Today is my 35th birthday. It is a quiet day for me. No special plans. But it is nonetheless a special day. God has been good to me in my life. He has saved me. He has called me to preach his word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. He has blessed me with a wonderful family – my wife, Crystal, and our children, H.B., Natalie, and the one “in the oven.” And the Lord has given me a great job – to lead, teach, and minister to the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles. These blessings are more than any man deserves or could ask for. Yet beyond all of this, the Lord has and continues to pour out his kindness in abundance to me.

Some people keep getting older but never grow up. I don’t want that to be my story. And I am grateful that I am maturing as I am getting older. May the Lord help me to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

There is another big milestone today. Today marks the 18th anniversary of Buster Douglas’ shocking upset of Mike Tyson for the heavyweight championship of the world. This soured my birthday then. And I don’t think I have been able to get over it yet. The Douglas-Tyson fight is the greatest upset of my lifetime – including the Giants upset of the Patriots.