36 Years Ago

Today Kathy and I are celebrating 36 wonderful years of marriage. The big event on the weekend of our wedding 36 years ago was the resignation of President Richard Nixon on our rehearsal evening and then his leaving the White House with his family on the day of our wedding. There are a lot of highlights that are vivid memories, but there is also a lot of time in which I do not recollect much. This kind of reminds of the story of the two retired guys who are talking and one says to the other, "I couldn't help but notice that you call your wife 'sweety', 'baby doll', 'sugar', and other romantic names. How have you kept that much romance in your marriage all these years? The other guy turns to him and says, 'actually, I forgot her name about 10 years ago and I've been too embarrassed to ask her what it is."

Well, for us, it's not that bad. We have many wonderful memories that we recall. We've been so blessed. One of the biggest blessings has been our unified desire to serve God full time, anywhere, anytime. We've had some great adventures, and both of us have seen our experiences as adventures in helping to build God's kingdoms. We've had the blessing of raising six children, three birth children that are now grown and all involved in full time ministry, and three teenagers still at home that bring both great joy and present interesting challenges. We look back at some great ministry successes and people that we've had the pleasure of mentoring and guiding into successful ministry and other careers.

As I think about today, however, I think the greatest blessing for me is the love that Kathy and I share. I love her so much. She is my best friend and confidant. I love her laugh, and the way she brightens up a room. Of the two of us, she is the "people person" and I enjoy watching her be with people. I love the fact that after we've been with a group of people I get to go home with her. 36 years is a lot, particularly in our present society, but for us it is another signpost on a lifetime commitment that we agreed to, just about at this time, 36 years ago. Now we're older, hopefully wiser, and ready for the next adventure, together.

Shouts of Joy, the Sound of Weeping

In the book of Ezra there is an interesting account in chapter 3. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.


It is no secret that there is a clash of culture in churches today. With many churches having 5 generations of people, the cultural likes and dislikes are enormous. In Ezra's day, the temple was being rebuilt after God had allowed its destruction after nationwide disobedience and turning away from God. In the midst of the celebration because the foundation had been laid, the older priest, Levites and family heads wept because they remembered what the temple had been like. They realized while it would be a wonderful thing to have the temple rebuilt, it would never be like it was.

Today, in the US, church attendance is down overall. The only place it is increasing is in mega churches and churches that are engaging younger attenders, largely tailoring their church services and programming to accomodate today's consumer mentality. The clash goes far beyond musical style (hymns versus contemporary songs, choirs and orchestras versus small "worship teams"). It goes to length of services, the shorter the better; offer less programming, people are too busy to do much at church; the way a church looks, don't offend anyone by making the church look like a church, make it look like a big box store. Make sure you use plenty of theatrical lighting, maybe some haze, kick the decibels up and make people feel like they are at a concert.

In the end, people will come to faith in Christ because they see something in us that makes sense for their own lives. Even in the busyness of life, people want to belong. They want genuine friends that add to the quality of their lives and their families. Maybe our church services should simply be the place where we encounter God, in whatever cultural form it takes, and then we design times and ways for people to connect. Church culture has an interesting way of cycling, in fact, some church life watchers think the cycle away from the present wave has already started. Take a look around the next time you are at a church service. Maybe in the midst of the celebration shouting you will hear some weeping.

Election Observations From One Precinct

I spent Tuesday from 5AM until 7:30PM in the 437th Missouri precinct. I have served in this precinct for 5 elections as an assistant supervisor. My job is to assist voters use the digital touch machines and feed their paper ballots in a scanner/reader. Because my polling location is in a senior living center, we have a lot of seniors come down and vote. Many of them need a lot of assistance, and I have always looked forward to this interaction. Partly it is because this is a way for me to give back to my community and to provide real help to people who want to exercise their right to vote. Another part of it is that I hope that my kindness to these seniors is the same kind of kindness that people in Raleigh, NC show my parents who are of this same age group.

I noticed something interesting yesterday. Because this was a primary election, some offices had several candidates. Between national, state and local candidates and two measures, the digital ballot was 5 pages long. In many cases, the only thing these elderly voters wanted to vote on was Proposition C, this was a statewide measure that essentially boiled down to a Missouri rejection of the recently passed national health care reform. I could sense fear, anger and confusion as senior after senior expressed their displeasure with the overall health care situation. The other interesting thing was it didn't seem to matter if they were a Democrat or Republican voter.

During the day, on election day in November 2008, there was an overall sense of optimism and looking forward. I think voters believed that regardless of who they were voting for, things were on the upswing. Sadly, I saw none of that yesterday. Oh God, your word tells us to honor those in positions of authority over us. Help us to pray for our leaders, and Lord, help us to go about your business of telling the good news of your gospel so that people's lives are changed and renewed. We know that true change will only occur as you are involved in our lives as individuals and in our nation.

With Their Wives, Children and Little Ones

The July 27th God Sightings reading is from 2nd Chronicles 19:1-20:37. God Sightings is the One Year Bible our church is reading through this year. In chapter 20 a "vast army is coming against you from Edom,". Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, is one of the few kings who honors God. He calls on the name of the Lord before the people. He ends this public call with these words. "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." Verse 13 says, "All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones stood there before the Lord."

What a wonderful picture, a king, responsible for all the people, and fathers and husbands with their families, standing before the Lord, acknowledging their powerlessness and lack of plans. Have you ever been here? No power to defeat an enemy...poor health, financial reversals, broken relationships...and no plan. But what happens? Even in our desperate situation, we try to fix the problem. We try everything we can think of, sometimes making it worse. Finally, when all of our "plans" are exhausted, we turn our eyes upon God.

Next time you are in a desperate place, gather your wife or husband, grab your children and pick up your little ones. Tell Him, "we have no power to face this (insert desperate situation) that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

So what happened? Verse 24 says, "When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground, no one had escaped." The story goes on to say that it took 3 days for the men of Judah to carry away all the plunder. They didn't have to lift a finger, God fought the battle for them. Now, where is Kathy and the kids? 

An Impressive Ministry

I just returned from spending three days with with Josh & Kelly (my second oldest son and his wife) in Pompano Beach, Florida. They are field directors with OneHope, a ministry that has distributed millions and millions of copies of the Book of Hope around the world. They also show the God Man video. Millions of children and adults have come to know Christ because of OneHope's ministry. Josh and Kelly are home for a few days of R&R after leading interns and teams of young people non-stop since January. For the past month they have been conducting soccer camps in South Africa in conjunction with the World Cup tournament in South Africa.

This morning, before I drove to the airport, they gave me a tour of The Forum, the headquarters for OneHope. The Forum houses offices, residences, auditoriums and a variety of rooms and meeting places. Besides their own ministry, several churches meet in The Forum as well as many groups and other ministries. Part of the ministry of OneHope is to partner with other ministries and provide resources, including the building, to help them. They also sponsor a team of young people who minister in a nearby neighborhood that has one of the highest crime rates in the city, along with being an extremely poor area. It was a joy to meet many of the people who work there. People totally given to world wide missions. What an exciting place to be. On all the walls there were stories of changed lives, people and cities reached for Christ through their ministry. There were also pictures of children who received milestone copies of the Book of Hope. The most current one I saw was a picture of a child with the 600 millionth copy, and that was two years ago. David and Barbara Green, founders and owners of the Hobby Lobby stores are major sponsors of OneHope. In fact, The Forum is dedicated to the memory of David Green's mother.

It is an amazing thing to see a fully developed ministry that began as an idea in the mind of one man, Bob Hoskins, inspired by the Holy Spirit and very obviously blessed by God. I am so proud of Josh and Kelly, totally sold out to God and serving him by sharing the gospel in a foreign country. They are in good hands with OneHope, and OneHope is fortunate to have them.

This May Sound Boring To You

I just spent the week at the annual National Association of Church Business Administrator's conference in Orlando, Florida. I always thoroughly enjoy this week and come home with some great information and ideas that I can immediately put to use. 3 years ago I made an insurance contact that saved our church enough money to pay for this conference for 4 years. This year I didn't come up with that kind of contact, but I do have some needed information about expanding the use of our church management system, using our computer network better, and a great information about how Obamacare will affect our church.

