A Question For God

If you think, after reading the title of this rant this morning that what is to follow is of a highly spiritual nature, I hate to dissapoint you.

I have a love/hate relationship with the month of October. I love the cooler temperatures and the changing of the seasons but I despise the torments that always accompanies it. I have allergies. Not just, "bother you a little in the morning" allergies or, "Hey, I feel a sneeze coming on" allergies. NO! I wish it were just "A" sneeze! In the month of October if I feel the urge to purge in my upper sinuses, it is usually followed by about 8 more - right in a row. Then wait five minutes and I get to do it all over again.

Here's the irony - when I was placed on vocal rest on August 2 for 3 months, the doctor gave me specific instructions not to sneeze. What?

I made a decision about 2 months ago to do the "next right thing" in regards to staying fit and exercising. I fast-walk a little over 3 miles every day - outside. I just came in from my morning routine and while I was outside something has decided to fly up my nose and send me into mutliple spastic eruptions. I am in torments!

My question to God, when I see Him in Heaven is going to be, "Whatever made you decide to create ragweed? What good does it do? You can't bottle and sell it. It is not a cure for some rare disease. I don't know anyone who sings its praises. In fact, I can't think of any good reason for it, at all! But then, I am not God.

Maybe he put it here to keep us humble and He uses it as a tool to grow us. I don't know, but I would like to. Would my knowing help the itching eyes, runny nose and incessant sneezing? No, but, jusy like any of kid, it would give me something to blame and yell about.

Enough of my ranting. I have to go get a kleenex.

I did hear a pretty good quote from a guy on the radio a few minutes ago: "Success is going from failure to failure with no decrease in enthusiasm". Think about it.

Blessin's on ya...and bring on the Zyrtec!

A Legend AND A Hero

I just read where golf legend Byron Nelson passed away here in Fort Worth today. A long-time pioneer of the modern game of golf, Mr Nelson was known as much for his kindness and his caring for others as he was for his long fluid swing that is still copied today.

Mr Nelson turned professional in 1932 and retired 13 years later at the age of 34 and he still holds the record for the most tournaments won in a row, 13. He won 18 tournaments that year. As a matter of fact, in 1944 and 1945 he won a total of 31 tournaments. He retired at the top of his game to be with his family on his ranch.

It has been said that Mr Nelson was loved by all who knew him. He eventually became one of the most respected and well-like personalities in sports.

In an interview in 1997 he made this statement to a member of the press, "I don't know very much. I know a little bit about golf. I know how to make a stew. And I know how to be a decent man."

Mr Nelson was a legend in the world of golf but his life proved out, in the way he interracted with people, that he was hero more of us should emulate.

Rest In Peace

Cravings

Yesterday morning in the 9:30 service Pastor Jess challenged us to proactively think on things that we crave. Many things were said and listed, not the least of which was the unbelievably scrumptious looking cinnamon roll he heated, and then ate - in front of the rest of us, I might add!

I later begin to think on the things that I crave: awesomely wonderful things such as fried chicken, a 10,000 foot mountain with 12" of fresh powder and no one else to get in my way, a tall glass of iced tea (that was today's craving), music that brings back good memories, a hug from my 5 year old, a hug from my wife, a good night's sleep, 30 minutes in the jet tub with a good book, popcorn when I'm at the movies, and so much more.

I then began to think on the intagibles that tend to cause my mind to wander and long for: wisdom, Christ-likeness, a pure mind, humility, patience, durability and faithfulness. My next thought carried me to this question: am I willing to pay the price to attain these attributes in my life? It is one thing to long and crave something that brings satisfaction and pleasure to us, but it is quite another when that object of our eye and mind has a cost attached to it - and sometimes a quite expensive one at that.

Christ has called us to a life of craving Him - longing for Him as a parched man thirsts for water, running and chasing him as a lover would pursue his love until his dying day, desperately searching for the one he has given his life to. This bold, passionate pursuit of God does not come easy nor without a price. It costs to be a bold, reckless lover of God. The price of this love affair must be at the expense of everything that comes naturally to us. In short, we must die to ourselves and that is a price many people are not willing to pay. The cost presents itself in our attitudes, actions, desires, thoughts and the words that we speak.

