One Scary Place

We really like our house. It had to be a gift from God. We are just taking care of it for Him. We are purely stewards of what He has entrusted us with at this point in our lives. One day someone else will live in it, but right now we are the occupants. Thank you Lord.

My favorite rooms in our home are the den, where we spend most of the time, followed by the master bedroom, bath, and kitchen. We don't eat many meals in the dining room and I don't get to the other side of the house very often, except when I am emptying trash cans. I used to spend some time in the office, but since I bought the laptop, I'm not back there very much. But, there is another room that I want to tell you about.

We have a walk-in pantry that Patti really enjoys. I was standing in it the other night and I thought, "This is one scary room." I try to stay out of that room, but sometimes you can't avoid it. What is wrong with it? It is jam-packed with a year's supply of everything. I probably don't know everything that is in there. The scariest part are the shelves right in front of where you are standing. It is a giant "seasoning" area. There is every kind of spice you can think of. They are able to "walk off" the shelf so easily. Have you ever seen a floor full of red pepper mixed with all-spice?

Most people whose lives are out of balance, or who may not be living up to the Christian life that they could be living, all have a room like the pantry. It looks like a pantry, it smells like a pantry, and it is arranged like a pantry, but something is scary about the room. Maybe it needs to be re-organized and some thing thrown out. Maybe there are old things in there that need to be replaced with the things that would seem new. Sometimes our lives need a fresh spring cleaning where we get rid of the old and replace it with the new.

The "room" in our lives is turned into what it should have been all along.

A Couple of Goals Before School Starts

School starts Monday. At last count I will have 77 students and saw some of them at "Meet the Teacher Night" this past Thursday night. Most looked like they had grown 3-4 inches and looked older facially. I look forward to seeing then in class on Monday morning.

I had three goals the past three weeks. One was to be ready for school to start, the second was to read Daniel Silva's new book, The Defector, and three was to finish designing a new assimilation thrust for the church. Let me tell you how I've done.

First, I've spent hours creating a six-year Bible plan for our junior and senior high classes. It begins with three basic courses for seventh graders, progresses to Bible book studies through eleventh grade, and culminates with a special year of course for seniors.

I designed a Biblical Backgrounds class for our new seventh graders, planned special projects for junior and senior high, and completed all the administrative start-up duties. I think I am close to being ready.

Second, I read The Defector, by my favorite author, Daniel Silva. Lest you think that he is the only one that I read, these are my other favorites as follows:

Vince Flynn

John Lescroart

Robin Cook

David Baldacci

Stephen Coonts

Steve Martini

Robert Ludlum

Jack Higgins

Patricia Cornwell

Allan Folsom

Patrick Robinson

I have just started The Assassin by Stephen Coonts and one of Patrick Robinson's books is waiting in the wings.  I try to read most of these authors each year.

Anyway, back to The Defector by Silva. It is the best Thriller that I've read in the past two decades. It is Daniel Silva's best yet obviously. I am not one of these armchair critics. I don't even deserve to critique any of these writers, especially Daniel Silva. I 'll just tell it from the heart.

Silva always does a terrific job of researching for his books. It is so obvious that any reader just knows it, even if it never crossed your mind when you read another author. I am also amazed at how he develops his characters. They come to life and have great depth. Silva spins a story that will keep the reader spellbound and not wanting to put the book down. I feel like I know his characters and can picture them in a movie. His settings are so real that they can likewise be visualized easily.  Daniel Silva is one of those rare mystery authors who really pulls the story together in the last 75+ pages. Most authors seem to rush the ending and sometimes it is so abrupt it leaves you in shock. You will we amazed at what the author does with two main characters  during the last few chapters. It is just one of the best novels that I've read in recent years.

If you want to have a good read this fall, pick up a copy of The defector and you will not be disappointed. You will probably start reading Silva and may even attend his book signing next July in Houston. It was a great way to end the summer.

Third, I did the basic design of our new Assimilation Thrust while I was on vacation, but now I have it all on paper. This thrust will affect how we relate to guests, regular attenders, and potential members. It will lead us into our discipleship program for spiritual growth.

