Friday, June 26, 2009

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God For My In-Laws

Tomorrow, we will be gathering with my in-laws, family, and friends to celebrate my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. It is a testimony of God's faithfulness that they are able to celebrate this significant milestone. So, thank God for my in-laws!

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Non-Waiver Trade Deadline

Although it is still weeks away, discussion abounds about the upcoming non-waiver trade deadline in baseball. The contenders are looking to see what pieces of the puzzle they need to push them over the top and make it to the playoffs while the teams at the bottom of the standings (that would be my favorite teams) are looking at what veteran players who are approaching free agency would be valuable additions to a contender who in turn has something to offer for the future of the cellar-dwellers. It is perhaps a chance to jettison some salary and acquire some prospects who will make the team better in the long run.

Now, I'm not a GM nor am I a veteran player in the last year of my contract, in fact, my name is not popping up in trade discussions at all. So, why do I bring this up?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1

Maybe my life can be reflected as a baseball team. God is the Owner, Jesus the President, the Holy Spirit is perhaps the Director of Baseball Operations and I'm the General Manager. I know that there's "The Plan" to build a successful team and that I need to act in such a way as to help build this team. So I need to ask myself these questions.

  • What is "everything that hinders?"
    • There may be beloved veteran "players" on my team that are hindering me from "making the playoffs." They may need to go.
    • There may be exciting "prospects" on my team that aren't part of the long term picture. They may need to go too!
  • What about "the sin that so easily entangles?"
    • Have I as GM, chosen "players" who reflect badly on "the Plan?" I need get rid of them.
    • Have I signed "bad contracts" that I need to suck up as a loss and move on?
  • Now I need to "run with perseverence!"
    • There are 162 games in the regular season in baseball. Even after the non-waiver trade deadline there's a lot of season left. I need to know that changes today may not mean that the team will gel tomorrow.
    • Fans of perennial bottom-dwellers are always thinking that it can be better next year. It may take some time to see the benefits of the changes I make.

Fortunately, in life, there is no non-waiver trade deadline. The only deadline we have is one that we don't know. How many days do I have left? I don't know, but I know that today, I've got time to examine my life and see what is hindering me and what is entangling me and run the race before me!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for my Dad

With Father's Day upon us this Sunday, I'd like to continue my Thank God It's Friday series by thanking God for my Dad!  I admit that the older I get the smarter my parents were!  There are many things about my Dad that I am thankful for.
  • Regular church attendance - even before it mattered to me, we as a family were weekly church attenders.  Over the years, my Dad has served in a variety of volunteer positions in the church.  Since church became important to me, I've always been a weekly attender and my boys know that I've been a volunteer in a variety of ways at our church.
  • Modeling marriage - My Mom and Dad have been married for 44 years.  My wife and I have a way to go before we hit that mark, but God-willing, we'll make it.
  • Gadgets and stuff - My Dad is a retired electrical engineer.  Of course he had some cool gagdets over the years.  I used to love playing with his soldering iron.  Even though I owned a CD player before he did, his was better than mine.  My Dad had a large record collection that it took me years to match in terms of volume.  Comptuers: Before PCs and Macs, my Dad bought a Timex Sinclair computer.  My Dad still has a larger TV than I do.  I get my love of gadgets and stuff from my Dad.
  • Country Ham and Sorghum - Not together (although why not?).  Two of my favorite foods which I learned to love from my Dad.
  • My first Cheap Trick concert - Yes, my Dad took me to my first Cheap Trick concert.  I don't know if he enjoyed it, but that was the concert that made me want to be a bass player. 
  • Sitting in the rain at Memorial Stadium during the 1979 World Series - Yes, the Orioles lost the series.  Yes, I still hate "We Are A Family."  But I can say that I was there because my Dad and I went!
So, let me summarize by saying "Thank God for my Dad!"

