James Williams

Ironic blog post

2012-01-30T11:40:00.001-06:00

I can't define "irony", but I find the following actual true facts to be full of it:

1. Barry Manilow didn't write "I Write the Songs."

2. Westboro Baptist Church is neither Baptist nor a church.

3. Prince Fielder is a great hitter but not a good fielder.

4. Jimmy Fixx helped get the whole nation interested in running for health reasons, but then he died while running, at the too-young age of 52.

5. The song playing in the restaurant on the Italian cruise ship at the moment it hit the rocks? "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. AKA the theme from "Titanic".

6. The phobia of longs words has a name: Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

7. Cy Young was a great pitcher, but he never was quite good enough to win a Cy Young award.

Thinking As You're Supposed To

2012-01-25T11:21:00.000-06:00

The following opinions are my own and are in conflict with conventional thinking, a fact which is not of great concern to me.

1. I'd rather listen to Knopfler than Clapton.
2. The temperature outside is not generally worth talking about.
3. I am surprised when people act surprised that a kid they used to know 15 years ago is now a grown-up.
4. I prefer Van Halen with Sammy over Dave.
5. If I am in a group of guys and the conversation turns to cars, I'm going to find an excuse to leave.
6. In and Out is essentially the same burger as Steak n Shake
7. I've been to Disney Land and Disney World. And I like Six Flags better.
8. Cats: yes. Dogs: can take 'em or leave 'em.
9. I believe Raffy Palmeiro
10. Baseball isn't boring.
11. Bob Dylan: Extremely overrated.

Happy MLK Day

2012-01-16T09:01:00.000-06:00

I have established a yearly tradition using Youtube to show my kids why we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. This year, Burnside Writers has published my account: http://burnsidewriters.com/2012/01/16/a-teachable-moment-taking-advantage-of-technology-on-mlk-day/

Why Bethke Gets it Wrong

2012-01-13T22:17:00.000-06:00

If you know any Christians, or are one yourself, you may have seen Jefferson Bethke's 4-minute poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus". It's become quite popular in just a few days. Bethke is sincere, passionate, and mostly off-track.

The bulk of his message is that old standby "It's not about religion, it's about a relationship", which has been around at least since I came back to the Lord in 1987. It was refreshing and eye-opening at the time, but here we are a quarter-century later, and it's still being said as if it were a brand new concept.And that would be fine if it were in line with Scripture, but in fact, it's in opposition to what God's word says.

I have searched the Bible to see where it says anything negative about Religion, and it isn't in there. It's fairly easy to find a passage where the writer denounces those following a false religion, or not following their religion well. But the concept of Religion itself being evil is not found in Scripture.

In fact, the Bible gives us a definition of "religion.". The Bible is not a dictionary, but there are a few words which are defined for us as if it were a dictionary. For example, "Faith" is defined in Hebrews 11:1. It says "faith is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen." Very straightforward definition.

Likewise, James 1:27 tells us that religion is defined is helping those in need:

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

There are lots of ways to unpack the meaning of that verse, of course. Many would say that to visit orphans and widows can be expanded to helping anyone who's in need. The meaning we are given is deeper than what it seems to mean at surface level. But regardless of what all it means, it is indisputable that religion is defined positively in James' statement.

I mention this because throughout the clip, Bethke mentions Religion, and why he despises it.

Rather than deliver a blanket dismissal of the video, I'm going to back up my position in a much more fair way: by going through the clip thought-by-thought:

0:26 He says that voting Republican is not to be equated with following Jesus. I agree wholeheartedly. It goes downhill from here, but it is a nice start.

0:38 He accuses Religion of starting wars. It's true that there have been some conflicts which had Religion as a root cause, but the most significant wars in the last century have been fought for completely different reasons. "Religion starts wars" is a strawman.

0:40 He says Religion builds large churches but doesn't feed the poor. This is a lie, pure and simple. I am not familiar with the outreach efforts of every single church in the US, but it's much more safe to say that most churches do, in fact, help the poor.

0:45 Now he says that Religion tells single moms that have been divorced that God doesn't love them. Really? I've been a Christian a long time, and have never heard someone do that. It's likely that some person, somewhere, purporting to represent Jesus, has done so. But the fact that it's mentioned here carries an implication that it's a common occurrence. I seriously doubt it. If Bethke thought it to be extremely rare to tell divorced single moms that God doesn't love them, then he wouldn't bother mentioning it.

1:05-1:15 Says that Religion is superficial. Again, not what James 1:27 says.

Let's take a timeout
I should stop and mention that many of the things he says about Religion are perfect descriptions of Legalism. If he just would have said "Legalism" in every place where he said Religion, there'd be no problem.

At this point, "I think we're letting ourselves get hung up on semantics" if about to come out of your mouth. As if word choice isn't important. If Bethke is a poet, he needs to learn that carefully chosen words are a poet's best tools. It is no small thing to choose the wrong word and focus on it for the entirety of your piece. I am reminded of the Saturday Night Live skit where Gilda Radner's character named Emily Litella heard that advocacy groups wanted to put a stop to "violins on television" and gave a long speech about why we need more violins on television. When someone corrected her and said that people were actually against "violence on television", she put on an embarrassed smile and said "Oh. Never Mind." Similar sketches had her railing against "protecting endangered feces" and "making Puerto Rico a steak." Bethke seems to be following in Litella's footsteps.

Ok, back to the clip.

1:35 "Acting like a church kid while addicted to pornography" That's not religion. That's hypocrisy. Someone please buy this guy a dictionary.

2:19 "just following some rules". He takes the idea that rule-following will not get us into heaven (very true), to the illogical extreme. One man's "rules" is another man's "holiness". And God has a lot to say about our needs to follow "rules" once we have attained that initial salvation.

2:25 "If Jesus visited your church, would you let Him in?" In a clip full of senseless statements, this one reigns above them all. I'm quite sure my church would let Him in. We have never turned anyone away, to my knowledge. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most churches in the US can say the same.

2:51 "Religion says DO". So he pulls out the cliche about works. We all know that salvation is not from our works. Nobody argues that. But Scripure is very clear that works are important after you become a believer. In fact, the sentence right after we read that our salvation is not from works (Ephesians 2:8), we read that we were made by Him, for works (Ephesians 2:10).

I'm saddened this young man is so sincere, yet lets his passion has led him into perpetuating untruths about the bible, churches, and pure, undefiled religion. Even more sad, he's not alone.

Most Remakes Are Awful - A Couple of Exceptions

2011-12-21T22:17:00.002-06:00

I'll go ahead and say it: most remakes of hit songs are unnecessary. That is, more often than not, a singer covering a well-known song is doing something that the world would be better off without. In most cases, they simply do an inferior job; the new version isn't as good as the original. It typically plays out one of three ways:

1. Sometimes, the remake is so identical to the original that you have to ask "what's the point?"

2. Some artists will try to avoid that scenario by making such radical changes to the song that it becomes barely recognizable. And usually, that's a disaster.

3. Many artists fails to realize that their voice simply isn't right for a particular song.

As with all truths, however, there are exceptions.

A notable exception to #2 above is Chantay Savage's masterful reworking of the Gloria Gaynor's anthem "I Will Survive". One listen of this slow jazz version will abolish any notions of this as a disco song.

For situation #3 above, Sara Evans provides a nice antidote when she covers Rod Stewart's "My Heart Can't Tell You No". Her voice is so perfectly suited to this tune that it becomes obvious that Evans should have been the one who recorded this tune first. I can't take Stewart's version seriously anymore.

What I Read in 2011

2011-12-13T08:45:00.001-06:00

Because I write reviews as part of Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze program, I have posted reviews of most of the books I have read this year. Click the link to see the review. I don't get all my books through Booksneeze, so I didn't write a review of every book I read.

I listed these books roughly in order, starting with my favorite, but I liked each one. The top 3 are pretty much interchangeable in terms of preference. Also, I reviewed two bibles and several children's books, which I didn't rank.

My Favorite Books I Read in 2011:

Unbroken
Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me

(this one has a comment from the author!)
Paper Angels

(So does this one!)

Fahrenheit 451 (I read several times as a kid, but re-read it this year)
The Book of Man

Beautiful Outlaw

(this review got picked up by Burnside and generated some conversation)

Erasing Hell
Slave

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Too bad this one was Rated R; there's a great story in there if you get past the unnecessary titillating stuff)

December 1941: 30 Days That Changed America and Saved The World
Pujols: More Than a Game

Thunder Dog
George Washington Carver
How To Write a Book Proposal

Kids:

The Three Cups

Heroes and Villains of the Bible

No Place Like Holmes

How To Be God's Little Princess

Bibles:

Jesus Calling Devotional Bible

Take Action Bible

The year isn't quite over yet, and I am currently reading

Raising a Modern-Day Knight

Twelve Mighty Orphans

5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Son

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Storms of Life

2011-12-09T09:42:00.001-06:00

Image from AP: See bottom of page for link

It's the eternal question: why do bad things happen to followers of Christ?

I found an answer that works for me, in a portion of the story of Noah and the Great Flood, located in the 8th chapter of Genesis. This passage has given me guidance on how to react to the hard things in life.

It's important to remember that much of our Christian walk is described in the bible in pictures. The Flood was caused by an intense and lengthy storm, and storms often represent trouble in our lives. Read on for just such a representation:

Genesis 8:1
"And God remembered Noah, and all the animals, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided."

The first verse opens with a reminder that God doesn't forget His people, especially in storms. This truth applies even when the trouble is the consequence of our own sin. Often we have storms in life that we bring upon ourselves. Noah didn't cause this storm to come about, but Mankind did. Man brought this destruction on himself.

TIMEOUT

Before continuing in Genesis 8, we need to take time to balance what was said in the preceding paragraph. That example was given to show that we often can be the ones at fault for the appearance of storms in our life. However, it needs to be emphasized that the opposite is true, as well. It is entirely possible to be in the middle of a tough situation which we had no hand in causing.

Here's an example:

Mark 4:35-40 MKJV
"And evening having come, He said to them on that day, Let us pass over to the other side. And when they had sent away the crowd, they took Him with them as He was in the boat. And there were also other little boats with Him. And there arose a windstorm, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was now full. And He was in the stern of the boat, asleep on a headrest. And they awakened Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we perish? And He awakened and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

We see here that Jesus is the one who directed them to go where they would encounter the storm, and with it, an opportunity to learn a thing or two about trusting in Him.

I wanted to include this passage to make the point that God will allow storms to surround us, and we need not feel guilty about such circumstances. One of the tricks of Satan is to try and make us blame ourselves when things go wrong, or worse, to think that God is punishing us for our bad behavior. Hopefully, this passage will expose the enemy for the liar that he is.

TIME IN
Now, back to Genesis 8:1:

His mercy

God has been sorry He made man, but He shows mercy by allowing Noah to continue to live. We may go through storms, but He won't let us get destroyed completely; however, the destruction that does happen is for cleansing. Parts of us are being chipped away, parts that do not fit into the mold of His character.

A Need-To-Know Basis

Additionally, let us keep in mind that the storms will stop in God's time, not our own. Matthew Henry's commentary points out that God had told Noah when the flood would come, but He didn't tell Noah when and how the storms would end. God had to tell Noah about the flood ahead of time, as it was necessary to his preparing the ark, but telling him about the end of the flood would keep Noah from being able to exercise his faith and patience.

Genesis 8:2-3
Faith means not relying on what you can see

Modern pictures of the account of the Flood depict Noah as out on the deck, not unlike a cruise ship. In fact, however, he had closed the Ark off, and stayed down below. He didn't rely on what he could see; he relied on hearing from the Lord

Genesis 8:7
"And he sent out the raven, which went forth going to and fro, until the waters were dried from the earth."

The thinking of the carnally minded person vs. the Spirit-led person
It seems as though the raven never came back--not because he found land (he didn't). He probably went from one dead carcass to another, eating what he could. He never came back to the safety of the boat, which was provided by God. He may well have drowned. He represents carnality; the mind focused on this world, finding supposed safety and solice in what the world has to offer.

Contrast this with the dove in verses 8-11, who came back for rest and safety. In Scripture, the dove represents the Holy Spirit; or Spirit-led person; in this passage, it represent one who may go and look around to see if the storm is over, but knows to always return to the Lord, and trust in Him for safety and rest, and comfort.
Genesis 8:8-11

"And he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had become low on the ground. But the dove found no resting-place for the sole of her foot, and returned to him into the ark; for the waters were on the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ark. And he waited yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came to him at eventide; and behold, in her beak was an olive-leaf plucked off; and Noah knew that the waters had become low on the earth."

The meaning of the Olive leaf

The Hebrew word used here for olive means "something which yields an illuminating oil." Oil has spiritual significance as well, and usually represents the spirit.

Of course, the Olive branch also symbolizes peace; always remember that God does not look at His people as enemies.

Genesis 8:12-14

"And he waited yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; but she returned no more to him. And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month , on the first of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry."

Waiting on God's direction

Notice that even though Noah saw that it looked safe, he didn't leave the boat until told to by God. Waiting on the Lord is hardest when it seems safe, but as this story shows us, it only seems safe in our eyes, to our logic. And human logic always which falls short of God's wisdom.

Genesis 8:15-20

"And God spoke to Noah, saying, Go out of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every animal which is with thee, of all flesh, fowl as well as cattle, and all the creeping things which creep on the earth, that they may swarm on the earth, and may be fruitful and multiply on the earth. And Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him. All the animals, all the creeping things, and all the fowl--everything that moves on the earth, after their kinds, went out of the ark. And Noah built an altar to Jehovah; and took of every clean animal, and of all clean fowl, and offered up burnt-offerings on the altar."

The Importance of worshipping the Lord

The first thing Noah did after unloading the boat was an act of worship. How is your worship life? How is it while in the middle of a storm? How is it when the storms have done their damage?

Genesis 8:21
"And Jehovah smelled the sweet odor. And Jehovah said in his heart, I will no more henceforth curse the ground on account of Man, for the thought of Man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will no more smite every living thing, as I have done."

You may recall that God cursed the ground in Gen 3:17, but here He takes it back. He acknowledges that man has an evil heart. "From his youth" implies that it's genetic, not learned; it's the way we are, at least until God works through us to make us more like He wants us to be.

Genesis 8:22
"Henceforth, all the days of the earth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease."

God doesn't just restore life to the earth, He restores order to the world; the seasons are now lined up according to His plan. Always remember that God will use storms of life to bring order to your life, to bring about the circumstances that are best for you.

Link to original image, along with many other amazing photos of Hurricane Irene.

Three Cups: A Review

2011-12-06T11:39:00.001-06:00

As a member of Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze program, I get the occasional free book for review purposes. My latest one is a kid's book: Three Cups, by Tony Townsley, Mark St. Germain, and April Willy. Three Cups tells a story of a child who is given a way to place money that is given to him: one cup each for giving, saving, and spending.

I got the book for my own kids, and sadly, it was a couple of years too late. The book is written at a level of a boy or girl who's around age 4 or 5. It's probably the type of book which is best read to a kid.
That said, it's a great little book, and the story is interesting enough that the kid who hears or reads it doesn't realize he's being preached to or being taught.

Yet, they are being taught an important lesson: it's good to know how to manage your money, and it's good to spend some, to save some, and of course, to give some.

I like this book a lot. Just wish I would have gotten it a few years ago.

Forgiveness: New Thoughts

2011-12-04T22:44:00.001-06:00

A short time after I started driving at age 16, I got my first speeding ticket, and countless more followed over the next few years. As I was working low-paying jobs at the time, I had to find an inexpensive way to resolve all these tickets. (Don't bother telling me about the best option--simply driving at or below the speed limit like a good citizen--I am very aware of that.) I tried deferred adjudication, I tried getting a lawyer to get it off my record, and I even tried taking the defensive driving option.

Each of these remedies has its pros and cons, but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed my annual trips to defensive driving class. After attending it several times, I have become so familiar with the material that I feel like I could teach the class myself.

Another teaching I have heard countless times is the sermon about forgiveness. I've been a Christian for a long time, and it's been a frequent sermon topic wherever I've been. Because of my frequent and prolonged exposure to this teaching, I thought I knew all there is to know about forgiveness. So imagine my surprise when I ran into some ideas in my personal prayer time that were fresh and new, at least to me. It all started when, a few weeks ago, I began to remember an incident which happened with I was just a 7th-grader.

Here's the scene: I was outside at school, during 6th period off-season workouts for football players who weren't on the basketball team. For reasons unknown, an 8th-grader came up and punched me in the face. To this day, I have no idea why he did this. But he hit me repeatedly, and by the time I gathered my wits enough to defend myself, others came over to break it up. Because nobody was around when this kid initiated it, it appeared to everyone that the two of us were fighting.

The head football coach, Coach Miller, came over and asked why were were fighting. I told him that I had no idea why, but this kid started hitting me. The kid said I shot a rubber band at him, which was not true. The coach had to decide who was telling the truth. He chose to believe the other kid, and then administered punishment to the both of us.

Whistle Sprints
This punishment came in the form of whistle sprints, an unpleasant practice where we are to run at full speed on the football field until the coach blows the whistle. When we hear that, we are to dive horizontally, straight ahead, and slide on the grass, then get up and start running till the whistle blows again, at which point we dive. Because this was winter, the grass was brown and not even a little bit soft. We were basically having to jump into hard ground which contained a negligible bit of grass.

I was upset, of course, that I was being punished so harshly, but even more painful was the fact that the coach didn't believe me.

Many years into my adulthood, I saw him in a restaurant, and I could have walked over and shaken his hand, but I chose to pretend I didn't see him.

The Scene As I Imagine it Would Happen
I had pretty much forgotten this unfortunate episode of my life, but recently it came back to mind. I began daydreaming. I imagined seeing the coach again, perhaps at a restaurant, and then telling him how wrong he was. I imagined him with a sad, remorseful, look on his face.

But then, I came back to reality as a sudden thought shook me: I realized that I had not forgiven Coach Miller for hurting me. This came as a shock, because I really thought I had this forgiveness thing down. I began to ask God to explain this to me, and it was as if He said that as long as I held onto my right to tell this man how his actions had caused me pain, then I had not really forgiven him. My wish that Coach Miller would feel horribly guilty upon hearing this was effectively a desire to see him punished, and it was a desire that I would be the one administering the punishment.

So What is Forgiveness, Really?
Since then, I have been re-thinking what I know about forgiveness. Perhaps it's not what I think it is. I do know this: it's separate from forgetfulness. As many commands as I can find in Scripture to forgive, I have yet to run across one instructing us to forget. But in my case, I was holding on to the idea of letting him have it--verbally--and that thought is based on revenge. Revenge and forgiveness cannot be roommates. If I choose to live with one, then the other has to go.

A couple of weeks ago, a video clip has been making the rounds, getting laughs. Two Canadian football legends, now in their late 70's, were brought together onto a stage for the purpose of discussing their playing days on rival teams. It turned out that the two men were still angry at each other over a hit in a game some 50 years ago. They got into a fight, right there on stage. One man hit the other with his cane, then the fists started flying.

Although someone shared this story with me for humor purposes, I didn't laugh. What I saw was two men who let anger and unforgiveness suck the joy right out of their lives for 5 decades. Can anything be more sad?

In Unbroken, author Laura Hillenbrand describes the main character's obsession with revenge toward a cruel POW guard, then says this: "The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when they make their tormentors suffer."

I have been praying that God will show me if there is something I have been holding onto for years or decades. He has answered my prayer, and uncovered a couple of things I am not going to delve into here at this time. But the responsibility is now on me to truly let go, to forgive people I may never see again in person. It's on me to let go of my "rights" to make someone feel as miserable as they made me feel. I need to move forward, and not delight in the idea of letting someone have it.

God help me do it. Life's too short to let stuff like this drain the joy out of my life.

Book Review: December 1941, by Craig Shirley

2011-11-30T22:25:00.001-06:00

Craig Shirley's "December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World" is a powerful account of the days leading up to, and the days immediately after, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent entry of the United States into World War II.

This 500+ page book (600 if you count the notes) has a very simple format: it devotes one chapter to each day of the month of December 1941. The chapters describe the events of each day, either directly or indirectly related to the coming war.

Of all the things I learned, I was especially surprised that, prior to December 7, the mindset of many Americans was not in favor of the United States entering the war. We are used to such things regarding the Vietnam war and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the image we tend to get of 1940's America is that of solidarity. In fact, the national mood changed quite a bit as of December 7, but even then, it wasn't a case of undisputed unity.

The stories and information in "December 1941" are excellent. I received a copy of this book for free for review purposes, with no obligation to deliver a positive assessment. Still, I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history, especially World War II buffs.

Heroes and Villains of the Bible--A Book Review

2011-11-15T08:02:00.001-06:00

"Heroes and Villains of the Bible" is aimed at kids about the same age as mine: tween to early teen. The content of the book is right in line with the title. There are 50 stories, each about a different person in Scripture, and each clearly defined as a hero or as a villain. The first two, God and then Satan, are obvious. Some others in ensuing chapters are equally obvious: Moses, David, Daniel, Females are not to be left out, either: Esther gets a chapter devoted to her heroism, and Delilah is one of the villains.

