Time is usually the realm of science fiction. Writers of this genre speculated for years about such topics as time travel. H. G. Wells did just this not long after the start of the twentieth century. His classic work, "The Time Machine" continues to serve as a source of inspiration for those who followed after him. What began as fiction took a huge leap forward with the discoveries of Albert Einstein. His ideas on space and time opened up the real possibility of time travel. Scientists today debate the whats and hows of this idea. My one constant television show "Lost" is dealing with time travel during the last year or so. It makes my brain hurt on occasion trying to keep up with the various theories in play. One of the potential box office smashes of this summer, "Star Trek" will delve into time and travel. But this post is not really about entertainment or science. But it is about time.

We are seeing events in our time that stagger my imagination. Change swirls about us like a Panhandle dust storm. Our society is in the midst of change like we haven't seen since the 1960s. It appears that all that once was right is becoming wrong. If you don't believe me then ask Miss California USA. Whether right or wrong, who ever thought the federal government would "own" private businesses? We are still engaged in the fanaticism of extremists of all sorts but especially those of the terrorist type. The ancient Babylon now known as Iraq remains a major player in the relationships of the Middle East. Now we are all worried about the swine flu and the potential pandemic in our world. It is enough to send a Baptist preacher scurrying to the book of Revelation! Maybe if my book is published first then we can all feel better about the times.

There will be no book coming from me. My problem is failing to be an alarmist about the times in which we live. Do not get me wrong. We are surely in very odd times. Yes, there are definite parallels between our times and some of the material about the end times in the New Testament. Just remember though that more than a few "prophecy" preachers declared the end of time more than once over the last 50 years. Does this mean we shouldn't take serious various events happening around us? We should absolutely take these events serious but that is not the message of the end times. There is much more to thinking about the end times than making meaning of the news.

You should know that my "theological" view of end times is different than probably what you hear on television. It is not the same as the popular books you may have lining your shelves. My view does not have the church being rescued from difficult times. It does not mean that we do not have God's favor but neither does it mean we escape. Think about this. How much suffering has God's people experienced in other countries or in other times yet there was no escape? Granted there is much more to the prevailing theory than that but perhaps you get my point. To me, our role is much more than calculating the events in the news. That is important but it is not the essential idea of the end times.

Why is it we tend to talk more about the what of the end times yet seem to neglect the who? Yes, no doubt the popular preachers do talk about the reason of the end times but how often is that after they elucidate their reading of the news? Jesus said the whole point of the end times would be about the One who is coming. Sometimes it seems to me a lot like studying your airplane ticket to the point you forget who is to meet you. Nothing is more depressing than to exit a plane knowing no one is there to welcome you. Yet, little is as exciting as being one of the people looking forward to a reunion on arrival. That is the point of the end times. We move each day closer to the reunion. It may not happen in our lifetime but rest assured that it will happen. Let's just travel light to be ready for it at a moment's notice.

Bro. Trey

This is my most favorite time of the day on Sunday. Barring an emergency, I am done for the day. Yes, it can be exciting to do studies, sermons etc but it also can be tiring. Remember please that this is not complaining but just wanting to clue you in on the reality of ministry. Today was a great day. Maybe our numbers weren't where we would want them to be but it was a good day. I got to teach a bible study class before the worship service. We got into some deep Old Testament stuff which is always fun. There was also a fast trip to town for a member in the hospital. That threw off my usual schedule but it's always worth it. There was still time for the grueling three mile walk/run. The new summer sun and wind did make it tough on this old body. Tonight we dug around in some deep New Testament stuff so it was an all around fun time.

Ministry is just a very odd occupation. The demands are many and the rewards are not always tangible. You learn early on that a thank you from someone is pretty good as a measure. You can see people at their very best. You can also see them at their worst. You may have the joy of bringing a couple together in marriage. You can end up on the receiving end of someone who is not interested in being a friend. Sometimes you watch kids grow up to become adults. Sometimes you watch adults act like kids. I do not know if its a job for the brave of heart or for the one foolish enough to rush in where angels fear to tread. Maybe that one can be answered by the time of retirement.

