his award.

Galyn Wiemers
www.generationword.com

Church Involvement

In response to a recent email concerning meeting as a family for a church service at home I wrote:

I think home church for family Bible study, worship, prayer, etc. is very, very good. I do think that we are designed to be in fellowship with a local church body. The gifts within the church are for the "common good" which means we need each other to grow and develop. The church's mission can not be fulfilled with out the functioning of a body. I would encourage you to develop your home church while at the same time find a local church to plug into. I am not a big believer in "being under a pastor" or "under the authority" in a local church but I do believe their is strengthen in numbers and their is a level of accountability in a local church. The New Testament gives us no examples of a private, family church. The NT churches always held some form of public meetings and included these things:

• practicing baptism
• practicing the Lord's Supper
• Evangelizing
• Honoring the Lord with worship
• Edification of believers
• Giving
• Being salt and light to their generation.

I would encourage you to continue in a family worship setting but at the same time locate a church (and their are many) to be plugged into, grow in and be a blessing in.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Galyn's New Education Blog

Often times what I learn in the ministry I take to my secular job and vice versa. Well, I began blogging for Generation Word a little over a year ago. This week I finally began an education blog. There is no real reason for doing this blog except the fact that I can, so I did. You can find this blog called Mr. Wiemers' Shop - a blog about education from the perspective of a shop teacher, at http://mrwiemersshop.blogspot.com/

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Running Aimlessly or Running for the Prize?

Solomon cried out “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless! While, Paul says, “I do not run like a man running aimlessly” and then tells the Corinthians to run in such a way as to get the prize. Both men had a view of life that conflicted with the other. What caused the difference between these two? One believed there was a personal purpose for their existence and found it; the other did not.

Paul had an understanding that he had a purpose for being alive. Think about this: Is anything ever created by man without there first being a purpose for man to create it? No one spends time designing and producing something only to say when they are done, “I wonder what this is good for?” Everything man designs has a reason before it is created. This same principle is true for God and you, his creation. There has never been a person on the earth that did not have a special purpose assigned to them when they arrived. God only creates people he plans on using.

We must first believe that this logical concept applies to us individually to gain the hope and strength we need to live as Paul: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Once we believe we have a purpose, we will begin to discover what it is.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com