Now I must admit, this conference must be similar to a computer technicians conference. It is kind of  geeky with a church administrator twist. I spent the week with several Assemblies of God administrators. Most of them are from churches that are quite a bit larger than ours. The thing that stood out to me is that we all love our churches (people) dearly, and would do anything to see God move among our people in a marvelous way. Even though we are responsible for the management and financial well being of the church, seeing God move in people's lives is way more important. One of my good friends, David Wagner, from Orange, Texas is from a church that has had an ongoing revival for at least two years. Some of the stories he tells of transformed lives is amazing. Another friend from Renton, Washington shared with me about the hundreds of new people coming to their church, and so many of them coming to the Lord for the first time. Another friend from Tulsa, Oklahoma told me about their new senior pastor and his passion for new converts. They had less than 5 people saved in the past 15 years. In the year that their new pastor has been at their church, they are averaging 5-7 people come to Christ every single Sunday.

Even though we are the number crunchers, the building supervisors and church managers, there is a spiritual depth and hunger that is so refreshing. I'm praying that next year I can sit with my administrator buddies and say "let me tell you about WCAG..."

This Weather Is Amazing

A lot of the country is experiencing a blistering heatwave. Here in St. Louis, it's heat combined with humidity. The temperature today was 94 here in Ballwin where we live, but the heat index pushed it up to 105. There is a heat advisory for tomorrow, more of the same.

I watched parts of the Cardinals - Dodgers baseball game. It was an afternoon game. Everyone looked miserable, the players, the umpires, the fans. I was even miserable and I was inside. The AC unit in our house is original to our 30 year old house. With the combination of heat and humidity, it doesn't get below 80 degrees inside until later in the evening. The irony of it all is that yesterday I had a meeting to work on a Christmas script. It's a little hard to think of winter and Christmas in this weather. Although, I must admit, it wasn't that long ago that we were complaining about the cold and hoping that spring was around the corner. I guess we're all funny that way, when its hot-wishing for cold, and when its freezing-hoping for warmth.

Being content means adapting to the circumstances and doing the things we need to do, regardless of our environment. Last Tuesday I worked about 3 hours in my backyard. When I came in, every inch of the clothes I was wearing was wet with sweat. Not just damp, yucky wet. I kept trying to find someone to hug in the house but everyone kept running away from me. After I had showered and cooled down, I was glad for the work I had done, regardless of the weather. Content... Fall will be here before long, football games will be played, leaves will start to turn yellow and red and one nippy evening I'll smell the first fire of the season in one of my neighbor's fireplace. Until then, bring on the heat.

Like Father, Like Son

On Father's day I wrote a blog about my dad, actually for my dad. For the past several years he has had a lot of difficulty with his hearing and it is almost impossible to communicate much beyond a greeting. I wanted him to read my thoughts about him. I've also been thinking a lot about him because he is having some serious health problems. Yesterday I caught myself doing something that I must have picked up by observation, or maybe it's built into my genes. I picked up a magazine and started reading it from the back to the front. Why would I do that? Because that's how my dad reads a magazine. I have found myself doing this over and over again. I have never asked him why he does that. Why do I? Another interesting thing that has stuck with me for my entire life is the idea of not littering. From as early as I can remember, my dad always told me, "use the trash can". "If you have a gum wrapper to throw away, and there isn't a trash can nearby, put it in your pocket and throw it away later." To this day, I cannot roll down my car window and throw anything out, even a gum wrapper.

Here's another interesting one, when we were driving, and my dad made an unusual driving maneuver, like passing a car on a two lane road, or speeding up to get away from someone, or having a rare moment of road rage, after the incident was over, he would always cough. Guess who else does that? Yup, I have caught myself time and time again coughing after a driving maneuver that was out of the ordinary. I remember my sister Lori, after doing something just like my dad would, telling me in frustration, "I'm just like dad." It must have been something she would have liked to change. In other blogs I've told you about "sweeping the street", "dressing up" and other ways that I have imitated my dad, either because I wanted to or because that is the way it is.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Just like I have imitated my dad in so many ways, good and not so good, how much more do I want to imitate my heavenly Papa. Oh Lord, help me to walk so close to you that I pick up your mannerisms, your character, all the things that you want me to be. May someone say, "he's just like his Dad."

My Bucket List

A fun movie is The Bucket List, featuring actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. In the movie they meet in the hospital, each one finding out they have terminal illnesses. They compose a "bucket list" - things they want to do before they "kick the bucket." Throughout the movie they bring out a page from a yellow legal pad and cross off each event as they complete it. They set off on a world wide adventure of their lives. The movie is worth renting.

In this morning's Bible reading, King David was getting some of the things done in his kingdom that had been desires of his heart. He had wanted to build a temple, but God told him otherwise. He wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, but the first attempt had ended in disaster. In today's reading, David is successful in his attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem and place it in a special tent that he had built. I wonder if David had a bucket list? As you read through the account of his life, it seemed like there were a lot of things he tried to accomplish at the end of his days.

As I thought about this passage of scripture that I had just read, I thought about my own life. I have been a husband for almost 36 years, (August 9th), a father for 34 years, a pastor for 36 years. If my good health continues, I would like to work full time for 8 more years. For the most part, my life has been fairly predictable. So what would be on my bucket list? If I could had the time and resources, what would be at the top of my list. Without a doubt, number one would be to spend some time in Israel. I would love to see the land of the Savior. I would also like to have enough time to spend in a missions project somewhere in the world where my work would have a lasting impact. I would love to spend some time with a struggling congregation, helping them to heal and get back on their feet. Maybe in a small Colorado or Oregon town with a trout stream running through it. I would enjoy going back to Alaska and fishing for salmon or steelhead in one or more of Alaska's majestic rivers. Perhaps flying into the roadless wilderness where few people visit. I would like to record a second piano project, probably a Christmas project.

How about you? Do you have a list? Let's see, I think I have a yellow legal pad somewhere around here...

Hearing the Specific Voice of God

My daily reading this morning was from 1st Chronicles 14. In this chapter there were two accounts of the Philistines coming against David and his troops. Verse nine has the first account; Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, I will hand them over to you." Then, in verse thirteen there is a very interesting exchange between God and David. Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, "Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

Wow, what a wonderful relationship that God would give David such very specific directions in order for David's army to achieve victory. I can't tell you all the times I have longed for God's specific instruction like this. While I have been privileged on many occasions to hear from God, never has it been this specific. Generally God has spoken to me through his Word or in my mind to confirm His Word, or confirm a truth I was trying to apply to my life. Is it possible that we can expect God to speak to us with this kind of detail? I think so, after all, David was a human, like me. While he was called a "man after God's own heart", he was still a man, with weaknesses and sin. But he also knew how to seek forgiveness and how to worship his way to God's heart. "Oh God, help me to come into Your presence in such a way that You are able to speak to me in very specific ways."

One Of Those Milestone Birthdays

Tuesday, July 6th, Kathy celebrated one of those milestone birthdays. She probably doesn't want me to tell which one, but there were two groups of five candles on her cake. In the morning I fixed a brunch for Kathy and our kids. She opened several cards and our gifts. The only thing she had asked for were Barnes & Noble gift cards. She was hoping to get enough on the cards to get a Nook e-book reader. At times, Kathy has trouble holding books because of her battle with fibromyalgia. She thought the Nook would be easier to hold. I had told Kathy that we were having the brunch with our children early in the day so that the two of us could have a birthday dinner by ourselves. I told her we had 6:30 PM reservations. That evening, we left home and made a stop, at a local grocery store bakery to get a cake that I had ordered. I could tell she was a little puzzled. Then we went a little farther and stopped at an Italian market to pick up the salad and pasta that I had ordered. Now she is really confused. Then we drove to one of good friend's home. As we turned the corner onto their street, Kathy proceeded to tell me that our friends were out of town, they had left several days earlier. What she didn't know was that everyone from our small group was at our friend's home. What a fun surprise. Not only was she surprised and got to eat a wonderful Italian meal with good friends, her friends had gone together and purchased a Nook for her. She was quite surprised, and grateful.

It was so much fun to plan this day for my soul mate, my lover, my wife. We have been married for almost 36 years. We have had a wonderful life together and we're looking forward to many more years in the future. The great times have been so much fun and the tough times have only served to cause us to depend on each and our Lord for strength and wisdom. I love to watch Kathy smile and laugh, she did a lot of that on her birthday. Yay...

An Interesting Contrast

On Sunday we went to downtown St. Louis to see the late afternoon airshow and then the fireworks. Since the airshow airplanes used the Mississippi River as a reference point, I walked out on one of the bridges to get a closeup view. From current military planes to WWII planes to old bi-planes, it was a great show.

