BrendaYoung.net

Bold Faith

2012-02-01T12:49:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite young preachers has said, "If the size of your vision isn't intimidating to you, it is insulting to God." Steven Furtick gets fairly consistent criticism for his audacious faith and bold risk-taking in the Name of Christ. But his stance is not new. In 1577 a revered follower of Christ named Sir Francis Drake went even further in his prayers. God help me.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
Sir Francis Drake -1577

Prayer for 2012

2012-01-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows,

we thank you for the year behind us and for the year ahead. Please help us grow and heal, and be able to treasure even the hard experiences of 2011 because you were with us. In 2012, help us to worry less and laugh more, to teach others to love by loving them. Help us to hear your love song in every sunrise, in the stories of the old, and the dreams of the young. Help us to stop and listen to your love song, so we know you better and better. Thank you for another new year and for new chances every day. We leave the irreparable past in your hands, and step out into the unknown knowing you will go with us. We rejoice in what's ahead, depending on You to help us do exactly what You want.

Amen

EYES WIDE OPEN

2011-12-01T10:53:00.003-05:00

Jesus walked through this world with His eyes wide open. That's why he was able to see the needs that others brushed by without notice. He was fully alert and engaged with his surroundings, quick to pick up on how he could make a difference.

I love it when followers of Jesus become like him and walk slowly enough through their worlds, to see what he sees, hear what he hears, and respond as he would respond. The reason so many don't is that last little phrase. When I see and hear what Jesus sees and hears, it changes my responsibility. Now I have a very serious responsibility--acting on Christ's behalf. It is easier to be like the famous monkey trio--see no evil, hear no evil, do no evil. Then, I can claim ignorance and avoid responsibility for being a change agent.

But great significance comes when I live with eyes wide open. Scott and Tina Heiberg, members of Cornerstone Church where I pastor, did just that. They are a young married couple who went to Fiji on their honeymoon. While there, they strayed away from the resort, and to their amazement, found a village of very poor people in need of clean, fresh water. They came home with an urgency to act. They started raising money for a water project in Fiji, and made many personal sacrifices to be there and assist as the well is drilled. That's such a Jesus thing..I am thrilled. Pray for them. They leave Friday, December 2 to get their hands dirty and hearts full as they do the "grunt work" for the least of these in Fiji.

What Andy Stanley said About Preacher's Kids at Catalyst'11

2011-10-10T15:30:00.002-04:00

I am a PK. A preacher's kid. I grew up realizing we got an awful lot of bad press--you know, "Preacher's kids are the worst", and all that kind of hype. I heard it, took the teasing in silence and with feigned laughter, but I never saw it. I saw occasional kids who grew up in a pastor's home go astray, but not any further or at a more alarming rate than other people's children. My parents raised 4 children, all of us are loving and serving Jesus, all making a significant difference in our worlds. Two of us are very active laypersons, and two of us are pastors of more than 25 years each. The churches we lead are recognized for their effectiveness in helping the communities around us and around the world.

I also married a pastor--he has been an outstanding church leader and church planter, served with distinction as a denominational superintendent and has been a respected leader in our community for more than 30 years. Together we have raised 3 children to adulthood, so we have 3 PK's as well.

The report on this generation of PK's is that our three children and their families are all part of the church I pastor. We are gratefully proud of all of them, and the in-laws they have brought to us. Now, here's the part that leads me to why I am writing about what Andy Stanley said about preacher's kids. Two of the three children are called to full time Christian ministry as well, and work for me at Cornerstone Church. I don't ever hear the "preacher's kids are the worst" stuff anymore, because the wonderful people in our church family helped us raise our kids with love and compassion. Thanks to the kids and the amazing Cornerstone people, there are no "terrible PK stories" to tell about our children. We take marginal credit for that. The glory goes to Jesus Christ, our children themselves, and the incredible people around us.

Not often--just every great while, I get a whiff of something, rarely said to my face. The comments go something like this. "Don't you think there's a lot of nepotism around here? Should a pastor really hire his/her own kids? Doesn't it just make a clique when there's family on staff?"

I usually don't say anything in response. In fact, I thought better of it, and just deleted an entire paragraph of what I could say that would debunk those myths. I truly don't feel defensive about it, so there's no point in appearing so. But I did give a loud whoop and hurrah when Andy Stanley, son of Charles Stanley, two of the greatest Christian leaders in current generations, made a side comment to 13,000 people in attendance at the Catalyst Conference for young leaders in Atlanta, Ga. last week. Andy not only leads one of the mega-churches of the nation with multiple campuses, Northpoint Ministries, and much of the Catalyst organization, he leads hundreds of paid employees in these organizations. He thanked his father for giving him a start in pastoral ministry by hiring him first, and then he said, "I hire all the preacher's kids I can. If you grew upon the front lines of the church, and your heart wants to serve there, your parents did a pretty good job, and you will benefit me and the cause."

I agree with Andy. I am grateful to my parents and their churches for raising us to love Jesus. I am SO glad to be a PK. And I am really grateful to have PK's. I am so thankful to Cornerstone Church and the Coventry community and all the Christian leaders who have helped our children see that serving Christ is good. I am proud that Rachel and Jacob are called to ministry, and gratefully proud to serve beside them at Cornerstone. I know many other awesome PK's, too, children like my own who are a credit to their families and the Kingdom.

And that's all I have to say about that. :-)

Facebook--you made my day!

2011-09-22T05:36:00.002-04:00

A few days ago when logged in to Facebook, I felt like a newbie. So much had changed about display, how it works that I had to spend a few minutes figuring it out. OK, to be completely honest, I still don't get it all, and I have been on "Help" a few times. But seriously, even before I knew how to use them, these Facebook changes made my day!

Why? Because before I was on line 2 full minutes, posts were popping up everywhere, "I hate these changes!" "Facebook, I hate the new you!" People were even mimicking Dr. Seuss, writing funny rhymes about their distaste for the new look and methods. That's when I had my eureka moment, and felt all warm and fuzzy inside. I saw human nature in a fresh way. Whenever there's a change of any kind in any place, the first reactions are often overwhelmingly negative, even before there's time to absorb the reasons or the benefits of the change. Arnold Bennett said it right, "Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts." And it is so easy for the "differentness" of the change to be all we see. Mike Hutchceson,writer for UNLIMITED Business, says,"There is a stubborn strain in humanity that simply likes to keep things the way they have always been."

The reason that understanding made my day is because as a leader, often at the helm of change, I feel the backlash of people's suspicion of change all the time. It's easy to take it very personally. But Facebook is a faceless entity. Users don't hate FB--they hate the changes.

Why is there almost always an immediate backlash when something changes? I mean WHENEVER. Go back through history. Everything we have now and think is wonderful was met with initial resistance. Parisians organized petitions against building the Eiffel Tower--now it is their pride and icon. Doctors in Marie Curie's time who insisted that the presence of invisible "bugs" on the hands of caregivers were causing people to die received unbelievable persecution for insisting on new sanitary procedures.

We tend to resist change because we feel a lack of power and control. Why weren't WE consulted about this? Sometimes we resist change because we simply don't like the new idea. If it's arguable, it will be argued. We fight change because we doubt the need for it--we think the way things were was fine. The "I like it the way it is" argument is a discussion stopper.

While change agents like me do need to try our best to get "buy-in", lead change at a sensible pace, and seek godly wisdom on change, two facts remain clear. One, there's no good way to present change to someone who steadfastly is opposed to the idea of change and adjustment. Two, change has to happen anyway. "He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery."
Harold Wilson

Thanks, Facebook. You made me feel normal today. And you reminded me of a prayer I need to pray much more often:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

The Walk...

2011-08-31T07:04:00.003-04:00

I was on my daily (OK--sheer honesty here. ALMOST daily) walk for a mile through my neighborhood. Della and I were at a brisk pace when activity at an alcohol-serving establishment caught our attention. A middle-aged man staggered to his car, obviously very incapacitated. A woman called from the doorway, "You aren't going to try to drive, are you?" After a try or two to pick up papers, he completely lost his balance and fell to the ground, all the while insisting on his capacity to handle himself.

We stood and stared for a few moments, hoping by our notice to urge some heavy duty intervention. Eventually a couple of fellow customers/servers stood by his vehicles and tried to get his car keys. We completed that leg of our walk, and the drama was still ongoing. I was relieved in the morning to see his vehicle was still there.

I can't quit thinking about that, though. Why did they keep serving him? Why did no one refuse to be a part of his foolish journey? Why did anyone enable him to go so far down the trail of destruction that tragedy was the next logical step?

Because of my personal choice for absolute abstinence, I rarely am a spectator to unwise decisions in alcohol consumption. But I see many other people making relational/financial/spiritual decisions that are just as debilitating, just as certain to end up in heartbreak---and no one intervenes until tragedy is the next step, if then. Why?

I think it's because of deep-seated cowardice or apathy--refusal to risk someone's anger or our inconvenience. I think that when it comes right down to it, many of us really prefer to tell ourselves we have no responsibility, pretending it is love and wise to "mind our own business."

There's a psychological word for that argument. Here it is: BALONEY.

Just sayin'.

I'm Still Laughing!

2011-08-25T07:27:00.005-04:00

We have a "Win Wall" at our church, a place where we have 12 8x10 pictures hanging to show positive things in life, and we change them up whenever something new and cool happens. The last set of pictures hanging there had a beautiful one of Bruce Oberlin, one of our staff members, standing there with a huge cheesy grin on his face, arm around his beautiful daughter Meghan. The place they had chosen for the picture was our vision statement wall, that says "Making a successful pass of a vibrant faith."

Hundreds of adults had looked at the picture and said or thought, "Awwww....isn't that sweet?" it took an alert teen to show us that where Bruce and Meghan were positioned covered up pretty vital letters in the wall mural. As clear as it could possibly be, Bruce was smiling, framed by the words, "Making a ass".

I laughed till I cried when I first saw it. Thought of it again this morning, and am still wiping tears.

Dad's coming!

2011-08-24T08:49:00.003-04:00

My dad is coming to our house to stay till Friday. I kinda feel like I hit the lottery. :-) Dad is 90 years old, a widower living in the home he and my mother shared in a little retirement place in Sugarcreek. So obviously, it's not that it's a long trip--it's just that my dad really loves his life. He runs around to the neighbors' homes, trying to make sure none of "old folks" (most younger than him) are in need. He is part of a small group that thrives on their weekly fellowship and Bible Study. He grades papers for prisoners, serves as an honorary grandfather to rock babies and play with toddlers in the nursery at his church each week, and is an "amen'er" for the pastor in the weekly worship services. He disciples a young man who is a new believer. Dad also goes to every ball game for my niece and nephews who live near him that he can. When he gets an opportunity to visit a restaurant or store in the area, he automatically becomes the "host" there, making sure everyone feels at home, is appreciated and loved.

Obviously, that information leads to two conclusions: First, even though he lives alone, he is a huge contributer to life in his community, and he feels a responsibility. When he is gone, he is missed. And second, when Dad arrives at my house, the atmosphere is charged with his character. He loves to laugh and tell stories. Even ones we have heard 100 times are fun to hear again. He is an encourager. In the next three days, I will hear multiple times what a great woman I am, how beautiful my family is, what a great job we are all doing with our children and the grandkids. Dad will tell me what a great husband I have. He will tell me how much he still loves my mother, and how great it will be when we are all together again. He will ask me about my work, he will watch ballgames with Charlie and intersperse them with questions about Charlie's church and concerns. Though he has aches and pains and days of missing Mom terribly, he won't spend a second dumping those burdens out. Unless we ask, he won't spend much time talking about HIS life--mostly investing in ours. When we ask about what's going on for him, it will be mostly gratitude. Any simple meal I fix will be delicious. Oh, yes--we will pray together at least a dozen times, often spontaneously as some need or blessing comes to mind.

Can't wait till he gets here. So many people tell me I look like my Dad. I want to BE like my Dad. That's my goal.

You want him to come to your house? The line forms to the right--and it is
really long. :-) Thanks, Dad.

The Big MO

2011-08-22T06:49:00.004-04:00

Momentum is a funny thing.

You have to have it for impact and joy--when you have it, everything you do has a touch of magic, whether the thing in itself is spectacular or not; when you don't have it, you can be superb, but nothing rings the bell. When you don't have momentum, you will lose to someone not nearly as skilled or capable as you; when you have momentum, almost every ball drops through the hoop. Momentum is what makes progress possible, so it is indispensable for any success.

Teams need momentum, and individuals need momentum. Tiger Woods is a public example of incredible momentum and then NO momentum. Currently it seems he can't even buy a good game. What happened to his "Big MO" is a lesson to us. Does he have physical problems? Apparently so. But it doesn't take a psychological genius to figure out his problem is bigger that that. The guy whose touch turned everything to gold lost his Midas touch when a series of moral lapses became public. Sponsors dropped him, his wife dropped him, and the magic Mo was gone. When you are pushing a heavy weight, as long as you keep moving, the momentum will help you pick up speed. But if you stop, the momentum is gone, and it will take heroic effort to get moving again. Tiger is discovering that.

Perhaps you have discovered that as well. In you marriage, your job, your church. It may be that once you had all the momentum in the world--just to be with each other was magic. Everything you tried seemed to work. But now, things are so hard. What used to be joyful and productive is now hard work with marginal results. You seem to have hit a wall and are at a dead stop, or near it. What happens now?

I have discovered in my own life and leadership, the first thing is to own what's happening. Talk about it, get it out. But don't panic. Dan Reiland, writing to a pastor trying to regain momentum says: "There is a significant difference between urgency and panic. At no time do you want to create a sense of panic, but always a sense of urgency. Panic comes from the reactionary leadership of facing problems without solutions. Urgency comes from passion-filled leaders who believe in a cause with so much conviction that there can be no delay in carrying out that mission."

Recover a sense of urgency, and take corrective action wherever you know you have dropped the ball. Have the heart to do the hard things. And, I have found that since we are all spiritual beings, created for a close connection with the One who made us, generally lost momentum has something to do with internal issues--maybe disobedience or neglect of what's most important. So, the most urgent thing is to prioritize the Momentum Maker, the Force behind it all, and follow to the letter what He says. You can get the Big Mo back, and make incredible progress.

God says,"I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don't you recognize it?" (Isaiah 43:19) Now, THAT'S what I'm talking about.

The Great Exchange

2011-08-12T22:04:00.005-04:00

She is 80 years old. Her very presence sucks all the arrogance out of the room as she stands, absolutely regal in her utter humility. Overwhelmed by the standing ovation from the more than 10,000 people jumping to their feet in acknowledgement of the presence of greatness, she slips to the floor and kneels, with her face pressed to the ground. She is Mama Maggie Gobran.

Mama Maggie led a comfortable life in Cairo as an educated woman for many years. A Coptic Christian from a prominent Egyptian family, she taught computer science and lectured at Cairo University. But, following a call from God, she dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor in an area called Garbage City. This is not like anything WE do here. I have been in Garbage City--the stench, the situation is overwhelming. There children are born, live, eat, sleep, die, and scavenge among the piles and piles of refuse and rotting trash, without ever leaving that place. She has served and loved there in Jesus' name for the last 20 years. A Nobel Peace Prize nominee this year, Mama Maggie's humble wisdom overwhelmed me.

One piece of wisdom from her life shared at the Leadership Summit today was one I have learned, too. She said, "When we do something to help the poor have a better life, they help us become better people." Wow. That is as true as anything I have ever heard. It's a great exchange. I have been poor before, and have been on the receiving end of help. I will always be grateful to those who reached out to make my life better. But, for some time now, I have been on the giving end of things. Tomorrow I get the privilege of trying to help the lives of some folks in our community get better as our church has a massive LEAP giveaway. But here's what I already know. Mama Maggie is right. When the day is over, and nothing is left but some trash, a few lost socks, sore feet and aching muscles, I will be a better person. I will have received so much more than the folks I came to help. It's a great exchange, and I definitely get the better gift.

A Smokin' Hot Prayer Part 2--What He Actually Said

2011-08-05T19:34:00.006-04:00

Charllie texted me a few minutes ago. He's like a cow kneedeep in clover at the Hall of Fame Enshrinees dinner. He has met Jim Nance, Deoin Sanders, Chris Berman, Willy Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Marshall Faulk, Richard Dent. So, you know he's feelin' no pain.

He previewed his 2 minute prayer, including a moment of silence at the beginning, for me. In my humble opinion, he said alot worth saying in a very short time. Here's the text of his contribution this evening.

Three days ago a member of the NFL family, Bubba Smith,passed away. Please join me in a moment of silent prayer for his family and friends.

Dear God,

We are gathered here this evening to celebrate the accomplishments of these enshrinees. We thank you for the physical health and strength with which You have blessed them, enabling them to achieve this high level of recognition. Those accomplishments have brought satisfaction to each athlete, and a lot of enjoyment to the crowds and fans.

