Get in the Christmas Spirit

This is too good not to pass along to my family and friends -

You will thank me later.

Come Ye Thankful People, Come

There are many things that I am thankful for . . .
Christ's amazing love
Family - my wife, Sondra; our daughters, Shelbi, Morgan, and our newest, Evelyn; my dad; my mother-in-law; my brother and sister-in-law; Sondra's sister and brother-in-law; many nieces, nephews and greats as well.
Friends
A Christ-centered church
A job/ministry that I love

This old, hymn is a little old school but sums it up well for me

 
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.

Happy Thanksgiving . . . and, Count Your Blessings.

Why Do We Underestimate What Kids Can Do?

Recently I have been reading Robert Epstein's Teen 2.0 and wish I could have stayed for his symposium after the YS ATL mtg this past weekend. His whole premise is that we need to help kids reach core competencies and stop prolonging adolescence. He says much in the book that I agree with and some that I do not but overall I think he is on to something.  Here is a video of a 13-year-old who I think help proves Epstein's point. You will enjoy this kid.

Touching Nurse Commercial

I remember three years ago when Shelbi said to us that she had been praying for awhile and really felt like God was calling her to the nursing profession. We were a little surprised since she had never ever intimated that to us but were very supportive. She has great skills, talents, and the temperament to help others so it definitely fits the way God has wired her. A couple of days ago, I saw this commercial, It definitely reminded me of Shelbi. She is currently doing a clinical at St. Jude's.

Oh My, Joe Pa

What a sad turn of events in the last few days with the Penn State University child molestation scandal. What seemingly was a clean, above the board program, was, in fact, one of the most vile. In no way am I trying to grandstand and take advantage of an opportunity to rail against someone else, but it is an opportunity for me to learn from so that I and others do not repeat the same mistake.

I am a Jo Pa fan, or have been for many years. I liked the black and white, no frills approach to football. I liked the way that he coached hard nosed football. I liked that he coached from the box, when a few years back, he got hit on the sideline and broke his leg. There are so many things that I liked about Joe Pa. But there is one thing that I cannot stand about him now that it has come out; he values football, appearance, and fame above young boys, their families, players, etc. What he did legally was a good start, but when it was evident that the University "legal" system was not going to act properly on the intelligence they received, he did nothing further. And, because he valued football above everything else, many boys and their families were forever scarred. It could have been handled differently. It should have been handled differently. All the good he has done for his players in helping them develop character, teamwork, unity, etc. cannot be negated nor should it be. But, . . . all of the pain and suffering endured by young boys and their families by Mr. Predator Sandusky cannot be negated either. Much of it could have been averted . . . and Jo Pa did nothing further than what was his "legal" obligation.

It is a very sad day and time. But, . . . it has been many sad days and years for the true victims of Mr. Sandusky's predatory ways. May God be merciful to those who are the true victims. May God restore their lives and may He show them true purpose that comes through Him.

Jo Pa, evidently you are an incredible coach.I have admired you for years for your coaching prowess. Unfortunately, there are more important things in life than football. Thanks for reminding me that nothing is more important or more valuable than real, live people. It is for people that Christ came and died and rose again to redeem us back to Himself. I am praying for the victims and their families. I am praying for you. I am praying for Mr. Sandusky. I am praying for myself.

Be It Resolved . . .

The Courageous movie that has been out since September 30 is one of the best movies I have seen if not the best ever on men being courageous men of God. I have been fortunate to see it three or four times with my work at LifeWay. Our church, Hermitage Hills Baptist, has been spending the last month focusing on addressing the issues associated with men being courageous men of God. Last night was a powerful time of men signing the resolution promising to honor God, our wives, and families. It was pretty awesome.

I have to admit that it was a little uncomfortable for me though. I found myself struggling with the whole idea of "do I sign in front of a group" or "do I show up and just not sign it." Let me explain. A number of years ago, I met with a small group of men and we made a very similar commitment. I was much younger, our girls were much younger, and my wife is still younger. (Notice how I just honored her there. Big smile.) Trust me, I have made many mistakes along the way as a husband, a dad and a Christ-follower, but I am committed already. I am not trying to sound better than I am, I get that I am a sinner saved by grace and left to my own devices, "I will return as a dog returns to his vomit." I never want to bring shame on the name of Christ, His bride the church, my wife or our daughters. I really just thought that since I have already committed to these things, why would I need to do it again.

I know why. And my pride was trying to tell me otherwise. I needed to sign in front of my church family as a strong form of accountability. Not so others would think, "what a great guy for making this commitment", but "what a weak guy that we need to continually hold accountable in his walk with Christ." I needed to sign the resolution in front of them not because  I am strong, but because I am very weak and I need love; encouragement; a swift kick in the butt at times; and, people who will not be afraid to walk with me in strong and weak times in my life.

I am thankful for a ministry like Sherwood Films who is willing to address the hard issues in a medium that will communicate the truth and I am thankful for a church who values people over programs. I am praying for all of us men who signed last night. I am praying for and thankful for Joey Hickman who is willing to hold me accountable. I am thankful for a God who loves me just the way I am but is not willing to allow me to stay the way that I am.