About halfway through the airshow, I began to notice small birds that were apparently nesting somewhere on the bridge supports. They would fly out from under the bridge and swoop up and down, almost as if they were mimicking the airplanes above them. After a while it almost became comical to many of us as we watched both the planes and the birds. Now, the planes were spectacular, some more than others, but the birds were just as good. :)

The last military plane was a current fighter jet. Its last pass was very low, 50 feet or so off the river. Just before the next bridge, it went straight up and disappeared in a few seconds. What a demonstration of incredible engineering. As everyone turned back to the river after watching the jet, there were the birds, swooping and doing very acrobatic maneuvers. Pretty cool. What a contrast. It reminded me again that while man has created some amazing things, God's creation is far more amazing.

All in all, it was a great night. Later on the fireworks were spectacular. Happy birthday, America!

Heroes

I went to college with a hero. I had several classes in the building that housed criminal and police studies, sociology, military science, etc. It also housed the San Jose State University ROTC program, and there was a room in that area for students to gather. That is where I met Grady Triplett. He was in the ROTC program and headed for a career in the military. Over the couple of years that I knew Grady, we had a lot of lunches together with other students, talked about a multitude of topics and generally had a good time. Jack In the Box was just down one block from this building, so we had many Jumbo Jacks with cheese...

Grady graduated in 1971 and was assigned to a platoon headed for Viet Nam. At this time he was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army. I don't think that Grady ever thought about being a hero, at least we never talked about it. He was a normal college student, eager to graduate and serve his country and to make a career of it. Shortly after arriving in Viet Nam he was shot in the neck by a sniper on August 17, 1972. He probably never even knew what happened.

If you go to the Viet Nam veterans memorial in Washington D.C., you see this incredibly long wall with hundreds of names on each obelisk. When I have had the opportunity to be in our nation's capitol, I have always tried to go to this memorial. I make sure I stop at panel 01W and count down to line 67. His name is there, Grady Thomas Triplett, my friend, and my hero. Even now as I'm writing this, I'm tearing up, 38 years later. Some things you never forget.

On this 4th of July, 2010, we can't forget those who gave the supreme sacrifice for us. Thank you, Grady.

Amazing Stories From the Old Testament

Another great story comes from 2 Kings 4:43-44. Just prior to these verses, the narrative says that the prophet Elisha was meeting with a company of prophets. Must have been a prophets conference. Apparently meals were included in this conference because Elisha was called upon in verse 41 to correct the ingredients in the stew they were having for one of the meals.

In verse 42, the narrative says that twenty loaves of barley bread, along with some heads of new grain were donated for one of the meals. His servant asked, however, "How can I set this before a hundred men?". (apparently the meat & cheese for sandwiches was not donated) Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: 'They will eat and have some left over.'" The narrative ends this story by saying the they ate and had some left over.

And you thought that Jesus was the first one who fed people without there being sufficient food when the meal started... Here is a wonderful response to a need, and one that didn't require anyone to panic, or try to "fix" the situation. While I realize that this was Elisha, one of the greatest men in the Old Testament, we're talking about here, I don't think this story is here just for us to read and think about how great Elisha was. I believe that it is another reminder that God can provide in ways that do not even occur to us. You may be in the middle of a seemingly unsolvable problem. You have exhausted yourself thinking about a way to "fix" it. You've even helped God along in the process by thinking of ways He could solve the problem for you. It's time to rest, and let God be God.

I have a situation like that right now. It even has a time limit attached to it. I am really trying to trust God in this. Any fix that I have come up with will ultimately hurt us, so I have determined I am not going to "fix" this. Oh God, be God in this situation and do the same for readers of this blog that desperately need to trust You today. Help us to stop fixing and start trusting. Amen.

Wouldn't You Like This Recipe

Last Friday my "read the Bible in a year" reading was from 1st Kings 19:1-21. Elijah was running from Ahab and Jezebel. In verse 4, Elijah came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors" Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. Have you ever felt like that? Sometimes going to heaven early seems like a wonderful alternative to dealing with all the issues that seem to come in waves, at times.

But going on, All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. What a great response by God to Elijah's request. Instead of taking his life, like Elijah had asked, God prepares a meal for him that gives him strength for a forty day journey. The scriptures do not mention that Elijah stopped to eat, or rest, but traveled non-stop until he reached Horeb. Boy, would I like to have that recipe. That is the "bread of breads". And speaking of the ultimate "bottled water".

At the height of our frustration, at the point of our giving up, God can move in with an answer and direction that we could not even envision. Elijah wanted to die, God had a grander plan. Elijah would have given up, but when God directed Him to Horeb, Eliajh experienced God's glory. Oh Lord, in the midst of my frustration and panic, help me to hear Your voice. Help me hear Your plan, O God, let me experience Your glory.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Today is Father's Day. Special lunch, cards, gifts, then on to the 4th of July. Sometimes it seems like special days are just interruptions in our daily routine of living life. However, on a day like today, it is good to pause and thank God for our father's and all that they have contributed to our lives.

Most of what my father has taught me has been by example. I learned by observing him living life like it is supposed to be lived, with a little verbal instruction thrown in every once in a while. And, occasionally a little physical instruction that made an impact on my backside as well as in my thinking. I've written before about life lessons that I live out today and have tried to teach my own children. For instance, when my dad taught me how to care for our yard, the last thing you did was sweep the street. That made the yard look finished, and the job complete. Today, I can't mow our lawn and trim without that last step. The greater life lesson was "complete the job, finish the task."

To this day, my 90 year old father looks sharp, hair neat and combed, moustache trimmed. My children always got a kick out of picking my parents up at the airport when they came for a visit because my father always had a shirt and tie and/or a jacket on. They'd ask, "why is grandpa all dressed up?" The life lesson is always look your best, you'll feel better about yourself and people around you will treat you with respect. It just takes a few extra minutes to be the best you can be.

I remember as a child going to an older lady's house nearly every Saturday morning with my dad. He would chop kindling for her wood burning stove. He would make sure she had enough kindling and wood for a week. I never saw him get any pay for that. She wasn't a relative, and to my knowledge, when she passed away, he never received a thank you from any of her relatives. He simply saw a need and filled it. That has been a huge life lesson.

My dad served in WWII, proudly serving his country, and then came home and lived a productive life, raising a family and serving God. I am so thankful for his legacy and teaching. Now for 34 years its been my turn to be a father. Thanks dad for all the instruction, example, and love. Happy Father's Day! I love you.

Yearning For the Glory of God

The definition of yearning is "a deep longing, especially when accompanied by tenderness or sadness."

I have had the privilege of experiencing the glory of God a couple of times in two churches that we've worked in. The first was in central California in the early 70s. For a period of months there was a wonderful sense of God's presence every time we met. People were saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit, healed and transformed. Interestedly, even though we had prayed for this move of God, after a few months it quietly changed. I wonder if God thought we had experienced everything He had intended for us?

The second time was a church we served in Grand Junction, Colorado in the mid 90s. This was at the height of the revival in Pensacola, Florida. Our pastor and several people from the church attended the revival and on their return, a several week move of God began in our church. Sadly, there was so much opposition to what our pastor wanted to see happen, it eventually resulted in him leaving the pastorate of the church. In spite of the opposition, again, peoples lives were changed, people met God in wonderful ways and people met God for the first time. I regret that I did not get a chance to attend any of the Pensacola services. I have always been hungry for a glimpse of the glory of God. There have been times in my life where I know I have seen a bit of His glory, and heard from him directly, but never in a consistent manner.

18 months ago there was a revival going on in Lakeland, Florida. I had almost made up my mind to make a trip there when it was discovered that the evangelist in charge of the revival had made some poor choices and needed to step out of the ministry for a time. Why is it that when it appears like God is allowing up to glimpse His glory, weird and crazy stuff begins to happen? I think the answer is that our battle is not with "flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." I also realize that notoriety of any kind brings pride and a headiness that is hard to resist. Another element is that I think people get so deperate to catch a glimpse of God's glory that humaness gets in the way and funny things get manufactured.

With all that said, I still have a yearning to know the glory of God. Sometimes I am sad that I am not more diligent in seeking God's face. "Oh Lord, help me dream dreams, see visions, be aware of Your glory. Help me to seek Your face. I want to know You."