Today was one of those good days. We baptized two athletes here in our church a few years ago. It was in the aftermath of the biggest tragedy that I can recall. Obviously we are primarily an Anglo congregation. These two students are black. We lived to tell about it. One of the young men stood out more than the other. I've watched high school football off and on for a lot of years. I've seen more than a few good players compete on various fields across Texas. This one player is the single best high school football player that I ever saw. He went on to TCU to play four years for the Frogs. This is not to say that I have his cell phone number or anything but we always talk or embrace when we see each other. He is becoming a terrific young man.

Today this former student became a Dallas Cowboy. He was drafted in the sixth round by Jerry Jones himself! We are thinking of renaming our baptistery after this new Cowboy. Ok, so that may be a stretch but it is one of the really cool things of ministry. Years ago I was playing catch before a football game with him before he was old enough to be on the varsity. Today I am reading about him on various websites. I've met or known professional wrestlers. I met a few who were fairly famous in the music business. This is my first encounter with a NFL caliber athlete. This may sound a bit like gloating and perhaps it is to some degree. Trust me, something will happen before long to nudge me out of gloating and back into reality.

Ours is a day where we want to see the amazing happen in the amount of time it takes popcorn to pop in a microwave. We should remember that life is still a journey. It may take years for us to see all God does in any life. This is true for the average person as well as a newly minted Dallas Cowboy. One day you are playing catch with a kid and the next he is negotiating contracts. It takes time. My hope is we are faithful to hang in there to see God's plan through. He is the one who can take small things to make them bigger than we ever imagined possible.

Bro. Trey

Thank goodness it's Friday. My hope is you are having a good week. Summer is making its annual appearance this week. We survived all the rain to get to the hot temperatures. Now it's time to start planning on all my lawn mowing. At least this year the riding tractor is back in working shape. Last year was brutal seeing as most of the year was spent push mowing the entire property. There simply has to be a better way to get into shape than laboring behind a mower. Many of our guys now have the fancy tractors that can stop to go in a circle. Last summer it was just me pushing and going into a circle. This should be a much easier year.

Friday is when my work becomes more intense. Tried a new schedule this week to see if it would be better. I started on Monday pulling material together for the following Sunday. Usually it is Wednesday before that seriously happens. My goal was to be fairly finished by the time the sermon outline went to print last night. It looked like it was going to be a nice improvement on my old method. My other aim was to have Friday free for some of the things a minister needs to do. That was possible until this morning. Either I ate something wrong or something ate me. Let's just leave it at that. Now I am feeling more human. We will try this again next week and hope for a much better Friday.

We are talking about passionate living on Sunday. Hopefully we can think through some issues to help us get a handle on that. Passion is a word we toss around a lot. If you glance through a Christian bookstore its a word writers tag on their titles often. What most writers/preachers are referring to is that intense enthusiasm for living. The thesis is often how God gives passion for your life. I cannot disagree with that premise but do find one thing missing. You do remember that the experience of the death of Jesus is referred to as "passion." My thought is sometimes using this word leaves out the warning about potential suffering. Please do not get me wrong. I believe that our Lord was honestly passionate about His life. But fulfilling that purpose required more than just excited intensity. Not to sound casual but on occasion living with passion calls for hanging in there when everyone and everything is tearing at you.

To be passionate about something can lead to suffering or pain. For example, if you are passionate about a sport or sports team you can feel awful when there is a loss. Or, if you are passionate about something that you do then you may feel a void when you cannot be involved in that. Yes, even in romance there is suffering involved in passion. We hear that absence makes the heart grow fonder. That may be true but it also makes the heart hurt. Does this mean we should avoid this approach? As the apostle Paul might say, God forbid! May it never be this way! I like one quote that I found this week. The writer says, "I don't want to just live the length of life but also its width."


