A Day of Service...a lifetime of memories

I'm not a big fan of big blowout events to prove we can do something. The real test of anything is longevity. Especially when it comes to serving others. Anyone can do it for a day. But, can you make it a lifestyle? As a follower of Christ, that is what He asks of us. Jesus told those who wished to follow him to daily deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow Him. I don't know about you but that is very humbling for me. Now, none of us get to serve on a grand scale everyday. But, we can serve our spouses, our children, our colleagues, our friends, our neighbors, those in lines at stores or a random person you meet on a walk. Each day will present an opportunity to serve. The question for me is, "am I willing to deny myself, my comfort, my calendar, my money, my agenda, my opinion, my time....my life to do it?" That's my prayer heading into the day. God, will you help me to see those areas where selfishness abounds and selflessness overcomes.

To that end, we participated in a big blowout event that serves the community of Little Rock each year. Through a consortium of churces and organizations we hold a Sharefest event that originated in Little Rock and is spreading around the country and world. It's truly a great event. However, as you read in my opening paragraph, participation in this kind of event, though needed, can often prove to be a salve for those who have spent most of the year focused on themselves. That's me, too often. So, the issue is not to do away with the big event like a Sharefest, because it's a blessing to the city and to many people. The real challenge is to cultivate that attitude of sacrificial service as a lifestyle throughoutthe year!

Well, here are a few photos of the project our community group helped with. We were at Arkansas Baptist College which is in the early stages of renewal. As the only black, Baptist college west of the Mississippi, it has had an historic significance over it's 164 year history. Just a few short years ago its enrollments was down to about 150. Dr. Fitz Hill, former football head coach of San Jose State, was called by God to invest his energy, passion for students and love of Christ into this ailing college. A very LARGE challenge. But, since his arrival as President of Arkansas Baptist College, enrollment has increase fourfold and he's making a difference in a very rough part of the city. It's being transformed one life, one student, one home at a time. Our service project was to help them restore a pretty tired old school that has been in decay for years. It's on the rise and the main building is slated for complete renovation in the next 12 months! I was part of a deck building group. We added a deck to the dining hall to give them a place to enjoy fellowship around a meal outdoors (weather permitting :-). We also built a couple of benches for them to use. There were many other projects going on around the campus and around the city of Little Rock. It was a pleasure to participate. Here are some of the photos of the weekend:


-Pres. Hill giving us a pregame pep talk and doing what a good coach does, he left us with a charge to not let this be the only time we were on campus investing in students and the mission!


-She's not going to be happy with this one...but she is so cute!


-just some of the throng assigned to Ark Bapt College to help out with various projects




-pictures of the deck that I helped with. This is outside the cafeteria/dining hall.


-getting ready for lunch




-LUNCH TIME!!


-the benches a team of four and myself help put together for the students to eat out on the new deck



-trying to finish the deck...will get photos of the finished deck if I get a chance.

When will this start happening in the US?

In England, it's not a question of whether the government should intrude in family life, but how and when.
November 22, 2008 - by Frank Furedi

During the past decade, the British government has adopted an interventionist stance towards the management of family life. It continually lectures mothers and fathers about how to bring up their children and it constantly criticizes parents for behaving in ways that run counter to the ethos of expert-approved child rearing. The government does not simply advise or provide information, it is also in the business of saving children from their parents.

Click here to read entire article

Who Did That?

I really don't understand or comprehend God. Ok...stating the obvious doesn't make something worth writing. But, as I read a passage in the book of Jeremiah and just took a few minutes to try and wrap my punie little mind around our vast, majestic, unexplainable God I was humbly reminded that it's not up to me to try to understand God. It's up to me to understand and know that HE IS God. Wow...that brings a lot more relief as I enter the day that the world and it's issues don't rest on my ability to solve them. Rather, I place my trust today in the One who created all things and planned them for His glory and my good from before time began.


"It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
(ESV, Je 10:12)

So, what about you? What things are you trying to accomplish or solve by yourself? What worries do you take into the day that you really have no ability at all to resolve? Maybe it's time to take a few minutes, read the verse above and exhale. Breath. It's not up to you. It's not about you. Play your part today. Give up the mantle of self determination and play to the Author of life, love and liberty. "Choose you this day whom you will serve...as for me and my house, we choose life"

Winding Down In MN

Well, nearly 190 hours and 5 billion calories after touching down in Minnesota last Monday, I am ready to go home!! The dual purposes of coming to MN for an extended time were accomplished. I had a great time during the National Coalition of Men's Ministry conference held in Burnsville, MN at my home church, Berean. The consensus from the group was that the church was very hospitable, the speakers tremendous, the conference an overwhelming success and a desire that next years conference would be in a more tropical climate :-). I would agree. However, if that is what had happened this year, the second purpose of my trip wouldn't have been possible.

