Good morning! Summer is here with its hot weather, but I enjoy this time of year in many ways.
I am making some good progress on Walking in Christ, for which I am grateful. After so much time “lost” early this year to health tests and procedures, I am glad to be back to a more normal work routine. However, I have learned to be content with whatever progress is made, whether the pace is fast or slow. I’ll eat this elephant one bite at a time!
Many of you know Mark McCrary, who until early this year was one of our preachers at Douglass Hills, where I worship in Louisville. His wife Teresa has been struggling with some very serious health issues, and it has been a difficult time for them, right after their move to Brooklyn, New York. I solicit your prayers for them and the valuable role they play in the Lord’s work. But I think it has been a sobering reminder for all of us that life can change at any time. Out of nowhere, situations can arise that alter our lives drastically. James was not wasting words when he said, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15).
Although my writing projects are sequenced in a particular order, I have begun taking a different approach to their completion. Rather than working on one until it is finished and then moving on to the next book, I have begun doing some work on all of them, especially the last two: Ecclesiastes and Encountering Christ. Different in format from the other books (they will be “normal” books rather than daily devotionals), these two volumes will need to be carefully thought out. If I wait and start from scratch after all the other works have been finished, I don’t believe I will have time to do the background reading, thinking, and meditating they will require. So I am trying to work on these a little at a time, as opportunity allows. At the very least, they are now on the “back burner,” and that will make a big difference. My mind works on things subconsciously, so the mere fact that these books are now “in progress” means that I’ll be thinking about them even when I’m not thinking about them! And when the time comes to actually start writing them, my mind will be brimming with ideas just waiting to be put into words.
Also, I have been accumulating the research library that will be needed when I begin writing these books. One of the things your support allows me to do is acquire the books that my work requires. I want you to know that this is important. Books are necessary tools in the work I do, so I appreciate your making these resources possible.
I regret to announce that I’ve been notified that I’ll be losing the $500 per month’s support that the Twin City congregation in College Station, Texas has been sending me for many years. I am deeply indebted to them for the crucial part they have played for many years in my work in the Lord. If you know of any possible sources where this portion of my support can be replaced, I would appreciate your contacting me about it. As I age, this is going to become more and more of a problem, but as always, the Lord will take care of me. He has never let me down.
So, thanks again for your continued support. With the current loss of some of my support, I am reminded not to take for granted the help that you provide each month. It is a blessing for which I want to be a good steward. And I hope you see it as I do: this is a work we are doing together.
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
WRITING GOALS
Pray with me that I will be given the ability to finish these works by January 1, 2040
- Walking in Christ — Book 6 in the WordPoints Daybook Series. Target: November 2026.
- Going Home — Book 7 in the WordPoints Daybook Series. Target: November 2029.
- Seeking God in the Psalms — a 52-lesson study — theme for each week, studies for Monday-Friday.
- Ecclesiastes — a full-scale commentary on the text of Ecclesiastes.
- Encountering Christ — what the Scriptures teach about Jesus Christ . . . and why we should believe it.