Each chapter has high-quality illustrations which, at first glance, appear to be photographs. The text in each chapter is straight from Scripture (International Children's Translation). No extra narrative is given.

Interestingly, there are a few lesser-known characters which receive some focus. Probably the most notable are Potiphar's wife and Herodias. I'm torn about the inclusion of these two in this book. On one hand, it's a good thing that more obscure characters are mentioned, as it helps the reader get beyond the best-known bible stories. However, both of these stories have sexual elements to them. My 10-yr-old, who read through this book in one day, has been made aware of the birds and bees, but his 7-yr-old brother has not, yet wants to read the book that his bog brother is reading. So be aware of that going in.

With that one caveat, I recommend "Heroes and Villains of the Bible" to anyone with kids in that general age range. We're going to be using it in our family's bible time every now and then.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

The Book of Man, by WIlliam Bennett: A Review

2011-11-08T08:47:00.003-06:00

When I saw the title and brief description of "The Book of Man", and noted it was written by former politician William Bennett, I had zero interest. I later saw a clip of him promoting the book, and the short clip consisted of him complaining. He complained about feminism. He complained about the emasculation of men. He even complained about the fact that a woman was taking over as CEO of Hewlett Packard. Or maybe it was IBM. At any rate, I'm not a big fan of complaining, especially professing Christians complaining that the world is against them and their values. So my interest in the book went to less than zero.

But then, by chance, I went back and read a more thorough description of the book. I found it wasn't 500 pages of one man's complaints about cultural changes. It is, in fact, nothing like what I thought. The Book of Man is a collection of essays, observations, true stories, and anecdotes about men. About the character of a man. About how the bar is raised for men. About how a man can best benefit those around him, starting with his wife and children, but extending far beyond that.

This isn't the type of book to be read straight through, although you certainly can choose to do so. To me, it's more of a coffee-table book; something you can go back to and take in small bites, as needed. I'm finding parts that I would love my sons to read. Others for my daughter to read, to help her know that she needs to have high expectations for any man who wants to be part of her life.

My take: my complete misunderstanding about what The Book of Man is about almost kept me from enjoying an excellent read. Now that I have it and have gone through it, I highly recommend it. One doesn't need to be a Braveheart-loving, feminist-hater to benefit from this book.

I only hope that the publisher (Thomas Nelson, who provided me a free review copy through their Booksneeze program) will find a way to communicate what this book is really about. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who didn't get it the first time around.

Envying the Rich and Famous

2011-11-02T10:33:00.002-05:00

I just read a comment by someone who expressed disgust at the opulence displayed by a Barbra Walters interview of a rich celeb who came from humble beginnings. Apparently that celeb should have given his wealth to charity. While I admire the good intentions of that comment, I also have some problems with it. My response:
----------
Hannah, I just re-read your comment. I’m not sure which specific wealthy persons were interviewed by Walters in the TV program you are referring to. But your disgust with their opulence got me thinking. Not having seen the show, I’m going to guess that what you mean by opulence. If I am wrong in the details, it doesn’t really affect my main point, so please follow me.

Rich celeb “X” buys large LA-area mansion. It needs work, so he hires contractor “A”, who employs Employees B, C, and D to come do the work. They knock out walls, put up sheetrock, install cabinets, apply paint, etc. Meanwhile, X also hires E, a 19-yr-old male who’s working his way through college, to handle the outside work in the garden, lawn, etc. for the estate. Finally, X hires E’s older sister F, who’s a single mom, to handle housekeeping duties.

While we judge X for spending his new-found millions to have much more house than he needs, we decide, on X’s behalf, that he should instead donate the bulk of his money to charity.

X refuses to take our advice on how he should spend his money, and the beneficiaries of his decision are A, B, C, D, and F, who are hard-working people who make normal wages and feed their families with those wages. Also benefiting is E, who will be the first college graduate his family has ever had.

I point this out not to say that materialism is a positive characteristic. But neither is short-sightedness, and certainly, neither is judgmentalism. For every yacht, chandelier, or indoor bowling alley owned by a person of wealth, there are hard-working people who are able to put bread on the table.

Rangers Game 6 loss: I'm done

2011-10-28T07:57:00.002-05:00

I'm a die-hard baseball fan, but after last night, I'm done for the year. This thing traumatized me. I'm frustrated, deflated, and demoralized. I had to put my kids to bed while one was in tears. I barely slept. I tossed and turned, then when I woke up, I was still shaking. No sport is worth this.
Game 7 is tonight. I thoroughly expect the Cardinals to win handily. But I won't be watching. I'm taking my wife out to a movie. The emotional investment I am making in the Rangers is not worth it; an investment in my marriage is a much better one.

3 Weeks of TV is just about enough

2011-10-24T10:50:00.001-05:00

Unlike when I was growing up, we don't watch much TV in our house these days. As a kid, I watched so much TV I actually had the schedule memorized. You tell me a network and time slot, and I'll tell you what's on, even if it's a show I don't like.

But by my 30's, I had narrowed down my TV interest to just a couple of shows, and then when the kids came, we thought it best to keep it turned off. They still watch videos, of course, and I may watch a late-night rerun here or there. But for the most part, we keep it turned off.

The one exception, since the kids turned 5 or 6, is sports. We watch some football and some baseball, especially when the beloved Texas Rangers are on. Mostly, they play on Fox Sports Southwest. Because we don't have cable or dish, we don't get FSSW, so watching a Rangers game is a rarity. A few Friday night games during the regular season, and then the playoffs. For the second consecutive October, the Rangers are in the third round of the playoffs, also known as the World Series. Throughout the 3 rounds, we've watched most of the games, and it's been a weird experience for us.

I say weird because we're spending 3 hours on the couch, focusing on the TV screen, 5 nights a week. We're seeing commercials we need to mute (or even change the channel from). We're not interacting. We're looking at the screen rather than each other. We're not enjoying the perfect weather outside. Honestly, I don't see how people can watch the screen night after night. I don't understand how we did it when I was growing up.

Don't get me wrong: I'm loving that the Rangers, after 4 decades of futility, are in a position to be the champions. I badly hope they win. I think it will provide some great memories that will be with us as a family that, 30 years from now, we can look back on. But I've had enough of TV, and I'm glad there are, at a maximum, only 3 games left. I'm ready to turn the television off.

Book Review: Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge

2011-10-13T23:49:00.003-05:00

John Eldredge's latest title, "Beautiful Outlaw" is his first since switching publishers. After a longtime association with Thomas Nelson, he's now writing for Faithwords, home of the great Billy Coffey . [Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the book for review purposes] The subject of "Beautiful Outlaw" is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Eldredge feels that many (most?) Christians have a distorted, incomplete, or one-dimensional view of Jesus, and he feels so strongly about this that he wants to set the record straight for all believers.

My take on this book is mostly positive. It's well-written, engaging, and anything but boring. The reader will be enlightened and encouraged to love Jesus more, because once you know Him, you can't do otherwise.

Eldredge takes many familiar stories about Jesus and expounds on them in an informative and inspiring way. I am praying my way through this book, asking God to reveal Himself to me, and, while I think there's more to be revealed, this book has done wonders so far in the two weeks since I received it.

Longtime Eldredge readers will find many ideas familiar. At various times while reading "Beautiful Outlaw", I was reminded of "Wild at Heart, "Epic", and "Waking the Dead", among others. But this book stands on its own. It's not a rehash of the same old ideas.

Now, the concern I have: There is a common thread among many books I've read over the past decade or so, despite coming from authors with very different perspectives. It's amazing that writers as diverse as Mark Driscoll, Donald Miller, John Eldredge, Matthew Paul Turner and Frances Chan, among others, find common ground. But in this case, they do.

Here it is: those writers, and many others, deliver messages which contain--although conveyed in different ways--the idea that "most of Christianity is getting some major things wrong, and I'm here to set it straight. If Christians will see things as I present them here, then the Church will finally be what it should be."

Of course, that's not an exact quote from anyone; it's my paraphrase. But here's Eldredge's own words from a recent promotional email about "Beautiful Outlaw":

"Jesus is beautiful and the church is a train wreck. What I mean is, the religious fog that has so long veiled Jesus is one tough veil to cut through. Even among our friends and those who love Jesus there is this sense of 'Really? Really? Can this be true? Can Jesus be this good? Why haven't I heard this before?' "

In a way, I can't argue with Eldredge (or the other authors mentioned above) on this point. I've been a believer for 35 years, and have seen more distortions, false beliefs, harmful mindsets, groupthink, and general untruthfulness than I can list for you here. I think back to what I was taught, and what I have taught others, and I can only shake my head and pray that God will undo the damage already caused. There are some ideas out there, shared among Christians, which badly need to be addressed.

That said, there's a right way and a wrong way to do so. I think Frances Chan has it most right: he simply says, without bashing others who disagree "let's open our bibles, and see what God says about this topic with as little bias as we can." He remains respectful of those with whom he disagrees even as he says specifically why they get it wrong. Chan's heart is for the Church to be as good as it can possibly be.

Eldredge, too, has a heart to see Christians see Jesus correctly, but in doing so, he insults most Christians who have differing perspectives. To hear Eldredge tell it, most Christians have not been walking with Jesus well for decades, possibly even most of Church history. They haven't even come close. See this video clip for an example. He minces no words.

Sometimes, incorrect perspectives do harm, and they should be pointed out. But there are times in "Beautiful Outlaw" when he goes a little too far. For example, the first chapter has a section titled "The Poison of Religion", then refers to some beliefs, such as Jesus being primarily a peacekeeper, as "nonsense". Well, it is and it isn't. If someone thinks Jesus is only a peacekeeper and nothing else, then Eldredge is right to call him out. But who really thinks that Jesus is only about one and only one thing? This paragraph, which is near the very beginning of the book, sets the tone for the rest of it: he's dismissive of any who see this, or other topics, differently.

Because of my diverse church experience, I have come to the conclusion that most denominations, while flawed, carry with them an expression of God that He has ordained for them to have. Pentecostals worship God in ways that make non-charismatics uncomfortable, but most likely we will all worship God in heaven in ways we currently think to be undignified. Presbyterians may come across as "the Frozen Chosen", but their adherence to, an insistence on, correct doctrine is valuable and necessary. The Social Justice types are often deemed by conservatives as too light on sin, but their caring for the marginalized who struggle with sins, poverty, and addictions are reflective of a merciful God. The fundamentalists who are derided for their unwavering commitment to preaching about God's wrath, and judgment, are proclaiming a message that Jesus Himself proclaimed in several occasions.

The bottom line is that just as a bouquet looks best when it's represented by different flowers of varying colors, so also is the Church beautiful because of its diversity. God gives different characteristics and passions to different believers; passions for causes which are important to Him. He doesn't give any one person--or denomination--the full load. Why can't we look at the Church, flawed as it is, and celebrate the different variations? Why not give God credit for being able to work through His church despite our shortcomings?

Too many Christians take their "thing" and try too hard to make it everyone else's "thing." By doing this, and by disrespecting those who see Jesus from different perspectives, we set ourselves up to be used by Satan (the word "devil" means "one who divides") to harm the cause of unity among Christians.

John Eldredge is onto something here: people lose out when they miss the personality of Jesus, or only focus on one part of His personality. Eldredge absolutely should share that message. But I wish he would have shared that without spending so much time focusing on how much other Christians don't get it right. In doing so, he's lifting himself up as the one who has the answers everyone has been searching for.

“Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, let not a rich man boast of his riches, let not a mighty man boast of his might, but let him who boasts, boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the God who exercises lovingkindness and righteousness on the earth for I delight in these things.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

Bottom line: "Beautiful Outlaw" contains a very helpful message, and I recommend the book. I only wish Eldredge would have toned down, or left out completely, his attacks on those who have presented different perspectives about Jesus to us over the years. We're all on the same team, John.

Book Review: Jesus Calling Devotional Bible

2011-10-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

If you're not familiar with Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling", I highly recommend it. It's a collection of many of her journal entries where she felt God was speaking directly to her. The words are presented to us in His voice, from His perspective, and contain wisdom which pertains to all of us.

As part of their Booksneeze program, Thomas Nelson recently sent me a copy (free for review purposes) of their new "Jesus Calling" devotional bible.It's the New King James translation, and the "devotional" portion is quite extensive, and very well done. A friend saw it at my house the other day and called it a "bible plus", an appropriate description, if you ask me.

A "devotional" bible can sound like a great idea, but result in something not so great. Bookstore shelves are full of devotional bibles which consist of the personal opinions of authors, or which seem to be a blatant attempt to capitalize on the popularity of some recent book, movie, or popular author. It appears that some were dreamed up by someone in the Marketing department rather than an attempt at truly benefiting the reader. ("The Toy Story 3 Devotional Bible": it's only a matter of time.)

The "Jesus Calling" bible, however, does not fall into such traps. The "plus" part of this "bible plus" is very well done. It supplements the surrounding Scripture, rather than trying to drown it out. For example, at the end of Job, the devotional calls to mind Romans 8:28, reminding us that God will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. How many bibles or commentaries have the good sense to tie Job with Romans 8:28? How many preachers do that?

If you are in the market for a new bible, I recommend this one.

5 Great Things about the Rangers Regular Season

2011-09-29T08:24:00.002-05:00

Great things about the regular season:

1. Rangers get the most wins ever for the franchise (96).

2. Michael Young gets 213 hits, tied for the lead. This is special, and probably underappreciated. Each year, maybe 5 players in baseball get 200 hits. Young has done this 6 times.

3. Napoli and Beltre, two Angels rejects, help us beat the Angels.

4. The Rangers win the last 6 games, refusing to coast after they clinched.

5. We did it with several solid starting pitchers, not just one Alpha dog.

Book Review: "Paper Angels", by Billy Coffey

2011-09-26T23:52:00.000-05:00

Billy Coffey showed promise with his first novel, "Snow Day", which was good overall, and great in places. But the leap forward from "Snow Day" to "Paper Angels" is a giant one for the author. From the very beginning, this story had my attention, and it never let go.

The main character, Andy Sommerville, is a lifelong bachelor who owns a gas station. A severe injury puts him in the hospital and forces him to face many non-physical wounds from his past. Wounds which didn't so much shape him into the man he is as much as they derailed him somewhat from what he was made to be. As he is shown the meaning and importance of each of these hurts (represented by various mementos he had collected over the years), a new friend named Elizabeth helps guide him, addressing each wound by first peeling back the bandages that had covered them, sometimes for decades.

Most people have wounds that have stayed with us for years. What sets Andy apart is that he has a personal angel, provided by God as an answer to a boyhood prayer, who has stuck by Andy all his life, encouraging him to learn life lessons--and to save those mementos--along the way. Andy keeps the existence of his angel a secret from all who know him, which contributes to his tendency to distance from people, costing him an important relationship or two along the way.

The previous paragraph could lead the potential reader to consider "Paper Angels" as a print version of a lame episode of "Touched By An Angel", but nothing could be less accurate. It bears more of a resemblance to "The Kid", a powerful story disguised as a lighthearted Disney kids' movie starring Bruce Willis, than any angel-centered movie or TV show I can think of. Sadly, I can't explain more without giving too much away. I will say this, though: the supernatural aspect of an angel is not a big part of the story. From one chapter to the next, it is simply about Andy, with the help of Elizabeth the counselor, learning about his past one piece at a time, in order for the healing to begin. The result is a truly powerful book which, if I had my way, would be read by everyone important to me. It's that good.

Hachette Books provided me with a free copy of "Paper Angels" for review purposes, with the only obligation to give an honest review. That said, I am recommending "Paper Angels" as strongly as anything I have read in at least a year, maybe two. It comes out in November. It can be pre-ordered here.

In the Potter's Hands

2011-09-12T22:30:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand."

Some years ago, it was pointed out to me that our relationship to God is described in several metaphorical ways, all of which matter. Some authors/teachers have even been known to rank the relationship descriptions in some way--for example, in levels of intimacy:

Clay/Potter
Slave/Master
Sheep/Shepherd
Subject/King
Son/Father
Bride/Groom

While I cannot argue with the theology of such a ranking, it does have the unintended side effect of causing the reader to dismiss the relationship descriptions listed earlier on the list. It's just as important to understand the potter/clay dynamic between us and God as it is anything else. He mentioned that particular picture dozens of times in books by no less than 4 biblical authors: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, and John. Yes, He's our loving Father, but focusing only on Him as Father can lead us into missing out on some important truths.

We are clay, not pots
What is it about a clay and potter which describes how we are to relate to God? I've got a few, but let me first say what I believe the most important one: a clay is liquid. It's soft. It's essentially mud. Of the multiple passages which describe God as a Potter, only two of them describe us as pots, and in both of them, He reminds us that He can and will, if necessary, break us in pieces.

The idea of us being clay, as opposed to pots, is vital in our understanding that He shapes us, and is still shaping us. You are a work in progress. I am, too.

With that understanding under our belt, we can move forward in seeing what else this Potter/clay thing means:

1. Working out the bad stuff: At first, clay has things in it which shouldn't be there. The potter uses his hands to work out the impurities.

2. Shaping us: The potter shapes the clay into what he wants it to be. Sometimes, that means stretching, molding, pulling, pushing, and moving things around a bit. It's not always going to be comfortable.

3. The Sponge: while the potter's fingers make changes to the general shape, he also uses a sponge to smooth out the bumps, so that the end product will be smooth.

4. Who's in charge: The clay has no say in what shape or type of vessel it will become. The Potter decides, and will make the clay according to the potter's purposes.

5. Beginning with the end in mind: Before actually starting, the potter knows what he wants to clay to look like when finished. He sees the completed cup, jar, or pot in that lump of clay long before anyone else does.

Saying goodbye to one set of twins, and hello to another

2011-08-27T22:56:00.005-05:00

"It's been ten whole years already? Wow! Hard to believe."

Many a father will say something like that while shaking his head in disbelief, when his oldest approaches the 10th birthday. It's a milestone, not just for the kid, but for the parents. It's a head-shaker because I am reminded that on that day, 10 years ago, my life changed forever. In some ways, it has passed very quickly. In other ways, it seems like it's been every bit of ten years.

There are two distinct things, though, about the ten-year anniversary of my dadhood. The first is that I became a father of not one, but two little bundles of joy that Tuesday morning. Abby was born at 8:48, followed by her brother Jacob at 8:50.

The second is that their birth marked some rare joy in the midst of the darkest day in our nation's history. As my wife was in labor, a nurse came in and told us that an airplane had crashed into a skyscraper in New York. I turned on the labor room TV in order to find out details. But a minute later, a painful contraction led to a gentle but firm request that I switch off the TV and hold her hand. (I'm not sure how my hand-holding could make contractions better, but I had seen enough sitcoms to know that when your wife is in labor, you should be as accommodating as you can.)

So off went the TV, and the plane incident was completely gone from my mind as we went into the operating room. I scrubbed my hands, paying attention to instructions from the nurse to get the dirt that was under my fingernails. I watched as the anesthesiologist stuck a needle in Beth's back. A few minutes later, I held her hand while chatting with the the same anesthesiologist as the surgeon and nurses prepared for the Caesarian.

Before long, the nurse tapped me on the shoulder to alert me to a beautiful sight. I think my heart stopped momentarily as I saw my crying little girl, Abby. Her cry was so sad, and I melted. Her brother came out crying, too, but his cry was an angry one, and I chuckled. I was told they checked out just fine, and everything was right with the world. As far as I knew.

-----------------------------------------------------

Once back in the hospital room, I started calling relatives, hoping they'd all be thrilled at the news I had for them. But the first one I spoke to, my brother-in-law, told me that our nation was under attack, and one of the World Trade Center buildings had fallen to the ground as the other one burned.

Wait, he said. Hold that thought. Silence.

As we were on the phone, the other tower fell. "There is no more World Trade Center", he said.

This is embarrassing to admit, but as I hung up the phone, I was ticked at the timing. How dare someone steal my special day! I was now a dad, and everyone's mind was on something else! In hindsight, my selfishness that day was appalling, and I hate to admit it now, even in writing.

It took some time, but I have come to embrace Abby and Jacob's special birthday. One thing that saddens me is that that attack is referred to by its date. People don't refer to, for example, Pearl Harbor as the "December 7 Attacks." I have a sister who was born April 19, but nobody hears that and immediately thinks of the Oklahoma City bombing. But for some reason, this one is named after the date in which it occurred. If you say 9/11, everyone thinks of a terrible event, not just a date. And every year as their birthday approaches, the TV news speaks of the tragedy and the lives lost. I'm guessing that will increase dramatically for the 10th anniversary.

But it doesn't end there. The pregnancy itself was bookended by tragedies. Back in January, when the OB/GYN determined the beginning date of the pregnancy (necessary to predict the due date 40 weeks later), she marked it as December 22, 2000. That happens to be the day my father took his own life. I had never known him very well, but I had hopes that grandkids might remove some of the bricks in the wall between he and I. That chance was gone forever when he shot himself.

It was rough in other ways. I was unemployed when they were born, having been laid off the week before. The added responsibility of two new lives who I couldn't even provide for was an enormous weight.