Writing A Blog Is An Interesting Process

I wrote my first blog post on February 26, 2008. We had just returned from a building project in Mexico and had taken a few hours to visit an orphanage just outside of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Since I can speak Spanish, I spent some time speaking with the founder of the orphanage, Hermana (sister) Josphina. Since Hermana Josephina only speaks Spanish, it was a priceless opportunity to spend time talking with her because none of our group was fluent in Spanish. I posted a picture of us talking that someone took that afternoon.

Today's blog, June 11, 2010, is number 143. I have written on all kinds of topics. I've told you about my family, our church, spiritual issues, political issues, great moments in my life and not so great times. As you have read my writing, you have discovered my spiritual values, my political leanings, my biases and likes and dislikes. It has been interesting to hear your feedback and the enjoyment many of you have received from reading about childhood memories. Many of my core values were formed by my parents who taught me by having conversations with me, and sometimes more importantly, living lives that clearly demonstrated values that are part of me today.

One of the posts that has been the most fun was when I told you that I had lost my chili pepper connection. I posted a picture of the jar. Within a couple of days I had a gift bag of peppers on my desk. This was followed by a case of peppers from the Choir at our church, and then by others of you who found the peppers in several stores in the St. Louis metro area. Since that post, I have never had to by another jar of Embasa guerito peppers. It also told me that a lot of people read my blog.

Lately, I have felt a prompting of the Holy Spirit to write blogs that are helpful to people caught in the uncertainty of the age we live in. I am caught in this uncertainty. We live in an amazing age, with advances in technology at an all time high. And yet, no one seems happy. Well, that will be a blog topic.

If you are a regular reader, thanks for reading. I hope to keep writing things that will keep bringing you back. Blessings...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well, actually it isn't...I just needed a good title. Actually, though, if the lightning bugs would line up in a straight line, it might look like mini-lights outside.

I've been listening to new Christmas music for a couple of weeks. Last night I had a Christmas listening marathon, listening to musicals and individual songs. I spent some time thinking about presenting the timeless story this year again with our Choir, Orchestra, ensembles and drama group. As I read the lyrics of many of these songs, it reminded me again of the wonderful story of Christ's coming that never gets old. When you take some time to meditate on the story, I think the Holy Spirit gives us some insight that makes the story even more personal.

For instance, have you wondered about the task that the angel Gabriel had to carry out? He made the announcement to Mary about the baby that was going to be born by her. Can you imagine his confusion when he thought about his Lord, so vast that the universe could not contain Him, but now small enough to fit in a womb. Hands that formed the universe would now be tiny and almost useless. The creator of language that would have to be taught the words to communicate with His parents. Did Mary know she would be feeding the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? (I wonder if He ever threw cereal on the floor) Do you think Gabriel paced around in indecision as he pondered the message he was to deliver about someone he knew so differently?

I imagine that Gabriel was always fairly close to Jesus as he grew up. Protecting him, watching for danger, making sure that Jesus was well cared for. He may not have totally understood the plan, but he did know the Savior. I imagine that many times a day, perhaps under his breath, Gabriel could be heard singing the words, "Glory to God in the highest."

Enough thinking, back to the next song. I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.

God's Incredible Creation

I am constantly amazed at God's creation. Creation that goes on despite any input from us. Creation that has been in existence from the beginning of time, and will go throughout eternity. The picture on the left is of a plant in the lily family that the former owners of our house planted. It comes up every year, just like clockwork. This year it has four beautiful blooms. Some years it has only had one. I purchased some caladium bulbs this year and planted them in various places. They are the ugliest bulbs you can imagine, but they come up in such a unique way. First a shoot comes up, it thickens and then begins to open. The caladium leaves in the picture have only been open this way for about three days. I have several others in various stages of opening, each one so different. Do you suppose that God took the time to design each plant, each flower, each vegetable? Do you think that the "days" of creation were actually longer time periods in which God took the time to design everything we see in a unique way?

For quite a while, the wallpaper on my work computer has been the Sombrero galaxy. Google "Hubble telescope" and search their site for a picture of it. It is a phenomenal example of one of God's huge creations.

So here we are, just a "vapor" in the span of time. Preoccupied with the economy, our jobs, raising our families, worried about the future, and on and on. And yet in my yard I have a wonderful example of God's word when He said in Matthew 6:28, "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin". The beautiful lily you see above is just there, pointing me to God and His infinite resources, His wonderful presence and His unqualified love for me. Maybe before I check my checking account balance tonight I'll go out and have another look at that lily.

A Wonderful Privilege

Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am. Empty handed but alive in Your hands. Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, in the presence of Your Majesty, Majesty.

I love to lead and play this Michael W. Smith version of the song Majesty. It has a great melody line and beautiful chords. I have the wonderful privilege to be a worship leader, and a piano player. Sometimes I think I can worship better as a pianist than a singer. I am a mediocre singer, at best, but I am so grateful for the gift of playing the piano. For those of you who are not musicians, there are different ways of playing an instrument, and proficiency has nothing to do with it. Some musicians never get beyond the mechanical technique of playing. Others can only play with music in front of them and are limited to what the printed music allows them to play. I believe God gave me the gift of interpreting the printed music in a creative way that expresses worship in both a very personal way as well as shared with an entire congregation. One of the absolute joys of the past eight years has been to creatively worship with my friend, Jonathan Gathman. He is one of most creative musicians I have ever known. At times, the blending of his improvising on his cello and my piano playing would surprise us. There were times when we were playing for the prayer time at the conclusion of our Sunday evening service, that we would be stunned by the music that we produced. I really believe that the Holy Spirit anointed us in a manner that produced music that was beyond our ability to arrange or devise on our own. Sadly, that service doesn't exist anymore, so that opportunity does not exist any longer.

Worshipping God in playing is such a wonderful privilege. Thank you, Lord, for parents who sacrificed to give me piano lessons. Thank you as well for a teacher who taught me to improvise early on in my learning to play. Thank you West County Assembly of God for the opportunity to let me lead you in worship, and to play for you, and Him.

First Time Out With a "New To Us" Boat

Our family had an unexpected blessing last Thanksgiving. When we were celebrating Thanksgiving with my family in Columbus, Ohio, my brother-in-law, Terry Hedlund, asked me if would like to have their boat that was docked at Lake of the Ozarks. Terry and Lila (my sister) and my parents were preparing to move to Raleigh, North Carolina. They were preparing to sell their two Columbus homes and their Lake of the Ozarks home. Since the boat was on a lift dock to keep it out of the water, it did not have a trailer. After the holidays, I began a flurry of research to determine where the best place would be to buy a trailer. I found out the the Internet is an incredible place to do research and quickly got up to speed on trailers, price, size, features, etc. In April I traveled to Lebanon, Missouri, and purchased a brand new "last year's model" trailer for an amazing price. Then on May 3rd, Shawn and I met Terry at Lake of the Ozarks and took possession of the boat. We became the proud owners of a 1998 18' Bayliner Capri. We tried to remember everything that Terry told us about it. However, after today's "first outing", it is obvious we didn't remember it all.

We decided to go close to home. The Mississippi River, the Alton Pool, to be exact. I picked a state park with a free launch ramp andwe headed out. As we arrived at the launch ramp, we discovered that it did not any docks attached. This meant we had to start the boat and drive it off the trailer. Shawn tried his best, but he couldn't get it started. I had to crawl over the bow and into the boat to get it started. After a few tense moments, we finally got it going, put it in reverse and moved away from the launch ramp. With people waiting, it seemed like hours, but hopefully it was only a few minutes. Later as we were navigating down the river we decided to explore what looked like a lagoon. Just as we got to the mouth of the lagoon the boat suddenly came to a very sudden stop. Oops, we had found a sandbar. After several tense minutes (I think boats and tense go together), we finally got off the sand bar, only to discover that part of our propeller became a souvenir of this trip. Later we found a log, going 20 miles and hour, and decided maybe we should call it a day. After successfully getting the trailer down the ramp, Sam did his best, but he couldn't get the boat on the trailer. I got to wade into the water, attach the winch strap and winch the 2,000 pound boat onto the trailer. I think people were cheering when we finally pulled away, or was that people happy that they could use the ramp now. All in all, not too bad. We learned a lot. Now, back to the Internet to find out how much a new propeller costs. I don't think Walmart carries them...

