Talking about the holidays is usually enjoyable.  Christmas just consumes all of our energy and focus for several months.  Television commercials for the big day start running sometime in September.  The first day of November seems to be when all of the advertising kicks into high gear.  I am grateful that my youngest still gets into the whole spirit of the season.  He made a gift list for both of us last night.  You have to give him credit for finding his catalog to be sure his wish list was spelled just right.  My list includes ties along with some video games that really are not something I desire.  But it was still fun watching him write it all down so it can hang on the refrigerator.

We tend to avoid talking about anything negative but this will not stop it from being a reality.  Some families may actually dread the day from having to spend time with people they would rather give a lump of coal.  I wonder at times how many people have a "grinch" or two in their family circle.  We don't often admit that we do but it happens.  There will be an individual or even several who just drain our holiday spirit simply by being present.  Do not think that I am making light of this happening.  Real pain occurs around far too many houses during this season.  Some families are so fractured that the added stress eventually reaches a breaking point.  Harsh words will be exchanged instead of warm greetings.  How do we spend time with people such as this without becoming bitter among the lights and the warmth of Christmas?

I was reading in Psalms yesterday afternoon.  People here know that my habit is to pick up a few of these to read on a regular basis.  God seems to always speak to me as I let the words find their way into my heart.  Psalm 59 opened up to me as a guide for handling difficult people.  Many of these songs or poems of David give us real practical help in many areas of life.  In this Psalm, he writes of being under attack from those who wish him real harm.  He says that he knows this is not due to any evil in his life.  None of this behavior is his fault so he takes the burden to God.  What he writes will give us some help in our struggles.

Be sure that your heart is open and honest to God.  Can you honestly say that how others act toward you is not due to your sinfulness?  It very well may be possible that you are innocent.  Just never forget to bring your life to God before you point fingers at others.  Also, realize you cannot change others by yourself.  One huge mistake we often make is thinking we have some power to change others.  Only by God's grace will another person be made whole.  So stop adding that extra burden to your issues.  Then keep God's goal in focus as you move along.  His purpose is to use negative people to deepen your character.  David will say that his joy is in God despite the conflict around him.  That is when you know you are maturing in life.  When your joy is just as constant no matter the conditions then you are living with the right focus.  You will be able to be whole even if others threaten to work against God's purpose in you.

You will never be free from those who are a detriment to your spiritual health.  But be sure that you are never without all of God's resources to bring you into a greater joy.  Learn this and you will receive a gift that lasts long after Christmas. 

Bro. Trey

One of my favorite things to do is to walk back to the nursery to visit with our very young children.  This is a habit of mine for as long as I remember.  You can learn much by returning to your roots.  Our usual number of kids there now is two or three.  Sometimes there may be more but this is a good average.  It may be true that my intelligence level is down to theirs which is very possible.  Most of it is that I just enjoy kids about the age of learning to talk or beginning to find their personality.  My journeys to the nursery began before my children were born.  I long ago lost any need for their services but my trips continue. 

Last week our conversations revolved around playdoh, colors and goldfish.  One of our little girls there is American Indian in background.  Pink is her favorite color of playdoh.  She also told me how nice it smells to her.  Her shoes come off at the moment she enters the room.  I was happy to see her sharing her goldfish with the other little boy there.  He is a true redhead with tons of character.  You may need to know that goldfish are small crackers.  They are a staple of any true Baptist nursery.  He and I ate some goldfish that our young Indian shared with us.  We discussed coloring and puzzles while enjoying our meal.  That may be about the most sane conversation I remember in any church.  There were no agendas or egos just three people enjoying the moment. 

Watching children during the holidays should be a positive experience for the most part.  It always bothers me when parents are short tempered with kids while out and about.  You would think we forget that a child tends to act like a child.  Stores purposefully set up the big displays to catch their eye.  Parents must forget what they were like when young.  Then again, this problem affects far too many of us in general.  Count me as one who never wants to forget the simple joys of childhood.  I want to remember the smell of playdoh for what it means.  Learning to color should include the option of going outside the lines if it feels right.  Goldfish really should be a staple for any adult in their diet.  Growing old is often not an option.  Our problem is we grow up far past the age of just being alive.

