Deeper Roots

Real Change

2010-01-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

Change is all around me. My daughter is now driving as she races toward independence while my dad no longer drives and slowly slides into dependence. Seasons of life spin on. Yet, my life feels so unchanged from day to day. Circumstances are continuously different but real transformation keeps its distance. Short term progression becomes like Groundhog Day as I wake up again where I started. It is not fear of change but instead I stay wrapped in the comfort of un-involvement. The balance of being frustrated with the way things are remains tilted toward being too satisfied to change them. Inertia settles me in stillness, waiting for an outside force to inspire action. However, I know the force is not external but instead it calls from within if I will only listen and move.

Finding God

2009-11-30T06:23:00.001-08:00

Is finding God a big secret? Christians constantly look for various activities hoping to find a path leading to Him. We fall prey to a misconception that God has hidden himself and we need some kind of treasure map to find Him. The quest becomes the map instead of the treasure itself.

God doesn't rollout a map for us. A map requires the reader to know where they are and plots what to expect down the road. I am not sure God considers that important for us. Instead God gives us something more like a compass. It does not pinpoint your location or layout what to anticipate ahead but instead provides a bearing to follow toward one place – true north. A compass has a single attraction and only needs the freedom to align itself toward that attraction.

God provides His children with our own compass pointing to Him. Deep inside us the Holy Spirit becomes that magnetized pointer seeking to align us in one direction. The world encumbers us but the heart is silently and continuously pulled toward God.

THEN

2009-04-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

It is important to see the Bible as a whole not simply unrelated chapters and verses. Writers were telling a story not providing snippets from which to pick and choose. True meaning is found in context.

With that in mind, I was struck when I noticed how Matthew's story changes between chapters 3 and 4. At the end of 3, Jesus had just 'fulfilled all righteousness' by being baptized, seen the Spirit of God descend and heard a voice from heaven say, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. Wow, what an amazing experience!

But don't put the book away yet. Chapter 4 begins with the word 'THEN". The story continues. After Jesus follows God's plan THEN He is led by the Spirit to a desert boot camp. After He is publicly claimed as Son by God THEN the devil mocks Him with 'if you are the Son of God'. After the heavens are opened to Him THEN Satan entices Jesus to prove His power by using it for His own gain. In every situation Jesus was prepared for the THEN?

Working in the world of computer development, THEN is an important part of what we do. If A THEN B. Look for a condition THEN you get the result you establish. However, as Matthew tells us, the THEN may not be the results we expect. We imagine, "If God is pleased THEN I get blessings" or "If God's child THEN I should never experience troubles". Isn't that how we think God should work?

God did not make us like computers to perform by a script. Instead we must choose how we will handle the THEN. The circumstances were defined but Jesus’ attitude was always obedience. It is a change of perspective for me to see it as "If obedient THEN more opportunities to be obedient".

The Breath of Life

2009-04-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

...then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils THE BREATH OF LIFE, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7

God formed man from the ground. Not with a shovel to make a pile of dirt but as a potter forms something of use. Trying to grasp the image of the all mighty God leaning over to work the dirt by hand. Everything else He spoke into being but man he shaped, molded, formed, created each detail. Then the intimate connection between God and man took place. God gave man the breath of life. He passed to us the actual spirit of God. He made us in His image and gave us His Spirit.

How can I not be moved by that? God is the very breath I breath. He is a close as the air that surrounds me. While I do not often think of my physical breathing, it becomes all I am able to think about when it is cut off. How long do I go without the breath of life? How can I not be moved by that?

Forgetting to Remember

2009-04-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

"God blessed the seventh day and made it holy..."

Genesis 2:2 and Exodus 20:11

While creating an entire universe in the beginning of Genesis, the one thing deemed holy was the seventh day. Everything else on the list was good or even very good but because God rested from his work on the seventh day it became holy. Okay, so God makes everything and it is good but when He stops making, it is holy?

Later in Exodus when God is listing those pesky 10 commandments to Moses on how to live in this world, the fourth one down tells us - "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy". Why is it holy? This happens to be one of two commandments God takes a moment to explain. Like any good Father, his explanation is "Because I made it that way". Six days work then on the seventh rest. Make one day different each week. Set aside and join me.

Has this become the least observed commandment? Wonder how many modern day Christian households define rest on a Sunday morning preparing for church? Or how many mom's feel rejuvenated after that big Sunday meal? Or what percentage of restaurant open because of the after church rush?

God rested then gave us rest. Holy was not in the doing but it was in the stopping. We are convinced that the world depends on us so we must GO every waking moment. God set a rhythm to everything, including us. He did not build a machine but someone to live in relationship.

Whether your Sabbath is Sunday, Saturday or Thursday, is there a day that is holy (set apart) in your life? Is there day you rest and enjoy? Is there any moment that time slides by with no doing but just being? I know my answer to those questions need a lot of ~~work~~ rest.

In the beginning God created...

2009-04-01T03:42:00.000-07:00

Recently started my fourth read through the Bible and I cannot get out of the first chapter of Genesis. The creation story provides so much to consider. So much said, so much left unsaid.

God speaks and from nothing an entire universe comes into existence. Was it six 24-hour days or six billion years called six days? Either way the power to create something from nothing leaves any comprehension or research of that creation limited to what the owner of that process wants to convey.

God ordered the universe.
Day, night, weeks, seasons, years - God built time.
Land, sea, sky - God built space and place.
Birds, fish, animals, plants, trees, us - God built life.

Big bang? What started the bang?
Evolution? What kicked off the first beat of life in the primordial ooze?

"In the beginning God created...". These five words set the foundation for the rest of the Bible and the rest of history. Those five words are the prerequisite to the everything else. If I have trouble comprehending something else in the Bible or something in life, consider those words in Genesis 1.

God's creation, God's plan, God's power, God's rule.

If only that were my starting point for the way I try to see everything.

It is all God's. It was nothing then God created. I was nothing then God created. Anything I 'have', God created. Anything I experience, God created. Just understanding it all is His creation, His plan, His power, His rule would make sense why I have so much trouble making those things mine.

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED...

Random Thoughts

2009-01-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

1. February is really the longest month of the year because it never seems like spring will get here.
2. People no longer have a clue what to do at a 4-way stop or maybe I don't.
3. How do people with more then 3 kids do it? One is a full time job for 2 adults in our house.
4. From what I can tell, happiness depends on doing what you believe and believing what you do.
5. The internet seems to have the answer to almost any question that comes to mind except why do i have so many single socks?
6. My desire for a new car is currently met head on by an even deeper desire of no car payments.
7. Staying in a hotel is fun until you do it 50-75 nights a year for 10 years.
8. TV is the biggest waste in my life.
9. You can never be anything you can't truly see yourself being.
10. Does Rhode Island have a low number speeding tickets? I mean the state is small and they are speeding.

What do you need to say?

2009-01-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

What needs to be said today?

I have a few things:
1. To my wife - I am so much better because of that moment it took to fall in love with you.
2. To my daughter - You amaze me everyday with what you are becoming.
3. To my dad - I learned as much watching what you did as everything you said.
4. To my mom - I miss you and I regret there were things I never said.
5. To my sister - Thank you for keeping me in your life even when I was too lazy to keep you in mine.
6. To my friends - You have no idea how important it has been to share life with you.
7. To my God - Your grace and mercy know no bounds to allow me to be a part of your family.

Don't waste time. What is it you need to say?

Ticket to Heaven

2008-12-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a small Baptist church. I had this view that when I became a Christian that it came with this all important "ticket to heaven". As long as I sat quietly and didn't get too dirty then someone would be by later to take me in. My Christian life was a waiting room.

It felt selfish. “If you don’t mess up, you get a reward.” Yet I was being told from the pulpit that even if I was thinking the wrong thing then I was messing up. It all seemed impossible. If I think something then it is the same as doing it? Do you realize what goes on in this head? How could I just sit and try to not to think and try not to do? Is that really what God wants?

So I did what it seems a lot of good Christian young people do when it comes time to start their own life. I quit. I never got involved with a church after going away to college. I didn't loose faith in God, I just didn't feel like there was anyway I could measure up to the church criteria.