It should be noted that the 5 weeks of unemployment turned out to be a huge blessing, as Beth needed me around the clock as we tried to figure out how to take care of two new babies. And I got a better job just about the time she felt she could handle them for 8 hours by herself. But the day I got laid off, I didn't see it as the gift from God that it was. I was selfishly unhappy with God; yet another embarrassing thing to admit.

So how do we process this? I'd like to think that God has a purpose for even the details, so perhaps their birthdate is no coincidence. But as the Double Rainbow Guy would say, what does it mean?

Is there something to the fact that they are twins, and the WTC buildings were known as the Twin Towers?

Was it just a matter of adding a joyful event in an otherwise joyless day? Was God even involved in the timing?

Is there significance to their names? Abigail means "Father's Joy", and she has certainly lived up to her name. And Jacob, of course, means Israel, the nation that was going to bless the rest of the world. Will their generation be the one which will be a blessing to all the others?

One thing is clear: the world changed that day, and not just for me, the new unemployed dad. My kids are at the beginning of a new, post-9/11 generation. One which has a chance of leading our nation and world into change; specifically, change for the better.

A generation which never experienced, as I had, the comfort of knowing that the US doesn't get attacked on its own soil.

One which accepts the reality that it will always have to remove shoes at the airport, because it has never known it to be otherwise.

One which can take its awareness that devastating attacks happen, and do some good with that understanding.

I recently was hit hard by this verse:

Psalm 24:6 "This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face--even Jacob."

Whoa!

Did that verse about a generation that would seek Him actually end with "even Jacob"? I'm holding onto that one. For hope's sake.
====================================

Bonus: In 2002, the Dallas paper featured a letter I wrote for the one-year anniversary. Here's the PDF. I like the picture. http://www.middletree.net/911pg8.pdf

Cats are Better

2011-08-24T22:14:00.001-05:00

As a former math teacher, I once postulated the following:

The size of one's pickup truck is inversely proportional to the likelihood that he is a cat owner.

For some unknown reason, many people do not like cats. My pastor says rotten things about cats, our only major theological difference.

Look, people. Cats are better than dogs. This is a truth that can be seen by comparing the top of the line cats vs the top dogs.

The chief cats are lions and tigers.

The best dogs can do is a fox, wolf or hyena.

Seriously, this is no contest. God said Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) and when an angel spoke so powerfully that it sounded like thunder which shook the foundations of the universe, it was said he had a mouth of a lion (Rev 13:2).

Was Jesus the hyena of Judah? I don’t think so.

I can't believe I have to explain this stuff.

Embracing Jesus' Words Selectively

2011-08-09T22:01:00.006-05:00

This passage looks longer than I usually start with, but it's a quick read, and an interesting story:

Luke 4
v.15 And He [Jesus] began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
v.16-17 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and ...He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
v.18-19 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

v.22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; ...

v.24 And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. "But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;
v.27 "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

v.28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

This snippet of the event of a Saturday morning is fascinating. When Jesus was telling the people what they wanted to hear, they loved Him. When He had hard things to say, critical things they needed to hear, (in this case about their lack of faith), Jesus quickly fell out of favor with them.

I see this happen in my own life, and it's something I am working on. Once I realized that all of God's words toward me are for His glory and for my benefit, it will be easy. It's getting easier, but I have a ways to go.

More importantly, there are many more Christians in the same place as the angry citizens of Nazareth. I am finding this out lately in discussions I am having, and blogs I am reading, from many Christians of all stripes. Topics like hell, sexual sin, and social justice seem to bring this out in people.

Some folks embrace the idea of a loving Jesus, but not the judgmental one. Some like the idea of a politically conservative God, but ignore His liberal tendencies toward the poor, and insisting that the rich forgive debts. Some see God being against needless deaths in one context, but aren't as concerned about protecting innocent life in other contexts.

What we need to do is get to know His words to us. All of them. And live them out in the course of our daily lives.

All of them.

Even the ones that make us uncomfortable.

Even the ones that conflict with the political party line.

Even the ones that challenge what we have been taught.

Even the ones that make us examine our opinionated positions to be sure they are in line with His will.

Even the ones in conflict with the denomination we belong to.

Even the ones that don't mesh well with the stance taken by that author we really like.

If we aren't ready to do so, then are we any better than the Nazarenes who liked Jesus one minute, then drove Him out of town?

What Exactly Are You Looking For in a President?

2011-08-08T22:03:00.001-05:00

Like it or not, the 2012 Presidential election season is just about upon us. Although I hate to hear the most vocal blowhards deriding candidates that have already announced, some of the criticisms are making me laugh in ways that were not intended. Some people are so married to their political party that a considerable effort is being spent on their part telling anyone who will listen how the recession is either Obama's or Bush's fault, how Bachmann is crazy, how Kucinich is funny-looking, how Palin is a ditz, how Obama blew his chance today (just after the stock markets spiraled downhill in response to the S&P downgrade) in his speech which was to have reassured Americans that the economy isn't tanking.

From what I hear, his speech fell short. Or it was well-received. Again, it depends on who you listen to. Pretty much anyone these days is delivering their evaluation of our President, and of those who want to be President, based on the personal agenda of the one doing the evaluating. Many Republicans do not want to admit that Clinton might have been good, or that Palin isn't presidential material. And many Democrats are still hanging our nation's ills on Bush.

The thing is, I am not sure what people want in a President. Is it about good speeches? Is it about the performance of the stock market? The unemployment rate? The ability to work with Congress to get a budget passed? The number of bible verses he is willing to use publicly? How photogenic he is? How he represents the US to other nations?

ESPN/Grantland columnist Bill Simmons did a poll a few weeks ago of the best movie presidents ever, and the top two vote-getters were Harrison Ford in Air Force One, and Bill Pullman in Independence Day. In the latter one, the character who is the current president is a former fighter pilot who joins in the effort to ward off the aliens. While he's still our president. In Air Force One, Ford's character fights off the kidnappers the old-fashioned way: with his fists and feet.

I can't imagine anyone who was a real president in my lifetime doing that. Can you picture Jimmy Carter doing that? How about Richard Nixon? Clinton? Bush?

It's true that Simmons' poll is massively unscientific, but thousands of readers did chime in. When facing a choice among presidents who did statesman-like political things (think Michael Douglas in "The American President") vs. the ones who fought bad guys, the voters proved that what we really want in our presidents is a guy who kicks behinds. That fact alone, set against the backdrop of what we have running for president this time around and what they promise us (budget-balancing, healthcare, fairer taxes), is worth examining. Thing is, I have thought about it for two weeks, and still don't know what it tells us.

Human nature being the unchanging thing that it is, we shouldn't be surprised when we read

1 Samuel chapter 18: "It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments. The women sang as they played, and said, "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."

Are we any different from the Israelites saying they like David as king because he killed ten times more people than King Saul did?

I'm still thinking this one through.

Book Review: Thunder Dog

2011-08-03T23:25:00.002-05:00

Thanks for Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze program, I received a free copy of Thunder Dog, by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory for review purposes. I got it a few days ago and devoured it in very short order. The book is Mr. Hingson's account of his experience as a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade center in September of 2001. He worked on the 78th floor of the first tower to be hit, and the bulk of the story is about his journey down the stairs, guided by his guide dog Roselle.

It's a great story by itself, but made much more interesting by interspersed glimpses in the life of the author, starting as a child whose parents refused to send to a special school for the blind. They insisted he live as normal a life as possible, which sounds great in theory, but a little scary in practice. For example, they let him ride a bike as a kid. A blind boy was allowed to ride a bicycle throughout the neighborhood. using his sense of where obstacles should be to guide him and keep him from harm's way.

As a whole, the story works. It's moving, exciting, heartwarming, heart-tugging, and powerful.

My Top Five Movies of All Time

2011-08-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

In no particular order, these are the 5 movies that have moved me the most.

The Fisher King
Schindler's List
Up
The Kid
Cinderella Man
The Princess Bride
Shawshank Redemption
Stranger Than Fiction

Yes, I can count, so I know that my Top Five list has more than 5 movies in it. Sue me.

Fahrenheit 451: Worth Re-Reading

2011-08-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

When I discovered books as a tween, one of the first books I ever read was Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." I have to admit I didn't understand its implications or more subtle points, so it didn't do much for me. A few years later, I read it again, and was deeply impacted. Obviously, I was still years away from being wise in the ways of the world, so there was a lot I didn't get. But I knew then that it was saying something powerful. Of course, being a high school student, I was assigned many other books which also attempted to say something profound. "Lord of the Flies", "The Good Earth", "The Grapes of Wrath". These and other works accomplished their intended tasks to varying degrees. They each had a point, which they communicated effectively. Some, especially "Lord of the Flies" so completely lacked subtlety that they came across as preachy, and I did what I could to distance myself from such books.

A sad sidenote: I moved from one city to another in the middle of my sophomore year, so I ended up having to read "LOTF" twice. Some books get better upon a re-reading. This was not one of them. I hated that book and have not gone back to it since that 2nd reading.

In contrast, F451 did get better upon re-reading. So much so that, I took the time last month to read it again. I borrowed it from the library and devoured it. I probably should just purchase the dang thing.

If you have not yet read F451 and think it's s silly sci-fi story about censorship, it's actually much more than that. True, it is set in the future, which is why you will find it in the science fiction section.

But the future setting serves it well. Futuristic sci-fi stories typically bring to mind Jetsons-like gadgets, silver bodysuits, and flying cars. F451 does have the flying cars, but only for a few minutes in one scene late in the story. The more important futuristic gadgets include:

1. Wide-screen TVs: Many homes have TV sets which take up entire walls, at a cost of thousands of dollars each.

2. Reality shows: Since fiction is more or less outlawed, the TV screens show something that seems like what we'd call reality shows. They are not described in detail, but there are apparently a lot of characters who are family to each other and are regarded as family by viewers who get sucked into their stories, such as they are. The main character's wife, Mildred, represents the masses who watch these shows, and when pressed to explain why she likes them, she cannot even say what the plot is. She does say there's a lot of yelling.

3. No regard for human life: When a neighbor dies, it's mentioned as just another event, like a broken-down car or rainstorm. No tears are shed. One wife is unfazed by the prospect of her husband being told he must go to war. Additionally, millions of viewers are urged to watch the police hunt down and kill a fugitive on live TV.

4. Earbuds: Most people, represented once again by Mildred, have little earphones which fit inside the ear, where music and other entertainment are constantly pumped to them by the networks. These earbuds, known as "seashells" keep people from being conversant with those around them.

The list doesn't end here, but these 4 examples are pretty interesting in light of this book being published in 1953, at the very beginning of the widespread acceptance of TV, and long before the appearance of anything resembling headphones which fit inside the ear, and a full half-century before Jersey Shore.

The lack of regard for human life, however: well, that's been around for a long time, hasn't it?

A Pretty Neat Gift

2011-07-31T23:16:00.001-05:00

About a year ago, I had just returned from a vacation with my family to Wyoming. It was a great time in many ways, but it was not restful at all. When you have 3 kids of single-digit age, it's hard to find a way to truly relax. They just want to go, go, go. I don't regret that we didn't chill out that week, but I knew that what I needed was something quiet and relaxing, even if only for a day.

The thought occurred to me that what I really needed was a long drive. But how in the world was I going to accomplish that? I did what I wish I would do more often when I realize I need something: I prayed about it. And not long after, I had a work trip planned to my company's facility in Maryland. As a new manager, my boss told me I should take some management courses, and I found one that was being held in Arlington, Va, just outside of Washington. It was a one-day course. Afterward, I would drive 3 hours south to Pokomoke City, MD, to our plant, and meet the people who I support on the network, and spend a couple of days trying to solve some nagging network issues.

A management class, followed by some network troubleshooting? This is an answer to my prayer? As a matter of fact, yes it was. Because while in the DC area, I drove out to Ft Belvoir, where I had spent my last year in the Army. I couldn't get past the gate without a valid military ID, but just seeing the gate and the surroundings really took me back. It was an eventful year in many ways. I kissed a girl for the first time there (very late bloomer). I broke a toe playing soccer, then a freak ankle injury. I learned that I had no business planning to be a cop once I re-entered civilian life. I saw my first dead person while working a car accident. I arrested a couple of people for DWI. I took up reading again after a long absence of novels from my life. And I enjoyed what is perhaps the greatest year of music of my existence.

I had arrived at Ft Belvoir in March of 1986 and left at the beginning of February 1987. For simplicity's sake, I consider 1986 to be my Ft Belvoir year. And for me, the music of 1986, while maligned now, was, at the time, one great song after another. In 1986, I heard Simple Minds for the first time, and discovered Hooters (a great band before the restaurant ruined the name). There was new, great stuff from singers I had loved before, the standouts being Springsteen's Live 3-CD box set, and "Lost In the Fifties," a criminally underappreciated song from Ronnie Milsap. Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen. A reaction to the pop sound in country music included traditionalists Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, and Randy Travis. And Lyle Lovett, who didn't fit in with that group but gave us the masterpiece known as "Pontiac" that year.

And so much more. Pretty In Pink. Wouldn't It Be Good. The Bangles. Lives In The Balance. Fabulous T-Birds. Sledge Hammer. Living In America. Bruce Hornsby. Live To Tell (the first time I heard Madonna do anything of substance; this song is brilliant). Addicted To Love. Higher Love. Crowded House. Til Tuesday. Famous Blue Raincoat. Strong Persuader. Mike + The Mechanics. Aerosmith, thought to be a 70's band, returns as guests of a rap version of their own song. The Jets. The Outfield.
The greatness of Paul Simon's "Graceland" CD.
Out-of-the-blue returns from The Monkees, Boston, James Taylor, and The Moody Blues.

I could go on and on. Just typing the sampling above has been meaningful. But not as meaningful as what happened last year. As I said, I visited the DC area, then set out for Maryland's Eastern Shore. If you haven't driven it, it's a fascinating drive. Towards the beginning is the Chesapeake Bridge. I have never seen anything like it. From there, the drive south to Pokomoke is very very nice.

But there was a bonus to the drive: I had brought along my recently-acquired iPod Touch. Using the connector to plug it into the Aux input of the rental car's stereo, I listened to my music all the way down. But here's what made it so wonderful. This is the central point of this post: I didn't choose the songs. I made no playlists, no effort whatsoever to limit the particular songs that got played. I just let it play away. And for the most part, it chose to play songs from 1986. One after another. This despite the fact that I have thousands of songs on that iPod, spanning over 5 decades. And pretty much all I heard was 1986 music. From Prince to Simple Minds to Jackson Browne to Steve Earle to Van Halen to Eddie Rabbitt to The Bangles, it was all there.

I don't think God was trying to tell me anything in particular. I truly think He simply let me have, as a gift, a few hours driving around the location of a very meaningful time in my life, and the accompanying musical soundtrack. I can't prove it biblically; I can only recall it fondly, and thank God for it. It was a powerful time, and I wouldn't mind repeating it.

Note: Go here for a list of other tunes from 1986 which I didn't list above.

Book Review: George Washington Carver

2011-07-28T22:59:00.002-05:00

John Perry's biography of George Washington Carver sheds a revealing light on one of the more under-appreciated men in American history. By "revealing", I mean that there is a lot more to Carver than peanuts. From Carver's humble beginnings as a baby born to a slave who was later kidnapped, to the end of his life as a respected scientist, I learned many things I simply was not aware of.
Yes, he found over a hundred uses of the peanut (a tremendous feat in itself), but he also listed many non-peanut-related accomplishments on his resume.
Carver's life was nothing less than a never-ending obstacle course. He had to fight through the kidnapping of his mother, his own physical ailments due to premature birth, racism on a scale we are not exposed to in 21st-century America, lawlessness, very limited educational opportunities, threats of lynchings, and other very real threats to black men of that time.
Despite the daunting circumstances, Carver accomplished more than any ten men I know.

This book, part of a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson called "Christian Encounters" was provided to me free for review purposes by the good folks at Thomas Nelson and their Booksneeze program (pauses to wave at the federal government). It is an engaging read for anyone from around age 12 into adulthood.

Songs I Am No Longer Ashamed Of

2011-07-16T23:47:00.004-05:00

I confess: There was a time in my life that I developed an affliction known as music snobbery. In my transition from kid to young adult, my musical tastes changed. I went from being a fan of ear candy to a fan of tunes that had to actually have a little substance. My range was all over the place: country to R&B to Rock to New Wave. I loved it all, but I wasn’t into settling for music that pandered or sounded like it was made to be a product rather than art. Posers or slickness were unacceptable.

Because I read articles by, and made friends with, people who felt the same way, I began to put on the self-protective armor of the music snob. I made it clear to everyone I knew that there were a lot of very popular bands which I was way too cool to listen to. That music was for kids and idiots who were too dumb to know they were being duped by singers who knew how to push emotional buttons as a way of selling music.

In large part, this attitude was centered around making myself look cool in front of other music snobs, particularly the young men on my high school track team and, later, my fellow soldiers. It just wasn’t cool to like the bubble-gum junk that was coming out in those days. And in my effort to remain cool (in my own mind, anyway), I held onto to my musical snobbery for decades.

But now, I’m 46. I don’t have anything left to prove, especially to other men. I have 3 kids, and wife, a job in management, and hair on my chest. I am in no danger of having to turn in my man card. So I feel safe now in admitting that some of those songs I pretended to hate, back in the day, are actually pretty good songs.

Here’s my list of the best uncool songs which come to mind from the period of 1970-88. Why 1970? Being born in 1965, I wasn’t musically aware when the early 70's songs came out, but they were still played on the radio years after I got old enough to listen to them. I chose 1988 as an end to this period because it was my first full year out of the Army, and I had just started college while working full time, and lost track with much of what was going on in music.

These are not the best songs of that period. They are not the cheesiest. They are the songs which come to mind when I think of songs I was formerly embarrassed by, but now embrace without shame.

Note: Songs which were cheesy but then became generally accepted, such as “YMCA” by the Village People and “Superstar” by the Carpenters, do not count. They regained their coolness without any help from me.

In no particular order:

“Careless Whisper” -- Wham!

“Could It Be Magic” and “Mandy” – Barry Manilow

“How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees

“Papa Don’t Preach” and “Live To Tell” – Madonna

“Nights Are Forever” – England Dan and John Ford Coley

"Keep On Lovin' You" -- REO Speedwagon

“Rhinestone Cowboy” -- Glen Campbell
"Love On The Rocks" -- Neil Diamond

“Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” – Lobo

“Killing Me Softly With His Song” - Roberta Flack

“All Out of Love” – Air Supply

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper

“Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Rod Stewart

(Ok, I’m just kidding about that last one. It still sucks, and it will suck into eternity. )

The Importance of Going For It: a Blind Man Shows Us How

2011-07-07T00:00:00.003-05:00

As the saying goes, some are born great, and some have greatness thrust upon them. The problem with the latter clause is that some interpret it as a mandate to sit back and wait for things to happen, when the reality is that we all bear a responsibility to use what God has given us, and take the opportunities when they are in front of us. Sometimes, we just have to go for it.

At a recent U2 concert in Nashville, a fan showed a certain level of "go for it!" and it resulted in a magnificent moment that, because we're in the Youtube age, we all get to witness.

As the story goes, a blind fan--Adam Bevell, from Arizona--was wearing a sign saying "Blind Guitar Player" while attending their show on Saturday, July 2. After the last song, the band waved to the audience, then headed out of sight, their evening's mission complete. But out of the corner of his eye, Bono saw the fan and his sign, and did a U-turn toward the fan. Less than 30 seconds later, the man was on stage in front of 45,000 people.

While the chance to share a stage with Bono is remarkable enough, it was only the beginning. U2's vocalist then asked the man what he wanted to play. He responded with "All I Want is You" which he said he wanted to dedicate to his wife. Bono placed his own guitar over Bevell's shoulders and then sang that very song as the man played along. Before too long, the other band members joined in, and the audience sang along. Can you imagine what that moment was like for this fan? "Once in a lifetime" probably doesn't begin to cover it.

As if all this weren't enough, after the song ended, Bono gave the man the guitar (an “Irish Falcon” Gretsch, one of only a few in the world like it). An incredible ending to an unbelievable story. "Bono gave me hope in what literally is a dark world for me. I will cherish this memory forever", he said the next day in an interview.

And it all started when a man dared to wear a sign asking to play on stage with U2. What audacity! Who does he think he is?

I wonder how many great moments I have missed out on simply because I didn't dream big enough. I don't say that as a lament, but I do recognize, as I type it, that God is challenging me to live a life that is not so restricted by my timidity and passivity. What would my life look like if I lived by these words? ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

What about you?

Note: See another version of this event on U2's site here.

(Tearjerker alert: When they got to the line "You say you'll give me eyes in the moment of blindness" around the 2:38 mark, I choked up)

One of the Most Powerful Books You'll Ever Read

2011-07-05T21:02:00.001-05:00

The Booksneeze program allows bloggers to receive free copies of books for review purposes. That's how I got to read "Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and me" by Ian Morgan Cron. I say that for two reasons: (1) I'm required by law to disclose that my copy of the book was free; and (2) I am pretty sure I wouldn't have read it if it weren't for Booksneeze. And I would have missed out on reading one of the best books I have ever laid eyes on.