We noted that many people think my passion is football. Actually my true passion is baseball. My neighbors would say that my passion also includes mowing the lawn. Perhaps I am guilty as charged. I think it can be hereditary from my father. My hope is that there is still a passion even at my age for life. Let me honest here. Far too much of church work can kill passion in a minister. You can only absorb so many critics, fights, losses and the sort before it has a genuine affect on the heart. Like you, there is a constant need to keep checking up on my passion level. This is where we will go Sunday morning. Let's get there together passionately.

Bro. Trey

Thought it would be good to surprise you by posting a blog item early today. It still is hard to believe that a week passed without a note here. Again, that is no one's fault but mine. If you remember we began 2009 with the stated goal of blogging quite often. For awhile we were successful in writing something almost every day. Looks like that goal went the way of a lot of our good intentions. We all know where that road of good intentions winds up.

What happens is we have goals or desires to change stuff in our life. There are very few more exciting things that to have those new ideas spring forth in our mind or heart. Then those new hopes crash into the reality of daily living. Here is where discipline meets desire to see which reality wins out. All of that is said to just remind you how change works in our life. The honest truth is it can be far easier to slide back into the old patterns than to slog through the process of change. It is just one of the realities of being human.

Sometimes we get a big jolt of inspiration for change. The list of sources of this is endless. There may be a spiritual source as God speaks something we need to hear. It can be a financial source when the bills and income stop adding up. Sometimes a relationship can serve to stimulate our doing better. You get the point by now. This is where I find myself lately. Last week I picked up the book, One Month to Live by Kerry Shook. We started last Sunday pulling sermons from the scripture as well as the themes of this book. How might your life be different if you learned that you had only one month to live?

Let's assume that we work through the inherent grief of that idea quickly. After all, we would have a limited time to make that month count. How would you change your way of life to extract as much joy in this world as you could? The premise of this book says, why not start living that way now? Why not do a ruthless inventory of the good and bad in your world to be sure that what you live for is really worth dying for? Tim McGraw was partially right in the song that encourages living like you were dying. He left out the part that all of us are dying. Only there are a few who know when that time will likely happen.

Take a long look at your relationships to see if you could make changes now that would give you a healthier view of life. Work through the spiritual areas of your world to ensure that your life with God lives on long after you are gone. Inventory how you spend your time to not waste that precious commodity on matters that just do not ... matter. Measure your financial life seeing as you will leave all of it behind. People can be as consumed by money whether they have a huge nest egg or if they can't find the bird! Let's let go of the stuff that gets in the way of living the full, abundant life. You will find that the pain of change is well worth it when God envelopes you with the life He purposed for you.

Bro. Trey

Wow, I really did not know a week has passed by since my last post. Sorry about that. It was not my intent to go a week without writing. Last week seemed oddly hectic but looking back shows it was about par for the course. It's probably not that my world is so horribly busy as much as it is wrestling with sinuses. My sinus medication is essential but with a serious drawback. Most of my day is spent either feeling foggy or fatigued. That part drives me even more nutty than perhaps I am now. We are going to do better this week even if we blog under the influence of sinus meds.

Last weekend was a rare one for me. It was the first baseball game of the year for the kids and myself. They stayed in Fort Worth while I made my way back home on Saturday. After the Sunday morning service I left to help celebrate a 90Th birthday in the town of my raising. Everyone made it home before me. But it is my opinion that a good time was had by all on Sunday afternoon. It was great to see people that I don't get to see often. On a side note, the party was held at Music City Theater which is the old American Legion hall. Sunday was the first time in 30 years that I was in that building. My age may not say 90 but it sure felt older in the moments after that realization.

We did enjoy the ballgame even if the good guys lost badly. It's always pleasant to see a game before the temperatures start hitting the triple digits. We were staying in Fort Worth afterward so there was only a short drive to our destination. We did miss out on eating the peanuts and Cracker Jack but we sampled much of the rest. Both my daughter and son were with me. She is of course my baseball fan. My autistic son loves the atmosphere, sights, and sounds of a big league game. The only problem is making him slow down while he is walking. Other than that, he is good to go.

