How It All Began

Late in my sophomore year at the University of Arkansas, a tradition began where every Thursday evening at about 5:45 several of us in the Razorbacks for Christ campus ministry would meet at the student Union for supper. We needed a break from the food in Brough! I began to send out weekly email reminders of the get-together to the ever growing RFC email list, and continued to send the reminders at the beginning of the fall semester the next year. To make the email more than just a reminder and in turn to make it worth everyone’s while to actually open the emails, I began to include Bible verses and encouraging thoughts which eventually became known as, the “mini devo.”

At the end of my two years as an intern (2000-2002) I mentioned that I planned to put all of the emails together into a booklet of some sort, and a few people responded that that was a swell idea. Well, I got busy and never got around to making the booklet. And so, this blog is an adaptation of those plans, an archive (a gradually growing one) of the emails I and others sent to encourage each other.

Reading back through the weekly emails, it is fun to reminisce about the things that were happening in the lives of us RFCs, and also to see how the emails, my writing skills, and my relationship with God and personal theology developed. And sometimes reading back through the emails I wonder, what was I thinking?! I think some of those instances can be attributed to the fact that many of the emails were sent between 2 and 7 in the morning! It was a beneficial experience for me to write these and often RFCs dropped me notes to let me know how much the emails meant to them. So, here they are now for all who are interested in re-reading them and hopefully being encouraged again. (Actually, here they will be, as I gradually get them all posted. Check back often.)

One of the coolest interactions that occurred among RFCs via email was sharing lists of thanks to God. So, in RFC style, here are some things I will not take for granted:

1. Blogs, what a cool new way to express thoughts and connect with each other.
2. My internship with Christ Journey here in south Fort Worth.
3. Opportunities to meet and encourage people at the local gym.
4. The local gym.
5. Dr. Pepper.
6. The privilege of witnessing transformation in the lives of others.
7. The privilege of witnessing transformation in my own life.
8. The support, encouragement, and fun I get from being with friends and family.
9. God’s abiding presence.
10. God’s love, grace, and mercy.