So I became that "C&E Christian" - the one that shows up on Christmas & Easter and tries to be a "good person" the rest of the time. I mean after all I already had my ticket, right? Just check back in now and then to see if anything had changed. Nope, still seems the same rules apply. Those C&E sermons told me as long as I had a ticket the rest of the sermon was about those that didn't. My job was to try to stay awake and if everyone cooperated we would all be released in time for lunch.

When I begin to attend church on a more full time basis a few years ago, the light was slowly turned on for me. Christianity is not something to tie us down but to release us into what we were created for. It is not about what we shouldn't do but instead what we have the potential to do. As I begin to listen to Godly men and women, I learned God’s desire for me was more then having faith in a trip to Heaven. Yes Jesus came to die for me but his life was not one of simply waiting for the cross. His life was active – daily spending time with God the Father then going to where the people were and ministering to their needs.

To be honest, not sure what I am trying to say with this post but I feel like there must be other people out there stuck in that waiting room. If you are, I hope this blog helps but most importantly I pray you find wise Christian friends who are able to speak truth into your life. Don't just wait. Don't fear the failure. Go live the life God gave you specifically to live.

Be Ye Perfect

2008-11-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Recently completed “Mere Christianity” a classic by C.S. Lewis. His writing still rattles around in my brain about a verse that has rattled around in my heart even longer.

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

Lewis’ words took me to task.

I find a good many people have been bothered by what I said about Our Lord’s words, ‘Be ye perfect’. Some people seem to think this means ‘Unless you are perfect, I will not help you.’; and as we cannot be perfect, our position is hopeless. But I do not think He did mean that. I think He meant ‘The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less.’

That is why He warned people to ‘count the cost’ before becoming Christians. ‘Make no mistake,’ He says, ‘if you let me I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest until you are literally perfect – until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.’

An yet this Helper who will be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make to do the simplest duty. Every father is pleased at the baby’s first attempt to walk yet no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son.

You must realize from the outset that the goal towards which He is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal.

An Undecided Decides

2008-11-04T04:24:00.000-08:00

Finally they can subtract one from the undecided voter column. Even though I no longer sit on the fence, this election has been a struggle for me. In previous elections my ballot could literally be marked months in advance. My mind was made up when my party’s delegates reached the magic number. There was little left to the process other then worrying that the villain on the other side might win.

However, this year stirred my own internal debate which caused a reexamination of a number of things. As a result I will vote differently then all of those other elections. I will vote outside my party for president for the first time. I will vote differently then my wife, friends, family, people at work and the rest of ‘my circle’.

When you live inside a world that looks and acts and thinks like you then you are sure we all makes sense. Everyone agrees. This is where we are going and this is how we should get there. However, over the past couple of years I have been exposed in a real way to life outside “my circle”. When you step outside those walls and learn that your reality is not everyone’s reality all of sudden things are not as absolute as they were when your rules kept things orderly.

It was extremely hard to open up my convictions and look at them from another point of view. I want to be clear; this is not a change of my convictions but a reevaluation of my response to them. That is what has been so hard to work through. I always thought the other side had the wrong conviction. But the more I have listened to the candidates (not the hype around them) this time, I found they all are able to identify the problems but it is more about a difference in our response to them.

Am I changing parties? No.
Do I feel the other side has all the right answers? Absolutely not.
Do I agree with all the candidate’s plans? Nope.

But sometimes it is not about what makes me comfortable. Sometimes it is not about what agenda I can profit from. Sometimes you just have to look at those you have to choose from and decide which one you are willing to follow. Sometimes it is just about leadership. Leadership is so desperately lacking in this country. So today I will respond differently then I have in the past. I will cast my vote for a different agenda and hopefully a leader that will lead this country.

It came down to one thing, what power does a president really have except the power he can obtain through persuasion.

Please earnestly pray for our country and vote today.

Small Enough

2008-10-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

The story goes...

After dinner Theodore Roosevelt would step outside the White House to enjoy a cigar with his best friend, William Beebe, the famous naturalist. The two men would look up at the sky, when their eyes had focused on the tiny patch of light near the constellation of Pegasus, Roosevelt would say in prayerful tones, “That is the spiral galaxy of Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of 100 million galaxies. It consists of 100 billion suns, each larger than our sun.” Then Roosevelt would say, “Now, I think we’re small enough. Let’s go to bed.”

I get so caught up in my tiny piece of the world. My minute sphere of influence consumes my focus. This little slice of the universe so overwhelms me.

It is good to stop and take in the vastness of the universe and how little it is focused on me. It continues to plod along without consideration of my problem de jour or even what happens on this tiny little speck of a planet. Only a God of infinite proportions could place us in something so eminence and unmeasurable.

Yet, within all of the spinning, revolving, wobbling, twinkling, rotating, burning and exploding, I am not lost but found. This great big all powerful God reaches out of the dark infinite and found this insignificant and touched it. Transformed it. Only by grasping my smallness can I begin to step into true worship.

Now, I think we’re small enough. Let’s go to bed.

A Lesson From George

2008-10-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

As we head into another week of financial questions. I offer this wisdom from a different George...

"Can't you understand what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicky and he's not. That's why. He's pickin' up some bargain. Now, we-we can get through this thing all right. We've, we've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other." - George Bailey

One More Thought on Paths

2008-10-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

A quote to follow up yesterday's post...

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." - Frank A Clark

Ancient Paths

2008-10-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16

When not sure which way to go? Why do I seek my own way when there are ancient paths to follow?

There is no need for multi-lane super highways. These are narrow trails each well worn & built up by godly men and women over generations. Passageways that may be slow to follow but speed is not always in God’s plan as much as mine. Not the most direct routes but they pass amazing views of Gods work along the way.

There are no signs to mark the entrance because we are told to ask the way. He wants to walk along with us. Show the way I was created to follow.

God does not call one to blaze new trails as often as I may think.

Lord, show me the ancient and good paths you have laid out. Then remind me when I stray from them.

Bailout or Rascue it all Stinks

2008-10-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Okay the bill has passed congress. Call it Bailout or Rescue, it all still stinks. A guarantee of financial disaster or rush head long into something that no one wants to do. No time to think. No time to discuss. I never trust the guy that says you have to make a financial choice right now or the deal goes away.

So this means somewhere the tax dollars of a guy who just lost his house will end up going to save the bank that foreclosed on him. Does that really make sense? Only in America, because we are talking Wall Street and Washington and sense was never required in either place.

You see, to me, all of this is a little like a dog who was sniffing around the yard one day and ends up with a big piece of crap on his nose. He really has two choices; either walk around with the crap on his nose or lick his nose.

Folks, it is time for us to lick our nose.

Making Time

2008-09-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!" - Og Mandino

I let it happen too often. Everything on my schedule gets pushed end to end. There are no gaps, no time to breath. The day is all set then here comes that thing I really should be doing. However, because I am so over committed, it goes by without notice? Responsibilities are important but if there is no time to talk to my child or give a neighbor a hand or spend a few moments in prayer when a friend asks, perhaps there is something on my responsibly list that shouldn't be there.

Random Thoughts

2008-09-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

The only person I should be better then is the person I was yesterday.

Always saying I am busy but if I had more time, would I just be busier?

I don't know my neighbors very well.

Take one day off and play golf alone. Walk it and enjoy God.

Life is a little like poker. The cards are determined but how we play them is our choice.

The size of this universe is amazing but even so the realization it didn't know that I existed was disappointing.

The adults when I was a kid looked like they had it together far more then the adults I know today?

What ever happened to the Information Superhighway? Are we on it? I didn't see the signs.

When I am out of step with God, I know who moved.

Getting stuff only increases my wanting stuff.

Do Not Cross the Line

2008-09-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Why do we have this fascination with sin as a line?
We argue about its location.
What is allowed and what is abhorred?
Everything on this side of the line is good while over there is evil.
We even negotiate how close we can stand without going over?
Friendships are broken, religions are formed and wars are fought to establish where the line is.

Do you suppose God is as concerned with the line as much as we may think?
Consider instead, what if God would rather change the focus from the line to Him?
You see when you are facing God there is no line.
Its not so much where the line is but where the light is instead.

I Have Gas

2008-09-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

I am confused by the whole gasoline industry. Always have been but even more so today.

How can Nashville be out of gas while 650 miles to the west in Oklahoma City it is $3.19 per gallon which is the lowest price we have had in six months? How does that work? Is I-40 blocked? How did a whole city run out of gas? Was no one watching the little red light on the gauge? My wife starts reminding me to pull over well before that thing comes on.