If I were to tell you what this book is about--a middle-aged Episcopal priest recounts his growing up with a dad who was an alcoholic CIA spy, I daresay your interest would fail to rise to a level adequate to convince you to crack this book open. And it doesn't even have a catchy title. Any hope for the success of "Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and me" (success being defined as this book getting the audience it deserves) hinges on one thing: word of mouth. And that's where I come in.

Cron's story is one which, CIA stuff aside, is all too common. But his writing is uncommonly good. Great, even. This book is a clinic on how to use the best possible words to convey exactly what you want to. If writing were acting, then Cron's performance throughout this book rivals anything that Jeff Bridges, Al Pacino, Geoffrey Rush, or Marlon Brando have ever given us. It would be a shoo-in for an Oscar.

As hard as it is to put aside the writing, I have to point out the story itself. As the reader encounters the various episodes of Cron's life, there are two parallel threads: the impact of Cron's earthly father, and the hand of his heavenly Father, throughout his journey. From one end to the other, we see example after example of both of these. God's hand is present throughout, guiding and rescuing the young man as the actions of his dad do their damage and leave their mark.

The 2nd to last chapter, essentially the climactic one, uses a family outing at a swimming hole to deal with Cron's doubts about his own ability to father. It's classic. You've heard critics say "You'll laugh; you'll cry"? Well, in this chapter, I did both, often at the same time. Seeing this man learn to father (even as he wasn't fathered well, but he was Fathered well) is as uplifting and freeing as anything I have seen written in years. It's a powerful way to end a powerful story.

Feeding the Flesh

2011-07-04T23:12:00.000-05:00

So they had another of those hot-dog eating championships today. Am I the only one bothered by these events? Gluttony is as bad a sin as porn or greed. Indeed, is it not related to both?

Things like this are a slap in the face of the poor people of the world. God has blessed our nation abundantly so that we can share our excess with those who have less than us.

He gives us much more than we need, not for our comfort, but for His purposes. This truth is, to use a handy 4th of July phrase, self-evident. To celebrate our excess with contests where the winner eats 62 hot dogs is as sinful as anything Sodom and Gomorrah ever did.

Them Dents is Valuable

2011-06-27T21:49:00.011-05:00

I guess I am spoiled, but for a Pixar film, "Cars 2" falls a little short, if only because the bar has been set insanely high by the quality of recent masterpieces such as "Toy Story 3" and "Up". Any comparison of "Cars 2" with other recent Pixar output just isn't fair.

Quality aside, "Cars 2" hardly seemed like a sequel. The tone, the look, and the feel are very different from "Cars". Additionally, the plot was hard to follow and a little convoluted.

Despite the flaws, this film had one shining moment; one profound line in a decidedly non-profound movie, and it was delivered by Tow Mater.

Mater, you may recall, is a tow truck who's in dire need of mechanical attention. He has a missing hood, several dents, and rust issues. He's also a lovable doofus, lacking anything that resembles sophistication.

At one point in the movie, British secret agents decide to bring Mater into their plans to catch the bad guys and save the world. One problem: to use Mater in an undercover role, they must give him a new paint job. At first, Mater is in favor of the idea, but then he learns that the paint job requires him to lose several dents he has collected over the years.

"No!", he says in his unique southern drawl, when he's told the dents have to go. "Ever one of them dents is valuable to me". Those dents, we learn, remind him of a time when something hard happened in his life. The dents, you see, have made Mater the man, so to speak, that he is today.

Despite my status as a non-truck, I see the parallel in my own life. My human heart has dents, bumps, and bruises in it which have accumulated over the decades. I didn't enjoy receiving them at the time, but I embrace them now. I do so because I recognize, as Mater does, that I am shaped, not so much by the dents themselves, but by the process I went through in receiving them, and in recovering from them.

This idea isn't new. The Apostle James said it this way: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." --James 1:2-3

Many Christians know those verses, but the idea isn't complete without the next one:

Verse 4 "And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Results matter. Tests can produce hurts, which can lead to endurance, which leads to a life that is changed for the better. A bumpkin named Mater demonstrates an admirable level of wisdom by recognizing the value in his dents, and the place they have in his life. Perhaps we can all learn from him.

Repost: Father's Day: You Don't Know My Love

2011-06-18T21:46:00.001-05:00

Last year, I shared this little story about how God chose to show me how He wants to father me. This year, the good folks at Burnside Writers Collective took that post and published it on their site for Father's Day. So I'm re-posting it here:

-------------------------------

I didn't realize, growing up, the cost of not having a relationship with my father. It's only in recent years that the weight of the impact on my life has become evident to me. This new realization comes to me for many reasons. Becoming a dad is the obvious one, but in addition, it's helped that I have read several books which emphasize the importance of a dad. Finally, I've noticed several films where the main character fathers his kids, and the children have an understanding of their father's role that I never did. I have learned of a father's importance by watching dads ranging from good ones, as in "The Pursuit of Happyness," to ones who fell way short, like in "Shine", "The Great Santini", or "Up".

The benefit of gaining this new understanding is that it forces me to pay special attention to my role as father. I'm pretty sure I would have been too self-absorbed to have had a good impact on Abby, Jacob, and Zachary if it hadn't been made known to me how important it is to try to do it right.

It sounds funny now, what with "Wild at Heart" and Promisekeepers and all, but there was a time when fathering wasn't strongly emphasized. When it was mentioned, it was all about passing along good morals. Being a good father meant being a disciplinarian and making your kids call you "sir". "Spending time" with kids meant that we should take them along with us to the hardware store.

So now I'm nearly a decade into fatherhood, and about that many years into examining my own father and what I had and didn't have with him. He left when I was 4, and I have scant memories of living with him. To be honest, I have no memory of him attempting to father me. In fact, I cannot say to this day that I understand what it means to look to someone as a father figure. I hear others talk of the way they look at their dads, and it's like I'm a blind man and they're explaining the color blue to me.

Back then, the court-ordered duo of child support and custody weren't tightly regulated like they are now, so I didn't see him very often. Maybe 3 or 4 times growing up, and then maybe 6 or 7 times as an adult. I called him by his first name, Randy. It was always cordial; he was nice to me and, by all accounts, was a good guy.

But I never experienced that child-to-father thing, whatever it is supposed to be like. I knew him, but I never knew him. I don't say that in a self-pitying way, and I certainly don't say it with any sort of anger toward him. I think there's something to the command of honoring your father and mother. It's a command that doesn't seem to leave room for exceptions. So there is no anger coming from me to him; I simply didn't know him. Sadly, I will not get to know him: he ended his own life in 2000, so that ship has sailed.

Interestingly, in the last few years, I can point to multiple occasions where God showed me that the absence of an earthly father in my life isn't a total disaster. He did it using, of all things, music and movies. Here are two examples.

1. In "A Knight's Tale", with Heath Ledger, there's a scene where the dad, seeing no opportunities for his son in the poverty-stricken situation they were living in, sent his boy to a farm where he could learn by being someone's apprentice. Father and son didn't see each other again during his childhood. When the dad met his grown son many years later, it was clear that he did the right thing for his son, by letting him be raised in another environment.

In my case, my dad was very unlike me: rural, very outdoorsy, and also (I want to say this without dishonoring, but it's a truth that is integral to this story) he was an alcoholic and, as I recall, had a bit of a temper. If I had been raised with him, who knows how I would have turned out? I'd have to say that alcoholism or some other addiction, or the tendency to be abusive, would be very possible, maybe even probable. It appears to be for the best that I did not grow up with him.

2. A few years ago, I was home on the Friday before Father's Day. I was alone for an hour or two, so I pulled up something on the internet. A singer I really like was about to release his new CD, and it was being offered for listening at a website. One of the songs is called "You Don't know My Love". It's ostensibly by a man wooing a woman, but I could hear God speaking to me, about His love for me. He was saying that although I hadn't always been open to letting Him love me in a father/son sort of way, He still wanted to Father me.

The relevant lyrics:

If you've cried a river
If you doubt your dreams
If you've waited in vain for a phone that won't ring
If you think a promise is something you can't trust
Then you don't know my love

I've been falling, falling
Ever since I met you
Trying to get you to finally see
That no one is ever gonna love you like Me

---
I was mesmerized when I heard that, and played it over and over again for the next several days. I couldn't get enough of that song. It was clear that God was speaking about pursuing me, telling me to open up and let Him father me. I wish I could say I have done that and my whole life was miraculously changed that day, but the reality is that it's been gradual rather than instantaneous. And that's OK. I'll get there.

Father's Day songs: The List

2011-06-18T21:42:00.000-05:00

In my previous posts leading up to Father's Day, I shared some of the best songs about fatherhood that I have heard. Here is the entire list:

I Loved Her First
Dance With My Father
The Dollar
Leader Of The Band
Watching You

Father's Day Songs, part 5: Watching You

2011-06-18T07:50:00.000-05:00

Fatherhood is captured in song and in movies as well as any topic that's ever been written about. In the days leading up to Father's Day, I'm highlighting five meaningful songs about the impact of fatherhood. Some will come from the viewpoints of the dad, some from the child,and some from both.

As everyone from Donald Miller to John Eldredge has pointed out in recent years, telling a great story is the best thing a person can do, and many great stories are told in 4-minute snippets.

If you are not a fan of country music, you likely have not heard of Rodney Atkins or his song, "Watching You". Many who don't like country music simply don't like the twang. While I understand the sound is not for everyone, this song is for everyone. You simply must ignore the presence of the twang for 4 minutes, and listen to the story.
Like most of the Father's Day songs in this series, "Watching You" is autobiographical. His son really did get in trouble for saying a bad word, and in fact, his son plays himself in this video. I'm a big fan of authenticity, and this song and video are as authentic as it gets. You can see it in the way he embraces and interacts with the little guy. It's a linear story, so watch and listen all the way through, and I dare you not to get a little choked up during the 2nd verse.

These 5 songs are posted in no particular order. This is the last of five posts.
See the previous installments in the series here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Father's Day Songs, part 4: Leader Of The Band

2011-06-17T21:57:00.001-05:00

These 5 songs are posted in no particular order. This is the fourth of five posts.
See the previous installments in the series here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 5

Father's Day Songs, part 3: The Dollar

2011-06-17T06:34:00.005-05:00

These 5 songs are posted in no particular order. This is the third of 5 posts.
See the first one here.
See the second one here.
See the next one (part 4) here.

Father's Day Songs, part 2: Dance With My Father

2011-06-16T20:53:00.004-05:00

Fatherhood is captured in song and in movies as well as any topic that's ever been written about. Over the next few days, I want to highlight 5 meaningful songs about fatherhood. Some will come from the viewpoints of the dad, some from the child,and some from both. As everyone from Donald Miller to John Eldredge has pointed out in recent years, telling a great story is the best thing you can do. And many great stories are told in 4-minute snippets.

I am not Casey Kasem, so these are in no particular order. This is the second of 5 posts.
See the first one here.
See part 3 of this series here.

The first few times I heard "Dance With My Father", I wasn't paying attention. It sounded a bit generic and not appealing to me. One day, I decided to really listen, and I am glad I did. It's moving without being manipulative. It's emotional without being melodramatic. Drop your multi-tasking and let the story play out:

Father's Day songs Part 1: I Loved Her First

2011-06-16T08:50:00.012-05:00

Fatherhood is captured in song and in movies as well as any topic that's ever been written about. Over the next few days, I want to highlight 5 meaningful songs about fatherhood. Some will come from the viewpoints of the dad, some from the child,and some from both. This is not a Casey-Kasem-like countdown, so I don't want arguments about which is best. There is no ranking. Just enjoy. ;)

As everyone from Donald Miller to John Eldredge has pointed out in recent years, telling a great story is the best thing you can do. And many great stories are told in 4-minute snippets.

"I Loved Her First" is a stellar song, written by a friend of mine, Elliott Park. The band who sings it, Heartland, barely has local-band talent, and never achieved any other success before or after this single. But the fact that a band like that, on a small label with no promotional budget, could achieve a huge hit just goes to show what a powerful song this is. It tells a great story.

The next song in the list is here.

CD Review--Rejoice

2011-06-08T23:27:00.000-05:00

Women of Faith conferences have released another CD, simply titled Rejoice. As a member of Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program, I was provided a free copy for review purposes.I'm free to be as honest as I want in these reviews.
The recordings are live, taken from a two-day Women of Faith event. The event has speakers and teachers, but also has a Women of Faith Worship Team to lead attendees in worship.
The song list:

Beautiful Redeemer
So Good
Forever Reign
Come As You Are
Hosanna
Our God
Glory To God
You Brought the Sunshine
Greatness of Our God
Great Is Thy Faithfulness

It pretty much sounded like what you'd expect. Not bad, if you're into that sort of thing.

Our Florida Trip: The really good stuff

2011-06-05T00:39:00.000-05:00

In part one, I described the Disney and beach aspects of our trip, which were planned. But the most interesting reading could be a recount of the other two parts of our vacation.

3. In 1986, I lost an uncle, and my young cousins had lost a dad. Michel, the young widow who had 3 little kids to raise, plus one on the way, moved from Texas to Florida, where she was from. She eventually remarried, but we had lost touch. I had recently found my cousin Heather on Facebook, and we had agreed that we should all meet while we were there.

This was, by far, the best part of the trip. Heather has gone from a little 4-yr-old that I barely remembered into a great young woman with kids of her own. Michel, my aunt, brought her husband, who is battling a newly-discovered physical ailment which threatens to make Michel a widow for a second time. She and I had a great, in-depth discussion about the past, the effects the loss of their father had on the kids as they grew up, and a summary of what God is doing in the lives of these family members of mine who I do not know. It was powerful. It finally got interrupted by--this should come as no surprise--a jellyfish sting, this time on the leg of my little 6-yr-old cousin.

This day, where I reconnected with family I barely knew existed, made the entire trip to Florida worth it.

4. When we returned, we found that the weather back in Texas had not been kind to us. We took the shuttle from the airport terminal to the remote (cheap) parking, where we discovered our minivan, full of dimples from the rather large hail that had fallen on it.; the hail also cracked the windshield and broke the taillight.

But it gets better. When we got home, we looked in the back yard, where the wind had, during the same storm, flipped our 14-foot trampoline and set it, upside-down, on the wood fence, hanging as much over our neighbor's yard as our own. It ended up taking 5 men the next day to get it down and put it back into place.

I should emphasize that we have a lot to be thankful for regarding this storm. While we had a cracked windshield, several cars had lost their entire windshields. While we had a bent trampoline, some neighbors had lost large, old trees or entire fences. We got off somewhat easy.

Our Florida Trip: Part 1

2011-06-05T00:09:00.004-05:00

Our family went to Florida for vacation, returning just last week, and very little went as planned, but that's OK. It just meant that there were many interesting stories to tell.

The plan was to visit Disney World for three days, then go to Cocoa Beach for 3 days. What we ended up with was 4 distinct portions of the trip, and what follows is a brief description of each:

1. Disney: The first day was Epcot. I was less than impressed. But I had been to Six Flags just a month earlier, and was ready for some thrilling rides, and Epcot's not about that, although Space Mountain was pretty fun. I had been told that Magic Kingdom was better, and it was, as we found out the next day. Our last day, we went to the Hollywood studios park, and although I am sure I'm in the minority, I have to say I liked it best. It had two rides more like thrill rides: The Rock n Roller Coaster, and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Most Disney rides were inside and failed to meet the criteria that is most essential to a good ride: At some point during the ride, you must believe you might just die. I only experienced this with 2-3 rides at Disney.

That said, Disney had a lot to teach Six Flags about how to treat people who are waiting for rides. They offered the Fast Pass, which enabled you to get a guaranteed place in line for a ride later in the day while you explore other things. And when we did have to wait, most lines were inside air-conditioned buildings. That directly addresses the one thing that keeps me from going to Six Flags more than I do.

2. Cocoa and Daytona Beach. We didn't know much about Florida, so we picked Cocoa Beach because it was close to Orlando and because I had heard it was close to NASA. Problem was, it was overrrun by jellyfish. In fact, we tried to go out into the water and work around them, but one of them stung my 9-yr-old son. So we called a hotel at Daytona Beach and found that they were not experiencing jellyfish issues. We booked a room at the Daytona Hilton, and left Cocoa Beach a day early. And I have to say, Daytona was a beautiful beach. It was pretty much the opposite of Cocoa Beach in every way.

The kids loved it, never having been in the ocean before. With their inflatable surf board, trying to fight the waves, I just saw hours and hours of smiles from them, and that was a joy to see.

There are two more parts to the trip, much more interesting than the first two. Read here.

If You're Gonna Pray, Treat That Waitress right

2011-05-05T10:31:00.001-05:00

Many years ago, a college classmate who had worked in restaurants for many years told how how consistently rude the Church People were, especially on Sundays at lunchtime. First, they'd make it obvious they are Christians by praying, not inconspicuously, before beginning to eat. Then once the meal ensued, they'd be very picky, sending food back for various reasons. They'd be mean to the waiter, leave a lousy tip, and then would do the worst thing they could possibly do in that situation: they'd hand the waiter a tract. Often, the tracts collected on Sunday afternoons would be collected by the waitstaff and burned in the kitchen while everyone watched and laughed.

A few years ago, my friend Tim, who loved people more than anyone I have ever known, demonstrated to me the right way to go out to eat. When the waiter/waitress would arrive at the table, before my friend even got a drink order, he asked their name. He introduced himself, usually by shaking hands. He asked them a little about themselves. Then he mentioned that in a few minutes, he is going to pray over dinner and would like to know if there is anything he can pray for for that waitperson. You'd be amazed at how much that was appreciated.

Once, we had a waitress named Abby. I mentioned to him, after she went away to go get drinks, that my daughter Abby is really named Abigail, which means "Father's Joy". When the waitress came back, my friend told her what he had just learned about her name. She had no idea what her name meant, and we had a great conversation about her dad and the distance between them.

When he asked for a prayer request, she mentioned a very tough personal situation she was in. His response was equally personal and caring. She was moved to tears. A week later, he had a bible and nice gift package sent to that restaurant to give to Abby, our waitress.

Sadly, my friend died last year, at age 55 way too young, from cancer. Though he died in September, the last time I could have a coherent conversation with him was a year ago, at a May wedding. So I feel like it's been a year since I (temporarily) lost him. But his life was an inspiration to me, and is a reminder to me of how I can best live out his legacy by treating folks in the service industry as Jesus would treat them.

Book Review: How To Write A Book Proposal

2011-05-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

I received a free copy of Michael Larsen's book, "How To Write a Book Review" from Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of their Booksneeze program for bloggers. I don't know if I will ever write a book, but I can dream, can't I? Having never written one, I can't say for sure that this book will be effective, but it sure is an interesting read. It appears to have all the bases covered. This book is divided into many very small, easy to digest chapters, and I look forward to applying it, once I figure out what to write about. Sadly, that is the one bit of information this book doesn't offer. But I cannot hold that against it.

"How to Write a Book Proposal" not only contains directions and advice for crafting a book proposal, but also guidance on the writing of the book, writing an outline, hiring a publicist, finding a niche, promoting your book, and several other items, plus four sample proposals. The Appendix, with links to dozens of helpful books, websites, and other resources, is probably worth ten times the cost of the book.

After reading this book, I am inspired to go and create something worth reading.

I should be celebrating....Right?

2011-05-02T22:04:00.005-05:00

As I write this, it's been exactly 24 hours since I first heard that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by our military. Within a few minutes of the announcement, I went from feeling relieved to feeling sad. The sadness was a result of the chest-thumping I was seeing all across Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other forms of instant communication.

As this went on, all I could think was: Once again, we missed it. We had a chance to be humble, to pray, to acknowledge God's sovereignty, and we blew it. And it's not the first time. About 9 1/2 years ago, right after the attacks of September 11, our nation went from Point A --shocked by a sucker-punch-- to Point B--chest-thumping, in very short order.

We should have been humbled as a nation. We should have taken the hint God was giving us, and laid down before Him, repenting, acknowledging that He is in control, and we blew it.

We puffed out our collective chest and announced to the world that we're too good to be brought down. That, in the words of Toby Keith, we'll put a boot in your ass. It's the American Way. We are still Number One, and we're going to show the world who's boss. Sadly, we still think the boss is us. We had the perfect chance to learn who the Boss really is, and we missed it.

To be clear, I am not saying God caused 9/11 to happen. It was a demonic act, planned and perpetuated by a couple of dozen evil men. But God has a way of using these opportunities. He certainly used the evil Chaldeans to not only make the Israelites into captives, but to even reduce Jerusalem to rubble in the process. Their problem was idolatry, so God brought them to the place where idolatry started, in the form of the Tower of Babel. Think the United States has a problem with idolatry today?

In the fall of 2001, we missed our chance to hear what God was saying. National pride has its place, but this kind of pride does not. Our post-9/11 reaction was prideful. Now, a decade later, the bad guy has been put to death, and we're still as prideful as ever. We've gone from appreciating that the serpent's head was bitten off (an acceptable response) to gloating. To flexing our national biceps. To holding up our index finger yelling "We're Number One!" as if our favorite college team just won a championship.

In short, we took the focus off of Him, and put ourselves back onto Center Stage.