He loves the organ music that reminds us to say charge at the top of our voice. He really likes the new light panels around the park. They are bright enough to see from a distance. He claps at the right times. We knew he would be fine after we got to our seats. He added a new wrinkle on this trip. When the home team batter comes up the announcer plays music chosen by the player. Obviously some of the players choose songs from the hip hop genre. My youngest decided that he needed to bust a move when he heard that. He would just stand up and begin moving to the groove! His sister and I were shocked at first. Then we could not help but laugh knowing that he was just into the moment. Others around us probably had no idea why this young kid would stand up and dance. He doesn't care. He just gets into the music.

When you decide to love someone that is a choice to commit to the relationship. Way too many people have more of a contractual version of love. That says that love is conditional on meeting terms of agreement. Some of these terms are spoken yet it may also happen with unspoken terms. You may not even be aware of the expectations of the other person. Yet, if you let them down even in the unspoken areas then the deal is off. Love in those areas is conditional not a chosen gift. No matter how odd my son may look doing his hip hop dance, it will not change my heart for him. That is unconditional. The choice is long since made that he will be loved by his dad. The issue is not one of if he receives my love but how.

That is exactly how we are loved by God. He does not measure out His love on the basis of our behavior. He just loves everyone with all that He is. People who end up in hell are not ones who are not loved by God. They are individuals who for some reason will resist and reject God's love in Christ. We may do silly things in our life but God loves us. We can even do stupid things in our life but we are always loved by God. We just celebrated Good Friday and Easter. Remember that the cross tells you just how much God loves you. Easter guarantees that God does not change His mind even if we blow it. Could it be that we fail to risk in our life for fear that failure will make God stop caring? The opposite is true. We can take risk in our life because God will never stop loving us. So break out your dancing shoes literally or spiritually. This is our life to discover love as well as leave it behind for others to find.

Bro. Trey

Major League Baseball kicked off its 2009 season last week. So far my Rangers are playing par for the course. They won three in a row before losing what is now five games straight. The kids and I are headed for the Friday night game in Arlington. Looks like weather may play a factor that night but we will travel over. We have our seats in about our usual location. No doubt we will arrive early so we can walk around plus hit the gift store. It's time to get some new shirts for the new season. We will spend the night in Fort Worth so we will get to bed at a decent hour. My hope is we can take in a few games in person before the school activities start in August.

So far it is a rough year for baseball. Three deaths of people in the game shocked us who follow the sport. The first was a young man who just a few hours before he died pitched six great innings in his debut. A driver under the influence took his life before the sun came up the next day. That one hit me hard for some reason. On Monday of this week the beloved announcer of the Philadelphia Phillies died just a few hours before their game. Harry Kalas called baseball in Philadelphia for over 30 years. His voice was distinct to the degree he also voiced commercials as well as NFL highlights. That same day Mark Fidrych was found dead on his farm. He won the Rookie of the Year award back in 1976. His arm gave out too early in his career but he was unforgettable while he played. The best word to describe him is eccentric. He was 54 years old.

Baseball is a different sport in that they play every day. You hear the announcers daily and get acquainted with them. You see the ballplayers daily to the point you could recognize them even without their uniform numbers. Football plays only one game per week. Other sports play maybe three games a week. Baseball is the constant in life. I start out in April listening to the radio broadcasts all the way into September. I say all that to reference that tragic or sudden deaths in baseball probably affect fans more than other sports.

We tend to avoid much thought on death. My job requires me to balance life with death on more than a few occasions. Sometimes death can almost be a welcome friend to the one suffering under the weight of terminal disease. There are however times when it is an uncaring intruder in the midst of life. I stood in front of caskets of all sizes over the years. Sometimes it is even part of my duty to assist with the gathering of the deceased with the funeral home workers. There are families who make it very easy to allow me to reach out to them. But there are some families whose dysfunctional nature made it very difficult to help much. On occasion it crosses my mind that my comfort level with death and dying issues may be better than with life!