Today I wrote up final drafts of the communication tools we will be using with our new targets. Now they will be put on the computer for easy access. Then we will need to enlist some needed workers and get ready for implementation the week of September 13. I am pleased with the way it looks on paper, but workers and implementation will be the key to success.

This has been a good summer, but it is just about over. New challenges and opportunities lie ahead.  The same holds true for you. Keep your eyes open.

The journey today took me to the pool.  I had been walking on the beach 2+ miles a day, but today was our last day and I decided to devote all day at the pool.

I took my new novel, The Defector, by Daniel Silva, with me to the pool.  I would read for awhile, speed some time in the pool, and then lay in the sun.  It was great.

We met a couple from Texarkana this afternoon.  They grew up in Texarkana, so it was like 'ol home week around the pool. It was a wonderful time talking about our time there from 1982-1990, people that we both knew, and what was going on there since we left.

We are just about ready to leave for an early dinner.  It is our last night in Orange Beach.  Tomorrow I head home.  Patti will stay until Monday morning.  Our family has had a great time together. It just went by way too fast. Wish I had one more week of this, but I do feel rested and ready to begin teaching again.

I hope you have a chance to take a break sometime soon.  At least make it a long weekend away from the everyday grind.  Get your batteries recharged and maybe you will even look at things differently.

A Need for Change

If you are over 40 years of age and still functioning, we've got a problem. If we don't do something about it, we will end up leaving it for our grandchildren and I'm not talking about our national debt.

If you are over 40 years of age, we all have something in common with each other. It is how we relate to a world that is living increasingly without Christ.  Sometime in our lifetime we were exposed to the church being in a building and a popular movie told us to "build it and they would come".  We've been waiting ever since!

Around the same time in our lives we were exposed to Relational Evangelism, but we said, "If Evangelism Explosion was good enough for the 70's, it's good enough for the 80's and 90's."

By the 90's we thought that a vital Children's Ministry would bring them in and it did, but we didn't know what to do with the parents, except put them in an unpopular Sunday morning study, or put them to work helping out in what??? The Children's Ministry.  We thought the parents had not had enough of the kids during the week and surely would not want some adult time. Maybe we just needed vast numbers of parents to make it work.

Now, I've said a lot of this with "tongue in cheek". I wish it was as simple as I've stated it.  A whole book could be written about our transition from the 70's to late in the first decade of the 21st century.  What bothers me is that the gap between us Christians and the world is widening!

Today there are a lot of 20 and 30 Somethings who have never been to church. Their children will not go to church unless something profound happens.  If they are lucky, maybe a high school campus ministry will reach them, but if we wait for them like we've done for so long, our churches will not reach them. 

We, the over 40 crowd in our churches, have got to change. We have got to start going to them.  We need to know how to welcome people to our churches, but that is only if someone is coming, or there is a chance that someone will come.  As my son-in-law, Steve Corn, would say, "We need to become "The Welcomed".  That will only happen if we are going out into the marketplace and creating such a love that they will be glad to have you around them.  

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this in the days ahead.  Until then, think about what the lost around you need. Obviously, it is Jesus, so don't go there. That is a given.  Don't tell me church.  They don't know that they need the "family" and there are some families they would do better without.  The question is--what do they need and how do we get an audience to be the provider??

Life Is Often Not As It Seems

This is vacation week at Orange Beach, Alabama and today was golf day at Craft Farms. My son, Jared and I had a reservation for an 8:00 tee time.  We had a great breakfast in the club house before we went out. It was a wonderful start to a day on a resort golf course.

[You may remember that one of my summer goals was to play golf with some regularity to see if I could improve with at least two rounds a week.  I can't say that I really improved this summer like I expected to do. I always wondered what kind of a golfer I could be with some kind of regular play. Disappointingly, I think that I know.]

Jared and I went to the driving range and hit a few balls to get warmed up.  I was hitting a utility club like I owned it, straight as an arrow.  I felt pretty good, even though I had not played in 2-3 weeks.  I was ready to tackle a course that was in absolute top condition.

I hit my opening drive down the middle. My second shot dribbled into a fairway bunker. The third shot made it to the front of the bunker. A fourth shot within pitching distance to the green and a fifth shot to the apron of the green. Add two putts and you've got a triple bogey 7!