A Future Marine

Shawn is our youngest. Last night he graduated from the eighth grade. I took him to school this morning to attend an 8th grade day at Six Flags and realized that this was the last time I would drive a student that lived in our house to middle school. Shawn is excited to attend high school. He is determined to get the highest GPA possible. He also has determined that when he graduates from high school, he is going enlist in the Marines. Here his plan has a couple of options. Last night he was suggesting that maybe he would make the Marines a career and attend college in midlife to train for a second career in law enforcement. He has also talked about getting out of the Marines after the initial commitment and going to college to train for a law enforcement career. Shawn is determined, he has been that way since being very little. When he focuses on a goal, he usually meets it. Very early he expressed his likes and dislikes. He always likes to do well, but not necessarily in front of a group. He is very athletic, but sometimes shy in being seen participating in a sport. Shawn has expressed an interest in trying out for football as a freshman. I hope he does it. He'll do well.

Shawn had a tough start as an infant. He was born addicted to a couple of drugs. Kathy held Shawn almost non-stop for two weeks as his little body cleared itself of the drugs. When we expressed an interest in adopting Shawn, the social services department of the county we lived in made sure we knew all of the possible problems that would likely come as Shawn grew up. After hearing all the disclosures, you would have thought we were buying land in a nuclear disposal site. We dedicated him to God and have prayed him through his 14 years. Most of the problems Shawn could have had, never surfaced. Shawn has great plans and we're praying that God will help him achieve them. Next stop, high school. Go Shawn...

Graduation - Part 2

As I mentioned in yesterday's graduation blog, Nicole is an adopted daughter. The amazing thing about foster children and adopted children is that, for us as parents, they become just like birth children immediately. The biggest difference is that foster children that we had in our home over the years needed a lot of prayer, love and care. Most of them had issues that required medical or therapy care. Many of them came to us in terrible shape. It's probably a good thing that we never kept track of the time Kathy and I (mostly Kathy) spent in doctor's offices, labs, traveling time, gas used, etc. If we knew in advance what it would cost in time, money, etc., we might not have been so giving. Nicole captured our hearts immediately. We nicknamed her ET, because she had such big eyes and a big forehead. As you can see to the left, our ET has become a beautiful young lady.

One Sunday, when she was 2 or 3, we had special guests at our church. They had a ministry to abused children. They told some stories of rescuing children from horrible situations. After one very sad story, I thought to myself, "I know Nicole had a rough start, but nothing like this." Almost immediately, the Holy Spirit whispered in my mind, "you rescued Nicole from a life that would have been much worse than this." When I consider her difficult start in life, and where she might have been, I can understand the special bond that I have with my Nicoletta. (my nickname for her)

Now she off to college in the fall. Our prayers will take on a different focus as she prepares for the future as a young adult. It is so great to see God at work in our children and I am so thankful to be a front row observer. These 18 years have flown by and the next 4 will too. God is faithful and I can't wait to see His creativity at work in Nicole's life in the years to come.

Graduation - Part 1

We celebrated another milestone for the Salazar family last night. Nicole graduated from high school. Nicole came into our lives as a foster baby almost 18 years ago. She was a premie, with severe birth problems, but today she graduated as a beautiful, smart and personable young lady with a wonderful future ahead of her. One of my earliest memories of time spent with Nicole will always be firmly planted in the front of my mind. I took on the responsibility of putting Nicole to bed at night, usually by holding her and giving her a bottle. Many nights during her first winter in our home, I would take her downstairs into our living room, turn up the gas logs and enjoy some quiet time as she went to sleep. (sometimes we'd both go to sleep) Many nights I would pray over her. Since she was a foster child, we had no idea how long we would have her, or where she might go. What we did know was that her mother was a 14 year old runaway that was running from the law. We did not know who her father was, and to this day he is unknown. The only person that seemed to care about her was her maternal grandmother who was trying to get custody of her. One night as I was praying for her, I agonized over the fact that Nicole did not have a father. Suddenly it seemed like the Holy Spirit stopped my prayer and whispered in my mind, "you are her father, you have taken responsibility for this baby and you are her father." At this moment I also realized a tremendous sense of God's love for me, Abba Father, "Daddy", embracing us both and helping me realize that God loved us both with an overwhelming love.

18 years later, I truly am Nicole's father. After 18 months of contentious legal manuvering, a Colorado family court decided that none of Nicole's blood relatives had passed a home study. Since she had been with us for so long, we could not put her back in the foster system and we started adoption proceedings. Last night as I watched her walk across the stage to receive her diploma, I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving to our Father, who had allowed me to be her father. Tomorrow I'll relate another story that showed me how much God loves us all.

Scary Moments - Raising Teenagers

Last Saturday night I was talking to my son Sam via our cell phones. Nicole and I were picking him up from a friend's house, but when we arrived at the friend's house, he wasn't there. He was in the middle of telling me that he and his friends were on the way when his voice stopped. At first I thought the call had dropped, but I could hear background noise, and then I heard a teenage girl screaming. She was saying "he's unconscious, he's unconscious, wake up, wake him up". I could also hear Sam in the background saying "where's my phone, I lost my phone". At this point, Sam's phone disconnected. I tried calling him back, and didn't get an answer. While I was trying to call him, a call came in from a number I didn't recognize. The voice mail was Sam, crying, telling me he had lost his phone and to call him back. Then I realized what was going on. Sam and his friends had been in a car accident while I was on the phone with him.

I quickly called him back, made sure he told me he was okay, got his location and we drove as fast as I dared. When we got to the accident scene, the entire 4 lane street was blocked off and there were 2 firetrucks, 3 ambulances and a host of police cars. Sam's friend, the driver, was so wedged into the front seat that the firemen had to cut the top of his classic Camero off. As I stood with Sam and watched, I thanked God that it appeared that everyone was okay. It was a little disconcerting to see all the gurneys they had out. Sam had some minor lacerations on his forehead from windshield glass, but that was about it. It seems weird to me that after seeing how much damage was done to the car, I didn't hear the impact over the phone. What happened was that in mid-sentence, Sam's phone flew out of his hand during the impact and landed under the driver. He could hear me calling his name, but in the immediate confusion he couldn't find his phone.

Several hours later, (all four teenagers were taken by ambulance to the hospital), we left St. John's Emergency room. Cuts were bandaged, x-rays taken, instructions and best wishes given. We called Kathy to tell her we were on the way home. What a blessing to say "we're on the way home." Anything different than that would have had terrible consequences. "Thank you God, for your protection, and love. Where would we be without You?" Sam was shaken, and sore for a couple of days, but he's okay. "Thank you, Lord."

Russell Has Seen Better Days

I have a very funny daughter. One of the funny things about her are her names for everything. Last year when Josh and Kelly left for South Africa, he left his 1992 Honda Prelude for Nicole. She promptly named the car Russell. So instead of referring to "the Honda, or Prelude, or Nicole's car", it is "Russell".

Monday was a sad day. Nicole was turning a corner in a busy intersection and the traffic suddenly came to a sudden stop. Unfortunately, she and Russell didn't stop in time and Russell came to a stop underneath an SUV. As you can see in the picture, Russell didn't do so well. We had hoped that Nicole could drive this car to college next year. She'll be commuting about 20 miles one way to school. But, since Russell is 18 years old, has 234,000 miles on it, plus other health difficulties, we only had liability coverage on him. The SUV had a few paint scrapes. To add injury to insult, Nicole was driving Russell on Wednesday and his hood flew off. Fortunately, it landed on Russell's windshield and not on top of someones car.

So, our 18 year old, almost high school graduate, (I'll be blogging about that in a couple of weeks) gets to trust God for another car. Russell will probably sold for parts and won't bring much money. It will be an interesting time to now put God's promises into action that we and our church have been teaching Nicole all her life. If indeed our God is Jehovah Jireh, what does that mean for an 18 year old making one of life's biggest transitions? We'll see, I'll keep you posted.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5,1862. While not an "obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, it is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla, and in the United States. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico. In the United States, many people mistakenly think Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Indepence Day.

Tomorrow may be a very interesting day in the Southwest. The new Arizona immigration law has stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition. The sad thing to me is that Arizona wouldn't have had to deal with this if the federal government had simply enforced the laws already on the books. As a Hispanic male who faced some prejudice in my teens and early 20s, I find it interesting that Al Sharpton and other non-latino, racial issue, lighting rods are in the Southwest commenting and spreading misinformation. In my opinion, these are uninvited pot stirrers who need to stick to their own issues. Regardless, this is just another opportunity for many to say ugly things, throw rocks and other objects, and make law abiding latinos look bad. Shouts of Si Se Puede, Yes We Can, are so misplaced. Yes We Can what? Believe misinformation? Not find out what is going on for ourselves? Be led around "by the nose" by agitators who's main agenda is agitating?

