Parents Can be Cool

In the spirit of Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the fact that Emily is about 20 weeks along with our baby girl growing fast inside her (10 ounces so far!) I thought I'd share a bit about our parents today.

I know alot of us struggled when we were growing up with getting along with our parental units. I'm no exception to that... Just ask my Mom and Dad! (They'll be honest but gentle, hopefully... I think I was the original "strong-willed child.")

Unfortunately, alot of us struggle with our relationships with our parents, even when we're adults. In that respect, I guess I am the exception! Both my parents (Roy and Frances Layne, on the left at my sister Kerry's wedding) and Emily's parents (Bill and Sue Irving, on the right in Maine) are great parent examples. First, they always loved us when we were kids and have stayed together for over 36 years.

More importantly, though, both sets of parents raised us to know about Jesus Christ and made sure we had every opportunity to learn what it meant to follow Him. They never pushed Christ on us, but allowed God to "do His thing" in calling us to be His children. (The Bible actually refers to us as God's adopted children, the spiritual brothers and sisters of Jesus. Check out Romans chapter 8. It's a great passage in the New Testament.)

The great thing about our parents is that they just keep on being good parents! We have been continually blessed by them. My parents live in Chilhowie, a little town in Southwest Virginia. So, if you see them at Ridge Church when we eventually start meeting weekly, it sadly won't be too often. However, even though they can't come to church with us, they support us generously in the prayer and financial departments. That's huge, since prayer is a big-time powerful connection to God, and it takes a load of fundage to purchase all the things a baby church needs.

My in-laws are much like my parents. You will actually see Bill and Sue quite a bit at Ridge Church. They have committed to being part of our "launch team" of people who are helping The Ridge to get up and running. They are already supporting Ridge Church with thier finances, and they are always willing to serve in pretty much any way you need them to. (I'm serious about that--family can be awesome. Just today, my mother-in-law made sure that we would have the water turned on when we arrive at our rental home in Knoxville tomorrow evening. That's clutch, man. Running water is a good thing.)

As a pastor, I love people who "put their money where their mouth is" to support God's plan and then jump on board the serving train with both feet! It means that things get done God's way--as a team. It means alot more, but that's stuff for another post.

I know not everyone has this opportunity to have a great friendship with their parents. That can be really tough. The great thing is, as Romans 8:15 points out, God is there as the perfect Father for all who do not have earthly fathers or whose fathers have let them down. He cares more than even the greatest super-parent ever could.