The next seven holes were more of the same with triple bogeys on six of the seven. I never played the ninth hole, but with a triple bogey on it, I would have shot a 62.  I could not stop from picking up my left foot during my swing. I struggled with it all summer. My highest score ever was a 63 when I was 12 years old.  I "caddied" for Jared the rest of the way around.  I can't ever remember quitting in the middle of a round...ever!

Maybe 52 years of not being able to play golf regularly is enough. After playing this summer, maybe regular play would not have improved me either. I always pictured myself in retirement like these old men that you see hitting the ball about 150 yards straight down the fairway, never getting the ball more than 50 feet high. They would usually score bogeys, with a few pars and a double bogey.  I no longer see that. Maybe I just need to find something better to do with my time and money.

It was bitter sweet leaving the golf course today. It was sort of like leaving a job on the last day. You knew what you had experienced, but did not have a good, clear image of what was to come. Now I'll have to find something that Jared and I can do together. I'm sure we will find something.

What I experienced today is part of the journey that we call life.  I will miss the idea of playing golf, but not like I was playing. I can leave that behind. What about you? Has anything in your life changed this summer and you know that it will never be the same again? But, need I remind you that it can be better!

The Passion of Silva Followers

I attended the Daniel Silva book signing today at Murder By the Book bookstore in Houston.  It is usually SRO at one of these events, so today I arrived one hour before Mr. Silva would speak. The place was packed out one hour before the event time. I could not believe it.  

I bought a book and was given #77--meaning I was the 77th book they had sold and there would be 76 ahead of me for book signing. There was a maximum of three former books and as many of the current as you purchased.  Looked like it could be a long wait when we got to that point.

I found a fairly good place to stand, but it was still 50 minutes before the start time. While waiting, I found out that people started gathering three hours before the event.  The room could have been filled in the first hour with two more hours to go. That was amazing to me that people would gather for a seat three hours before Daniel Silva would arrive.

Who were those folks that got to the bookstore so early?  They were educated, fairly affluent, well-read (besides mystery novels) highly communicative, and very knowledgeable about the writing of Daniel Silva.  They were "disciples" of the author to the utmost degree.  I felt at home amidst these folks because we all had something in common.

I am not sure if I have ever witnessed Christ followers arriving for Bible study or worship three hours in advance. I know what you are thinking...in the church we always have adequate seating. No, it was more than that. They love Daniel Silva.  He's my favorite author, but he has not changed my life! I enjoy reading his novels, in fact I will take the new one with me on vacation, but it is a far cry from God's Word.

The Silva followers love to have their books signed by the author.  They thank him for a certain character in his books.  I don't think I've ever heard anyone pray, "Lord, thank you so much for giving us Peter. You will never know the impact he has had on my life."  They buy multiple books as gifts.  Many had three and four new books at about $29 per book.  I wonder how many people in my church bought a hardback study Bible this week for one of their family members or friends?

The folks that I've been talking about would make great believers.  We, the church, are missing out on that kind of passion.  How can we ignite those around us to have that kind of passion?  It would change our world.  

Family Makes the Difference in Life

What got me hooked on conspiracy mysteries?  I read part of Seven Days in May many, many years ago and then saw the movie.  I was immediately absorbed in political intrigue and any story that dealt with Washington, D.C.  Then, about 15 years ago I began to read novels and it was all a result of Seven Days in May.

If I started writing a non-fiction piece tonight, it would probably be titled Five Days in July, because I just had five wonderful days this week. 

On Tuesday I took my grandson, Reid, to the Houston Zoo.  We had a ball and Reid knew exactly what he wanted to see.  The weather was hot, with a slight breeze, but we started the day at 9:00 a.m.  We saw lazy lions, sleepy tigers, elephants getting a bath, monkeys eating breakfast, and so much more. We ended out day out at Chick-fil-A.

On Wednesday Miranda, Steve, Kason, and Kesleigh spent the night with me.  We had a great time.

On Thursday, the Corns, the Mathews, and I went to the Circus.  We took the kids for an up close and personal look at the animals before the circus performance.  Then we watched a great two-hour presentation by Ringling Bros./Barnum and Bailey.  We all felt that we really got our money's worth.  We went to a late lunch at Moonya's.

