Parents, Does Someone Need Your Presence?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, does someone need your presence?  Once, when I was in the throes of heartache from a break up with my now wife of thirty years, my parents drove back from a vacation to check on me. The drive was 12 hours and they only stopped for gas and arrived in the middle of the night.  They knew me well and knew my selfishness probably had as much to do with the break up as Anita did, a life lesson they could address later, but for now, they decided to drive all the way back home towing a boat in order to sit Shiva with me. They did this because they loved me “no matter what” and hated that I was hurting. I say “sit Shiva” in the Jewish sense of mourning with me through the grief of the presumed death of this relationship, not sitting Shiva in the sense of hanging out with the Hindu god. The word Shiva in Hebrew actually means seven, because it was a seven day grieving process in which the mourner could express their grief and work through their loss and slowly return to normal life. Joseph did this seven day mourning period when his father Jacob died (Genesis 50:10) and Job’s friends sat with him for a week after he lost his family.  This kind of help through grief is sometimes just a silent presence with the one grieving. For example, Job 2:13 says of Job’s friends, “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”  Our emotional and spiritual presence can speak much more than words sometimes. The fact that we  have made the effort just to let someone know we are with them.  A pastor friend offered to sit Shiva with me one time when I was heartbroken over a situation as shepherd of my flock.  He said he wasn’t sure he had any words that would encourage me, but that he wanted me to know that he was glad to be with me in silent spiritual and emotional solidarity. 

Jesus was like that for us.  He was glad to come all the way from heaven to be with us in our situation here. Our sin leaves us in a desperate situation, we are all destined for death and we can’t do anything to change that. Jesus, God With Us, adds an element that Shiva doesn’t promise. Shiva helps us process the grief and loss and helps us continue, but the Incarnation of Jesus here with us brings Hope.  The fact that God became a man, allows Him to experience and acknowledge our loss, but as God He is also able to bring rescue. Those who love Jesus and follow Him will live eternally with Him. The end of life here on earth is not the end. Jesus doesn’t just sit Shiva for seven days, He is with us all the time. When Jesus was getting ready to leave the earth to be with the Heavenly Father He wanted those who had connected their lives with Him to know they were never alone.  He assures them with these words: “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” John 14:18-20 (NLT2) Jesus was not just God With Us for 7 days, or 33 years. He is always with us! His Holy Spirit presence is always in us. If we belong to Him, He is in us, and as we are strengthened and encouraged we can also be an encouraging presence in seemingly hopeless situations. There are some sad and difficult situations all around us right now and there may be someone you can sit virtual Shiva with. The COVID isolation may not allow our physical presence with someone who is hurting, but fortunately we can be with them virtually to bring emotional and spiritual support as they process their grief. We can assure them that God is with them and He cares and that we do too. Maybe we could let them know we will be thinking about them and praying for them everyday for seven days (or longer).

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

Parents, We Gotta Live Up To What We've Already Attained*: Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, We gotta live up to what we’ve already attained. Here’s a Tuesday throwback to an article I wrote 10 years ago…

“I have the privilege of coaching some great young leaders at a local gymnastics gym. I think it’s wonderful when the extraordinary happens in March every year. Somehow, as if by miracle, many of the cheerleaders suddenly learn things or execute skills they have been trying to accomplish for months. Cheerleading tryouts seem to bring out the best in these young athletes.

I don’t know if it’s just their competitive nature, but cheerleaders who haven’t been able to manage a back-handspring by themselves since last year’s tryouts are able to do it again as if by divine enablement at the vernal equinox. If they can do a back-handspring now, and could do one year ago, why can’t they seem to manage it the other 10 months of the year? Maybe they are just not motivated. Maybe they talk or think themselves out of it. Or maybe the muscles just atrophy from lack of use. But many of the girls are in the gym all year around and just don’t perform up to the same level they do at tryout time. It is an interesting dynamic. It seems flip-flops (an old school term for back-handsprings) come out in the spring with the warm weather both inside and outside the gym.

But don’t we all do this to a certain extent? I remember a few years ago before my wife’s class reunion; we suddenly started eating a lot healthier, we worked out a lot more, got some fancy haircuts and clothes. Then, when the reunion was over, it was back to less healthy eating, less regular exercise and some other bad habits. We seemed to perform up to what we wanted to when we wanted to.

What if we could keep that kind of motivation all the time? I know, I know… some people perform exceptionally well all the time. They keep their weight in a healthy range, they eat healthy, they workout, they can execute a back-handspring anytime. But if the rest of us are capable of losing weight for a reunion, or performing a back-handspring for tryouts, or whatever, why don’t we do it all the time? I’m guessing there are several answers for these phenomena, but it probably has much to do with how we see ourselves when we aren’t trying to impress someone, compete with them, etc.

