The Way

One of my favorite memories of being a dad while Shelbi and Morgan were young girls, were the times that they would take their own money to the store to buy something. Most of the time it involved something Barbie but sometimes it would be something like rocks. You know those bins of rocks that were so mesmerizing for young eyes. So many small things in a various array of colors. It was always a "fun" time trying to help the girls understand their options based upon the amount of money they had to spend or the packable space still left in the '95 Saturn. (Still driving that beast by the way! I know you are jealous.) Invariably, the question, "How much does it cost, daddy?" followed by, "Do I have enough?" Sometimes when they did not have enough, I would make sure that they were covered. It's what we dads do sometimes. It was in those times that I realized that I was investing in their lives not only for the "here and now," but in hop...

I aptly titled this entry as sharing grace rather than giving grace. If I am giving grace, it is incredibly limited. My storehouse of grace is basically non-existent. I am not a grace-filled person. On the contrary, I am pretty much a judgmental person when left to my own devices. I mean, why do people do such stupid things at times? Why would they choose to  . . . (you fill in the blank) when it is obvious that making that decision will end in pain and despair. Yep, I am judgmental. I know how things ought to be done. I have read Scripture, watched people choose destruction over life, so all you have to do is ask me and I will tell you that you are stupid. I will even look down my nose at you while I do it.  I just really am that good. And . . . I am a sinner who has been miraculously saved by God's grace. I have no grace of my own to give, but I am learning to share His grace. Slowly, painfully, I am learning. I am learning that what He desires of me is to bring Him g...

I do not like writing this blog entry. There. I said it. I do not like writing this particular blog entry because unless you have been in a cave lately, you know that Tiger's life is a mess, Mel, well, he is a mess as well, and Paul, yep, me, that one, is a mess too. How does it happen that people do stupid things? How is it that we all "fall short of the glory of God"? And, I know what you are probably thinking, "what did Paul do?" No big announcements of gross sin forthcoming. No tales of lurid affairs, running around with shady characters, and no videos of me doing something I should not be doing. But, I do have to tell you, my life and my actions are far from perfect. I get mad a people who drive slowly in the "speed lane". I get impatient when things do not go as I think they should. I think less of people than God does way too often. I feel entitled to many things when I have no "right" or reason to feel that way. My thoughts are at...