How can we, as a nation, put God back where He belongs? How can we honor Him with our response?

Psalm 51:15 "O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise."

This is not the time for fist-pumping. It's a time for prayer. It's a time for owning up to our idolatry. It's a time for recognizing that we are not our own god, and we are certainly not as in control of our fate as we think we are. Let's don't miss it this time. If we do, the God who can bring a nation to its knees might decide to get our attention some other way. That's not a prophecy. It's not a prediction. I hope I'm wrong. I fear I'm not.

Book Review: No Place Like Holmes

2011-04-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

No Place Like Holmes, by Jason Lethcoe, is a book aimed at readers outside of my demographic. Thankfully, I have a 9-year-old son who is an avid reader and who fits perfectly. He read the book before I did, and he liked it so much he read all 200 pages in one day.

The story revolves around Griffin, a boy genius who is often misunderstood and who is often misunderstood and picked on by kids and adults alike. He goes to visit his uncle, a private detective who lives next door to Sherlock Holmes. the uncle is barely scraping by, even as his neighbor's business thrives. Not surprisingly, as the story moves forward, there is a mystery to be solved, and not surprisingly, Griffin plays a part. This being a Thomas Nelson publication, there is a spiritual component of the story which separates it from most other mystery series such as Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown, or Boxcar Children.

My son liked it.. I liked it. I recommend it for those readers who fall within the demographic. The publisher gave me a copy for review purposes, but they didn't tell me to recommend it. They're cool like that.

2011-04-18T07:37:00.000-05:00

"Max on Life", Max Lucado's latest book, is unlike most of Lucado's best-known efforts. Typically, he will base a book on a book of the bible such as Romans ("In the Grip of Grace") or Acts("Outlive Your Life"). But "Max on Life" deviates from that format in that it consists of Lucado's answers to 172 questions he has been asked. The questions have been submitted, by believers and unbelievers alike, to the author over the years, and reflect a wide spectrum of topics, such as prayer, the goodness of God, sex, scripture, money, heaven, and hell.

I have to admit: at first, I was thinking this review was going to be pretty negative. It seems that most of the questions and answers touch on surface-level topics and and never delve deep enough for my taste. But upon reading it more closely, I cannot deny that the answers are in fact enlightening, thoughtful, and full of wisdom.

I still don't think this book is for the most seasoned Christians. But there are many people who this book is for, and who can benefit greatly from it. So I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars. I'm recommending it, not for everyone, but for most readers.

Disclaimer: I am a participant in Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program; I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.

The Take Action Bible: A Review

2011-04-11T22:32:00.001-05:00

In short: I like it. The purpose of this edition of the bible is summarized in the headline at the top of the back cover: "Put the word of God into action". And it gives you plenty of ideas how to do exactly that. Besides the expected biblical text, it includes several stories about different modern-day people who heard the call of God and answered, in the form of giving, going, serving, or otherwise presenting their lives to God for His purposes.

At the end is a list of 52 suggestions (one for each week of the year) for how readers can make a difference in their community for the advancement of the Gospel. Each suggestion has an accompanying bible verse. This edition also includes a bible-reading plan.

Of course, there are the usual things one would like to have a bible to have: red letters for Jesus' words, a concordance, maps, and helpful notes and cross-references throughout.

(The Take Action Bible, published by Thomas Nelson, is a paperback New King James bible, a free copy of which was provided to me for review purposes.)

Book Review: How To Be God's Little Princess, by Sheila Walsh

2011-03-21T22:53:00.001-05:00

I recently received a review copy of How To Be God's Little Princess, by Sheila Walsh, from Thomas Nelson at no charge. As soon as I saw the title and description (not to mention the subtitle, "Royal Tips for Manners, Etiquette, and True Beauty"), I knew it had a chance to be just right for my 9-year-old daughter.

I was correct. She loved it. This book contains valid guidance throughout, but never takes itself too seriously. Walsh never pretends this work is going win a Pulitzer. She sets out to produce a fun book for girls, and she succeeds.

Although much of the material is focused on outside appearances, a large portion rightly devotes itself to more substantive topics which have nothing to do with jewelry or fashion. There are sections on how to be positive, make others feel important, use good manners, and even how to handle passing gas (I didn't jsut throw that in to see if you are paying attention; Walsh really addresses burping and, as she puts it, gas which passes out "the other end").

The book doesn't contain mini-sermons, though. It offers useful guides in the form of quizzes, games, puzzles, and other activities. My little princess also loved the cover.

Nice job, Sheila Walsh.

Quick thoughts on Rob Bell

2011-03-17T22:31:00.001-05:00

Rob Bell's new book "Love Wins" has been a hot topic in the Christian community these last few weeks. Generally speaking, people are taking sides for or against Bell and his book according to what they already believed going in. That is, some are slamming Bell, and those people tend to have theological perspectives that are somewhat rigid. Others who liked Bell already are inclined to speak out against those who would dare speak out against Bell, especially since many of them didn't read his new book.

Criticism based on the promotional video alone is valid. In the clip, Bell specifically scoffs at the notion that Gandhi might not be in heaven right now. His points are made strongly enough that those who haven't read the book are certainly entitled to offer comments on the clip.

Jesus specifically said that many people will do good things, even spiritual things, and be shocked to hear “Depart from me, evildoers, I never knew you.” Whether Gandhi is in heaven or hell right now depends entirely on whether or not he was saved, and his salvation cannot possibly have been because he was a good man and did good works (See Eph 2:8). The fact that Bell opens up his video with his dispute of this very point was bound to rub people the wrong way. The fact that anyone is surprised that his Gandhi statement alone resulted in a backlash is, well, surprising.

One more thing: some who have said we shouldn't speak out against any professing Christian pastor/teacher, sure didn't have a problem saying things when Pat Robertson offered his voodoo explanation for Haiti's troubles last year. This is more proof that Christians are as bad as anyone when it comes to taking sides and defending questionable views made by those who we already decided we admire.

For some more balanced insights into the book, I strongly recommend Larry Shallenberger's journey through the book, one chapter at a time. Chapter one is here.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is now on Paperback

2011-03-07T07:50:00.004-06:00

I loved this book. Devoured it in 3 days, and my wife read it in one day. Your life is a story. Make it a good one.

What story are you telling? from Rhetorik Creative on Vimeo.

Buy it on Amazon here

Book Review -- Pujols: More Than The Game

2011-02-25T22:04:00.000-06:00

For review purposes, the Booksneeze program provided me a complimentary copy of the new biography of Albert Pujols, titled Pujols: More Than A Game , authored by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth.
I finished it and it was a good read. Not great, but good. This book pulls back the curtain, as expected, and reveals some aspects of the life of this young man that I was not aware of. Many of these stories, episodes, and factoids, such as his love for his alcoholic, negligent father, are moving and inspiring. His love for the game of baseball is evident, but he manages to convey in the book that the game is 3rd place in his life, behind his love for his God and his family.

Repeatedly, we read that Pujols sees baseball as a platform for his message: the saving power of Jesus Christ, and for his three-part mission: evangelism, support for those with Down's Syndrome, and his native country of The Dominican Republic. As we read, we get transported back in time to hear about the poverty in the DR, the subsequent move to New York, a shooting witnessed by a young Pujols, a move to Kansas, and his blossoming talent through high school, junior college, and the minor leagues.

Like most biographies, this book paints its subject in a very positive, almost saintly light. But to its credit, it exposes some flaws, including some things he said he'd like to take back.

One drawback to the book, at least from the perspective of a man with a 9-year-old avid reader who's also a baseball fan, is that the story includes a take of promiscuity (not on the part of Pujols) which leads to an out-of-wedlock birth prior to a main character coming to faith in Christ. Were it not for that one chapter, I'd let my son read it, but he's not ready. This is not a criticism or a complaint, of course. The episode is an important part of the life of Pujols, and it would be a crime to leave it out. But it's keeping me from handing this book to my youngster, and that's a shame, because there are a great many more reasons for him to read about the life of Albert Pujols than there are reasons to avoid it. Maybe in a couple of years.

Take every opportunity to say "Thanks"

2011-01-24T07:58:00.003-06:00

Man years ago, I was not sure I wanted to have kids, so I started praying about it. One morning, we sang “Because He Lives” in church, and there’s a line about holding a new baby. Hearing and singing it seemed like a gentle nudge from God. A few other things like this happened, and I told my wife that yes, I am ready to be a father. Now, 9 yrs into dadhood, I can’t imagine I ever wasn’t sure about this.

Then, a few years ago, I brought my then-3-yr-old daughter into a Mardel store to pick something up. It happened that Gloria Gaither was there to do a book signing. She started talking to my daughter, telling her she was pretty, etc. I smiled, didn’t say much, then we left.

An hour later, I met with some friends, and told them who I had run into at the store. One of them said "You know, Gloria Gaither wrote that song, 'Because He Lives'."

I wanted to kick myself, because I had had a chance to personally thank someone who had been used by God to impact me in a very meaningful way, and I didn’t realize it.

Lesson learned: If you have a chance to say thanks to someone, take it. You may regret having missed the opportunity later.

Testing the limits of forgiveness

2011-01-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

You are a Christian. You say you love the idea of forgiveness, but what would you do if you were in this man's shoes? http://www.billycoffey.com/2011/01/the-last-christmas-present/

New Blog

2011-01-18T09:42:00.002-06:00

I have decided to create a 2nd blog. This one (middletree.blogspot.com) will be the more spiritually-focused site. For cultural commentary, I now have http://highdefculture.wordpress.com/ Please visit and comment!

Telling my kids about MLK with YouTube

2011-01-14T21:38:00.003-06:00

[This is a repost from 2010, altered for clarity]

I have no interest in letting my kids think of January 17th as just a day off from school. To emphasize the importance of what Martin Luther King Jr accomplished, I plan to do this weekend what I did last year: I utilized YouTube. We gathered around the computer, and we viewed 3 short clips.

First up was the "I've Been to the Top of the Mountain" speech from the night before he was killed. In only a little over a minute, he delivers one of the most passionate, inspiring orations you will ever hear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&feature=related

then, I went to Patty Griffin’s song based on that speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA6Q5-Ap3o8

When we did this last year, I paused the song a couple of times to emphasize the following points:

MLK said in his speech that he knew his life might be cut short (as it was just 24 hours later), but he was satisfied just doing God's will. He was convinced that God had asked him to take on this role, and he readily carried out God's calling, knowing it would be painful.

In the song, Griffin sings directly to God, from MLK's perspective, saying that he is doing it "because You asked me to," and being satisfied with God's acceptance and love, even as this calling has meant hardship, rejection, threats, and hatred for him:

"I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice
Come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so"

I explained that this wasn't just about race. It was about how God has a calling for each of us, and in many cases, it's hard. It's much easier to do our own thing, but in the long run, we're better off when we accept God's call and walk in the path that God has laid out for us.

Finally, I showed U2’s “Pride”, which is about MLK. I really like this particular clip, because it features news clips relevant to the topic. The kids had not realized that just a short time ago, blacks couldn't go to school with whites, or that they were treated as second-class citizens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56mjwycKuXA

There was a time when I would have laughed at the thought of using video clips from the Internet to educate my kids. But though the tools change, teachable moments never do. The moments need to be recognized as they happen, so we can grab the opportunity and make the most of it.

Thank God for YouTube, an imperfect tool which can be, and often is, used by God for His purposes. Thank God for MLK, an imperfect man, used by God. May we all learn these lessons well.

Why Am I So Drawn to The Ticket?

2011-01-12T22:36:00.002-06:00

I live in the D/FW area, where we have been blessed/cursed to have had an all-sports station known as The Ticket for 17 years running, which is an eon in radio terms. I avoided listening for the first few years, but got sucked in several years ago when there was no sports talk alternative. There are some other choices now, but like I said, I'm sucked in.

I've listened to sports-talk stations in this and other cities, and none of them compares. There's some undefinable something about this one station that has not been replicated anywhere. For me, it's The Ticket or nothing else. I'm not alone, either. In the local ratings, The Ticket's numbers leave the competing stations in the dust.

The problem, of course, is that The Ticket, like soda or chocolate, is good for an occasional taste, but is quite addictive.

I've often tried to figure out why I am so drawn to this one station. and I have finally figured it out. It's no secret that this station's unique set of on-air personalities comes across as guys you'd like to know, talking about guy stuff: sports, movies, the assets of female celebrities, even a little bit of politics. Overly controversial issues are avoided. It's guy talk, like you'd engage in in a bar after work.

A big part of the allure is the fact that you think you know the guys. They may very well be putting on an act, but they make it sound like you're in on the conversation. This is not an earth-shaking revelation to anyone who's listened.

But here is what is a new revelation, at least to me: I'm at my best as a man when I have other men in my life. Not just guys hanging out, but men who will speak truth to me, build me up, guide me, and let me do the same for them. Men are made for that kind of community.

The problem is, The Ticket is just enough like that to be a sort of replacement for genuine male influence in my life. Maybe "replacement" isn't the word. Perhaps "counterfeit" is better. When I let the radio personalities fill that place in my life, it's a way of staying safe. I'm keeping them at a safe distance. I don't have to answer their questions, and I don't have to hear their troubles.

I have noticed that I'm at my best when I am part of a men's group at church, or if I have been camping with some men, or even when I coach baseball for a couple of months, and have several of the dads helping out. That's when I function best as a husband, father, and friend. And like candy, the faux fellowship I get from spending too much time listening to The Ticket tastes good at first, but ultimately is unsatisfying.

A lot of people will tell you that The Ticket should be avoided because they sometimes get a little off-color. But the problem isn't what The Ticket is. The problem is what The Ticket isn't. It isn't a good substitute for the kind of friendships that men need.

How about you? Do you have genuine friendships with people in your life? Do you invite them in? Or do you, like me, tend to keep them in at a safe distance?

Review: "Slave", by John MacArthur

2011-01-11T23:05:00.002-06:00

I recently received Slave, by John MacArthur, from Thomas Nelson for review purposes, and began reading immediately. It's very well-written and clear. It's deep, helpful , and profound. The main point of the book--that we belong to Jesus, not ourselves--is sadly missing from most teachings these days.

Having said that, there are a couple of things that keep me from recommending it wholeheartedly:

1. The gist of the book's message is spelled out nicely in the first two chapters. Everything that follows simply expands on the contents of the beginning. Like a Saturday Night Live skit that was great at 5 minutes, but unfunny when made into a 90-minute movie, Slave stretches a great teaching a bit too thin.

2. The "slave" language is very uncomfortable to me. The author backs up each assertion very well, so I know it's all accurate, but still, the idea of slavery seems like a terrible thing, and I have a hard time getting past that. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. And I am a white guy. I can imagine how an African-American might be even more sensitive to the main point of the book.

If you can get past those two items, though, it's a good book with the right focus.

Books I Read in 2010

2010-12-27T23:38:00.001-06:00

I liked them all, but these are listed roughly in order of preference:

Permission to Speak Freely, Anne Jackson-- (My Review)
A Hole in Our Gospel, Richard Stearns-- (My Review)
Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?, Karen Spears Zacharias -- (My Review)
Snow Day, Billy Coffey -- (My Review)
Wild at Heart 10th anniversary, John Eldredge -- (My Review)
Jesus Manifesto, Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet -- (My Review)
Plan B, Pete Wilson -- (My Review)
Love and War, John and Stasi Eldredge -- (My Review)
The Language of Love and Respect, Emerson Eggerichs -- (My Review)
Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado -- (My Review)
You Changed My Life, Max Lucado -- (My Review)

Repost: The Two Christmases

2010-12-13T23:15:00.010-06:00

Originally posted December 2009:

As I walked through the front door of the Post Office, I was faced with a choice. On my left was a vending machine from which I could purchase books of stamps, and to my right was the customer service desk, where I could make the same purchase from actual human beings. Because there was no line at the moment, I chose the human interaction. I strolled up to the middle-aged, slightly balding postal employee, read that his name was "Rex", and I asked for two books of stamps.

As it was mid-December, Rex asked me "would you like Christmas stamps, or...".

Once I realized he wasn't about to complete the sentence, I looked down and saw that he was holding some very un-Christmas-like stamps bearing images of the Liberty Bell and the word "Forever." Knowing that my wife had planned to mail several Christmas cards, I told him "One of each."

To my surprise, the decision-making did not stop there. Because I had asked Rex for the one set of Christmas stamps, he asked me to narrow down my choice even further. He held up two types of stamps: one had a picture of Mary and Baby Jesus, while the other had various non-sectarian Christmas symbols like snowflakes, Frosty, and Santa. As he held these two up for my perusal, he asked me "religious or irreligious?"

I am not making this up.

I began to process the word “irreligious”, which I had never heard before. But as a long line was forming behind me, I quickly told Rex I'd like the "religious" ones. It turns out the image contained on these stamps is by a 17th-century Italian painter named Sassoferrato. It’s a nice picture.

Still, the fact that I had to choose between two alternatives, and do it twice, is very telling. The Postal Service, in an effort to not offend anyone, has recognized the dichotomies that exist, and has chosen to offer something for everyone. The second choice I had to make—between Mary holding the Christ child and the snowman—makes it clear: in 21st-Century America, there are two Christmases to choose from.

The two Christmases are separate and distinct. For the sake of discussion, let's call them Christmas #1 and Christmas #2.

Christmas #1 is the so-called religious way to celebrate the holiday. It emphasizes the entrance of Jesus into a sinful world. It's certainly an event worth rejoicing over, as He came to rescue mankind, who had sinned and become separated from a holy God. A Savior was necessary, and His birth is what is celebrated.

Christmas #2 invokes sentiment, nostalgia, and feel-good moments. It urges Americans of all faiths to enjoy family and friends, to shop for loved ones, to give to charities, to eat, to party, to take some time off of work. It’s about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and silver bells. It results in timeless stories and movies like Clement Moore's "A Visit From St Nicholas", and Chevy Chase's "Christmas Vacation".

Each of the two Christmases manifests itself in parallel ways. The perennial TV event for Christmas #1 is “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, with Linus’ stirring recital of the 2nd chapter of Luke. Christmas #2 is about Will Ferrell’s "Elf", or, for older viewers, "A Miracle on 34th Street."

Christmas #2 has songs like "Silver Bells", "Winter Wonderland", and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". Christmas #1 gives us "O Holy Night", "Silent Night", and that "In Exelsis Deo" song.

Both Christmases are prone to nostalgia. Those who prefer Christmas #1 get the warm fuzzies when they think about baby Jesus, the manger, and the Wise Men. Mention Christmas to #2 folks and they smile as they remember Ralphie and the quest to acquire that BB Gun.

Of course, this dichotomy needn’t exist. It doesn’t need to be an either/or thing. But each of the two Christmases has adherents, a small minority of which are very vocal, a bit snobbish, and suspicious of the motives of the other Christmas.

Some of those in the Christmas #1 camp are offended that the clerk at Target says “Happy Holidays”. It is seen as not just an affront, but part of a greater conspiracy to rid America of its Christian roots. A few who hold this view see a hidden agenda in every component of Christmas #2. They can’t just sit back and enjoy “Elf.” While wearing their "reason for the season" t-shirts, they complain that characters in that film are willing go all out to say they believe in Santa, but will not be so bold in saying they believe in God. They shake their head when they see Hanukkah or Kwanzaa greeting cards at Wal-Mart.

The Christmas #2 folks have some conspiracy theorists, as well, and a few of them arrive at conclusions just as irrational as their counterparts. They protest the inclusion of nativity scenes on public property. They insist that songs like "Silent Night" have no business being in the school program.

Both Christmases have folks who go overboard. On the Christmas #1 side, there’s this from the American Family Association: http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147486887

It’s a "Naughty vs. Nice" list of which retailers won’t let their ads contain the word “Christmas”, the implication being that real Christians should spend their money elsewhere.

[2010 update; First Baptist Church of Dallas has created a similar site at www.grinchalert.com]

Lost on the AFA and First Baptist leaders is the fact that the stores in the "good" list have their ads full of Santa, elves, etc. There's not a baby Savior to be seen anywhere. Ah, the irony.

(One well-known Christian leader allegedly said that Christians who celebrate Christmas are being “persecuted”. If we could ask 2nd-century Christians who were torn apart by lions what they think of that statement, I wonder what they’d say.)

Christmas #2 people can be just as silly. Some retailers, thinking they are walking on PC eggshells, have renamed Christmas trees to “holiday trees”, a ludicrous over-reaction. Has anyone ever walked out of a store and refused to do business with them because they still call it a “Christmas” tree? I doubt it. Renaming a very traditional item to appease non-existent protesters qualifies as going overboard.

To be fair, most people, while preferring one Christmas or another, are reasonable. They realize that the two Christmases need not divide us as bitterly as the divisions like that between Republicans and Democrats, dog and cat lovers, the Ginger/Mary Ann debate, or the one where the sparks really fly: PC vs. Mac.

This is the state of Christmas in 2009. It's very different from 30 years ago as I was growing up.

What does the future hold? What will Christmas in America look like 30 years from now? Will the two Christmases grow further apart, creating a huge chasm? Will the two Christmases converge?

One thing’s for sure: if we ever get to the point where we stop allowing ourselves to be divided over Christmas, we will find something else. We always do.