Also on this subject, why do competitors have such comparable gas prices? The two stations down the street from me are exactly two cents different every time I drive by. Do they stand outside with the plastic numbers and wait to see which one flinches first? Or more likely, Shell spends millions of dollars every year forecasting world wide oil production, monitoring distribution channels, calculating cost of sales, predicting outside influences, etc. to establish their price while 7-Eleven tells their guys to watch the sign across the street and subtract two cents?

How can a station have the same price as the competition on the same corner but the same company has another station a couple of miles away is ten cents higher? Does it cost that much to drive those big trucks? If so, wouldn’t the prices on the highway be cheaper then the ones they have to come all the way into the city to stock up?

Now you can see why I am so confused. I am going back to work.

Stadium Pal

2008-09-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is too funny. Gross but funny.

And it's real.

"The Original since 1998."

Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras, New Year’s Eve at Times Square, and the list goes on and on.

Oh boy, can you imagine being crushed up against a million people in Times Square with one of these? And look they have Stadium Gal too. I could not bear to click the "Restroom Stories" link.

Just think, no more having to take a break from surfing the net. You could go all night with Stadium Pal.

What are you praying for?

2008-09-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, got hit with this a couple of weeks ago during a sermon at church. Still trying to digest it so thought it would help to write through it.

Imagine two canvases. On the left is a painting of a bright sunshine lit day. Across the top of the canvas, there is a crisp blue sky with only a few white clouds. In the foreground is a perfectly still lake with smooth as glass blue water. Rising in the distance is a majestic Colorado type mountain perhaps snow still visible on the peaks. All around there are beautiful trees with unmoving leaves depicting the calm peaceful tranquility of the morning scene.

Now on the right is another painting. Same location but this time the bright sunshine is gone and a storm is in full fury. The lake is churning with large white capped waves crashing against each other. The mountain is no longer visible through the massive dark storm clouds. The trees are bent over as they are being whipped by the gale force winds. Yet, on the lake there is a small boat being tossed at the mercy of the waves and wind. You can see inside the boat and there is a man asleep completely relaxed inside all of the turmoil.

So here is the question. What are you praying for? Do your prayers focus on God bringing you the perfect day or beg God to build your trust in Him so that the circumstances mean less? Do you want to dictate the how the picture should look or do you work on how you should look in the picture? Is your desire for God to deliver something you can be peaceful with or to trust him to bring peace to you no matter how it is delivered?

I have pondered these questions for weeks. I hope it strikes something with you as it did with me.

Grace Finds Beauy in Everything

2008-09-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

I must live under a rock. Never heard this song until purchasing a U2 CD this weekend. Absolutely blown away with Bono's words on Grace.

Thank God, grace makes beauty out of ugly things!!!! Undeserved, unearned, no strings attached grace. Only God could give such an amazing gift. How can I not be changed by that?

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace...
It's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that, changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma, karma
She travels outside... of karma

When she goes to work, you can hear the strings
Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace...
She carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings...
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace finds beauty in everything

Song - Grace
Lyrics - Bono
Music - U2
Album - All That You Can't Leave Behind

Watch Out!! He's got a Rolling Pin

2008-08-27T12:54:00.001-07:00

Okay. The covered faces, knife, baseball bat and billy club did not really concern him. However, put a rolling pin in someone's hand and now you got his attention!!

Daddy's Little Girl

2008-08-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

As we grow older there are certain events that demonstrate time is passing faster then one cares to admit. One of those moments took place for me a few days ago.

What do you do when your child begins to beat you at the game you taught them? Not talking about Chutes and Ladders or Go Fish because those games daddies are good at loosing. Nope, talking about my game. The one I have played for years. I am talking about golf.

There I was last week on the 17th tee box with my 14 year-old daughter. Was having a pretty good day and thanks to a few good shots, seemed headed toward one of my better rounds in awhile. Ran a quick total to see how things were going. Wait, this can't be right... I am only ahead by 1 stroke? Are you kidding me? Recalculate. Yep, numbers are correct. Knew she was getting better but almost even after 16 holes? Wasn't it just a few months ago she was getting a stroke per hole?

After a couple of lucky shots on the final two holes, I was able to leave the course with an ounce of dignity and the narrowest of victories. However, it is painfully obvious that it is only a matter of time before old dad will go down in flames. That day will present both a difficult reality to accept and a magnificent moment in time to realize how my little girl is growing up and moving ahead in life.

She starts high school this week, which has its own realities to accept. However, it is apparent, as she spreads her wings; it is time to step back a bit. With lots of friends, facebook, texting, phone calls, drop offs and pick ups., no longer am I plugged into every minute by minute detail of her life and admittedly finding it difficult to fade into the background.

So I guess I will just enjoy my daughter getting better in golf because time on the course may be one of the few places where it is just me and her. A chance to still teach a little bit of golf but now even more importantly teach a lot of life. All the things that we have talked about for years are no longer way out there some day but have become the days she is about to step into. So it seems well worth the trade of the inevitable loss on the scorecard for the uninterrupted time together.

Now just fear the day she says, "Hey Dad, let me spot you a few strokes to keep it interesting."

Olympic Opening Ceremonies Take Gold

2008-08-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

As I watch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, all I can say is WOW! The Chinese people know how to put on a show! It is amazing to see the precision of thousands of people completely working in unison. How majestic to witness the mixture of the nations, colors, races and creeds. Is there anyone that does not look at this and wonder what the world would be if we lived together like this every day? Oh but there is a day that this will take place across this planet. If this is just a tiny glimpse of it for a few moments then I can’t even imagine what that will be like for eternity.

A Prayer Request

2008-08-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Whether this prayer comes from Billy Graham which was aired by Paul Harvey or Minister Joe Wright during the opening of a new session of the Kansas Senate, I am not sure. I find references to both. However, I do know the words are our true need…

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

Batman

2008-07-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I went alone to see The Dark Knight.

"How was it?", My wife asked when I returned.

"Not sure, I guess it was good but would not call it great."

Something about the movie just never found a place with me. Wasn't quite sure why until reading this tonight. That is it! There was nothing there. A lot of things blew up and there was tension in the air but when I left the theater there was no joy or sadness, no motivation to change or stay the same, no lesson learned and no reason to even talk about it with friends. Nothing.

10 Summer Camp Memories

2008-07-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday dropped my daughter at Kanakuk K-West Kamp in Missouri. Absolutely the best christian camps and her favorite place in the whole world.

Got me thinking about going to camp as a kid. Ten things I remember about Summer Camp:

The List - that long list of everything to take.
Night Sounds - Fan spinning and the crickets chirping as I fell asleep.
Shaving Cream - Not to shave but for fights or filling sleeping bags.
Smells - Waking up to the smell of bacon in the morning.
Kids - Thousands of kids. Camp was almost bigger then my hometown.
Vespers - First time I remember sitting still long enough to hear God work in my heart.
Top Bunk - The only way to go as a kid. Now bottom bunk sounds so much better.
Food - The food may not have been great but being so hungry it all tastes good.
Girls - At 12-17 years old, nothing like the chance to meet and date girls you didn't grow up with.
That Mountain Top Experience - Actually finding myself changed when I got home. Too bad it too often faded away.

I pray she finds God around every corner the next two weeks and builds strong friendships with girls from around the country. It is hard to let go for two weeks but I know she is building her own list of summer camp memories that will be with her the rest of her life.

Sleep

2008-07-18T20:19:00.002-07:00

I am tired. It has been a long week and face a 10 hour drive tomorrow to take our daughter to camp in Missouri then return home. So going to sleep.

Read this then get some sleep yourself.

Good night!!

Back Home Again

2008-07-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Great vacation in Phoenix. Accomplished very little other then perfecting the art of doing nothing. A little golf, fine food and floating around the hotel's lazy river were the only activities over the six day stay. It was good to get away!!

Playing It Safe

2008-07-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

Grace Murray Hopper

So what were we built for? Are we here only to play it safe? So much of our focus tends to be on keeping ourselves tightly tethered to the shore.

However, are there plans waiting beyond the horizon that we just can't quite see? Something that may not come easy but a passion burns inside that requires pulling up anchor and setting sail.

