Better Than Negative

There a a little girl, Kate McRae, that Hannah has been following for some time. She is a little girl that has experienced cancer. She has inspired so many. Her parents keep people up-to-date through a caring bridge website. Here is a portion of yesterdays post that shows the amazing faith of a child. 

"Tomorrow is a BIG day! A big day in a season that has had it's share of big days. Kate will have a PET scan starting at 1:30 (4:30) EST. We are hoping and praying that the test will come back negative, this would most likely indicate that there is not any cancerous tumor remaining at this point. Tonight our family was praying for Kate by her bedside as she snoozed from a long day. Olivia opened up praying that the test would be negative, and then Will proceed to agree with Olivia's prayer and I concluded. As soon as I finished Will said he wanted to pray again and this time he prayed that the results from the PET scan would be 'better than negative'. Olivia asked him how that was even possible, and Will condescendingly replied as only a 5 year old could, that 'better than negative' means that it's like there was never a tumor there. I like that, in fact I think we may appoint him our official intercessor, he has faith and he has audacity." 


I pray that our lives will be "better than negative". That is, that whatever is hurting and hindering us would be like it never was there. 

Don't Talk Unless You have Something to Say

Right now I have nothing to say but, "I'm tired!"

Something BIG for God

It seems that many Christians want to do something big for God. They want to do what Andy Stanley does, or sing like Carlo Whitaker or John Mark McMillian or Kari Jobe, or whatever. Some might want to be a Shawn Alexander and share their faith through sports and others just want it to be big. Those are great inspirations and worthy desires but most people do not find the BIG things they find them. I believe that most of the above, who I know none of personally, would say that the BIG things just found them.

I know in my Christian experience if I just stayed at it day after day and walked in the Spirit (Gal 5:16). I have found some of the things that people would say were BIG that have happened in my life happened serendipitiously. That is, I happened upon them as I sought to just “walk in the Spirit”. I think the Christian life is about taking care of the little things and you will serendipitiously find the BIG. 


A tweet the other day by @prodigaljohn was very appropriate for this whole thought process. "David didn't show up to fight Goliath. He brought lunch. Stop looking for the dramatic and be great at the little things."
1:51 PM Jul 23rd via TweetDeck

Raising Children - A Look Back

Life in the getting older lane speeds up. I'm with Hannah at orientation at UA today. She is going to major in Early Childhood Development. She love young kids and more importantly they love her. I do not feel old enough to have grown children but I am. What has this journey taught me?

1. Show your children love without condition and say the words "I Love You" often.
2. Confirm that you are loyal to them and truly desire the best God has for their life.
3. Be consistent in all environments - home, church, work, marketplace.
4. Keep them in church for multiple reasons, especially positive peer pressure.
5. Put your relationship with your spouse very high on your priority list.
6. Let them see you read. Bible, books, etc.
7. Let them be them instead of a little you.

Just a little help from a friend.

Maybe - TMI (a picture just did not seem appropriate)

I am 47 years old or as a child might say I'm 47 1/2. I have to pee during the night and have found it easier to never turn on the lights. I have a path that I take and unless Mary Anne moves something I can make it without hitting anything but the toilet. I do not want to turn the lights on for three reasons. 1) I do not want to wake her up. 2) I do not want to wake the dog up. 3) I do not want to wake up. Well this morning at about 4:30 I make my routine to the bathroom and all is good until I get to the toilet. The rug is what tells me I am in place and can begin to pee. This morning something happened that never has happened in my 47 1/2 years. When my foot hit the rug I stepped on something and then all the rules were out the window. I had to turn on the light to see if it was what I thought it was and it was. I STEPPED ON A DOG TURD! Yea, that is exactly what I said. For some reason I could not go back to sleep and began my day hating Mary Anne's dog Marley - AGAIN. So, here is the lessonS of wisdom I have learned from this experiences.


