Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 4)

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It’s the hardest, yet most rewarding thing we can ever do. Some parent their biological children. Other’s adopted children. Still others will parent their children’s children or will serve as parents to a child who needs someone to look up to. No matter how you parent or who you’re called to parent, your job is the same raise them to send them.

From the time they were first born, I knew this day would come. When they couldn’t feed themselves and all they did was want to be held, I knew today would come but didn’t give it a second thought. I wanted them to be able to do something, anything really. They slept, cried, ate, needed changed and looked cute. Little did I know this day would be here so soon. We were raising them to send them.

When they hit the school years they were a handful to say the least. They teased and tormented each other and us. They played tricks on teachers because no one knew one from the other. They had their serious moments and their just plain goofy and silly ones. I fear I took too much of that time for granted. I wasn’t patient enough nor loving enough in a way they needed me to be. I overlooked the things that were probably more important to them than I realized.

We did throw the ball and play video games together. I remember letting them help me wash the car and mow the lawn. They were by my side through most of their days at home. Even though they had each other, they both just wanted to be where I was. When they were sick they wanted me to stay home. They wanted me to hold them when they were tired. Even when they were throwing up they wanted me by their side. At the time I didn’t like that much but today I’d honestly do it in a heart beat because today we’ve raised them to send them.

When they hit high school and blazed their own trail, we tried to hold them back a little from making massively stupid mistakes. Don’t worry we all make these mistakes. I wanted to protect them as much and as long as I could. We encouraged them. Challenged them. Reprimanded them. We let them fall then picked them up and set them on the road again. We were there to make sure they didn’t hit bottom too hard because we wanted them to learn from the pain. We were raising them to send them.

The past few weeks have been the best of my life. We’ve spent some great time together. I cherished each of the moments. From the 25 plus hour car ride to throwing the frisbee or talking video games each of these are memories I’ll hold onto forever. The hike to the top of Little Devil’s Tower or the nonstop chatter about politics, guns and knives were all things I will not soon forget. They’ve been the greatest times that I just don’t want to end but we’re raising them to send them.

These days have been the greatest but also the worst days of my life because I know what’s coming. The raising is ending and the sending is beginning. One of them will go far and one will stay closer for now but we’re still sending them both. We’ve done what we could and for good or bad the raising portion is done. It’s now time to send them.

To My Boys:

I couldn’t be more proud of who you are and what you’re going to do in life. You are strong men of God. You have a foundation that I pray will never erode or break down. Build on that foundation.

Lucas, as you make final preparations to head off to be prepared to defend this country, even for those who don’t appreciate your service, remember where you started. Remember your fun-loving side. Make people laugh. Remember your faithful side. Show people Jesus. Stay strong when you are pushed to your limits. Keep your nose clean and your chin up. Stay safe and always watch your six. Stay true to you. Dad couldn’t be more proud of you!

Matthew, as you move to college and fight for us all by defending our technology infrastructure, know you are making a difference. You brother gets recognition for his service and I want you to know yours is equally important. Remember your serious side and how you get the job done. Work hard. Be diligent. Overcome the way you have with every challenge you’ve faced so far. Be focused and confident in who you are because you are enough! Dad couldn’t be more proud of you!

Remember the raising moments we shared. Remember that whatever the next stage of your life brings you always have a place to call home wherever we are. While the raising is ending and the sending begins, you can always come home.

To Parents and Parents to be:

Your goal is clear and yet challenging. You are called to raise them to send them. Some of you will send your children near and others will send them far. Remember this is what you were called to do. Your vocation as a parent is so vital. Be there for your children. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Hold them. Dance with them. Play ball with them. You don’t have to be their friend but you are called to love them and cherish them. Raise them well because one day you’ll send them too. But be sure to send them ready to battle the world around them. Send them to stand for the faith you’ve shared with them. Send them to be men and women who will carry the flag of your family heritage wherever they go. Send them with the assurance that while the raising has ended and sending has begun you are always there to support, encourage and love them.

Go with God and may God go with you.

I’m sure we know what has been come to call the Lord’s Prayer. Many of us know it by heart actually. As a matter of fact I bet several of you started saying it in the quiet space in your mind as soon as you read the title of this post. But what if that’s not really the Lord’s Prayer?

Now don’t go burning me at the stake for saying something heretical! I’m not saying Jesus didn’t pray the words of the Our Father. But the intent of that prayer was to teach us the basics of what prayer could and should look like. But it wasn’t His prayer. It was supposed to be our prayer.

Jesus’ real prayer can be found in John 17 and really opens up his heart. Jesus’ prayer isn’t for bread or health or anything like that. He’s so much bigger than just bread and keep me out of temptation. His prayer was for you and me. He prayed the biggest prayer ever heard. It was a prayer for your future and mine. He prayed for things that we don’t even think of most of the time.

