Songwriting is like life...

In so many ways. Most times the best songs are written about true life events. I have written a few songs in the last year and it is really hard work. Most of them were just poetry that we put a rythm and melody to. But I am working on one right now that was a scary time in my life and I am finding my emotions are getting the best of me. Everytime I sit down to write I remember things about those days and it all comes flooding back, the fear, the uncertainty, the grief and I seem to relieve those days all over again. It is almost enough to put that song away and forget about it. But then the story would not be told and the glorious ending would never be found out.
Life is kind of like that, we live through hard times in our lives and we would rather forget them than relive them. But when we do we fail to get to share in the triumphs that come out of the hard times.
So as your life is lived out loud in front of others, sometimes we need to relive those hard times to let the triumphs truely sing out.

10% inspiration, 90% persperation...

I think we sometimes get those things backwards. We think to really accomplish something it takes 90% inspiration and 10% persperation. Reality shows us that the inspiration part is sometimes the easiest, the real work is in what comes after the inspiration.
I see people fall into that pit everyday, who am I fooling, I fall into that pit daily too. Each and every day I have great ideas. Songs to write. Books to pen. Bathrooms to remodel (hey I am getting really close on that one, of course it was about 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration). And even though we know the 10/90 rule we always seem to get it backwards.
Mark Batterson always says, "plan as if it depends on GOD, but work as if it depends on you". That will preach in most churches I have been in.
So how do we go from the 10% of inspired thinking to the 90% of the grunt work? We just have to do it.
As a young man I worked on my grandfather's farm during the summers and almost every weekend till we moved away. At grandpa's farm, there is always work to be done. I remember one day we had an especially nasty job to do. We had some cattle who needed to be cared for. This amounted to injecting antibiotics into them, making the little bulls into steers, and de-horning those that had horns. Now the first two are no big deal, but that dehorning, that was a NASTY job. There was no way to not get bloodied, bruised and banged around when you are de-horning cattle. So I asked my grandfather, do you think we could just not de-horn the cattle. And he explained that we had to de-horn them so they wouldn't hurt each other. I asked him if there was another way we could do it where I would not get all bloody and nasty. He scratched his chin and thought for a moment and said, "well I guess we could just leave the sheers (big sharp clamps that you clip the horns off with) and the paste (a mixture of antibiotics and medicine to get the blood to coagulate) out in the field and see if the cows will cut their own horns off." I remember looking at him and thinking he really had lost his marbles. I blurted out, "grandpa, those cows can't cut their own horns off" and he replied, "well I guess that means we have to do it."
Sometimes in life we just have to do it. It won't get done unless we do it. It won't happen on its own, it won't just magically appear or even go away no matter how hard we want it to. Sometimes we just have to buckle down and prepare to PERSPIRE.

Am I the only one?

Who really doesn't care for Shrek? My wife and I saw parts of the first one when it first debuted and we walked away thinking we wasted an hour and a half of our lives.
I just did not think it was that funny, sure there were a few funny lines but I am so over the old physical gags routine that burping, passing gas and boogers just aren't funny to me.
I guess part of it is growing up with three younger brothers. When someone flips a booger at 100 miles per hour and it impacts on your forehead it just isn't funny anymore. I remember taking a nap one time and awaking to my brothers backside right in my face. Yep he did it. And burping, well one of my brothers CAN burp his ABC's and sing that little diddy right at the end too. You know the one, now will you sing with me? Well he inserts "burp" in the sing part.
And then I had kids. Yep nose residue (ie Boogers) and all those other icky bodily functions I had to deal with as Dad. It becomes no fun after a while, actually it begins to grate on you. "Didn't I just wipe your nose?" I think I needed to hook the shop vac up sometimes and just attach it to the kid's noses and maybe just maybe I would get all that yucky stuff out at one time. And the diapers...well lets not go there. And then the kiddies get a little older and they start to do icky stuff to each other. And then Mom and Dad yell at them for doing things to their siblings that we did to ours years ago. It is the circle of life...
So Shrek I won't miss you now that your fourth film is done. My kids are almost grown up now, and I stress almost...and I am looking forward to a life without icky bodily functions happening every minute.
Ahh peace... ---Burp!!!!---and quiet.

Motivation...

I remember that old Sprite commercial with the three hip hop looking gang member dudes are shooting the commercial, talking all ghetto and such till the director yells cut and the main guy breaks into this prim and proper English and asks, "whats my motivation?".

I think of that a lot when dealing with motivation.
What I have found is this.
Any time I am motivated to do something for myself it is usually self serving, self centered and self indulging.
Any time I am motivated to do something for someone else it is usually selfless, appreciated and I get a better sense of fulfilment out of it.
Paul said that we should do all things as if we are doing them unto the Lord. There in lies all the motivation that we need to succeed in what we are doing.
I started thinking if I did everything as unto the Lord, wow, how motivated I would be to do a lot of things for him!
So tomorrow, in your cubicle, work for him. When your wife asks you to do something, do it for him to please her. When your kids need your help, help them as you would help him! It will change your life!

Golf Tournet a Success!

Well the golf tourney went over great, well pretty good.
First started at 5:30AM when the alarm went off as we had an early morning tee time for the players. At 6AM I was running a skill saw (to the angst of my neighbors I am sure) cutting stakes for our sponsors signs. At 7:30AM we were on site getting everything together. At 8:20 we had a meeting with the players to go over the rules. At 8:30 they teed off and began play, after the teams filed past the first hole we politlely "golf clapped" each drive. And then we went and had breakfast. There was nothing else for us to do till the end!
So all in all, every team won something, some had a member win a hole challenge, long drive or putting contest. Fun was had by all and even the workers seemed to enjoy themselves in thier baby blues.
So see you next year golfers!

Overwhelmed...

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? I know I am going through it right now. Work has been non stop, the entire months of April and May I was all over the place, to give you an idea, I was in Iowa, South and North Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio and Kentucky (twice), California, Florida (three different times so you can't feel to sorry for me), and Missouri. I feel like Johnny Cash (insert "I've been everywhere man" soundtrack here). This is all for my regular job.
Now for my other job as Pastor, we have a golf tourney fundraiser slated for this Saturday to pull off, Sunday services to minister in, Monday is Berean School where I will teach on the entire Old Testament in three hours time, and then we have a staff retreat to organize for next weekend, and also TWO different firework tent fundraisers that will start in a couple of weeks. Throw in the occasional funeral service, counciling sessions, and hospital calls and it gets to piling up on you.
Oh and lets not forget being a husband and a father. I have a daughter who just graduated, another getting ready for her senior year who decided to play sports this year so we have summer softball to arrange around, a son who is playing both summer baseball and basketball, as well as youth camps, I camps, football camps, softball camps, scouting camps, PK camps and any other kind of camp you want to throw in there. Oh and my wife is wanting out bathroom done that we have been remodeling for five years now. She thinks it might be a good thing to have the second bathroom BEFORE all the kids leave the house.
So what do you do when you feel overwhelmed?
Let go... yep, do the exact opposite of what you should do.
Remember when you were a kid and got on your first roller coaster? You gripped that bar in front of you so hard you thought it was going to break in two? You were just sure when the guy let you out there would be fingerprintes embedded in the metal? After your first ride what did your more experienced roller coaster friend tell you to do? Yep, let go and raise your hands in the air. It was scarry, insane and not rational all at the same time. But the first time when you raised your hands and the coaster built up speed and you took that first downhill plunge you would never hold onto the bar again.
So when you are feeling overwhelmed, let go, relax and let GOD take care of you.
Raising your hands is optional...

Childbirth...

My associate pastor and his wife are expecting their first child any moment now. It has been a pretty good pregnancy for both of them. She has been very active throughout the pregnancy (she was helping dig out post holes two days ago) and really has seemed to be in good shape throughout the entire nine months, fourty weeks or 280 days. So why is it since she is at the hospital that we expect that little baby to just pop out in no time flat. It seems like the last couple of days no one wants to wait for the birth. It was funny on friday that people were throwing around having a C section so it would be over. We get in such a hurry to see the completion we miss out on the glorious thing it is seeing something come to be.
We are kind of like that in life, moving from one thing to another as quick as we can and never really getting to enjoy the little miracles that happen all around us. Working so hard to get a project complete but never really relishing the finish line because we are onto the next project that needs our attention.
I know that when that baby finally makes her appearance, there will be time well spent cherishing and enjoying the moment of the miracle. And it won't just be Mom and Dad who are going to share in that accomplishment, there will be great granparents, and grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends who will all join in the celebration.
Here's to wishing that all of our accomplishments could be celebrated the same way as we wait for those things to come to completion.

Do what?

I was preaching a funeral this week when in studying I ran across a particular section of scripture. It is in 2 Samual chapter 15. Let me set the stage for you, Absolom has taken the kingship from his father and David is fleeing in an attempt to save his household. Absalom has taken the city and as David is leading his family and those men loyal to him out of the city. As they leave David holds back to make sure everyone is making it out OK when something strange happens. Ittai a Gittite is in among David's followers. David asks Ittai what he was doing? You see Ittai just showed up in Jerusalem the day before. No one knows who he is, he just arrived and yet he is leaving with the deposed King? Crazy huh? Well David thought so too. He tells Ittai to go back and serve Absolom as David does not know where he will go, wether they will be overtaken and killed by Absolom, or even if they will have enough provision for everyone. David says go back because that is the rational choice. Ittai says he will stay with David through life or even death, that wherever David goes he will go as well even though it is as Spock would say, Irrationtional...
Following GOD is a lot like that. We really don't know what the future holds. We may think we do but how many times does it really work out the way we think it should? We don't know what will really happen tomorrow. I have never got ready to leave for work and saw I had a flat tire adn thought, well I knew this morning I would have a flat! It is always a surprise.
So back to Ittai, how did it work out for him? Well he followed David in chapter 15. In chapter 18 it tells that David split the country into thirds and gave three men rule over each third. Yeah, you guessed it, one of the guys was Ittai, the crazy dude that followed when following was not rational. Who pledged his loyalty when pledging loyalty was not rational, who became a ruler even though he just got to town yesterday...