We tend to forget the simple enjoyment of receiving gifts along the way.  Our leisure takes us from relationships instead of building them.  Being an adult is serious work to be sure.  But when does being a grownup mean that we cannot be as open or creative as our young?  Jesus told us to come to Him as children who have more questions than answers.  Now we tend to present God with our agenda based on our ego while expecting Him to bless it.  Or we get so wrapped up in being a responsible adult we leave no room for the spontaneous.  God cannot even get through to us without an appointment.  Do yourself a favor.  Take a walk to a church nursery or spend time with kids from the elementary.  It will keep you young.  It may even make you buy some goldfish during your next trip to the grocery store. 

Bro. Trey

The decorations just keep coming around our house.  You need to know that most of my garage closet is filled with buckets devoted to various elements of holiday cheer.  This includes several trees, a shopping row of lights along with the incidentals.  Just arranging all of this requires a degree in engineering.  Madness does have a method in my system of keeping it all together.  Some buckets go in certain places depending on the time of the year.  Several hours will be needed to put things back in place when we wrap up the holiday.  It is a full time job just organizing the chaos.

Today was getting the "big" tree up in the living room.  My youngest strongly suggested putting it up last night but cooler heads prevailed.  He did request that dad get with the program upon his arrival from school today.  Now the tree is perched in its spot with lights shining bright.  My task for Tuesday is to uncover the buckets with ornaments so they can be used.  Of course there are more than a few of these containers required between uses.  No one can ever accuse us of being a "grinch" when it comes to Christmas decorations.  I am just glad that our roof was replaced a few years ago.  Nothing says its the season to be merry like sitting on the roof dangling lights from the edge. 

I never cease to be amazed at holiday light displays while driving this time of the year.  Some houses are elaborate both in their cost as well as their light shows.  Other houses look as if the weight of lights will cause it to fall to the ground.  You wonder about the type of people who live in those homes as they raise their decorations in spite of appearances.  Makes you wonder if they will appreciate their efforts far more than the person who can afford professional installers?  It looks as if they take whatever money they do have to make a statement about their faith.  I know it may not be faith exactly like the biblical kind but they do try.  Surely we can admire and appreciate that about them. 

It's the lights that are attracting my attention this year.  There is no telling why this is true.  But it is certain that all of the festive lights are catching my eye.  Perhaps we hang them to make our tree look pretty.  Our main tree will have both white and color lights.  It could be we use them to get others to notice our houses as they drive by.  Maybe it is that we just like being able to have a different look in our homes.  Sometimes we remember that Jesus is called the ultimate light in scripture.  You will always be mindful of how the light guides the wise men to their destination.  All of us are now called light when we relate to God in Jesus.  You do not have to wait until Christmas to let that shine.  You may need to know your light matters all twelve months of the year.  We need to be just as attractive through our living as our homes are for the holidays.  So try to let your light shine both now and then.

Bro. Trey

Thanksgiving week is drawing to a close.  One can hope that all of us had a very good week to celebrate with family and friends.  Mine included more than a few miles of driving around my part of Texas.  It was still good to see my favorite daughter for a few days.  Our shrimp boil went wonderful with all of us being full by the end.  A main benefit to doing this is a lack of cleaning up afterward.  You really do not need more than two or three pots so there is no major mess.  Everything can be thrown into trash bags for easy disposal.  We took less than two hours from the beginning of the boil until the final cleanup.  Even the first pilgrims took longer than that for their first holiday. 

Now most of us will turn our attention to Christmas.  We really cannot escape the big day no matter how hard we try.  Commercials began playing after Labor Day around here.  Most holiday catalogs arrive right about Halloween time.  Decorations still need hanging around the house.  My son is very much in a hurry to complete this.  Looks like my job tomorrow is to dig out the big tree along with its lights and such.  I adopted a puppy about three weeks ago.  This means another chore for me is to guard the tree from her.  It is amazing just how much work goes into enjoying our efforts.  My goal for every year to to really take in all of the sights and sounds of the season.  It feels as if my plans fall short each time.  Perhaps this year will be better with getting into the spirit of it all.