You have helped develop courage, boldness and passion within them that has led them to overcome difficulties and challenges in life and on the field of play. Those traits have brought success to each of these men, and tomorrow they will stand before fans, colleagues, coaches, friends and families as they are welcomed into the place of highest honor for any NFL player or contributor….. the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I pray that they will humbly accept that recognition, remembering that You have endowed them with the abilities to achieve that honor. And, that You will now help them focus on this new chapter of their lives and use those same character traits to build a legacy of integrity and honor during the remainder of their lives, that they might one day enter Your Hall of Fame.

They have played like champions on the athletic field...may You help them now play like champions on the field of life, with marriage, family, and friends.

I ask this all in the strong name of Jesus Christ.

Amen

A Smokin' Hot Prayer

2011-08-04T16:47:00.004-04:00

So, most of you have seen the video that went viral of the southern Baptist preacher “praying”, or something like that, at a Sunday afternoon NASCAR race a few weeks ago. (http://boingboing.net/2011/07/25/nascar-prayer-video.html) He was thanking God for high-powered fuel and a smokin’ hot wife, among other things. My husband Charlie has been asked to offer the prayer at the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee’s Dinner this Friday night, so you can imagine he has gotten quite a few great suggestions and truly funny lines he could deliver for his own memorable moment. I’ve given some thought to what he should say, too. Just for the sheer sake of truth in advertising, I have advised him to not make any comments about his “smokin’ hot wife.”

While I thought the prayer from the deep south brother was amusing and it didn’t offend me, my suggestions are a little different. Call me a stick in the mud, but I can’t get past the fact that our prayers are for God’s ears primarily, not for entertainment for the crowds OR a preaching opportunity for the pray-er. Realizing that Charlie is not permitted to say anything “sectarian”, and having great faith in God’s ability to hear the heart intents of a sincere prayer, maybe a great prayer would:
• Thank God for physical health and skill that brings satisfaction to the athlete and enjoyment to the crowds;
• Thank God for the hours of enjoyment and conversation all the fans have shared through the careers of these men;
• Ask God to help every honoree and guest focus on the most significant legacy and reason for fame, a life of integrity and honor.

And I am pretty sure a really great prayer would be short, not long enough for minds to wander, short enough to shock everyone that a long-winded preacher didn’t grab the bully pulpit to push an agenda of some kind. Jesus’ powerful prayer in front of a crowd essentially said, “Father, I thank you that You hear me. Now bring glory to yourself through me.” If Charlie’s prayer lacks humor and tweetable quotes , but has that kind of simplicity, humility, and faith, I have a feeling His Father will hear and get glory for Himself.

Boogity Boogity Boogity. I’m done.

Woo hoo for Clear Blue!

2011-07-29T08:52:00.007-04:00

So, I told you that I am at a camp for senior adults...they know how to make everything fun. They took on Clear Blue Global Water Project as their missions project for the week.(http://clearblueproject.com/)

In an absolutely hilarious evening, they auctioned jelly, pies, stuffed animals, and an amazing handmade quilt, all proceeds going to Clear Blue. A jar of jelly went for $100.00, and a homemade red raspberry pie went for $1600.00!?!?! That cook must be flat-out amazing! When the evening was over, they had raised over $4500.00, enough for three wells in India. The needy in India are waiting on us to send them money for 10 more wells--here we go! I can't send it fast enough!

Isn't it incredible? People using their resources and hearts of love for Jesus to bless other people they will never see in places they will never go. I'm guessing when they all meet each other in heaven, it will be quite a party.

A Senior Moment

2011-07-26T12:52:00.004-04:00

Charlie and I have the privilege of being speakers for a camp exclusively for senior adults this week. It's in Barker, New York, right on the shores of Lake Ontario. My goodness, it is beautiful here. My first thought a good while back when we were invited to do this was, "WHAT???? When did I get old enough to do that???" I didn't think there would be enough life in a gathering of senior adults for me.

Boy, was I wrong. This is a laugh-happy, full of the joy of the Lord gang. They are continuously active. The roof on the building where we eat and do a lot of things was put on largely by octogenarians. The window screens were installed by a man in his 90's. This group can rock.

Yesterday, Wayne McCown, a gentleman in every sense of the word, took Charlie and I out on his beautiful boat on the somewhat calm (teehee) Lake Ontario waters. It was a blast! We were thrilled! (OK---sheer truth forces me to own that Charlie was more green than thrilled, but it WAS beautiful and great fun..)

It the midst of all these "senior moments", I am reminded, "Age is a matter of mind. If you don't mind, it don't matter."

I MADE IT!

2011-07-25T07:47:00.004-04:00

I was thrilled to be a participant in the Clear Blue Water Splash Dash 5k race. Hundreds of runners from all over the state and some from other states descended on Cornerstone for a scenic run/walk through Coventry township. Congrats to Sean Fremon and Bruce Oberlin, the genius brains behind the scenes. I heard many comments from experienced runners that this was the most organized race in some of the prettiest territory they had ever run in, but "Oh, the hills!"

I can identify. I had never participated in anything like this before, and yowzers! My calf muscles were screaming! But I am proud to say I received a medal, first in my class. I was the fastest pastor there. Of course, I was the ONLY pastor there, but...

It was really good for me in so m any ways. It was great to see the interest and support of our township people and public servants. It buoyed my confidence that I can do things I haven't done before (look out, guys!), it bolstered my desire to get into better shape. And it was great for my spirit,too. Just one little lesson from the race---hills and obstacles look far worse from a distance. If you stare at them long enough, you'll be defeated, positive you can never do it. But if you just start walking, you'll be surprised how you can make it. The hill shrinks as you grow.

The Weight of a World

2011-07-20T13:31:00.010-04:00

Heading back to the hospital to see Max, I shared an elevator wait with a man about my age (yes, very young. :-) We chatted for a few minutes, and he asked me where I was going. I said I was headed to see my brand-new grandson. Instead of the congratulations I expected, he was immediately troubled. Appearing to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, he shook his head and said, "Well, you know it's a terrible world to bring a child into. I surely would never want to do it. Lots and lots of evil here." Wonk, Wah. Debbie Downer in my own elevator, raining on my celebration.

He said that just as the door opened with a nurse already riding. I said to my new troubled friend, "Yes, the world is a tough place with incredible evil in it. That means God needs an army of mighty men--my grandson is going to be one of them!" He looked a little taken aback, but the nurse threw her arms in the air and enthusiastically declared, "Woohoo!!! That is right--and I am in His army, too." We had a mini-revival until the doors opened again.

Later, God spoke to me in the quietness of my car--just He and I riding together. "You know, he's right", the Father said. "Lots and lots of evil out there. I have a fantastic plan for Max, but mine is not the only agenda out there. The great life you desire for him is not a slam dunk."

Quietness as that sinks in for a moment. Then, "You know," he continued, "to a great extent, the weight of his little world IS on your shoulders. He desperately needs you to be an unselfish example, making all your decisions ones that will always bring him pride and dignity. He needs you to live like Jesus, to be a first line of defense against the onslaught of temptations through your unceasing prayer and spiritual energy. Max doesn't know it yet, but he is relying on you to write your life story so big and obedient that the sheer adventure of it will make him want to follow Jesus as he pens his own epic life."

Max, I will do it. You can count on me. Over your crib, your Mommy and Daddy painted in huge letters:
MAXWELL
Dream big,
for when you wake, you will move mountains.

I believe you will. I will carry all the weight I can for you while you sleep and grow strong and dream. I believe in you. And I believe in the Mighty God who dreamed YOU into existence. Team Max is going to move mountains in the world in the Awesome Name of that Mighty God. Mamaw is a proud and grateful member of your team.

It's Your Perspective

2011-07-18T21:41:00.002-04:00

My daughter Rachel was due to have her first child, a little son named Maxwell William, yesterday. This morning Rachel owned that he must be more like her already than she realized, because he was running a tad late. Charlie and I have a long standing commitment in New York, leaving Sunday afternoon, and so we have all been pulling for the earliest possible arrival. It's not just his arrival that's important, but the opportunity to help Rachel and Aron in the first days of adjustment to their new little Energy Drainer.

I drove her to her appointment today, one she had really hoped would be unnecessary. She was a bit bleak when she got in the car. I said, "What if the examination prompts Max to hurry on out?" She assured me she was feeling nothing, and that was a very slim possibility. I started sorting through my mental files, looking for every encouraging easy/early delivery story and possibility I could find.

After she endured my optimism for most of the ride, she said, "You know, Mom, we are different when it comes to stuff like this. You always think of the great possible outcome. I don't. I think of a less desirable outcome. That way I am prepared for disappointment, and if it DOES happen the way I want, I am really happy and excited."

She's right. I am ridiculously optimistic most of the time. I generally expect something pretty good to happen. When I do receive a major hurt, a deep disappointment, or get blindsided by an unexpected setback,I'm weirdly like a cork. I end up on top again fairly quickly. Just can't seem to help it. Yep--that perspective does get me flattened sometimes, but most of the time there's enough good in however things come down that I don't feel let down. I guess there's something to be said for both outlooks, mine and Rachel's.

BUT--I'm stickin' with mine. Rachel was at the hospital being prepped for delivery within 3 hours of the conversation about our perspectives. I wouldn't think of saying "I told you so". LOL However, I do feel emboldened to share one more optimistic thought. My grandson will be adorable, and I'll be holding him within 24 hours.

Necessary Endings

2011-07-16T09:09:00.003-04:00

If life is a story we write (and I believe it is), I have started a new chapter. In January 2010 I had a heart attack--nothing that left me with major damage. In fact, it left me with major emotional and spiritual health. My heart issues coincided with the Haiti earthquake that rocked the world. Too long of a story for here, but God allowed my heart attack to prevent me from being with the Clear Blue Water project team that was in Haiti at the time, and for His purposes, in all likelihood, saved my life.

The recovery period was filled with coordinating efforts to get our team safely home, and the Lord's nudging to think about the rest of my life and what He wanted from it. That started a process that has continued.

God has been steadily narrowing down my options. :-) I used to consider few options a less than desirable position. But now I see it as necessary. I have been spending an hour at a time with Jesus in a new way--no prayer except, "What are you saying to me about your desires for the rest of my life?" I read the scripture that He directs and then just ask Him, "What are you saying to me?"

John 15 has figured prominently in His conversations with me. A few months ago He directly led me to NECESSARY ENDINGS by Dr. Henry Cloud. It was a profound voice to me. Among many things I have discovered in a new way is that Jesus is all about fruit. We tend to encourage ourselves by saying it is mostly faithfulness that matters, but the words of Jesus say that is not so. He is BIG on fruit. He says to cut out relationships where you are unable to have a positive influence, to prune activity from your life where you are expending energy for very little or no positive results. He says clearly to get rid of the dead wood in my life, and to excise branches that are sick and won't get better. This necessary ending gives room for new, healthy branches to grow, and keeps from draining the life out of us.

So, I've been having some necessary endings. Some bittersweet, but really positive, too. I just started a new chapter in my life story yesterday with an ending of something that once had been a great joy to me, but now was fruitless. Owning the fruitlessness of my efforts was difficult at first, because I am a fighter and have always lived by the axiom "quitters never win." But the truth that far outweighs any motto I might own is straight from Jesus: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:2 My cutting off and pruning was actually a great relief, because I was clear that the Father was doing it.

And he gave me a great promise, too. Believe it or not, I have a clear sense that my very best days for the Kingdom of God and all God created me to be and do are ahead of me. He gave me this promise, Psalm 92:14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. So, here we go! I feel like a kid again!

Who's Your Daddy?

2011-07-14T09:48:00.003-04:00

FEAR always sabotages us. Have you noticed that? You can be an accomplished musician and play perfectly for hours alone or in a group with whom you have great comfort. But shift the setting. Put you in front of a large unknown crowd at the Apollo Theatee, sprinkle in a few hecklers, and your confidence is quickly replaced by fear. Your fingers just won’t work.

Or you are an energized and effective communicator. No one has ever “left you speechless.” You can make people laugh, cry, and jump out of their seats into action. You do it regularly without a hitch. But on this day you have to speak to a committee who hold your employment in their hands. You see the stern, unfriendly and evaluative faces. Your throat is dry, you can barely swallow, and the cotton in your mouth could make a shirt. You barely squeak out a few words.

Or, even worse, you know something wrong is about to happen. A group of which you are a part is about to make a very poor decision. You know that disagreeing may cost you some friendships, certainly the esteem of some of the people you value. So, you tell yourself that you can’t halt the action any way, there’s no point in saying anything. And you stay silent.

Or…well. You get the point. You can tell a dozen of your own true life stories. They all have the same bottom line. “The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts the Lord will be safe.” Proverbs 29:25 Fear traps me, and I can’t move forward when I am in its grip.

Childrens fears most often revolve around the loss of the presence, love, and support of a parent. They typically try to avoid anything that may cost them that valuable resource and foundation. It doesn’t change much as we get older. Fear rises, a lump grows in our throats, and knots multiply in our stomachs when we are called upon to make a decision that may cost us the love or the support of our mother or father…you don’t think so? You think you’ve grown past that? Well, as adults, who is your Daddy? Who is your Mother?

Your “Daddy” is the guy/place/source of your financial resources—the guy who “writes” your checks. When we are faced with the challenge of being courageous and speaking up for something unpopular, if it may cost our job, our relationship with our “resourcers”, or be a financial hardship on us, that’s our “Daddy”. The fear of loss of our Father’s support can paralyze us.

As an adult, your “Mother” is the source of your comfort and encouragement. Who believes in you? Whose love and affirmation is your rock? When faced with the potential loss of that approval and affirmation, we may slide under the table, and fold in fear.

The heroes we most revere did not. The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content (not fear) in any situation, because I know I can do anything as Christ gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-14). When all of his troops were against him, David obeyed God any way, and the Word tells us he “encouraged HIMSELF in the Lord. I Samuel 30:6

We have this profoundly strengthening promise: “Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord himself will lift me up.” Psalm 27:10 We can afford to be courageous and obedient, even when our resources, comfort, and affirmation is threatened. God will be our supply. As someone said, “When I get to the place where Jesus is all I have, I will find he is all I need.”

It's Another Day

2011-07-09T20:05:00.005-04:00

I have the privilege of enjoying my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter two mornings a week. Last week we wanted to go out to swim and swing, but it was raining very hard. Skylar began the time-honored method for dispelling showers, sing-songing, "Rain, rain go away. Come again another day!" Imagine her delight when literally in about 5 minutes, the rain completely stopped and the sun appeared. "Mamaw!", she exclaimed. "The rain listened! It went away!"

Friday we were together again. Early in the morning, we had a steady downpour that settled in for a long haul. She stood at the storm door, nose and palms pressed against the windows. She began singing again her rain song, and determinedly sang it a few times through. Eventually, Skylar turned around, dejected, and said, “It’s still raining.”

I replied, “Yeah—well, I think it’s ‘another day.’” She crinkled her nose and her eyebrows crowded together like two little blond caterpillars facing off.

“What?!?!?”, she said.

So, I tried to tell her that it HAS to rain some time. We had really enjoyed it last week when the rain seemed to cooperate with our plans and went away without much of a grumble. But now it was back. It shouldn’t have been a surprise guest. She told him to come again another day.

Skylar said, “Yes—but not THIS day.”

She’s a lot like her Mamaw. Technically I know that the phrase “into each life some rain must fall” is actually a truism. But when clouds threaten and rain starts to come down, like Skylar, I always try to command the rain to go away. I even often beg and bargain with God to make the torrents go away, even if it means returning another day. Many times the clouds do become fluffy white and the downpour abates.

But I am not an exception to the rule. Into each life some rain WILL fall. Clouds don’t always go away. Sometimes the downpour happens, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Another day always comes.

But it doesn't mean God doesn't love me. It doesn't mean I've done something wrong. It doesn't mean His hand is off my life. It just means it is another day.

And I have learned the lesson all little girls who love Jesus eventually figure out--if there's no rain, there can't be any flowers. It takes some "another days" to grow true beauty.

If you're in "another day", it's ok to be disappointed. It's ok to cry. It's all right to sing your songs and tell your Father you surely are anxious for the skies to clear. But try to remember--when the skies clear, and the sun shines through again, the blossoms you enjoy couldn't have come without the rain.

Here's another song to give a try when it's raining.

Wishin' Don't Make it So...

2011-07-08T15:13:00.001-04:00

Have you ever looked at someone and wished you were where they were in life? Had what they had, went where they went, did what they did?

Well, the fact is, they didn't do what you'd like to do by wishing for it. They worked, made decisions that took them the direction they actually wanted to go, said yes to many things they preferred not to, and said no to many things they would have jumped at otherwise, if they didn't have a goal.

It's always that way. That "when you wish upon a star" song is rooted in Cinderella, not reality. Glass slippers and mice that become coachmen are splendid inventions for a magical story. So are "ships that come in" and rich uncles. But the truth is, life can be very rewarding, almost too good to be true, when we quit wishing, and start working a plan with focus.