Wow.... and again I say Wow....

I just sat through a 2 hour awards assembly at my daughters high school. Now granted we have a little school so the Jr. High was there as well and received awards which I am sure added to the lengthy time, but wow, when did we start awarding kids for mediocrity?

When I was in school, you know when the snow was four feet high and we all walked to school barefoot uphill both ways, well we only got an award if we did something really significent. Like discover a new star, discover some kind of roto virus, or figure out how to pasturize milk. I saw kids get awards today for mere academic mediocrity and it got to me to thinking. Is it better to get an award that is lessened because everyone got one or not to get one at all? I was the kid on the playground who always got picked first. I could not help it that I was bigger than everyone else. It was not my fault that my genetic genes somehow aligned to make me a decent athlete, musician and scholar. I was labeled early on to be a success when I grew up. How I wanted to go live under a bridge and show up at our twenty year reunion with a ratty beard, dirty clothes and an old shopping cart. I just know it would give those kids who always got picked after me a thrill. Anyway I digress.
So when did we start rewarding mediocrity? I remember at my high school graduation the only thing I really figured I would get was a diploma. At least I hoped I would get a diploma. Actually they gave us a blank piece of paper and told us to come back on Monday so we could find out if we had passed all of our courses or not. Not that I was worried, I had good grades but not "that" good that I was up for any awards. I remember getting called across the stage and I got my diploma and the "Presidential Academic Fitness Award". I did not remember registering for it or even applying for it but Ronald Reagan must have caught a press clipping about my 10 points and 4 rebounds when we played Claremore. Anyway I got back to my seat and one of my friends, Keith Anderson (yeah the country western singer) leans back and points at my award and says, "what is that?". So I tell him what it was and he gives me a weird look and says, "I lettered in four sports, why didn't I get one of those". It was at that moment I saw in his eyes the haunted looks all of those kids who got picked last for the kickball game. I felt bad for the all stater, the supreme athlete that everything came easy to. I actually had something that All American Keith Anderson did not have, a Presendential Award to say the least! So I have always felt good about that award, until today that is. They were handing out some award that one of the kids said Barak Obama had signed. I mentioned it to my wife, who did not play sports past the 8th grade year in school, when she said she had gotten that award too and Ronald Reagan had signed hers as well! It was then that I realized that they have been awardig mediocrity for some time... I just did not realize that I was mediocre until today...

That old time religion...

I am reading "Like a Prarie Fire", it is a book about the beginnings of Pentecost in Oklahoma. As a minister I am always looking to expand my knowledge and understanding, and sometimes you need to go back before you can go forward. I am just slightly into it and two things have stood out to me.
Point number one: The author writes about the early church pioneers in Pentecost and penned this point. "Their consecration was so deep that there was no room for anything other than GOD and his will in their lives". Wow. If we could tap into that we can change a world. We need a church today who is willing to give all they have to the cause of Christ. Where there is no room in their lives for anything other than GOD'S will. We have so many other distractions that keep us occupied and lead us away from GOD'S will. Wether it be hobbies, relationships, work, home, addictions or anything that seperates us from GOD, we need to willingly give those things up and replace them with GOD and GOD alone.
Oh LORD that I would surrender everything to you, and allow you to fill every part of my life.
Point number two: The author writes about the singing. Now if your church has not had a split over worship at this point you are probably safe or still singing these songs that the early pioneers sang. What really grabbed me was this quote. He writes; "Only the "worldly" would dare sing a fast song. Pentecost changed that forever. The new Pentecostal songs - even the old Holiness hymns - were sung at a breakneck speed. It was if the joy of the Lord was so built up in them, they exploded during the song service." Wow again. Can you imagine the things that were said? "They keep singing that same chorus over and over". "They are singing about their love for GOD, they should be singing about the Bible." Mainly led by an acoustic guitar and a tamborine they sang loud and long. Well it sure seems like some things never change in the Pentecostal church. People are still griping about the musis being too long and too loud.
Oh GOD, that I would sing as loud as I can so that anyone within earshot can hear. That I would sing as long as I can so those that have yet to pass by would hear your glory.
Sometimes I think we need that "ole time religion"...

Hanley Ramirez...

Have you seen it yet? http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Marlins-Ramirez-should-sit-051810
Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins loafing after a ball? Here is the scenario. Hanley is a remarkable athlete and the highest paid player on their team who plays the most difficult position short stop. So there was a bloop single that fell in front of the left field and behind Ramirez. Both players gave chase and arrived about the same time when the ball hit the turf, but an unexpected bounce found the ball striking Ramirez's foot and he accidentally kicked it into the left field corner. Now that is a little weird but what happens next is even weirder. Ramirez jogs all the way out to the fence to get it. There was no sense of urgency, no sense of busting it to get the ball back into play, did I mention there were men on base at the time? So Ramirez takes his sweet time to get the ball and throw it back in. His manager is displeased with his effort, his teamates are displeased with his effort and Ramirez doesn't undertand what all the fuss is about. Now before you think I am bashing him, I want to assure you that we all act the same way.
Have you ever mailed it in? You know, you were supposed to do something and did it half way, or not at all or just enough to get by? I know I have. I hate to admit it but there have been times in my life that I really did not want to do something and I put it off and put it off until I had to do it and then I did with with a half hearted effort. It always seems that those things come back to bite me in the backside.
I even had my grandfather get onto me once about doing a half way job. He really let me have it and I decided that if it was worth doing it was worth doing well. I realized my mistake and instead of trying to blame others for my poor efforts I realized it was me that needed to change. Instead of ignoring it I realized I had to deal with it to get it to go away.
I hope Hanley realizes this as well, he is still a young man and will be better for it, I know.

Children are an inheritance of the Lord...

I am so proud of my kids. Proud in a good way not the my kid is better than your kid kind of way.
My youngest is such a great kid. He is smart, sometimes too smart for his own good but has a heart of gold. My next youngest is smart, athletic and funny, so he will either be a businessman, a comedian or an athlete or maybe all three. My next oldest is my youngest daughter, who has so much talent she hasn't even tapped into it all yet. She is a model, honor scholar and soon to be athlete after a four year layoff. But today I want to talk about my oldest, who will graduate school this spring and will be heading off to college in the fall.
She has always been the "big sister". My youngest son until he was around six years old did not even know her name, she was always "big sister" to him. She is the motherly sort that looks after her younger siblings like Mom would in her absence. She is tough on them one moment and then lets them lay all over her the next like a big old family pillow. She is smart, better than a 4.0 GPA, and is in line for many scholarships next fall because of her academics. And she is athletic, gaining a scholarship for basketball in the fall.
She is responsible, accountable, a leader, a teacher, a friend and just a down right good kid. I am so proud to be her dad and I am looking forward to all that she will accomplish in her life.
I can't take all the glory for her, for she has some of my genes, and some of her mom's, but she was formed by the very hands of GOD.
Sierra I am proud to be your Dad, do all you do for the glory of GOD and I know he will bless all your ways.

B A L <> A N C E

Have you ever noticed that you need balance in your life?
Remember when you were a kid? You had to have balance to get through life. You could not ride your bike, play on the monkey bars or be good at sports without balance. I remember thinking I would never be able to balance my bike when I first learned to ride. My father did not believe in training wheels, at least that was what I thought. He just sat you on the bike and told you to pedal while he held the seat, then when you weren't looking he would let go. Many times I did fine till I realized that he let go, then I focused on him letting go instead of balance and I crashed and burned.
Well we serve a GOD that never lets go. He is always right there even when we don't see him. But to really be able to sense his presence in our lives we have to have balance. When we get so caught up in the things around us we start to do things in our own power, with our own skills and we forget that GOD is right there helping us through. It is at those points in our lives where we are in a dangerous position, thinking we are doing it on our own. What I love is that before we get to caught up in our own abilities GOD takes his hand off the seat for just a moment. Our balance gets bad, the handlebars start to sway side to side in our hands and it appears that we are about to careen out of control and we are headed for a nasty crash and GOD reaches back and grabs ahold of us and puts us back into balance. It is a scrary place to be when you see things starting to shake, sway and go out of control in your life. But it is at this place when you realize that you need to let go and let GOD do what he is always trying to do in out lives, give us balance.

Mother's Day...

How we should love our Mothers...
First we should thank them every day for bringing us into this world. I know many times they second guess their decision making process that day of our birth.

Second, we should lavish praise and adoration on them. You are never too old to have your mother get the switch and give you an attitude adjustment.

Thirdly, we should thank them for being our mediator, our lawyer and our probation officer. You know the time when Dad got really mad at us for something, and Mom (The Mediator) went to our defense and told Dad that we were just kids and did not know better. And that Dad was partially to blame for our offense (the Lawyer) because he did not put his stuff away, and that Mom (The Probation Officer) would punish us by sending us to our room with a stern talking to. Dad would have just killed us and told the neighbors that we ran away, Mom though knew the neighbors would not buy that...
That is why she is Mom...

where are you headed?