So how does a Christian, conservative, latino man celebrate Cinco de Mayo? 1) Pray for Arizona and the people who are so divided over the issues. 2) Try and be a conduit in any conversation of correct information. (I believe that the root of the problem here, like in so many volatile issues, is that people do not take the time to really find out what truth is) 3) Pray for a return of civility in this country. 4) Go to my favorite Mexican market for a bowl of menudo.

God's Love In Action

Yesterday I wrote about the escalating meanness in America. I am a full blooded Latino, of Spanish extraction. I am proud of my heritage and proud to be an American citizen. While I don't know anything about my ancestors that immigrated to this country, several generations of Salazars have lived in this country and made positive contributions. I hate the racial overtones that are dominating the situation in Arizona. We have made so many strides forward, I don't want to go back.

In the 1950s there was a migrant worker program in the US called the Bracero program. It actually started in 1947 and ended in 1964. Workers from Mexico, largely agricultural workers, were allowed to come to the US and work for a period of time. I remember going with my grandparents to some of the farms and ranches around San Jose, California to visit with Braceros in the evening. My grandparents shared the Gospel, took clothes and other necessities, and I remember my grandmother talking with some of the ladies, perhaps comforting them because they were away from their children. My grandfather had pioneered a Spanish speaking Assemblies of God church by this time, and other church members joined them on their trips to the Bracero camps. There were not any ulterior motives here, none of them would join the church, they wouldn't contribute any offerings, they wouldn't bring other people into the church, this was ministry, pure ministry.

While this took place over 50 years ago, this is a memory that is vividly etched in my mind. I can still still see the little huts where the Braceros slept. I can almost smell the smoke from the fires that burned in 55 gallon drums for warmth, and I remember my grandfather walking from hut to hut telling the men that we were there and asking them to gather together. The farmers and ranchers welcomed the ministry because they saw the changes that occured in the Braceros lives as they committed themselves to the Lord. Who knows the impact of these changed lives as they went home to their families and communities? What I know, is, that I saw God's love in action. We really need to see more of that today. Oh God, help us to engage the meaness in our country with Your love.

This Is A Mean Time In America

This has really become a mean time in America. People are angry about health care, the Tea Party movement, a new law in Arizona, the rising cost of living, the uncertainty of the future, and the list goes on and on. People are disgusted with all the various levels of government and aren't afraid to voice their opinion. Charges of "racism" are being tossed back and forth and today I heard a call by a national leader for people in Arizona to defy the new law. Wasn't this presidential administration going to be the one to unify us? What happened to "Yes We Can"?

Even Christian leaders are being swept into the chaos. Franklin Graham was "dis invited" from a Pentagon Prayer Breakfast because of some of his comments regarding Muslims. News of the Schuller family squabbles and the near financial collapse of the Crystal Cathedral grab headlines. Where are the Christian voices proclaiming peace, repentance, reconciliation and unity?

I believe that one of the most successful tools in Satan's weapons arsenal is fear. Fear of the future, fear of consequences of misguided policies and legislation, fear of each other. We're hiding behind labels; liberal, conservative, racist, Tea Party member, homophobe...

What is our most powerful weapon? God's love. God's love demonstrated in our lives in such a way that a watching world cannot deny its power. Oh God, help us demonstrate your love and begin to dissolve the meanness in our country.

Social Networking By Age

I saw an interesting chart recently. It showed social network site users by age. Here are the stats:
75% of 18-22 year olds use one or more social networking sites
49% of 23-35 year olds
21% of 36-49
9% of 50-65
3% over 60

I personally use Facebook. I have really enjoyed connecting better with family members, particularly more distant family members, and all the friends and acquaintances from places we have lived and worked around the country. According to this Pew Research chart, I am among 9% of my age group that does this. For me, it seemed pretty natural to launch into social networking because I have always tried to stay up with technology as it has developed at such a rapid pace. I must admit, however, that I don't have a Facebook farm, I don't look for eggs, I'm not a Mafia member, nor any of the other myriad of opportunities that are available. I just enjoy the posts and pictures and all the "catching up." I was thumbing through a college catalog the other day and wondering about taking a computer networking class. I think it might be time to stretch some more...

A Long and Rewarding Day

About 3 times a year I am an assistant supervisor at one of our St. Louis County polling locations. What an assistant supervisor does is to arrive at the polling location by 5 AM and set up all the machines that the voters will use in voting. Yesterday we had 3 touchscreen machines and 3 paper ballot stations with a paper ballot scanner. From 6 AM until 7 PM, my job was to assist each person as they voted. The polling location that I serve is in a very large Methodist retirement center and many of the residents come down to their recreation room and vote. I have come to really enjoy helping these folks, talking with them and hearing some of their life stories. The other end of the spectrum was helping a couple of 18 year olds vote using the touchscreen machine. In both cases, this was their first opportunity to exercise their constitutional privilege of voting.

Unfortunately, our Republican supervisor got sick during the afternoon and had to leave. I stayed later than normal and helped prepare all of the materials and went with the Democrat supervisor to drop everything off. (Elections are very bi-partisan. Everything, and I mean everything, has to be signed off by both a Republican or Democrat worker. This includes the voting stub that everyone gets when they first come in, to the reports that must be assembled at the close of the polls)

So I arrived home at 8 PM, 15 hours after I left in the morning. A long day, but rewarding...rewarding because I had a very small part in a democratic process that insures that the people of this great country get to choose their leaders and vote on issues that come before them. Rewarding because I got to help a lot of seniors vote, and to applaud them for their interest in this process even at their advanced age. They haven't stopped being involved even though they are retired. Rewarding because I saw brand new voters vote for the first time. Young people who are plugging into the system as soon as they can, and will help our country stay the strong nation God has blessed it to be.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen, indeed!

Somewhere in many church service worship schedules today, the song "Because He Lives", by Bill & Gloria Gaither, will be sung. As we closed our early worship service this morning, the strength and hope of the resurrection overwhelmed the uncertainty of the future for me. "...Because I know He holds the future; and life is worth the living just because He lives."

There are times in our lives when several things seem to collide all at once. Periods where almost everything in life is affected. In my case, dealing with raising 3 teenagers, again; the cost of living that has skyrocketed, working through issues at work, health issues that complicate life and the list goes on and on. I know this is part of life, valleys that seem to go on forever without a path to the mountain top. Last night was tough...teenager vs. dad, enough said.

It's too bad the Gaithers didn't live at the time of Christ on earth. The disciples could of used their song. Their future seemed over, they were afraid for their lives. And then came the wonderful news; "He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed." ( Matthew 28, the Message)

For me, those song words triggered the hope of the resurrection this morning in my spirit. Life is worth living because of what Christ did for us. I will find the path to the mountain.

Have a Little Faith

I just finished reading a great little book, Have A Little Faith, by Mitch Albom. If the author's name sounds familiar, you might know him by his best selling book, Tuesdays With Morrie. Have A Little Faith is about the author's relationship with an 82 year old rabbi and a black Detroit pastor-a reformed drug dealer and convict-who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in the roof.

The book starts with an unusual request by the rabbi, he wants the author to deliver his eulogy. Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith that he had left years earlier. Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

This book is a great read for the times we are in. Our world faces huge challenges economically, politically and spiritually. I am convinced that as Christians and for myself as a church leader, we must facilitate and resource relationships as a main vehicle for seeing people's lives changed and touched by the power of God. It is great to come together and worship and see the same church family members week after week, but we must do much more than this. We have got to find creative ways to bring people together who desperately need hope for the future and share with them the good news of the Gospel. If you get a chance to read Have A Little Faith, I think you'll know what I'm talking about.

Christmas Past

The 2009 Christmas season is over. Our last guests left today. We had non-stop guests in our home from December 23rd through January 9th. We never had less than 8 people at our table and some meals had 15. Kathy wished she had kept track of how many times our dishwasher ran, usually it was more than once a day. Today, we'll move the last of our indoor Christmas decorations downstairs and next Tuesday I'll pull out all the boxes out, put everything away, and that will be that.

