Parents, The Waters Aren't Always Smooth.* Word From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, The waters aren’t always smooth. A couple of years in High School, I was privileged to work with some marvelous people at the day camp my school hosted each Summer. Lots of great kids learned all kinds of fun things: how to swim, crafts, riflery, archery. I can’t remember all the kids or activities, but I was thrilled to be teaching water skiing. Why they thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of kids in a van driven by a teenager, to be dropped off at a public park and be taught to ski by a teenager in the water, and pulled by a boat driven by a teenager… I don't know. Fortunately we had no major incidents. By the way, the camp director was a wonderful coach at the school who believed in and trusted his staff and had high expectations of all us teenagers and let us know when we weren’t performing up to his high camp standards. One of the best parts of teaching water skiing at this camp was that two people had to go pick up the boat from where it was docked and take it up the lake to where the park where kids were waiting to learn. The instructors usually took turns water skiing to and from the dock to the park. Whoever got the early morning ski, usually had beautifully smooth water that looked like glass. It was good water for slalom and barefoot, especially for the underpowered old boat that struggled to hold a speed. My co-workers were more than gracious with each other, sometimes giving up their turn so someone else could enjoy the smooth water. One day after teaching the kids, it was my turn to ski back to the dock, a storm came up with no warning about 3/4 mile back to the dock… rather than stop, we just decided to hightail it all the way back, the rain felt like rocks hurled from a slingshot and the wind was blowing large waves. I locked my elbows around the rope, closed my eyes and hung on tight. I was never so glad to get back to the dock and get back to shelter. We skied almost every day in those Summers, smooth or rough water and we were thankful for the joyful memories on the water in the sunshine, the opportunity to teach kids a fun sport, and God’s gracious protection.

Some of Jesus' disciples were lake dwellers, fishermen by trade. They had lived on the water everyday and were probably used to some storms, but even so, a tremendous storm came up that caught them by surprise and even scared these seasoned fishermen… but what they had forgotten was that Jesus, the Calm One who Cared for them was in their boat… Here’s the story from Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV): “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’”

Jesus was so calm, he was asleep in the boat in the “furious storm.” His calmness was misinterpreted as not caring. In Mark’s account the disciples said, “don’t you care that we are about to die?” But His care was tremendous, He cared so much He and His calmness and care were with them in the boat. Had the disciples realized that Jesus' top priority was relationship and connection and being there when things were tough, they would also have realized that His calmness was with them too. In another storm, just to show it wasn’t about the storm or the boat or the water, He hightailed them to shore instantly(see John 6:21) so they would understand it’s about connection with Jesus. The miraculous sign was wonderful, but it wouldn’t save them, connection to Him would save them. As we become like Christ, we too will begin to display His character of care, connection, and calmness in the furious storms of life… like during a global pandemic or racial unrest or global dust storm or even murder hornets! We gotta keep calm, we gotta keep connected, gotta keep caring for each other even when the waters aren't smooth.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Who Are You?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Who are you? A generous and gracious neighbor and friend who was (and is) an extraordinary Tennessee VOL fan, invited me to a football game to cheer on the Big Orange and stay in his family’s condo at a game in Florida. They had an old ambulance converted into the ultimate tailgate vehicle, all orange, called the “Volmobile,” it said it right on the outside. However, for a little more practicality, he drove us down to the Sunshine State in his father’s stretch black limousine, with a phone (back before many people had phone’s anywhere but in their home). They were giant bricks with a phone cord and handset. We had more fun in that Limo, people would slow down and look to see who was in the back, squinting to try to see through the tinted windows. My friend and I had more fun in the Wendy’s drive-through (He loved everything Wendy’s… Fries, a Frosty and his burger was always “Single, cheese, everything, no pickle”). I would climb into the back and put my dark glasses on day or night. We would give them two separate orders and drive around (he was a very good driver of this extra long vehicle, not bumping any curbs).Just before he would drive up to the window he would put on his chauffeur’s hat and sunglasses, roll down his window, then grab only his order and puuuullll forward slowly, roll down my window so I could grab my order, then roll it up for me while I held the bag and drink. People would ask my friend, who he had in the back. He would make up some famous person’s name, tell them with a straight face, then when we pulled away we would laugh and I’d climb back up to the front seat to eat our #1 meal. I think we even got waved through by the traffic cops in football traffic to the special parking area… It was fun pretending to be someone famous, but we knew we were just normal people in an extraordinarily long vehicle. This friend is always especially humble, generous and really cares about people.