On Thursday night everybody was at my house for dinner.  I cooked steaks with a special Caribbean rub and Miranda fixed the rest of the dinner inside.  It was good, but the time together was even better.

On Friday Steve ran errands with me most of the afternoon.  Miranda  had a GNO so the guys had the children.  We ate leftover steaks and the trimmings, put the kids to bed and watched a movie.  Miranda and her Girls Night Out gals came home about 10:00.  We stayed up until  after 11:30 just talking.  It was all good!

Today we got up and Miranda supplied us with Shipley doughnuts.  Everybody left around noon and now it is sooooooo quiet!  It was five really great days though.  Now I am doing a little catch-up and it is all good too. 

Tomorrow my favorite author will be in town for a book signing.  Guess where I will be going?  To Murder By the Book, a bookstore in the Rice U. area.  My favorite author is Daniel Silva.  He always spends about an hour sharing info about his new book and following is the actual book signing.  It is strictly standing room only, so I am going early to get a seat. I always look forward to Silva's down to earth presentation about his preparation, research, characters, and other wonderful tidbits.

So much about me...how is your week progressing?  I hope it has been as good as mine!

What Keeps You Going?

I have been discipling folks since the late 1970's. My first recollection of ever using anything published by The Navigators was in the late 80's and it was called The 2:7 Series. At one time I had five groups going at the same time, all using different courses. My week was full, but it was amazingly fulfilling and over a few years I saw hundreds go through the course.

One of the basic tenants of the introductory course of The 2:7 Series was to incorporate The Wheel Illustration into one's life. The lordship of Christ, making Christ central in your life, is paramount to going further in your faith walk. If Christ was the center of your life, then there were four spokes that showed the evidence of your Christianity, each of which were vital to the Christian Life.

The four spokes were The Word, Prayer, Witnessing, and Fellowship. The Word and Prayer were depicted on a vertical plane, while Witnessing and Fellowship were shown on a horizontal plane. When all four were operational in one's life, it produces a balanced Christian life. The 2:7 Series would say that those around us see "The Obedient Christian in Action".

The Word is crucial in our daily lives and prayer becomes the overflow of spending time in the Word. Prayer produces power and the result is victorious Christian living. Fellowship is vital because we should always be learning from each other and encouraging those around us. If that element is missing, we become "loners". Witnessing is the natural by-product of a vibrant life in Christ that is attractive to others. You can see how the four fit together and how crippled we become if one is our of sync.

Anyone who has ever gone through, even the introductory course of The 2:7 Series, cannot forget the amazing Wheel Illustration. It is a checklist and evaluation of your Christian life. Now I learned that almost 30 years ago, hasn't the world changed tremendously in the last three decades?

The world has definitely changed in our lifetime, but the spiritual principals remain the same. If a person is not getting into the Word today, they are probably not praying and fellowship/witnessing takes a back seat whenever spiritual nutrition falls by the wayside. The result is a Christian who is out of balance and trying to live to the best of their natural ability.

I guess this post begs the question: "Have you ever made Jesus the Lord of your life?" That is the starting line for the Christian Marathon of Life. Isn't a marathon about 26 miles, 385 yards? It is a long way and so is the Christian life. Many runners "hit the wall" at about the 18 mile marker when every muscle in their body wants to quit. Sometimes that happens to us in life, when we don't think we can take one more step. The Wheel Illustration will keep us going when continuing looks impossible.

Friends Are Paramount to Life

Last week Patti and I visited some dear friends in Naples, Florida. We have known Rob and Charmaine for 15 years, but they moved away from this area almost six years ago.  We have not been able to visit them during this time, mostly because of my work schedule. We finally made it!

Naples must be one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. It lies on the west coast of southern Florida with fluffy white beaches and beautiful gulf waters. It is a real paradise. They say that there are more retired CEO's in Naples, per capita, than anywhere in the nation. I can see why they want to live there! 

ATTENTION: THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A COMMERCIAL FOR THE NAPLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE...but, if you saw it, you might think otherwise!

While we were in Naples, Patti woke up, on her birthday, with a migraine. That ruined the day for her, but she was up and moving by the evening. Talk about missing one's birthday...Patti did! She made up for it on the beach looking for seashells. Patti thought she had died and gone to "Seashell Heaven".

