“Birds of a feather flock together.” My mother drilled that sage piece of counsel into my pubescent brain when I was a kid growing up. She wanted me to learn the truth that people judge you by the company you keep—so choose your friends carefully. And her words stuck, irrespective of how I as a teenager conformed to her maternal wisdom. “Birds of a feather” has to do with political parties and loyalties, too.

Could it  be that it works like a laser? I had the opportunity once to interview John Polkinghorne, the great Anglican physicist and clergyman. Knowing that prayer was an active part of his daily life, I asked him about the necessity of group or collective prayer. Why would we need to band together to pray for someone or something, some event or some need, when (#1) God already knows the need and (#2) God surely doesn’t need to hear multiple reminders from a group in order to respond to that particular (earnest or urgent) need?

All that’s left is the grand finale! And if it’s anything like the spectacular opening extravaganza, the 29th Olympiad will go down in history as the most memorably choreographed sporting event of all time. Certainly the world’s kudos rightly belong to Beijing and the 1.3 billion member family of China. So what shall we take away from this two-week celebration of youth and physical prowess? Over the course of the games I’ve scribbled onto a yellow pad a few life lessons. Here are a handful:

Today as we continue the summer sermon series, I Surrender All – Tales of Trust, our worship message centers on Sarai who became Sarah -  (Sarai > Sarah).

On this summer’s graduation weekend, Welcome to where Andrews University gathers year ’round to worship God. The Lord of this House is the Lord of this campus. In celebration of his grace that has brought these 215 graduates to this milestone of academic achievement and personal accomplishment, let us come before our God with rejoicing and thanksgiving. “For the Lord is good, and his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.

I’ve been trying to get stronger lately. Every morning, at an ungodly hour, (at least my wife thinks so) I get out of bed and head to the Meier Hall Health Club. This name “Health Club” is really a euphemism for a small, poorly ventilated space, in the basement of the Men’s Dormitory where guys go to torture themselves because we all know that while boy children are still in the womb our brains are washed clean with testosterone.

The body cell is the basic block of all human life. It is estimated that the human body is comprised of between 50-100 trillion cells. These cells die and are reborn each night. So in a real sense every day, our bodies are "brand new." If you haven't thought about it, human beings are creatures of "change." We are constantly changing every day. Yet when our cells die and cease to regenerate that process is called "aging." Old age and the inability of our cells to change are the beginning signs of death. We are living today in a time of tremendous transformation.

Do Hard Things. That’s the title of a book I read this summer. Written by Alex and Brett Harris (19-year-old twin brothers of Joshua Harris—author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye) the book challenges teens to rebel against rebellion. To rebel against the low expectations people have of teens. The book is an invitation for teens to join the “rebelution.” To do hard things. It includes the challenge to respect the authorities in their lives, ask for direction and help and to collaborate.I’m no longer a teenager . . . yet the book spoke to me.

Imagine the emotion.  Your son graduates from Ruth Murdoch Elementary School with high grades.  Graduates from Andrews Academy on the honor roll and president of his class.   Following his graduations from Andrews University magna cum laude, and the seminary with his M.Div., he is hired as a pastor in the Michigan Conference.  Within just a few years he is the senior pastor of one of the largest churches in the conference, with an Associate Pastor and Bible Worker on his staff.  You couldn’t be more proud.  The promise that if you train a child up in the right way he will not depart from it

Dwight Nelson will continue his blog at the end of August. Check here next week for posts from guest bloggers.