Dreams never come true until the dreamer gets out of bed--early!--and starts mixing some elbow grease in with the stardust.

What are you dreaming about today? Dream with God, and then get to it! "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20

THE DECISION

2010-07-11T20:42:00.000-04:00

Well, "The Decision" has been made, and most of the world, it seems, has weighed in on it. Funny how hung-up we’ve been waiting for one guy to decide where he’s going to play ball. You would think this was one of the most significant decisions of all time. The thing is, hundreds of thousands of people yesterday, many whom you and I know, made decisions yesterday that determined their whole life direction and eternal destinies. No one was watching, praying for them, or maybe even caring.

Here’s the real deal, though. The decisions you and I make about our daily lives are far more significant in the long run that anything LeBron could ever do. Truth is, we only make 4-5 major decisions in our lives, and then we spend the rest of our lives managing those decisions. That’s what LeBron has in front of him - a far more challenging and far-reaching deal than I imagine the 25 year old has even considered. He will be managing the ramifications of his decision the rest of his life, for good or evil. You and I will be doing that, too, with the decisions we make today. Let’s not get caught up in what LeBron is deciding while we make our decisions casually. The future matters now.

It's a Wedding! and a Marriage!

2010-05-18T07:39:00.001-04:00

So this weekend is the one our last child, our "baby Jacob", gets married. He has selected a wonderful girl. JL and Jess have already brought us much joy. The wedding will be SO much fun--the weddings of Zachary and Amanda 5 years ago and Rachel and Aron 18 months ago will forever highlight my memories. As good friends, great people, wonderful family gather for the big send-off into married life, we will truly and deeply rejoice.

We had our own little private send-off last week. As the wedding of each child approached, the 5 original Youngs (Charlie, me, the 3 kids) got together for a last lunch at Skyline Chili, one of our favorites haunts when they were little. This time was not much different than the other two--loads of laughter, favorite stories retold. Only this time there was a twist. Zack and Rachel gave their little brother advice on marriage, the REAL DEAL that follows the big hype of the wedding day. That was very interesting for a mother to hear. :-) We all know that the marriage, the living out of the vows on ordinary days, is the really significant thing. It is life's biggest decision and most significant challenge, after the decision to follow Jesus.

As I listened and watched, I realized again that our house is going to be empty now of all the kids calling it home. There won't be anymore tribes of young people hanging out and making amazing noise. We've had the last sleepover. I'll be able to decorate every single room of the house the way I want. And there will be plenty of room in the garage and closets. Those thoughts didn't make me celebrate. I have absolutely LOVED having children and I have loved everything (well, almost everything) that comes with them. The knowledge that this era of my life ends on Saturday morning when JL wakes up for the last time in "his very own bed in his very own room" is bittersweet.

It makes me very happy that 36 years ago on June 15 I married a man to love forever. The kids are gone, but he is still with me, still faithful, still kind, still loving, still my best friend, still "the one." Fortunately over these years, the MARRIAGE has been the big deal, Our wedding was so much fun and a day I still enjoy reliving, but nothing compared to the joy we have right now. The house will be much less crowded with people now, but still overflowing with love.

Charlie and I are children of the 70's. The music of the Beatles blared out from the 8 track tapes and radio in his 1970 Camaro over many miles. Though we loved the music, we never picked up the lifestyle of the day, and came to our wedding with each other being "the one and only." But John Lennon captured the way I felt about Charlie then, and still do today. Jacob and Jessica--may it ever be true for you. Zachary and Amanda, Rachel and Aron--may the years make this your song.

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more

WELL. DONE.

2010-04-27T22:19:00.002-04:00

You may know that we do clean water wells for desperately needy locations. (Check out the website listed here on the blog) You may NOT know what a difference a single well can make. Here's a letter from Eric Wright, a wonderful Ohio businessman who was in Haiti this April with a construction team. They really benefitted from a well just drilled by Clear Blue a few weeks earlier. If you have ever prayed, given, or gone for Clear Blue, what a difference you are making! Well done.

I just got back from Haiti a couple of weeks ago... The well was an overwhelming blessing in so many ways. Let me try to count them for you:

1) The people of Greffin no longer have to walk a mile or two for UNCLEAN drinking water (from a stream along the road where clothes, cars and motorcycles were washed as well). From my recollection of the drive to Greffin, CLEAN drinking water would be 3 to 5 miles away and only available certain times of the day with very long lines.

2) The feeling of hope (perhaps the most important) and gratitude outpoured from the people more than water did from the well. The well LITERALLY was pumped from sun up until sun down. The ladies and children of the town operated it nonstop by filling large buckets and carrying it to concrete mixing sites, the water filtering station and to their homes (tents).

3) The value of the well to the people was obvious as I saw not one bucket spilled or dumped in a playful manner…, even as they walked barefoot over rough terrain. Each bucket was carefully used.

4) Hired workers as well as their families were able to get buckets of water to shower and clean after a long, hard and dirty day's work.

5) This well not only provides drinking water, but it provides tools for hygiene, washing clothes and building structures. This well has and will play a VITAL role in expanding the church, building the new school, the new latrine and housing for the homeless. Drinking water is the tip of the iceberg.

6) As stated in the above comment, effective jobs were created because of the well. This was and is a priceless gift to Greffin owed in large part to the well since the unemployment rate is 80 to 90 percent in Haiti and much worse in Greffin itself where the well was drilled.

The well transformed our teams abilities in many ways:

1) Cement CAN NOT be made without water. We would have been blessed to accomplish a portion of the foundation of the building without the well. Having water 100 yards from the area we built the structure was invaluable. I could not have imagined the work without the well. A fraction of our actual work done there would have been accomplished without the well.

2) I don’t know (honestly) how our team would have effectively stayed hydrated without the well. The average temperature stayed right around 100 degrees the whole time we were there. We worked from 8 to 5. We worked in the sun all day and it was a struggle even with the well. Water from the well was constantly filtered for our hydration needs as well as the 20 to 25 Haitian workers we hired every day.

For the record, the well was VERY productive. If I can use my experience in any way to help you with your cause, let me know. I would be willing to speak about the well if it would be of benefit.

You are not drilling wells, you are changing lives and generating hope in hopeless areas. Keep up the great work. Again, please let me know if I can help in any other ways. Your well impacted my life.

Eric Wright
Director of Operations
Gasearch, LLC.

I Do, I DO!!

2010-04-23T10:14:00.002-04:00

This is the wedding season. Dear young friends were married April 10 in a beautiful ceremony, another couple will wed this next weekend, my own son Jacob and his beautiful bride-to-be Jessica will take the plunge May 22, and then more this summer. As I prepare for all these promises, I have thought how in a world where commitments are increasingly short-term, the words "for better or worse, as long as we both shall live" sound beautiful, but realistically unlikely to most people. We push those thoughts to the back of our minds in the midst of the celebration. But as we look at broken promises on all levels, not just marriage, we wonder, "Does anyone keep promises anymore?"

Yes, some people still make and keep promises. They choose not to quit when the going gets rough because they promised to see it through. They stick to causes that seem lost. They hold on to a love that seems sadly cold. They stay with people who have become royal pains in the neck. They are brave enough to make a promise, and have enough integrity to keep the promise they have made. Lewis Smede challenges me when he says, "If you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you cannot abandon, then you are like God."

See, when a person makes a promise, that person reaches out into the unpredictable and unertain future and makes one thing certain: I WILL BE THERE. I will be there even when it costs me more than I want to pay. In a world where most things seem out of my control, when I make a promise like this, I control at least one thing: I will be there no matter what the circumstances turn out to be. Smedes says, "When you make a promise, you take a hand in creating your own future."

This spring and summer is a great time to reflect on the promises we have made to God, to people, to the church--and to focus our energy on keeping them. There is nothing more fulfilling than working with God to keep your commitments, and receiving the reward that comes from being a keeper of covenants, a person like God.

I promise. Better than that, it is HIS promise.

The Limits of Love

2010-03-30T15:26:00.001-04:00

I was part of a state leadership meeting with my brother Dwight a week or so ago. He shook his head about a situation that concerned the group and said, "I always remember what Brenda told me when I was getting my heartbroken as a young guy involved with the wrong girl. She said, 'Dwight--your problem is you think that if you love people enough, you can change them'."

He's right. I said that. But I forgot it. I have forgotten it many times in practical life. Love has its limits. Even God can't change us, no matter how much he loves us, if we choose to remain unteachable, stuck in our ruts.
I have loved people deeply, tried to help them avoid disaster, and make their lives better. But, one person can never make that choice for another. Jesus showed that. When he talked to the rich young ruler, he left the ball in the young man's court. He could follow Jesus to life and blessing, or he could stick with life the way he had always known it. The Bible says Jesus looked at him and LOVED him, and He directly presented the options. But the young man chose to walk away. He chose to reject love--to retain his pride, and hold onto the life that had already disappointed him.

And Jesus let him go. Tough. Didn't feel like love, I am sure. More like watching the makings of a train wreck in slow motion. But Jesus loved him enough to let him retain his right to make foolish, unwise choices.
Love is limited. It doesn't conquer all. Sometimes love lets people walk.

Earning Trust

2010-03-27T07:39:00.000-04:00

Stories of outrageous and indulgent demands surround celebrities, and many are actually true. Some of the most amazing (e.g. bottles of the priciest spring water to wash dogs) swirl around musical artists and their contracts with concert promoters. A notorious story came from the wildly popular band Van Halen. Each concert promoter had to sign a contract, specifying a bowl of M&M's be provided backstage for the band, with every single brown M and M removed. If the band arrived for a concert and there was even one brown candy there, they were alowed by contract to cancel the gig and receive full payment. Diva behavior, right?

In the words of the commercial ads, BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE.

There actually was a method in the madness. To the band, the absence or presence of the brown M&M's was a matter of life or death. Atul Gawande in his book, The Checklist Manifesto,quotes lead singer David Lee Roth's memoir:

"...Van Halen was the first band to take huge productions into tertiary, third-level markets. We'd pull up with nine 18 wheelers, full of gear, where the standrad was three trucks, max. And there were many, many technical errors---whether it was the girders couldn't support the weight, or the flooring would sink in, or the doors weren't big enough to drive the gear through. The contract read like a... Yellow Pages because there was so much equipment, and so many human beings needed to make it function." So, just as a little test, buried somewhere in the rider, would be Article 126, the no-brown-M&M clause. "When I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl, well, we'd line-check the entire production. Guaranteed you'd run into a problem." The mistakes could be fatal. In one Colorado concert, the band discovered the promoters had failed to read even the weight requirements, and the staging would have fallen through the arena floor.

Hmmm. There may be more to what you and I consider a ridiculous demand more often than one might think. In this case, it sounds as if Van Halen was actually on page with Jesus: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10

WORLD WATER DAY

2010-03-19T08:09:00.000-04:00

WORLD WATER DAY

March 22, 2010

Did you know that millions of people are struggling today without access to what you and I just took for granted? Yes, you and I got up, showered, brushed our teeth, made coffee--all without a thought of how precious the commodity of water is or how blessed we are to have clean, safe, water at our fingertips. We often waste more water in a day than an entire family has to drink daily in many desperate locations.

Monday, March 22, is a day the entire world has taken to remember this and make a difference. The Clear Blue Global Water Project thinks about it year-round. We realize that, truly, we with resources hold the rest of the world in our hands.

What can you do? Pray. Conserve. Share the need. Give. Get others involved. Visit Clear Blue water Project and get educated on the need and current projects. Then start collecting change, giving part of your tax refund, getting friends to help at work or school. This is a small world. We ARE our brother's keeper. Do SOMETHING.

Crocus People

2010-03-17T21:44:00.000-04:00

I love crocuses. These beautiful, brave little guys are right outside my front door. Today's warm sunshine and soft breezes made them seem right at home in northeastern Ohio before spring has officially arrived. But earlier in March they seemed strangely out of place. Their little green stubborn stems were straining out of white drifts of snow, very much the underdog in the struggle between spring and winter. These bulbs have been here for years, and they never let me down. I know that before winter has finally given up and gone, well before anyone would have a right to expect spring flowers, these bold blooms will be the first to stick their necks out. Every single year they are the first to bring warmth and beauty back, and before long, other blooms join the bouquet in the flower garden.

I want to be a crocus person. No matter how hard and cold the surroundings are, I want to consistently be the first to stick my neck out and announce a new season of joy. It's a sure thing--when I do, others will be encouraged to bloom, too.

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:12

Tim Tebow's Super Bowl Ad

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-05:00

Tim Tebow--if you have even a small love of football, you know this guy. He's been everyone's darling, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the Florida Gators. He's clean cut, an engaging all around nice guy. His faith in Christ is strong, and he has never hidden it. For the Super Bowl, he has recorded a pro-life ad, not condemning anyone, but stating his gratitude that his mother, a missionary, didn't choose abortion for him when her medical team advised it. Everything hit the fan. Suddenly the media is all over him, accusing him and the network of being "anti-family, anti-women" for airing such an offensive ad. He's the talk of the nation again, much of it extremely negative. One commentator I heard questioned "why Tim had to do that. He is risking his popularity, his income, his future, and even the popularity of his next team with this public stance." Wow--that guy misunderstands the goal of the Christian life that Tim embraces. Here's the thing: Though we are called to love everyone, the goal of a Christian's life isn't to be loved or even liked by everyone. The story of Jesus shows that he certainly wasn't. As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to courageously stand for what we believe, speak truth even when it is unpopular, and defend the helpless. Certainly we have to balance this reponsibility with love and compassion, and season our words with care. But trying to avoid controversy is not an option. It lacks courage AND character. No one who actually is thinking with the mind of Christ will choose it.

How do you spell relief? Good news!

2010-01-14T16:26:00.001-05:00

Our Cornerstone Clear Blue Team is in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A military plane flew them there, and they are being housed there overnight. They will either be met there or in Miami by Bishop David Roller.

I praise Jesus for our wonderful team---I know they were a God-send and unspeakable blessing while they were there.

I praise Jesus for the amazing Free Methodist Church who have turned everything up side down, trting to make sure we got information.

I praise Jesus for these United States of America, and the compassion that flows from so many.

Haiti Thursday

2010-01-14T15:26:00.001-05:00

Just got off the phone with Bishop Roller. The evacuation from Haiti of our Clear Blue team is entirely dependent on the US Embassy based or urgency and need. We have no idea now when they will be home, just that they are on the list. Until then, we know they are providing valuable assistance, and being enabled by our powerful God.

Emails, tweets--any communication from Port au Prince is sketchy and one-sided. An email may a sentence or two, with no opportunity to dialogue or ask questions. No phone calls. So, we rely on sporadic information and are grateful when we get it. That will eventually change. No commercial air flights can go in or out. People ask if we are putting together a team to go down there---certainly not now. No one can. Only specified, qualified relief and military can get in and out.

Andy Yardy, a journalist and FMWM media director (creator of our Clear Blue videos), arrived in Haiti today by way of the Dominican Republic as a journalist. Hopefully he will be able to provide news shortly, and perhaps even a video for Sunday

As I am writing this, an email came in from Bishop Roller. I will conclude with info from him:
We continue to be in prayer for our Haitian brothers and sisters in crisis. Here are some recent developments:

► Jack Munos and Katie Zook were airlifted from Guantanamo Bay last night because their conditions were deemed more serious than originally thought. They arrived in Miami early this morning. Pacific Northwest Superintendent Matt Whitehead is at the hospital and reports both are doing well. They are in ICU but alert. Both have been suffered quite a bit of trauma but "we can be encouraged that God is answering prayer." Katie's family is now at the hospital and has been a great encouragement to her. I was able to speak to Jack for a few moments by phone and encourage him with, "Well done good and faithful servant." Jack asks us to not give up hope on Jeanne even though he recognizes her rescue would require a miracle.

► The Free Methodist World Missions team, together with the Board of Bishops, are working to produce a short video for use in FM churches on Sunday. I (Bishop Roller) will be the face of the video but will be representing the broad spectrum of Free Methodists with ministry in Haiti. Remember that International Child Care Ministries, Clear Blue Global Water Project, FOHO (work teams), Eden Reforestation and other FM-related ministries will be involved in our response. Please alert ministries to connect with us before developing independent plans.

► We are working to put together an exploratory team to travel to Haiti and connect with the Haitian church leaders. We will rely heavily on the wisdom of the Haitian church to create a response strategy and action plan. We also are working to make connections with other denominations and NGOs to participate in a coordinated response. We anticipate this exploratory team will provide a fuller assessment of the needs, as well as the best way for North-American teams to respond over the next months.

The next weeks and months will be filled with uncertainty and grief. At the same time, we know God will redeem and heal. He will make sense out what appears random and cruel. There will be opportunities for Haiti to be rebuilt as a new Haiti. Soon, unprecedented opportunities will open up in Haiti for the church to participate in building safer and better housing, more reliable infrastructure and a more just society. The Haitian FMC, which has always been intrinsically wholistic, will need our partnership. Get ready.