This Sunday it is my goal to start a short series of messages based on the book, One Month to Live. I kept getting promotional stuff on it over the last year. Then recently the topic crossed my curious mind. So on Monday evening I picked up the book while out running errands. Let me encourage you to pick up the book. The writer is Kerry Shook who is a Baptist minister down in the Houston area. Yes, we will also use the Bible very much as we move through the material. The book is just one way to get my aged mind moving in a new direction. The last thing anyone should have to endure is a preacher who remains in a rut with material.

How would you live life different should you discover you have one month to live? I know from experience that people with such a diagnosis often live life much fuller than if they did not have that limit. Would you spend that time just on yourself or share your life with others? Could you deal with obstacles faster knowing you had to focus on what really matters? What would become of your relationship with God? How would you want to spend your time? Why not live that way now since none of us have any guarantee on the length of our life? You may not be able to control the time of your death but you can decide on how to live until that day arrives. My hope is you will consider listening and learning with me over the next few weeks. This one month of discovery may lead to a life time of living out your destiny.

Bro. Trey

Easter 2009 is behind us. The day started out pretty bad with all the rain and storms. More than a few people mentioned coming late due to the way the clouds looked. My son and I stayed home a few minutes just to let the hard rain pass us by. This could be one reason we didn't fill the building as we normally do. Also, we have more than a few families who went out of town to visit family this year. It alternates here like that. Next year it may be wall to wall as families come here to visit. We won't start thinking about that just yet though. It's probably good just to sit back to relax after today.

This is my ninth Easter here. I can almost recognize the families who come to visit. Many of them return every year while a few skip a year in between. The weather also could be a factor in how the morning service felt to me. We could all hear the thunder and rain as it moved back over us. Perhaps it was just me. I know the preparation for the message went well even if the delivery lacked something. I also know that I enjoyed the reflection time going into the sermon. Easter meant something to me afresh this year. My heart does hurt when the delivery of the material doesn't seem to match the background reading. We won't rehash all that because we mentioned it in the past. In the end, I am grateful to God for the things He showed me in getting ready for today.

One of the discoveries of the week comes from the gospel of Mark. It is when the women go into the empty tomb. An angel meets them there to relate the fact of Jesus being risen. Why didn't He just wait there to show off for those who were coming? We might have called all the disciples over to the cemetery for a celebration. All of those who followed Jesus would have the opportunity to see Him alive. Yet the gospel says that He was gone. His instructions through the angel is for the followers to go into Galilee to see Him there. Again, we might choose a celebration in the cemetery but Jesus has other ideas.

Mark writes of Jesus being a man of action. One teacher called his gospel "the book of the holy hurry." There were few occasions where He stayed in one place to soak up the adulation of the admirers. From start to finish, Jesus keeps moving toward a final destination. He models the way of ministry for us who follow. Recently this idea began to brew in my mind. The faithful disciple is one who stays on the go in life. Every moment is full of possibility for the spectacular. We live under His guidance with His provision for carrying out His work. We also face obstacles but we also know His power can work through us as we allow it to work in us.

We will keep it short tonight. The day was long. My mid afternoon run/walk was hard. My hope is you will move through this week not content with a celebration in a cemetery. Let's go with our Lord to see what is in store for us. The great news of Easter is more than an empty tomb. It also includes a risen Lord who just may surprise you this week. He may use you in ways you didn't expect. My prayer is that He will do just that.

Bro. Trey

So tomorrow is my dad's birthday. He will be a young 71 years old. To his credit he never looks his age. In fact, he usually looks far younger than his age. Also, he tends to act younger than his age and that is a very good thing. Most people know that he lives in Minnesota now. He hates winter. You won't hear my blame him for that. My daughter and I made one trip there one early January. We will not make that mistake again. Minnesota cold is far worse than you can begin to imagine. Lucky for him he is a doctor so he can escape some of the winter by traveling south. He usually has two or three trips to warmer climate areas on the calendar following the holidays. Right now he is in San Diego. We aren't sure he is going to come home. Chances are he will get back just in time for the golf season on the formerly frozen tundra. We will probably try to make it up there in July. But that isn't the point of this post.