I remember asking this question one time to a person in our youth group. He got up as we were having a discussion at a restaurant. At that moment in time the question came to my mind about his future, so I blurted out, "where are you headed?". He looked at me kind of funny and said, "I am going to the bathroom, is that OK?".
You see the question I asked what not where he was headed right now, but where he was headed to? In the whole scheme of things, where are you headed?
Too many times when we are asked that question we respond like my friend did with the destination that we have in our sights right now. The short term destination. But I have found that the really successful people in life don't think in terms of short term destinations, but in long term destinations. Short sighted people look at short term solutions, short term destinations and short term dreams. But long term thinkers dream better solutions, better destinations and better dreams, because they are usually bigger, take longer to get there, and solve problems to an even greater degree.
So I will ask you, where are you headed? And don't say to the bathroom...

I just can't stop...

Traveling.
My job requires a certain amount of travel as I need to go see customers and attend trade shows. It seems lately that I have traveled at least part of the last six weeks straight. I am my own worst enemy with scheduling my travel because there are trips that I have to make, conventions and such, as well as customer trips that I have to make as well. It seems they are all wanting me at the same time and when I get an opportunity to spend a week without traveling something else comes up.
So how do I learn to just say no?
I have not figured that out yet but I am going to have to get my mind wrapped around it as with the schedule I have been keeping, ain't nobody happy.
So my mantra now is "no, no, and no again" until I get a handle on it.

Todd Agnew

We hosted a Todd Agnew concert last night. Wow, what a fun time it was. I came away feeling somewhat conflicted though.
First of all, we did not have as many people there than I thought we would. We had around 200-250 people total, not bad for our first production but still we are talking Todd Agnew here. Not Stephen Jones and his talking puppets but Todd Agnew, you know, "Grace Like Rain", "This Fragile Breathe", that Todd Agnew, the one that gets played on the radio? But oh well, I am sure there was something really good on TV that will never replay on TV Land one day that you could not miss. But for the people who were there, they all walked away pretty much blessed by the time they got to spend worshipping with Todd.
Second it was that worship thing that kind of surprised me. I mean he does this for a living. He goes some place, tunes his guitar and sings and plays for work. But he never made it sound like work. He truely enjoyed connecting with the audience and leading them into a place of worship.
Thirdly, I really expected him to plug his newest album, "Need'. You know, the new album is the one that makes the money. I do not think he did but a couple of songs off that album the entire time. If you pick it up check out "Writing on the Wall", I was kind of disappointed he did not do that one but acousticly it probably doesn't have the kick it would with a live band.
Fourthly, I know I am still going. He was a really good guitarist. That impressed me a bunch, it wasn't just up, down, up, down and chord changes but he added some riffs and kept a pretty good groove going the whole time. And trust me people, he did not have any help. His guitar went into a tuner and then into a direct box that went into the sound system. There was no track machine, click track or anything else to help him out, just Todd and the guitar.
Fifthly, I really like the guy. You know he is like famous and all but he was really a down to earth kind of guy. He carried his luggage in, we finally did relieve him of that but he wasn't demanding or expecting something, he almost seemed somewhat embarrassed that people were trying to treat him like a star. I guess I know why I am probably not a famous musician now, I would be big headed, obnoxious and demanding so GOD keeps me humble by being not so famous.
Sixthy, the dude has a sense of humor. He had everyone laughing and crying, singing and worshipping and laughing and crying some more. There was a point he kind of broke into a stand up comedy routine then realized that he had a guitar and kind of looked at it like, "I guess I should be playing this thing...". He was a riot with the stories he told and the theology he brought to the table.
Seventhly, He is what he is. When you see Todd, that is what you get. I was running around in a pair of cargo shorts and a polo trying to get dinner ready for everyone, making sure my wife was not too stressed out and then had to change to get "Pastorly" for the service. By the way my "Pastorly" dress was a pair of jeans, printed T shirt with a button up patterned shirt over the top. No suit and tie for me! Well Todd, he came in wearing this "Chuys" shirt right from the airport. "Chuys" is a Dallas restaurant that I was at years ago, so I keep waiting for Todd to go get into his "performance" clothes. We leave him for a few minutes and when he comes out on stage, yep front and center "Chuys" is heralded to all. Todd should hit them up for some burritos or tacos or something as the food sponsor for "Need" tour. Something like, "we all "NEED" to eat, at Chuys!!" Saying all that, he was real, transparent, and humble. Hopefully next time we have him I will get to set with him for an hour or so and just play guitar.
Eightly, that dude has a set of pipes!! I love Todd's voice, when "Grace Like Rain" came out my wife wanted to do it for worship. Now I am a baritone/bass by nature so I was loving it when she said she wanted me to sing it. All was good until the "Hallelujah" part where I pulled a hamsting trying to get that high. But Todd can just fill a room with his voice. Little guy, big voice. (disclaimer, Todd is not that little but I am 6'3" and 3 bills, he seems a little guy to me for that voice).
Ninethly, he got married a little over a year ago. A ready made family with a 8 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. His son's birthday was the night of the concert. He could have cancelled, I would have understood but he didn't. He told me that they got up that morning, and had Birthday Cake for breakfast before he flew out. That is a pretty good dad! I hope Sandy remembers the day that he had Birthday Cake for breakfast, because his dad was a man of honor. So much so that when the concert was over he went first to call his family. That was too cool, he wanted to share the worship experience with his family.
Tenthly, he was so nice. My wife is a control freak and she plans everything down to the minute and event. Well we were leaving having sent Todd off to get some sleep, finished cleaning up and I asked her how we were supposed to pay for the remainder of the bill to bring him to Miami. She kind of went white and started calling trying to find out what happened to the check. I kind of chuckled because I once had a guest speaker's offering check in my pocket when after I took him to lunch he had to kind of hem and haw and finally just asked me, "that offering you took for me, well are you going to mail it or did you write me a check?" I was so embarrased, I had it in my pocket and forgot to give it to him. Well we forgot Todd's check. Yep, sent him off without paying him. My wife ran him down at the hotel and he was like, "no problems, just mail it to me." He met us all of three hours ago and yet he trusted us with this living and said to just mail it. Well Todd, I will make sure the "check's in the mail" today for you.
Thanks for all you did, you were a blessing.
Pastor Pat

Ordained...finally.

My wife and I finally received our ordination last Tuesday night with the Assemblies of GOD in Oklahoma City before a whole bunch of people.
It was quite a significant step for us; for you see we were not even supposed to be ministry types growing up. I was so shy, reserved and would throw up with even the thought of standing up in front of people, let alone having to talk to them. My wife, well being in the in front of people never bothered her, but the idea of being a "pastor" never really was a thought she dwelt on. But GOD had other things in mind as he called us after we both had careers, children and car and house payments. We filled out our applications in the summer of 1998 and received a provisional certificate granting us credentials as long as we completed our "training" in the next two years. We did finally complete our training on the 23rd month, just in time, and stayed that way for almost 8 years. According to the timeline given to ministers, we were supposed to move up to a higher level of credentialing in the next two years but we are a little slow, it took us six to move on but once we got going we got our liscense and two years later our ordination.
I kind of poo pooed the idea getting ordained. I mean right now I am a senior pastor, leader of people; all ordination would do is give me something else to hang on my wall and cost me a few more bucks at the end of the year to renew my credentials. Oh and it also relieved me of the responsibility to attend the annual sectional ministers insititute that is mandatory for all credential holders that are not ordained, that was probably my most driving factor in it all.
But what I found out is receiving ordination was much more emotional that I thought it would be. As we got closer to the service time I felt myself getting more and more nervous, why I have no idea, they had already told me I was good, had my interview and had all the requirements covered but I still got nervous. All it was to be was a ceremony. We would get our names called, shake the district superintendant's hand, have him whisper in our ears, "good job" and then go and sit back down. no biggie. But when it came time that our names were called, when we walked across that stage a sense of honor came over me. Not the proud type of honor, but the "I can't believe that this is happening to me" type of honor. I am not something special, I don't have thousands of followers, I am not a great orator, writer or singer, I am just me, ordinary. So I walked hand in hand with my wife toward our leadership who placed a mantle on our shoulders, whispered in our ears and hugged our necks and we walked off to the side of the stage. I think it was then that it hit me. I looked out into the crowd and I saw my kids smiling at me. Even my youngest who had his Nintendo DS had taken a game break to watch the action of his Mom and Dad. My older ones (the ones who can't get away with not paying attention) were even smiling at us. My Father in Law was about to burst his buttons as his daughter and his no good son in law were receiving this high honor. My associate pastor and his wife, my youth pastor, my music pastor and his wife, my Mom and my Aunt who came in from Texas to witness this event and a mature couple from our church were all sitting there clapping for us as we were honored. It wasn't necessarily the honor from the district council, the words of praise from our fearless leader of the state's assemblies, or even the prayer of support given from our good friend and presbytrer Arliss Moon at the close of the service as he annointed us with oil and prayed over us that gave me a shudder down my spine and caused my eyes to fill with tears. It was the faces of those that love us, shining with pride over their pastors who were receiving a piece of paper and a draped cloth around their necks that brought tears to my eyes and filled me with such humility and honor I have seldom felt.
You may now call me your most honored revered ordained ambassador of the gospel when you see me... yeah I think the humility has worn off... :-)

To Tie or not to Tie, that is the question.

