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Today is a day of mixed emotions for most. It’s the first day of school. I guess generally speaking Moms are happy, kids, not so much. But the emotions are more mixed than that. My Facebook is full of pictures of confused looking kids with teary eyed moms on their first day of school. We are excited about each new stage in the lives of our family but tearful that time is passing by so fast. I didn’t seem quite so old when I could say I had a great grand child, but now I have to say I have one that’s in “big school.” There is no doubt that the older you get the faster time flies. It’s moving for me at supersonic speed these days. With each passing day, we make memories and miss opportunities.  Today will hold new opportunities and challenges. For the kids facing school for the next nine months those challenges and opportunities may be obvious. But they also exist for the rest of us. How will the mom whose house is now strangely quiet during the day, utilize her freed up time? The beginning of school is a better time for resolutions than […]

Last night Nicky and I watched 42. It’s the story of Jackie Robinson, the first black to play major league baseball. Right after World War 2, many blacks who had fought to help defeat Germany, Italy and Japan, returned to a segregated United States. The movie producers did a good job of painting what the world was like in the late 1940s.  It was an eye opener for Nicky who grew up in a world where the “N” word isn’t often heard in polite society. It’s a good reminder to watch this kind of movie, especially in a day when many have trouble distinguishing between political differences and racism. We have much we can learn from the experiences of those who went through the civil rights battles. Some things work and some things don’t. As Christians we are learning what it’s like to be an unfavored class in America. We are learning what it means to be judged on what we believe or the color of our skin rather than what we do. Jackie Robinson proved that the proper response to racism is demonstrated competence, even greatness. It wasn’t enough to prove that he could play baseball with whites […]

During a movie I was watching last night one of the characters said, “Want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Life is like that. At 64, I am not at the place I planned to be at this age. Upon careful thought, it’s actually a better place.  It’s taken a lifetime to realize that God has a better plan. I guess life is too important to entrust to the young. We don’t have any idea what’s best for us when we are kids. It’s no surprise that God would one up our youthful plans. We don’t get a lot smarter as we age. As we grow older, we continue to have foolish plans and to make wrong turns and God continues to take us where we need to be.  Life becomes so much easier when we finally realize that we are not in control. We can experience joy and peace when we stop regretting that we are not where we planned to be and realize that we are where God wants us to be and that it’s a much better place.  It’s that wonderful place where we stop regretting the past and no longer worry about our […]

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” but by my Father in heaven. Matthew 16 One of the most often heard complaints from those who have left a church is that they were no longer being fed. There is much clamoring for more meat from those who believe that they have graduated from the “milk” of teaching. This comes from a misunderstanding that the Christian walk is primarily fact gathering. We don’t move from Christian grade school to graduate school by gaining more facts. We gain more Jesus. One of the first things a young child is taught, long before his diet moves from milk to meat, is to fed himself. This is kind of like the adage that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Sometimes we continue to “spoon feed” Christians long after they should be feeding themselves. Jesus didn’t come so we would know more […]

God didn’t have to make the world so complex. He could have left a lot of things out. These things are not essential or necessary, but God threw them in anyway:1. Hugs2. Smiles3. So many shades of green.4. So many varieties of flowers.5. So many types of birds.6. Four different seasons.7. Grandkids.8. So many different types of food.9. Memories.10. Acts of kindness.11. Forgiveness.12. Second chances.13. Weekends. It could have been some much simpler. What was He thinking? Be blessed. Nick

Our grandkids are spending much of this week with us as their mom makes final preparations for school. She drops them off pretty early. My job is to make sure the door is unlocked so they can get in and rest before we start our days.  You can read much these days about why young people are leaving the church. My duty in keeping the door unlocked makes me think maybe the wrong questions are being asked. We want more than our kids in church. We want them to join us in the walk of faith and the great relationship which is Christianity. Church is a part of that but just a part.  I think where we may be failing is in “locking out” the next generation from our Faith. Here’s why. Do we fail in making clear what faith is about? I think we talk too much about church and the importance of church. All you have to do is look around the Christian world to see that “church” means a lot of different things to folks. Most of us would be very uncomfortable in the churches most of the rest of us worship in each week. It […]

Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Some folks are stirrers. You know the ones I mean. It might be the kid in the family who is always ready to announce what someone else did. It might be the aunt or uncle who at the family reunion chimes in with “So when are you guys going to get married?” Stirrers are not normally popular people. And yet it appears from Hebrews that we are supposed to be “stirrers.” In addition to the usual definition, the dictionary says to stir is to:   To cause to move or shift, especially slightly or with irregular motion: A breze stirred the branches.  To prod into brisk or vigorous action; bestir: stirred themselves to fix breakfast.  To rouse, as from indifference, and prompt to action. See Synonyms at provoke  To provoke deliberately: stirred by trouble.  To excite strong feelings in. Do you know some folks who could use a shift in direction, or need to be prodded into action, or roused […]

School starts next week. Summer is over. Where did it go? Don’t get me wrong. Summer is my least favorite season and August is my least favorite month. Fall is my most favorite season and October my favorite month. Years ago my parents did a wise thing. They got me a job in the summer doing yard work. I quickly determined that I would get enough education to ensure that I did not have to make a living working outside in the heat. My distaste for summer was born. Summer is over and again we learn that lesson that nothing lasts forever. Once again we probably haven’t taken advantage of the season we are in. If things are tough, we need to be learning how God is in control no matter what we are going through. If it’a a great season, we need to be learning how great our God is and we should be storing up the good memories for the time when things aren’t so good.  I didn’t have much expectation for the summer. I didn’t plan any great vacation or super mission trip and, therefore, I didn’t get either. I am planning better things for the […]