So, what do we do with those longings for holiness, time spent one-on-one with our Maker, those desires to please Him. Are they fleeting or are they burning within with no remedy except to surrender our will to Him, the lover of our souls, with no care or thought of the price it requires?

May we crave the eternal things of God more than we would something that will only present an extremely temporary satisfaction. The great thing about this craving God factor is that we get the best of both worlds, the natural and the spiritual - we get our tea and get to drink it too, so-to-speak. AWESOME!

Que Dios Le Bendiga

Lessons Learned

Isn't it amazing as parents, how much time we put into trying to teach our kids the lessons of life so they themselves do not have to experience the negative but can learn from our mistakes. I challenge you, that for the next week, to log on paper each time you attempt to "direct" your child/grandchild away from something that might hurt them or be bad for them. It will probably amaze you.

If your kids are like mine (and me) most of the time your warnings have fallen on deaf ears. I have never seen a kid, after being told not to do something dangerous, harmful or not wise, turn to their parent and say, "Wow! Thanks mom and dad. You know you're right. I was about to be SO stupid. I will learn from your mistakes and I will never attempt to do that again." Only on Leave It To Beaver, maybe.

We as adults like to look at children and be the teachers and think we are experts on the matter of lessons learned. The truth is that some of us have learned from a lot of them. Some of us are better learners than others and others seem to have to stay after school on the matter. But lest any of us think we've arrived, we probably need to think again.

It dawned on me the other day that there has never been a lesson I have learned that meant anything unless it cost me something. Think about it. If the experience didn't cause me to lose or make me give something in return, it probably wasn't learned and I am probably doomed to repeat it.

I remember as a child, my parents told me to not to poke anything into the electrical outlet on the wall. They told me that Reddy Killowat lived in there and he would bite me hard and make me cry. I heard what they were saying, but I didn't listen. It wasn't until the day that as a 4 year old, I rammed a metal bobby pin right into old Reddy's lair - THEN I learned the lesson that my parents had been trying to keep me from having to experience. The lesson stuck. Here I am at 49 years old, remembering in "shocking" detail every jolt of electricity that hit my hand - and I will NEVER put anything else into an outlet, except what belongs there. Lesson learned!

As adults, think back on every financial deal that went bad, tempers lost and things said, overreactions, the results of procrastination, shortcuts taken that weren't really that short, mishandled relationships, etc. If those lessons didn't produce a life-change, those lessons were not valuable and have not cost in the process. John Maxwell says that, "People change when they hurt enough that they have to, when they learn enough that they want to, and when they receive enough that they are able to."

How many of us have stopped learning and changing and started teaching? I realize that we should never abdicate our responsibilities as parents to "train up a child" but just maybe we shouldn't try so hard to keep our children from experiencing some things in life that will teach valuable lessons but rather be there for them while they are learning the lessons for themselves. Those will be the things that will make them better people. Why would we want to deprive them of that?

Remember this - a lesson has no value unless a price has been paid for it.

A True Friend

While perusing my new emails a moment ago, I ran across this little quote:

"A true friend reaches for your hand... and touches your heart."

God, as I strive to love people today, let me be that kind of friend to others and in doing so, love You more.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong

Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so

...enough said

What Is It About the Rain?

Have you ever noticed how rain emotes so much emotion, positively and negatively, in people?

As I have watched the rain fall outside all day today I have been ecstatic on one hand while sort of depressed on the other. That we need it is so very true - that it limits our activities is also a constant. I have had to tell my five year old all day to close the door and not to go outside because of it. I myself had finally had enough of being cooped up and stepped out into my garage to watch it fall - boredom breeds boredom!

Think about it though - rain is just like life. If we never had it think of what our world would eventually look like. Likewise, if we never experienced those "rainy" times, the sunshine of our lives wouldn't mean as much to us.

"Thank you God for the much needed rain - and the lessons it brings"

- A great quote: "If you want to predict the future - create it!"