Since I last wrote, I have finished the thirty-five TMS treatments that I told you about in my March report, I’ve gotten over the last of the symptoms that kept hanging on since I had Covid-19, and I’ve recovered from a flare-up of diverticulitis. Thank you for the prayers many of you were offering about these issues. My gospel meeting in Greenwood, Indiana was wonderful. It was a full Sunday-Friday meeting (which not many congregations do anymore), but interest and attendance kept growing all week, with the largest crowd of all on Friday night. We had visitors from many surrounding congregations, some coming from a great distance and a few carloads from area congregations that came more than one night. It was a thrill to see many people that I had not seen in a very long time. My apologies to those who looked so different from what I remembered, they had to tell me who they were!
But speaking of friends, just yesterday I read this quotation from Stephen R. Covey in my day planner: “Who can you bare your soul to without fear? Who makes you laugh? Who stimulates thought? Who is amazingly generous? Who do you like to be with? These people help you grow socially and emotionally. Do they know how important they are to you? Call them, do something with them, or write them a letter. Keep these colorful people present in your everyday life.” As I write this newsletter every other month, I am reminded how many of you fit this description perfectly.
Most people would feel blessed if they had even a few such people in their life, but I have a multitude. By the sheer grace of God, despite my obvious shortcomings and stumblings, I have been granted the enrichment of many, many people who go out of their way to bring laughter and growth into my life. It is not possible for me to see many of you face-to-face, but our written communications and occasional phone calls are the wind that fills my sails. I hope you know what a gift you are to this writer who is struggling to complete the body of work by which I hope to glorify God.
I have said it many times, and I hope to keep on saying it: no writer has ever been blessed with a more supportive host of readers than I have. I hope I never get so accustomed to your encouragement than I take it for granted. You are the “colorful people” who refresh me and make it possible — quite literally — for me to continue.
So as I press forward in writing the current book, Walking in Christ, you will be in my heart as I write these pages. Thank you for not only wishing me well but for taking the time to communicate your encouragement in such creative ways. Some writers never get more than a generic “I appreciate your work,” but you tell me very specifically how you have been helped, often mentioning specific pages in one of the books.
I am grateful for you, to say the least. And I say to each of you what Donna Baker, an aged sister in Dayton, Ohio, said to me in a card I received from her yesterday. Her beloved husband, Bo, died on May 1, seven years ago today. The three of us used to laugh so hard remembering the good times we had together, sorrow was simply banished from our lives, and she summed it up simply by saying: To God be the glory!
May it ever be so in each of our lives.
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
WRITING GOALS
Pray with me that I will be given the ability to finish these works
- Walking in Christ — Book 6 in the WordPoints Daybook Series. Target: November 2025.
- Going Home — Book 7 in the WordPoints Daybook Series. Target: November 2028.
- 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.