Over the past few years I have met so many of the people that have headed out to find what God had waiting for them. No promises, no guarantees, just an over whelming love for God and a deep desire to trust what he had put on their hearts. Some are on the other side of the world while others are just down the street. It is amazing to see the peace and freedom in someone who finds what they were really built for.

God's miracles show up through us when we pursue the things other then those we can do on our own.

Choice

2008-06-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Everything you do in life, every choice you make, has a consequence. When you do things without thinkin', then you ain't makin' the choice. The choice is makin' you.

Mark Steven Johnson

How often has making NO choice become a choice? Riding along with the group. So concerned about self image that my image actually becomes defined by others.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image..."

Genesis 1:26

Vacation 2008

2008-06-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep my hands off the family vacation plans this year. Told that I have a bad habit of over engineering the schedule so this year leaving it to the rest of the family. After some early discussions, Los Angeles was the leader but now the jury is in and we will be heading to Phoenix, Arizona.

Arizona, Dessert, July?

I know it is a dry heat but so is my oven and never had any desire to crawl in there to relax. Oh well, wonder if there is any chance of some night golf? Any tee times available around 1:00 AM? Looks like a pleasant 88 degrees as we make the turn. There I go planning again.

Worthy

2008-06-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Some people make you think....

Random Thoughts

2008-04-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

· Proverbs is a great way to start the day

· My mouth runs way too far ahead of where it should be

· God is so very good

· There is so much information flooding me every day nothing soaks in

· Mornings are so much more fun now that I am older

· Love the art of a good conversation – wish I had it

· I am educated way beyond my obedience level

· The statement “I had nothing better to do..” is used different then what it says

· When was the last time I drew a picture?

· Kids are great because they believe anything can happen. When did I stop?

· I need a mentor

· I have actually cheated on my golf score when playing alone

· So many different languages but all laugh the same way

Losing a Friend

2008-03-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

One month ago today, I got the call. The one you always fear but never see coming. The news was bad. My closest friend had a sever stroke. My college roommate, confidante, buddy, brother from a different mother and thirty-two years of friendship was down for the final count. A brain tumor that no one saw until it had left just a body slowly trickling away for the final days.

Sitting alone with him in the hospital room, I knew all the things I claim to believe about God. Omnipotent, works beyond my understanding, perfect love, sovereign rule, trust, faith, His universe means not mine, etc. But those things are much easier to believe when dealing with simple things like traffic causing the clock to move faster then you can or a store being out of your favorite brand of ice cream or even losing of a job to no fault of your own. Those are the trails God has equipped me to do. Those are the times I hang on to the fact that there are undeniably things much bigger then my little world. God has slowly taught me these lessons over and over throughout the years.

But this was different; there was not a 'fix' or 'work around' solution to the problem. This was not an “everything will be alright” moment. There was no reason under the sun a good, decent, god loving, 51-year old man dies. No rational for two young boys who will spend the remainder of their life without a father. No explanation that would make this add up.

I have always hated the question of WHY? It really never matters much after something goes wrong unless it makes it not happen again. This was certainly not one of those times.

“It is what it is.” “Play it where it lies.” “One day at a time.” “Shake it off”... All of those words are how I normally navigate the world but they contain absolutely no meaning when you talk to your friend on Saturday, see him lying in a coma on Monday and feel the hole rip open in your heart as he departs on Thursday.

God doesn’t pass out too many true deep friendships in this life and when you loose one… it cost you. It cost down to the deepest part of you.

I can truly say I am so thankful to be hurting right now because every ache is directly proportional to the amount of life we shared together – like college life, the first job, finding the right girls (after spending a lot of time checking out the wrong ones), marriages, kids, maturing, holidays together, weekends at the lake, football games, lots of golf or just hanging out. However, most importantly over the past few years we each found our way back to relationships with God. A truly amazing experience.

Deep morning comes from deep loss which can only come out of deep friendship.

Thank you my friend.

Thank you God.

The Sea

2008-03-04T04:32:00.000-08:00

“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine De Saint Exupery

How often do we as Christians wrap ourselves in the details of building the ship instead of casting the vision of the endless immensity of the sea? If God's endless immense love is not communicated then the acts of discipleship in ones life will never find their target. I blush at how often I have beat the drum of reading the Bible or finding your quite time or getting involved in service but spent too little time kendeling a desire to be like Christ.

What is it like for even a small moment in time when my heart is touched by God? Why does the creator of an entire universe allow me to draw near? Where does this amazing peace come from when everything seems to fall apart around me? What happens when my eyes open to see what God is really doing around me? What does it really feel like when God connects my heart with another heart to share their load?

That is what I need to find out how to say. Then reading the Bible, quite time, service, solitude, worship and prayer will be joyous simple tasks that build the ship to float along on God's endless sea.

Yes, Lord

2008-02-11T04:37:00.000-08:00

When you give your life to Jesus it really is just your first ‘YES’. It is the beginning of a life of saying ‘YES’ to God. Saying I trust you with my life. - Erwin McManus

A true Christian life is a long series of yeses to God. We should always be ready to say YES! The first yes means very little without the next one and the next one and the next. Aren’t the acts of discipleship simply preparing a heart to listen and respond ‘YES’? If I sit back in the glow of my first yes to Christ and never listen for God’s direction or follow the path Jesus laid out, what purpose have I served? The hard heart is one who refuses to say yes and rejects that God’s infinite understanding of life can be trusted to do what is right for me.

O Lord, prepare me to hear without doubt and act with out stipulation.

Beyond the Sun

2008-01-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

This week, I will start leading a group through a look at Tommy Nelson’s study of Ecclesiastes (A Life Well Lived: Living with a Perfect God in an Imperfect World). Always love this book of the Bible even though it seems so bleak. I guess it because we get a chance to share the wisdom of Solomon and who else has received God’s gift more abundantly. Solomon had more wisdom, wealth, influence, power and everything else then any of us will ever have and he comes to one conclusion over and over and over again…it is all meaningless. No matter what we do under the sun we end up right where we started, dust.

Life is a treadmill.

Get up, cup of coffee, breakfast, shower, brush teeth, drive to work, …, repeat, repeat, repeat. Even when we break up our routines with the special things like holidays or vacations, those are really just repeats done on a less frequent basis. No matter how much I cut my hair, do the laundry, trim the lawn or rake the leaves, I am relegated to repeat.

Ah, but maybe we live for the pleasures of life. Solomon walked through the world of pleasure on a truly epic scale. He blew the doors off with countless parties, a thousand women, grand building projects, multitude of servants, along with more gold and silver then he could count. Everything his mind could conceive - he did. He had the resources to do anything his heart desired. He undertook one of the world’s great experiments and actually tried it all. And yet his words still echo, meaningless.

The chase for more and more and more and more never reaches the conclusion we are after. The consuming focus on this momentary visit to this place called earth has never changed the results. Wise or fool, rich or poor, driven or lazy, all come to the same outcome. We die, our friends gather and remember us for an hour, grab a sandwich on the way back to the office then by the next morning everyone has returned to the treadmill. Our stuff is handed off to someone else and the wind blows through and it was as if we never existed. As Solomon found out, everything under the sun is meaningless.

So why do I love this depressing look at life? Because the wise Solomon did find an answer in his experiment. He shares with us an antidote other then a leap from the nearest tall building. He tells us simply - Enjoy!! Enjoy what God has given you. The simple things like eat, drink and work. These really are where the physical world actually makes sense. Then spend a moment and find God in these gifts. The answer is found when we look beyond ourselves, above the horizon and beyond the sun. John 10:10 says it best, Christ brings the difference between just the existing and the chasing of the meaningless, to how we were truly created to live. He removes the futility from the soul and brings about the purpose we are actually dying for. By removing love of creation and focusing it instead on the Creator, we quit settling for the temporary and reach for the eternal.

Go beyond the sun.

Treasure

2008-01-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Psalm 119:10-11

How this burst within my soul this morning. When have I last sought You with ALL of my heart? Where was I looking? Have I truly treasured Your word recently?

Oh I love the great verses, the ones that inspire! The ones that surely I must have right because I have heard them a thousand times. But what about the rest? How often the goal has been the stroll through the word not the hunt for treasure.

What to do with words that are deep and require time to dig. The ones that involve coming to a stop and getting down on my knees. Too little time, too much effort. Leave it lay! Surely there will be more up ahead.