He called me tonight. He is sitting in Petco Park watching the San Diego Padres play the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sorry rascal. I guess he is just following through on a family tradition in terms of baseball. His father was a ballplayer on semipro teams across Arkansas and Lousiana. His uncles all played on the same team. I have a memory of talking to that grandfather about baseball. There is also a memory of playing baseball games at family reunions. It seems that my love of the game is hereditary. Like we said here before, some people think football is the main topic of my brain. The real truth is that baseball is my first love. It always has been.

I played the game for 12 years growing up. That includes summer ball from the first grade until the summer after graduation. If my memory isn't too far gone then the only position that I did not play was catcher. This also includes playing in high school. Oh, I didn't play much then since almost every starter was an all star. But there I was going through practice as well as keeping records for the team. My very first real paycheck was for $50 from a newspaper in Texarkana for calling in our scores. I even called in the story of the night we won the Regional championship back in 1977. Then there were countless games played with a neighbor with a rubber baseball so we could use part of our garage as a backstop. As Robert Redford said in the movie The Natural...I love baseball.

Players like Bob Gibson were my heroes. The 1968 World Series would be on the television when the bus dropped me off after school. My friend was a Cubs fan. Let's hope he has not suffered much since those days. The only team we got on a regional telecast was the Houston Astros. Those were the days of Jim Wynn, Don Wilson, Larry Dierker and the such. Back then about the only time you got a game on TV was the Saturday Game of the Week. Now I can watch as many games in a day as they play. Such is the benefit of satellite television with a baseball package. You won't ever convince me that the greatest pitcher of our modern era was Sandy Koufax in the early 60s. He threw four no hitters in about six years. Even the great Nolan Ryan needed over twenty years to get his seven gems accomplished.

How do you know of my love for baseball? My daughter's middle name is indeed for the great Nolan Ryan. Her middle name is Ryan. She was born at the tail end of his career. I gave in on the first name but would not budge nor negotiate the middle. She is my protege when it comes to the game. I remember making her stretch out on the couch with me when she was young to watch baseball on cable. She indeed endured many an endless if not mindless account of some obscure baseball piece of trivia. Now at Christmas we go by the ballpark in Arlington to get her present from the gift shop. One year it was a personalized jersey. One year it was an autographed photo of her favorite player. This year it was a Texas Ranger baseball hoodie. By the way, her favorite player is Hank Blalock of the Rangers. He named his first child ...Trey Ryan.

My autistic son goes with us in the summer to ballgames. He loves the atmosphere and especially the food. He cannot wait to get to his seat to clap, cheer and just take it all in. He may not be able to quote statistics but it is obvious my love for baseball somehow dipped into his gene pool. In the last two years I had the honor of visiting with members of the Rangers media as well as Josh Hamilton who is just a phenom when it comes to the game. We do not yet have tickets for a game yet this year. We are checking calendars so we do not interfere with her schoolwork. But you can be sure that we will make a few games this summer.

There is no spiritual point to this post. Although, heaven is rumored to be in a baseball field in Iowa. I have my doubts about the theological basis of this. But if heaven turns out to be an old cornfield then that is fine by me. Right now the Rangers are 2-0 for the first time in nine years. I think I will go read through the book of Revelation to see if that just might be one of the signs of the times. You never know!

Bro. Trey

On any awards show the winner of the prize almost always has a long list of people to thank. There are times the winner happens to leave out someone in the midst of their excitement. This can be a bit embarrassing to that person. Last night there was a country music awards show. Oh how the winners jumped about in their exuberance. There was much shouting and carrying on when names were announced. This is a foreign concept to me. Perhaps my name was called at sometime but none that comes to memory. But the idea of saying thank you is still important.

The last week or so was quite hectic. This happens on occasion. Tonight I spoke for the fourth time in three days. In younger days, that was quite exciting. At this point in my life the shine long since wore off. However a lot of people sure did step up to the plate with all the going ons. Tonight my daughter came through by playing piano at our Baptist board meeting. This will probably cost me a gift card to some store but it's worth it. We also had more than a few people who prepared for events both last night and this evening. Our kitchen at the church got its workout. Those ladies and the men who assisted deserve a thank you also. I do appreciate them. Then we have two people who are guiding us through our musical ministry at the moment. One is doing a wonderful job leading the congregation in song. The other put together a terrific Easter program yesterday. This also includes everyone who sang or played for all of this to happen. They deserve a big thank you.