There are many times in my life that I forget who I really am and pretend to still be living like I haven’t connected my life to Jesus. I act like someone else, the old flesh. I sometimes try to solve my problems and pain with worldly remedies… solutions that never work in the long run BTW. There were times I tried to act like I was famous, all you had to do was ask me, or be close enough for me to try to convince you. I had engaged in so much unhealthy self-talk about who I was, I forgot who I really was and Who I am really becoming like… The Good News is that God’s character never changes. He loves us no matter what. He sacrifices so that we are blessed. He gives us the gift of an unending relationship with Him and doesn’t take it away even when we forget, or pretend, or act out of character with our New Self. There can be some discipline from Him for acting badly, but He never disconnects with us. Paul tells those who are connected to Jesus, “For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]” Romans 11:29 (AMP) We gotta keep asking ourselves, “who am I?” And be reminded that we are called by God and gifted by God and blessed by God to be a new creation… a person that loves and values people well, and doesn’t pretend to be better than anyone else... someone who remembers their connection to Jesus and acts like Him even when we are scared or hurting and want to pretend we are someone we aren’t. He makes us a person whose character doesn’t change regardless of the hat we are wearing, the sunglasses we are wearing, the car we are driving, the church we are attending, the career we are pursuing, the friends we have...

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Like Moths To A Flame!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Like moths to a flame! As a teen, when I got my driver’s license, I used to drive right by the Krispy Kreme doughnut store a few times a week after “studying” at a friend’s house after swim and/or musical practice. It also happened to be conveniently located right across the street from my home church. Whenever the “HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW” sign was illuminated, I was drawn in like a super magnet to the heart-attack-in-a-warm-sugar ring-on-the-bottom-box, fried dough, making mother ship. It was fun watching the dough plop into the fat to fry, flip, fry some more, then get carried around the conveyor to be smothered in liquid sugar and picked up with a chopstick and put into my white box to let the fat and sugar ooze off to be eaten later. My car seemed to drive itself into the parking lot. Krispy Kreme always had the special, buy one dozen and get the second half price… so, of course, I had to “think of my parents and sister” and make sure they had some fresh deep fried, sugary, all melt-in-your-mouth goodness! And of course I also had to have one of those small milk “chugs” they sold from the refrigerated display to wash them down. My intentions were good to save some for my family, but in the 15 minutes or so driving back to my house I had usually slurped down a dozen of them, like sweet doughy oysters in a food eating contest and started on the second box. Sugar was all over my mouth and car, the tiny baby napkins did nothing to keep the sticky yumminess off of the steering wheel regardless of how many came out of the little shiny dispenser boxes with a spring behind them to push them forward, and you ended up with a hand full. Then before school the next morning, I would warm up the rest for breakfast with a tall glass of milk… occasionally there would be a doughnut left for my family. Why do we do this?! The writer of Proverbs warns us, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 26:11 (NIV) I was probably self medicating the complex stresses of being a teenager. There is actually scientific evidence that we are drawn toward fatty, sugary foods under stress and they trigger a part of the brain that rewards us with a little dopamine that makes us feel better… temporarily. (For some reason, I couldn’t figure out why I kept having reflux at night and headaches at school from the sugar crash mid-morning…)