As adults, with adult children, spouses and grandchildren, Christmases take on such a different character. I've reminisced on this blog about childhood Christmas memories. As an adult, however, this time is so different. This year we really missed having our oldest son and his family up for Christmas. Even though all the rest of our children were here, there was a big hole. I loved watching our older children interact with each other, but I missed watching their oldest brother and sister-in-law be part of that process. I really missed being able to watch our grandsons open the presents we gave them. I would have enjoyed putting the Legos together with them.

We had the joy of having Kathy's parents here for Christmas. 4 generations together is a lot of fun. Catching up on life's events, giving and receiving advice, playing games, watching Christmas movies, looking for great Christmas lights, celebrating Communion together, eating some great food, are all memory makers. Regardless of what may come in 2010, God has truly blessed us and for that we are thankful. We are all eternally grateful for a Savior who was born for us, who gave His life to redeem us, and for the love He so freely gives us. It's because of His love that we in turn can love each other. Christmas 2009 was blessed...

New Beginnings

Just a couple of hours until a brand new year. I've been working on a couple of small changes in how I organize my life next year, and I've decided that a few words and phrases I seldom use will become part of my everyday vocabulary. "No", "I'll check and see if I can fit that in my schedule", "I don't think I can do that", and other similar words and phrases are going to help me free up more creative and contemplative time.

This past year I read through the Bible using The Daily Message. I actually used it both in 2008 and 2009.
Tommorrow morning I'll begin reading from the God Sightings One Year Bible. This is a one year program that our senior pastor is suggesting our congregation use in 2010. I am also going to read daily from two books that were gifts. The first is The One Year Christian History, A Daily Glimpse into God's Powerful Work. I've already "fudged" and read the first two days. This is going to be a great read all year. The other daily book that was given to me is A Farmer's Year, Daily Truth to Change Your Life. This daily reading book is written by a South African potato farmer, Angus Buchan. His story is told in a wonderful movie titled Faith Like Potatoes. I'm looking forward to his writing.

On day one, Angus writes "Good farmers know that the worst thing a man can do is look behind him when he is ploughing, because he will not plough a straight furrow. Whatever has happened in your lilfe during the past year, do not look back. There may be things that you have not been able to rectify because the other party is not interested in reconciliation. Leave those things under the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary so that your sins may be forgiven. Make sure you do whatever you can from your side to rectify any undone situation, and then press on." Good advice to start the year.

To summarize, I'm going to eliminate a lot of the busyness in my life, make room for creative thinking and planning and look forward, not backwards. See you in 2010...

The End of Christmas

I love Christmas. I love the preparation, the anticipation, every event, concert, service, dinner and especially our family time. I love the Christmas story and all of the mystery and wonder that it inspires every year. In fact, I have a small collection of manger scenes. This past year I have had 5 manger scenes in my office all year long. During the month of December we have 2 manger scenes downstairs, 8 upstairs and one large one that we didn't set up this year. I even have a small one made out of glass on my bedroom dresser. Each time I look at one it reminds me of the wonder of this season. My oldest son and daughter-in-law gave me 2 manger scenes this year that I will cherish. I might even take one to my office and trade it for one that is there now.

The reality of the end of the season came when I went outside on December 26th and noticed that our neighbors had already undecorated their Christmas tree and it was laying on its side next to their trash can. Now, several days later, some of our neighbors aren't turning their lights on anymore and by the weekend, I will probably unplug my timers and that will be that. This is the sad time of the celebration, the slow finale of a wonderful time. One of my favorite Christmas stories is one titled Christmas Every Day. It's the story of a little girl who is granted her wish that Christmas would come every day of the year. After a while, there are no more turkeys to be had, no more gifts to buy, everyone is cranky and hates Christmas. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I do wish there was a way to extend the season and then bring it to an orderly, happy end. Maybe I'll work on that for next year.

For now, I'll enjoy some great gifts that I received, thank God for my family and friends, and concentrate on sharing the truth of Advent with a world that is desperate to know God, even if they don't know it.

Tamales Tomorrow Night

One of our long standing traditions is to have a Mexican food feast on Christmas Eve. Since I normally have had pastoral duties on Christmas Eve, our meal has had to wait until later in the evening. This is a tradition I look forward to every year, and each year we have a different group of guests for dinner that adds to the wonderful celebration of the Christmas season. I recently read a story about tamales, which are a main element of our Christmas Eve dinner.

Carl Fenter was out trying to find tamales on a very cold Christmas Eve morning. He had the bright idea of having a tamale feast after the service, but he didn't think about it until Christmas Eve morning. Who would've guessed that every tamale shop in the city would be sold out the day before Christmas? But they were, as Carl knew. He'd been driving all over El Pasto that morning. Determined to bring home the tamales, Carl tried on last tienda, an old favorite out in Canutillo.

When he arrived, a fresh batch was due off the steamer in forty-five minutes. Taking his place at the end of the snaking line of tamale-seekers, he watched the woman in front of him remove her jacket to drape around her shivering youngster. It wasn't long before she, too, shuddered in the chilly wind. After only a moment's hesitation, Carl shed his own jacket and offered it to the grateful mother. Together they cheered when the line crept forward at last, and smiling people exited the shop toting steamy bags. Finally, Carl got inside the door and inched his way closer to the counter, the woman now first in line.

"Sorry folks," the cleark announced, "that's the last of the tamales." "No way!" Carl groaned with everyone else lined up behind him. "But," stressed the man at the counter, "we'll have a final batch ready in, oh, about two hours." Defeated, Carl backed away, but the young mother grabbed his arm.

"You're leaving?" "I have to," Carl glanced at this watch. "I promised to put up luminarias at my church." "I'll get your order of tamales and bring them to your house." Carl's brow furrowed. "I couldn't ask you to do that." "But it's the least I can do. You lent me your coat." Her smile overrode his objections. "Just give me your address."

And at exactly noon on Christmas Eve, four dozen fragrant tamales-along with Carl's brown jacket-arrived at his home. What a great act of Christmas kindness. Have you had any moments where you could provide Christmas kindness?

Gotta go, my tamales will be ready for pickup at 2:00 PM. Can't keep traditions waiting...

Presence and Accounted For

Here's another story from The Book of Christmas Virtues... Every gift had been wrapped, each recipe prepared, and all the ornaments hung. I had seen to every detail; I knew I hadn't overlooked a thing. And now, with three anxious children tucked in bed at last, I leaned back in my favorite recliner-satisfied-to survey our perfect, shimmering tree.

I admired the packages arranged underneath. Thanks to my early planning and a little extra money this year, Christmas was going to be wonderful. I couldn't wait to see my children's faces when they tore into their presents the next morning, discovering all of the new clothes and great toys I had bought for them. I began a mental accounting of the treasures tucked inside each package: the Dallas Cowboys jacket for Brandon, the Fisher Price castle for Jared, the Victorian dollhouse for Brittany...

Basking in the glow of twinkling lights and my own thoughts, I barely noticed Jared sneak into the room. My normal reaction would be to jump up and rush him back to bed. This time, I chose to sit still and watch, hoping he wouldn't notice me. I needn't have worried.

Jared was a five-year-old with a mission. The glimmering tree illuminated his small figure as he made his way straight to the nativity beneath it. Sinking to his knees, he held out a paper and whispered, "See, Jesus, I drew this picture for you." Not wanting to miss a word, I held my breath and leaned forward. "On the left side, that's me." Jared's finger traced a path across the page. "On the right side, that's you." He pointed. "In the middle is my heart." He smiled sweetly. "I'm giving it to you."

With tenderness, Jared placed the picture beneath the tree. "Merry Christmas, Jesus," he said and scurried back to bed. My throat tightened, and my eyes filled. All the sparkling decorations and all the shiny wrappings in the room suddenly dulled in comparison to Jared's innocent crayon drawing. It took my small child's gift of love to remind me that only Jesus can make Christmas wonderful this year. And he always does.

I Am Especially Fond Of You

During the Christmas season I read a lot of Christmas stories. In fact, I collect them. I love how this season of the year impacts people in so many ways. This week, in addition to all my Christmas readying, I re-read a book that in not a Christmas story, but impacted my life the first time I read it. In fact, I wrote a blog about it a few months ago. The book is The Shack.