Unfortunately, a similar thing happens in our walk of faith. We go through fits and starts in our spiritual life. We go to a camp, seminar, or (back in the day) a revival, and we are “on fire” for God. Or we understand some important bit of wisdom. But then life happens and we somehow lose traction and don’t live what we know to be true (we used to call it backsliding). Paul the Apostle encourages us to not go backwards in our faith walk, but build on what we have already learned. He says, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” Philippians 3:15-16 (NIV)

I love to see a cheerleader get a back-handspring AGAIN just before tryouts, but it thrills me even more when a cheerleader can build on that skill and perform at a higher level the next year. God must enjoy seeing his children live up to what he has already taught them and enabled them to do.

Keep Moving Forward in life and faith! I want to encourage you to live up to what you have attained before. God has gifted you and enabled you to do some pretty awesome things. Keep using your gifts, doing good, and living well.”

Hope you enjoyed this throwback article from a decade ago.

Hang in there people! God Is With Us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Something is Lost And Must Be Found?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Something is lost and must be found? When I went to youth camp for the first time, my parents gave me some spending money for snacks and miscellaneous activities. It wasn't a lot, but to a young tweenager it was more than enough for a week. We climbed on the church bus and drove to Panama City Beach laughing, singing and other youth group things. When we arrived we were divided into boys and girls cabins and the cabins were divided into other rooms of 6 to 8 people. In order to keep the smallish rooms livable, the leaders had made a competition for the cleanest room. At the end of assembly of Worship and Bible Study each night the leaders would announce the winning room. Our room never won that competition for some reason, but we sure enjoyed our time together as God’s kids at camp. By the third night or so, it was obvious we would never win that award, so we thought we would have some fun with those who came to inspect the rooms while we went to the assembly. We had filled a small trash can full of water and put it over the door and we all exited out the other door. We could hardly contain ourselves when one of the leaders, who happened to be one of the Moms of one of the guys in our room came to assembly soaked from head to toe. She was smiling, but just barely. Our room had extra clean up duty the remainder of the camp. I’m thankful for the loving adults who made sure we stayed safe, had fun, and learned how to live like God’s children. On that same trip that my parents had given me an adequate amount of spending money, the first day I reached into my wallet to buy a snack, it was empty… I was distraught. I was pretty sure I had grabbed it when I left the house, but it was not in my wallet, not in my suitcase, my sister didn’t have it… a generous friend said you can borrow some of mine. I fretted and sulked the rest of the day trying to have some fun on the beach and at the pool. Friends and Adult leaders tried to console me and assured me that I could borrow whatever I needed. That night at the Worship Assembly, I grabbed my new Bible that my parents had given me just before the trip. As we sat down after singing and started our Bible study, the Camp Pastor said those exciting, comforting, and powerful words…”Please turn in your Bible...” (to the Bible passage he was preaching from). And then, as I opened my new Bible, the money I had been looking for fell out… A joy and relief came over me as I celebrated God’s goodness and His provision. I could pay back the money I had borrowed. My fretting ended and I could listen to the message that God was giving to us through His Word, His Spirit, and one of His preachers.

The longest Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119, which has been used in Jewish, Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant worship for millennia, has a verse that says, “I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.” Psalm 119:162 (NKJV) As a young tween, I had found the treasure of the money my parents sent me for camp, but I was also discovering the even greater treasure of God’s Word and the fun and fellowship and connection It fosters with God’s people. I have wonderful memories of church camp, memories that have helped shape my life and ministry. We may not always find monetary treasure in God’s Word, but we can find treasures of God’s love that are greater than all the money in the world. It seems like right now we may be losing a lot… jobs, savings, peace… but we gotta keep finding the treasures in God’s Word. We gotta be careful not to lose the blessings of His Word to us. He gives peace and joy, comfort and blessing...He reminds us of His love for us and teaches us how to enjoy the treasure of love for each other, just like those friends and leaders at youth camp who cared about me and made sure I had what I needed. If something is lost and must be found, start by seeking the treasure of God’s Holy Word.

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

Parents, Do You Have COVID Dyscalendaria?