Bishop David Roller

Haiti tragedy and Clear Blue Team--What We Know For Sure

2010-01-13T17:12:00.001-05:00

The news is tragic. That is sure. The newscasters keep reminding us that everything is a guess, we know little for sure. I agree with that.But, we do know a couple of things for sure.

What we know for sure:
Our Clear Blue Team (arrived Monday) is safe. I just got an email from the US EMBASSY in Port au Prince on behalf of Bruce Oberlin, simply stating, "We are ok. Please contact our families." Pastor Arron Swenson just wrote and said to tell the people at Cornerstone that their people are doing fine, and providing tremendous help. They will be flown to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, and from there to Miami. Bishop David Roller and Dale Woods from our missions department will meet them there for debriefing and crisis care.

* The FM Mission House in Port au Prince was destroyed in the earthquake. Three stories collapsed into one, and it is burning from the basement.

* Jeanne Munos was at the Mission House; she and two other FM mission workers who had just arrive from Lakeland, Florida on Tuesday, Merle West and Gene Dufor are missing and the search continues. Erlin, the young Haitian caretaker , was found and buried this morning. His wife and 3 year old son are physically ok.

* Jack Munos has several broken bones and kidney damage after being trapped under concrete for 6 hours. (He was at a construction site, not on site at the mission house when the earthquake hit.) Katie Zook, Jeanne’s assistant was buried under debris and has lacerations but no broken bones. Medi-Evac is evacuating Katie and Jack to Gitmo for medical attention.

* MANY wonderful Haitian pastors, their families, loved ones and friends need and deserve our united prayers for God’s mercy and help right now! HE knows where they are and can bring them aid! 80% of Haiti’s population live below the poverty level in dire need for the necessities of life on their best days!

* International Child Care Ministries supports more than 4000 children there, and sponsors 53 schools across the country, most near Port au Prince. Information about those children will be released as it becomes available.

Most importantly, God is still God. He still cares and still is working. When we feel like we can't trust the circumstances, we can trust His heart.

Struggle and Surrender

2009-12-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I preached about God's desire to make us holy, and that it only comes through a journey begun and continued through surrender. It took me back to a poem I wrote years back when my struggle was at it's height. Then FINALLY. Finally surrender led to purpose, peace, and adventure:

When I was small I used to dream of days that lay ahead,
When plans and choices for my life would be exactly as I said.
But now that I have traveled to that place where I decide
I find this is the very place where heart and will collide.

My will is bent to follow you--my mind seeks out your way.
But You and I both know, my Lord, my heart is prone to stray.
I WANT to choose alone to live the life for which you died.
Please strengthen me, be my Resolve, when heart and will collide.

Jesus, beyond the strongest doubt You've truly won my heart.
You sheltered me, protected me...been with me from the start.
You're such a counselor and friend, an everpresent guide.
You still reach out with faith in me, when heart and will collide.

The collision of my heart and will--
A painful place of breaking.
Shape my broken pieces, Lord,
For the person YOU'RE creating.

My Savior, no other one holds claim or rights upon my heart
Like these I gladly give you now--my whole self, not just a part.
I set my will to follow You--You will always be my guide,
My heart and will together now in the love-knot you have tied.
--bgmy 1996

Father, here I am. Still surrendered and surrendering, and satisfied.

Tiger's in the Tank

2009-12-05T21:53:00.001-05:00

You knew it, didn't you? Anyone who has witnessed two or three stories of betrayal, discovery and the accompanying blend of heartbreak and rage smelled something fishy about the Tiger Woods "accident" long before he owned his "transgressions." His attempted cover-up only gave fodder for the late night tv joke machines and the internet jokes that go viral in a nano-second. The jokesters seem to forget that, at bare minimum, four hearts have been crushed, four lives forever altered, two of them unsuspecting little children, with not a clue that a tsunami was beginning to batter the coastline of their safe home.

Yeah, I knew there was bad news coming sooner or later. Been there with too many people to not recognize the signs. Here's what I know for sure:

The wages of sin are death--every single time. No one ever sins without something dying. The death toll in Tiger's case is yet to be determined. Right now, the fatalities include trust, joy, dreams, innocence, reputation...

Money and prestige are a poor trade for character. Wonder how much less finances and fame Mrs. Tiger would be willing for her husband to have if she could get faithfulness and integrity she could take to the bank in return?

We are all the same under the skin. Pain rips away the differences between us. In the deepest pain, rich and poor, black and white, old and young, famous and unknown---we're all the same.

We all need redemption. A columnist suggested Tiger, a professed Buddhist,evidently needs to meditate more. She doesn't get it. Meditation can't pay the debt, change the heart, heal the wounds, make a new start. Tiger has nothing to offer that has any power in the ways that matter. He needs Someone to do for him and his family what he can never do on his own. He needs a Savior, Someone who can work in his heart and his wife's heart and over time do things that today seem completely out of reach.

Tiger and his family need my prayers. If he was my son or my brother, I wouldn't laugh or send jokes around about him. I wouldn't consider him a lost cause, I wouldn't point out all the things "I knew" were wrong about him long ago. I would be beating on the doors of heaven, pleading with God to move on his heart, to do a miracle, and to restore that family. To give those little children a father who will lead them to the Father.

Maybe I should do that for Tiger?

Compromise---it's your call!

2009-10-28T15:37:00.000-04:00

Compromise. It's a good word or a bad word, depending on your perspective and the situation. For instance, if you have a decided preference about where you'd like to eat when a whole group is going out together, willingness to compromise for something most people prefer wins friends, makes for peace, and actually is a mature course of action. On the other hand, if you are in a situation where the general pull of the gang is away from your moral principles, and you decide to compromise, and do "just a little bit wrong", you may win friends, temporarily keep the peace, but it's an immature decision.

Either way, we don't compromise in an instant. "Compromise is not an event; it's an evolution." We think our way into whatever action we take. When we work our way through self-focus, and determine to compromise for the good of the whole, maintaining our convictions but surrendering our preferences as we do so, we have engaged in a evolution of thought that prioritizes what is best and unselfish. Again, on the other hand, when I think myself away from my convictions, and talk myself in to making a decision my heart and integrity cannot 100% endorse, I have let my "evolution" DE-volve me into someone less than I was.

Compromise. Is it good or evil? It's your call. Every single situation, it's your call.

Blessed, rich, and happy!

2009-10-22T13:56:00.004-04:00

It's my birthday today. I have been surprised and delighted by all the greetings, prayers, best wishes received, courtesy of all the technology available at this point of my journey. I have "tweeted", emailed, facebooked all around the world in celebration, and even got a phone call from Romania and another from South Africa carrying birthday wishes. How amazing is that??

I am so blessed by friends and family--admittedly, far more than I deserve. I am aware, though, that at this point of life (57 incredibly full years!), my life and my blessings to a significant degree are a reflection of the choices I have made and the paths I have walked. I am so glad that at 16 years of age, I made a personal and deep commitment to follow Jesus with my whole heart for my whole life. I am very thankful that while I was in graduate school I was advised to develop a "wisdom council" and actively seek counsel, submitting my decisions courses of action to wise, godly people who know me well. Inviting these people into "my business" over the years has saved me many heartaches, and kept me on the "paths of righteousness"---for His name's sake and MY name's sake as well! I am so appreciative of the books I have read, the tapes, cds, and podcasts I have heard--the seminars I have attended and the sermons I have heard. I am blessed because God has used those things to counsel me, shape me, prune me, develop me, stretch me--as I put into action the things I have been taught.

I could go on for a very long time, listing the things that bless me and make today such a happy day for me. But, I have to get back to the job I love (another great blessing!) and eventual birthday time with the family I love (another wonderful treasure!). As I do, this verse keeps a constant melody playing in my mind: "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22

FUTURE-PRESENT

2009-10-13T10:37:00.002-04:00

Max Lucado says a version of something I have heard all my life. "It's what we do in the here and now that will make a difference in the then and there." He is talking specifically about the after-life, and he couldn't be more on track. When we get to "that day", when this life is done, there's no more time to make a difference. Only what we DID will matter.

It's not just true about the after life, however. It's true about right now. I am making my tomorrows by my choices today--in every arena. I make my choices, then my choices make me. I need to be doing NOW what tomorrow will find me wishing I HAD done.

So...back to the task. First things first. Tomorrow starts right now.

A LIFE-IMPACTING EXPERIENCE

2009-09-22T08:17:00.002-04:00

My nephew Caleb is a senior in highschool. For a recent English assignment, he had to write and essay on a personal life experience with great impact. He chose to write about his grandmother's death--my mother. He wrote me with a couple questions to answer, and it was a great experience for me to ponder. here are those thoughts:

WHAT LIFE LESSONS DID I LEARN FROM MY MOTHER'S LIFE:
I can't begin to say all of the lessons. As I get older myself, I keep discovering what she has taught me. I wrote an article about what I realized I learned just from her closet shortly after she died. These are some of those lessons:
Take care of what you have. It's a gift from God, and careful use will help you represent God and yourself well. Be thrifty. You can look good and be appropriate without big brand names, and sometimes God will surprise you with a designer find at a thrift store. :-) Clean it and fix it before you put it away. You can be ready at a moment's notice if you take care of things as they come up. Enough is enough. You can only wear one outfit and one pair of shoes at a time. Reason and stewardship says there's a place to stop--I don't need it just because I can afford it. Simple memories are precious. Mother chose the dress she wore to my brother J's and sister-in-law Cathy's wedding almost 20 years ago for the "going-away" outfit she was buried in. The dresses she wore to the other 3 family weddings were treasures draped in plastic. HER wedding dress was not there. After 50 years, she had gotten rid of the simple white suit she wore, but her sentimental heart still had it's treasures. In a little box were 6 decorated buttons with this note, "The buttons from my wedding dress." Thinking ahead saves time. She had written little notes to herself and attached them to some of the clothes, saying, "Can wear this with the green slacks and scarf."

In addition, she taught me that people are more important than anything else, and that giving with compassion helps the giver, not just the receiver. She was the most compassionate, caring person for the needy I have ever known. She taught me that following Jesus pays! She taught me to pray. She taught me how to grow old gracefully and without regret. She taught me to be content with what I have and to take care of things. I could go on and on. :-) Her life was an object lesson in "the good life."

HOW DID HER DEATH IMPACT MY LIFE?
The first and most powerful way is that I realized that God's promises are true, to the smallest and last detail. I saw the grace with which she faced this time period of her life, how she handled pain, the gratitude she had for the smallest thing done for her, and I saw how she knew every minute that God was with her. I don't want to die anytime soon, but the first impact of my mother's death was a deep settled reassurance that, whatever life hands me, God will be with me and I can handle it.

Her death also impacted me in that I find myself much more aware of how fleeting life is, and the longest life seems too short. So, I find myself packing all I can into it, and I am much more aware of speaking and acting out my love for the people around me.

I now realize that my sister and I are the "senior women" in the family, and we and my brothers will before long be the custodians of the family heritage and legacy. I take that very seriously, and feel the responsibility for prayer for everyone, for making sure we get together, and for being certain that we all keep each other on track.

HOW IS LIFE DIFFERENT WITHOUT MY MOTHER?
When I do something new at the house, when my children have news--my first impulse is still to grab the phone and call my mom. It is always a little shock to realize she won't answer. My stomach often has a knot in it when I see my dad alone---he and mom were such an awesome couple and loved each other so much. It gives me a twinge to see him "soldiering on" without her. If Dad wasn't such an amazing man, getting his strength from Jesus and strong character over the years, it would be very hard to see him. I miss Mom's prayers. But one of the most precious things to me is that shortly before she died, she quit praying for us. She and Dad talked, and he said that nearly every waking thought had been of her children and grandchildren, praying for our lives and ministries,that we would live faithfully for Jesus and make heaven. He said in the last couple of weeks, "the video that had been playing in her mind changed. God assured her that her prayers had been heard and were being answered, and for her to just relax and look forward to seeing Jesus and her loved ones already in heaven."

I see my children and nieces and nephews with so many characteristics and traits and concerns they picked up from my mother--it always makes my heart smile, and I know that though life is different without Mother HERE, we know where she is, we know we will see her again, and life is still good.

Today I Choose

2009-09-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

Each Day I Choose - By Max Lucado

It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The
world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with
the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for
the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the
pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be
invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now I
must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.

I CHOOSE LOVE…
No occasion justifies hatred;
no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love.
Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…
the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see
people as anything less than human beings,
created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as
anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll
invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the
wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment
to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new
assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to
the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…
I will go without a dollar
before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked
before I will boast. I will confess before I will
accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates
will not question my word. My wife will not
question my love. And my children will never fear
that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.
I am a spiritual being…
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot rule the
eternal.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL
I will be drunk only by joy.
I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow
and rest.

Vacation

2009-08-14T16:04:00.002-04:00

OK...so I haven't written in over a month. Yep, a long time. See, it didn't SEEM like a long time, because every day I was going to do it the next day, and then I would put it on the list for the NEXT day, and...well, you know how that goes. It has been a wild time with all kinds of good things and God things going on (a flat-out fantastic LEAP week at church--serving more than 2000 people, lives being changed on a weekly basis, missions involvement at an all-time high), encouraging family developments (daughter Rachel and son-in-law Aron just bought their first home, adorable grand-daughter Skylar is crawling and cruising, son JL and his fiancee Jessica plus my sister-in-law Cathy and nieces Melinda and Sara returned from a super missions trip to Russia), and some personal challenges (two very difficult oral surgeries and a raging case of poison ivy--my first ever!).

So, the lack of blogging has not been born of boredom. This evening, in approximately 4 hours and 45 minutes, we leave on vacation. Ah, yes. Blue skies, ocean breezes, sand, sleep. Books to read, movies to watch, waves to ride, and did I mention sleep??

I know I will love the week, and I know when it's over I will love home again, too. Best of all, wherever we are, the Father is with us.

Michael Jackson--thought provoker

2009-07-09T15:20:00.002-04:00

The Pinnacle of Success? Michael Jackson's Legacy
Chuck Colson
This commentary by Chuck Colson, the famous Hatchet Man from Watergate, has a real thought-provoker here. Once again, I am borrowing...it's so worth it! I very much loved Michael, and hated all he faced in life. I'm glad God is God and I'm not.

BreakPoint
I am an aging, white conservative Baptist. My taste in music runs from Bach to Mozart to Lawrence Welk. Indeed, my staff might say I am the un-hippest man alive.
So you might think that I am surprised by the frenzied and non-stop media coverage of the death of Michael Jackson—perhaps the greatest pop star of all time. But I’m not.
You may think that I don’t “get” why his fans by the millions are grieving, buying up Jackson CDs like they are going out of style, holding vigils at his mansion, desperately trying to get tickets to his memorial service in Los Angeles. But I do.
Here is why they have reason to mourn: Michael Jackson was, by any standard, a musical genius. His albums and his videos thrilled successive generations of pop fans. In fact, I was enthralled myself when I first watched his video presentation at an Epcot exhibit some 20 years ago.
There was, indeed, no one quite like Michael Jackson. And now there will be no new albums, no comeback concert tour, no new dance moves. That’s why they’re mourning.
But here’s why they—and all of us—should mourn the real tragedy that Michael Jackson’s story is. Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic Monthly blog said it well: Michael Jackson “was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.” He was, as Sullivan noted, nothing but a creature of our culture, which puts “fame and celebrity” at its core, with money as its driving force, without regard for the person caught up in it or the character he exhibits.
By numerous published accounts, Jackson was emotionally abused by his father, a man consumed by the idea that his child could be a superstar. Jackson was a drug addict accused of pedophilia, given to all manner of bizarre behavior. He was, in the end, as Bob Herbert opined in the New York Times, “psychologically disabled, to the point where he was a danger to himself and others.”
It makes the scenes of adoring crowds pushing and shoving to get near yesterday’s memorial service, and the non-stop live television coverage, all the more bizarre and tragic. We worship the celebrity for his fame, degenerate lifestyle not withstanding.
Jackson achieved the summit of what this culture values most—fame—and paid for it with his life. And that is a tragedy.
Life is filled with teaching moments. And for parents, this tragedy is an opportunity to talk with our children about what they really want out of life—what matters most.
And it’s also a time for parents to look in the mirror and ask what we really want for our kids. If the answer is success in life, then we had better know what that definition of success is.
That’s because even Christian parents are not immune to the siren song of fame and fortune for their kids. It’s great that your child can sing and dance. It’s wonderful that he can hit a baseball a country mile. She just might win that academic scholarship to Harvard.
But winning that scholarship, or playing in the major leagues, is not the Christian definition of success. Doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God is.
Character matters. Not fame. No matter how un-hip that sounds.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chuck Colson’s daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print.

What a God!

2009-07-08T12:02:00.001-04:00

A friend sent this to me---so encouraging and inspiring! We serve a creative and mighty God.

What an awesome and orderly GOD!!

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.

For example:
-the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days;
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way
for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you try
to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only
the One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to
a profitable end.