I had the great privilege of meeting with more than 25 friends and family for meals and fellowship directly as well as at least another 30-40 via Sunday School, Worship service at church and other chance meetings at various coffee shops around time (including Caribou, my favorite coffee shop of all) plus another 30 or more men I met while attending the NCMM conference. Some of those meetings were to share in more depth the nature of our current financial support situation but mostly it was to simply connect and to express my love for them in word while they expressed it in word and deed. I was treated so undeservedly well. It's "knee dropping" humbling to me. I am honored by God's gift of friendship.

However, in my absence from home, while being overwhelmed by the goodness of so many, I miss my wife and my daughter. I miss seeing their beautiful face in the morning, listening to their antics of the day and just being with them. This is the second longest trip I've ever taken alone away from my family. The longest was last year when I was gone for over two weeks. I must say that God accomplished much more through me this trip than through last year's trip. I was more intentional to meet as many as possible during my open time slots. And, God provided those meetings.

I don't know all of what got accomplished during the meetings I had but I do know that many more of our team know we love them and desire to minister to their families and marriages via the ministry of FamilyLife and that we can't do what we do without them. They are indeed the most integral part ministry outside of the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, thank you to all of you who made this trip a success. You are loved and appreciated. But, I'm glad to soon be back in the arms of my lifetime lover...my gorgeous wife, Sue. In the inimitable words of Fred Samson, "I'm Comin' home Elizabeth (except it's Susan, for me :-)"

The Joy of Anticipation...the Letdown of the catch--Part Deux

When I left the last post, I shared that, in general (and definitely not every Christian I know) Christians live as relatively joyless lives on this earth as non-Christians. I know of many who are very joyful people but, I'm really making a broad brush statement that I feel has validity. So much so that there have been books written under that premise. One of those, The Slumber of Christianity by Ted Dekker, stirred me to write some of my own thoughts about this issue.


As I indicated in the last post, I had a discussion with a long time friend of mine about the pursuit of "stuff" always being greater than the actual obtaining of it. I mean, remember the anticipation of Christmas? I remember that I sprung out of bed at some ungodly hour as if shot out of a cannon. All because I wanted to see what "Santa" brought. I can't remember ANY of those gifts that I tore through (well, maybe a couple like the vibrating football field where players vibrated up and down the field all in pursuit of a little felt football...what a great game...or my hockey game that had a REAL overhead scoreboard that dropped the puck onto center ice where players attached to long metal rods could be moved up and down the ice and twisted left or right by the knobs to shoot and SSSCCCCCOOOOOORRRREEEE because they were attached to those rods...another great game). But, I do remember the great joy in anticipating that morning. And, more significantly, I remember my kids getting up so blasted early and coming in to stare at Sue and I just patiently waiting for us to catch a glimpse of them so we would get out of bed....it's kind of the same look our Golden Retriever gives us every morning so we'll feed her ;-).


So, if that's the case that we enjoy the anticipation of something more than actually getting it, it makes sense to me that if our hope is in the "stuff" of life, we continually need to be in pursuit of it because once we get it, it fails to deliver the same sense of satisfaction and joy that pursuing it gives us. So, how should it be different from those who are followers of Christ?


Ted Dekker makes this statement in his book that "the general failure of life to produce the happiness of achieving dreams is especially interesting for Christians because, judging by their actions rather than their claims, Christianity on the whole are no more happy (or joyful) than people of other (or no) faith(s)." It's the open secret of the church---we make all kinds of incredible calims based on the holy Scriptures, but our lives are pretty much the same as the lives of the unchurched...But on the whole, Christianity has failed to satisfactorily respond to the glaring observations that Christians, despite a tendency to describe themselves as happy, are in practice no more happy than non-Christians. Our religion's answer has been predictable: Seek more, sin less, and have faith. Then you will find happiness in your marriage and on earth. Most Christians have followed this mantra in spurts, yet they invariably end up dissatisfied with the results. Their marriages still fail. Their jobs are still downsized. Their cars still break down. Their health still wanes. And they still can't seem to find enough faith to ignore their general predicaments in life or embrace the great happiness they once had as naive children. As a result, Christians settle for less and call it being content in much the same way the world settles for less and calls it content. Christianity, it turns out, looks less and less like a child's blissful Christmas, and more like a long slide down the hill of hard realities shared by humans in general. Why?"


