Grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

I think that when we greet each other, it is understood that we are greeting each other to the glory of God. We are, in fact, created to be in relationship to God and to each other, and to praise God with our whole being. That’s one of the great joys of our lives. Created by God, for God. And everything we do is a thankful response for the life we have been given. It really puts our existence into perspective, don’t you think? Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

I believe that the gates and the courts are the world around us – everywhere we look and go. So, we want to be ambassadors of that thanksgiving. We want to model it for those around us. Our gratefulness ought to be contagious. I desire to be part of a church that loves God and loves people and my natural go to face is one of happiness. I’m reminded of the Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s Joker character had an acid warped smile. One of the criminals asked, “what’s with that stupid grin?” and the Joker said, “life’s been good to me.” In my case, life has been good. God has been good to me. I suspect in spite of the rough times; God has been good to you too.

Don’t be afraid to walk around with a stupid grin. Don’t be afraid to seem overly thankful. Don’t be afraid to let your attitude seem a little out of the ordinary. God didn’t create us to be ordinary.

I’m excited to do ministry with you First Decatur.

In His service,

Pastor Donny