One of the guys in my church posted a facebook question as to what a "Pastor" should wear to church. It generated a lot of different replies and I found that the scope was very wide on what people "think" that the Pastor should portray.
I have found myself in the business world seeing the same thing. When I first started, sans late 80's every function you went to from a business meeting to a convention to a lunch date was suit and tie. I have pictures at my desk with me in a "pink" shirt and tie, had to be the 80's!
Somewhere in the middle 90's the shirt and tie were replaced with the "Polo" colored shirt. I loved it when that happened. No more stragulation, no more getting hot under the color, you could even golf without changing clothes. I really think that was the reason it happened, easier to go from the desktop to the green in no seconds flat.
Then somewhere around 2000 the tie made a comeback, it got really fat and the wide windsor knots were back in but men realized quickly how confining they were and we saw the Polo make a resurgence again.
So what should the Pastor wear at the church?
Well there are times I wear a suit and tie, there are times I wear a polo and slacks, and there are times I wear blue jeans and a T shirt. So which one is right?
I will never forget my first Pastor, the man was born wearing a suit I figured. I always saw him in a suit, on Sunday, during the week even on Wednesday he wore a suit although he would take the jacket off most times. Then we had a church work day and Pastor showed up in a one piece mechanics set of coveralls. They were bright baby blue colored and I just knew he had a suit on under there. But I could not get over the coveralls. They were the ugliest things I had ever seen. Functional but ugly.
So I made a decision that day, I would be functional but never wear something that ugly. So I alter my attire to suit the needs (that was a pun, get it, suit the neeeds!!) So sometimes I wear a tie, sometimes I option the tie and wear a jacket, other times I wear a polo and slacks and still other times I wear a "fashionable" T shirt and jeans.
GOD is not concerned about our outsides, but the condition of our insides. He is not concerned with how we clothe ourselves but that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
So with all of that said, I get ordained the end of the month, I am going to be in front of a whole delegation of people. Some will think I need a suit and tie, other a Polo and slacks and still others will want me in a fashionable T shirt and jeans. So who do I want to look cool for? I think I will go with the Don Johnson look, blue jeans, fashionable shirt, tie that has been loosened and the sleeve rolled up on the jacket, that should make everyone happy, except my wife, she will think I look like an idiot...

Just some random thoughts...

Sometimes I think really weird things.
Like,

Why is Weird Al Yankovich famous? All he did was take other people's songs and write new lyrics. He should get sued for "sampling" the music riffs in those songs...

Why is Galahgher famous? You know, the guy who smashes watermelons, honeydews and anything else he can with a sledgehammer? And how do you get that gig anyway? Was he swinging the hammer down on some melons one day and someone said, "you know, you are pretty good at that, you should do that professionally..."

Why do we celebrate Easter with hard boiled eggs that have been died in food coloring, left overnight to dry and then hide them in the yard for small children to find? Do the kids really want to eat an egg that has been died in some toxic formula and left unrefridgerated all night? I don't think so...

Why do we call Mom's who carpool their kids to sporting events "Soccer Mom's"? I have never heard a Mom called a softball mom, or a basketball mom or a football mom or even a baseball mom but apparently there are a bunch more kids playing soccer.

Why do we have to take our shoes off at the airport screeners? Well because a dude put explosives in his shoes that is why. But then it goes to question, what about the guy who had explosives in his underwear...

Remember the days of the Record player? What did they play? Records right? No everyone called them albums. The we had the 8 track tape players and they played 8 tracks. Then we had cassette tape players and they played cassettes. Then we had compact disc players and they play CD's. I am just wondering what the next kind of player might be and what we will call the things that it plays other than what it really is.

My first car was a Mercury Bobcat... rally wheels, four on the floor, sunroof. Sounds good doesn't it, until they ask what it looked like. The only way to descibe it was, "it looks like a Ford Pinto" in whcich people would say, "oh....."

I drive a box, yeah really a Scion XB. No one really told me what XB stood for, I guess I just figured it meant Xtra Boxey. So you see why I have these random thoughts...

I took my brother to jail today...

I took my brother to jail today. I blogged earlier that I was proud of him for entering the teen challenge program to get his alcohol problem resolved. Well yesterday he was going through the entry process when he mentioned that he had a court date in the morning. That got the wheels turning pretty quick as the councilors have to make arrangements to get their students to the courts and with under 24 hours to prepare for a six hour car ride they were a little freaked out to say the least. What freaked them out even more was finding out that my brother had a warrant issued for his arrest for probation violations three weeks ago. Apparently he never got approval from his probation officer to attend a rehab program. When my brother told me he got approval we assumed the courts were in agreement, that was not the case. In doing the due dillagence what we found out is my brother pretty much ignored the court's mandates and was "willingly" entering a program to stay out of jail. Apparently he was arrested last November on a warrant and was given a second chance to take care of the court ordered mandates from the year before. He ignored them once again, proclaiming his innocence (he pleaded guilty), the stupidity of his lawyer and the money grabbing court system getting the blame for all of his problems. After we made the six hour drive back home I told him he had a choice to make, he could keep ignoring the problem that would never go away or he could step up and take care of it. Again he wanted to ignore it claiming that it was not important, his crimes were misdemenors and no one would come get him for those in violation of probation. His plan was to jump state and live with my mom. The only problem is my mom said living with her for the last two and a half years done her in to his problems and he could not stay with her any longer, that he needed to take responsibility for his own self made problems. So then it is back to me. "I guess I can stay with you?" he asked on the way back. "Yes" I said, "for one night" meaning he would in the morning have to make a decision on where he would go. I counciled with him and told him to face his fears (three years in prison) and deal with his issues or keep running and never find freedom. I finally convinced him to turn himself in was the best thing he could do and hope for mercy from the courts. We made the journey to the jail in silence as the tension weighed down on both of us. For me it was a freedom of having to take care of him, plan for him, baby him. For him it was giving up his freedom to face the unknown. It was somewhat bittersweet in that moment when the cell door clanged shut locking him behind prison bars knowing that he was finally taking his first steps to a life of freedom by giving up his freedom.
I pray that he will find mercy in the courts. I pray that he will find help to help him be able to deal with life so he can start over and live a life filled with hope and not despair. I pray that those around him encourage him to take the path least traveled as that is the one that leads to true freedom. I pray that I will never have to take anyone else to jail...

Tomorrow it starts..

Tomorrow my brother is entering a Teen Challenge program to get treatment for his Alcohol problem. I am really proud of him for finally acknowldeging that first he has a problem, and then secondly doing something about it. What really made me think of blogging about this family issue is something he said to me. The program is 13 months, and he was somewhat taken aback by the length of time it was. "It is a whole year of my life" he said to me once. That got me to thinking.
What is a year of your life worth? In the span of an adult life we spend more than a year sleeping. We spend more than a year probably watching TV. I know my kids probably have already spent a year of their lives playing games on the Playstation or the Wii.
So is a year of your life spent in treatment worth it? I think so, we spend so much of our other time doing other things that really won't affect our lives that much. But getting a problem fixed, well that is a life changing.
So I am hoping that his life will be so different in 13 months and it will be a good investment in the course of his life.

Changes in the weather...

Well we have been having some end times like weather here in OK. Lets see, we had almost a foot of snow at Christmas, another 6 inches a few days after, some other snowfall through January and then we had 6 inches of snow the first day of Spring, March 20th. MARCH!! What happened to Global WARMING? It has been so cold this year that I saw snowmen wearing sweaters.
So Sunday before last we had to cancel church because of the snow. Now many would ask me, why do you cancel church for six inches of snow. Well first, we do not have snow removal tools for people to not have to walk through the snow to get to the building. Second our building faces the North which usually means with six inches of snow we will have two foot drifts in front of the church and thirdly I have some elderly people who feel if the doors are open they need to be here. I went to a church that never cancelled, and it scared me every time that someone would fall and get hurt. We have had people fall on a regular sunny day so I decide not to risk it. So we cancel on occasion.
But what was weird was on Monday the high got to the low 50's and melted all the snow away, and a week later the high was in the mid 60's on Sunday this weeked. We are supposed to get to the 80's before the next weekend.
So what gives, well it is Oklahoma, as they say, "if you don't like the weather, hang around a few days, it will change."

Matchups...

So I have been following the NC2A basketball tournament the last few weeks and I am amazed at the teams that have made it through so far and those that have fallen out. The mighty Kansas Jayhawks, probably the number 1 team in the country gets knocked out by a cinderella team that no one picked to be there. We saw Syracuse, another team that spent some time at number 1 and they don't make it either. How about Kentucky? They have the best freshmen in the nation but they won't be playing for the championship either. See the NC2A tourney is all about matchups.
All teams have a weakness, wether it be a soft inside game, or a poor ballhandling game, or bad outside shooting each and every team has a weakness somewhere. The difference is the good teams can hide their weakness, accomodate for their weakness, keep their weaknesses from being exposed. The good teams also are able to attack and expose the other's teams weakness.
How do they do that? By practicing and watching and planning.
We all have weaknesses in our lives, and what we need to do is be able to improve on our weaknesses. The great teams see their weaknesses for what they are and they improve them so they are no longer a weakness in their game.
So go out and work on your game, work on your weaknesses so you can be complete and then the opposition won't be able to be victorious when the game is on the line.

So the other day...