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant... The four legs of
this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other
quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge
body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four
fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow
rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord
is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as
well as in the number of grains.

-Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas,
and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and
the next row an odd number.
-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all
kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord
specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during
the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had
a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and
temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that
were open and those that were closed!

Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is
entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes
and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence.

Only the God-planned safe life is successful. Only the life given over
to the care of the Lord is fulfilled.

Elephants and Dads

2009-06-22T07:22:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite authors is Donald Miller. His life was shaped by the absence of a father, and he writes pognantly about it. FATHER'S DAY is a great time to refelect on how important good male role models are in our lives.

“I learned a great deal about myself while watching a documentary a few years ago about elephants in a wildlife trust in Africa. There were twenty-five elephants, all of them orphans, and they had been brought to the trust twenty years before. They were becoming teenagers– in elephant years. The girls were adequate, getting along with the other elephants, but there were a few boys who were causing a great deal of trouble. The narrator talked about the frustrations these few elephants were feeling because they had gone into early musth cycles, which showed up as a green pus running down their right hind leg. This phase produced aggressive and violent behavior, the elephant equivalent of sexual frustration.

The narrator in the documentary said the elephant musth cycle beings in adolescence, and normally lasts only a few days. But among these orphans, the musth cycle was disrupted and had become unusually long. These elephants were taking out their aggression on rhinos that bathed at a local mud pool. An elephant would slowly lumber down to the pool, enter near a rhino, then spear it through the side with his tusks. The elephant would then lean his gargantuan forehead into the head of the rhino, holding the beast underwater until it drowned. The filmmakers followed these orphan elephants who were always on their own, staggering about the wildlife refuge, fueled by a pent-up aggression they couldn’t understand. They weren’t acting like elephants– they didn’t know what an elephant was supposed to do with all his energy, all his muscle.

Occasionally, two elephants in musth would meet, and the encounter was always violent, going so far as to uproot trees in the fray of their brawl. When both beasts, bloodied, lumbered their separate ways alone– without a family, without a tribe– I couldn’t help but identify. I have never killed a rhino, or much of anything for that matter, but there have been times in my life when I didn’t know exactly how to be. I mean, there were feelings, sometimes anger, sometimes depression, sometimes raging lust, and I was never sure what any of it was about. I just felt like killing somebody, or sleeping with some girl, or decking a guy in a bar, and I didn’t know what to do with any of these feelings. Life was a confusing series of emotions rubbing against events. I wasn’t sure how to manage myself, how to talk to a woman, how to build a career, how to– well, be a man.

To me, life was something you had to stumble through alone. It wasn’t something you enjoyed or conquered, it was something that happened to you, and you didn’t have a whole lot of say about the way it turned out. You just acted out your feelings and hoped you never got caught.

Watching television that night, however, the narrator began to speak of a kind of hope for these elephants. Elephant development, apparently, begins very early. Female elephants are only capable of having children once every two years, and during those two years between babies, the young are cared for obsessively by their mothers. They are fed, sheltered, loved, and guided in their learning of basic survival.

It is only at the first musth cycle that a young male elephant leaves his mother and enters into the African wild, searching for a mentor, a guide. The green pus running down his hind leg and his smell like fresh-cut grass alerts an older, fully mature male, that this is a young elephant in need of guidance. Upon finding a mentor, the young elephant’s musth cycle ends. The older and younger begin to travel together, to find food together, to protect each other– the older one teaching the younger what elephant strength is for, and how to use it for the benefit of himself and the tribe.

Watching television that night, I wondered if humans aren’t like that, too. I began to wonder if we guys were designed to have a father, whose very presence would cause us to understand more accurately what our muscle is for, what we are supposed to do with our energy.

You have to wonder, don’t you? Some statistics state as many as 85 percent of the guys in prison grew up without a dad. This is sobering to me.

And so watching the documentary, I began to wonder if those of us without dads aren’t making mistakes in our lives we wouldn’t make if we had a father to guide us. I wondered if there isn’t a better paradigm for our existence– a way of being men, a way each of us could truly embrace if it were instilled in us by a man who spoke with altruism and authority. I wondered if people who grow up with great fathers don’t walk around with a subconscious sense they are wanted on this planet, that they belong, and the world needs them. And I wondered this: Is there practical information we are supposed to know about work, women, decisions, authority, leadership, marriage, and family that we would have learned if there were a guide around to help us navigate our journey? I wondered if some of the confusing emotions I was feeling weren’t a kind of suspended adolescence from which the presence of an older man might have delivered me.

– Excerpt from To Own A Dragon, by Donald Miller (pp 31-34)

"If you are a dad, thanks for being a dad, thanks for loving your kids. They need it, by design. And if you have a strained or absent relationship with your dad, take all the comfort in the world that we have a father who has not neglected us. The job of our earthly fathers has always been to introduce their children to their “real” dad. And as insufficient as your earthly father was, take comfort in the fact your “real” dad fathers perfectly. We are not victims. All of our trials are blessings. What an incredible opportunity to introduce people to their real father."

June 10, 1950

2009-06-11T13:38:00.006-04:00

I called my Dad yesterday morning on his and mother's 59th anniversary. I asked what he was doing for the day, and he laughed and simply said, "Oh, I have a little plan." My brother Dwight stopped by last night and talked to him. Here is his blog about Dad's day. Happy Anniversary, Dad. You and Mom are the best ever.

JUNE 10, 1950 (Dwight’s Blog, June 10, 2009)
Fifty-nine years ago today a man named Jim married a beautiful girl named Marie. That would be my father and mother. You probably have heard the saying, “They were made for each other.” Well, nothing could be truer of them.

They were very intentional on serving one another and considering the other’s interests above their own.

I have heard my dad say that he knew of no greater woman than my mom, including his own mom. That is quite a compliment for any woman. She was the apple of Dad’s eye, and Dad was the apple of her eye.

I stopped by today to see my dad . I asked him how it was going, and he said it had been a great day. He had worked all day. He said, “I have been listening to music and working. I have swept the floor, dusted the furniture, mopped the kitchen floor.” He said with a twinkle in his eye, “I did it just in case Mother would come back tonight.”

If you knew my mother, no one kept a house like her. It was her style. I know why Dad did what he did today. It was a way of showing honor to his wife, my mother, for all the years she took care of him.

Before I left he wanted me to listen to a favorite song:

I am going to a city,
Where the streets with gold are laid;
Where the tree of life is blooming,
And the roses never fade.
Here they bloom but for a season,
Soon their beauty is decayed;
I am going to a city,
Where the roses never fade.
Loved ones gone to be with Jesus,
In their robes of white arrayed;
Now are waiting for my coming,
Where the roses never fade.
Here they bloom but for a season,
Soon their beauty is decayed;
I am going to a city,
Where the roses never fade.
Here they bloom but for a season,
Soon their beauty is decayed;
I am going to a city,
Where the roses never fade.
Where the roses never fade!

I prayed with him and thanked him for the great example of a marriage that he and Mom had given me.

SELF-LESSNESS and SACRIFICE

2009-06-02T10:44:00.006-04:00

My father is a WWII Vet, 101st Airborne Division, US ARMY. He was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed, and jumped in Normandy on D-Day. He has the scars, the memories, and the Purple Heart to prove it. On May 30 he was invited to go on an HONOR FLIGHT for WWII vets, sponsored by a local VFW post, to Washington, DC to see the monuments, and experience the thrill of being in our capital city. 119 of them (30 in wheelchairs)and their volunteer escorts left Akron-Canton airport at about 6 a.m. for an unforgettable day. After a day of touring, they returned home at about 8:30. The reception to welcome them back was overwhelming for me---I can only imagine how it felt to them. The halls of the airport were lined with hundreds of people of all ages, cheering, waving flags, applauding...it was amazing. There were dozens of small children who had raised money through bake sales to sponsor the flight. There were Viet Nam vets (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle club), paying tribute and honor in a way they themselves did not receive. There were current members of the military, dressed in fatigues, blessing the acts of sacrifice that went before them.

In an extremely self-centered era, this whole experience was amazing. It celebrated self-less sacrifice--in the vets themselves, and in the people who came to honor them. These were not the great and mighty who have memorials built somewhere to individual acheivement. These were ordinary men who became often unnoticed heroes. And the people who gave up their evening (and actually gave up the Cavs game) to come give them a hero's welcome were heroes themselves. They made an incredible impact--one that was not noted by the world, but was forever recorded in the annals of unselfish living. It was unforgettable to me. I read a statement this week that sums up what I saw and experienced: "The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs." George Eliot in MIDDLEMARCH.

Osmosis

2009-05-27T09:29:00.004-04:00

Life, experience, and experts all tell us that we soak up the values of the people that surround us--that we will never rise higher, go deeper, or become better than our associations. If that is true, and all I have seen, including the Word of God itself, tells me it is, then my future has the opportunity to be really bright. I have SUPER friends and associates, all prodding me to greatness! Look at just a quick sampling on the things posted on FACEBOOK and email this morning.

Is your give bigger than your get?

In the game of life it's a good idea to have a few early losses which relieves you of the pressure of trying to an undefeated season.

"Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be."

Objects and Problems in our reflective past are larger than they appear. When visiting my childhood home today, I was amazed that NOT only is the house smaller, so is the whole neighborhood! God said "No problem or situation is as big as you have made it out to be" I't's NOT as big as you have made it out to be! Gods Got IT!

Mother Teresa Quotes
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.
I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

"Lord, make me a crisis man. Let me not be a mile-post on a single road, but make me a fork that men must turn one way or another in facing Christ in me." -- Jim Elliot

A Great Exploit

2009-05-14T14:45:00.003-04:00

“…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do great exploits.” Daniel 11:32 (KJV)

I have been thinking a lot lately about big goals, big dreams---achieving God’s purposes for my life. I have been thinking about big challenges and getting big enough courage to face them and spend my life giving my best to beat them. To be specific, over the last couple of years God has been stirring a great dream in me. The issue is BIG, overwhelming, seemingly insurmountable. The church family of which I am a part is right in the middle of Coventry Township, and we are surrounded by a curious mixture of wealth and poverty. Our mission statement here is that we help people find the Father, a Family, and a Fulfilling Future. We do great at the first part, pretty good at the second part, but at the third part—helping people have a fulfilling future—we have a long ways to go. We try, and we do many good things. But there's no place to rest and check it off our list when so many people lack so much of what makes life fulfilling. It's a cop-out when we say that of course a person gets a fulfilling future when he or she accepts Christ as Savior—they get heaven! That is true, but the future God wants for His children begins much earlier than that.

Poverty is not part of God’s plan for his beloved creation. No—I do NOT believe in the prosperity gospel. I do not believe that when a person follows Christ fully, he or she will becomes rich. I do not believe that poverty is a sign of disobedience or disfavor. What I DO believe is that God’s perfect plan for his world has been broken by sin, and that currently we reside in a world that is entrenched in evil and self-centeredness. Poverty, it has been said, is often punishment for a crime you didn’t commit. Because of the brokenness and sin of our world for generations and generations, some nations, communities, and families are reaping harvests they didn’t plant. They may need special assistance over time to ever break out of the negative legacy. Believers have a special responsibility to step in and do whatever it takes to interrupt the cycle and help start people in a new direction. Matthew 25 records the words of Jesus showing that at the final judgment, how we invested in the least and last of these broken will be significant.

Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.” How do “good people “, caught in the cycle of despair and poverty, ever hit that kind of a target, something they would desire to do ? An inheritance is out of the question—barely eeking by with the basic necessities is the daily consuming goal. How does it ever change? Are some just blessed and others just disadvantaged? “As it was, is now and ever shall be?” Is it ok just to do what we can? Give when we find extra, share a hand-out here and there, charity at holidays?

No. NO. NO. That’s not an acceptable response for a Christ-follower. We follow One who was so consumed by OUR poverty that He willingly put aside His unimaginable wealth and power that we might become rich (II Corinthians 8:9) Give-aways and charities are reasonable and good starting places, but that’s all. I can do that in bits and pieces and make some momentary happiness for someone without making a true investment. I NEED to do that. It's the basic call.

But as a Christ-follower, I am challenged to really consider what God is saying to me as an individual and us as a church in the face of a problem so massive, so entrenched, and so complicated that we feel helpless to confront it. To make a difference, to give opportunities for others to have a fulfilling future, means that I must make, we must make significant sacrifice. Sharing whatever I have with those in need is the response of a grateful, thinking heart, and it gives opportunity for a new cycle to begin. We have resources of more than money--we can teach skills, help find jobs, stand against injustice, mentor, help build relationships. I heard a Brazilian pastor say that the greatest thing a person in povertyu needs is friends--friends with resources and contacts, and a willingness to aggressively share.

It's a MASSIVE challenge...poverty has all kinds of evil surrounding it that cause it, fuel it, encourage it. But we can make a difference. When the prophet Daniel prophesied that trouble would come and mammoth enemies would abound, he responded with a great counter-attack: “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do great exploits.” Daniel 11:32

Poverty in Coventry Township is a great enemy, a massive and entrenched evil. It would be a great exploit to attack and conquer it. Sounds like just the job for people who do know their God.

I'm up for it...

Pray for me. Pray with me. Let's go!

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-02T08:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was my father's 88th birthday! 88 years of excellence--well, not actually. Dad told us last night at the family gathering that it was the prayers of his godly parents who brought him home to Jesus at age 28. So, giving him credit for a few excellent years as a child, I would say 60+ years of excellence would be fair. :-)

His father was an amazing man, as well. Godly to the core, and a lay preacher. He led in his community with the strength that only God's anointing and pure living can engender. He and my grandmother shared the Word, earnest prayer, sacrificial giving, and warm-hearted, generous living for nearly 70 years as a couple. My dad was called by God out of that kind of environment.

My dad has been a much-loved, godly pastor, pillar of any community where he has served. Dad and Mom have lived so consistently and sacrificially that they stand among the wonders of the world to me. They made serving Jesus and the people He loves look like the most amazing thing any person could do. From their home, both my brother Dwight and I were called to ministry.

Charlie and I have been in full-time ministry together since 1974. We are far from perfect, but are striving to live consistently, faithfully, and to give God the daily opportunity to love the world through us. To our grateful joy, two of our children are called, one serving full-time in ministry now, and the other workig part-time while on track to ordination. God is so good.

This week a godly Christian leader in the Akron community came to visit me at my office. We discussed the fact that two of my children were working with me. He said, "That is so wonderful--never let anyone make you feel less than proud and delighted about that! Whenever a pastor's home and life is what it is supposed to be, it is likely that at least one of the children will respond to the call of God to serve as a 'priest' to God." It's the principle of the priesthood---the calling of God in the Bible did not remain limited to the tribe of the Levites. When Christ came, anyone could be called to follow and serve. But there was a special responsibility given to the tribe where the priesthood began to hold high the calling and live it attractively and faithfully.

This man told me it is a great gift to have your children follow you in ministry. I believe it. And I am grateful. I am praying that I will live up to my heritage and calling, and that my children and grandchildren will have a clearly marked, wise path to follow.

This HOLY week; my un-whole life...

2009-04-10T07:16:00.002-04:00

Last night was the commemoration of the Passover at Cornerstone. It was a beautiful, moving, thought-provoking service, remembering that night some 2000 years ago when Jesus willingly took on the sins of the world. The whole service grabbed my heart, but my heart nearly stood still as three actors told "their stories", explaining how life would be "were it not for Him."

My heart and mind took a significant detour. Where would I be, were it not for Jesus?

That thought humbles me and brings me to my knees this Good Friday morning.

His sinless HOLY life exchanged for my sinful UNHOLY Life.

His wholeness laid down for my brokenness.

It is staggering, and life-changing.

"Jesus Messiah, Name above All names, Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel.
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven...Jesus Messiah.
Lord of All...all our hope is in you,,,the Light of the World."

I put all my hope in this Rescue 40 years ago. Where would I be without Him? Thank God, I will never know.

BECOMING A GREAT LEADER

2009-04-02T20:05:00.004-04:00

My son JL pointed out in his blog(THE LINCOLN LETTERS)that the BIBLE is a great handbook on leadership, as well as the subjects for which we commonly count on it. He picked a few of the areas where the Book gives great leadership principles. One of my favorites was the word on wise networking.

You may not think so, but the people you surround yourself with say all there is to know about yourself. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs, “A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses." To be a successful leader, you have to surround yourself with like minded, solid people. Jesus was a perfect example of this. He had tons of people who wanted to be close to him, but he made sure that only a select few had access to influence him. Of the thousands that followed him, he had only 12 disciples, and from the he had 3 who were in his inner circle – James, Peter, and John. Jesus made sure he was surrounded by people who would be a benefit to him, not a drag on him.

