2007 in review

It's been an amazing year. As I look back on the year I see amazing things happening. Here are just a few of the things that have happened in my world this year:

1. We (pastors) found ourselves leading our church family through a very difficult time. It was exciting to be part of it and see what God did through this time.

2. This was the first year in a long time that I didn't go to Haiti. YEAH!

3. This is the first year in my adult life that I have taken 2 weeks off at the same time. It was amazingly refreshing. I think I will do it again.

4. I got the chance to ride my bike to Colorado and spend the week motorcycling in the mountains with my sweet wife and friends. I think I will do this every year.

5. On vacation this year I grew my first beard. I was surprised it was ALL gray. I think it looked pretty good.

6. I pastored at more funerals this year than I have in many years. Some of these dear ones were good friends. It's been hard in that respect.

7. I have been able to read some great books this year. I love books!

8. My dear wife has gotten very busy in the ministry, and I have been thrilled to see that.

9. We, as a church family, have seen the Lord work in amazing ways through this year. I know the kingdom of God would continue on just fine without our church, but it's been great to see God work in our little church family.

10. We found a new teaching pastor, Steve Hixon, this fall. He's a great guy, and I'm looking forward to working with him.

11. One of our pastors and a good friend is leaving us to work in missions. I'm sad that he's leaving, but excited to see what God will do in and through him.

12. I have been blessed to be able to spend some time in the word each day. I don't think I could spiritually survive the last year without that time with God each day.

13. I have been blessed to see God work in the lives of people in our church family. They have grown more than they know. Many left our church because of the problems we went through, but those that said, "this is my church" and stayed through this time have grown into an amazing church family. I wouldn't have missed it for the world or be willing to go through it again for anything!

I hope your year was one that brought you joy in your memories and growth in your faith.

Going deeper

Today I got an e-mail from a man I have been discipling for a while. He is growing tremendously, but it hasn't been easy....it never is. Here's his note today:

But He knows the way I take,

When He has tried me,

I will come forth as gold.

My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than food....Job 23:10-12

"God calls us into a deeper relationship than we can ever imagine. God will do whatever it takes to get us there if we ask Him. Sometimes it includes hardship, trials, and even tremendous loss in order to get us to loosen the grip of world. Often it is not that the world that has a hold on us, but rather we are equally holding tightly on to the world. Still, in this journey God will never leave us. God always finishes His work. Though it may take time and we may feel as if the cost is too great, He is preparing us for His purpose and will not relent. The real question I often ask myself is, would I really want Him to; especially after coming so far? In our impatience, we want it now...today. However, as we read God's Word it is evident that God is prepared for the long haul. He is faithful in ways that we do not understand. If you go deep into the ocean, the deeper you go the more pressure you will experience. Still it is only in the depths that you will see things that few have ever seen. God longs to purify each of us. How long will we be content to simply float on the surface?" --Mike B.

Blessed

We finally got to have "Christmas" with or kids and their families last night. It was great chaos. A present opening orgy of sorts. That happens when you have grand kids at their ages, they simply want to open them all RIGHT NOW. So we let them. We had a great time. One gift I want to mention is the one I got from my son. He's 32 now, married and doing well. I love both of my kids dearly. They have been a wonderful blessing in my life. My son gave me a framed picture and in the frame was this:
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"Dad, I wish there was a way to repay you for all that you've done for me: Al the caring, all the love, all the sacrifice and concern. I always knew you would be there for me, and that your love never depended on what I did or didn't do. You encouraged me to work towards and reach whatever goals I set, and you helped me to have faith in my abilities. You taught me that mistakes don't mean failure, and that I need to try harder. Thank you for all these things, and for everything that made my growing up years a very special time.

I love you very much."

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Knowing that he wrote it himself makes it a prized possession to me. Isn't it funny that over time it's little things like this that are the most valuable to us? It's not the expensive "toys" we care about, it's the inexpensive personal things that are important.