OK, I need to rant a little...
I was listening to this woman at a restaurant in the airport behind me go off on this guy who was on the earlier flight with her who could not keep his eyes apparently off of her chest. She was just going on and on about every time she glanced his way he was staring at her chest. She was talking about how big a pervert he was, that he was probably some kind of child molester and a guy who "must have some problems" according to her.
I loved evesdropping on thier conversation until I got up to leave. As I turned around I took a glance at the gal who felt so "violated" by her fellow flier. She was wearing a cotton T shirt with a neck cut that would fit an NFL offensive lineman's neck as it ran down to about the top of her stomach. To paint a picture, it appeared that she had strapped two volleyballs to her front and they were threatening to jump out of their holsters and bounce all over the floor.
Now here is the point that I want to make. When you wear something like that, people are going to look, especially those of the male persuasion. I just don't understand why girls would wear something like that and then be insulted when someone stares or glances at them.
So ladies and guys, if you want to avoid the stares that come with provacative clothing, wear a turtleneck...
OK rant over.

Purpose?

I have been thinking a lot about purpose lately.
When you read the Bible, you see the great stories of people of purpose. The Old Testament prophets who parted seas, kings who slayed giants, prophets who did miracles. In the New Testament you see men like Paul and Peter who did great things. So I started thinking, why is the church not doing these great things today?
We were in a small group class one evening when one of the children (we usually don't have kids in our adult small groups but she was being rowdy and got stuck with Mom and Dad) speaks up in the middle of our discussion and says quite loudly, "BORING!".
We all kind of chuckled but it has haunted me. Christians today do live Boring lives and it should not be that way. We find ourselves bound by our own prison walls of work, home and church and never get far enough from the shore line to experience anything new.
When we were in the middle of building project, life was anything but boring. There was work to do, bills to pay, shedules to keep. I have never been so proud of my people as seeing the grandmas making dinner in an unfinished kitchen, teenages painting doors and men and women laying carpet base to get ready for our open house. But once the building was completed life got boring again.
We do have our fare share of excitement, just this past week we had two people in the hospital. We had a family who were having some drama that spiced things up but what I found is I like boring. I am comfortable in boring. I love boring and it should not be that way.
So I have purposed in my heart that life is going to quit being boring and we are going to become a church where crisis, drama and conflict become a way of life as we are going to get out of the normal and get out into the world to make a difference.
So what are you doing today? The same old boring thing? Well join us in getting out of the rut and into the fray.

Real life...

I have to tell you, sometimes real life is scary. You know we watch TV, go to movies and have our hobbies to escape from real life but sometimes it sneaks up on you. When it does it is like that ax murderer film where at the time you least expect it the bad guy shows up and slices and dices his way across the screen.
My wife and I are experiencing that right now. I feel like I am running in quicksand and not getting anywhere. I feel like my mouth is open in this horrifying terror induced scream but no sound is coming out. I see the world around me spinning faster and faster outside of my control.
You see, my oldest daughter is graduating high school in a little less than nine weeks. Yep, in nine weeks the little girl who was just learning to brush her hair and teeth, ride a bike, hit a ball is going to be an ADULT! (Insert woman's high pitch scream that last forever here!)
Now I realize that just graduating High School does not make one an adult. I know people that are less mature going on 50 than they were going on 5, but at graduation the world recognizes you as an adult (insert I still can't believe this is not butter ad here- that is how I feel, I can't believe it).
My daughter is filling out scholarship applications, making plans for the future and she is not doing them the way Mom and Dad feel she should. I guess that is real life, and why it is so scary. It is turning your child free to make their own decisions. You just hope when the scary music starts that that they don't go to the window to investigate that strange sound from outside...

So how do you want it?

I remember being asked this as a child when I got into trouble. It usually revolved around me doing something I was not supposed to do and getting in trouble for it. I usually had two choices, one was to get detention, grounded, miss recess, something along those lines. The other involved my backside receiving a blow from a hand, paddle or fly swatter. I to this day can tell you which was worse. Sitting around in detention, or being grounded or missing recess was always worse. I believe it was because I had to sit around and think about what I had done. Whether it was for a day, or an hour or a week, knowing you were in trouble and still having to pay for it long after it happened was torture for me. I would rather take a paddling any day, it was painful but it did not linger as long as being grounded. It was humiliating, but only for a couple of seconds and then you were off to do whatever again. It was carried out quickly and the punishment ended just as fast.

As an adult though I have found out that sometimes my resistance to punishment has increased (that means my behind has gotten bigger and more padded) that GOD has to resort to extreme measures to correct me.

I find myself now thinking more about my lack of discipline, pondering the mistakes I have made more and being more introspective of myself and my shortcomings. I have found that is a miserable place to be. It is kind of like watching all the kids from the windows of the classroom while they are on recess. They are all out there playing, swinging, running and you are locked down in a maximum security classroom.

I long for the day when I will be released from this time of inner examination. I look forward to the day when I can just go play because I have fulfilled the demands of my sentence.

Next time GOD, I think I will take the spanking. Maybe...

UNDER the OVERpass

I just recently saw this book sitting on my coffee table. Where it came from I found out later to be the school's library (go figure that!) but on the cover was this hippie looking guy in shorts, a cutoff T shirt and flip flops strumming a guitar sitting on a backpack. What I came to find out was this guy was Mike, a college student whose faith was challenged one day sitting in church. Yeah I know, having your faith challenged in church, who would have guessed it. Well Mike wondered if he could be "content in all things" as Paul had written. So Mike decided he would take a semester off from school and travel to five US cities as a homeless person. Could he survive on nothing? He had a partner go with him, Sam from OU, and their journey began at a drug treatment center in Denver. I was first drawn to the story with the thought how they were going to survive and if they would make it. Life on the streets is hard, rough and down right dangerous and here were two college kids taking it on face to face.

I won't ruin the story for you, you will have to read the book. But I did bring something out of it. How do we as the church react to those that are less fortunate?

Unfortunately in the book many times that the duo encountered the church the results were not so good. Actually it seemed that the members of the homeless community acted more like true Christians than those who filtered into the large cathedrals and proclaimed the name of Christ.

I know that I have many times have wondered what horrible things the homeless must have done to arrive there. I know others who have called them lazy, druggies and other derogatory things just because they do not have a roof over their heads to call their own.

I have come to realize that we live in an entitled society. We feel we are owed a roof over our heads, food on our table and the happiness that everyone else seems to have.

What bothers me is I see that same mentality in the church. It is not "but for the grace of GOD go I" but a warped mindset that those less fortunate are somehow under a curse of the maker. I know there are many who made bad decisions in their life that led them there, but there are also those that are there by circumstance. I hope that I never have to sleep on the street, scrounge in a trash can for a meal, or fights rats off of my bed at night, but I used to also feel somewhat entitled since I work hard and provide for my family. I needed to realize that my source is not my job, my talents, or my genius (I am really smart :-) or so I think) but my source is my GOD. Mike and Sam proved it over and over again how GOD provided for them on their journey. GOD was their source in every situation in life. I think when we begin to think that way our attitudes toward those less fortunate will change, but for the grace of GOD go I.

So I will challenge you, look through the eyes of Christ, where every person is formed and shaped in the image of GOD.

Bad things...

I have been asked this question for some time now and I feel it is time to address it.

What do bad things happen to good people?

I know we ask that of ourselves so many times. We are doing our best to live good lives and out of nowhere something bad happens.

I have been swamped with these situations this past week. Let me give you a couple of example.

One of my coworkers has been diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live, he is three years older than I am. Has a wife and a young son, mid forties is way to young to be evaluating the end of your life. We have a mother with a new born son who is in the hospital battling pneumonia. They are running test after test and everyone is scared to death of what they will find. We have another family that is going through a bad situation that just recently came to light. We have another couple who are expecting their first child in a few months who just had to come up with a significant amount of money to cover some dentist bills and a hot water tank that just died.

I won't even get into natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti, or the mudslides, flooding and other disasters that have ravaged the earth.

So the question is why? Why would GOD allow such things to happen to good people.

I can only say this, I can't see what the future holds, but GOD can. He does not exist in a single space of time but he exist in all times, past, present and future. And the situations that happen in our small point of time affect the situations that happen in the future.

I had a man tell me once of being in Dallas on the outer loop traveling along and finding himself in an exit only lane and unable to get out of it. So you guessed it, he got off on that exit, had to backtrack to get back on the outer loop and added about five minutes to his trip. As he finally got back on the outer loop, a couple of minutes later the traffic came to a standstill and he was caught in a traffic jam. When he finally got to the problem he found out that a plane had crashed on the road trying to land. When he read the reports later he realized that he would have been right in that area of the crash had he not taken the exit by accident.

I know you are thinking that no one lost their life. No child was left fatherless or motherless. No husband lost his wife or vice versa. That seems to be the most tragic thing that can possibly happen. Whether it be from sickness, accident, disaster, the death of a loved one is hard to explain.

So I pondered this and thought, what did GOD feel when his son was dying on the cross? He could have stopped it with a spoken word. He could have changed the scenes that would be played out when JESUS prayed in the garden, "take this bitter cup from me..." So if GOD had changed what would the consequences have been. First we would not have the sacrifice of the perfect lamb to wash away our sin. Secondly, there would be no bruises and stripes to pay for our healing. And thirdly JESUS would not have died and therefore would not have rose from the dead on the third day giving us the hope of a resurrection as well. If JESUS had not have died, he would have continued his earthly ministry and the gospel would have never gone beyond the area of Judea and Jerusalem. JESUS would have lived to a ripe old age I am sure but the promise of healing, resurrection and the sacrifice for sin would have been compromised. Did JESUS suffer while in the hands of the Romans and the Pharisees? You bet he did, and he did not deserve any of it. It is the classic case of bad things happening to good people. But GOD sees ahead of time, and as soon as Christ ascended he was made aware of what his sacrifice meant in the span of time. And because of his sacrifice we who surrender our lives to him are promised of an eternity in his presence, never to face sickness, disaster or death ever again. So yes, bad things do happen to good people, and in many cases even better things happen farther ahead in time because of our trials today. Just remember it is all in GOD'S hands, and he works for the good of those that love him.