There is good news for us… we don’t have to keep medicating with dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts or other not great for you stuff that makes us feel better for a moment but brings harm and even shame in the long run… this list can be long for me! Most of the unhealthy things we consume, whether food, drink, or activities usually end up consuming us... making us slaves to having more. Peter reminds us who we are and we aren’t slaves anymore to the HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW sign or whatever the particular trigger is for us. When we belong to Jesus and His people, we don’t have to return to the folly of our own personal dysfunctional habit mother ship to medicate, we are now free to enjoy God’s Joy and give it out freely to others who are hurting and needing some dopamine too. Peter says, “Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. 1 Peter 4:1-2 (MSG) As we connect to God, we can begin to think, act, and become like Jesus. So, the next time you feel like you need a couple of dozen doughnuts or whatever, try stopping hanging out with Jesus and letting Him remind you of who you are now. We also need to connect to some people who act like Jesus and can gently remind us to do the same and we return the favor when needed.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Happy Father's Day!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Happy Father’s Day! My Dad was one of those guys who could diagnose and fix anything. He was a part of the wonderful builder generation that humbly made our country great. He was the ultimate Boy Scout, because he was always prepared and a jack of all trades. I think the show "MacGyver" should have actually been called "McGinnis" because with a paperclip and a little piece of tape my Dad could fix anything. This attribute came in handy because he loved to drive Jeep Wagoneers, famous for going anywhere, but also needing lots of repairs and specifically universal joints. We were on our way to Florida one year on vacation, and the Jeep began to wobble and make funny noises. I was sad, because I thought we would have to get the car towed and return home, but of course, Dad never even blinked. He put on the coveralls he kept in the back for just such an occasion, crawled under the Jeep and removed the universal joint and engaged the front wheel drive… and voila’, vacation saved! As a physician he was a gifted diagnostician, he could determine what was going on and treat it with the right stuff. He was gentle and caring. He retired early and took his doctor training and gifts around the world on 35 different mission trips, most with his medical transcriber in tow, his sweety, my Mom. Because of his diverse skills he not only treated people medically, he could build a building or dig a well or run excavating equipment. He could hunt and fish with the best and was a dead eye sure shot with a gun or bow. He built his own log home with a set of plans and a couple of helpers. One of his greatest most selfless acts was taking care of my mother “in sickness and in health” and “‘til death do us part.” For 17 years he used all of his gifts to care for my mother with Alzheimer’s. A couple of years ago after her passing, his health required the help of assisted living. His body is no longer able to do the tasks it once was, but still full of love and care, and this year he was blessed with a bonus wife. She is a beautiful woman who had a full life of love and care for her own family and now they are wonderful companions. I could write volumes about this man, whom I am blessed to call my father. Happy Father’s Day Dad!

My dad grew up right next to the church he attended all his life. His pastor told him about Jesus when he was a boy (I too decided to follow Jesus in that same church at about the same age). He married a godly woman and they had my sister and me in worship and Bible Study each week of our growing up years. Now, we and our families have found the joy of knowing that God is always with us. As the wisest-man-ever once wrote, “In the [reverent] fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will [always] have a place of refuge.” Proverbs‬ ‭14:26‬ ‭AMP‬‬ I’m thankful to have a dad who could confidently fix anything, but also know that God has been with him since boyhood and that confidence was passed along to us. Regardless of who our earthly father is, we all have a Heavenly Father who can fix anything and loves us, cares for us, and gives us Jesus.., and we too can pass that love, care and confidence in Jesus to our children.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Counting Your Blessings!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Counting your blessings! As I count my blessings this Father’s Day Weekend, one is my Father-in-law. This tall, well dressed, well spoken, gentle giant of a man, is a great leader. He has led in the corporate world with Dean Witter/Discover/Sears in cities across the United States. A man of integrity sought out for deacon boards, finance committees, and other leadership opportunities in the church, this great Bible Study teacher always looked for a church home the first Sunday in every new city his career placed him. He has raised two wonderful children, their spouses, and 6 grandchildren and their significant others. His generosity seems to have no end. He has helped provide vehicles for my growing family, helped with clothes, vacations and in countless other ways. He even invited all six of us and a street rescue dog to live in his home when we were “homeless” between churches. He let us stay when the dog kept climbing over his prized Corvette, breaking through the garage window screen to escape and chase neighborhood domestic rabbits, Governor’s Club golf balls, and golfers who may have seemed too close to “her territory.” His patience is enviable. He has a special relationship with each of my children, impacting their lives at significant times in their growing up years and still now as young adults. He and Nana showed up for every special milestone and event in their lives, with praise, gifts, and endless words of encouragement. He is quite the grill chef… burgers, brats, flank steak, brisket, ribs, pork… His Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts are unrivaled. His love and care for people comes out in the wonderful food he prepares and serves for his family and friends. He is a great husband to a wonderful wife. He is a great duck hunter, skeet shooter and golfer… his duck salad is the best way I have ever enjoyed eating wild duck! He is a gifted wood carver and has carved wonderful geese, ducks and other waterfowl with grace and precision. He has given these as priceless wedding gifts to Anita and me and my recently married children. His writings are thoughtful and encouraging. After my and Anita's broken engagement and reuniting, when hearts were tender, raw and broken, his thoughtfully written words and careful wood carving brought hope and healing to our lives. He spoke of how when making the Canada Goose it was made in three separate parts that were fused together. Two separate parts made the body, but without the connection to the third part, the head, the two parts meant nothing. He spoke about the two body parts representing Anita and me that would become “one” and that Christ was the head of the marriage, without Him the relationship would be meaningless. Love and respect for Christ and each other would prevail as the foundation for a happy home.