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And, I must mention one more that is really amazing- my daughter used her gifts to make something by hand. She is a wonderful artist and craftsman. She spins her own yarn! This year she gave me a neck warmer for cold days on the motorcycle, but what was great about it is that she spun the yarn herself, then knitted the neck warmer too! That's a lot of work and love for her to invest in what looked like a simple gift, but I won't see it that way.

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I don't know what you may have gotten for Christmas, but I was richly blessed with two simple gifts I will keep for the rest of my life.

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(The pictures are from our evening together)

Person of the year 2007

The person of the year for 2007 is not one, but one represents them all. They are all the men and women who are risking their lives to protect our country and those in Iraq, Afganistan and other places around the globe. My nephew is one of them, and although war is never the best choice there are times in a fallen world when it is forced upon us. War is a horrible thing, and yet these men and women are risking everything to serve their country. For their sacrifice and service they are the person of the year 2007. Thank you all for your great sacrifice for us all.

(I don't care what Time magazine says. I'm right and they are wrong on this one. Putin as man of the year? I don't think so!)

Planning ahead

At this time each year most of us begin to plan ahead for the new year. We call those plans "New Year Resolutions." It's an opportunity to try to do better this new year than we did the last.

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But let me invite you to look ahead a little further....further into the future than just the new year. Further than you have ever looked before....all the way to the end of your life. When it's all done here what do you hope others will say about you at your funeral? When friends and family gather to remember you what do you wish they would say about you?

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He was a great dad, godly man, hard worker. She was an amazing woman who loved her family, everyone around her and her Lord. I'm sure you have your own list of things that race through your mind...."I hope they will say," or "I would like to hear." So, let me invite you to plan ahead....not for the new year, but for the finish line.

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Plan ahead in this way- write down the things about you that you would want others to remember you for and begin to weave those things into your life NOW. None of us know when our days are done, but we can intentionally set a course for the finish line now. Live your life today with the finish line in view.

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There is another finish line for each of us....it's our interview with our creator. That meeting is the final finish line. For those who have trusted Christ as their savior it will be a great day whatever the commentary may be, but for those who have not trusted Christ for salvation that finish line is a dark day. Many have said it before me, but let me repeat it. We do not live for the commentaries of friends and family, although their words about us will tell a lot about our lives. We live for an audience of one- God himself. Live your life knowing that there is one who is watching, one who will give the ultimate report card on your life. Live for an audience of One.

Christmas delayed

It's been a strange Christmas. We found out last weekend that Joye's mom was ill. So we postponed Christmas and drove to Arkansas to take care of her. She's out of the hospital, and home with us for a while to recover.

As we get older so does everyone around us including our parents. We are still blessed to have our parents with us, but that will not last for too many more years. Time passes, we all age and one generation departs with another to follow, but for now we will enjoy having Joye's mom with us.

I hope you all had a great Christmas with family. We still have Christmas ahead of us.

Merry Christmas!

Thinking about Christmas

I have been reading the Christmas story over and over to prepare for tomorrow. It's such an important event in the history of mankind....the entrance of the creator into our world. I know that most simply see this as a secular holiday....a time of gifts, vacation, a time to be with family. But it's so much more. It's the visible revelation of the love of God for each one of us. The God who made us became one of us to save us. It's the most amazing story the human race has ever heard. I think I'm just beginning to get a sense of how much this birth of Christ really means...this humble entrance onto our planet in a little backwater town in Israel is the pivotal event of history. The world has asked for proof that God exists...here it is. There has been no other person in the history of the human race that has made such a difference in our world as Jesus Christ has. He is the central figure of time and history. He still makes the cover of Time magazine each year, and he has changed my life forever.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thank you for showing us what the love of God looks like.

Another reason I like Texas...

It's December 21st and I snuck away to spend the day with a couple men from our church riding motorcycles! Christmas is only 4 days away and we rode 300 miles today....it's another reason I like Texas.....75 degree weather a few days before Christmas!

We had a great time, rode out into the country and found some roads where we didn't see a car for miles. It was great. I got some time to "breathe" and pray. I really needed it.

I don't know if you can call this a hobby, but I will claim it as one. For me it's a great way to get away and refresh my mind and lose myself.

The best Christmas gift ever!

