Eye of the Hawk

This hawk was sitting on our fence this morning. Our dog walked right below him but didn't see him. The hawk just watched him walk by, then eventually flew away.

It was the beginning of an interesting day. A family friend, Sherry, died on Sunday and my brother drove in from the Metroplex to preach her funeral this afternoon. I stood in the heat listening to my brother speak and thought about how much Sherry would have loved this gathering and my brother speaking so kindly of her. It's too bad we have to die before people gather to honor and remember us.

Let's remember to tell each other how much they mean to us when they can still hear it.

There Comes a Time...

...In every man's life when he must turn over the keys to the riding lawn mower to his teenage son and let him mow. It's not as easy as you might think. You are fully aware of how badly he can be hurt by this iron horse; and you are also painfully aware that he can tear up your expensive tractor. It's a rite of passage, though. I took this normal picture (right), then was trying to take another picture and my camera did what you see in the other two. I thought they looked kinda cool so I posted them.

Fun on the Fourth

We had a great time at my cousin's place on Cedar Creek Reservoir yesterday. Lance took us out on the boat and towed the kids in this inflatable raft. They had a large time. Then, what really took our breath away was the incredible fireworks at dark. Huge aerials were going up at the same time all around the lake. I've never seen anything like that. Thanks to Lance and Amanda for hosting us.

Total Commitment to The Ride

I love going to amusement parks and riding the thrill rides. The bigger and faster the better. But there is that moment, just before you take off, that is always unnerving to me. You are strapped in and totally at the mercy of the park. You have buckled your seat belt and pulled the harness over your shoulders. I remember thinking, “If this thing goes off the tracks and lands up-side-down, I’m totally stuck in here.” It’s a claustrophobic feeling. But that is all part of the thrill. What you are is totally committed to the ride. You are strapped in and there is no turning back.
It seems like forever and then, finally, you take off and it is all worth it. It pulls back into the station and they release you and you run to the end of the line to go again.
What if you weren’t totally committed to the ride? What if you just put one foot on the seat because you were not sure you wanted to commit? The train would leave the station and you would be standing there watching. You would miss the ride.
Christianity is much the same way. The only way to experience the thrill of the ride is to be totally committed to it. You cannot dabble in Christianity. You must place your whole self into it and strap in. You must place yourself on God’s mercy and think, “If this thing goes off the tracks, I’m stuck here.” When Jesus said "believe in me", this is what he meant -- for us to place ourselves at his mercy and let him be in control.
So, totally commit to God. Give him your whole life. Strap in and pull the harness over your shoulders. God has a thrill ride planned for you, but you have to get into the seat to experience it.

Do Not Live in Fear!

