Pastor Mike Nodland of the Christian Fellowship Church in Vining, IA.

First is the best! I remember the first time I learned to tie my shoes. After my dad showed me how I kept untying them and retying those (what my grandmother called) “clodhoppers.” Or there’s the first time I saw a movie in a theater (The Ten Commandments). I had no idea Moses was so big.

Other good firsts were my first bike, the first ride on a rollercoaster, my first Bubble Up ice cream float, my first real job, graduation from high school, my first car–a 62 Studebaker Lark, trading my lunch money at school for firecrackers, my first week in college, meeting my wife-to-be and our wedding day and first home!

But some “firsts” aren’t so good, like the first tooth pulled, the first car wreck, the first time in the principal’s office, the first time I rode atop a VW (with a cop chasing us), the first time I ate a raw hamburger, and the first time I drove through town in a car without brakes.

But can the first cup of coffee ever be beaten? Or the first big paycheck? Or winning the door prize? Yet, the best “first of all” was when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ! He is the BEST FIRST! Who’s your Best First?

Mike Nodland, pastor

Christian Fellowship Church, Vining, IA