No, the Psalmist sought You - not the end of a chapter. He clung to the entire word like a gem of great value. Never would he put it down for fear it would be lost. He understood the value.

The same treasure is still here thousands of years later. Placed within reach but it is requires responsibility to seek it, find it, hold on to it - not letting it slip from our grasp. Could there be anything of greater value then to catch just a facet of God’s magnitude and glory found in His word? Sell everything else - obtain it.

Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
Psalm 119:38

Change

2008-01-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

Another New Year. Why do we use the change of a calendar to motivate change in us?

Perhaps there is benefit as we move toward a specific point in time to reflect and prepare if any real difference is going to be made from a resolution to transform. The end of each year stirs the need to evaluate where I have been and seek guidance on where I should have gone instead. I have to say 2007 seems to have been almost a year of “Spiritual A.D.D” for me. Any long term development was frequently interrupted by the next bright shiny object that distracted me. Ironically, I may have been more consistent in starting each day with Bible and prayer but where was the growth?

Discipleship, spiritual formation, Christian maturity, what ever one names it, requires a pattern of focus that seems just beyond my reach recently. Was it beyond my reach or was it really just my failure to stretch? This is not a science, nothing to chart or measure growth like the marks on the door frame when I was getting taller as a child. Just a question, “Am I different then I was last year at this time?” My heart aches at the answer.

Rhythm

2007-11-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Never have been consider one with rhythm. Even though the drum was my instrument of choice in the junior high band, my teacher never once mentioned that a protegee lay inside me waiting to be discovered. After all, the drum choice was more about not having to learn to read music then an actual passion for creating the beat. Have found little in the relationship between my muscles and nerves that show a gift of rhythm.

However, God calls me to a rhythm that has nothing to do with the coordination of my body and far more about the beat of my heart. Am I in rhythm with him? Is the flow of my life in line with His pace or am I once again dancing to the beat of my own drum?

God has given the natural world around us a rhythm. Spring/summer/fall/winter, morning/day/evening/night, sowing/growing/harvesting/resting, birth/child/youth/adult. These are God’s inescapable patterns.

However, I fail to find a pattern in my life when chasing the bright shiny bobbles that too often catch my eye. Look at all I have to get done today? What do I need to push aside so I can move forward? What other information do I need so I know it all? Who is ahead of me and what do I need to do to catch up? What new luxury do I need to impress those around me? Can’t everyone see how important I am? If they would just do it MY way they could be just like me.

Oh how the world needs my management and input. If I leave it alone for just a few seconds everything falls a part. Blindly I plunge ahead not comprehending, this is what breaks my rhythm. This is the way the world cuts me off from God.

When there are those all too short seasons of unbroken rhythm in my life, there comes a peace, a comfort and a joy that can not be explained except to know I am on beat with Him. Not that everything is perfect. Problems do not just simply vanish but the importance I place on them does. Romans 8:6

Jesus showed us the beat, the perfect life in rhythm with God. It does not come by managing the world. It comes when following the One who created it.

Margin

2007-11-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

mar·gin [mahr-jin] –noun
1. an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary: to allow a margin for error.

Margin has become a word often spoken around me the past few weeks. Books are not written to the edge of the page, is this the way life should be lived? Push it to the edge!!

To the edge with my schedule, where there is no margin of time to give away when someone is in need of it. To the edge living between right and wrong, where the slightest slip and the lack of margin can cause disaster. To the edge in my finances, where every dollar (even that portion given away) is committed leaving no margin to react to those God places in my path today. To the edge in filling my mind and space with a continuous something, not anticipating that most of what God teaches comes in the margins.

How I need margin. The wide kind of margin you find in a good book or Bible. Good publishers do not fear the use of paper. Allows for places to pause and take note of what is going on. There is so little room to stop when running along the edge and the first place to cut becomes the margin.

Lord, provide me patience and humbleness to remove my definition of what is absolutely necessary and give you the margin to define what it means to go “beyond the necessary” in my life.

A Year and Half Between Posts

2007-11-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Been sometime since I used the Blog tool on my computer. Was getting too wrapped up in writing to be seen instead of just a journal of what God was doing in my heart. Have no plans to post on a daily basis but thought it may be good to jot down a few notes now and then to see where this leads.

Writing often slows everything down and allows the Spirit to connect the things God is doing around me. Spend way too much time wrapped up with the dealings going on inside this skin that I easily become a blind man walking among miracles. How I pray God grants focus and wisdom to see the kingdom as it unfolds. May His glory be seen and His voice be heard.

Spring has Sprung

2006-03-31T15:53:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I have working sitting at the patio table in the backyard. (Wireless technology is wonderful thing). The temperature is in the upper 70s, sunny and no wind. Most of the yard is now showing more green then brown. A number of trees are fully adorned in leaves while others are just starting to bud. Birds are singing and flying from one place to another. A few plants in the beds have broken through the surface this week.

How amazing is spring? Is it any wonder Easter comes at this time of year? Nature is ready to explode in its celebration of our risen Lord.

This afternoon has reminded me how I need to spend more time outside. There is something about removing the physical walls around me that helps me lift my heart to God. Not just a rush from the house to the car but slowing down to spend time in nature. Letting God speak through His design. Closing my eyes to feel the sun on my back or the touch of a breeze across my face can be as though He is reaching down from heaven to caress my soul.

I pray that each of you find some time outdoors within the reach of His creation.

Stop Waiting

2006-03-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Not long ago a friend and I made plans to play golf on a Friday afternoon. The type of plan where nothing was in concrete but our intentions were to play golf. As soon as he called, I would wrap up a few things and leave work for the afternoon. It would be great to enjoy some time out on the course. However, the call never came. I got busy and worked through the afternoon not even getting out of the office until after six.

Next day when we talked, found out he had the clubs in the car and was ready to go waiting on my call. We both missed out waiting on the other to move. No one committed to call it was just our assumption that the other would pick up the phone if they really could get away.

How many missed opportunities do I let slide by waiting to see God lead the way? “God, I am looking for the unmistakable sign, something like a neon flashing arrow being held by a elephant while riding a bicycle. It doesn’t have to be a big elephant and a tricycle will do, just clearly point the direction and I will be all over it.“

When the elephant doesn’t show up right away, it may not be me waiting on God as much as God waiting on me. These words were in the margin of a book I re-read a few days ago. “When will I quit asking what God wants me to do and just do what God wants?” Wonder how frustrated God gets with me waiting for the right door to open when I could be using the doors that are already there?

Discipleship

2006-03-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

Beginning to develop that anxious mind which comes a few days out. My mind bounces from one consideration to another. Nervously weighing various ideas and piecing them into an overall puzzle. You see, beginning this Wednesday night; I will lead another discipleship class through a 15-week journey. This will be my sixth trip down this path. However, it has been over a year since leading my last group.

How I need to go back and work through these building blocks again. Each group has always taught me new aspects and centered my own focus. Some of the classes have been started by inviting friends to get together for an early morning once a week. Others, like this one, are started by the church and listed on the Wednesday night schedule. I never know whom, if anyone will walk through the door.

Discipleship is not an easy class. These are small group discussions. I warn right from the start that this is not a normal study. They do not gather each week to listen to what the instructor has learned but instead we find out what they are experiencing and see how they are growing week by week. We start slowly but build quickly. Students will be asked to commit themselves to this endeavor. The schedule will run through early July when it will difficult to walk away from a warm summer evening to sit in a windowless room for an hour and half. However, the results can be life changing. I know my life changed when I went through the class a few years ago.

I ask anyone reading this to stop for a moment and pray that those who are led into this class will have a heart to chase God. If anyone is chooses a discipleship class so God will love them more then I suggest finding another way. I do not know how to help with that goal because God loves them as much today as he will ever or has ever loved. There is no way to increase His complete love. Discipleship, however, is a lifetime commitment for those seeking to fulfill a desire to love God with all their heart, all their soul and all their mind. It is impossible to pull God closer to ourselves but how amazing it is when we pull ourselves closer to God.

Tall Trees

2006-03-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. Ezekiel 17:24

When we think we have all the answers and lock into our own view, do we see ourselves as above it all? Are these the tall trees God brings down? I pray I never consider myself fully grown because I love the journey. While I always hope to be growing, it seems such an assumption to ever consider that I have reached a destination in my Christian walk.