Is it our duty to call out businesses for this?

2010-12-07T23:29:00.005-06:00

Good news, Christians! First Baptist Church in Dallas has created a website where you, the average working-class, red-blooded, patriotic, God-fearing American, can tell the world which businesses are naughty, and which are nice.

The basis for such assignments is your assessment of whether or not said businesses are following your idea of an acceptable celebration of Christmas. If there are nativity scenes, references to 8-lb. baby Jesus, or the clerks greet you with "Merry Christmas" (just like the shepherds did in the bible), then they qualify as "nice". But if they say "Happy Holidays", they are clearly tools of the devil and must forever be branded as "naughty".

(Side note: what about the Little Drummer Boy? If a place has him in their decorations, is he naughty, because he's not in the bible? Or is he nice, because he played drums for baby Jesus?)

And once you know if a place is naughty, then...well, I'm not sure what you are supposed to do with that information. I guess you show them the love of Jesus by boycotting them or something. That way, you ensure that good God-fearing Christians like you will be a light on a hill, just like Jesus said. Only you won't, strictly speaking, carry that light into an actual dark place or anything. Because Jesus wouldn't want that.

I hate to state the obvious, but this is a horrible idea for a website. The fact that it's driven by a large evangelical church is mind-boggling. Is the church of Jesus Christ in the business of complaining, or of actually ministering to people? One would think it's the latter. So how is this ministering to anyone?

I don't profess to know all that the world needs, but one thing it doesn't need is more Christians complaining about how unbelievers don't embrace our values. They're unbelievers; what do you expect them to do? We should all be amazed that they allowed "Merry Christmas" for so many decades!

We are to be a light to those who don't yet believe. Unbelievers need Jesus. They don't need angry Christians being more divisive toward them, perpetuating the stereotype of the hateful Christian. They need Jesus. They need to know your story. They need to know how Jesus changed your life, healed your wounds, restored your marriage, brought back your prodigals, and gave you hope in this life and for eternity.

The Jesus they need to hear about never once complained about how culture was shutting Him out. How in the world can any follower of Jesus think it's OK to do the very thing Jesus never did?

I am truly saddened, as a believer, by this site and the perceived need to paint a scarlet "N" on those businesses which don't have the "right" kind of decorations. This hurts my heart.

Honoring the Union head?

2010-12-06T13:58:00.001-06:00

The Baseball Hall of Fame voters turned down Marvin Miller today. In the 1970's, Miller took over the baseball players' union and built it into the most powerful union in the world. Because of him, the worst major leaguers are guaranteed salary ranges in the mid-6 figures, and countless mediocre ones have been able to lock teams into multi-million-dollar deals, driving up ticket prices exponentially in the process.

The Hall of Fame is there to remember the best of the best in baseball, whether they are players, managers, umpires, or those who contributed in some other way. The idea that a union leader, especially this one, should be honored is ludicrous. Labor unions have done more harm than good in our nation, and have been instrumental (along with numerous other contributing factors) in creating an entitlement mindset among most modern U.S. citizens that is truly saddening.

Miller made himself rich while claiming to be all about the little guy. The fruit of Miller's work has been an increase in team revenues and player salaries which goes way beyond the normal rate of inflation. The only way this could happen, of course, is for ticket prices to go up beyond affordability. The end result is that real working people like me must either (a) drastically reduce the number of games we can take our kids to, or (b) spend a whole lot more than we did 30 years ago. How is that helping the little guy?

Marvin Miller's legacy is about millionaires arguing with billionaires, as well as the occasional strike. Such a legacy is not worthy of being immortalized in the Hall of Fame.

Disclaimer: I let Google put ads on the right. I never know what they are gonna be ahead of time. I'm often as surprised as you are.

Stevie Johnson let God down....didn't he?

2010-11-30T11:14:00.007-06:00

------------------------------------------------

There's lots of talk about Stevie Johnson, the Bills wideout who dropped the game-winning touchdown and then, after the game, tweeted:

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…

I feel bad for the guy. He’s getting mocked across the nation, and some of the criticisms are along the lines of “it’s just a game.” Such criticisms are very ignorant. Catching a ball is what this guy was hired to do. It’s his living. I get upset when things I try to do at my job don’t go well. Doesn’t matter if your job is a plumber, programmer, pastor, doctor, or athlete.

In the case of an athlete, a failure on the job is witnessed by millions of people. To this day, athletes like Leon Lett, Bill Buckner, and Robin Ventura, who should be known for having great careers, are instead known for one bad moment. They’re regarded as failures despite being better at what they do that 99.9% of people who judge their performance and assess their worthiness.

My hope for Johnson is that he will have a game where he does something really well, and alters the way people think about him. And my other hope is that he will see God as He really is.

I have never received a dime for playing sports, but have felt his same frustration when my softball team, or the kids’ baseball team that I coach, has had a heartbreaking loss, a dropped ball, or missed opportunity. In fact, I’ve had it outside of sports, as well. This isn't about money; it's about a guy who had thoughts like we all do, only his went public.

Note: much of this blog post originated in comments I posted on Karen Spears Zacharias' excellent post at http://bit.ly/hdGrSA

Book Review: Snow Day, by Billy Coffey

2010-11-18T21:31:00.001-06:00

I was alerted to Billy Coffey by a tweet from Karen Spears Zacharias earlier this year. He's a blogger who has a day job and lives in Virginia, and has just published his first book, Snow Day. After reading several of his blog posts, I was intrigued by the book and had meant to purchase it. As it turns out, I won a free copy in a promotion by the publisher. I am under no obligation to give any review, positive or negative, about Snow Day.

Having said that, I'm recommending Snow Day very highly. This is a story about a man named Peter whose circumstances are similar to that of Mr Coffey (mid-30's, wife and two kids, one with diabetes, factory job), with some differences. In particular, Peter is facing a very tough situation: an impending layoff in a small town with little in the way of alternatives for him if he should lose his job.

Snow Day takes place in one day: a winter day in which the protagonist decides to take a day off. He spends the day running errands at the store, meeting interesting people, watching local kids sledding, and thinking about people and life in this small town. The gray cloud looming over all these thoughts and encounters is the sobering prospect of joblessness.

There's not a lot of plot to get in the way of the story, and that's a good thing in this case. It's a simple account of one man's thoughts and attempts to keep his chin up as he faces not being able to provide for his family. Along the way, he meets several characters, and learns a lesson from each one. My favorite is chapter 4, where Peter mocks an imperfect toy Santa, only to learn that this world is full of imperfect people, each of whom has value.

If you're up for a nice story which teaches some things without being preachy, and which is hopeful in the midst of hopelessness, I recommend Snow Day.

Elections results

2010-11-03T11:36:00.001-05:00

With the recent mid-term elections, I've been hearing a lot about how wrong it is for evangelicals and social-justice Christians to hold to the political right and Left, respectively, as the answer to the nation's problems.

I, too went through a time where I questioned why so many Protestants wrapped up their faith and their politics to the point where the two couldn't be separated. I, too, want to see this stopped, because Christians fighting Christians about whose politics are more Christian is, um, not Christian.

But as much as I love these calls to stop the madness, I don't think it will work. As long as political liberals hold and defend the party line on the two big moral issues (abortion and gay issues), there will always be a backlash from those Christians on the Right.

Like many Christians, I've asked the questions about why these two issues are picked as hot-button topics. In particular, why are conservative Christians so vocal about homosexuality and not other sexual sins? I think there are three answers to this:

1. It's a false supposition: Many evangelical Christians leaders preach just as much about other sexual sins, but nobody is noticing.

2. If right-leaning Christians do focus on one sexual sin over the others, it's because they cannot relate. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul lists several sins that are problematic: witchcraft, fornication, alcoholism, homosexuality. But many Christians are more forgiving when it comes to alcoholism and fornication because they engaged in that behavior in their youth. Most do not have any incidences of homosexuality or witchcraft in their past, so those two sins are elevated. This particular charge against evangelicals is right-on.

3. Homosexuality and abortion are unique in that they are the only sins which have organizations which seek to make them acceptable. Is anyone out there advocating bank robbery as an acceptable way to earn a living? Is anyone lobbying legislatures to legalize murder? Is there a push to get churches to drop the idea that fornication is sin? No. But there has been a major push over the past 3 decades to make abortion and homosexuality acceptable, both socially and legally. A backlash from conservatives is to be expected. It's not evidence of meanness or intolerance. It's an obvious, predictable reaction from those who hold to a particular worldview. To cast is as intolerance or hate is nothing less than dishonest.

The Way Home

2010-10-28T14:58:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of phrases these days have the ability to produce extreme reactions in people like "Christian movie".

Think about it: when you read it just now, you either cringed at the memory of past experiences watching lame stories with terrible dialog, or perhaps the phrase filled your heart with warm fuzzies. The former reaction is likely if you saw atrocities like "The Omega Code", and the latter is true for you if you forgave the substandard acting in "Fireproof" or "Facing the Giants" because you agreed with the message.

The good news is, the quality of the post-"Facing the Giants" movies aimed for a primarily Christian audience has been steadily, though slowly, improving. It's not quite up to Hollywood standards yet, but it's getting better.

A recent entry into this field, The Way Home, was recently provided to me for review purposes. The only "stars" are Dean Cain, formerly Superman on ABC's Lois and Clark series, and, in a small but significant role, the guy who played Cletus from "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Despite the lack of A-list actors, and the predictable ending, The Way Home turned out to be pretty good. It won't be an Oscar contender, but it was worth my while.

The story, in a nutshell, is that a family is packing for a vacation, and the toddler takes advantage of his father's momentary inattention and disappears. The police are called, and a search team is formed to comb through the woods near the house.

Particularly uplifting are the various ways in which the community comes together and supports the family, prays for them, and helps in the search. Yes, the ending was a little too warm and fuzzy, but it is a true story, after all.

As much as anything else, The Way Home resembles one of the better episodes of "Touched By an Angel": emotional, heart-warming, and button-pushing. I give it a solid B.

Thoughts following Game 3 of rangers/Yankees

2010-10-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

1. This is a real confidence-builder: The Rangers ran the Yankees' best pitcher out of the game Friday, and outplayed the Yanks for 8 of the 9 innings. The fact that they have now slammed the Yankees for 26 out of 27 innings has to be a real confidence-boost for the Rangers, and has to be causing doubts in the minds of the Yankees players. Don't underestimate the mental side of this game.

2. Feliz's speed in the last AB against Texieria: 98, 98, 99, 100, 98, 99. It's very significant, because it means the batter and pitcher look each other in the eye, and they both understand what kind of pitch is coming. They're daring each other. Even if Feliz had a great breaking ball, it wouldn't have been right, and he knows it, to pitch anything but a fastball. Great way to end it.

3. The toe-to-toe, man-to-man aspect mentioned in #2 above is vital. Tex has been around a while, and can hit a fastball as well as anyone. But for Feliz to take his challenge like that says a lot about his ability to shine when it matters most.

4. Hope this performance in New York doesn't make the Yankees want Lee that much more.

MLB greed-a Double whammy

2010-10-05T09:47:00.001-05:00

http://www.wfaa.com/sports/baseball/rangers/Playoff-charges-surprise-Ballpark-office-tenants-104319234.html

Major League Baseball has come in and told the Rangers to tell their tenants--small businesses who rent space in the offices of the Ballpark--that the precedent which has been set for the last 17 seasons is now no longer in effect. They can no longer watch games from their office without purchasing a ticket. At least for the playoffs.

MLB has always had ridiculous rules which come across as greedy. For example, go try to find a clip on Youtube. If you do get lucky enough to find one, bookmark it and come back in a week, and it won't be there. That's because MLB won't let any game footage be shown online, because they want you to view it on the league's website.

A great example of the ridiculousness of MLB's policy is in that article linked to at the beginning of this post. Watch the video, which comes from a news report on local DFW station WFAA. When it gets to the 1:22 mark, the original clip shows some baseball action as part of the news story. But that part is blacked out in this clip because the MLB won't let the news station--reporting a legitimate news story, mind you--show baseball players playing baseball. Because, you know, it might infringe on MLB's copyrighted material. Or something.

Not a lot of things sadden me like greed does. Before money was invented, people found ways to do evil because they wanted more. Eve was convinced by a snake that God was holding out on her. So she and Adam sinned. Later, they had kids, and one was upset that his brother had something he didn't get. So we have history's first murder. Greed is arguably the root cause of most of the world's troubles. Ultimately, the MLB is simply an example of the human condition. The MLB's actions are a symptom, not the problem. But the MLB still has the freedom to make the right choice. Hopefully they'll change their mind.

Love and War--A Review

2010-10-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

It's only natural that, after writing about the topics of God's design for men (Wild at Heart), women (Captivating), spiritual warfare (Waking the Dead), and the parallels between human romance and our relationship with God (The Sacred Romance), it's only logical that John and Stasi Eldredge expound on, and combine, all of those ideas in a book about marriage. Those already familiar with the ministry and writings of both Eldredges will see many similarities in their latest book, Love and War. But it's not merely the same old regurgitated stuff. Love and War is full of fresh ideas, filtered through the familiar Ransomed Heart framework.

Marriage is perhaps the most covered topic in all of American Christianity. And judging by the way marriage among professing Christians has been getting bludgeoned, it's understandable why. But Love and War differs from the bulk of marriage-themed books in most Christian bookstores in at least two major ways.

First, there's the transparency of the authors themselves. John and Stasi share their victories, their defeats, their success, their failures, their ups, their downs, their fights, and their sins. They are open about the topic of sex as it has played out in their marriage. They are open about expectations, and falling short of them. They are open about their pre-marriage pasts, each of them. The authors are open even as they urge the reader to adopt the same kind of transparency.

Secondly, the authors are not afraid to point out that marriage is hard. Some marriage books will tell you that marriage is hard work. But this is the first I have seen which says, in frank terms, that marriage will, at times, test you, break your heart, confound your expectations, and ultimately drive you to God as the only One who can answer your questions and heal the damage done in the process. Like other Eldredge books, a certain amount of emphasis is given to the topic of past hurts, and the need for healing.

Although I was provided a free copy from Ransomed Heart for review purposes, I am free to say what I want about Love and War. That said, I highly recommend the book for all people who are married, or someday wish to be.

Beyond the door greeter: The most important contribution of Tim Wright

2010-09-25T22:39:00.005-05:00

My sons Jacob and Zachary have baseball cards. Hundreds of them. They like to spend time with them, because the cards feed two of their passions: baseball and numbers. They organize and re-organize the cards. They play fictional baseball games, complete with playoffs, with them. Most important, they show the cards off to their friends. Even adults who come over to the house are likely to be introduced to the baseball cards collection by my sons.
I have a friend named Frank. He's retired, and is an expert woodworker. Visitors to his house will be treated to the tour: he loves to show you the gorgeous cherrywood rocking horse, the grandfather clock, and countless other items he has made out of wood. They're all quite beautiful; very impressive. It's Frank's passion, and he loves to share what he has done with others.

For the last 15 years, I have had a friend named Tim Wright. His title was Pastor of Small Groups and Assimilation. We all know what a small group is, but "assimilation" means that Tim did much more than meet you when you first visited Grace Community Church. He got to know you, figure out your experiences, your gifts and talents, and what is most important to you; what really gets you going. Armed with that information, Tim had a knack of finding a place for you to serve. Typically, but not necessarily, within the church, he'd find a ministry that needed someone just like you. If there wasn't one, he'd create it. He was a master at helping you find your place in advancing the Kingdom of God.
Now, here's where it gets most interesting: once he helped you find your place, he liked to brag about you to others. I cannot count the times I'd be sitting in a small group setting, and Tim would ask everyone to go around the room and introduce themselves. You might say your name and your spouse's name, maybe one tidbit of information, but Tim would always interject some ministry you were involved in.
It would go like this:
"Hi, I'm Bob, and this is my wife Kathy, and we've been at grace for 8 years". And Tim would interrupt and say: "You know, folks, Bob and Kathy have been leading a home group for 7 years. It's been really life-giving, and we've seen some great new leaders come out of that group."
A few years ago, Tim got to hire an assistant, Carol. He never introduced her as Carol, though. It was always "This is my awesome assistant, Carol Weideman." Tim introduced people that way because that's how he thought of people.

At the beginning of 2010, when Tim was undergoing treatment for his brain tumor, I read Don Miller's heartfelt tribute to his friend and mentor David Gentiles, who had just died suddenly. In it, he said that the people in Gentiles' life were like his baseball card collection. I knew instantly that God was speaking to me that this was true about Tim Wright. He not only loved to help people excel, to be all that they were made for, but he loved to brag about it. Not to brag in a sinful prideful way, but to rejoice, to enjoy that his life's work was making a difference through so many people. Thankfully, I got a chance in January to share this insight with Tim personally.

By himself, Tim could only impact a few dozen people, but through others, he could impact thousands. And when he saw that people were finding a way to make an impact, he loved to tell others about it. Like Jacob and Zachary and the baseball cards, he showed you and me off to others. Like Frank and the things made of wood, he wanted to display you to the world. Tim took a special kind of satisfaction in watching his friends find their place.

Since Tim passed away, many people have joked that Tim has replaced St Peter as heaven's door greeter. On earth, Tim was great at that initial meeting, but he didn't stop there. He got to know people long after that first day. So my vision of what Tim is doing now is a little different from the door greeter scenario envisioned by others, and it's probably just as biblically sound ;) In the picture in my mind, he is hanging with his new friends, saints from years past. he has special-ordered some laminated cards, the size of baseball cards, and he has a stack of them. And each card has a person, a friend who Tim helped find and fulfill their purpose in this life. And Tim's pulling out a card, telling his new friends about this person on this card. "Here's my friend James. Let me tell you about him..."

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Outlive Your Life--A Book Review

2010-09-10T08:43:00.003-05:00

In "Outlive Your Life," author Max Lucado takes the reader on a journey through the book of Acts, painting a picture along the way. A picture which describes the need for all believers to carry out God's work and make their life count for something. Ideally, such work will last beyond the lifetime of the worker. Lucado skillfully uses the history of the beginning of the Church, as told to us in the book of Acts, to teach the reader why helping others in Jesus' name is part of Christian life.

Along the way, he backs up this idea not only with verses, but with statistics and with real-life stories of modern believers who chose to make their lives count by blessing others.

If this sounds familiar, it's because the ground treaded by this book has been covered over and over again. I could not read "Outlive Your Life" without being reminded of "Purpose-Driven Life", "The Hole in Our Gospel", "Don't Waste Your Life", "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years", and "Crazy Love" among others. Many others.

While the message is a great one for anyone who hasn't read those other books, for me it was very familiar stuff. Certainly a worthy topic. But if you have read the books I listed--and chances are you have--you'll realize it's not really telling you anything you haven't already heard before.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for review purposes.

You Changed My Life--A Book Review

2010-09-08T22:55:00.003-05:00

"You Changed My Life" is Max Lucado's companion piece to "Outlive Your Life". "Outlive your Life" is about the need for Christians to take action by blessing others in their lives. In "You Changed My Life," the author takes the reader into the lives of many people who have done exactly that.

The book's inner flap says it's a gift book intended to be awarded to someone who has made a difference in the life of someone. It consists of several inspiring anecdotes about real people who made a conscious choice to love others in some way. My favorite is "Love Makes a Difference", about Catherine Lawes, wife of a prison warden, who treated prisoners as if they were just as important as she was.

"You Changed my Life", while a companion piece to "Outlive Your Life", would go well alongside other books such as "Crazy Love", by Frances Chan, or "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years", by Donald Miller, in that it doesn't so much preach about spiritual truths as much it personalizes them. Miller says you should make your life into an interesting story, and Lucado tells the stories. Very nice read.

Disclaimer: The publisher furnished me with a copy of this book for review purposes. Check out the Booksneeze program!

Book review: "Permisson to Speak Freely", by Anne Jackson

2010-09-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Anne Jackson's "Permission to Speak Freely" is an astounding piece of work. It’s amazing. In my many previous book reviews, I save my superlatives and only bring them out on rare occasions. But I’m unleashing the floodgates for this one. This book will touch anyone who feels they are or have ever been “damaged goods”, which means just about all of us. I got this book for free from the publisher, but in hindsight, I’d have paid $100 for it. It’s that powerful.

It's divided into 3 parts. The first part consists of Jackson's background story, mostly sad vignettes of how she was betrayed by people in the church. This betrayal was extended in many cases to her other family members, and clearly had a lasting effect on the author.

Part 2 explains her adult life so far, and how she has come to realize some truths about her past. Of all the things she learned, the biggest impact came from the realization that many people in churches everywhere have hurts, secrets, pasts, and things on their heart they want to share but feel they cannot.

And that's where the 3rd part comes in. In it, Jackson describes ways she is encouraging others to come forward, and say those things that are hard to say in church. Among Christians, transparency should be priority one, but in reality, that's not usually the case. She describes "the gift of going second", which is her showing leadership by telling someone something difficult about herself, so they will be more willing to get past their fear of opening up.

And that's the ultimate goal here: to get people to open up. Because Jesus cannot heal any wound that's still hidden. We have an enemy who likes to work in the dark, and Anne Jackson has discovered the value of exposing things to the light. Only there can we find freedom.

