Recently, I received a devotional from a friend who attends Port City Church.  David Boyce has been a tremendous encouragement to our pastoral team and it is clear that the Lord has gifted him with the gift of intercession.  David wrote out this devotional for friends and family that he has been fervently praying for and with his permission I am sharing it on our blog.  Read, rejoice, take comfort.

Over the years in pastoral ministry one of the recurring questions I get from university students and young adults is something to the effect of: what is God calling me to do?  Oftentimes this conversation involves the individual's vocation or career.  Understanding one’s vocational calling can be a large and at times stressful discernment process.  However, I find that more often we become consumed with our “specific” calling at the detriment of living out our “general” calling from the Lord.

Several years ago (and many less children) my wife and I began to embark on the daunting task of family discipleship. Can I be honest…? We had no clue what we were doing. (And to some degree…we still don’t.) But we felt the need to try something. One evening around the supper table as I was waxing eloquently (insert sarcasm) about some passage of Scripture to my then two-year old…she looked at me intently and with the utmost seriousness said, “daddy I have to tell you something.”

When I was seven years old there was one thing and one thing only that I wanted for Christmas: Hungry Hungry Hippos.  The reason I know this to be true with such clarity is because I have watched the family camcorder footage where I am seen opening the present and exclaiming with overwhelming jubilience… “I wanted this all day and all night.”  I must have said that phrase no less than 10 times, a memory that my family finds quite comical.

Recently, on a trip to the beach our minivan popped a tire. I may or may not have run over something sharp…but that’s besides the point. After changing the tire and enjoying a nice afternoon on the beach we headed the hour and half back to our home. Our trip took us along a one lane road (i.e. no passing) and of course with a spare tire strapped on we were severely limited in our speed.