Weird...

I am writing this blog report from my wife's old computer which has one of those angled keyboards. Needless to say my fingers are wondering what we are doing on this funny layed out thing. It is amazing how comfortable we get with the norm.
Normal is like plain old tap water, pretty good but add a little tea bag, some sugar and it gets a whole lot better. The only problem is that many of us never get out of the norm to experience anything different.
I remember the old TV show, Cheers. In that Sam Malone (why I remember this stuff and can't remember what my passwords are, where my car keys are or what my travel plans are for next week is beyond me) anyway, Sam has this bar where "everyone knows your name" and there are some regulars like Cliff, the know it all. Dr. Crane the guy who doesn't belong. Woody the bartender and this guy named Norm. Now Norm had his own special place, it was where he normally sat. When Norm came in it was normal for everyone to call out Norm! I remember one episode or maybe I dreamed of one episode where Norm came in and no one called his name and there was someone sitting in his stool. So Norm sat as close to normal as he could, right next to his old barstool like he was waiting for the guy to leave. But the man didn't leave. Norm sat there for like three minutes and finally got up and said, "this is not normal" and headed for the door. Everything was out of sorts for him. He came back later and his stool was open and they all cried "Norm!" and everything was back to normal.
So why did I type all of that? Well normal sometimes can become a prison that keeps us from enjoying things in life outside of our "normal". So try doing something different, you just might like it.

Is it just me?

Or was the Pro Bowl last night uninspired? I used to love to watch the Pro Bowl, there were so many tangibles you could grab onto. First there was the coaches, those guys usually decked out with team paraphernalia sans sleeves or not, with scowls on their faces during the regular season always seemed like real people during the Pro Bowl when it was in Hawaii. First they were all sporting a tan, these guys who are used to 14 hour days under the fluorescents or in the darkened film room actually seemed to glow at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. And those Hawaiian shirts, didn't you just love that look? And add a lei to it and you have Ground and Pound turned into Surf and Turf. You have Cover Two turn into Hang Ten. You have these guys strung tighter than a banjo string, all of the sudden flashing a "hang loose brah" sign from the sidelines.

And the players, they actually seemed to enjoy themselves. I know no one is going to light someone up on a screen pass, that receivers actually feel safe going across the middle, unless Ray Lewis is in the game and then you kind of worry if he might think it would be funny to blow you up when you least expect it. But the players seemed to relax, to chill, to just soak it all in, to enjoy it.

Last night's game although in Miami had all the glitz and glamor of a Pro Bowl but it was lacking those intangibles that made it must see TV. It rained, for the entire game. It never rains in Hawaii, not at game time. It was cold, well by Miami standards it was cold, lower 60's which I am sure the players enjoyed but this game is for the fans right? Who wants to sit through a rainy cold game when their is nothing on the line? In Hawaii it was 80 and sunny! Where else do you want to be if you are a Minnesota Viking, or a New York Giant or Jet when it is close to ZERO degrees at home? You betcha, Hawaii and its 80 degrees. You could almost see it on the players faces last night, there was no waving at the kids in the stands, there was no looking up the wife to make sure she has the car ready to head to the beach after the game, there was no offensive lineman sitting on the bench with his neck stretched out to the breaking point trying to grab a little sun last night.

And not to mention scheduling to play the game before the Super Bowl therefore robbing the fans of seeing Drew "Cool" Breeze chanting up the guys before the game. Or seeing Payton "RoboQB" Manning call somewhere in the neighborhood of five audibles before he hits the line of scrimmage and has the defense looking at each other like he is speaking a foreign language. It robs the fans of seeing Dwight Freeney fly around the edge. Of Reggie Wayne racing under one of those Payton bombs, or of Darren Sharper tracking that ball down to return the interception for a TD. Not to mention the numerous players who were picked for this game and ended up declining an invitation. Come on, no one declines a trip to Hawaii, are you kidding me? Who goes home to his wife and kids and says, "honey, I made the pro bowl, but I am thinking of not going." You would be hit faster than a New York Jet's blitz by your wife and kids telling you that not only are you going, but they are going with you. Skipping out on Miami? Well that is really possible and apparently a lot of players and families decided to do it.

Yes, I do believe the Pro Bowl has lost something. It has lost the purpose it was created for. To be an entertainment extravaganza for the fans and a treat for the players.

So NFL, hang ten, hang loose and get the game back where it needs to be, for all our sakes.

Uhm, Houston we have a problem...

I loved that line! (If you don't know it don't sweat it you will be OK) So last night I felt like that was what was happening at home. For those of you that know me, with pastoring a church, working full time, trying to be a loving husband (I did say trying!) and a father of four kids my schedule is plenty full. With work travel, church work, visitations, dinner with my wife and ALL OF THE KIDS activities I am running most times. So last night I get home and we have absolutely nothing to do. I mean cook dinner, eat and nothing, nada, zilch, zippo, at all to do. We did not even have a new movie that we wanted to watch so there I sat dumbfounded on what to do.

So I examined my surroundings and remembered I had a book that I was reading, so after a search I found it (how it got on top of the fridge I have no idea, gremlins I am thinking) and finished it off in about a half hour. So I look around, it is 7:30 and I have a pair of kids playing the WI, WEE, Wiee, or however you spell it, another is strumming a guitar till he gets told he did not do his chores so he got bathroom duty so off he disappears to the bathroom. Another is sitting at the table making buttons. I mean like "VOTE FOR ME!" political buttons but they were for the basketball games coming next week. My wife is sitting next to me reading her Kindle. Not sure I like the Kindle, I never know what she is reading!! And here I set with nothing to do. So I remember that I have some sheetrock to finish in the ongoing project that is the master bath, so I go and hang that, and realized that I killed ten minutes. It is too early to go to bed, I am not 70 yet, the weather outside is looking kind of bad but I really have no where to go. So what am I going to do tonight? I was having that kind of evening.

Me: "Houston, Uhhhmmm we have a problem here, over."

Mission Control (MC): "go ahead, we read you, over."

Me: "Yeah, control; well I am sitting here with nothing to do, over."

MC: "what do you mean, nothing to do, explain, over."

Me: "I mean I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs, passing the time, doing absolutely nothing, over"

MC: "Gotcha, we understand, lets see, have you made dinner? Over."

Me: "affirmative, dinner is digesting, over."

MC: "How about that piece of sheetrock, over."

Me: "confirming installation of piece Houston, over."

MC: "have you thought of reading a book, over."

Me: "yep, finished it up Houston, over. Come on guys there has to be something that needs to be done, over."

MC: "We'll get back to you, over. I have my best guys on it, over."

In my minds eye I can see Mission Control saying, "we have a man out there that needs something to do, figure it out!!"

Well after about three hours of doing nothing, I finally got sat down and did some writing on my book. Pretty soon the bed started calling and I called it a night. I am really hoping something comes up tonight, I don't know what I am going to do with myself...

So I am a writer now...sort of

I have a friend that has a local website that updates local news and such for our small community. So one day I was with my basketball playing daughter and was keeping score for her when I had a thought of relaying the information on the game to my friend so he could give a report just after the event happened. So I wrote up a few paragraphs briefly outlining the game, high scorer and such and e-mailed it to him. A couple of minutes later my "crack"berry beeped that I had mail. So there is my friend asking where I got that information from. I sent back to him "from the game?". He then sends me another message that says, "yes but from which publication?". So I replied "from my Blackberry". Needless to say we were both not very bright when it came to reading between the lines or my friend did not think I have the skills to actually formulate an article in 300 words or less. After I did that one he asked if I could do the boys game later in the evening and I agreed and it was then and there I became a member of the media.

It all happened so fast, I did not have time to pick up a press pass and even less time to get a fedora to stick it in its braided hat band, I actually had to pay to get into the game. I did not have a tweed blazer or a pen and a notepad so I am not even sure I could call myself a reporter, but I just did what I could with my "crack"berry and the plain old clothes I had on, sans hat even.

I thought this was pretty cool, sending in reports of the game and then seeing them on the website with my name as a contributor to the article. But with each article came the pressure of trying to make it better than the last. I ran out of snazzy catch phrases. I ran out of adjectives to describe a play. And to my horror I had to start repeating the same old words I had used before. So I started working harder to enhance my writing to be able to entertain and inform my many readers (4 I think currently) and hopefully attract the eye of some writers agent who will whisk me away to write for some large conglomerate of magazines who will put my words in front of millions of people.

Then as I was finishing up my report to send in on a game this week, my daughter made a comment that ruined all my dreams and aspirations. She said, "the girls and I were reading your article and laughing at your descriptions..." She said more than that but I pretty much tuned her out once I heard the "laughing" part. They were laughing with me, or at me? I was not sure, I suddenly became self conscious of my writing. Was "slicker than an eel slathered in motor oil" a good description of a neat play or was it an object of laughter to my readers. So I thought of rewriting my article, to get serious and focused... then I thought to myself, who am I fooling. I am a hack who happens to have a "crack"berry and strong thumbs, who has a friend that is willing to post my articles and if my daughter laughs at my writing, well then she is not laughing necessarily at me like she normally does.