This is great wisdom for all of us… when marriages, churches, and communities are broken, we need Christ, the Head of us all to join us together, lead us and heal us. Paul spoke of how love and respect were so important and that “...Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body.” Ephesians 5:23 (CSBBible) I’m so thankful for Jesus and this man I count as a blessing, a second father to me, and spiritual patriarch for his clan. His wisdom from Above points us all toward Jesus and healthy connection. Happy Father’s Day Glenn! Thank you for the ways you lead under the headship of Christ.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Things Aren't Always As They Appear!* Words from COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Things aren’t always as they appear. On vacation one year, we
awoke the first morning to clouds, and fog so heavy it made your clothes wet if you stepped outside. But undeterred, I was determined to enjoy my vacation, fog or no fog! I checked with the family to see if anyone wanted to go for a bike ride and my youngest said she would go. (BTW Happy 21st Birthday Annabelle McGinnis!) We headed through the fog soup toward the marina. Visibility was near zero, but we followed the trails and streets until we arrived at the end of the island at the marina. We parked the bikes and walked into the marine supply store to look around. It was like a scene from a scary movie. The lights were dim and blinky fluorescent bulbs, making it hard to see, and the store was empty. Then some sailors came into the store. Charter boat captains, I assume. They had the dingy, (not to be confused with dinghy) yellow colored, head to toe rain suits… like they had just walked off a ghost ship… it sent a chill up your spine. It didn’t help that my voracious reader daughter, who had quite an imagination, was with me. As my irrational discomfort turned into wide eyed fear, I felt more and more silly, but no less scared. And whether it was happening or not with my daughter, I thought I saw a little fear in her eyes too. Each of us stoking the fear we perceived in each other. We quickly made an escape plan from the dimly lit store, passing the extra large hooks, gaffs, fish knives, and Spam, avoiding the yellow clad spectors, whom I was certain I heard talking like pirates… “Arrgh… I think we’ll be need’n’ some chucky chum for the sharks today”... My daughter and I walked faster toward the exit as they made their way toward us down the end of the aisle of the marina store. As we rushed out the door and stumbled down the steps, we jumped on our bikes and peddled away from those Pirates of the Carolinas, hearts beating faster than any workout we thought we may have had on those bicycles. We came back to the beach rental house excitedly telling our story of our harrowing experience. But somehow, when the fog had cleared and I rode back to the marina store with my wife later that day, the ghostly, haunted marina was a beautiful resort marina surrounded by luxury vessels ready for fun and enjoyment. My wife has never let me forget this confused perception of this beautiful and welcoming environment.