Part of our thesis this morning is that we can be so overwhelmed in getting ready for the holiday that we neglect being ready for Jesus.  Christmas becomes more exhausting than anything else.  Our scripture text related more the the second coming than the first Christmas.  We often need a reminder of the big picture of what this holiday is all about.  Celebrating a baby is at the center of the day but this child will grow up to become Lord of all.  God's power is on display in the manger that night but it did not end there.  His glory will be revealed in His return but it continues on now.  To remember that the holiday is more than pretty lights and songs is essential.  So much of what we will do over the next few weeks seems directed at escaping reality.  God involves Himself in the present tense of our existence no matter how good or bad it is.

Our lives become so isolated that we forget God is not just past or future tense.  He is longing to engage our current condition.  The return of Jesus is to unveil just how powerful He is now.  He will overcome sin and evil to show His lordship.  This is what He wishes to do right now.  God will take on our darkest areas to declare His grace and mercy.  We just need to allow Him to do that.  Seems amazing to me that we celebrate the birth of Jesus with great fanfare.  Then we sing or talk about the return of Jesus with passion beyond measure.  But we then surrender our present tense to circumstance.  Do we just forget who God is right now?  Maybe we will recover that sense of awe with our Lord this season.  This is my prayer for all of us for the next few weeks.

Bro. Trey

Just to let you know that tonight may be the last blog post for a few days.  Tomorrow is our departure day for Fort Worth, Texas to enjoy the holiday.  My time there will be cut short due to our high school playoff game on Friday evening.  Maps are showing that it is quite the drive from there to Lufkin.  It will be my first time to see my daughter in a month or so.  Everyone else saw her recently but I am having to wait until now.  At this point, it really does not matter what the menu is on Thursday.  Just having a day or two together is more than enough for me.  My youngest will travel with me tomorrow as usual.  What this means is that my radio will be set to his preferred stations for the duration.  Funny how it works that way. 

Many people have all kinds of set traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving.  Our gathering is not quite as keen on doing it all just right.  The already mentioned menu is still unknown.  A very large pot is traveling with us in case we decide to go the boiled shrimp route.  Not many people lean toward this meal as a traditional feast.  What they do not know is just how easy it is to clean up afterward.  You just take the newspapers laid across the table and throw them out in the trash.  Neither do you need all kinds of pots and pans to do this.  One big pot with room for all your shrimp is more than enough.  I am not sure who first came up with the idea for a shrimp boil at our house but it is a great plan.  Maybe our original pilgrims ate some shrimp along the way that very first Thanksgiving? 

Maybe nontraditional is our new tradition?  My family tended to do some of the same things every year.  I am grateful for each and every memory.  Most of our Thanksgivings were held in Louisiana.  Seems like that is the place remembered the most.  The actual Thursday celebration is a bit fuzzy now.  What does come to mind is going to shop on Friday.  One of the marine outlets would clear out room for rows and rows of toys.  It seemed the size of an airplane hangar while growing up.  You could see literally every toy or gadget known to man there.  I don't recall ever getting anything big on that day but you could count on whatever you really noticed winding up under the tree in a few weeks.  Every family seems to carry on various traditions of one type or the other.  There is no one way of celebrating that is better than another.  All of us are different so we carry on our traditions in our unique style.

Guess my point is that every person on the planet is different.  We say that we realize that no two people are the same but we sure seem to resist anyone even slightly different from us.  Paul would tell us in several places in scripture that God plans for life to be this way.  No two people are the same when it comes to how God wires us.  We all live with varied gifts, callings and abilities.  What we do share is one purpose.  Each of us is saved to reflect God's glory in our life.  What any of us may do is no better than another.  Rather than value this wonderful quality of grace our tendency is to resist any creativity in our experience with God.  We are being robbed of a terrific sense of awe as God works in each of us.  Let us try to give thanks this week for all of the many ways God works in us as well as through us.  His life is kept fresh with the Spirit filling every one of us.  That should surely be a great reason to give thanks. 

