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Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life

    by Tom Kelley

A Kid in the Kingdom
Date Posted: January 5, 2023

As I was sitting on the floor last night watching my little one year old granddaughter examining the lights on the Christmas tree I couldn't help but be amazed at the world of wonder that is hers and her brother now. They've been through the struggling infant "feed me, change me, hold me" routine. Now they are beginning to awaken to the many things that surround them in their world. Instead of basic instincts of comfort they now have questions of discovery.

My wife and I got to have the kids for two evenings this week. Tuesday night was especially important to me as I got to watch Grace work her way back down the sixteen stair steps of our stairway. I could see her reasoning the way to accomplishing her task of going from the top to the bottom. She didn't want Pawpaw to carry her down. She wanted to make it on her own. So Pawpaw sat on each step as she carefully and deliberately held onto the spindles of the railing for support and balance and made those steps down the stairway.

She and Patrick will have a special bond in their development as twins. They will share discoveries. However, going down the stairs is not one of those discoveries as yet. Patrick still wants to crawl to the edge of the top step and just start down head first on a measured crawl. It's truly fascinating to see their progress in things. Patrick now wants to walk as much as he can everywhere he goes while Grace still crawls. Yet Grace comes down the stairs standing up while Patrick crawls.

My guess is that eventually they will show each other things that serve to be challenges for the other. Jesus knew what He was talking about when He admonished us to become like little children, "for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14 Christ's kingdom is all about the wonder and excitement of discovering new things. The longer we have been in the kingdom the more settled into things we get and we lose that excitement. We forget that, in His sight, we are still just little children.

I do hope and pray that you can join me in restoring the excitement of first things. Discover something about the Christ and His kingdom that perhaps you didn't know before. Become that child full of wonder and experience anew the beauty of God and His love embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ. Realized the great promise that we have been given related to that by the apostle Paul. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 Be a kid again in the kingdom of a God whose wonders never cease.

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Biography Information:
Tom Kelley, pastor, speaker, lived with his wife, Becky, in Georgetown, Kentucky

...He was the Minister of the Minorsville Christian Church located near Stamping Ground, KY.

...Becky and Tom have three children; John, single and in worship ministry in Nicholasville, Kentucky; Sean, married (Jennifer, elementary school teacher) with twins (Grace and Patrick, b.d. 10/31/04) and regional director of Papa John's Pizza in Central KY; Kara, married (Vince Taylor, prison guard) and working with Hospice East in Winchester, KY.

...Tom went to be with the Lord on November 13, 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have been touched by Tom's writings please send an email to Tom's son at jkelley@catalystchristian.net
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