I’ve noticed a definite pattern in my preaching. I am the pastor of a country church and I continue to emphasize how God looks after us and walks with us through troubles. Did you know the Bible tells us not to be afraid 365 times? - once per each day of the year. God does not want us to live in fear. He wants us to live in faith.
I’m preaching tomorrow on Psalm 91 that says we can live in the protection of God and that he will spare us from the troubles we see happening around us. Further, he will bless us with long life.
This brings up some difficult questions: Does this mean that the Bible is not true since we have all faced sickness, trouble, and even death?
A skeptic wrote and asked how I could believe God is watching out for our best interests when we see such tragic events around the world. It’s a good question that deserves an answer.
When we look fairly at Psalm 91 we see that there are conditions to God’s protection and provision. The writer says God protects us when we dwell in the shelter of the Most High. This means we are living our lives close to him. The Scripture clearly teaches that this means we love him with all of our hearts, souls and minds; we are putting no idols before him; we are trying to obey him. The Scripture never promises God’s goodness for people who do not believe in him, love him, and obey him. I can think of few things less fair than ignoring God then expecting him to take care of us. That’s not promised and shouldn’t be. I think many people live their lives for their own pleasure and purposes, with little or no disregard for God, then conclude that he doesn’t exist or care when something bad happens to them. Where is the sense of fair-play in this?
On first reading Psalm 91 we might conclude that if we belong to God we will live to be 100 years old. Yet, some fine Christians are cut short at a young age. Some children are killed or die of disease. What gives?
The best gift the psalmist could imagine was living a long life. What could be more important than that? But he probably didn’t understand that what God offers is eternal life. It is not until Jesus’ teaching that this is clearly seen. Whether a person lives 4 years or 98 years, that is still only a split-second compared to eternity. Jesus said not to fear those who can kill your body but not touch your soul. Yes, I will live a long life - whether I live one more year or fifty-five more.
It’s interesting that Psalm 91 says we will see pestilence and plague all around us. Isn’t this true? It says we needn’t fear the “terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day.” Because we know God loves us and wants what’s best for us, we do not have to fear. Yes, bad things still happen, but nothing is a disaster if it is the will of God. This is the basic truth we must believe so that we will not worry. He allows pain, but uses it to make us more like Jesus, which is his ultimate goal for us. Remember, pain is a gift because we cannot live without it. We cannot mature without it, ether.
There is a warning accompanying this Psalm: Satan quoted it to Jesus to try to get him to jump off of the temple so that angels would catch him. Jesus said we do not have the right to jump off temples and expect God to protect us. He said this puts God to a foolish test. Again, fair-play; when we make poor decisions, God allows us to face the consequences.
We were facing a serious “pestilence” one time. We were out of money and had run out of sources to get any more. It was looking bad. We didn’t know what to do and I was beginning to get mad at God. (This is my normal reaction when things aren’t going my way.)
Then, about four in the afternoon, we heard a car honk outside. My wife went to investigate and it was our church treasurer with a check for a thousand dollars for us. A couple had given it as a pastor appreciation gift. How about that?
The bottom line: No matter what, stick close to God, live to please him, and then don’t worry. He really does know what is best for us and he is big enough to provide it.

The Confrontation

Our dog, Jello, ran out and barked at this deer this morning. The deer snorted at him. At one point they were nose to nose, but my camera's batteries died (of course) at that moment. Since it was morning, Jello had to abandon the close encounter and take care of some morning business!

Do Parents Talk Too Much?

Do we talk to our kids too much? Let me ask that another way: do we say too much to our kids? Parenting expert Brenda Bird says yes we do. She says one of the biggest mistakes parents make is yammering on and on to our kids. The problem is, they will eventually tune us out.
I guess the reason this is a problem is we talk to them so often when they are small. That’s a good thing, but if they enter junior high and we are still talking continuous baby talk to them, that’s not so good.
We ask them to do something, and they ignore us. So we ask again. And again. And again. If we find ourselves asking them twelve times to do something, the problem is not them, it’s us. We need to change our method because asking over and over is not working. What happens is they realize we are going to keep asking and the first few times don’t count. Those first few requests are just warm ups, so they ignore us until we get up and threaten them with some creative form of bodily harm. Then, maybe they will respond.
What we need to do is train them to hear us the first time we ask them to pick up their socks or empty water bottles or video game cases. We ask once, making sure they hear us, and if they don’t respond in a reasonable timeframe, there is a consequence; perhaps a loss of privilege, but it needs to be related to the crime so that it makes sense. Not too harsh or too soft. If we tell them they are grounded for a year, they know we are bluffing and our word is not much good. If we are fair and consistent, though, they will understand that when we tell them to do something we are serious.
For this to work, we have to make reasonable requests. If they are watching a TV show, it is only fair to wait until a commercial to make a request. If they are trying to watch something and we are talking to them, they are guaranteed to tune us out. I really don’t blame them! It is inconsiderate when you really think about it. We might say something like, “Don’t start another show until you pick up after yourself.”
We must let them know that we expect them to act when we speak, but we must also keep our requests fair and consistent. If we are talking to them about something they need to do in two weeks, they will tune us out. If we are fussing about something beyond their control, they will tune us out. If we are complaining about something trivial to them, they will tune us out. If we start a sentence with, “When I was your age”, they will tune us out.
And if we think we can change their behavior with many words we may be setting ourselves up for a disappointment. Children tend to do what they see us do. If we leave our shoes in the middle of the living room, that’s what they’ll do too, and nagging won’t change that.
As our children get older it is important to keep the lines of communication open, but nagging and talking to them all the time actually closes the communication. We should choose our words wisely, say them at the right time, and expect results. Our children want to hear from us. They want affirmation and encouragement. I think we can do this without talking too much.