Bro. Trey

Well...this turned out to be quite the weekend.  There probably is not another two days of the week that creates both anticipation and anxiety.  I have no idea how normal people spend their weekends.  Sunday is a work day for me.  Some believe that my big day of the week should not be work.  My view is that it is a day of labor even though dedicated to God.  Now that song leading is added to my list of duties it seems the day can get even longer.  Don't misunderstand me here.  Everything done is enjoyable for the most part.  Talking about lessons learned in study really is fun.  Even leading hymns has a certain level of happiness even though my voice does not translate well to the hearer.  Anyway, my original point was to talk about the weekend with all of its unique facets. 

Friday night was another long drive to yet another high school playoff game.  Our guys won the game but did provide some heart trouble for the fans.  We live to play at least one more week.  My favorite part of the evening was the great food in the press box.  This is why I did not stop to eat on the way down.  Saturday turned out to be the day for transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  Yes...I realize we are not finished with the turkey but it was a good day to begin decorating.  You need to understand that there are almost a dozen buckets in our garage solely devoted to Christmas decorations.  I know this because the arrangement of said containers is of my doing.  There are also buckets for fall, summer, Easter and Valentine's Day stuff.  You can imagine that this means Saturday was long with unpacking and reloading all of the odds and ends.  My body hurt upon awakening today.  It was all so much easier when I was younger.

Now back to my day of work today.  I knew with school out this week that the crowd would be fairly thin this morning.  You learn to see these things coming ahead of time at my age.  All seemed to go well despite the attendance.  Getting in my afternoon run/walk was possible since the weather cooperated.  Temperatures are back to early May standards for another day or so.  Odds are good that my next operation will be replacing one joint or the other.  It was still good to get out though.  The night ended at the annual community Thanksgiving service in our town.  My role was to bring the message so let us hope it went well.  I always enjoy these gatherings with people from other congregations.  Seems as if we don't have them near enough.

Why is it we allow more things to divide us as churches than we do bring us together?  Pointing fingers at other believers seems like our number one interest.  We talk well about all of us being part of God's church then begin our list on why we are right.  We do not suffer from separation anxiety for the most part.  My view is that whatever other churches do is their choice.  I do not have to always agree but neither is there a call for criticism if the differences are minor.  Minor is when those unique qualities do not affect the biblical truth of the saving gospel.  Those who live in the light of salvation by faith may do other stuff different but that is their decision.  Our call is not to spend our time debating what is right or wrong with how other congregations operate.  The mission is still to focus on telling the good news in whatever packaging our church has.  Doing that will leave us very little room for pointing those fingers.  It may even work to defeat the selfishness of our faith.  God knows we could use more of that along the way. 

Bro. Trey

You should know there are some things in this life that just do not interest me.  People may make tons of money talking about such stuff but it escapes my imagination as to why.  I do not get all of the excitement over the "Twilight" series of books or movies.  My attempts at reading the books lasted all of about fifteen minutes.  English was not my major but the writing sure seemed awful.  It is true that my daughter and I did read the books that must not be named.  At least J.K. Rowling had a creative imagination along with a positive message to unfold.  My personal goal is to avoid all of the previous mentioned books and movies.  What the appeal is to that just escapes me.

Celebrity gossip never appeals to me.  However long or short a marriage runs is just not terribly exciting in my eyes.  Do you ever wonder at how many people constantly purchase the magazines devoted to such information?  Stores carry at least a half dozen periodicals that repeat the same story week after week.  So now you can watch shoppers gather up most of those magazines to learn the latest scoop on people who have no idea who is reading their story.  Now you can have entire networks to focus on such news.  Add those programs to an unlimited amount of websites and you can imagine the overload we face.  But all of that drivel may be distracting but it is hardly interesting. 