I am not a fisherman. I never grew up around the water, so the most fishing I ever did as a kid was at a pond.  I went deep-sea fishing once on the morning after our high school graduation. The last time I remember fishing was on a lake outside of Texarkana in 1982-1983. Well, Rob and Charmaine took Patti and I fishing off the coast of Naples.  We do quite well "bait fishing", but never got a strike when we went off a reef for the game fish.  It was mega fun.

I told you the story about our three days in Naples as a lead-in to the subject of Friends. No, not the TV sitcom, but the concept and importance of friendship.  We met Rob and Charmaine when we moved to Tomball. In fact, they took us out to lunch on our first Sunday.  Rob was an elected leader in the church and Charmaine was involved in everything.  They were both natural leaders and as far as I am concerned, being a natural leader is far more important than holding an elected position.

Rob and Charmaine were real people.  They lived in the real world, had real challenges, made real decisions, and were wonderful role models for a number of people.  As we go through the journey of life, if we are fortunate, we will develop friends along the way.  I respected both of these people for eight years, but they also became friends.  I cannot imagine what life would have been like without them.

The other day I went shopping for a novel.  I went into Half Priced Books and as I was browsing around, I saw one of those Mystery Murder Dinner games.  You invite eight guests for dinner and they portray the characters during the evening, including dressing up for the part.  As soon as I saw the game I thought of Rob and Charmaine.  They had one of those dinners and we were invited.  That they did something unique like that always stayed in my mind.  They are two people who just do things like that.

Don't take friendships for granted.  Friendships have to be fostered.  They will grow if you will give them a chance. Some of the friendships that we make in life can remain for a lifetime. They are a gift from God and I think Rob and Charmaine are one of those gifts---not just to us, but to everyone they touch.  Rob seems to be really laid back, but there is more there than meets the eye.  Charmaine seems to be "the life of the party" (the ultimate hostess, the fun person that we all want to be like), but if this is all you see, you will miss the serious-minded,, thought-provoking person who is deep in many different ways.  You can see how they fit together.

I know that Rob and Charmaine will remain our friends for the rest of this earthly experience. We all need relationships like these in our lives.  Take an inventory this week and see where you stand. If the evaluation disappoints you, do something about it. If the end result is satisfactory and you are being honest with yourself, just thank God.

The journey thru life is full of relationships. How full is your life?

Weekend Was Wonderful

It really was a great weekend. I played a round of golf on Friday with Jason, our Student Pastor. He played bogey golf. I, on the other hand, did not do so well, but I learned a lot about why I was doing so poorly. Now I can make some corrections. It was fun being with Jason and playing golf early in the morning.

On the 17th hole we found out that Julie, our worship assistant, was going into the hospital as soon as a room was ready. She finally got a room about 5:00 p.m. So she spent the day in pain waiting for a room. I saw her that evening, but now she is doing much better and hopes to come home tomorrow or the next day.

Saturday our whole family went over to our friend's home--The Krolczyk's. We have known Leroy and Sharon since the 70's when our children were quite young. Jared had not even been born yet. Their daughter and husband, plus four daughters, were home on furlough from Jordan, where they are missionaries. It was great visiting with them. They will be in Texas until September when they will return to the mission field.

On Sunday morning I preached at our church. Pastor Sonny was gone to Israel and three other pastors were on a mission trip to Denver to help plant a church. It was a good day, although attendance was way off. Preached about Abraham on Mt. Moriah with Isaac and used some visuals that worked out well.

Went to lunch at a new hamburger place, called something like Moonya's. Don't know if that spelling is correct or not. They have the best hamburgers. Jared brought the grandchildren over and we had a relaxing afternoon until I went to visit Julie in the hospital again. The rest of the night was good. The kids spent the night with us.

Got up shortly after 6:00 this morning, shaved, and took a shower. Found Kallie awake about 7:00, just laying on her back singing. I changed her, fed her breakfast, and just had her to myself until about 7:50 when I woke Patti up because I had to leave for work. Reid was still asleep when I left, but it was really a great time for Kallie and me.

I hope your day is as good as what I have described.