Way to go Anne. You have done good.

Following in the footsteps of Gomer, Jed Clampett, and Barney Fife

2010-09-01T23:13:00.012-05:00

As a kid, I watched a lot of TV after school. At that time of day, the choices were soaps, game shows, and reruns of shows which were popular in the 50's & 60's. I typically chose the reruns. The list of shows I liked included Gilligan's Island, I Love Lucy, Lost in Space, and many more.

Five TV shows in this rerun rotation had one thing in common. See if you can tell what that one thing is:

Gomer Pyle
The Andy Griffith Show
The Beverly Hillbillies
Petticoat Junction
Green Acres

That's right: they all featured hillbillies: characters with Southern accents, limited formal education, and a glaring absence of sophistication. When the hicks crossed paths with non-hicks, hilarity ensued. Many laughs were squeezed from the contrast between the hillbillies and "book-smart" people. Of course, the moral of many of the episodes was that the dumb hicks often had more wisdom than the city folks whom they were up against.

Around 2000 years ago, a God-man named Jesus chose to use a dozen guys to get the ball rolling on the greatest movement in the history of the world. A revolution that would put all the rest of them to shame. A message of hope, eternal life, healing, purpose, destiny, and God's love for all people.

Who were these guys He trusted to start this thing with? You'd think a bunch of dour-faced, seminary-trained Type-A men who were well-versed in Scripture and prayed 10 hours a day and spoke multiple languages. Guys with first names like Biff or Blake who worked on their thesis while on the Yale rowing team. But instead, He chose hillbillies. Tax collectors. Fishermen. Even the guys who fixed nets used by the fishermen. The only educated one of the bunch was a doctor, which hardly was a qualification for leading this initiative that was about to turn the world upside down.

These guys were the Jethro Bodines, the Gomer Pyles, the Floyd the Barbers. That's who He chose. And like Barney Fife, they shot themselves in the foot a time or two. But God chose these hicks to confront the educated Pharisees and tell them what's what about the Messiah and the real meaning of the Law.

These doofuses were to teach the so-called teachers about how God wanted to bring the message of His love to the Gentiles, the poor, the prostitutes, and even those dastardly Samaritans. The hillbillies got to be the ones who showed the world how Jesus paid their ransom with His death, resurrection and ascension. About how God has work for us to do.

To this day, many supposedly wise people, whether or not they are professing God-followers, look down on the unsophisticated, the uneducated, the people with a shady past. Heck, I know I do. All the time. But modern Christians are following in the footsteps of the 1st-century versions of Jed Clampett and Mr Haney. They don't look like much, but with God equipping them, they did great things. And so can we.

What does this mean for us in the 21st-century? It means that if we're willing to not worry about looking undignified, God will be able to use us to do something spectacular. It's not just for the "smart" people, or the smooth talkers. Nobody is ineligible. No one.

My new motto: Be a hillbilly; make a difference.

1 Corinthians 1:25-27
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

God's Promises for Girls-Review

2010-08-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Promises-Girls-Jack-Countryman/dp/1400315913/
Thomas Nelson provided for me the book God's Promises for Girls, by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker. This is a devotional-type book designed for young girls. My 8-year-old daughter read it with no problem and it seemed to be just right for her reading level.
Beyond readability, of course, is the content of the book, and it's very well done. It divides each day into two pages (one page spread). For each day, there is one topic (example: Trusting God) and a few verses to meditate on. There is no commentary; just the verses, plus some very nice illustrations.
I highly recommend this book for girls around age 8, give or take a few years. In fact, as an adult male, I found I could get a lot out of this book as well.

Note that there is also a boys' version of the book which I did not review.

Crazy moving story

2010-08-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

Ever have an incident so crazy that you say "if someone wrote this as a sitcom script, nobody would believe it!"? In 1987, I was leaving the army, and experienced that very thing.

I'm getting out of the Army. It's a Thursday. Snowstorm closes the finance office, so I cannot out-process. It's closed Friday, too. Snow melts Saturday, but they're closed on weekends. More snow Sunday night. Monday morning, finance is closed again because of snow.
Monday afternoon, finance opens, they out-process me by 4:30. I load stuff from my barracks into my car. When almost done, I realize I don't have quite enough hands to carry last load, so I leave one item in room. On way back from car, fire alarm goes off. Fire trucks come. I'm prevented from entering building to get my one last item and heading into civilian life.
An hour later, firefighters call it a false alarm, let me in to get that one thing. I load up. It's 6:00. Rush-hour traffic in DC area is always bad, but especially bad today. My car has no heater. After freezing myself in car, in traffic that is basically standing still, I check into hotel, 40 miles from where I started. I finally depart for home Tuesday morning, 5 days after I thought I would.

Rainbows and Other Reminders

2010-07-28T09:00:00.003-05:00

Perhaps you can relate to the following scene: I'm driving along, with my kids in the back seat, and suddenly, I spot a rainbow. I make a point of saying something to my sons and daughter, so they won't miss it. "Look, a rainbow!" About the same thing I do with we drive by something else I'd like to point out, like cows or fire trucks.

Only thing is, there is something different about a rainbow, something which separates it from cows and other attractions.

Genesis 9:14-15 "And it shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow
shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh."

God looked at the destruction, which He had sent as a way of dealing with the sin of the world, and said to Himself that He needed to find another way to deal with it. He would send His only begotten Son, to become a sacrifice for our sin, so that you and I would not have to go through the same kind of destruction that had just been visited upon the world.

The Rainbow is a reminder to you and me of what Jesus did on the Cross. Even though you and I are staring death in the face, because of sin, we've been given a pardon. We've been rescued. When you see a rainbow, think of it as much more than a trick the sunlight plays on airborne water particles. It's there to bring to mind for us Who God is, what He did, and who we are in Him.

Sammy vs. David Lee Roth

2010-07-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

20 years after Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen, it occurs to me that I like the Hagar-era songs better. Why? I'm not sure exactly. I have a theory, though.

When I was single and hanging with other singles, we'd be in a large gathering at someone's house, and there's always that one person who came in and announced him/herself with a shout. Something like "Who's ready to party?" or maybe just a simple "Woohoo!" People who do that have always been a turnoff to me.

Now that I think about it, Dave was more like that guy. Always having to draw attention to himself, reminding people how fun it is to have him around. But the songs of the Hagar era were more about the song than the guy singing them. They didn't scream out "see how cool I am!?!" They were just good songs.

Father's Day

2010-06-16T23:16:00.010-05:00

I didn't realize, growing up, the cost of not having a relationship with my father. It's only in recent years that the weight of the impact on my life has become evident to me. This new realization comes to me for many reasons. Becoming a dad is the obvious one, but in addition, it's helped that I have read several books which emphasize the importance of a dad. Finally, I've noticed several films where the main character fathers his kids, and the children have an understanding of their father's role that I never did. I have learned of a father's importance by watching dads ranging from good ones, as in "The Pursuit of Happyness," to ones who fell way short, like in "Shine", "The Great Santini", or "Up".

The benefit of gaining this new understanding is that it forces me to pay special attention to my role as father. I'm pretty sure I would have been too self-absorbed to have had a good impact on Abby, Jacob, and Zachary if it hadn't been made known to me how important it is to try to do it right.

It sounds funny now, what with "Wild at Heart" and Promisekeepers and all, but there was a time when fathering wasn't strongly emphasized. When it was mentioned, it was all about passing along good morals. Being a good father meant being a disciplinarian and making your kids call you "sir". "Spending time" with kids meant that we should take them along with us to the hardware store.

So now I'm nearly a decade into fatherhood, and about that many years into examining my own father and what I had and didn't have with him. He left when I was 4, and I have scant memories of living with him. To be honest, I have no memory of him attempting to father me. In fact, I cannot say to this day that I understand what it means to look to someone as a father figure. I hear others talk of the way they look at their dads, and it's like I'm a blind man and they're explaining the color blue to me.

Back then, the court-ordered duo of child support and custody weren't tightly regulated like they are now, so I didn't see him very often. Maybe 3 or 4 times growing up, and then maybe 6 or 7 times as an adult. I called him by his first name, Randy. It was always cordial; he was nice to me and, by all accounts, was a good guy.

But I never experienced that child-to-father thing, whatever it is supposed to be like. I knew him, but I never knew him. I don't say that in a self-pitying way, and I certainly don't say it with any sort of anger toward him. I think there's something to the command of honoring your father and mother. It's a command that doesn't seem to leave room for exceptions. So there is no anger coming from me to him; I simply didn't know him. Sadly, I will not get to know him: he ended his own life in 2000, so that ship has sailed.

Interestingly, in the last few years, I can point to multiple occasions where God showed me that the absence of an earthly father in my life isn't a total disaster. He did it using, of all things, music and movies. Here are two examples.

1. In "A Knight's Tale", with Heath Ledger, there's a scene where the dad, seeing no opportunities for his son in the poverty-stricken situation they were living in, sent his boy to a farm where he could learn by being someone's apprentice. Father and son didn't see each other again during his childhood. When the dad met his grown son many years later, it was clear that he did the right thing for his son, by letting him be raised in another environment.

In my case, my dad was very unlike me: rural, very outdoorsy, and also (I want to say this without dishonoring, but it's a truth that is integral to this story) he was an alcoholic and, as I recall, had a bit of a temper. If I had been raised with him, who knows how I would have turned out? I'd have to say that alcoholism or some other addiction, or the tendency to be abusive, would be very possible, maybe even probable. It appears to be for the best that I did not grow up with him.

2. A few years ago, I was home on the Friday before Father's Day. I was alone for an hour or two, so I pulled up something on the internet. A singer I really like was about to release his new CD, and it was being offered for listening at a website. One of the songs is called "You Don't know My Love". It's ostensibly by a man wooing a woman, but I could hear God speaking to me, about His love for me. He was saying that although I hadn't always been open to letting Him love me in a father/son sort of way, He still wanted to Father me.

The relevant lyrics:

If you've cried a river
If you doubt your dreams
If you've waited in vain for a phone that won't ring
If you think a promise is something you can't trust
Then you don't know my love

I've been falling, falling
Ever since I met you
Trying to get you to finally see
That no one is ever gonna love you like Me

---
I was mesmerized when I heard that, and played it over and over again for the next several days. I couldn't get enough of that song. It was clear that God was speaking about pursuing me, telling me to open up and let Him father me. I wish I could say I have done that and my whole life was miraculously changed that day, but the reality is that it's been gradual rather than instantaneous. And that's OK. I'll get there.

Book Review: Jesus Manifesto

2010-06-01T23:05:00.002-05:00

Jesus Manifesto, by Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet, aims to, as the subtitle states, "Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ." It does an admirable job of just that.

I'm not familiar with the work of either Sweet or Viola, but read this book because it was provided to me by tghe publisher, Thomas Nelson. The writers have turned out something that is impressive, and which has the potential to be a timeless work.

The point of the book is simple: our focus as Christians should be on Jesus. Not causes, not personalities, not politics, and certainly not ourselves. Scriptural proof is offered in the form of Paul's' constant references to his desire to preach Christ.

Key passage: "So many Christians are blissfully unaware of His vastness. They have settled for so much less and have known Him so little. But...when the people of God get a sighting of their incomparable Lord...every idol will be forced to the ground. The clouds of doubt will part from our eyes, and Jesus Christ will displace everything."

The authors task us, the reader, with (a) learning to see the real Christ; (b) centering the Real Christ in our lives; and (c) proclaiming to others that they must do the same.

I found the book to be challenging on a personal level, and I found that its points were well thought-out and well-defended. I recommend it highly.

Will Jesus Buy Me A Double-Wide? by Karen Spears Zacharias--my review

2010-05-17T21:09:00.005-05:00

A few months ago, I was given a free copy of "Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?", by the author, Karen Spears Zacharias, for participation in a Haiti relief effort. I mention this for two reasons: first, a new law says that bloggers who review a complimentary book must disclose that they didn't pay for it; in this case, it's worth adding that Ms. Zacharias didn't ask me to review the book.

Reason #2 why I mention that the book was a free gift is that, frankly, I most likely wouldn't have read it otherwise. After all, it's about the damage done by the teaching known as the Prosperity Gospel. These days, it seems that we are bombarded with people telling us they are against things. Everyone from Beck to Maher to Limbaugh to Olbermann tells us constantly why they are against something. So this book's main point is that there is one more thing to be against? No, thanks. I'm good.

But when it comes to this book, throw all of that kind of reasoning out. "Double Wide" is wonderful, and is nothing like I imagined it. If I would have skipped it, it would have been my loss.

Rather than lay out an extended theological manifesto, Zacharias simply tells stories of individuals, one per chapter. Real people, living out their lives while influenced, in varying degrees from one end of the spectrum to the other, by the Prosperity/Word of Faith/name-it-claim-it teaching.

Because Luke 6:44 says we are to judge a teaching by its fruit, we are compelled to see how this teaching plays out, and Double Wide offers us a chance to do exactly that.

In one chapter, we see a godly woman's body get ravaged by cancer, an apparent conflict with the word of faith belief that good health is ours if we stay true to God. In another chapter, we see a woman who starts a business, only to see the business blossom; she becomes a millionaire, then proceeds to use her wealth to help orphans in the Ukraine. The former story is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, while the latter episode demonstrates what I believe to be more theologically correct: God does in fact bless some people with more wealth than they need, but with the purpose of blessing those who have less. The term I like for this is "The Gospel of Generosity".

If this were a sermon rather than a book review, I could lay out the Gospel of Generosity theology very nicely, with several supporting verses. Zacharias could do the same, but she wisely chooses to tell stories. As many post-2000 authors from John Eldredge (Epic) to Donald Miller (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years) have pointed out, God lays out His truth to us in story form. It's a much more readable, graspable, and ultimately more powerful way to deliver a truth to a reader. And Zacharias does it masterfully.

More than anything I have read this year, I highly recommend this book. You'll be glad you read it.

On the outside chance that the author see this: Thanks for the book, Karen.

Book Review: Plan B, by Pete Wilson

2010-05-03T19:50:00.002-05:00

Pete Wilson's "Plan B: What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would?" has a title that is perfectly descriptive, yet had me convinced it wouldn't be terribly interesting. As someone who's been a Christian for many years and heard a lot of sermons, I thought going in that I had this book pegged. And in one way, it does repeat the concepts that have been preached countless times, only because those concepts are based on truths found throughout Scripture. And in fact, the first few chapters lived down to my expectations. Not that the message isn't a valid one, but I simply had no interest in hearing something that is not news to me.

But to my pleasant surprise, the message grew on me, and offered this veteran believer some fresh things to ponder. The message, at its core, is a simple one: in life, stuff happens. Nobody's immune to failure, disappointment, even death or divorce. Things happen in the course of a person's life which take them by surprise, slap them in the face, or knock them down. And as much as the Prosperity Gospel crowd doesn't like to admit it: these things happen to Christians, too.

I'm going to quote a long passage here from page 96, because I think it's very well said:

I'm wondering how different life would be for each one of us if we chose to view our circumstances and our relationships as the gifts they are. What if we viewed our hardships and challenges as opportunities to be the men and women God has created us to be? ...
God is God, and He doesn't owe any of us anything. But He gives us everything including Himself. ...
He does it His own time...with the big picture in mind, with little regard to the way we think it should go. And so often, ...instead of taking away our pain and frustration and confusion in our Plan Bs, He offers us the promise of His presence. But this is not a consolation prize."

For some who are confused about why things are not going as planned, this is a must-read. For those for whom things are going well at the moment, this is worth reading. You never know when the truth contained therein will come in handy. Just knowing He is up to great things can be helpful when life is tough.

Disclaimer: The publisher of this book, Thomas Nelson, provided me with a free copy of Plan B for review. There was no obligation to give a favorable review. I liked this book and I recommend it.

Review of Wild at Heart--10th Anniversary Edition, by John Eldredge

2010-04-29T21:16:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since John Eldredge's Wild at Heart was released. Actually, it's more like nine, but who's counting? The book, love it or hate it, has been influential in ways nobody could have imagined upon initial release. It will be remembered as one of the most important books of our time. Now, Thomas Nelson has released an updated version.

Wild at Heart, with its assertions that God is wild, that feminism has removed from men the most valuable thing they have to offer (their strength), and that women want to be rescued, created a bit of a firestorm almost as soon as it was released. It has been the subject of criticism from Christians and non-Christians alike, banned from some Christian bookstores and even churches. It was blamed for a killing. But on the other hand are those who assert that WAH has been immeasurably influential and healing in the lives of countless men, and by extension, their wives, and their children.

Because of the detractors, it's not a bad idea for Eldredge to take some time to offer clarifications on these and other controversial stances. But Eldredge doesn't just change a few words in the 2010 version. He has also added a new introduction, a new epilogue, and inserted two daily prayers.

For those who haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. If you have heard of it but chosen to stay clear of it because you heard complaints such as those mentioned above, such claims are unfounded or are based upon distortions and out-of-context quotes from the book. What Wild at heart is really about is exposing how the Enemy has used a variety of means to take men out. to keep them from being what God made men to be. Yes, there are some points in WAH that I don't agree with (and I could say that about nearly every book I have ever touched), but the essential messages are true, they are powerful, and they are freeing. They are potentially life-changing and marriage-saving, and relationship-restoring. To me, the most power-packed truths were (a) warnings against asking your wife to validate you; (b) the subtle damage being done in our culture by fatherlessness; (c) the way a lie believed in early childhood can continue to derail a person for decades; (d) the necessity of inviting Jesus to come in and heal our wounds.

Anyone who hasn't read Wild at Heart, and is a man, a mother to a boy, or is married to or wants to be married to a man, or who simply wants to understand your father, needs to read it. It's this well-known for a reason.

Is it catastrophe--or is it beauty?

2010-04-20T08:19:00.005-05:00

The Iceland volcano is understandably getting the headlines this week. Mostly, the reporters, journalists, and such are telling us about the results: grounded flights: the economic impact, the Europeans who cannot get home.

While I understand this perspective, I can't help noting that the majority of the things being damaged (essentially planes, trains, and automobiles) are man-made. If one can suspend their concern for such things for a minute, and look at the event itself, it's quite stunning. I'm not trying to be insensitive to those being adversely affected, but asking all of us to see the incredible event folding before our eyes. Only God could do something like this. Amazing.

Click the photo above to see it full-size. It's breathtaking. Click this link to see the original, as well as many more which will make you want to worship the One who created it all.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

2010-04-12T05:45:00.002-05:00

Is It Impossible To Come Back to God?

--What's the point of Hebrews 6:4-6?

Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted of the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subject Him to public disgrace."

Many have read Hebrews 6:4-6 and interpreted it to mean that someone can be saved, choose a sinful life, and then can never recover their salvation. However, a close examination of the surrounding scripture makes it clear that what the author of Hebrews was saying has nothing to do with the impossibility of returning to God.

Is the passage about losing salvation?

Whether or not one can lose salvation is an age-old debate and has caused much dissension within the Church. It is possible to come up with many convincing verses for both sides, if one is willing to read them in a certain light. It is not the intention of this article to try and answer that question once and for all for all mankind. You likely have made up your mind already about this polarizing topic, and it is tangential to the real point of this passage, anyway. The fact is that whether or not you can lose salvation, this passage is about something else entirely.

This passage, like most Scripture outside of the Gospels, goes beyond the issue of salvation. Most of the New Testament is about the fact that once they have become saved, different people have different levels of success in their walk with God. The New Testament consists mostly of letters written by Paul and others to Christians. For the most part, Paul’s letters aim to tell believers, "OK, now that you've begun this journey, here's how to live it." The whole thought process is how to grow as a Christian. Never is there any thought given to the idea of becoming a non-Christian.

Before Paul, of course, there was the Lord Jesus Himself, and many times He made it clear that our heavenly Father wants to take us back if we do stray. One of many examples is the story of the Prodigal Son. This illustrates the point well, because as Jesus tells the story, we see one very important thing: the son never ceases being his father's son. The fact that he is His son tells us that he symbolizes a Christian, a child of God.

The story of the Prodigal son should always be kept in mind when considering the meaning of Hebrews 6:4-6. If that passage truly means that one cannot leave, and then return, to a relationship with the Lord, then the story of the Prodigal son has no place in the Bible, because leaving and return to a relationship with our heavenly Father is exactly what that parable is about.

So what about the word impossible?

So let’s go back to Hebrews 6:4-6. Why does this passage say that it is "impossible" to be brought back to God? The truth is, it doesn’t. The statement is that it is impossible to be brought back to repentance. While it is true that one must repent to become a new Christian, one need not be a new Christian to repent. The key phrase in the NIV is "brought back", but King James and NAS say it is impossible to renew them again.

The question is, who's doing the renewing? It may be impossible for you or me to bring them back, but that doesn't mean that God cannot. This idea of what is "impossible" shows up in the Gospels, when Jesus is talking. Take for example the following verses, which are parallel: Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and Luke 18:27. The Luke verse tells us: "Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God.' " So don't let the word 'impossible' fool you into thinking that this passage in Hebrews means that there is no way a saved person can leave God and come back. It happens all the time, actually. (I’ve done it myself). It is God, working through His Holy Spirit, who brings His lost sheep back.