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

There's a song in here somewhere

Alright, I confess, I've started writing a lot of songs that I haven't finished writing. Sometimes I find a cool riff or chord progression and can't find any words to go with it. Other times, I've got what seems like a great lyric fragment and can't finish it. Heck, I've even got some titles for what are obviously going to be Grammy-winning songs but I haven't taken the time to sit down and write them. (Feel free to pause reading while you LOL.) Yesterday, I had occasion to read through Psalm 17. Verse 15 struck me as being a beautiful expression of the end result of the process of sanctification we are walking through. I need to set aside some time to meditate on this and then sit down with a guitar. Stay tuned!

I am innocent, LORD, and I will see your face! When I awake, all I want is to see you as you are.

Psalm 17:15 (Contemporary English Version)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

In front of a firing squad

It has been reported (and reported and reported and reported...) that Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta is going to be fired any day now. As I type this, he hasn't been fired yet. Has it affected how he is managing the team? From prior interviews I've read/heard with him, I wouldn't think it has. Has it affected the way the team has played? Uh... no... It's been the same old same old.

How would I react if I knew I was going to be fired any day now? Would I give 110% (of course I wouldn't - I work with Ph.D. statisticians and know that's impossible) and do a great job or would I decide to stick it to the company and get all that I could before being shown the door? Regardless of what I would do, why would I do it? Would I do it out of selfish greed, out of pride wanting to prove myself, to please my employers while they are still my employers, or... to bring glory to God? I've been at my current job about 11 years longer than Manny Acta has been at his. Do I know what tomorrow will bring for either of us? Do I even know what today will bring?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Monday, June 15, 2009

10 memories from the recent HEAV convention in Richmond

In no particular order... 
 
10. Being in Richmond with my wife while the kids were in Annapolis with my parents.
9. Quiet meals alone with my wife that we didn't have to cook.
8. Listening to "Bad Voddie"
7. Seeing friends old and new.
6. Seeing the hardcore shoppers working up a sweat in the Exhibit Hall.
5. Remembering that Home Education is discipleship.
4. Dining at Penny Lane Pub.
3. "If you can't say 'Amen' at least say 'Ouch'"
2. Did I mention being in Richmond with my wife while the kids were in Annapolis with my parents?
1. Loving my kids even more when it was all over.
 

Friday, June 12, 2009

Two Thieves

In my daily Bible reading, today I was reading through the crucifiction of Christ. I was reminded of a poem I wrote a long time ago.

Two Thieves

Two theives went to the cross that day
with a heretic condemned by the Jews
One thief went to paradise
This... is good news

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for inquisitive children

This is the second of my Thank God It's Friday posts where I'm taking some time to thank God for things other than Friday. Today, I'd like to thank God for inquisitive kids. I've got two of them and I thank God everyday for them.

The older of my inquisitive ones is a man of a million questions. He's well known for asking questions. He has a hunger to learn and to figure out how things work. It serves him well. He's probably the one that will grow up to be an engineer or a scientist. My younger inquisitive one is a master of hypothetical questions. When he gets on a roll, almost every sentence he speaks begins with "What if..." Often times the questions get sillier as they go on, but it shows the depths of his imagination. He'll be the creative story teller.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Thank God it's Friday!

Yes, we've all said it at one time or another: "Thank God it's Friday!"  The work week is drawing to a close and the weekend is arriving.  But Friday's also just another day.  There are really so many other things that we can thank God for besides it being Friday.  I'm going to endeavor to blog about one thing to thank God for every Friday.
 
Today, I thank God for "I Want You... To Want... Me!"  One song changed my life.  I heard the single for "I Want You To Want Me" (from Cheap Trick at Budokan) on the radio (probably AM radio at that.... WYRE or WNAV).  I bought the single.  Loved it.  Loved the B-side "Clock Strikes Ten."  Wore out the grooves on the 45.  Bought the album.  Played it over and over and over and over.  I loved that lead guitarist Rick Nielsen had hundreds of guitars.  Decided that I wanted to play guitar too.
 