Parents, do you have COVID Dyscalendaria? Last night I set my alarm and laid my clothes out for church... I had my shoes and underclothes ready too, as has been my practice since early in my ministry. Part of it comes from my FOBL, Fear Of Being Late.  For a few years my kids used love to help shine my shoes each week  when they were little to help me get out the door on time, which made Anita a little nervous with the shoe polish and their matching “Sunday Best” outfits… so, she would wait to dress them ‘til after the shoe shinin’.  So, this morning, I jumped out of bed, fixed our breakfast smoothies, hopped in the shower and was getting dressed for church with my clothes laid out for speedy Sunday AM prep. Anita said, “what are you doing up so early?” I said, “I need to get to church and I don’t want to be late.” She started to laugh and said “today is Saturday!” I started to protest, but picked up my phone to look. It clearly displayed, “Saturday, July 18.”  I began to laugh and wonder how had I missed an entire day. I hope I’m not getting “CRDS!”  That’s “Can’t Remember Diddly Squat!” Anita and I are still laughing at my COVID Dyscalendaria.  

When Jesus was talking to those who belonged to Him about what was to come in the apocalyptic times, He was encouraging them to remember Who they belonged to and warned them to be ready, because no one but God the Father knows when the end is coming and He was returning to Earth to gather His people.  He was telling them to keep being and acting like their “Jesus self” even when time seems to drag on.  Jesus says,  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44 (ESV) When Jesus returns, the reunion with Him will be much better than any Sunday we can anticipate here on Earth, but it will also be a Great and Terrible Day for those who haven’t connected their lives with Him. Being late will not be an option at that point.  So, even if you have some COVID dyscalendaria and forget what day it is, don’t ever forget who you are and Whose you are. If you haven’t yet connected your life to Him, do it now, as these end times birth pangs seem to be increasing. (Matt. 24:6-8)

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

Parents, How Firm Is Your Footing?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, How firm is your footing? In elementary school, I went to a special little school in an urban area right next to a Children’s Hospital. The school didn’t have any play fields, and we didn’t have a track, but we had a blacktop kickball “field”. On this field, we had glorious, fight-to-the end-of-recess kickball games any nice day that the teachers could take us outside. We had a small gym, but it was always hot and it always involved battle-ball or medical-ball (battle-ball with a twist - when hit, a person fell right where they were hit, and if the team “medic” dragged them back to the end line, they could play again... great game except for when the medic was tiny and the person hit was twice their size). Anyway, back to the outside utility space. In 4th grade, our school was invited to bring a track “team” to a meet on a real track with other schools in the area… I was asked to be in a “run off” for a spot on that team. I wasn’t a great runner, but for my school I was fast enough to compete for the last place on the team. I lined up with another boy and we were to run around the perimeter of the kickball field. The PE teacher said, “Go,” and we were off like a thundering herd of turtles. My little spindly chicken legs were going as fast as they would take me. I was competing to be the last fastest kid on the track team. I imagined myself in the Olympics, sprinting around the oval, headed for the finish line, neck and neck with the other last fastest kid at my school ...Until… rounding the 3rd corner, with my little lungs about to explode and my heart pumping out of my chest, I hit the gravel that the other kid had stepped in my lane to avoid, his foot hit my foot and the other foot slid in the gravel… It happened so fast, but at the same time, it felt like slow motion…I fell to the ground like a Kitchen Aid whisk turned sideways on high speed, rolling over and over… the ground versus skin friction winner was painfully obvious. The other kid finished the race with "the thrill of victory" and turned around to see me in "the agony of defeat," trying to stand up covered in skinned knees, hips, elbows and hands. Each raspberry wound was full of sand and small gravel. My hopes of 100 meter dash Olympic Glory had been dashed at the tender age of 9 on the rectangular track of our special little school blacktop playground.

The Prophet Habakkuk and his people were experiencing some really tough times. They were in a time of drought and famine and another nation would invade and take them into captivity. It challenged their faith, everything that had been important to them was being stripped away. They were losing their footing. But Habakkuk encourages himself and his people, urging them to keep the Faith and not give up their Joy in the Lord. He says, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights..” Habakkuk 3:17-19a (NIV) Deer are very sure-footed, (unless of course they are on ice - reference Bambi or any number of deer-on-the-ice rescue videos on social media). During these challenging times of COVID and unrest, we hafta keep our Faith footing. The Old Testament prophet encourages us to keep hanging in there, that God will take care of us… it is how we will joyfully make it through. Even when we take an embarrassing tumble or we’re in really difficult times, God is with us and glad to be with us. Even when He disciplines His people, He is still glad to be with them. Habakkuk is not pointing to the power of positive thinking with these verses, he is just reminding us Who loves us and cares about us, that we are His people and we belong to Him. God has not forgotten us, He will make us surefooted again.