So next time you read about a shot that "brought rain from the heavens", a foul that "shook the very foundation of the underworld", a win that brought "glorious eruptions of ecstatic joy:" just enjoy the images that it creates in your head, and try not to laugh...to hard.

Leprosy?

I read another blog and the writer mentioned leprosy and it got me to thinking. What are the main infirmities mentioned in the Bible? Of course the first we think of are the blind, deaf, and the lame. When we did a little deeper we remember those that were mute and the woman with the issue of blood but we rarely think about the leprous. I think in our culture that disease does not resonate with us like the others do. We probably all could think of sometime in our life when we interacted with the blind, deaf, mute, lame and even people with issues of blood, think Leukemia. I can go back through my life and I have been with all of these people, other than the leper. I have never met a leper, never interacted with a leper and therefore don't know a lot about leprosy. Leprosy is a disease where micro bacteria create lesions on skin and the body responds by creating macules of hard unfeeling like growths to confine the ailment. Untreated the microbes continue to spread and at the same time the body creates more macules to contain them. By popular belief, limbs and fingers do not fall off of lepers, but they can not feel because of the macules and in time break fingers, toes and bones because they do not feel the pain. In extreme cases the extremity is amputated to prevent further injury.

So why the dissertation on Leprosy? It is mentioned a lot in the Word of GOD, and we give it a passing glance. But reading between the lines it is something that infects millions of people every year. The Bible talks of people "hardening" their hearts. Yep, creating macules around their sin, hard encrusted and unfeeling areas. The problem with this is there is never a healing that takes place. The macules just cover the problem, and eventually we grow this thick hide over it that even the greatest conviction can not penetrate it and so we never deal with it.

So let me ask you a question today, have you hardened your heart? Do you have leprosy of the heart? Are you still convicted over sin in your life or have you gone to that unfeeling, numb state where you are unmoved over sin? Jesus can heal you of the leprosy of heart, you just have to ask him to...

Are you Childlike?

JESUS says in the gospels, "unless you become like a little child..." I have always been intrigued with that statement. It goes so against the normal for us. We are always trying to get each other to grow up! We want our kids to take more responsibility, to be older, to do things like adults. If you have a childlike adult you will spend more time criticizing them than praising them for following scripture, think about that!

As I pondered that quote about being like a child I started thinking about my own kids and the kids I see that are so wondered about the little things in life. I have a picture of one of my daughters who was leaning over some rocks on the edge of a lake looking intently into the water. There were minnows swimming right around the rock she was perched on and she was fascinated by them. I beet she stared at them for a full five minutes before I told her to come on we were moving on somewhere else. I remember my oldest son one time just laying on his back in the middle of the yard staring at the sky. "What are you doing?" I asked him. "Nothing" was the reply that I got. Doing nothing seems like a waste of time to me, doesn't he have something better to do than to stare at the clouds? I saw a baby yesterday sitting in a baby swing with a mobile above its head. That baby just laid there and watched the animals come and hover over here head and then move on as another took its place hovering over her. She studied each one intently, her eyes moving from color to color and place to place before the next one came into view.

I think that is what JESUS was talking about when he said to become as a little child. That we notice the little things and are filled with awe and wonder at the creation that was made for us. Like the minnows in the lake, the cloud forms in the sky or the stripes on a tiger, take a few minutes today to really do... nothing and be as a little child for a moment.

Hello? Anybody out there?

Sometimes it can feel like no one is listening. I know, I have four kids. And my wife surely knows as she has lived with me over half her life and I know she thinks I am deaf sometimes. I think we all go through it every so often. We feel like we could jump up on our desk in our cubicle and scream at the top of our lungs and no one would even bother to look up. Sometimes those around us are so caught up in what they are doing that they don't comprehend what is going on around them. Sometimes they just really don't care what is going on around them and sometimes they are on the verge of rigomortis unable to respond to anything.

Many times we feel the same thing about GOD, when that is not the case at all. GOD is not bound by the physical nature that we are. GOD is never so caught up in what he is doing that he doesn't notice you. GOD really does care what is happening in your life. GOD is not on the verge of death and unable to respond to you. What I have come to find is that although we are screaming for HIS attention, we may just not be tuned into his response.

I remember one time after preaching a pretty bad sermon, shaking hands with the people who were leaving and feeling like a failure to myself, my family and GOD. I had disconnected, checked out and was having a pity party where I was the only one invited. About that time I remember thinking, "GOD, why did you leave me? Why do you not care how I am feeling?" when all of the sudden I felt this little hand grab mine. I looked down and my daughter was staring up at me holding my hand. She did not say a word, she did not have to, GOD spoke to my heart at that very moment, "just as she is right beside you holding your hand, I have been there all the time."

Sometimes we just need to tune in on the right frequency to hear what HE is saying.

Leading Scorer and Homecoming Queen?

Wow what a week just went by. I am just so proud of my kids. My oldest Sierra is a tom boy and loves to play sports. My number two Camry is a girls girl, is a cheerleader and a double threat model and actress. My number three Logan is an up and coming young man with so much talent in his gangly still growing body (he is 5'5 and wears a size 11 shoe) there is no telling what he will grow up to be, with those dimples, blue eyes and blond hair I may have lots of girls coming by the house in a few years. And my youngest Spencer, well he is so full of imagination, and is such a thinker he will probably become a doctor, lawyer or a professional bulldogger.

So last week our oldest daughter was selected to be part of the homecoming court (Sr. Candidate) for our basketball festivities. Sierra has never been a part of any court other than a basketball court before so she was a little nervous wearing a dress and all. I did not think dress was part of her vocabulary unless it was used in a "you need to get' sentence. So Mom sent Dad to get a formal dress with his sweats wearing pony tail sporting athletic daughter. Luckily she sent the Cheerleader with us who has watched enough episodes of "say yes to the dress" to keep me from looking like a total loser. So we shopped one Saturday morning for a formal to wear to homecoming. Questions like, "what kind of dress, tea length or full length?" were batted around like softballs at a co-ed tournament. "Chifon or off the shoulder, or strapless?" adjectives were passed around like a pigskin at a picnic. Finally she came out of the dressing room in a blue full length dress that her sister and I both agreed was the one. As she wrapped it up I thought she would look good in it as they coronate one of the other girls with tiara. Well the moment of truth came, she looked fabulous in her dress, with her hair fixed and makeup on, most people did not think she was the same gal. She did not wear heels as she did not want to be the same height as her tall escort but yet she towered over the other attendants. Eventually the call came from the loudspeaker, "your 2010 Homecoming Queen is" drum roll please. My daughter.

She received a peck on the cheek from her escort as she had told him, "you kiss me I will punch your face in", which eliminated any opportunities for him to get a free one. As she smiled to the cheering crowd he placed her crown upon her head and they headed to their seats of honor to preside over the first of the homecoming games. At halftime with her royal duties coming to an end she raced to the locker room and emerged, makeup removed, hair in a pony tail with shorts and jersey ready to play on the hardwoods. Daddy's girl was back.

Life is a lot like basketball...

Now stay with me. Life is like basketball.

1) sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Sometimes everything goes right and you win, sometimes everything goes right and you loose anyway. Sometimes everything goes wrong and somehow you win, and sometimes everything goes really wrong and you really loose.

2) there is a time limit, in basketball it is till number of points made or a clock is winding down. In life there is a clock but only GOD can see how much time is left and when the buzzer sounds there is not a thing we can do to extend time.

3) You get fouled and you foul other people.

It happens, all the time. If it hasn't happened to you yet, just wait it will. The real challenge is to not let that foul affect the rest of your game/life in a negative manner. Keeping your composure in basketball is important just as it is in life.

4) Timeouts are a good thing.

Coaches call timeouts to regroup, to rest, to strategize and sometimes to just change the pace of the game. In life we sometimes need to call a timeout to prioritize those things important to us, to create a change of pace and sometimes just rest in the hands of the one who created us.

5) Free throws are not always free.

I still don't know why they call them "free" throws. First of all something had to happen to get you there, a whack on the wrist, getting run over, a slap on the head, something happened to get you to the line, no one came up and said here, take a free shot. And even the best of free throw shooters do not make 100% so there is a chance that you are going to miss, so it is not guaranteed. Life sometimes says you have a "free" throw. That it will be easy, that you are guaranteed, but in reality those freebies do cost sometimes in the end. And taking the easy way out usually does not result in the best of circumstances. And even guarantees are not at all guaranteed anymore.

So next time life gets you down, think of a little basketball and decide if it is time to call a time out, or get to the free throw line, or buckle down on defense. But always do your best and try to win.

Leadership...

One of the hardest things about leadership is you have to go where you want your followers to follow. A leader does not just map out a course and send you on your way, that is a navigator. A leader is one that maps out a course and goes ahead of you on the journey. Sometimes it is great as the leader, you get to see lots of great stuff before anyone else does. But sometimes it stinks because you have to go through the bad stuff before anyone else does. But in the end, you can look at your followers and tell them, "yep been there done that, and made it through..."

GOD knows...