So many draw a line around what they claim to know and dare someone to cross. I can’t help but think of the Pharisees who in their great Bible knowledge thought they understood God’s plans. They did not reject Jesus because they hated God - no through their own interpretations they were actually trying to defend Him. What a horrific tragedy to stand in the presence of God on earth and not be able to see through ones own misunderstandings.

“One must be content to be a beginner and really experience himself as a one who knows little or nothing. Possessing a desperate need to learn... Those who think they “know” from the beginning will never, in fact, come to know anything.” ---Thomas Merton

Just Another Day

2006-03-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning in a new world. The world of 49. It’s my birthday. That day of the year that passes like any other day for everyone else but is cause for me to reflect on my life. A look backward to all the great memories and blessing that have been provided but also feel a pang of guilt due to the volume of time wasted. Then I turn and look forward to thoughts of what I will do with the remainder of my time.

I do not know if God has it planned that I live to 49 and one day or another 30 years. However, I do know that number is out there. Should I scramble to accomplish as much as possible or is it a part of my life where I become comfortable in being who God has made me to be. I see no large world impact from my being here. No buildings or structures taking my name. My success will be limited in the views of this world but should I not be focused on significance instead of success?

What can I contribute to others that will make a difference after my time is gone? Are there lives that need just a touch that will show the face of God in a new light? Is there a kid that needs to see one person that is not self-centered but is actually other-centered? Is there a person that can see a glimpse of Christ because I traded in some time to follow the leading of the Spirit? Is my impact to cause a difference in the life of others, who then will make their own impact in the lives of others and so on and so on. Is that not the true meaning of significance?

What opportunities have been laid out before me but my weak eyes and ears were not open to comprehend? Lord, open my eyes to let me see, open my ears to let me hear, open my heart to let me feel. Show me the moments I need to step outside of this skin and make a difference.

Early to Bed

2006-03-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussing and frettings; coming in out of the
wind. C.S. Lewis

Was looking for a reference in Mere Christianity this morning. This highlighted section caught my eye again as it did the first time I read it. There are those mornings that my mind snaps to God as soon as the day starts to come into focus. A great prayer time lying there in bed as I reflect on the blessings of knowing the Creator of the Universe. Off to the kitchen, pour a cup and spend an hour or so reading, praying, journaling, being still, waiting, a glean of wisdom, a new thought on an old problem. I love those mornings. I live for those mornings.

Then there are those other mornings… the ones I have had lately.

A tap on the snooze button or two or three. Then struggle out of bed and spend 10 minutes just wandering around trying to wake up. Oh man, forgot to make the coffee. While the pot is filling notice the dogs are giving me that look so out to the garage for some food. Then I start to sit down with Bible. Ooops forgot to pour the coffee then find all the cups are in the dishwasher. I forgot to turn it on last night. Okay back to reading a few minutes then realize I have not prayed yet. Now other alarms begin to sound around the house. Prayer starts to get rushed. My daughter grunts a ‘Good Morning’ or something that sounds like that as she struggles by my place at the kitchen table. My concentration is fading. Then my wife makes her appearance and of course has a list of things that need to be discussed with my daughter. Microwaves beeping, dogs crunching food, toasters popping, a television comes on somewhere in the house. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.. The day is under way. I have lost my chance for privacy and intimacy with the Father. Not because anyone did anything wrong. No, I just could not get the day started as I should.

I have never seen it listed but wonder if rest and getting to bed on time should not be included as a basic discipline of the Christian life. “Love the Lord my God with all my heart, love others as myself and go to bed early.” That’s it, if I can get those three things down everything else becomes easy.

It is amazing how in tune my day becomes if I am just smart enough to end the previous day on time. Good night, I am going to bed.

In Vain

2006-03-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20:7

Grew up thinking of the 3rd commandment as an admonishment to keep my tongue in check. No cursing or profanity. Hey, maybe this one was within reach. Oh I went through parts of my life where cursing was how to “fit in” with the crowd and I confess I fit in. However, when I chose to stop, it was not one of those thorns that caused me to wrestle for years.

Then in another Ahhhhhh-Ha moment, the words finally came with a different twist, a new aspect. Do not take the Lords name in vain. This is not a simple instruction regarding an expletive flying from my mouth when things spin out of control. No, this is a much higher calling. I am sure others already understood this commitment but I remember it as an awaking to me to realize God was calling me to take His name and act like it. If I was going to use the name of Christian or Child of God then it has to be a full time commitment. Not just on certain opportunities but at all times – in every situation.

As a wife takes a husbands name, so do I take the name of our God. Let it not be in vain. It says in the commandment, He will not release me from this one. His name is sacred, act like it!

Journal on Journal

2006-03-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, was introduced the tool of journaling. Just started using this blog to as an electronic means last month. Still do some writing in the old fashion book form and not sure that I shouldn’t stay on paper. However, have always been incredibly amazed at how this discipline can be used by God to help connect the dots in my life. Showing how various scripture or events actually tie together.

Sometimes I have mulled over and over a subject in my mind for days. Other times I just pickup the pen (or hit the keyboard) with no subject in mind. Not planning any direction where this one may go but willing to put words down in anticipation of where they may lead. First step of any entry is the most difficult. Changing from still to moving. Inertia – bodies at rest tend/want to stay at rest. While the reverse is also true – bodies in motion tend/want to stay in motion.

How often I sit with no thought, no time, no inspiration – but once the first words form the next ones begin to pile up waiting on their turn to move from consideration to find their place in the sentence. This seems to be true within a single writing or from day to day. Too often going long periods of time without opening myself up to let God organize my heart by putting them in a readable form.

So many things in my life are like that first letter. It is out there, I know I need to make the time, find the effort and change my inertia. My life is full of spiritual inertia. When I am at stop in my relationship with God, I tend to stay there. On the other hand, there is no joy or peace in my life like that when my relationship flows. Moving easily from one experience with God to the next. If only I could stop stopping and stay moving.

A Different View

2006-03-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Read the Parable of the Sower this morning. How many times have we heard or thought through this story and felt comfort because we fall into the “Good Soil” people? It is good to be one of those who hears and understands then produces a crop, right? I can’t be one of those other soils. However, a few years ago, I had a great teacher expose a different facet on this gem from Jesus. A gleam of light that caught my eye that night and exposed some other thoughts to ponder.

In Mathew, after the always confusing “He who has ears, let him hear” end of the story, Jesus is quizzed and explains why He speaks in parables. He says that many will not see or hear the secrets being explained. The parable is for those who are receiving the knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven. Aren’t those the Good soil people? Was this story ever intended for the Pathway, the Rocky or the Thorny soil people? Is it perhaps for us because at times we can find all four soils in one life? my life?

How many times does a seed of truth land in that harden place in my heart? The Pathway part that is so worn because I tread there so often? It is that little part of my world where I keep God out. The birds of Satan come often and feed, taking any seeds away. It has become a bare and extremely hard patch that needs to be broken up. Always planning to get this area cleaned up a bit but…

Also I think back to many great messages or teaching that stirred abundant joy sitting in the sanctuary but were gone by the time I opened the door to my car in the parking lot. My Rocky soil does not allow for roots to go very deep sometimes. There is a little good soil on top over here for everyone to see but busyness, forgetfulness, lack of focus, selfishness and pride are huge boulders right under the surface that need to be dug up and moved out. This will be hard work; perhaps I can find a nice day….

Then there are those amazing moments with God that become choked out by the Thorny areas of my life. The soil is not bad here but there are so many other things rooted in this area that draw my energy away. This is where I planned my own seeds. Some of those thorn bushes actually seem pretty on the package but they didn’t come out the way I hoped. They started out as good things but how many are really God things? Need to get in this area and do some cutting, wonder if I need to go buy a chain saw…

How I long for more good soil in my life. It is not a simple task. I doubt any fruitful garden started out with 100% great soil. However, it is time to stop those excuses of “later”. With the help of The Holy Spirit it is time to get to work in these areas. It will not be easy, it will take some time - break up some ground in this area for a little bit, dig out that big rock over there for a while, pull some weeds that have sprouted all over the place. The work is good. It makes ready more good soil to produce fruit for my Lord?