Even the sporting world is becoming increasingly ignoble.  Human failure is being spelled out every day in some form or fashion.  Our once noble institutions and leaders are being revealed for horrific lapses in judgement and worse.  Men often use athletics as a form of escape.  We can lose ourselves in various contests or games.  Trucks are adorned with stickers and such to identify our favorite team.  Now our once safe place of refuge is crashing down in a heap of sinful humanity.  Sports reporting now seems like a recital of the police blotter more than it tells us about our team.  It is hard to get really involved in a team or sport when you wonder what will be the next piece of distressing news.

Human beings tend to use all manner of diversions to keep us from reality.  We could probably scroll through history to find this being true since the start of time.  What is odd is how we see biblical people as being a model of some strange reality other than normal.  Maybe being involved with God is not the unreal but the natural outcome of faith?  Perhaps people like Moses, David and Simon Peter were meant to be the norm for life?  Escape is the province of the bored.  Those who allow God to fill their life will have more than enough excitement to go around.  It's like Jesus once said, what moves your heart will be your treasure.  One can hope we rediscover the zeal of faith so our life reflects His presence and not His absence.

Bro. Trey

Blogging last night was not possible due to the power outage we had after a line of storms.  Electricity was out for about seven hours.  Lights came back on around 11:00 p.m. after a long wait to have it restored.  Reports say that several hundred homes were without power for at least a short while.  Rainstorms moved through just before school let out for the day.  I could tell something was going on when the lights began to blink.  The next sound was one of silence as everything shut down in the house.  Panic was the following reaction as the time drew near for my son to return home.  He does like his electronic stuff so being without lights is not his favorite thing.  Being creative is required in times like this.  We did try to get through it.

My normal reaction to long term power issues is to send everyone to visit a relative who does have electricity.  Ice storms and hurricanes made this happen a few times over the last decade.  This time we knew the power was out for a short period but it would still be long for my youngest.  We decided to go into town to eat.  Surely they would have power in a larger setting and they did.  Our only problem was in catching up with the storms that caused our initial situation.  Traffic moved very slow as everyone tried to avoid the ponds of water on the roads.  We ate then tried to decide the next action to take.  I figured the power would be restored as our first estimate was early evening.  All looked hopeful as we approached town until we reached the high school.  Our town was almost pitch black including our house.  This would not end well.  I was amazed at how well things actually did go.

My autistic son took the darkness in stride.  We decided to do his medicine so he could go ahead and sleep.  It is striking just how quiet a world can be without all of the gadgets going.  Surreal is almost the best word to describe our adjusting to quiet.  You wonder how our ancestors would react should they wake up in our noisy society.  My bet is more than a few people almost went through withdrawals last night with no access to television or computers.  Can you imagine our teenagers trying to get by without video games, television or their computers?  We really do not grasp how out of control our life becomes while depending on all of our devices to keep us sane.  Let one of our tools be taken from us and we almost break out in hives.  We are a peculiar generation.

I miss the quiet some this evening.  Maybe it is good to have power enough to blog but the solitude was not a bad thing at all.  Jesus would spend time alone away from the spotlight.  Yesterday reminded me of how wise of a choice that it was.  I may have to try it again but be sure my son can enjoy his stuff.  That is a noise one can always do without. 

Bro. Trey

Tomorrow is another trip to my doctor.  It is just a routine checkup even though no visit is probably anywhere close to routine.  All signs are positive but she does like making sure all is going well.  This is one of those things that will be done for the duration.  Sometimes it does feel a bit out of the ordinary but the price is small compared to being sick.  Part of me often thought about getting a complete going over by doctors prior to my diagnosis.  This is no longer a concern.  My body will get scanned on a regular basis.  Blood will be counted and studied every few months.  I am totally confident in my physician with her care for my well being.