He truly does. Had a great service last night with one of our Youth Pastors preaching from his heart. Sometimes it is hard to put together a message to convey what you feel GOD is trying to tell his people. But when GOD is trying to tell them what he just got through telling you it is so liberating and free. Our Youth Pastors have gone through a time lately, kids, illness, car problems, house problems, you name it they have had it happen to them. But last night he encouraged us to keep our eyes on the Lord, to trust him in everything and don't let the things in this world drag us down. I saw many wiping tears as they had been going through the same things. It is such a rush of pride, excitement and thanksgiving when GOD uses someone you have invested in to do such a wonderful thing for GOD.

GOD knows what we are going through, and he prepares us for the times when we can minister to others. It was such a blessing to see it happen right in front of our eyes. Thank you GOD for allowing those situations to happen all the time in our lives.

Comfortable?

I love to be comfortable. I love overstuffed chairs, couches you don't set on but become a part of, and firm pillows. I love warm slippers, hot coffee and a good book for a comfortable afternoon. I like a nice car with air conditioning on those hot August days and central heat for the cold winter nights. I like good food, nice views and fun times. I really like to be comfortable but recently I have wondered about being uncomfortable.

I think sometimes we get too comfortable that we get complacent. Being comfortable is not the problem; complacency is. Complacency takes comfortable to the wrong extremes, it makes us inactive to things around us because we do not want to give up our comfortable surroundings for even a minute. It robs us of the excitement of trying something new, it robs us of the fulfillment that comes with accomplishing something.

I remember a guy I worked with for a while when I was younger. He was a complacent guy to the point that he never did anything outside of his home. His car was the one thing that really bothered me, this guy had a drinking problem. No not an alcoholic drinking problem but he could not go one minute without a soda can in his hand. He worked nights so he could actually work with a can of pop right next to his station as he moved along. Well it became a real issue in his car as he would finish one can and then throw them over his shoulder into the backseat. I think it became a game to him, pull one down, slug it down and throw it over the shoulder into the backseat except for the fact that the day I looked at his car the entire rear seating area was full of pop cans. I was dumbfounded and did not know what to say. I asked about it and he told me he was going to turn them in for scrap, which made sense except they never got turned in. And eventually the passenger side started to fill up with cans and he decided he needed a new car as his old one was starting to smell and the cans were a problem. I remember looking at him and thinking, he needs help. But he went out and bought a new car, parked the old one and proceeded to fill up the new car with cans. I asked him one day why he did it and he told me he just did not want to have to clean that car out, it was too much work. I explained if he would take his cans out each day they would not pile up and be so much work, but he looked at the cans already in the back and said, there are too many now it will be too much work to get rid of them.

There in lies the root of many of our problems, we are complacent with the way life is around us, and don't want to make the changes that need to be made in our lives. We need to get out of the complacent mind set and see what there is for us outside of our normal comfortable. Once we beat the complacent bug we will find new comfortable things that will rock our world, but it is going to take getting out of our current comfortable to get to the new comfortable.

Building...

I love to build guitars, the one in my profile is a replica of a 1957 Fender Telecaster that I copied. I have learned a lot about life from building guitars, I am at number 5 right now.

1) Poor materials builds a poor guitar.

As you know I am fruggle so when I can save a dollar here or there I do it. But what I found with my guitars is there is a price to pay for being cheap. Not just any slab of wood will do. Not just any electrical components will do. You need to buy good parts to make a good guitar. The same goes with our lives, if you live a cheap life and don't invest in yourself, you will be like that cheap guitar, you can make noise but it isn't really pretty, it is always out of tune and becomes a pain to play. don't be like that in your life, invest in yourself so you can make beautiful music with your life, stay in tune with things in life and enjoy the results.

2) You can try to cut corners but they come back to cut you.

I had this one body I just could not get to work. I had it all made up and then went to put the neck on it and the neck end was cut different than the body groove. Now that connection is a major part of having a good guitar, and this was not a good situation. So the way to fix it was to either make a whole new body, or glue in a new piece and route a new neck pocket, or buy a new neck. All of those options were either very time consuming or expensive. So I took the shortcut, I decided I could BONDO in the gaps on the neck and everything would be fine. Well if did not work, the neck wobbles something fierce, if you hit it right it falls out of tune and it is setting in my back room and hasn't been played for the last six months. It is useless in its present state. Many people do the same thing in trying to cut corners with their lives. They think one little change here or there will not affect them but it does. One little indiscretion won't affect them but it does and it has drastic effects on their lives. So next time you are tempted to cut a corner, step back, suck it up and do it right, you will appreciate it later.

3) Patience

I hate finishing guitars. You know, putting the paint on it. You see I always assemble my guitars before I finish them. It makes sure everything is working before you spend a lot of time finishing them and it also helps to eliminate some tense times of putting screws into a finished product for the first time. So I get the guitar together sans paint or finish, and I string it up and play it a bit to make sure it works well. After that it is time to take it apart and finish it up. Now here is where the trick comes in. You just had a chance to play that new guitar as a test, and you really are excited to get it done so you can play it all the time. But finishing takes time, and patience. You put the paint on too thick and it runs and you have to sand it off to get it back to smooth. You put it on too light and you don't get even coverage, you apply it too often and you can get bubbles that burst when it cures out leaving you a nice divot on the face. In the finishing process you have to apply patience, you can't touch it till it is dried and cured or you will ruin it. Out lives are that way too, we need to have patience. GOD is working on all of us and sometimes he gives us the foretaste of something to come and we are so excited and anxious that we push and pull and get ahead of GOD and then we mess it up.

So next time life throws you a curve, step back and make sure you have good materials to work with, don't cut corners to get there faster and have some patience, it will all work out.

Blogging

I love to write. Well I actually love to think about writing although it always seems there is always something better to do. It seems to go that way in my life at least. I have great intentions but something else always seems to attract my attention and therefore wrecks my good intentions. We are sometimes that way with our dreams and goals. We have great intentions but get sidetracked by things that get in the way. Here are a few ways to get to where you want to go and not get derailed.

1) put it in writing... yeah I know the writing thing again. But just don't write it down, put it somewhere it will motivate you to do your good intentions. My Dad for a time in his late forties developed a "beer gut". He gained a lot of weight around his middle from drinking beer. Duh! So anyway I was in his room one day and there was a picture of him with his gut hanging out and a beer in his hand at one of his company picnics. On the picture was a post it note that said, "never again" in his hand writing. What shocked me was I remembered my Dad having that gut but over the years prior he had lost it and gotten back to his somewhat skinny self. I always wondered why he never threw that bad picture away, now I know, it was motivation for him not to go back there.

2) Set realistic goals... I am the worlds worst at setting goals. I set them too far out and I set them too high. Be honest with yourself, you are not going to get back into those jeans you wore in high school. Number one bell bottoms are out, number two your hips don't want to be hugged anymore and number three you probably won't ever get back to that size again. But it is OK to set a goal to get down two pant sizes or dress sizes in a years time. It is achievable and will build your confidence to do even more next year.

3) Work at it... anything worth doing is going to take work. If it was easy everyone would be doing it!! Some people think things will just happen as by osmosis, but in reality anything that happens happens because something put it into motion. So put your good intentions into motion and get out and do it!

4) Have fun... if it is enjoyable, you will go for it. We all work too much already to not enjoy the non work stuff. So have some fun, it won't kill you!

Good investments...

I am a cheapskate at heart. I hate to spend money on certain things. Now I don't mind buying motorcycle parts, electronic gizmos and such but for standard things I hate to spend money. I will never forget my wife telling me about a basketball camp in Joplin that our oldest daughter needed to attend. "She will learn all sorts of fundamentals, improve her game, and get some good conditioning" was the selling pitch my wife threw at me. Then she told me how much it would cost. And not only the cost of paying for the gym time but the travel back and forth twice a weekend an hour away. At first I was against it, "she can run in our hometown gym for free and I can coach her" was my thought process. Of course I knew that I would rather lay around on the couch watching football with her than sweating in an old gym and if truth be known she would rather watch football with me too. Not to mention that my coaching skills are carved right out of the Woody Hayes, my way or the highway coaching manual. But because I wanted to see her be the best she could be I decided to pay the money. So over the last two summers, and a couple of in between sessions we have written checks for extra basketball lessons.

Well last week my daughter signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Southwestern Assemblies of GOD University in Waxahachie, TX. She has always wanted to go to school there, even though it is six hours away and cost around $20K a year to attend we told her if it is GOD'S will HE will make a way. Well HE has made a way, although her basketball scholarship won't cover her total cost it goes a long way to getting her bills paid and I am sure her academics (I didn't mention that she is a brain did I?) will get her some scholarship money as well.

Well I was thinking the other day, we spent hundreds of dollars financing her basketball camps, all in all our return on investment was over 1,000 percent. Wish I could do that in the stock market!!

Brrrrrrr....

I was driving with my wife the other day and I made this comment. "It sure is cold out", to which she replied, "It is December!".

That little statement made me realize how sometimes even the most realistic thing that is right in front of us can baffle us. December is supposed to be a cold month, but we have had so much warm weather lately that I think we all forgot it is winter. I know I had. I was running around on Thanksgiving day in a T shirt, was messing around before that and occasionally only needed a light jacket. But this week, a Canadian air mass moved in and Wham! it was cold! My blood is not thick yet, my winter clothes still put up and I am not in the least prepared.

But life went on without me, the seasons changed without my consent and it got cold not because I forgot about it, but because December is supposed to be cold.

In our lives, let us not get so unfocused that we forget where we are, what we are doing and what the weather outside might be. For in that position we are not any good to anyone, to GOD and we will definitely catch cold!