Now, many of you may be thinking the same things that have crossed my mind: Just because we're followers of Christ doesn't exempt us from the hard realities of life. That may seem to be what Ted is advocating but I don't think that's the point. The point is, when those things of life happen, how should the story look different from those of us who are Christians from those who aren't? I'd like to explore this for a few more posts. So, maybe you can think about those times when you find yourself in pure joy and how you respond to the fact that this life doesn't provide the satisfaction our souls seek? And, do you put on the mask to say, "I'm content...it's OK...I'll be all right" while all the time you are just as discouraged as ones who have no hope outside of this world? Should it be different (I'm not saying that we don't have sorrow, troubles, trials and difficulties but I am asking if our ultimate deep felt response should be different than for non-Christians)? Until next post....

The Joy of Anticipation...the Letdown of the catch

I've been in Minnesota for almost a week, haven't seen the sun, have seen some great friends, will see some family and have had a chance to drink coffee at my favorite coffee place, Caribou. I miss my family and can't wait to see them on Tuesday. In the meantime, I am reading, writing, praying, talking and listening. Last night, I reconnected to one of my best childhood friends. Chris and I go way back. We shared many of the memories (well, at least as many as two guys approaching 1/2 century of living can remember ;) of those days growing up and what's happened to us since those days. Chris is in the financial services industry (not exactly a fun place to be these days) and is really good at what he does. And, I've gone into full time ministry with a marriage and family ministry, FamilyLife, after over 20 years in accounting and finance roles in business. So, we tried to connect some of the dots and had a great time.

One of the conversations we entered into focused on stuff. On those things that we strive for...cars, houses, successful careers, lifetime love relationships, family stability, etc. As I imparted my vast wisdom (imagine my tongue firmly implanted in my cheek) we talked about the fact that throughout much of our lives we spend time in pursuit of things, only to find that acheiving or obtaining them, typically or almost always pales significantly to the joy in the hunt. Why is that? I shared that it's a principle my wife and I have tried to build into our children, i.e., that the things of this world will NEVER satisfy. Only God satisfies. I truly believe that. And, it does bring me some joy. But, I began to wonder about Christian joy. I began to ask myself, what brings us joy? What really makes us different than those who don't have a relationship with God and all they have is the stuff they pursue? Seems to me that for the most part, we are both equally joyless on this earth. I mean, if I had to be honest, I haven't met very many Christians who are truly joyful. Nice? Yes! Content? Some of the time? Purpose? More so than those who don't know Christ. But, joyful? Not so much. It seems that for the most part, we are riding alongside those who don't call themselves Christians, and basically settling for what life has to offer.

So, what's the difference? Is it just that we know where we're going when we die and they only think they know where they're going. Partly. We have assurance that our lives don't end here on this earth. But, why do we so often live like the joy of life is found here? And, then when we experience the same pain or have our stuff taken from us, we are as miserable as those who have no hope or expectation of living after the burial? I think I'm touching on what the main problem is, at least for me.

I'll explore what that is in my next posting....until then...pursue pure joy!

Off to MN

Well, I'm sitting in the Little Rock airport ready to board a plane to Atlanta. Which seems strange because I eventually will end up in MN. I'm no geography genius but this isn't the most direct route available, I assume. Ah, such is the glamour of travel.

I just wanted to provide a quick update while I sat and gazed at the interesting people that fly. It's always interesting to me to consider the many different agendas and plans that people are waiting to embark on as they await their flight to ignite those plans. And, they're all encumbent upon that piece of aluminum and steel defying gravity and soaring above the clouds, then eventually beginning to descend and finally land on two relatively small wheels with a braking and reverse thrust system designed to stop that torpedo with passengers in a relatively short distance. I am amazed at all the technology that needs to work to precision to get me to my desired destination, not the least of which is the fact that someone, somewhere, somehow thought that an object could stay airborn with the right thrust and aerodynamic design AND carry people from one place to another. Amazing. I just pray that the technology that is in place still works today!

So, I'm off to MN to attend a men's conference where ministries from around the country get together to share notes, stories and ministry with each other all for the purpose of igniting men's movements everywhere.

Please pray for my trip, for technology and for temperature mercy (I'm going from 60's to 30's and 40's). Though I'm from MN my body is now getting acclimated to southern warmth!

I'll update throughout the week so that the throng of blog followers I have will be able to stay tuned...all 1 or 2 of you :-)

He Knows the Next Page

My beautiful wife (and why she has stay married to me for more than 23 years is a mystery only God knows…it is evidence enough for me that there is a God J) wanted me to see a video about a song she really liked. Now, if you know my beloved bride, you know she's not prone to being overzealous about things. She's passionate and zealous in her pursuit of God and her caretaking of our family but not really about the things that I get wigged out by. Like music. Or sermons I hear. Or a random thought that I just have to share (as if it was of any value to anyone but me J). She's much more controlled with her emotion. So, when she wants me to listen to something it's gotta be good.