Fast forward 30 years... I am older and I still listen to Cheap Trick.  (New album coming out in time to make a great Father's Day gift!)  But more importantly, I play guitar and bass in the worship band at my church.  In fact, since the fall of 1983, I've been playing guitar (or bass) and leading worship in college groups, helping out with youth groups, and in the churches I've attended.  I've written songs that I've played and sung in church.  I am thankful that I've been able to play guitar for God's glory for so long.  Falling for "I Want You To Want Me" seems to be the marker at the beginning of the road I'm on.  So, thank God for "I Want You To Want Me."
 
I wonder what my life would be like if I instead had fallen for "Reunited" by Peaches and Herb.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

The Examined Life

This past Sunday, the sermon at church was titled "The Examined Life" (click here to listen or download). It focussed on the need for and benefits of spiritual examination. (Thanks Mark, great sermon!) The first text looked at was from Psalm 139.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

Spiritual examination... Been there, done that. Yes, I need to keep on doing that. But hearing the sermon reminded me of a time in my life when I did some deep spiritual examination - which even though it was a painful time, ultimately resulted in good. Those who know me well (or were around me during August/September 2008) probably know what I'm talking about - when I broke my ankle!

To make a long story short(er), I was scrubbing green gunk off of the siding on the north side of my house. The ladder started to sway and I started to get off. In fact, I hit the ground before the ladder did. And by "hit" I mean fell off and hit the ground. I immediately knew an emergency room visit was in order and after my wife got the kids off to a neighbor's house, she drove me to the emergency room. X-rays were negative - "It's not broken" they said, just a bad sprain. I followed up with a doctor a couple of days later, she said to go see an orthopedist. Went to see the orthopedist, they took new x-rays. The X-rays didn't show anything broken. But, he said something to the effect of "I've been doing this for 30 years and I know that it's more serious than just a sprain. Go get an MRI." Well, I went to get an MRI and sure enough, the orthopedist was right. In fact, the radiologist called the orthopedist and said "You're not going to believe this." The orthopedist responded "Yes, I will!" Lots of little fractures in the bones around my ankle. Lucky me, I'd get to spend the next 10 weeks in a cast!

Sometimes sin is like my ankle. Someone might look at my life and say "He's a good guy. Nothing wrong with him." Then someone else might look again and reach the same conclusion. There may not be any big sins for all to see in my life just like there weren't any big obvious breaks in the x-rays. But examine me closely and I'm sure you'll see lots of little sins that, like the little fractures in my ankle, affect my walk.

It took a closer examination to see the fractures in my ankle, but that in turn is what led to the appropriate course of treatment. It sometimes takes close examination to see those "little sins" and lead us to the appropriate treatment - confession and repentence. We may outwardly look like we have a great walk, but in reality we're limping. I'm reminded of one of my favorite verses:

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Isaiah 64:6

My righteous acts are like filthy rags. Now, if I were translating this verse, I might have said "our righteous acts are like my six year old son's socks." Now there's something filthy for you! Even after going through the wash, they still look dirty. (Yesterday was laundry day, does it show?) But fret not, two verses later we read:

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

We are the clay (which can be pretty dirty can't it?) and God is the potter. We are the work of His hands and He is molding us and making something out of us. Which in turn reminds me of the previous week's sermon (Good job Nace!).

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10

I'm not saved because of my works or because of my filthy rags. It is by grace. I don't deserve it, but yet it's given to me. I am God's workmanship. I was created to do good works! This is another of the benefits of spiritual examination. As Mark put it on Sunday "It helps us discover patterns of Christ at work in us." Do I see evidence of Christ at work in me? Yes, I do. I see plenty of evidence of how God is blessing me: A wonderful wife, two great sons, a great job, I get to play guitar and bass and serve the Lord at the same time. Praise God!

So if you give a quick glance at my walk and it looks okay to you, maybe that's real. If a closer examination reveals something wrong, that may be real too and it needs to be dealt with. If I'm the only one who knows there's something wrong, it still needs to be dealt with. Let the examination begin, er, I mean, continue! Let the potter have his way with me and make me into a work of art so that those around may see the art in me and want to know the Artist.

One final thought on examination...

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:22-25