I am so grateful for the wonderful people who influence my life. Any good I have done or impact I have made is due to the wise people who have surrounded my life. I have made it a life principle to have a "wisdom council" that remains steady throughout my life---it's a small group of people with great wisdom in life and ministry, have experienced the kind of success I want to experience, and know me VERY well...well enough to know when I am skating, skimming, or shying away from something I need to face. They are people with enough courage to tell me the truth, even when they know I won't like it. They are people who love ME and my future with Jesus MORE than they love our friendship, so they are willing to risk our relationship in order to tell me the helpful truth I need to know. I owe them everything.

Watch who you hang with. Your associations can help you or hang you. :-)

Mother Madelaine

2009-03-27T13:38:00.002-04:00

She is just a few years shy of 100. She was helped to the front of the room this morning to share a word at the CUE Conference, calling us to be faithful, aggressive, and effective beacons of Christ's light in the city. This tiny, fragile African-American lady had a voice far stronger than her body led me to anticipate. She is Mother Madelaine Johnson, the grand-daughter of an escaped slave, and heroine in the Free Methodist Church.

Mother Madelaine and her husband Walter (recently gone to heaven) planted 9 different churches in the US and Canada over the years. Her husband was described as one who "showed the Father's heart." Together they were used of God to change thousands of people's destinies.

Mother Madelaine looked at us and called us all "beautiful young people". At 56, that felt pretty good. Then she leaned towards us and said, "My grandfather, an escaped slave, always said to me, 'If I could do it, YOU can do it.' And I say to you. YOU can do it. Don't ever quit. Keep going. YOU are needed in this world."

OK..I am pumped. Ready. This world needs us. ARE YOU IN???

Sad Cities

2009-03-26T12:58:00.003-04:00

According to MSN, "Some U.S. cities were depressed even before the economy went on life support. These were the cities that saw the highest depression and suicide rates even while the Dow Jones was climbing to 14,000 and Countrywide Financial was considered a respected mortgage lender. Why? Blame a variety of reasons, from divorce and crime to lousy weather and job loss. As the rest of the country struggles with the financial crisis, it is possible that some of these cities may soon become even unhappier."

Then, MSN went on to list the 10 unhappiest US Cities...they'll shock you.
1. Portland
2. St. Louis
3. New Orleans
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
6. Jacksonville
7. Las Vegas
8. Nashville-Davidson
9. Cincinnati
10. Atlanta

When you think of the size of these cities, you realize we are talking about a massive number of people with a high degree of sadness. This morning I heard Supt. Paul Walter (Ohio FMC Superintendent) speak about what God said to Jonah about Nineveh. Niniveh would have ranked as one of the Old Testament 10 saddest cities because of the sin, dysfunction, and violence there. God said to the runaway prophet Jonah, "Isn't it right that I should care about what happens to this great city?" It was his heartfelt desire that Jonah would care, too, and would willingly be a tool to help the sad people in the sad, sad city see hope.

I think God feels the same way today about these cities. Do you care? Do I care? Let's pray today for the sad people in sad cities--let's pray for the believers to rise above circumstances, and be lights in a dark place. Pray for churches to care about what matters most, and be beacons of hope. "Is it not right that we should care for these great cities?"

John Maxwell at the Airport

2009-03-21T12:07:00.003-04:00

John Maxwell, leadership guru and author of many books selling over 16 million copies, is an old friend of our family. I have known and respected John C. Maxwell since I was in high school. He is the person most responsible for my wonderful husband’s (of 35 years) salvation, and was a groomsman in our wedding.

Imagine my surprise when I read that John had been arrested an an airport for trying to board a jet with a weapon in his carry-on! A man where John had been speaking gave him the gun as a gift for protection for John's wife Margaret when John travels. John carried it with him for the next couple days and completely forgot about it until a few seconds after he casually laid his bag down on the conveyor belt. Thankfully, our security systems were working well, and despite John's explanation, he was cuffed and arrested, and eventually released on bail. True to form for John, he cooperated fully, took full responsibility for his "Mr. Magoo moment", and paid the piper.

He wrote about his experience on his blog, and many comments have been made. One writer bemoaned the fact that, though John has been "forgiven" by his followers, other people like Ted Haggard (former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals) who was caught and forced to resign over repeated sexual misconduct have been "unforgiven", and made to pay for their sins. Kim says they all deserve equal forgiveness.

Several of the writer's responses are understandable, but I would point out major differences that need to be considered. Ted Haggard’s issue was deliberate, ongoing sin, done by knowing choice. John’s was a stupid mistake, without intent to deceive. I have been very appreciative of Ted Haggard’s contributions in our world, my heart broke at his fall, and I pray for his complete restoration. He has long been forgiven by me. Ted and John both are due our forgiveness. But restoration to leadership is a different matter. A stupid, careless mistake clearly has different ramifications with God and with people than does a chosen pathway of sin. It is irresponsible and lacks wise love to the leader himself/herself and to the people who follow to equate all actions in their impact, and want the consequences to be the same. Mr. Haggard needs and deserves for the Body of Christ to love him, forgive him, walk with him–and withhold leadership from him until such a time as capable people are able to say that the issues that caused his very public sin and fall are resolved in a way that minimizes the chance of further heartbreak for him, his family, and anyone who follows him. That’s not a lack of forgiveness–that is Christ-like love at it’s best.

As for John? Maybe we should pay his tuition for a memory improvement course. His heart and his lifestyle are right on; his memory was bad.

Even so, he made no excuses, acknowledged it, and stepped up to pay the price for his failure. That is always what is at the the heart of true, godly repentance, whether it is for deliberate, chosen sin, or a unintentional mistake.

March Madness

2009-03-14T06:10:00.003-04:00

Yep, it's that time again...the time when all the basketball lovers in my family (that would be just about everyone)are even more hyped up than usual about the game and their teams. The other night in that incredible 6 over-timer, the yelling in the living room into the wee hours was so persistent and loud that I pretty much knew what was going on even though I was "sleeping" on the other side of the wall.

I've picked up alot about the game over the years. I'm certainly no ESPN whiz, but a few things have really stuck to me because they are so true in the game, so true in life.

--It's a team sport. Doesn't matter how good one person is, without a supporting cast, no one wins. The starters can't do it without a solid bench.
--Starters often don't play the whole game.
--Assists are as important as points. The guy getting it IN the basket generally needs alot of significant help getting it there.
--The basics are more essential than flash.
--It ain't over till it's over. Don't quit too early.
--The story of the game can't be told just by the scoreboard.
--The winners win first at practice.
--The desire to win is important; the desire to prepare is even more important.

OK...gotta go. The game is about to start.

And that's three! :-)

2009-03-06T19:39:00.005-05:00

It seems like just a month or two ago we found out I was pregnant with Rachel--she'll be 30 this month. So, for 30 years we have been praying for our birth children, and also the 3 we wouldn't know until Rachel, Zachary, and Jacob chose them and brought them into our lives. It's amazing, the bond God creates between you and a person you don't know yet when you pray for them since YOUR child was born. That's what has been happening in our lives the last few years. We have prayed earnestly for God's hand to be on the beautiful people our children would marry, and would hold them close to His heart, keep them pure, and help them know Him deeply. As of tonight, it looks like those prayers have been answered for the third time.

Tonight Jacob, our youngest, asked Jessica (his girlfriend of 2 years) to marry him. To no one's surprise,she gave him an exuberant "yes!" So, now we know who all of our six children are. And we love them all dearly. God has answered our prayers in His usual over-the-top way.

It's been really fun to see how they all have done it. Zack, middle child and the most "social" of our 3, popped the question first to his highschool sweetheart Amanda White. He asked her father's permission and blessing (in fear and trembling :-) about a month prior to the Cavs game where he asked her to marry him. They are very sports-minded (they go to a Red Sox game at the "Green Monsta" every year), so this was a fitting scenario. He attached the ring to a lotto parachute and told her she could have whatever they won. When she looked at the ticket and began screaming as she saw the ring, he asked her to be his forever love in marriage. They have been married for 4 years in April, and gave us little Skylar this year.

Rachel married Aron Carpenter in November '08. Aron is a great guy, and both he and Rachel kind of "fly under the radar"...they keep things quiet and private till they are ready for news to be public. So,after dating over a year, Aron asked me about styles of rings I thought Rachel would like (my clue something was about to happen :-). He officially asked Charlie for Rachel's hand in marriage, and for his blessing the first week of July. When he went to pick up Rachel for a July 4th all family Bar-BQ, he delighted her by dropping to one knee, ring in hand, and very romantically proposed. Then they came to the party where we welcomed them to the music of GOING TO THE CHAPEL.

Jessica Harold and JL went to high school together at Coventry, though they didn't meet until one SNL service at Cornerstone after her family had been attending for about a year. They have been great friends and then an official couple for 2 years.
JL works at Cornerstone, and tonight he prepared the sanctuary with candlelight and memories. He surprised her (she thought he had to go on to turn off the projection system :-)by saying something like, "We met in this room, we have grown in Jesus together in this room, and I hope that we will celebrate our marriage together with friends and family in this room. So (now on one knee) I want to ask you in this room: will you be my wife? will you marry me?" And she said yes. :-)

So...we are so thankful to all 3 families for sharing Amanda, Aron, and Jessica with us. They are all 3 wonderful young people with Jesus at the center of their hearts. Prayer matters. It really, really does.

"I 'll Pray For You"

2009-03-06T11:28:00.006-05:00

This morning I was privileged to go to the Summit County Pastors Prayer Breakfast at the Haven of Rest with two dear friends. Pastor Jim Stetler is an associate pastor at Cornerstone Church and one of the leading laymen in Akron in such efforts. Shirley Chuchu is the energy behind much of the Bible Reading that goes on for 90 straight hours the first week in May, and is the push behind getting pastors and churches involved. I was proud to be with them.

It was great to be in a concert of prayer, asking God first of all to set a fire for prayer in the hearts of pastors. And then I received a very special blessing. Hank Richards, a Catholic lay leader who was there (I have met him in other settings because he is a close friend to Pastor Jim and we have worked on projects together)unexpectedly prayed for me. When I thanked him, he said with candor, "Oh, I pray for you every single day."

That blew me away. The thought that someone I don't see often was lifting me to Jesus on a daily basis meant so very much to me, and I was humbly aware that Hank is responsible for much of the blessings and protection that come my way. Then it occured to me that I might be the only one praying for some of the people God brings to my mind. To have someone for whom to pray is a tremendous privilege and huge responsibiltiy. I want to live up to it.

"I'll be praying for you." What an amazing gift to get. What an incredible gift to give.

More Money Thoughts

2009-03-02T16:13:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we talked about money at church--actually had quite a bit of fun with it! I just read this today, and wanted to share it with you. Some pretty profund thoughts for any of us, especially in financial crisis.

During one of the most volatile periods of the current economic crisis—a week in which global stock markets declined by $7 trillion—Philip Yancey received a call from an editor at Time magazine. The editor's question was simple: "How should a person pray during a crisis like this?" Here is a summary of what Yancey shared in response:

The first stage is simple, an instinctive cry: "Help!" For someone who faces a job cut or health crisis or watches retirement savings wither away, prayer offers a way to voice fear and anxiety. I have learned to resist the tendency to edit my prayers so that they sound sophisticated and mature. I believe God wants us to come exactly as we are, no matter how childlike we may feel. A God aware of every sparrow that falls surely knows the impact of scary financial times on frail human beings. …

If I pray with the intent to listen as well as talk, I can enter into a second stage, that of meditation and reflection. Okay, my life savings has virtually disappeared. What can I learn from this seeming catastrophe? … A time of crisis presents a good opportunity to identify the foundation on which I construct my life. If I place my ultimate trust in financial security or in the government's ability to solve my problems, I will surely watch the basement flood and the walls crumble.

A friend from Chicago, Bill Leslie, used to say that the Bible asks three main questions about money: (1) How did you get it? (Legally and justly or exploitatively?); (2) What are you doing with it? (Indulging in luxuries or helping the needy?); and (3) What is it doing to you? Some of Jesus' most trenchant parables and sayings go straight to the heart of that last question. …

The same week that global wealth shrank by $7 trillion, Zimbabwe's inflation rate hit a record 231 million percent. In other words, if you had saved $1 million Zimbabwean dollars by Monday, on Tuesday it was worth $158. This sobering fact leads me to the third and most difficult stage of prayer in crisis: I need God's help in taking my eyes off my own problems in order to look with compassion on the truly desperate. …

What a testimony it would be if, in 2009, Christians resolved to increase their giving to build houses for the poor, combat AIDS in Africa, and announce kingdom values to a decadent, celebrity-driven culture. Such a response defies all logic and common sense — unless, of course, we take seriously the moral of Jesus' simple tale about building houses on a sure foundation. (Christianity Today)

Hate Mail

2009-02-28T16:34:00.002-05:00

So, I have been preparing for this Sunday's theme at Cornerstone, what THE BOOK says about MONEY. One of the books I read as additional commentary was Dave Ramsey's TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER. I was taken back at the start of his book. He says, "I get alot of hate mail and criticism. This book has generated alot of negativity and name-calling." What??? Are you serious? A HUGE financial success writes a book, tells the unvarnished truth about the steps he took to get there, offers his wisdom for the simple price of the book, and people HATE HIM FOR IT? Geez Louise. But that's our general culture for you. One would think that the advice of someone who has succeeded where I have not would be valued and welcomed. The tendency in most of us is not so simple and grateful, however. We get attached to a goal we want regardless, a behavior we want to continue anyhow, a relationship we want to obtain whatever the cost--even spending we don't want to discontinue. So, when someone who has been successful in an area where we have not yet gives us advice that runs agianst what we have already decided to do, we reject the advice and often even THEM. But, as Jesus said (recorded in Luke 7:35), "Wisdom is proved right by all her children." Dave doesn't need the applause of the hate-mailers or even to answer them. Time will show (and is showing) who has the goods and is wise.

Dave actually gave some good advice when any of us get "hate mail" and name-calling. He says, "...the negativity means two things: for some people we are touching a nerve that needs to be touched in order for them to change their lives, and two, I am actively and passionately pursuing the truth. Aristotle once said, 'To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. ' I can't help people change their lives by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. So I take the anger, the criticism, and even the hate mail as encouragement."

That speaks to me in two ways: First, don't be personally defensive when I get advice that goes against my grain and desires. Second, when I am on the giving end of a message someone doesn't want to hear, don't be surprised and quit when people don't want to hear it. The old proverb "Don't kill the messenger" was written because of this human tendency. But wisdom is proved. Time will tell. Please put wise people in my path, and help me listen, Lord.

Water for the World

2009-02-26T12:03:00.006-05:00

One of my passions for the last few years has been providing clean, safe water for desperately needy locations around the world. Following a sermon I preached in June, 2007, our church picked up the challenge, and CLEAR BLUE GLOBAL WATER PROJECT was founded. It's quite a story to tell what God has done...many other people have joined with us, and 60+ water projects have been completed in almost a dozen nations since then! Right now, a couple of guys from Cornerstone are in Uganda, drilling a well there. Here is the source of water for these refugees until now!

World Water Day is fast approaching...March 22. Our church has posted 3 billboards around the Akron area. What are YOU going to do?? Check out our website at clearblueproject.com for ideas and more information. You could download a label, put it on an empty water bottle, and let people help you fill it with change at work or school. You know how creative you are. :-) You can think of something.

Decisions, decisions!

2009-02-25T08:49:00.001-05:00

My friend Debbie Ring posted this on her facebook---I have applied these tests in my own life, and whenever i do, the result is great!

7 Questions For Decisions I’m Trying To Make..

1.) Is it consistent with the word? Psalm 119:11 (treasure the word)2.) Is this a wise decision? If I do it what are the future consequences of it? As I ask questions the Holy Spirit is going to bear witness to me. (Satan will make me rationalize)3.) Can I honestly ask God to enable me to do this? (Example: money you need asap/ trickiness – purposely hurt someone to get what you want.)4.) Do I have a genuine peace about this? Galatians 3:15 You can not force peace – it can be his will, but not his time.5.) Does this fit who I am in Christ? 6.) Does this fit Gods overall plan for my life?7.) If I make it will it honor God? Actions and attitudes keeping in line? Don’t let satan trick me! God will make the answers crystal clear, I have the almighty God on my side!Now that I know His will, am I willing to do it? May not be popular, may be criticized. You can not loose if your in His will. Obey and watch it work!! He makes it simple, we make it complex.~Charles Stanley

Precious Memories

2009-02-23T21:45:00.005-05:00

Jerricho's name means "walls come down." He sure could make that happen. With his sly smile and infectious personality, he was hard to resist, even if you WANTED to keep your distance. He provided me a one of a kind experience. A couple of years ago after he gave his heart to Jesus and began following Him to the best of his ability, Jerricho wanted to be baptized. Pastor Jim, who was baptizing with me, is "vertically challenged" like me. We have a hard time not getting completely soaked on a normal baptismal night. But THIS night when Jerricho gave his public witness, boy, what a witness! To congregational applause and laughter, he cannon-balled right into the pool! The water splashed well past our faces, and my hair was nearly as wet as at my own baptismal :-) Every year after that, Jerricho wanted a repeat performance. It's hard for me to believe Jerricho is face-to-face with Jesus now. His impulsive immaturity was captivating--but it took him from us far too soon. I am so glad for God's promises. Some day, Heaven. Till then, God's presence, and precious memories.