Our Kids

2006-03-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

The young of the flock will be dragged away; Jeremiah 50:45

This was part of my daily reading a few mornings ago. The verse hit me in the gut and has stuck with me. While the context is God’s revenge on Babylonia, it is true in so many other ways today too.

I have a 12-year-old daughter and teach 2nd Grade Boys Sunday School. The thought of our young being dragged away by Satan is really a vivid image and a very real concern. The prowler seeks the young and picks them off one by one. Tantalizes them with a glittery world. Pulling them away from the flock and then tangling them in the wrong things to make them easy prey.

The mantra in their heads - “Do not risk being excluded from the cool crowd. You don’t want to be one of those kids do you? There is always time for that stuff later in life. One more day will not hurt anything.”

I am coming to the conclusion that Satan’s biggest tool is procrastination. If he can get us to wait just a little longer then his job is simply to keep us where we are.

Heard a statistic not too long ago that 85% of all Christians made their decision to accept Christ by 13 years of age. See how it works? “Don’t make that decision yet there is plenty of time in your life.” Does that stat scare you as much as it did me?

My daughter became a Christian two years ago and was the proudest day of my life. I know pride is not a Christian thing but I will boast in what God has done in her life. However, how sad to think there are people her age that statistically may never know God because they can't get over the pressure they face against stepping out in faith. I pray so much for the proper influences in their lives.

Teaching Sunday School, we see all types of young people. The cross section is wide. It is hard not to think of a church full of kids raised in “normal” active Christian homes with a mom, dad and their 2.5 kids. Those kids are there but also the ones that show up from virtually every other stage of life too. The single mom, running late, drops off at the door, looking for that one hour to get a chance to feed herself spiritually. Grandparents bringing their grand kids hoping to give them a once a week exposure to Christ that the kids never see in their own homes. Parents who are astonished when you tell them their child is learning so much and is becoming a leader in the class. Then there is kid that sits quietly, only there because he has to be, you want to connect with him so much because you see he may be one that will be dragged away.

Our kids are a battlefield. Pray for them that they stay close to the flock and always keep a watchful eye.

A New Game

2006-02-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

First, I understand life is not a game and this is over simplification but the images have stuck with me for a number of days now so I thought I would share.

Have you ever been lost trying to learn a new game or have someone explain the rules but later found they left out important information? A couple of weeks ago, my daughter had friends over to spend the night. After they ate and settled in for the evening, they wanted to do something new. So out of the game closet came an old board game I have loved for years – Scotland Yard. I will not bore you with all the specifics of the game but to put it simply it is a little complex and requires a lengthy set of rules. There is no way to look at the pieces and the game board and understand how it all works together.

It was interesting to watch the girls work through the progression of learning to play. First they got the board and pieces out and started to sort items and put things on the board but were completely lost in just a few seconds. Next they found the rules but reading the rules was complicated and would take too long, so they ask me how to play. After explaining the basic rules as best I could, they headed off to try again. Within a couple of turns they started to argue about what they thought they were suppose to be doing. So I finally sat down and played a couple of games with them. Taking time to show them what options there were with each move. Suddenly it all began to make sense and they began to enjoy the game. Soon everyone was laughing and having a great time as they tried to out smart each other and as they moved their piece around places in London. At one point they were laughing so hard that orange drink even found its way out of a nose. Finally they were experiencing what the game inventor had envisioned in the beginning – enjoyment of the interaction of the players.

The girls really gave me a view of how I feel like we (me specifically) approach life at times. First, jump in and get as many of the games pieces as possible. Spend money and time on things that were not really important to success of life because the definition of success is not understood or easily apparent. Then plod along, moving things around from here to there but nothing really seems to make sense.

Finally one day, we start to think more about are we doing it the right way. We consider the Inventor and the rules he wrote for us in the Bible. It seems complicated and too long to read. Do we really want to spend all the time it takes to understand the rules or wouldn’t it be easier to find others who have played before? They can tell what they understand and that should speed up the process. Soon armed with someone else’s knowledge choices are made that line up with the way the rules were explained but success doesn’t come as planned. We begin to argue with each other about what the instructions really mean. “No, I think you have to move this before you can do that.” “No, this other rule says you have to do that before you move this.” We get all caught up in the rules and forget the game. Frustration breaks out and many want to quit or go off and play the game with only the people who see the rules the same way.

However, we miss our biggest chance to be successful. In this game, we have a direct connection to the Creator. The one who designed the true success and significance that are found in our game. The one who actually came and played it perfectly for us so we would learn from His example. He alone has laid out the proper strategy. He calls us to slow down, quit worrying about our position on the board and just enjoy the game with Him. He shows us how to complete each move as it was designed. Explains the good and bad options before us. We have a choice, play how he suggests or go off on our own.

There really is no reason for failure. What we perceive as winning or loosing is not really the goal of this game. It is our relationship with Him and our relationship with others. The true reason for the game is how we spend the time with each other around the board not what happens in the game itself.

Forgiven

2006-02-22T05:41:00.000-08:00

Have heard these words quoted, ‘Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven’. Dallas Willard points out that Christians often do not see the need to follow or be like Jesus. All that is needed is to believe the proper view of Jesus – the correct doctrine - and nothing else is required. No effort – No action.

“Do you have a ticket for heaven? Sit over there, try not to get dirty and some one will be by later to take you in.” Is that how we see the Christian life? If we focus strictly on our salvation – does that view become selfish? “If I don’t mess up, I get a reward.” Salvation and eternal life come because of who God is not who I am. I can rest and rejoice in that but also need to go on. If salvation were the only goal for us, would it not be like parents wanting kids with no desire to raise them?

God’s desire for me is a personal and active relationship. Without it, what purpose is my life? Take me straight to heaven if there is no reason to be here. The reason is to grow and mature in Him. Jesus came to set the example and it was not one of simply waiting for the cross. His life was active – daily spending time with the Father then going to where the people were and ministering to their needs.

Are we perfect? No, but so much more than just forgiven.

God in a Fast Food World

2006-02-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago in my accountability group, we discussed becoming what we take in. A friend offered the example of fast food and how this will change our physical make up over time. Will not such an approach to our spiritual diet jeopardize our godly well being too?

How many times do I ask God to fit into my schedule instead of offering Him all my time first? Is it really a choice between rushing to some other commitment or lingering a few more moments in His presence? Does this world want an easy to use - microwave version of God? Three minutes on high then ready for the rest of the day?

As we have watched the Winter Olympics, we see well-trained athletes performing to their physical best. These athletes spend well over 95% of their athletic time in training for the few slices of time they are in the actual competitive moment. On the other hand, I may be training 5% of my time and then wonder why the actual moments I am tested become so difficult.

God wants to spend all of our time with us. Yes we need to find that time alone in His word or prayer but also those moments that normally do not fit our vision of relationship building with Him. Driving to work, watching a ballgame or at dinner with a group of friends, just slow down and take that moment to seek Him, wherever we are. Let him transform us in all things.

Can't keep quiet about being quiet

2006-02-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.
Proverbs 17:27-28

This is other side of Silence that I blogged on a couple of days ago. These are my convicting scriptures. How I fight this battle within me between the desire to keep my mouth shut and the overwhelming urge to speak at home, at work and at church. Seldom does the mouth shut side of the battle see victory. Delay of defeat at times but conquest is around the corner when the words and thoughts boil inside me until they spill over.

I do not understand this compulsion to bring my thoughts into the public view. Maybe that is why I started this blog. Provides an avenue to speak without forcing anyone to listen. At times it is arguing with my wife, correcting my daughter, adjusting a view at work or spouting some story in small groups, I get wrapped up in speaking my mind. What causes these words to spew out of my mouth? Is it pride? Way way to often! Is it insecurity? Sure - a lot of adjusting others views of me instead of the point I am trying to make?

How these words over at Coffee Swirls , convicted me earlier this week. How I found Doug’s account inspirational. There always seems to be a Jim or two in each church. They are always there with their gracious demeanor, a warm hand, a willing attitude but few words. When he speaks his words are genuine and they are right on target with the person he is speaking with. How too I need to think of Jim as a model.

Try to let the ‘quiet side’ win a few battles now and then. Realize I can let the world move on without my input. Like Jim, learn to rest in the knowledge that God has it under his control.

The Master Sculptor

2006-02-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

Read this earlier today.