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

Parents, What Triggers The Treasures of Your Heart?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, what triggers the treasures in your heart? As a child, my family had an old Wurlitzer JukeBox. We would buy old vinyl 45 records to play in it. Dad had somehow enabled it to play with no coins. We had songs from artists like Sonny & Cher, Elton John, Harry Chapin, John Denver and many others, mostly selected by my mother. We had dozens of records in that thing… most were late 60’s and early 70’s pop music like: “One Tin Soldier (the legend of Billy Jack) by Coven, “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers, “The Streak” by Ray Stevens, even some Tennessee Rockabilly called “Fastest Truck on Wheels” by a long lost cousin (you can hear it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgjakEB5KU). One of my sister’s friends loved one song so much she just kept pushing the buttons until that song was the only song the jukebox would play for hours. The songs theme was less than edifying. I think we may have retired that record from the playlist after the incident. Everytime I hear one of those old songs, I am whisked back to the downstairs game room of my childhood home. I can see out the sliding glass door to the aggregate patio, the green grass, pine trees, blackberry vines, the tall grass of the field next door and the steeple of the church behind it. I can smell the wonderful aromas of my mother’s cooking and hear the laughter and sometimes out of tune sing-a-long attempts of friends and cousins as we juke to the tunes emanating from the curved glass old Wullitzer. We wait for the large holiday meal; adults in one room and kids at the “kid’s tables” and we wait a bit more for homemade Orange Crush ice cream. Isn’t it funny how all these treasured memories hidden in my heart are revealed when I hear one of the scores of songs from the old fancy phonograph player?

One of the Biblical musical artists must have known this heart-to-music-to-memory interconnection as he wrote down and played songs that reminded him and his people of their relationship with God. David was said to be a man after God’s own heart, who had a heart to heart attachment with Him. It was so strong and so valuable he didn’t want to lose it. It is said that he used Psalm 119 to teach his son Solomon the Hebrew alphabet and he connected a song to each letter to help him grow in his spiritual life. In one of his Psalms he says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 (NIV) By the time my kids came along there were all kinds of scripture songs, Veggie Tales, and kid’s hymn sing-a-longs that we played almost non-stop in the mini-van, hoping to hide them in our hearts… They actually helped me remember who I was in Christ as we drove along… well until someone cut me off in traffic, then I needed a song on repentance (Psalm 51 maybe!)… We gotta be hiding God’s Word in our heart, not just for knowledge, but to actually live out the treasure of love and connection with God and other people it teaches. Songs from that old jukebox remind me of who I was in times gone by, but God's Word reminds me who I am right now and who He is making me into.

Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!

Parents, There's No Place Like Home!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, There’s no place like home. After a trip many years ago to the beautiful country of South Africa, I was glad to be back on American soil, enjoying the freedoms and blessings of the good ol’ U.S. of A! I had enjoyed the raw beauty of a safari in the wild... lions, strong and majestic, seeing and hearing them a couple of times too close for comfort… seeing baby elephants between their mommy’s feet… warthogs, wild dogs, zebras by the thousands, giraffes, kudu, impala, hippos, crocodiles, and hundreds of other wild birds and beasts. I had seen two oceans and their tumultuous converging from a perspective of mountainous beauty, rolling plains, gorgeous beaches that met majestic mountains. I had seen the very rich and the desperately poor. I felt the discomfort of at least 23 different people groups Asian, Indian, Afrikaans, English, and several different African tribes all vying for power, peace or just human validation. I had met wonderfully welcoming people and the not so nice. I had been well received by friends and rejected by a church I wanted to visit because I didn't look or sound like them. I had tasted the great diversity of delicious foods, fresh fruits, biltong, and some that didn’t agree with my southern American palate. I had stayed in beautiful homes and slept in a car fearing for my life. I had enjoyed privileged status at borders and experienced being misunderstood in the wrong place at the wrong time and the great fear of being incarcerated by an officer of the law shouting at me in another language I didn’t understand, Uzis drawn and lights flashing. It was overall a wonderful experience but I was ready to kiss the ground when I arrived home. There is something about being home.

As comfy and cozy our homes may be, they are not still not our real eternal home with Jesus. We are going to a home that is always full of love, and comfort, and no pain. Peter reminds us of what he heard from Jesus Himself that He has a place ready for us. He warns everyone who belongs to Jesus, not to get too caught up in our worldly comforts to the detriment of our forever relationships with these words, “Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” 1 Peter 2:11-12 (MSG) We gotta be thankful for the blessings of our earthly homes while keeping our Heavenly Father’s home and blessings always in view, inviting as many to join us as we can! There’s no place like our heavenly home!

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