LESSONS LEARNED 

1. If your walking in the dark, it is only a matter of time until you will step on a turd (there will be a price to sin). 
2. Watch where you walk (Consider your how you are living). 
3. Lock up all dogs before you go to bed (Put the things that could lay turds in your life in a cage). 
4. Turn on the lights so as to spot turds before stepping on them (Walk in the light of Jesus Christ). 

I really wish I could have told this story to mother. 

I Heard Mother's Voice

Mother died in April 2008 after four months of critical sickness. Since the day before she died I have not heard her voice. It was the one thing I just could not remember. I could not hear her voice. Well, her answering machine preserved her voice for me. I have not listened to it until this past Sunday night during our LIFEgroup with Harvest Church. I have been somewhat afraid to hear it because I was afraid of the emotions it might bring out. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me last week that it was time and I was to listen to it during LIFEgroup. I said no. I cannot take the chance to have an emotional breakdown right in front of our LIFEgroup. It was hard to bring the emotions to the front for me, Mary Anne, Luke and Hannah. It did bring tears, but it was also refreshing/releasing. Grief is a weird game to play and it is played differently by most everyone. I would say this is what God taught me through it. My fear is usually greater than reality. Here last words on the machine are God Bless You. 

I Think I Was Wrong - REALLY

As recently as yesterday I gave an illustration that looked like this in Sunday School.

 

And here is what I said, God has a path for us to walk, a life to live, His will to follow and it was indicated by the straight line.

Then I added that the curvy line illustrates the path/life/will we take. Furthermore, when we get off the straight line we will hear God’s voice guiding us how to get back to where we ought to be.

^“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21, ESV)

I think I have been wrong in using this illustration and led others to the same conclusion. I actually think that this illustration is part of our problem in the Christian life. All straight lines look the same and they do appear the easy path. So, we all try to take the same path, live the same life and see God total will for our lives as identical. Well, they are not. So, I want to use the same illustration and change the parts. The curvy line is my life following God and the straight line is the one I think I should have or deserve. Let me illustrate it like this. 

The straight line does not have any of the difficulties or successes in it. It does not indicate things in my childhood. It does not indicate my parents divorce. It does not indicate my marriage and the death of my grandmother one month later. It does not indicate having children, changing jobs, my mother's death, Mary Anne's dad's death, the start of Lord of the Harvest or Harvest Church. It does not show when God saved me and then called me to preach. My life has been curvy and God was always there to navigate the curves. My life has been far from a straight line. I have had time of deep doubt, discouragement and depression. I have also had some mountain top experiences and some great successes and yes I have had some brief times in my life when it was straight, but very few. So the illustration works but it need to be reversed. Let us quit trying to walk this straight line and just walk the path that God has for us with all the curves and His guidance. 

So, today pay attention because on the curvy road you cannot put you life on cruise control it is VFR (visual flight rules) just listen to that voice - IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

Where Can I Find God?

It just seems that there are a couple of places that I seem closer to God than any other place. It seems like I can escape to a quiet place when I am intently in the Word of God, listening to music that reflects on God or reading a book about God. I define a quiet place as where I feel that it is just me and God (like two peas in a pod. I hate that song). So, I have to find a place and a time to make at least one of these happen everyday. Or, should I say I have to MAKE it happen. I find that the spiritual things in my life have to become a discipline. For some reason my gravity often pulls me in pursuits of good things at the expense of the best things. I have time when I struggle to keep my attention on the most important things. I can find myself leaning toward compromise too quickly. May I MAKE time today and maybe encourage you to MAKE it happen. 

Book Review – Ragamuffin Gospel

This is a great book. Brennan Manning has given us his best in this book. The subtitle is “Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out”. I think we all have been one or all of those. This was my second reading of this book. It came out originally in 1990 and has stood the test of time. If you are a person who sometimes feels you just are not good enough, can’t continue on, or beat up by life, this book is for you. I actually would love to make it mandatory reading for all Christians. We all seem to have people in our life that manifest the idea that we do not measure up. We have set some kind of measuring stick for those that have “made it” and those who have not. This book ministered to me so much. I highly recommend it for everyone. 