So what does the passage mean, then?

So if this passage isn’t about the loss of salvation, what is it about? A key to the answer to that question is in the second half of verse 6, which says 'since they again crucify Jesus'. This is where the context is useful. Please take a look at the end of Chapter 5 through the first two verses of Chapter 6. A modern paraphrase might be, "OK, enough talk about the simple issues of salvation; because we could go on and on and talk about resurrection, eternal judgment, the laying on of hands, etc. But there are deeper issues to discuss in order for you to see measurable growth in your Christian walk." It is important to keep in mind who he was writing to. The recipients of this letter were Hebrews (hence the title of the book), a group of folks who had a hard time getting rid of the concept of salvation by works, because it was something they grew up with. The writer is imploring the Hebrews: Jesus paid for your sins with His death, now accept it and move on. Bottom line: this passage is about performance-based Christianity, a line of thought we all need to be careful not to fall into.

Slurpee Example

Let’s look at a modern example: Let's say you and I are driving around on a hot summer day. We decide a cold treat of some sort is in order. We see a 7-11, and we go in and each get a Slurpee. I offer to pay for both.

If that episode played out as I just described it, you most likely would accept my offer as a gesture of friendship and thank me for it, and we would go on about our business. But if you were to accept my free gift and then turn around and try to pay the clerk anyway, even after I had paid, you would be defeating the purpose, nullifying my gift to you.

I would think to myself, "What an idiot I am! I just wasted a buck on this person. Well, I’m sure not paying for that Slurpee again. I already did it once, and it's paid for." This is what that part of verse 6 is saying when it says we are crucifying Jesus all over again. We don't need to get stuck on our works, or on performance, because Jesus has paid for our salvation. It's a done deal. It is finished. Quit trying to pay for your own Slurpee!

The writer says in verse 1, "Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, . . . " In other words, let's stop going on about the fact that faith, not works, is what gets you salvation, let's talk about how to grow in Christ now that you have become a child of God.

The frustrating thing for the author of Hebrews is that once these people have accepted salvation as a free gift, some have fallen back into their old ways of thinking that works is what saves you, and that is the “falling away” mentioned in verse 6. The author is warning them (and us) that once someone gets the whole idea of salvation as a free gift, and then blows it off, then that person is going to have a hard time growing in Christ.

Ok, what about getting “burned?”

Verse 8 contains a word which would lead some to think the writer is talking about Hell. The word to which I refer is "burned." The fact is that not every Biblical reference to burning has to do with eternal damnation. I could give several examples, but the one that fits best here is found in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3:12-15:

"Now if any man build upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, as through fire."

Key point being that he is still saved. There are many passages, verses, and phrases about which Christians may disagree, but there is no other way to interpret that past phrase, "but he himself shall be saved . . ." except to say that he is still saved. Here is a clear case of burning being associated with someone who is still saved.

Actually, that set of verses in 1 Corinthians is life-altering when understood clearly. If you want to find out more, I strongly recommend a book by Rick Howard and Jamie Lash called "This Was Your Life." It seems God gave Mr. Howard a dream about the Judgment Seat Of Christ, where all believers will have their works judged, not for salvation purposes, but for rewards. Your can read about it at www.lifegivingwords.com. The portion here which is relevant to our discussion is that the burning in Hebrews 6:8 is not talking about a believer going to Hell because he fell away. It is, however, talking about a believer, which we can see by looking back at verse 5.

Bottom Line

The intended point of the writer of this passage in Hebrews is that those of us who have tasted what the Lord offers should not let ourselves get caught up in the idea that our works are what saves us, because it is a slap in the face of the One who died for us. Rather, we should concentrate on maturing as believers so that we can reflect Him more.

Unfortunately, the whole idea of “Performance Christianity” is more prevalent among Christians than we think. It is true that almost all believers will say that they believe salvation is a free gift, most of us at one time or another still fall into the trap of believing we can get more of God’s love by performing, and that we risk the very existence of our relationship with Him based on our actions.

God doesn’t like our failures, but when we don’t fail, it is because of Him and the abilities that He has put into us that enable us to move forward in our Christian walk. Get out of the trap of worrying about the effect your actions might have on your salvation, thank God daily for His free gift, try to be more and more like Him, and tell others the good news!

The Differences Between People in the Real World and People in TV Land

2010-04-09T11:45:00.000-05:00

When a guy asks a girl for a date on TV or a movie, the two of them invariably come to an agreement for him to pick her up at 8:00. When you count the time he will come in for a minute while she finishes getting ready, then their drive to the restaurant, then waiting to get a table, and then waiting for food after ordering, you're looking at maybe getting some food into your gut by 9:00 if you're lucky.

For some reason, when he says "I'll pick you up at Eight", this is acceptable to her. This brings several questions to my mind: Why? Who the heck eats supper at 9:00? Do people in TV Land eat another meal earlier in the evening to tide them over between lunch and supper? Do they call it Lupper?

I don't know about you, but if it gets to 6:00 and I haven't eaten yet, my tummy starts barking at me.

This is just one more of the many differences between people in the real world and the people in TV Land. Others that come to mind:

--People in TV Land never go to the bathroom. Their bladder control is amazing.

--People in TV land never go to church, except for weddings.

--Conversations in TV Land always start with insightful lines, followed by well-thought responses, the kind of responses I always kick myself about, because I think of them several minutes after the opportunity has passed.

--Weddings in TV Land never go on without a hitch.

--The only home PCs in TV Land are laptops.

--Houses in TV Land are never messy

--In TV Land High School, when two students are talking to each other, every other person in the room or hallway is silent.

--Nobody in TV Land has a cat. A few have dogs. Most have no pets, but if they do, it's always an unconventional one, like the monkey on Friends, or the Cockatoo on Barretta.

--When someone wants to pray, they always go to a church, which is always empty except for them, until someone who is looking for them comes and sits in the pew just behind them to talk to them. Praying at home or any other location is not allowed in TV Land.

Book Review: A Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns

2010-04-06T23:26:00.003-05:00

In "A Hole in Our Gospel", Richard Stearns tells his story: a story of leaving a position as CEO of a well-known manufacturer to CEO of World Vision, taking a 75% pay cut and uprooting his family in the process. That story only takes a couple of chapters; the rest of the book proceeds to open the reader's eyes not only to some severe and difficult realities, but to the responsibility of believing Christians to address those realities.

I must confess: about halfway into this book, I was unconvinced. Sure, there is value in helping the poor, but it seemed that Stearns was making a mistake that so many well-meaning Christians make: they work to convince others that their particular passion should be the passion of everyone who claims to follow Christ. By the end of the book, however, the truth is inescapable: we (Christians in America) are the richest church in world history, and we're falling so short of Scriptural directives on this topic that it's heartbreaking.

Stearns makes his case utilizing a combination of Scripture, reason, and compelling stories. It's something that many American Christians simply don't get, and therefore don't act upon: the direct connection between spreading the Gospel and helping the needy.

It's hard to see how anyone who reads "A Hole in Our Gospel" will not be compelled to help. Not only to help, but to make changes in their lifestyle, their spending, and their priorities, in order to meet needs here and abroad.

Perhaps that thought will keep you from reading it, like the old adage of not wanting to know how sausage is made so you can keep eating it. But don't let that stop you. This book is not a guilt trip. It's a challenge to make a difference.

Disclaimer: Thomas Nelson Publishing gave me this book for review purposes, but gives me the freedom to write as positively or negatively as I choose. That said, I highly recommend "A Hole in Our Gospel".

Inexplicable unwritten rules of sports -- #1

2010-04-06T10:31:00.001-05:00

One of the more inexplicable unwritten rules of sports is the one that says that when a team is playing for a championship, someone from the team or school must have pre-ordered some caps and/or t-shirts that declares them the champs, and then they will force the players to wear it within 30 seconds after the clock has ticked down to 0:00.

Caps are worse, because you can't recognize the individual players on TV when they wear the cap. But the t-shirts are bad because the losing team has those shirts that nobody will ever wear. Sure, they tell you they donate them to homeless shelters, but have you ever seen a homeless person wearing a "Philadelphia Eagles--Super Bowl XXXIX Champions" t-shirt? Ever?

The Death, the Resurrection, and Will Ferrell

2010-04-04T11:47:00.004-05:00

Today, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. I can't not think of this scene when I think about this day:

Think about Jesus, praying in the Garden, knowing He's about to go through an agonizing death, is about to bear all the sin of the world, and about to be separated from the Father for 3 agonizing days. Jesus prays to Him--the Author of the greatest story ever written--asking if there's another way. But there isn't, so Jesus says "Finish the book. It's a great story. If I have to die so that this story gets written, I will."

Male Mentors in movies

2010-03-25T23:26:00.000-05:00

I'm only recently discovering the powerful affect a mentor can have on a kid when the father is absent, for whatever reason.

Here's my ranking of best movies in which a man takes on a pivotal role in the life of a kid (or kids) not his own:

10. Stand and Deliver;
9. Karate Kid;
8. The Cowboys;
7. Finding Neverland;
6. Dead Poet's Society;
5. Secondhand Lions;
4. Antwone Fisher;
3. Simon Birch;
2. About a Boy;
1. Up

Top Ten List: My favorite movie heroes

2010-03-14T12:58:00.002-05:00

My favorite movie heroes of all time. Listed like this: Character name--actor name--Movie name

10. Neo--Keanu Reeves--The Matrix
9. Maximus--Russell Crowe--Gladiator
8. Simon Birch--Ian Michael Smith--Simon Birch
7. Chris Gardner--Will Smith--The Pursuit of Happyness
6. Jim Braddock--Russell Crowe--Cinderella Man
5. Jean Valjean--Liam Neeson--Les Miserables
4. John Creasy--Denzel Washington--Man on Fire
3. Paul Rusesabagina--Don Cheadle--Hotel Rwanda
2. Atticus Finch--Gregory Peck--To Kill a Mockingbird
1. Oskar Schindler--Liam Neeson--Schindler's List

Note: Jesus--Jim Caviezel--The Passion of the Christ should be #1, but really, He's kind of in a league of His own. My list consists of great heroes, but none of them are on the same level as Jesus. If I listed Him, there would be an insurmountable gap between #1 and #2.

Passed over yet again

2010-03-02T11:23:00.002-06:00

The Country Music Hall of Fame just made their annual announcement of new inductees:

--Billy Sherrill (a producer who is a great choice)
--Ferlin Husky (one of those guys who sang in the 50's and nobody who is still alive actually remembers, but whatever)

And two very curious choices:
--Jimmy Dean
--Don Williams

Dean was famous essentially for one song (Big Bad John), and then some acting and building a sausage empire. He is in no way a music legend.

Williams had a nice run of hits in the 70's and 80's. He's a borderline HOF-er, at best; he cranked out hits for several years, but he was not spectacularly popular nor did he have a profound impact. If you want to induct him, fine. But not at the expense of Ronnie Milsap.

I am befuddled why, in the last several years, many lesser talents than Milsap have been placed in the CM HOF. Roy Clark? Emmylou Harris? Vince Gill? Mel Tillis? Are you serious? All are nice artists, and I own a lot of their work, but they are simply not in the same league as Ronnie Milsap.

Let's look at it this way: Choose any criteria for a Hall of Famer, and Milsap is far and above the new (or even recent) inductees. What is the criteria, anyway? Successful sales? Mass appeal? Versatility? Impact? Awards? Quality?

Hits: he has somewhere between 36 and 40 #1's, behind only 3 artists in the history of country music: Strait, Haggard, and Twitty; he has two and a half time as many as Don Williams and about 18 times that of Jimmy Dean.

Or maybe you want to judge on broad-based appeal, because you value the ability to bring country music to a wider audience. That's fine. Milsap has had several hits on the pop charts, including one Top 5 hit on the Hot 100 (There's No Getting Over Me) and the #1 Adult Contemporary hit of the entire year for 1981 (Any Day Now). He started with hits on the R&B/Soul charts in the 1960's, and has had a couple of songs which were big hits in the disco era and got extensive play in dance clubs (Get it Up and Hi-Heel Sneakers). He was the first country artist to have a video break into the regular MTV rotation (She Loves My Car).

Don Williams, by contrast, has one sound. He does it very well, mind you. But there is absolutely no versatility in his body of work. He does two types of songs: toe-tappers (It Must Be Love, Tulsa Time, Heartbeat in the Darkness), and contemplative (every Don Williams song besides those three, but the standouts are "Good Old Boys Like Me" and "I Believe In You").

Can you imagine Don Williams belting out "She Loves My Car"? Can you imagine Jimmy Dean singing "Stranger In My House?

Maybe you just like a guy who has made an impact. Milsap's refusal to be pinned down to one type of music has opened the door to many other artists trying new sounds, and he has influenced many followers who are currently successful artists, including Trace Adkins, Keith Urban, and, in the rock world, The Los Lonely Boys. Does anyone cite Don Williams or Jimmy Dean as an influence?

Do awards impress you? He's got Grammys, ACMs, and CMAs, including the ultimate one: Entertainer of the Year, and several Album of the Year and Male Vocalist trophies.

If you value innovation, then Milsap is king. At a time when country music was full of traditionalists and slick pop crooners, Ronnie Milsap was trying several new sounds, and I'll be the first to admit that not all of it worked well ("I've Got the Music In Me" being Exhibit A), but most of it did. Yet he continued to crank out hits with a traditional country sound when he chose to do so, and he excelled at it ("Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me"). He was the first to bring digital recording into country music.

Are you a pedigree person? Milsap was encouraged in his early career by Ray Charles, and then worked with Elvis, J.J. Cale, and T-Bone Walker.

Maybe you're a music snob who sets aside record sales and simply wants quality. Fine. Listen to this all the way through, and I dare you to not be moved. Other examples which don't have Youtube links: His renditions of House of the Rising Sun, and Johnny B Goode, as well as John Hiatt's "Old Habits Are Hard to Break" are as good as anything anyone has done on those tunes.

Look, even though if I'd place Milsap at the top of my list for the CM HOF, I am a reasonable man. There are a few artists who, if they were inducted before Ronnie Milsap, would not get any objection from me. Hank Jr is one. Garth or Kenny, maybe, because of their immense popularity for a short time. Ricky Skaggs, possibly. Perhaps if you want to bring some sorta-country artists in, I could allow for Rondstadt or John Denver.

But I question the country music credentials of any voter who, when faced with a choice between Don Williams and Ronnie Milsap, chooses Williams, let alone Jimmy Dean. It's inexcusable. Those guys don't have anything on Milsap.

I wonder who he ticked off.

The NFL in the 2000's: The Decade of the Lovable Losers

2010-02-08T09:56:00.002-06:00

Now that the last NFL season of the first decade of the new century has completed, a look back is warranted, and such a look reveals the theme: This was the decade for the triumph of the perpetual losers.

Before this decade began, the Patriots, Buccaneers, Saints, and Ravens/Browns were known for their losing ways. The Pats had been to the Big Game a couple of times, but fallen short. The Bucs had actually started out by losing their first 22(!) games as a franchise. The Browns had not won a Super Bowl, but had been the victim of The Drive and other heartbreaking defeats. And the Saints, well....it's simply enough to point out that their nickname was "The Aints", and their fans were famous for wearing paper bags over their heads.

But in this decade, all of these franchises broke through their past failures and won it all. If you wanted to end decades of frustration, this was the decade to do it. It started with the 2000 season, in which the Ravens (the original Cleveland Browns) won Super Bowl XXXV. It ended with the Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV. In all, the Pats, Ravens, Bucs, and Saints accounted for 6 Super Bowl wins for the 2000 thru 2009 seasons.

Note that if we want to bring baseball into this discussion, this was also the decade in which the Red Sox and White Sox won world championships after nearly a century of not quite being good enough.

If only one of these monumental events had occurred, it would have been a major upset on par with a guy like me getting to marry Beth. Well, not quite that unbelievable, but almost. But when it happens this many times in one decade, it's a sign. Of what, I'm not sure. But as a long-suffering Texas Rangers fan, I hope it carries into the new decade.

Verbal pet peeves

2010-02-08T08:43:00.002-06:00

Here are a few things that come out of the mouths of well-meaning people, but which drive me nuts:

Time Clock: I work on salary, but many of my co-workers get paid hourly, and must punch in and out. The device they use to clock in is usually referred to as a "time clock". Why is this? Every clock is a time clock!

Literally: I once heard a news reporter say "people here in this small town are literally bursting with pride that this young man from their hometown has won a Gold Medal..." Wait! Did you say that people are literally bursting? Like a whole town is full of exploding people? Shouldn't this be front page news?

Awesome: I also once heard a waitress say that the tortilla soup is "awesome." No, it's not. It might be really good. But save the word "awesome" for God, or a volcano, or the Grand Canyon, or a cure for cancer. Your soup is not awesome. It can't be.

Redundancy phrases:
ATM Machine (because the M stands for Machine)
PIN Number (because the N stands for Number)
VIN Number
Hot Water Heater (it's a water heater, not a hot water heater. Why would you want to heat hot water?)

A Teachable Moment: Taking advantage of technology on MLK Day

2010-01-17T23:04:00.006-06:00

I didn't want my kids to think of January 18th as just a day off from school. I wanted them to understand the importance. So the night before (Sunday night), I gathered them around the computer, and we viewed 3 short clips.

First, we watched the "I've Been to the Top of the Mountain" speech from the night before he was killed. In only a little over a minute, he delivers one of the most passionate, inspiring orations I have ever heard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&feature=related

then, I went to Patty Griffin’s song based on that speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA6Q5-Ap3o8

I paused the song a couple of times to emphasize the following points:

MLK said in his speech that he knew his life might be cut short (as it was just 24 hours later), but he was satisfied just doing God's will. He was convinced that God had asked him to take on this role, and he readily carried out God's calling, knowing it would be painful.

In the song, Griffin sings directly to God, from MLK's perspective, saying that he is doing it "because You asked me to," and being satisfied with God's acceptance and love, even as this calling has meant hardship, rejection, threats, and hatred for him:

"I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice
Come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so"

I explained that this wasn't just about race. It was about how God has a calling for each of us, and in many cases, it's hard. It's much easier to do our own thing, but in the long run, we're better off when we accept God's call and walk in the path that God has laid out for us.

Finally, I showed U2’s “Pride”, which is about MLK. I really like this particular clip, because it features news clips relevant to the topic. The kids had not realized that just a short time ago, blacks couldn't go to school with whites, or that they were treated as second-class citizens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56mjwycKuXA

A couple of years ago, I would have laughed at the thought of using video clips from the Internet to educate my kids. But though the tools change, teachable moments never do. The moments need to be recognized as they happen, so we can grab the opportunity and make the most of it.

Thank God for YouTube, an imperfect tool which can be, and often is, used by God for His purposes. Thank God for MLK, an imperfect man, used by God. May we all learn these lessons well.

A great 15 seconds in Music History

2010-01-13T07:38:00.004-06:00

In this song:

At the 0:40 mark, it's the beginning of the singing of 3 lines:

I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care

I have decided that, partially because of the greatness of the words--so simple, so earnest, so hungry for acceptance--and partly because of the way they are beautifully sung, that this is one of the greatest 15 seconds in music history. There can be no arguing about this.

God bless Roy Orbison.

Book review -- The Language of Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerichs

2010-01-11T13:27:00.002-06:00

The Language of Love and Respect, by Emerson Eggerich

Eggerichs' latest is a follow-up to Love and Respect, the 2004 blockbuster which details the needs and responsibilities that husbands and wives have for each other. The new book narrows the focus on one aspect of this dynamic: communication.

Honestly, I had a hard time staying interested my first time through this book. Not because it wasn't interesting, but because I had heard it all before in the previous one. But the more I consider it, the more I have come to appreciate the new one. While Eggerich goes into more detail about concepts he taught about the first time around, that isn't the real benefit of this new book.

The best reason for this new book's existence is the vast number of follow-ups and stories sent in from readers. It allows the reader, and the author, to see the results of the Love and Respect principles when they are practiced in real life. Extra-large kudos to Eggerich for including the letters from those for whom these principles didn't work out so well. Such honesty, and willingness to take another look at what was said in the first book, is refreshing.

If you didn't read the first book, I would recommend you go straight to this one. The essential points of Love and Respect are in the new one. For all readers who are married or hope to be, I recommend The Language of Love and Respect.

Disclaimer: Thomas Nelson, the publisher, provided me with a free copy for review purposes. There is no obligation to give a positive review. The opinions above are mine.

What I read this past year

2010-01-01T21:53:00.000-06:00

In 2009, I read the following books, which I list in order of preference:

Crazy Love, by Frances Chan
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller
Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent
Fearless, by Max Lucado
What Difference Do It Make, by by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent
The Noticer, by Andy Andrews
The Language of Love and Respect, by Emmerson Eggerichs
The Shack, By William Young

Please note that I liked all of them, so being near the bottom of the list is not an insult. The Shack was good, but I had it built up beforehand in my head that it would be better than it was, because of word of mouth. And the concepts in the Love and Respect book are great, but I found it to be a repeat of stuff from his earlier book. I really enjoyed The Noticer and the books above it.