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Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship

There is a lot to learn from these kids. It is not just about winning a game, but about playing it in the best of the spirits...

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Tightening the Ties That Bind

The assignment: write each other a love letter. The setting: a Christian marriage-strengthening conference at an Arlington County hotel.

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Not Another Valentine Card

I'm a hopeless romantic-less (a term I've coined---romantless). I score about a 1 out of 5 on the romance scale or maybe a "clammy" on the dial of the Romance machine at the county fair. Poor Sue (my wife). But, last year, I tried to be clever.



I took the four days prior to Valentines day and starting with the letter "L", brought her home a little something that started with the letter "L". The next day it was all things that began with the letter "O", followed by, you guessed it, "V" and finally on the big day, "E". Now the only thing I score worse at than my romance test is my memory. Only a really soft stuffed Orangutan seems to ring a bell as one of the items I brought home.

The real victory was that I tried! I TRIED to be romantic. Fast forward to 2009--TODAY! It's Tuesday...4 days before another Valentine's day and I'm looking ahead and "I got nothin". Will I resort to just "another card"? Does anyone have anything for a poor, hopeless romantless? Please...would love to hear what you got! I'm waiting...

Dad---Don't Say It!

The door between our garage and mud room opened. Our daughter was home. My wife and I were planted on the sofa when the door opened. But, this was not a typical return home. “I had an accident” were the words she blurted out in rapid fire succession accompanied by high volume and many tears. I’m not always quick on the uptake but I did that it wasn’t likely a serious accident since she had not been escorted into our home by an officer.

The words began to form over my tongue. They quickly spilled forward into the cavity of my mouth and were being arranged for a volcanic spewing. “AN ACCIDENT”…”WHY CAN’T YOU BE MORE CAREFUL”…”YOU WON’T BE DRIVING UNTIL YOU’RE 25”. They were forming easily and furiously. Then, a wonder of God took place. The Spirit of the Lord gave me a peace and nearly audible instruction to wait before speaking. James 1:19-20 flooded my mind and I became “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

The words that had formed in my mouth began retreating in single file back to the deep dark cavern from where they had come. My mouth was empty and my ears and eyes fixed on my sobbing daughter. God’s Spirit, not mine, was in control. She proceeded to tell us, between sobs, that it was a minor accident. She bumped into a car while backing out of a parking slot. Sue gently caressed her and hugged her. I sat there wondering what to say.

It was one of those moments I refer to as M³, a Memory Making Moment. It’s in those moments you make memories of joy or of harm. All I could do was go into the kitchen, turn her toward me, embrace her and tell her how much I loved her, was glad she wasn’t hurt and “these things happen…that’s why they call them accidents.” She melted in my arms and like a little child who is comforted, her sobbing subsided and she was soon calm.

Dads, I wish I could tell you that it was my ability to be discerning about what my daughter needed. Too often, I have given in to the fleshly impulses. There are times when a stern word or disciplining action is required. However, there have been many times when my daughter just needed to know I cared more for her than about what she did. The verse in James and this verse in Ephesians swelled in my heart, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” It’s powerful when we follow the plans God has for us and we choose to live according to His words, not ours. We’ll have many M³ moments with our children. And, our words will often be the key to forming memories in our children of joy or of pain. So, dad, it might be a day for you to “not say it”.

SOUND OFF: When have you experienced an M³ moment where you could have made a lasting memory of joy or of pain in your child’s life and you allowed God’s Spirit to move in your heart to make it one of joy?

When Daddy Comes Home « by Leary Gates

“Daddy’s home!” — a distant echo from a time when my children were overjoyed to see me come home after a long day at the office. They were young then and, like their mom, no doubt happy to have someone different to interact with for a while.

I miss that time. Dragging my kids, one on each leg, another around my waist, another on my back, until we all fell to the ground. Yes sir! Dad’s coming home was special — for all of us.

When Daddy Comes Home «

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Respect for the Office of President-Even in Policy Disagreement

History was made as President Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States. No matter where you stand in support of him or his political agenda, the fact that our country voted in an African-American president is historic. I am resolved to pray for this president and to not do what so many did to former President George Bush...bash him. I sense that the way we can best refute the media-led portrayal of Christians as "right wing nut cases" is to not act as they acted. Regardless of how we believed President Bush responded in his duty as President, he was not afforded the same sense of respect that the nation is giving to President Obama.

Lest this become a political column, I simply wanted to make a statement that I plan on responding in support of the office and give President Obama the respect that I had prayed President Bush would receive. Additionally, I pray that a majority of Hollywood and those in the media wouldn't incite the populace toward hatred as they did during President Bush's administration. Prayer will be uttered that President Obama would stand for life and a moral stance that people are more important than money, as President Bush did. My conviction in all of this is that the name of Jesus Christ is lifted high and our actions as followers is a fragrant aroma to an ever increasing hostility to Christianity. We may disagree and even fight against decisions made by President Obama but I pray that in it all we remember who we really serve, at least those who call themselves Christ-followers.

When Pondering and Planning Meet

From a guest writer, friend of mine, Steve:



The chapter readings for today were Acts 2 and Psalm 111. The key verse for me that linked them together was Psalm 111.2, “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

What does it mean to “ponder the works of the Lord”? Obviously, to think about them, to consider their importance, just as Mary “pondered all these things in her heart” regarding the foretold birth of Christ.

Do we truly ponder the works of the Lord in our lives? How often do we kneel before the creator of the universe and consider how He is working in our lives? If I were to be brutally honest, the answer is rarely. Applying the remainder of verse 2, that means in practical terms that I don’t delight in His works in my life. I do not rejoice in how God moves daily in the mundane moments of my life, because I rarely consider how He does that, or even that he does at all. Instead, I reckon those moments that do occasionally capture my attention as either chance or the success of my own endeavor. If I am truly a believer, they are neither chance or my own success. They are evidence of His ongoing efforts to work in me and through me to advance the kingdom, despite my lack of fitness to the task.

How does that fit into our life plan[ning] endeavor? As we’ve discussed, this is as much an effort to submit our lives to the leading of the holy spirit and the lordship of Christ as it is an attempt to get organized. By allowing the spirit to provide focus in key, high impact areas of my daily existence, I open my spiritual eyes to God’s continual work in me. By periodically reviewing the results of my response to the spirit’s leading, I provide myself the opportunity to ponder his works, and my cooperation with or disobedience to them. My hope is that I will come to rejoice in how I see Him working, and will see wisdom expand in my life as I come to fear (awe, respect, and revere) him more.