This time, the chapter titled A Festival of Friends (#15), really affected me. As chapter 14 closes, the Holy Spirit, named Sarayu, tells Mack (the main character) that "for tonight, I would love you to see a bit of what we see." After she touches him, the author writes, "He turned back to Sarayu, who still stood next to him. Although she was difficult to look at directly, he could now make out symmetry and colors embedded within patterns, as if miniature diamonds, rubies, and sapphires of all colors had been sewn into a garment of light, which moved first in waves and then scattered as particulate." The author goes on to describe all of Creation in terms of light, beautiful light in different hues and intensity. Color that could not be imgined. Creation that is perfect, unspoiled by sin. The author goes on to write, "Mack realized also that he felt no pain, not even in his usually aching joints. In fact, he had never felt this well, this whole. His head was clear and he breathed deeply the scents and aromas of the night and of the sleeping flowers in the garden, many of which had begun to awaken to this celebration. Delirious and delicious joy welled up inside of him and he jumped, floating slowly up into the air; then returned gently to the ground."

What the author was describing was a scene from heaven, where God's perfection extends to mankind and changes everything. The part of this chapter that knocked me for a loop was near the end. The author, William P. Young, writes, "A hush descended. The anticipation was palpable. Suddenly to their right, from out of the darkness emerged Jesus, and pandemonium broke out. (my emphasis) He was dressed in a simple brilliant white garment and wore on his head a simple gold crown, but he was every inch the king of the universe. He walked the path that opened before him in the center-the center of all Creation, the man who is God and the God who is man. Light and color danced and wove a tapestry of love for him to step on. Some were crying out words of love, while others simply stood with hands lifted up. Many of those whose colors were the riches and deepest were lying flat on their face. Everything that had a breath sang out a song of unending love and thankfulness. Tonight the universe was as it was intended."

I wept many times while reading this book, sometimes longing for the kind of relationship with Pappa that the author was describing, and sometimes overjoyed at the scenes being portrayed. I wept at this spot because of the longing to see Jesus like He really is. I want Him to cause pandemonium to break out when I think about our relationship, when I spend time in His Word, when I spend time in prayer. What a wonderful thought, that everytime we met to enjoy His presence, pandemonium would break out!

One last thought from this chapter, and the title of this blog. In the midst of all the pandemonium, all the people worshiping Jesus, and out of everyone that Jesus could have chosen, from a distance He whispers into Mack's ear, "Mack, I am especially fond of you." As I sat on the couch, next to our Christmas tree, enjoying the scene from the book that I was imagining, I think I heard a voice in my mind whisper, "Louie, I am expecially fond of you."

It's More Blessed to Give...

Here is a great story I ran across this year. I hope you enjoy it. (I could not find an author's name)

A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked. Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh yes, I'd love that."

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front on my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it... then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the young boy to the front seat of his car. His older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he had said, "It's more blessed to give...."

Christmas Kindness

In the Chicken Soup for the Soul book The Book of Christmas Virtues, Marion Smith tells of her experience in Washington, D.C.'s Union Station on a bitterly cold December evening. She sat on a public bench with a steaming cup of coffee, waiting for feeling to return to her fingers. As diners left the American Restaurant, the heavenly aromas tempted her to consider an early dinner. She observed a man seated nearby, and from the longing in his eyes, realized that he, too, noticed the tantalizing food. His gaunt body, wind-chapped hands and tattered clothes nearly shouted, "Homeless, homeless!"

Half expecting him to approach her for a handout, he didn't. While she debated what to do, a well-dressed young couple approached him. "Excuse me, sir," the husband said. "My wife and I just finished eating, and our appetites weren't as big as we thought. We hate to waste good food. Can you put this to use?" He extended a large Styrofoam container. "God bless you both. Merry Christmas," came the grateful reply. Marion was pleased, yet dismayed by her own lack of action. The man scrutinized his new found bounty, rearranged the soup crackers, inspected the club sandwich and stirred the salad dressing-obviously prolonging this miracle meal. Then just before taking the first bite he stopped short. She turned her head to follow his gaze. Entering the hall and shuffling in their direction was a new arrival. Hat less and glove less, an elderly man was clad in lightweight pants, a threadbare jacket and open shoes. His hands were raw, and his face had a bluish tint. Marion gasped aloud at this sad sight, but her needy neighbor leaped up and guided the elderly man to an adjacent seat. He took his icy hands and rubbed them briskly in his own. With a final tenderness, he draped his worn jacket over the older man's shoulders. "Pop, my name's Jack," he said, "and one of God's angels brought me this meal. I just finished eating and hate to waste good food. Can you help me out?"

Marion writes, "It wasn't easy making my way to the food court with tears blurring my vision, but I soon returned with large containers of coffee and a big assortment of pastries. 'Excuse me, gentlemen, but'..."

Oh God, help us to be your hands of compassion in this wonderful season of the year. Help us not to let any opportunities to go by without doing everything we can to show Your love.

The Bar NR

A real keepsake came home with me after visiting with my parents at Thanksgiving. I brought home the cattle brand that my grandfather had made when he bought his first steers and pastured them on his new ranch land. I think I was about 10 years old when he bought 10 acres of land in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The land had 2 sides fenced. I remember spending several days laying out barbed wire fencing, helping to dig fence post holes and stretching wire to secure the fence. I'm sure I was more in the way than anything else, but I hope I helped a little. I remember helping my grandfather build a small pump house with a side room. We stayed in that side room many times while he, (and I) built a barn and then laid out a foundation for a house. He found a house on a nearby military base that needed to be moved. He bought it and had the foundation poured. I still remember the day the house came. I would run out to the intersection every few minutes and look for a house coming down the street. Finally, I saw it off in a distance. I house coming right down the middle of the street. Power lines had been moved and there was a truck in front with flashing lights. This was the most exciting thing I had ever experienced. Finally the house got to our ranch. After a lot of finagling, many "stay back"s from my grandfather, pushing and tugging, the last support came out, the men and their trucks left and the house was sitting on it's new foundation. What an experience.

We had many great times out at that ranch. My grandpa bought a few steers and we went to a shop to have a brand made. He picked the Bar NR as the name for the ranch. His name was Nemias Ruybalid. Just like an old West movie, we heated up the branding iron, walked over to the steer that had been roped into submission, and burned the "Bar NR" into it's hind side. He would raise them, butcher some for meat, and sell others. We went to auctions to both buy and sell. It was a wonderful time for me, and my hero. I learned how to drive my grandfather's F-100 truck out in the pasture, shot his .22, picked asparagus in the canal, helped flood the pasture to irrigate and a tons of other fun things for a kid my age. My grandfather's plan was to retire at age 65 and move from San Jose to the ranch. Wouldn't that have been grand. But, sometimes life doesn't turn out like you think it will. Before he was able to retire he got cancer, and died when I was 15. There are days when I still cry when I think about it. In fact, I'm crying right now as I type this...

I have a spot picked out on my office wall for the Bar NR. I'm going to make a wooden stand for it, clean it up and hang it there, right next to a picture I have of my grandfather's congregation in San Jose. Then every once in a while I'll lean back in my chair, close my eyes and relive some great moments at the Bar NR.

The Tinsel Tree

I love Christmas. Sometimes I wish it could be Christmas every day. I love the traditions, the family time, the special events, the food, the church services, and I love meditating on the Biblical story of Christmas. I really enjoy Christmas lights, candles, decorations and manger scenes. In fact, I collect manger scenes. I have 6 of them in my office all year round. So if you need a gift idea for me...(hint, hint)

I thing I really enjoyed as a child was laying under our Christmas tree and reading a book. Sometimes there would be a fire in the fireplace and the combination of the light from the fire, lights on the tree, the pine fragrance and a good book, were almost too much to take. Even today, that scene is vivid in my mind. Knowing this, you can imagine the shock I felt one day early in December when I got home from school and there was a tinsel tree in our living room. It was decorated with blue balls and it had a multi-colored wheel that rotated around and cast light on the tree from an irritating spotlight. I couldn't believe my eyes! No pine smell, no stranded lights, no ambience... but, I gave it a try. That night I plunked myself down next to the tree with a book. The whiring noise of the multi-colored wheel motor was distracting, the spotlight was too bright, and the lack of pine smell was just too much.

We endured the tinsel tree for a couple more years and finally the motor died, the spotlight melted the color wheel and the tinsel tree went to tinsel tree heaven. It was a wonderful Christmas again when we went back to a natural tree. In this day of technically perfect, pre-lit artificial trees, we still get a natural tree every year. Some have holes we have to hide, some are bent a little, and some droop earlier than they should, but they smell wonderful and look even better. It's just about time to select this year's tree. We always get it in the house and decorated by the second weekend in December. I can't wait...