Christmas spirit

Christmas is a great time of year for most, but for some it's a very sad and lonely time. It may be the first year without someone they love. For others it's simply that they are alone, and this time of year is really difficult.

In this time of celebration of the love of God and his gift to man, look for those who are alone, discouraged, grieving and reach out to them. Invite them to join you for Christmas, give them a gift, call them....reach out.

Christ came to show us the love of God for us, let's do the same for those around us who simply need a warm smile, a hot meal, a friend. And if you know someone who has lost a loved one this year call them and encourage them. It's the perfect time to extend the love of God to those around us.

For us!

The Christmas story is one that never gets old to me. It's the ultimate revelation of God's love for mankind that he, the one who made us would become one of us to save us.

"For unto you is born" is the language of the story. It was for us. Christmas is the revelation of God's great love for us and his willingness to humble himself by becoming a man, living here with us, dying for us and then rising again so we could have eternal life through faith in him. It's a wonderful story of God's great love. For all the social discord over Jesus and Christianity it's still the greatest story ever told...the story of God's love for us!

Quote of the YEAR!

Well, it's official. The quote of the year is......drum role, please.....‘Don’t tase me, bro!’

Reuters
updated 12:56 p.m. CT, Wed., Dec. 19, 2007-

LOS ANGELES - "Don't tase me, bro," a phrase that swept the nation after a U.S. college student used it seeking to stop campus police from throwing him out of a speech by Sen. John Kerry, was named Wednesday as the most memorable quote of 2007.
Fred R. Shapiro, the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations, said the plea made by University of Florida student Andrew Meyer on Sep. 17, accompanied by Meyer's screams as he was tased, beat out the racial slur that cost shock jock Don Imus his job and the Iranian president's declaration that his country does not have homosexuals.
Shapiro said Meyer's quote was a symbol of pop culture success. Within two days it was one of the most popular phrases on Google and one of the most viewed videos. It also showed up on ringtones and T-shirts.

I won't even list 2 through 4 on the list.....it's just too sad. If this is the best that the great minds of our country can come up with then we are in a sad place. Hopefully they chose the most notables, not the most intelligent....so at least that would give me some solace.

While you're making other plans....

There's an old saying, "life happens while you're making other plans." As a pastor I see that in my life and the lives of the people I care about all the time. Yesterday one of our guys called me to ask for help. His mother was dying, and he wanted to know what to do about funeral arrangements. He said, "we just didn't think about this part of it." That is usually the way it goes...we are busy just living each day and then suddenly must deal with things we never thought about.

We got a call like that yesterday. My wife's mother is going into the hospital today. She has pneumonia. So we spend the evening discussing what we should do. Should my wife go there immediately? How to get there- drive or fly? Do we cancel Christmas and do it later? How do we fund the trip? Can I rearrange my schedule to go with her? A dozen questions that suddenly must be answered and dealt with. It's just life in a fallen world, and we all go through these things.

Once in a while though I get a glimpse behind the curtain and see what life could be without the ravages of sin on this planet, and wonder how many of the things we live with, endure and have to work through would not even exist in a sinless world. So, here's a short list of things that I think will change when this broken, fallen world is fixed and put right-

-We won't have to deal with funerals anymore...no more death...that will be nice.
-I won't have to have a Kleenex box on my desk for the spouse who is sitting in my office after finding out their mate is divorcing them. In fact the tissue companies will be out of business with the removal of tears....even that little thing is profound.
-Hospitals will be empty! No more sickness or death.
-No more glasses! I'll be able to see perfectly.
-The courts will be closed. Without sin to mess things up they won't be needed.
-Traffic lights will be turned off, you won't have to legislate "doing the right thing."
-No more politicians! How great will that be?!
-No more keys needed...without sin we won't need to secure against its temptations.

As my mind wanders I think of a dozen things (I'm sure there are hundreds) that would change when sin is dispatched. I can't wait for the day...the day when Christ returns, sets up his kingdom, and we see for the first time how life was meant to be without sin and it's impact on our lives. I think we will be amazed at how different it will be....how many things we think of as "normal" will be done away with....I can't wait.