What an image of how the Holy Spirit works in me. He is the Sculptor that sees the end product in the slab of rock that is my life. His challenge is to remove all of the excess. It is a slow process. Requires more then one strike of the hammer. Repeatedly he points his chisel to the portions of me that no longer belong and slowly chips away at the difference between my old and new self. Smoothing out the jagged edges. Looking for the core of what was intended.

He removes a bit in one place then moves onto another area that catches the master’s eye as displeasing. He is amazing artist. Never quite finished with his work. Time is not His concern. He knows the rock is flawed but he works around these weak areas as only His touch can. Finding ways to strengthen them.

Let me become the final vision of His work.

Silence

2006-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Traveled out of town Sunday night and returned home last night. A little more then 3 hours of driving each way. A lot of the time spent in silence. No radio, no music, no sports – not even a podcast of a favorite sermon. Just the consistent sound of the car moving along and God working in my mind and heart. How I have come to relish the sounds of silence and the chance to stop and still myself.

It shocked me the first time reading the word Silence in a list of disciplines. How could being quiet be a discipline? However, I learned a lot as my shaking hand first reached for the remote control and switched off the TV well before my nightly appointment ended and I sit in silence. Not reading, not busy doing things around the house but just sitting in quietness. Quickly found out I was addicted to sound. Realized something had to be on around me all of the time. I feared the quiet. Our house was always full of noise. TV or music was always playing somewhere even if it was not being watched.

Over the past few years, I have learned that being still is God’s plan. Allowing Him to work in my thoughts. Convicting me of a rebellious attitude, inspiring me to step out of my comfort zone, showing me how a scripture written 2,000 years ago was relevant to that issue I wrestled with this afternoon. God never intended for his children to be so full of noise. Is this why the shepherds were the first to hear of his son’s birth? Were they the only ones quiet enough to hear that night?

Look up the word obey. The Latin root of the word comes from the word meaning “to listen to”. Obedience comes from listening. I have to hear the command before I can obey the command. It is very difficult to be obedient in a noisy world. Stop and listen right now. Are there sounds that you did not hear before? Maybe it is the ticking of a clock, the running of the heater or the sound of your own breathing? Sounds are always around us, yet we have learned to block them out. Filter them through something that judges between what we listen to and what we just hear. What if we filter out that still small voice of God? What if God speaks once then goes on to find an ear waiting to listen?

Dancing with Daddy

2006-02-11T04:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight is “Dancing with Daddy”. A charitable event which raises money for a wonderful adoption foundation. However, on a very selfish note, tonight is my annual dress-up date with my daughter. At twelve, the time is running out to spend those daddy/daughter moments. We regularly go to the movies but those trips now normally include one or more of her friends. While we still spend time together going here and there; there is something about those special one of kind nights that I look back on with so much awe. I am so glad God blessed us with this child.

She is growing each time I look at her. Maturing from child to lady. Some days she is both 6 and 26. She still loves being a kid but has a solid way of seeing the world, which gives me great comfort.

I struggle as she faces her challenges these days. Is it still daddy’s job to swoop in for the rescue or is it that time to step back and let her make those decisions? So hard to let go and watch her fall sometimes. If success is getting up one more time then you fall down, then I have to let go – just a little. I have to accept the good and bad choices and teach her how to think on her own not just what would dad and mom do. Pray that she seeks God as her moral compass not relying on the world to guide her.

O Lord, how I desperately need your wisdom as a parent. Help me be your child, making the best decisions as you are teaching me.

Fear of the Lord

2006-02-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

Do I really understand ‘fear of the Lord’? This was the jest of the question that came up in a Bible study class earlier this week. Have we so often been taught God’s abounding love, that when the Bible tells us to fear God we are confused?

Read somewhere that God is dangerous. The image used was that of electricity. When electricity is approached with respect and caution then we are able to plug into it and enjoy wonderful resources in this life. However, if the laws of electricity are not understood and breached then it becomes very dangerous.

I know we define the word fear as awe and trembling but is it not true heart felt teror also? He loves us but also is the one that will stand in judgment. Our heart sifted and our true motivations, yearnings, goals and purpose will be made known. How often has my lack of true accepting this role caused me to move God’s commands back and place myself first?

Living in a US democracy, do we know what the Bible writers were relating to when they feared a King? Would true respect of a ruler or judge deciding my future, not cause me to submit to their decision without negotiating loopholes? Would a King put up with lack of attention from his subject? Does a sovereign ruler wait for those he rules to be comfortable or find time to submit at their convenience? Does a kingdom move forward without the fear and respect of its ruler?

Treason has its penalty for not fearing the King.

Ancient Paths

2006-02-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16

Which way to go? Follow the ancient paths. No need for the super highway. God’s people have traveled these ways for many years. Narrow trails that are well worn & built up by godly men and women. Passageways that may be slow to follow but speed is not always in God’s plan as much as mine. These may not be the most direct routes but they pass some amazing views of Gods work along the way. There are no signs that mark its entrance because I am told to ask the way. He wants to walk along with me. Show the way I was intended to follow.

God does not call me to blaze new trails as often as I want to think.

Lord, show me the ancient and good paths you have laid out. Then remind me when I stray from them.

More Valuable Less Visable

2006-02-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

Been wrestling with these words since late last year. More Valuable - Less Visible. I have always struggled with what motivates me to service within the church. I love filling different areas of need and have grown in those responsibilities over the past few years. I realize it was service in the parking lot that first developed my habit of attending church each week. I knew I had a responsibility (a specific spot to cover) that would cause others to scramble if I was not in my place. God used this four years ago to drag me out of bed every Sunday because I needed to grow. Yet there was always that nagging feeling that I enjoyed the recognition of standing in front of the church and the kind comments and waves as people arrived or left each service.

Later I felt called to other tasks around the church. My schedule begins to fill up with very worthwhile endeavors, each growing me in my relationship with God. Leading small discipleship groups required a number of hours of preparation where God taught me many things as I drew closer to Him. Teaching kid's Sunday School required my trust in God to reach out and touch lives in ways I never thought possible. Prayer team required me to really understand what prayer is and learn to communicate and share in the needs of others.

Yet each of these and my other duties around the church are each visible. It grinds at me of what is my motivation. I do these as an act of obedience to what I perceive to be God's direction for me but I find such joy in these rolls that I cannot feel I am giving but receiving.

Then these words started in me last year. Where do I look to be more valuable and less visible? God has already provided a couple of new rolls that are behind the scenes and my commitment is to learn the discipline of silence from these rolls. I pray that God teaches me to seek and accept those tasks that are hidden from view of others.

Is My God Big Enough?

2005-05-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

Do I really understand how big God is? Is there any way to comprehend God? Always felt if anyone could really understand the first five words of the Bible then the rest would become easy.

"In the beginning God created..."

Here before the beginning. How does that work? Before it started - before an origin, he was here. Before here was here, he was here.

Created heaven and earth. Created things so big and so far that I can never see or touch. Created things so small and so close that I can never see or touch.

Five words that will take me a lifetime to think about and there are still another 783,132 more to go.

The book is alive!

Good Bye 5th Grader

2005-05-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Never written a blog before but today seems appropriate to start something new:

Pulled up to the curb this morning to let my daughter off for her last day of elementary school. "Good bye Fifth Grader, next time I see you, you will be a Sixth Grader." Boy did that hit me as my words rang in my ears while I drove away.

Six years in the same school is wrapping up today. It was far more difficult for old dad then I would have ever expected. While I know a new door is opening for her as she goes on to middle school, it still hard to wave good-bye to the little girl we walked into Kindergarten just a few years ago.

Seems so long ago that her mother and I set in those little chairs for our first parent/teacher conference. How proud we were of the glowing remarks. Watching her grow through each grade. Proudly bringing home her first drawings, followed by hundreds of tests, then on to projects and writing her own stories this year. Not only has she brought home straight A's but she has learned how to learn and there is something absolutely amazing about that.

This morning I drove back around the block. Work would wait. I sat across the street, a few tears running down my face, watching as she finished her Safety Patrol duties. Then as I pull away... she sees me... A big smile and a wave... "There's my Dad..." How blessed is a man to hear those words?

She has grown into such a young lady. Selfishly I wish she would never grow out of needing me but how proud I am to watch her as she does just that.

Good Bye 5th Grader - Thank you God!