Fear can do that to us all… it can change our perspective of reality. It changes how we think. Fear shuts down the rational and relational parts of our brains. It makes us see enemies, when there are none. Fear in us can instill fear to those around us too, it can be contagious. God gives us fear for protection, there are some scary situations that we need to be aware of and avoid, or confront, but if we confront everything from a fear perspective, we lose the reality that God loves and cares for us and we forget how to love and care for others. We move into protection mode and we begin to fear everything and everyone looks like a threat. “The disciple whom Jesus loved,” encourages us to not let our lives be driven by fear, but by love. The apostle John says,
“There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19 (CSBBible) Remember things aren’t always as they appear, remember God is love and we love because God first loved us. Let love replace your fear, because fear can easily manipulate us into thoughts and actions that are not loving at all.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, We Are All Different and We Have to Love Each Other: Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, We are all different and we have to love each other. To my diverse group of Facebook friends, I count it a great privilege to call you all friends. Some of you knew me as a child, some as a teen, some as a young adult, some from young married life and beyond. Some of you have seen and heard me at my worst, for that I apologize, and some of you have seen me at the moments God has blessed me to bring you some little bit of joy or encouragement in some way. Thank all of you for your friendships! As I look at you all, you are a diverse group of wonderful people representing a wide variety of causes, ideologies, ways to live your life, and ways to practice your faith. I would love to sit down at the table with you all together and allow you to get to know one another. You each have much to bring… a word of encouragement, a testimony to God’s goodness, a love story, a moment of fun, an embarrassing human moment to share. I would love for you to see and hear the diverse blessings each of you bring to the table. Many of you don’t think or act alike at all, yet each of you are a unique blessing in my life. I would like for us to have the chance to honor each other as God’s children, love each other and trust God’s Holy Spirit to make it clear to each of us what we should know and how to live wisely based on His Truth. If I distance myself from you and refuse to listen, it is so much easier for me to say, “you are not my people,” and when I do, I give myself permission to begin to fight, defend, and hate. My anger escalates and I fight to win at all costs. I’m not suggesting we should embrace a form of humanism where anything goes, we all need God’s boundaries and rules, but I am suggesting that when we speak to someone about our differences in opinion that we do it respectfully in love, still realizing that each person is created in God’s image and innately valuable. You see, if we are sitting shoulder to shoulder at the same table we can have discussion, and these can even be lively as we defend the values we hold most dear to us. However, when we get ourselves into trouble is when we begin to act superior to each other and justify it by our own arguments and others with whom we agree. When we sit down at the Facebook table, I have seen some of the people I care about tear each other apart, because we have said, “you are wrong, I am right, and therefore you are not my people.”

Notice how Jesus valued everyone. He never said, “these are not my people.” He did have a problem with those who had already decided in their arrogance that they were right and good and everyone who thought differently was wrong. We all have our junk, stinking ways of thinking, and bad behavior, so none of us is good or right… That’s why we need a Savior, we need Jesus… He is Good and He is Right… and His words to us are to love one another, to even love those you consider your enemies. I have never been converted to someone else’s opinion about anything from them yelling at me, attacking my way of thinking or calling me names. I’ve never stopped and said, “you know I think this person who is calling me names and attacking my ideologies is right, I think I’ll change my mind.” Most of the time I jump into the fight and begin questioning their intelligence and calling them names too, or running away in fear or at the least unfriending them. All we have accomplished is devaluing the other person, no one is lifted up, no cause is valuably furthered, and no love has been extended. Jesus didn’t tell Nicodemis, “For God so loved the Pharisees or Sadducees or Jews or Gentiles or Democrats or Republicans or whatever other group I claim…” He said, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (CSBBible) The language is inclusive… the whole “world” and “everyone.” Since God loves this way, we have to ask Him to show us how to love this way too. Ask Him how we keep on loving when people keep being mean. Jesus kept being the loving, forgiving person He always was even when being beaten and crucified.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!