Nick’s Walk

It’s been an interesting week. I’ve combined storm watching with convention watching. It’s hard to decide what was scarier. We have a strange way of selecting leaders in this country. We say anyone can grow up to be President and, I guess, theoretically that’s true. You would hope in a country of this many  million people that the “best” candidate would, like cream, rise to the top. The best man for the job, it would seem, should be obvious.  Watching this weeks Republican convention and the responses to it demonstrated how deeply flawed the system is. Roughly half of America thinks Mr. Romney should take over and roughly half believe President Obama should keep his job. Each half thinks the other half has lost its collective mind. A handful of folks who aren’t sure and who probably don’t care as much as the rest of us will make the decision.  It’s the tyranny of the undecided and uncommitted. We Christians will hang on to the hope that God is in control and He is guiding the whole process. Looking at the process makes that a real stretch of faith. I am living through this process on a smaller scale […]

Yesterday I took Nicky and Sammie to the movies so their mother and grandmother could shop. It was a foolish move in so many ways. Why should I make it easier for those ladies to spend money? To make it worse I took the kids to the movie they wanted to see, ParaNorman. In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman , who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst of all, moronic grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. Maybe this was not my finest moment as a Christian grandparent. I’m glad I was with them. Before you take little ones consider this review from a Christian perspective. I’m glad I took them because I know kids think about death, especially kids who have lost a parent or someone else close. ParaNorman presents the world view about death which is that the best you can hope for after this life is a peaceful sleep. You don’t want […]

I am no good at waiting. As a kid I didn’t like waiting for Christmas. I don’t like waiting in lines or for football season to start. It turns out I don’t like waiting for Hurricanes. Isaac has made land fall, twice. So far we have had a little rain.  We have enough supplies for the entire neighborhood. Everything that can blow around outside is secured. I got so bored watching the weather channel last night that I watched the  GOP convention.  It’s like we’re all dressed up and no place to blow. After days of dire warnings, I’m now listening to the local weather men discussing how this is a minimal storm, the tornado threats are very low. They obviously don’t know exactly where the storm is going, but it really doesn’t seem to matter.  Is there a spiritual lesson here? I guess there is. It seems we waste so much time waiting and, often worrying, about things that might happen. It’s so important to enjoy the day. For example, yesterday I was honored to spend some time at a local nursing home. Members of our church have been meeting with residents at two nursing homes for some time. […]

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul. Hebrews 3:12-14 The Message If you have an encourager in your life, that’s your best friend, a great gift from God. If you want to have value in the life of another, be an encourager.  There are lots of verses in scripture that encourage us to encourage. Here’s just ten. In fact, if we give it any thought, encouragement is really our mission. When we encourage the non-believer (sometimes we call it witnessing or sharing our faith) we fulfill the great commission. If we remember that it’s really encouragement we are about, we will do it properly. We won’t bible bash. We won’t come across as holier-than-thou. […]

Looks like we are in for a few stressful days ahead. There is an excitement in the air as plans for the week are completely altered by Isaac. Stress will be prevalent; but we’ve got an advantage. It’s interesting to have a hurricane named after a biblical figure. At some point in Isaac’s youth, his father Abraham brought him to Mount Moriah. At God’s command, Abraham was to build a sacrificial altar and sacrifice his son Isaac upon it. After he had bound his son to the altar and drawn his knife to kill him, at the very last moment an angel of God prevented Abraham from proceeding. Rather, he was directed to sacrifice a nearby ram instead. In scripture, Isaac was a faith tester. Isaac the hurricane is likely to be a faith tester as well. Our true character emerges in times of stress. Let’s not forget who we are in Jesus in the days ahead. In stress, we have a peace that passes all understanding. Let’s not let go of that.  Let’s continue to be salt and light. Let’s spread some calm in busy stores. Let’s think about homebound sick and elderly. Let’s make sure our neighbors aren’t going to be […]

I am often blown away by the faith of some folks I run into. Their walks seem to be steady and confident. Storms don’t shake them. They are stable on the mountain tops and rock solid in the valleys. You would have to describe them as “people of faith.” They seem to understand that, no matter what, God has their back. On the surface, these folks don’t seem to have much reason to be so confident. They are often poor, imprisoned, handicapped, young, even kids . . . losers. How do they get to have such faith? What’s the secret?  People of faith seem always to be people of the Word. Scripture never seems to be far from their hearts or their lips. Words that flow from them are often words of scripture. It’s not just that they can quote scripture, but the appropriate scripture always seems to “pop up.” From this we can conclude that these folks read the word. It’s amazing how many Christians rarely pick up the bible. They may read Christian books or Christian blogs, but seldom go directly to the Word.  Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says, So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We […]

My grand daughter came home with a new car last night. She bought it all on her own. She arranged the trade, the financing…everything. Her boyfriend was with her, but she did it all. She did a great job. She got a good deal on a very appropriate car for her needs. I’m mildly upset. She didn’t need me. That’s a message I’m getting a lot of lately. In many ways, I’m really not needed, at least not like I used to be. That’s not a bad thing. My wife handled things beautifully when I was in the hospital and “out of it.” My daughter is moving on smartly with her life. My daughter-in-law has a great new job which she is handling very well. Her kids are happy and functioning well in school. I am at the end of a three year term on the Advisory Council for the Kairos Ministry at Angola. My “advisory” functions will end at the end of the year. The ministry will do just fine with me as a “simple volunteer.” My church is about to have a new pastor who is young enough to be my son…maybe my grandson, but then I […]

I stared at the 23 on the face of my watch. I knew the number was significant but it took me a few moments to make the connection. It’s August 23rd, one month since my knee replacement surgery. What a month it has been. I have a full day today. I am preparing my blog at 3 a.m. Then I have some office work to do. I will hit the gym close to 5. Thereafter, I will meet two of my Kairos buddies and travel with them to Angola to inspect Camp J for a possible Kairos weekend in February. I will lunch in Baton Rouge with two of my favorite clients and at 4 this afternoon will have coffee with the man who will likely be the next pastor of my church. That means I will be returning to Lafayette in 5 p.m. traffic, a good opportunity to spend with praise music and God. It’s a full day and it will not include canes or pain pills or handicap parking (well maybe handicap parking, after all my placard is good for a couple more years). It’s a good thing to be focused on things to do rather than […]