Cause for Celebration

This week my infant son reached a milestone. It was a simple achievement – only sitting on his own for the first time – but to me it was cause for great celebration. I actually cried tears of joy to see him accomplish a skill we’d been working on together for weeks!

It made me think about how God, our Father, celebrates over us.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Zepheniah 3:17. I love the different versions of it too--

Here’s the NIV translation:
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

And then the Contemporary English Version:
The LORD your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God delights in us just because we are His children? He actually rejoices over us with singing!

If that’s how He feels about us just as we are, how much more so does He celebrate when we reach milestones in our journeys of faith?

Just like I did with my son, I wonder if He jigs a little happy dance when we read our Bibles each day, choose to serve others, or decide to spend extra time with Him.

It makes me ask, what can I do today to give my Heavenly Father joy?

Announcements

• Our Team Time Out is this Sunday! We're looking forward to yummy pie, cider, hot chocolate and fun fellowship with you!!
• Casting Call! We’re filming a Children’s Ministry Video and need outgoing kids, 3-years– fifth grade, to be our stars. To take part, please accompany your child, dressed in a plain, logo-free black or white shirt and jeans to the Radiant Church Family Room on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 3:45 pm. For more information, please contact children@radiantchurch.com.
• Over the next three weeks, HD will partner with Kids Against Hunger to provide food to children all around the world through a quarter drive. If every child and HD volunteer brings in 20 quarters, that is four quarters a week, by December 6th and 7th, we can help feed 14,000 children who need a meal!
• Along with our focus on missions, we're asking everyone in HD to bring in canned goods to Jungle Heights or Elevate in November. These canned goods will provide local families with food to eat through Radiant's Economic Relief Center. This is a boys vs. girls contest with a fun prize the first weekend in December for the winner! You don't want to miss out!
• Want another way to help feed the hungry? Play Free Rice! Go to www.freerice.com and test your knowledge skills. It is fun, easy, and a free way to donate rice to the UN World Food Program.
• Family Fun Day tickets for ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo are still on sale this weekend! Tickets are limited, so stop by the kiosk to pick up yours soon!