Book Review - Redeeming Love

Redeeming Love is one of the books I read on my recent vacation and I highly recommend it. I have had this book recommended to me a few times but I am not a big fiction reader and on top of that it appeared to be a girl book. I mean look at the cover. They need to design two covers for this book – a male and a female cover. The book is a love story that is set in what seems like the 1800’s. The story seems impossible until you consider it from its inspiration - story of Hosea in the Old Testament. It was for me a much needed reminder of God’s relentless love for us and He will pursue us even when we are not receptive to His redeeming love. I highly recommend this book to both men and women. Guys you will feel a little funny at first when setting by the pool and reading a Francis Rivers book but I promise it will not change your manhood. Read it and LEARN of how deep God’s love is for you.

LeBron James and Tom Brady

Tom Brady was interviewed toward the end of the quest for the prefect season. Brady has been an interesting person in professional athletics. At the time of the interview he already had three Super Bowl Rings. Watch this YouTube clip and consider LeBron’s quest. LeBron has not done anything wrong. He is a man that makes decisions that seem best for he and his family. He probably did what most of us would do. But if he could listen to this one video clip, he might realize that his dream will elude him even if he wins a championship or three championships. You see championships do not bring fulfillment just a hunger for more of them.

LeBron, Free Agency and Life

Free Agency

We live in a world of free agents. Pick the place, team, city that give you every thing you want. LeBron simply made the decision that put the "king" in the position to get him what he does not have - a championship. It was all for him. Is anyone committed to anything anymore. Is anything worth fighting for. Can a person work hard and not win the championship and still make a difference. Does everyone have to have a place that gives them everything they want. Working hard and building something is hard work that is rewarding even if it does not bring the championship. What is your Cleveland and what is your Miami? What is in your life that might never give you a championship but you will make a huge impact. You can "sacrifice" and chase the championship that is for YOU. Commit to something. Fight for it. You might not ever win the coveted ring but you will make an impact bigger than a ring. Yea, I'm disappointed in LeBron's decision to go to Miami but I'm not an NBA fan or watched a whole game since Michael Jordan. Just wish people would stick things out when it is not going their way. It's so easy to move on. It is happening in families, sports, pastorates, jobs and more. Free agency is the American way of chasing the American dream.

Tomorrow a view from the other side.

27 and Counting

Well, today Mary Anne and I have been married for 27 years. It seems like I am not old enough to have been married that long. I kid with people and say we have been happily married for 25 years. Well, that might be right. There have probably been 2 years that were tough. How have we made it 27 years in marriage? Here is my take and I have lived it.

1.  Remember marriage is a covenant relationship.
2. SAY the words “I LOVE YOU” and DEMONSTRATE “I LOVE YOU” as often as you get the chance.
3. Remember the grass “on the other side” is really over a septic tank.
4. Remember you get out of a marriage what you put into a marriage.
5. As my uncle told me upon our engagement, “Marriage is like a hot tub of water. The longer you are in it the colder it gets.” My advice on that is to keep adding hot water.
6. It’s popular on many signs but not in many lives but make sure you spend time living, laughing and loving.
7.  Remember it’s worth the fight.
8. Go on dates (you and your kids will survive time away from each other).
9. Sex with one person your whole life is really good no matter what people may say.
10. Have sex even when you do not feel like it.
11.  If you have kids, they need you to stay together and in love.

There is more I could say and I’m sure I missed some really important stuff but it has worked.

P.S. I love you Mary Anne Williams

What Good Is A Vacation?

I'M BACK!! That came from some Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Yes, I am back from our family vacation. What good is a vacation? Let me count the ways.


POSITIVES

1. Uninterrupted Time with Family
2. Brain can defragment.
3. Time with God is powerful.
4. Refuel
5. Refresh
6. Read 3 1/2 books (reviews to come)
• Redeeming Love
• Ragamuffin Gospel
• Signature of Jesus
• Zilch (1/2)

NEGATIVES

1. NONE