Happy 16th Birthday, Jordan!!

“A wise son maketh a glad father” (Proverbs 10:1, KJV)

“My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.” (Proverbs 6:20-22, KJV)

It is with a glad heart that we celebrate your 16th birthday today! What a blessing it is to see you growing in godly manhood! Your growth in becoming a self-disciplined man who is being sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ has been very evident and we are very blessed and privileged to be a part of preparing you for a special future of service to the God of the Bible! The upcoming years will continue to shape you for your life work that the Lord has providentially planned for you. We pray that this time will provide you with a solid foundation on which you can build and it is with great joy that we look forward to these years.

We are seeing many of your strengths with increasing clarity and have great hope for the dominion work that the Lord will enable you to accomplish. Your gift of writing, your interest in history, your growing foundation in theology, and your steadfastness in committing to doing what is right will serve you well for a lifetime. As we look to the future, we see that these building blocks are being put together for a very specific purpose that God has ordained.

The presents that we give to you for your birthday are intended to encourage you in a godly pursuit involving your gifts and interests. The first book that we give to you (Adventure in the Wilderness: The American Journals of Louis Antoine De Bougainville, 1756-1760) is one that you have often referenced and we hope will serve to help you gain in knowledge of the French and Indian War, gaining an appreciation from a primary source about the providence of God in this conflict. The leathercraft set that is our next present to honor you on your birthday is for learning the valuable skill of working with leather that can be another avenue of being productive with your own hands, blessing others, and honoring our Lord.

As you have shown yourself to be an honorable son, our gift for your trunk (which contains many special gifts in preparation for your future) is a reflection of our desire to honor and bless you for your commitment to honor. We gladly add to the trunk 20 volumes of the G.A. Henty library. We hope that you know that these books are much more than simply words on paper to us, but that they represent our desire to give to you a special gift from our hearts in appreciation for the son that you are today and that you will become in the future. We joyfully give these books to you, knowing that you will enjoy reading them, that they will be filling your mind with themes that are consistent with what God teaches in His Word, and that they will be a tangible reminder of the blessing that you are given as you are obedient to the truth of Scripture!

We love you, Jordan, and may you pursue a godly, righteous, and holy path for the honor of the Lord! You are a great blessing and we are so excited to see how God is using you today, as well as His plans for you in the future! May you always lay whatever God accomplishes through you at his feet and be humble before Him so that you can have a great impact for His kingdom!

Happy 16th Birthday, Jordan!