Despair and Freedom

2009-02-21T22:25:00.002-05:00

This week my niece Jennifer posted this blog after we lost a precious young friend to apparent suicide. The truth she shares in telling her own story is so good, i wanted to share it with you.

So I got some really tough news tonight. A good friend of mine lost her 13 yr old. son tonight to suicide. For me it is always really to lose anyone that is young but especially to Satan and his demons. It hits hard to my heart due to my own circumstances. I was raised in a Christian home, I was at church all the time, and I went to a Christian School. So here's my story: In my Sophomore year of high school I went into a deep, deep depression and I stayed at that state for the next 4 years. I have almost no memories of that time because my main goal was to one not let anyone see past the mask that I put on because I knew that if any one saw the "real" me they would know what was going on and two was pray that God would take me to Heaven to rescue me from my pain. If you knew me you would have no idea of the pain that I was in. I can remember every road and intersection that I would pray that God would have someone have a heart attack and would hit my car and kill me because I knew that I wasn't sinning if I was killed by someone else. I know that every time I wanted to die that it was really Satan who was trying to take me down. I amazingly was able to fool so many people for quite a while until I started to mess up in life. In October of 2000 I had been in counseling for a couple of months and was told that I needed to go through Freedom in Christ (which is the most amazing thing ever).So the night of my FIC appointment I had already known that I was in a depression but it had not hit me fully until this night. I remember as I was going through I was physically feeling lighter, so that night I spent the night where I had my appointment since it was late and I had to be at church the next day. The next day at church my mom kept asking me how I had slept the previous night and truthfully it was the best night sleep I have ever had. Well, after getting asked over and over, I finally told my mom that she had to tell me what was going on. So here is the most amazing part of my whole story. After I had gone to sleep the people that were in the house were wakened up by hearing my name being screamed. So they woke up and came running to where I was thinking that something was happening to me. The closer they got to me the louder the voice was and the voice was yelling "JENNIFER" over and over and over. I never woke up that is the most amazing part was that as soon as my mom told me that I knew that God was telling me that HE was in the hole that Satan had used to come in and where a demon had attached itself to me. How awesome is that God made sure that I knew that HE had filled all the cracks and was saying to me "You are my child and I'm not giving you back."Unfortunately too many people don't get the message that God can fill the cracks in your life before it's too late. I heard someone say once that it is Satan's job to watch us and learn about us completely. He does his job well but God does his better. I am no where close to being the person that God wants me to be but I'm on my way and I have learned that there are things that I have to be careful of because that is an area that Satan can take really easy for me. But God is bigger, better, and greater.

My point in sharing this is that God has a great plan for your life--Satan has one, too. You can defeat Satan and get on track with God, and Freedom in Christ is a great tool to help you. If you want information about it, just let me know.

Now that's a Love Story!

2009-02-13T06:22:00.003-05:00

Back in my college days, GONE WITH THE WIND was my absolute favorite love story. I wrote a sequel in my head long before Hollywood got to it. Tom and Jan Amblin were college students thene, too, at Ohio Christian Univeristy (good old CBC) when Charlie and I were there. Young marrieds, full of anticipation and joy in life as they prepared for a great life and ministry together. When Charlie and I went to dinner last Monday evening where we were retreat speakers, I never dreamed of seeing them at all, let alone peeking in on an incredible love story. Tom and Jan came into dinner that evening, looking spruced up and lovely, Tom strong and walking, pushing the wheelcahir where Jan reclined, small and fragile. I was so shocked I made no comment on her condition until much later. Every time we had an interchange with them, their deep love splashed on us. They spoke of their missionary service together, laughed about events in current life at the church where Tom is associate pastor. Sparkling, they told of their children and grandchildren, Tom with quick flowing words and Jan with slow sentences and great effort. At dinner, his meal cooled as he fed her. Liquid love flowed from one set of eyes to the other as he served her, she encouraged him.

I got the courage to finally ask, "Jan, how long have you been ill like this?" With a simple little smile she whispered, "Twenty-six years." TWENY-SIX YEARS????? Twenty-Six YEARS????
26 years??? Unbelievable. Can you imagine not only experiencing this yourself for 26 years, but making such a challenging relationship THRIVE for 26 years? Adding pastoral responsibilties on top of it, and even serving on a mission field? INCREDIBLE. Then Tom spoke, "Her spirit and intercession make her the most valuable partner I could have." There's a list of the greatest love story movies of all time http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaafitoplista.htm, and I can tell you--GONE WITH THE WIND, CASABLANCA, Dr. ZHIVAGO, PRETTY WOMAN--none of them can hold a candle to the real life gripping emotion and servant-hearted love of Tom and Jan.

In my counseling, I deal with people every day who decide that miniscule frustrations and difficulties in their relationship make it too difficult to pursue or cherish any more. How amazingly insightful that is. Diffiulties we face in keeping our covenant of love to our life partner generanally say more about us and the state of our own hearts than anything else.

Love is a moment by moment decision to value and pursue the well-being of another person above consideration of my own wants and needs. I saw it in Tom and Jan. Now that's a love story. Rhett and Scarlett, you are imposters in the love business. Move over for a couple of REAL lovers.

Logs on the Fire

2009-02-11T13:52:00.001-05:00

When Charlie and I got engaged as college seniors, we took Psalm 37:1-6 as our life verses. They have meant so much to me in a variety of ways over the years, but this morning as I participated in the devotional time at the Leadership Team meeting for the Ohio Conference this morning, God spoke to me in a fresh way.
1Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Though we generally associate “fret” with worry, a study of the original word is quite different. It has to do with being angry and frustrated. God is telling me not to allow frustration with people who have done wrong to dominate my life, thoughts, and attitude. The word actually means “fueling the fire”…throwing another log on the fire or disappointment and frustration that keeps it going. I know what that means, don’t you? You hear something new about a situation that has already pained you, and instead of dismissing it, you rehearse all the ways you have been wronged, and add this new incident to the list. I may even think “God has shorted me—I have been wronged, and that person is getting away with it!” If I stay there, I can discover before too long that my frustration is fueling my life more than my vision.

I need to recognize that God will deal with people who deal with me, and not be jealous or envious of how he allows others to operate. He says the solution for life involves 3 steps—1) Trust in the Lord and do good 2) Find delight in what delights God 3) Commit my way completely to the Lord.

Paul Walter, the leader who presented the devotional , shared his paraphrase of the famous and often quoted verse 4, “If I want for my life what God wants for my life, I will never be disappointed.” Wow! That puts it all in proper perspective, and keeps me from” throwing more logs on the fire” of my frustration. I need to do like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane---present my heartfelt desires to the Lord, then from my heart say, “But—the bottom line is, I want what YOU want for my life.”

Help me live this way today, Jesus---fret free.

The Great Emancipator

2009-02-08T19:57:00.003-05:00

Last night Charlie and I went to GOSPEL MEETS SYMPHONY at EJ Thomas. The packed out 16th annual event was in honor of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, coming up February 12. And you thought I was old! :-) Charlie and I have long been collectors of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, and huge admirers of his courage and integrity. We are huge music lovers, and so the night was guaranteed to be a great success just with those ingredients . But, we got there and got to sit with John and Bonnie (John's the great sax player at Cornerstone) and our friend from church Barb Salak had a solo (way to go, Barb!) All good stuff! The greatest of all was hearing and watching the true symphony woven from two kinds of music--classical and gospel--and the harmony of African-American and caucasian musicians worshiping together.

Every now and then something happens to show me how little I still know. After THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER was sung and we were seated, majestic notes began and a wave of people began standing again. I didn't know why, but when everyone else was standing, I figured I would , too, and find out why later. I googled it and found out. The beautiful song for which we stood was called LIFT YOUR VOICES, and has been known as THE NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM. It was oringinally written in 1899 by James Weldon Johnson for a celebration of Lincoln's birth. The inspiring words lift me. Thank God--we aren't where we ought to be, we aren't where we will be, but PRAISE GOD! We aren't where we were!:

Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod,Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,God of our silent tears,Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light,Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,May we forever stand.
True to our GOD,True to our native land.

Amen. Let it be so.

Real love :-)

2009-02-06T13:41:00.003-05:00

This is our Shiba Inu dog Spike. He has gone through serious grief since my mother-in-law Audra left us for heaven last fall. She was his guardian angel, always sneaking him treats, responding to his little paws on her leg, and making sure no one took advantage of him. He spent weeks laying by her door after her stroke took her to the nursing home. He is so persistent and adorable that I have gradually accepted that it is my lot to take her place. :-) He is my special little friend. He can't talk, but there's never a doubt how he loves me. I don't even have to give him a treat; he just wants to be where I am. On a day like today when I am working from home, he finds me wherever I am and just lays at my feet. Presence is what he wants. And you know what? I have discovered I really like it, too.

I think that's what real love is about--you get contentment and what you need in large measure just by being with the other one. I want to love Jesus that much--I think he would be so pleased if he could sense I just want to be with him, instead of looking for something from him. That would be a treat for both of us. Just relaxing in the Presence.

A Father's Ethical Legacy

2009-02-06T11:31:00.002-05:00

I was finishing my haircut while the stylist beside me prepared to leave and begin arrangements for her father's calling hours and memorial service. I commented on the hard loss of a parent, and she replied, "Yes--and my father was amazing." She held out a small booklet and said, "Would you like to look at what he wrote about himslef and his life?"

While there was not time for me to read the entire book, I was fascinated and intrigued by what he wrote, and what prompted a man in his eighties to chronicle the wonderful events and thoughts I found in those pages. And then I found it. He explained himself. He said a number of years ago he heard a speaker challenge people to "leave an ethical legacy, by life and by word." This speaker said that people should record for their children and succeeding generations a clear record of how they lived, what they believed, and why.

What a wonderful idea! What a wonderful man! If you want to read about him, his family summarized a very full life eloquently in the Akron Beacon Journal. You can find his obituary under R. Wayne Duff at http://www.legacy.com/ohio/Obituaries.asp?Page=SearchResults.

How about you? I want to live a life so amazingly clean, attractive, and inspiring that people will wonder what was behind it all. For the answers I want to make sure they understand, I needto get writing.

A leader and criticism

2009-02-06T07:21:00.003-05:00

You don't have to be in charge of a group of people very long until you realize that there are many opinions and much criticism for leaders, and much of it is leveled without even knowing the truth about a situation. A godly leader is charged with the responsibility of knowing when to "blow someone's cover" when they have shared an untruth or made inaccurate criticisms, and when to be quiet and let God handle it. I found these thoughts from a man under fire to be very thought-provoking and honest.

“I have two principles that guide my decisions as a father, a husband and a pastor. … Principle One: Do the right thing, for the right reason, even at my own hurt. Principle Two: Say what you mean and mean what you say. These two principles were put to the test this past week as I navigated the media frenzy surrounding the new allegations involving our church. I have told several close friends this week that it is really hurtful to be criticized so strongly for simply doing the right thing. I actually believe it is easier to accept criticism after doing something wrong. If that were the case, I would stand before my family, my church and the media and simply accept the responsibility and the consequences. But when no wrong act has been committed, it hurts to be misunderstood or questioned. … When my integrity is questioned, I try not to be defensive but I also want truth. In the end, I know God sees my heart and ultimately He is my judge. I trust my reputation into His hands and believe that He will ultimately defend me. … These two principles are big leadership ideas that I hope are adopted by everyone in a position of influence or authority. It is a sacred responsibility to lead people and I consider it an honor to be called pastor. —New Life Church senior pastor Brady Boyd, blogging after a week in which he and his church’s leadership were criticized for concealing certain details involved in the Ted Haggard scandal [newlifeblogs.com, 1/30/09]

Catching Up with God and people

2009-01-10T09:01:00.005-05:00

WOW!!!! I can't believe it has been so long since I wrote. I MUST do better. I have been so busy..not only did I become a grandmother, my daughter got marrried in a pretty big deal November 1, my mother-in-law Audra went to heaven on November 5, and then came all the holidays with the family and church events and extra work that accompany them.

But, God has been very, very plain about a new paths in my life. And I am on it. :-) He has promised that obedience to him brings his unique presence and power. So I am working with him.

I am as susceptible to losing it as anyone else....I work hard to keep my passion alive and well. Here are a few things that help me...if you need a boost as the year begins, you might want to try one.

DELIBERATELY GO SOMEPLACE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE WHERE GOD IS WORKING. It could be overseas, a downtown mission, or a ministry that could teach you something. God is so much bigger and doing so much more than what is right in front of my face.

AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, REALLY PUT YOUR FACE AND HANDS IN A PLACE WHERE THERE IS TRUE POVERTY. Did you know that today some moms will have to decide WHICH child to feed???? Getting regular looks at that will get the boredom out of your life.

FAST. I am in the middle of doing that right now. I am the first to admit I don't truly get how God works through that, but he sure does.

WORK ON FRIENDSHIPS WITH SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT CHRIST-FOLLOWERS. Truly knowing and loving people who are lost helps me want to talk to God more and stay close to him.

GIVE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU CAN AFFORD TO. Something about giving breaks the grip of the petty things. Do know why---but it does. ;-)

CRY. God says our tears are precious to him, and they truly are refeshing. When I have a good cry, I feel kinda like a dirty sidewalk that has been refreshed and like dew is sparkling on the dandelions around me---the things that looked like weeds have more beauty once I cry through it with my Father.

READ THE OBITUARIES. Seeing how many people my age and younger didn't get today helps me value each minute more and complain less.

Well....that's it. I leave in a couple of moments to grieve with a family who has lost their mother to death, and to offer them the hope that is in Jesus. Something tells me I'm going to be very encouraged this morning. I hope you will be, too.

Don't Panic!

2008-10-28T07:27:00.002-04:00

Here's some great stuff for this political week from RELEVANT MAGAZINE:

There’s no doubt that the current financial crisis is at the forefront of most people’s minds. Banks are in trouble, homes are being foreclosed on, and the stock market continues to plummet with a savage and single-minded determination. The government has scrambled to stop the bleeding, with both parties tripping over themselves to throw billions of dollars at companies who apparently couldn’t handle their affairs in the first place. Fourty-two billion went to investment giant AIG, who promptly and in good faith used 0,000 of it to send their executives to a five-star resort. After the press brutally raked them over the coals for their conspicuous consumption, the chastened corporation took their executives on a hunting trip to England.

In the midst of this absolute mess, it’s very easy for the common person to panic. After all, with companies in flames all around us, the corporations that drive our economy grossly mismanaged to the point of catastrophe, can our jobs or livelihoods fall far behind? However, there is a powerful message in all this, if we choose to learn it. Jesus puts it in perspective for us in Matthew 6.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:25-33, TNIV)
Our first reaction to a response like this is to think it trite. After all, we don’t need tired Christian catch-alls right now. We need pragmatism. We need action! I wonder why it is, though, that faith in God’s providence seems impractical to us? In our modern, Western society, it’s easy to look at the words Jesus spoke here and dismiss them as a lot of nice and idealistic talk. Yet, what Jesus is telling us is far more than the necessity of relying on God. He’s pointing out all the things we rely on instead.
As Christians, we are supposed to be a set-apart and peculiar people. We seem to have diminished that concept to a list of action-based do’s and don’ts while still accepting part and parcel the world’s attitudes and priorities. How different are we really when it comes to our concerns over money and material desires? Where does our faith run off to when the company we work for starts handing out pink slips? Either the message Jesus spoke here is true both in times of abundance and want, or it is never true at all.
We have a very particular opportunity before us. As the world pulls out its collective hair watching global markets fall farther and farther, we can exhibit a peace and faith that befuddles those around us. We can show the world that we truly believe that God will supply our needs, even when we don’t see it happening. Even when we have misconceptions about what our true needs are.
There’s another element to all this. For those of the world who are deeply affected by this economic downturn, we can be a light by helping to supply their needs. Can you imagine the impact it would have on the world if the body of Christ suddenly came to the financial aid of those who have lost their jobs? How many volumes of God’s love could we speak by stepping up to help pay the mortgage of our neighbors facing foreclosure? This global panic could be remembered as a time when Christians put the Gospel in action and reached out to help the downtrodden, or it can be remembered as a time when they panicked along with everyone else. The choice is ours.
Democrat or Republican, we should be able to agree that the answer to our problems is not a government bailout. The answer is a steadfast reliance on God’s provision. Even when everything around us looks grim, and our very livelihoods are threatened, we can rest assured that God is more concerned with our needs than we are. Let us be a people who fundamentally believe the promises Jesus made. Not as a pious platitude, but as a pragmatic reality.
Author: Adam Smith

I'm a Grandma!!