Jesus’ prayer, what I think of as the Lord’s real prayer was all about the Father bringing us together as the body of Christ. It was about us loving one another and looking out for each other. It was about the father keeping us under his wings and protecting us from the world, from evil and from ourselves. The point of Jesus’ real prayer was that what he began in us would be finished by the Father and the Spirit.

I’d strongly recommend you read the words of the Lord’s Prayer of John 17. Pick a version of the Bible that you can understand well. Read it slowly. Think about the words he says and things for which he asks. This is Jesus’ heartfelt prayer and you are the focus of these words.

If you’d like, feel free to check out a message all about this other Lord’s Prayer.

What in the world is happening? We were all hoping that 2020 would end and the stupidity, division and fear that it brought would end as the ball lit up on New Year’s Eve. We hoped that 2021 would bring change. That different would come. Well we got change. We got different so now what?

As a culture we’re bent on violence and destruction. Yes both sides of the aisle. All of us will gravitate to our version of right and wrong. We’ll side with the people who express our views most clearly. We’ll find wrong in the people who look different than us. We’ll condemn those who don’t react the way want them to react. But really? Is this the world we want to hand to our children?

Where do we go from here?

In 2020 men and women who were upset with the way they were treated rioted in the streets and burned down homes. They killed people in broad daylight as their means of protesting. As the calendar changed to a new year, we were met with another group who didn’t like the answer they received and gave into the temptation to move from a protest to a riot. Neither are right. Neither are American. Neither depict being one nation, under God, indivisible.

This country is not perfect. We have broken leadership on both sides of the aisle. The very ones calling for peace today were silent when violence destroyed cities across America this summer. Those who are silent today decried the violence all year. You can’t have it both ways.

You can’t destroy the lives of men and women, terrorize their families, and burn down people’s livelihoods. You can’t sit idly by until the story line shifts to your agenda then start to speak. But honestly where do we go from here? Can this whole thing be redeemed?

The short answer is yes and no.

No, we can’t change what happened. We can’t change the devastation wrought on our country by thugs and evil doers whether in the summer months through racial riots or last night in political ones. Whether they are organized in movements or in ad-hoc groups of people or just proposed random acts of violence – it all is downright evil and we need to stand up for what is right.

Where do we go from here? To be honest there is only one way to fix what’s broken. And it’s going to sound cliche to say the very least. The answer is prayer. Now before you write me off as some bible thumping right wing pastor who’s trying to capitalize on this moment give me a second.

When we pray in a moment like this, there’s no room for blame. When we pray in a moment like this there’s no earthly savior to whom we can pledge our allegiance. In prayer we bend to the ground. In prayer we humble ourselves. In prayer we don’t see one man or woman as better or worse than another. In prayer we are the broken, we are the problem and we can be the solution.

Prayer is the act of bending our will to God’s plan. On January 20, 2021 we will witness the inauguration of the next president of this nation. Some of you will be elated because you think this man will save America and unite this people. Some of you will be upset that your guy didn’t get in. Well let me tell you something. Neither one will do anything that God doesn’t allow him to do. Your “guy” won’t save America.

So what’s the answer? Where do we go from here? Down, on our knees and pray. We need to stop the finger pointing and starting the hand folding. We need to stop looking at our neighbors like they’re the enemy and love them like they’re people too. The only answer now is prayer. Not a prayer to have your man become president. If you pray that prayer you’ve missed the point! The prayer we pray is for God’s will to be done no matter what we think.

So friends put on the knee pads and pray. Get down and humble yourself. Stop throwing social media bombs at one another and I told you so’s and he could have done better or she would have handled this differently. You’re just as much the problem as those who tried to burn our country down this past 12 months.

What part did you play in the problem? Where did you not love your neighbor? Where did you fail to see someone different than you as your brother or sister? What can you do better to fix the little slice of the world in which you live? Pray for that.

Where do we go from here? Simple! Prayer!

Today is your day! It’s your victory day. The day you’ve been waiting for. The day we’ve all been waiting for. So many memories have been built over these 88 years of life. From joy to sadness from sorrow and pain and peace, wellness, health and comfort you’ve experienced all of it.

We’ve all made some massive adjustments the last few days and weeks. And if we’re being honest no one has a clue how long this will last! As I sit in my office and work through some details for upcoming services and ministry plans we are implementing to meet the needs of our community, I scrolled quickly through Facebook. It got me thinking…

Well it’s only a matter of time before we all are consumed by the onslaught of the dreaded Coronavirus that’s sweeping the world. But the greatest danger of the virus isn’t the illness it brings, it’s not the feeling of sickness or the cough or even the potential for death. The greatest danger of this virus, from what I’m reading is that is forcing us to react instead of respond.