The song is called "In Color" by Jamey Johnson (and yes, to all our friends up north, it's a country song ;-). It's a song about a line he heard during the honoring of a long time country music icon. As they made the presentation, they flashed photos of his life in the background. Most of those photos were black and white because of the longevity of his career. The comment that either he heard or made was, "We're seeing his life in black and white but he lived it in color". What a great line! I love the imagery that line elicits. It conveys the fact that we benefit by reliving the past of someone who has accomplished much on this earth but that person actually had to live it. And, the truth is that sometimes that color wasn't always pleasant. I'm sure if you were to talk to the honoree he would let you know that sometimes life was too vivid. A picture may paint a thousand words but a lifetime it cannot.

Well, that song and imagery came alive to me this morning, first during my devotional time in the book of I Kings, and then as I listened to a friend share his observations about a story from 2 Kings. The thought that came to me was that whenever we read something in the Bible, especially something of historical content (like a war that was going to be fought by a few men against a large Army or weak band of men against giants), we have the privilege of knowing what's on the next page. We have the perspective of looking at the past and knowing the outcome. In this case, we see that a king who fretted going into war (like Jehoshaphat) even when following the LORD's command, forgot who was on his side. They won! But, put yourself in their position at that time. They were just like we are at this or any moment. Maybe we're facing something that seems pretty scary. Maybe it's related to our employment, our living situation, an impending move to another city or nation, an illness or even death (personally or of a loved one). There was One who knew what was written on the next page in His story, yet he had to live it out in color. It was Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man. If he could carry out the contents of his story knowing the pain and suffering He was going to endure on that page, then you can go into your situation fully confident that God knows the next page of your life as well.

Years from now when the story of your life is written and revealed, you'll be able to look back and remember how you felt on the page while knowing what happened when the page turns. But, now, the only one who knows what is on the next page is the One who's already written our story. That should give us some comfort because we know that He is a good Author. And, no matter what the storyline holds for your part, play it well. Let the story be written and as each sub-plot unfolds, we can look back and say, others' saw our life in black and white, but we're seeing it in color!

Is Change what we REALLY need?

I was driving to the offices of FamilyLife this morning (Sat) to pick up some things I forgot at work. I chose to take a scenic way. There's a windy road that goes through the west part of Little Rock and heads into some hilly country. Then, as the road winds though a tree lined path of upper class neighborhoods, it opens up to a beautiful view of the northwest part of the city. You can see for miles and the color of the changing leaves on a sea of trees was beautiful. I love this time of year. Everyone loves the leaves as they change twice each year...first from buds to lush green in the spring and then in their transition to dormancy as they flash brilliant shades of red, yellow, orange and gold. In this case change is good.

Can you think of anywhere else or under any circumstance where we're hearing about change? Like ALL THE TIME! I don't know about you but I'll be very happy when there is a change in the touting of change. It sure sounds good, doesn't it? Everything is, "Change! We need change!" I guess sometimes I need change...like this morning when I had to pay to put air in one tire, I needed change...seventy five cents!!! By the way, what is that anyway...paying for air. Might as well put a hose next to the "pay for air" box that is hooked up to a faucet where you can pay to get a drink of water.

Well, I'm tired of hearing about change. Wanna know why? Because, I don't believe it. I just don't buy the rhetoric. Great for sound bites. But, I just heard that one of the candidates is now beginning to change his message to "well, we won't be able to make changes in the first 100 days...it's the first 1,000 that matter." Hmmm...didn't see that coming...yawn.

Actually there are a lot of things that I DON'T want changed. Like my ability to freely worship God. Or the value that we've placed on important things in this country since it was founded, like HUMAN LIFE. I'm talking about INNOCENT human life. Or, the fact that there was a perfectly good institution called marriage that didn't or doesn't need change. It was fine as designed by God. We may have screwed it up a lot by not knowing how to make it work but changing the definition of it is NOT the answer. Most of all, in the midst of all the craziness...talk of potential assassination's, rioting, more divisiveness, socialism reigning as our form of government (and BEING OK WITH THAT)...I am comforted that there is ONE who NEVER CHANGES.

When I wake up on November 5, there will be change, no matter what I want to happen. There will be a new president ready to take office. If my hope for my future, my families' future and the future of people of all races and nations rests on who that is, WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE, whoever it is. There is no way a man can create the necessary change where it matters most...in the heart of you and me. That is God's job. And, God doesn't change. Thankfully. He created change, yet He didn't...change.

So, I can still enjoy the leaves changing, gathering change from under the couch cushions to put air in my tires, watching my children and circumstances change while all the while God doesn't. He's the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow and forever more.

Time to go change my clothes...another situation where change is good.