2008-10-16T00:10:00.004-04:00

Yes---I have joined the Grandma Club--and it is everything it is cracked up to be! I have been a card-carrying "Gramma" for about 72 hours, and I love it! They brought her home on Tuesday afternoon, and their previous baby, Big Ole Brutus, was fascinated to say the least. :-)

Next, Rachel gets married November 1....2008 has been a challenging year, but it is concluding with much joy. God's Word says, "Weeping may last for the night-time, but joy comes in the morning!" We are so thankful for the strength God has given, and for the blessings he sends our way.

Roads in Romania

2008-09-08T12:43:00.003-04:00

It is my last night in Romania...I left home exactly one week ago tomorrow, landed in Budapest, Hungary and spent a day there. Then, Carol Tatman and I traveled with Paula Dunn, FM missionary to Romania, on a train to the city of Arad where the Dunns serve.

Bceause internet time is very scarce for me here, I haven't gotten to blog--but I will when I get home, and add some super pictures. Just let me warn you--my heart has been stretched way beyond it's normal borders. I will never feel the same about Europe again. I have a new place and new people in my heart.

And our great God wants them all to come home..

Oh, what a beautiful mornin!

2008-08-20T06:53:00.003-04:00

This morning at 5:45 the kids whispered me awake and we headed for the beach to catch the North Carolina sunrise. One lone lady was there besides us. I reflected with her, "Last night the beach road was packed with thousands trying to buy a memory at a putt-putt course, the movies, one of the undreds of souvenier shops, or a restauarant. The best is right here for free!" A smile lit up her face and she exclaimed, "Isn't that the truth?? Isn't that the truth!!!"

The best things in life truly are free.

They require effort, but they are free.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

country wisdom

2008-08-19T07:35:00.003-04:00

We're on vacation!! On the long ride down here, we were alone in the car. That was a new experience! Charlie and I recalled many other similar trips, but most of those had 3 other characters in the mix! We have many great memories of vacation trips with kids creating all sorts of comedy, tragedy--general drama. :-) We remembered the southern style restaurant that was our traditional half-way treat--"Po' Folks". It featured checker boards on barrels on the expansive country porch, a player-piano swinging with country music just inside the door, and waitresses with fascinating southern drawls. One of my favorite trademarks was the placemat with pungent and pointed homefolk wisdom. There I got one of the best pieces of relational advice you'll ever hear. "Never rassle with pigs--you'll both get dirty, and they'll like it." :-) Hard to follow sometimes, but always wise.

AMAZING GOD! AMAZING PEOPLE!

2008-08-01T10:02:00.003-04:00

The LEAP is an incredible time here at Cornerstone-- (Check out the LEAP button on our website at cornerstonefmc.org)we try to outdo ourselves in serving our community in the name of Christ, and wow! We aren't even at the culmination of the week, and we have far outpaced anything we have ever done already! And all of this on the heels of giving over $30,000 for clean, safe water around the world through CLEAR BLUE WATER PROJECT, adopted a couple of dozen international children through International Child Care Ministries, and supported SEEDS ministry to villages around the world by over $1000 in just the month of June. You'll be wowed when we finally publish the results of our Summer Serve.

A couple of Sundays we took our WHEATIES BOXES home and determined to be true champions by eating the breakfgast of champions--having a time each morning where we remind ourselves and the Fatherm "Here I am--I have come to do your will, O God." The stories I am hearing of what has been happening as you surrender yourselves to God to do that is NOTHING short of miraculous!!!

But it hasn't been without struggle. These are not just easy days. For instance, one of our volunteers yesterday was working in a woman's yard when the lady died. This morning, another faithful gal who has been working many hours in the clothes give-away woke up with the re-occurence of a very troubling health situation, and she had to leave for an immediate doctor's appointment. In the middle of serving, there are always difficulties. But it's how we respond in the middle of those situations that ultimately determine the long-term good of our service. Just this morning, I read this from Joe Beckler at VOLUNTER CENTRAL:
Church leadership for me is a fun opportunity to walk alongside other believers as they learn and experience God. This requires a sense of being present and serving. I realize, as a leader, that eyes are on me. What I do does count. If I can’t lead in the tough situations, I certainly can’t expect others to follow.
I once asked a respected mentor to give me advice on leadership models. He responded with a brief but profound statement. I should follow Jesus’ leadership style, he explained. Not thinking it through on a serious level at the time, I felt like saying, “Duh!” But he was right. While on earth, Jesus, the servant-leader, reflected an in-the-trenches style of leading. Jesus explained, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). I think we underestimate what Jesus meant. He is telling us that God’s style is to serve. Instead of saying, “Sorry, I don’t do sick people” or “Nope, washing feet doesn’t work for me, I’m above that,” Jesus said, “I came to serve.” He was ready to walk alongside humanity. He got His hands dirty.
The power and mystery of Christ is found in His willingness to walk with us in the midst of everything! In the same way, as we lead, our only model is the servant-leader model of Jesus. Why did Jesus choose to live and lead as a servant? He was showing us something brilliant about His kingdom, as well as how He envisioned leadership within His church. We are to serve one another and to walk with each other through thick and thin.
We're doing that for each other--we're all going to be blessed, and in it, bless the world. What an amazing God! What amazing people!

Be Sure, Your Sin Will Find You Out

2008-07-19T20:56:00.004-04:00

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 19) - Two weeks after Joshua Lipton was charged in a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a woman, the 20-year-old college junior attended a Halloween party dressed as a prisoner. Pictures from the party showed him in a black-and-white striped shirt and an orange jumpsuit labeled "Jail Bird."

In the age of the Internet, it might not be hard to guess what happened to those pictures: Someone posted them on the social networking site Facebook. And that offered remarkable evidence for Jay Sullivan, the prosecutor handling Lipton's drunken-driving case.

Sullivan used the pictures to paint Lipton as an unrepentant partier who lived it up while his victim recovered in the hospital. A judge agreed, calling the pictures depraved when sentencing Lipton to two years in prison.

That news story brought a Bible verse I had memorized as a child rushing back to my mind: "You can be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23 Memorizing that verse was intended to help us remember that an all-seeing, all-knowing God is aware of the things we do--even the things we are sure we "got away with." Getting away with sin is actually an impossibility. Though it may seem for the moment that we have lucked out, and our unrepentant hearts even may find a way to trivialize and laugh at our sin, God's social network is WWWAAAAAYYYY bigger than the Internet. Our unconfessed, unrepented sins will catch up with us some way, some day.

For Joshua Lipton and for you and me, the answer is not to hide, trivialize, minimize, or rationalize our sin. The only smart thing to do is to follow the advice of Solomon, the wise man who wrote , "He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13 The ONLY thing to do with our sins is to own up to them, ask forgiveness, and DROP THEM.

Makin' Whoopee!!

2008-07-08T08:25:00.006-04:00

Last night was alot of fun. My mother-in-law (we call her Grams :-) ) had a major stroke on May 12, and is a patient at Pebble Creek Nursing Home. A dear friend, Julianne Burgess, had surprised Grams with a hair appointment. She has always been a stylish lady, caring very much about the finer details of personal grooming. Her nails were still scraggly and in need of care. Another close friend, Sunhee Starkey, visited her buddy and took nail care tools with her to freshen Mom up! Between Julianne's thoughtfulness and the pampering Sunhee gave her, she felt like a new woman. Her grandson J.L. was there as well, blowing on her cheeks and making her laugh. Finally, she was so excited that all she could do, since she has lost her ability to speak, was crow with joy! We all were joining with her as she made long, drawn-out "whoopee" noises---"whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Then, we'd just dissolve in laughter.

This month at Cornerstone Church we are concentrating on living out I John 3:18--"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." It's our LEAP, when we "leap" into our community with acts of love and service. I just witnessed an Olympic worthy leap of love from these people who cared for Grams. Anyone can talk alot about love, but getting in there and doing something practical for another person for no reward but the reward of doing what is right and good and loving is a God-kind of love.

As much as I loved what was happening for Grams, I couldn't help but feel a sense of deep sadness for the many people I see everytime I visit, sitting alone, lacking attention and friendship day after lonely day. Maybe you would want to leap into some elderly person's life with love this month? You can sign up at the church or check it out on the website http://www.cornerstonefmc.org/ ....there are teams of people going to nursing homes and doing many other wonderful acts of service. Maybe you could set something up yourself. And MAYBE, just maybe it would be just the push you need to make the leap into a lifestyle of serving in love.

Thanks, Julianne, J.L., and Sunhee...you make the kind of "whooopee!" the whole world needs a lot more of.

Lookin' Good

2008-06-28T22:15:00.006-04:00

Grass is grass, right? Mmmmmmmmmmm...not really. See, from the road, our yard doesn't look any different from our neighbor's lawn. I mean, her yard looks green, our yard looks green. She mows her yard, we mow our yard. We don't let our grass get wild and out of control; she doesn't let her's get out of control. Yeah, from the road, we look really similar.

But a close up look tells a different story. In reality, a whole bunch of what we mow is weeds. Our "grass" actually is green, but a close inspection shows that the impression of lush, soft, and healthy grass is just that---an impression. We're about equal parts weeds and grass--we just mow the weeds and grass down equally, and behead the dandelions as they come.

Our neighbor can't handle that. She wants her lawn to actually be beautiful green grass. So she works on it almost religiously. Certainly faithfully. She even pays a team to come in and spray and make sure that her yard is the real deal. It costs her in time and money. Karen's reward? Her yard not only looks good from a distance, but it's delightful up close, too. It can even stand up under the evaluation of bare feet! Yeah, no disappointment there---what it looks like from a distance is what it actually is up close.

I've been thinking--it's fairly easy to look good in most of life with a quick mow and a little distance. You know, don't deal with the dandelions--just whack their heads off for the day. But can my "impressions" stand up to close ups? Or, is a closer inspection of my life usually disappointing? Real success in lawns and life is when the closer you get, the better it looks. John Maxwell says, "True success is when the people who know you the best respect and believe in you the most."

Hmmmmmmmm.

The story the closet tells

2008-06-24T09:55:00.005-04:00

My mother went to heaven on May 29th. Like all of us, she went without a suitcase or even a purse, so all of her earthly possessions were left here. It was her great desire for all of her clothes to be put to good use as soon as possible, so Dad asked my sister and I to come down yesterday and sort her things. Funny the story a simple closet can tell.

This is what her closet told me yesterday. Take care of what you have. It's a gift from God, and careful use will help you represent God and yourself well. Be thrifty. You can look good and be appropriate without big brand names, and sometimes God will surprise you with a designer find at a thrift store. :-) Clean it and fix it before you put it away. You can be ready at a moment's notice if you take care of things as they come up. Enough is enough. You can only wear one outfit and one pair of shoes at a time. Reason and stewardship says there's a place to stop--I don't need it just because I can afford it. Simple memories are precious. Mother chose the dress she wore to my brother J's and sister-in-law Cathy's wedding almost 20 years ago for the "going-away" outfit she was buried in. The dresses she wore to the other 3 family weddings were treasures draped in plastic. HER wedding dress was not there. After 50 years, she had gotten rid of the simple white suit she wore, but her sentimental heart still had it's treasures. In a little box were 6 decorated buttons with this note, "The buttons from my wedding dress." Thinking ahead saves time. She had written little notes to herself and attached them to some of the clothes, saying, "Can wear this with the green slacks and scarf."

One job is left from the closet, and that's going through several small boxes on a bottom shelf. Just by a quick count, I saw one box had more than 20 prayer journals Mom had filled with her own careful handwriting. Just about then, it seemed to me the closet started singing. It sounded like this:
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone, and our children sift through all we've left behind, May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover, become the light that leads them to the road we each must find! Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful! May the fire of our devotion light their way! May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe, and the lives we live inspire them to obey! Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful! (steve green)

What Happened??????

2008-06-17T13:32:00.004-04:00

A movie came out a few years ago starring Bruce Willis--I loved it. Russ Duritz, a wealthy L.A. image consultant nearing 40, is cynical, dogless, chickless, estranged from his father, and he has no memories of his childhood. One night he surprises an intruder, who turns out to be a kid, almost 8 years old. There's something oddly familiar about the chubby lad, whose name is Rusty. The boy's identity sparks a journey into Russ's past that the two of them take. The improbable premise is that Rusty is Russ--back when he still had dreams and a heart. When Rusty realizes that he actually has become this hard, unfeeling, "dogless, chickless" man, he queries in bewilderment, "What happened???"

Sometimes I get a similar response in my heart. I see people who once came to Christ for salvation. They began with hopes and dreams of a super serving life, a fabulous marriage, a contributing life--and now a few years down the road, they have crashed and burned. They haven't grown--in fact, they aren't even the people they were when they first made that commitment to Christ. They are wwwaaayyy off track. I ask myself the same question everyone else is asking about them, "What happened??"

I think I know the answer. A little girl fell out of bed one night. The next morning she explained her fall like this to her mother. "I guess I stayed too close to where I got in." That's the explanation for many of our lives, the explanation behind our failures and falls, and for the major mess-ups we make of our lives. We aren't moving closer to Jesus. We're sticking really close to where we got in.

Joining a church??

2008-06-12T21:50:00.005-04:00

“I tell our new members: you don’t join a preacher, you join the church. And you join the church for one reason—because you believe that God told you to plant your life there. If you join because of a style of preaching, that can change. If you join for the facilities or the programs, that can change. You’ve got to ask, ‘Where does God want me to invest my life?’ We don’t welcome spectators.”—Dan Yeary, pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church, attended by presidential candidate John McCain. The quotation comes from an interview with The Christian Century magazine. [religionblog.dallasnews.com, 6/9/08]

So what do you think of that? That's the kind of talking that gets a pastor criticized. But it's true. Churches are not intended to compete for "attenders", seeing who can put on the best show each week. Churches are intended to have a compelling vision, and Christ-followers are intended to identify with a church and it's mission. When you find a mission that is worth the investment of your life, you stay there--even if the music changes, the carpet changes, or little things happen that aren't your favorite. You see yourself as investing your one and only life in something that matters for eternity, and doing it with others who are as committed as you are. It's like committing to marriage--it's something you give your life to.

July marks the 30th year I have been part of Cornerstone. I believe in our mission and vision. I plan to be here, making a successful pass of a vital, relevant faith to new generations by helping them find the Father, a Family, and a Fulfilling Future for a long time to come. My heart is completely bonded to the core of people who are making this investment with me, despite the changes, despite the occasional things we disagree about. We DO agree about the mission--and that keeps us on this team. I love you guys. What we're doing really matters.

An Officer and a Gentleman

2008-06-05T18:15:00.003-04:00

The last week ended a season of life for me. My mother died. Want to meet a REALLY great woman? You can read about her at http://obit.smithfuneral.com/obitdisplay.html?id=547398&listing=Current I could go on and on about her. She's the most amazing pray-er I have ever known. If there's anything like Jesus you see in me, she's a major reason. The tribute I wrote to her life gives some details on that.

But today I'm thinking about Dad. The phrase, "an officer and a gentleman", describes a military standard to which leaders are to aspire. It was popularized by the movie of the same name, starring Richard Gere. My dad gave me a super example of what it really truly means to be a courageous soldier, a leader, and a gentleman through and through, under the most trying emotional moments of his life.

When my mother--his constant companion, best friend, spiritual comrade, and love of his life—left this life, they were married just 2 weeks short of 58 years. Their relationship had to be exactly what God had in mind when He planned the one-flesh scenario for marriage. Though on her behalf, he is celebrating her safe arrival in heaven, on his end of things, he is as broken-hearted as a man can be. He and Mom made it their rule of life to out-serve each other, and it didn't take her illness to show his colors. He served her with courtliness, sacrifice, humor, gentlemanliness, and the utmost respect all 58 years. Her cancer diagnosis only showcased his tender strength. Dad was with her in every difficult moment, praying, believing, encouraging, laughing--sleeping beside her bed every single night, insisting on taking every burden off her shoulders he possibly could. He didn't "baby" her, though; he saw her as a fully capable partner, one who really was God's premiere tool in making him who he is.

So sending her on before him to heaven was heartwrenching to him. But he was a soldier. Through her calling hours and her memorial service, Dad's focus was still outward--not on himself. He wanted people to know what a great God we serve, what an amazing woman Mother was, and to not focus on him. He prayed for God to help him keep his emotions in check so no one would let pity for him distract them from those main messages . 87 years old, and he stood at the casket the entire two days without breaks, thanking and greeting more than 1200 guests. Here's a moment for you--two friends of mine came through the line to share their sympathy. When Dad discovered that they were believers who were currently divorced from each other, but now were friends, he said, "Let me pray for you right now." He prayed intimately and urgently for God to "rekindle the love that once burned brightly" and to restore their marriage. He hugged them, and urged them to invite him to their wedding when God had done His work. Then he was back to greeting other guests.

When it was time for the fanily to tell Mom our last good-byes, he asked us all to precede him, because he wanted to be the last one to kiss the most beautiful person he had ever known. Oh, yeah---he's an officer and a gentleman. I salute you, Dad. You're my hero.