I would have to admit that saying thank you sometimes slips my mind. This is not a good thing at all. Those two words are ones we teach our children to say at an early age. We tend to forget how to say it as we grow older. It isn't difficult for me to say it when doing business at a store or when out eating. However, it seems to just brush past me in the carrying out of doing church. Perhaps it happens to more than just me. We could encourage so many people who live out their faith with a simple thank you. No doubt their heart would grow if we could practice the art of saying thanks.

People came up and said thank you following the funeral on Saturday. Some stopped tonight to say it to me following the meeting. The words were appreciated. Like the awards show there are always so many people who deserve a thanks. We even have a Christian song that talks about going to heaven to say thank you as well as hear it ourselves. I wonder who is waiting to say thank you for your contribution to their life?

Bro. Trey

Rumors of the demise of this blog are greatly exaggerated. We will be coming back even when it takes a few days to do so. It is still my stated hope that whatever is written here will be of some benefit to someone who stumbles on it. No doubt some posts may have better value than others. The key is to just keep blogging. Sooner or later something has to ring a bell to the reader. There may be times the post is just for me. Maybe you can find something in the archives that will be worth your time. I view this place as a columnist might in a newspaper. Here are my thoughts on a subject whether they be right or wrong. You may see them as mostly wrong and that is ok. Life is a journey where we strive to continually connect the dots as we go along. Just remember that some weeks there may be more dots than others.

That is the story of this past week. If you look back you will remember that there is that constant tension between juggling the job as well as family duties. This week there was an abundance of both. Family and career intersected early and often. My heart's desire is to get the hang of it all eventually. We have a community wide service this evening that took more of my time to plan. There is another meeting tomorrow night where I am speaking. To be honest, I can still do better at the discipline of time. Yesterday revolved around a graveside funeral in Longview. Maybe you are getting the point now. Please remember that none of this is complaining. It is just a view from my perspective.

There seem to be no limits to the many hats a minister can wear. Sometimes he is a theologian who digs the scripture for divine truth. There are occasions he becomes a chaplain to offer comforting words to those who struggle with grief. He is often times today sought to be a CEO type in administrating the various ministries around the church. Those hats can be dropped or changed in a moment's notice. The key is in remembering what your strength happens to be. God wires all of us differently for His purpose. Temptation always hangs around to nudge us to act out of our weaker areas rather than our gifted ones. Here is a lesson that I still try to learn even after 25 years of doing ministry.

The minister is a human being. On occasion I mention to people that I am an alien being a minister. We are not often seen as human beings. Honestly, some ministers prefer that you see them as superhuman. They relish the spotlight of being viewed as heroic. My opinion is that is a faulty way to do ministry. That is not to say it cannot be successful. Many times the heroic minister is a necessity. But my main focus moving through my journey is to never forget that at my best I remain human. Not every churchgoer appreciates that approach. I find most of my mistakes are from trying to be heroic rather than being open to whatever God may choose to do through me.

Perhaps the point of all this is simply to say that we can aim to give our best. The apostle Paul repeatedly mentions this attitude in his letters. He wants to be used up as he is used by his Lord. You may sometimes find yourself bored in your ministry setting. That is another temptation that dogs our heels. We do the same thing day after day with little reward until we lose the zeal to keep going. You may feel overwhelmed by it all. There are so many people out there in need of real ministry that you wonder if you are having any effect. Take it one day at a time. Let God give you direction to go with your maturing process. Spend a lot of time listening rather than thinking you need to spell out all the answers. Remember you work for God with people and not the other way around. Do something daily that will last into tomorrow. Keep yourself healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually. Guard your time better than I do. Never neglect family life for anything that may not add to your calling. Get to know God in His reality. It's not the length of life that ultimately matters. What counts is the legacy you leave behind.

Bro. Trey