At least there will be no bone marrow biopsy tomorrow.  There really should be shirts or signs made for those of us who endure those.  You have not really lived until you felt a very large needle moving inside your spine.  It truly is a religious experience.  I am fortunate in that my process included two such procedures.  The doctor stopped once to ask me if it hurt.  My question to her was whether or not she was going to stop if it did.  When she replied in the negative then my next words were for her to just go ahead to get it over with.  This really is not a statement on my bravery but about just being hard headed.  Some parts of our history just will not be worth any nostalgia.

I still get amazed over being in remission.  You can read here in other places that may take the form of guilt over surviving my disease.  Odds are good that it was only round one but some do not get that far.  But there are other times when the feelings are just sheer gratitude.  Words probably cannot convey what those emotions are really like.  My usual approach is to just sit quiet to let that sense of blessing just wash over me.  Being in remission is a reality that seemed so remote at the start.  You wonder if there will ever be another normal day.  Time is spent just finding some handle of hope.  Praying sometimes gives way to just being very human with all of its good and bad points.  When you get news of being past the disease for a time then you begin to adjust to a new normal.  Life may not always be good but you do embrace what it is.

Every person must find more than circumstances to make life happy.  Not everything is always going to be perfect.  Lots of energy can be wasted trying to regain some sense of normal much less perfection.  God is very real in the good news and the bad.  Part of maturity is learning how to exalt Him regardless of the times.  It is like most things in that it sounds simple but is not ever easy.  But those who learn or continue to grow in this truth will be those who know the deepest joys possible.  One can only hope more of us discover this. 

Bro. Trey

Sunday night usually reminds me of the Christmas carol where all is calm and all is bright.  A fresh week awaits the morning.  All of the effort to prepare for today is put aside.  Maybe it is also like the eye of a hurricane where there is calm even though new storms are sure to follow.  You know that is probably my most favorite night of the week.  There is time to catch my breath.  Calendars or schedules are mapped out with events.  There are always going to be those unexpected happenings that come up for me much less anyone else.  At least there is an illusion of control as we get underway.

One thing that will help this week is a return to Friday night football.  Far too much seemed out of the ordinary with our trip down south on Thursday evening.  Not even winning the game helped much to regain a sense of normal.  More than a few people today told me that they needed to remind themselves that the day after our contest was not Saturday.  My guess is that not much educating went on in our school hallways this past Friday.  We all arrived home far too late to be much good the next day.  It is good to have your comfort zone challenged from time to time.  It is better to return to normal.

I spent my free night on Friday taking apart my son's room.  It was to the unbearable point to me as a dad.  He was away so there was no fear of panic as he watched what was piled up to be hauled away.  He probably has more room than ever to roam now.  There is one very sad reality to this serious attempt at cleaning.  This was not the first time such an effort occurred.  I wonder just how much stuff was stacked on each other before my recent efforts.  One other painful idea came to my mind.  There is no telling what the dollar value was in the varied boxes or bags to be tossed out, given away or just moved to a new home.  I know that his interests change over time.  We do much the same as we age.  It still makes me cringe to consider how much money we can spend on stuff that will lose its value.   My promise was to take a longer look at what he accumulates so we can avoid this same issue in the future.  But he also knows that dad is a soft touch when it comes to his son.  All that I can do is try.

House cleaning is seldom fun but often needed.  We can say the same for our spiritual life.  God knows what stuff is gathered up to the point it closes off the flow of the Spirit.  I am sure that He attempts to get our attention so all of that yuk is cleansed.  We allow sin to sit around without really tackling it head on.  We live with attitudes that reflect our past condition far more than the present tense reality of God.  We lack the guts to do what is called for in order for us to be whole.  Revival is way more than our singing louder or doing more spiritual gymnastics.  It often begins with us admitting how much we need His help.  Schedules may be shifted as we yield to God's will.  Stuff we thought was so essential is seen as it really is with a divine focus.  No doubt but God's moving in our life may be tough at times.  But what we gain as more room is cleared for God to work far outweighs that hurt.  Let's hope we have the courage to let Him do what is needed so we can be everything He intends us to be. 

Bro. Trey

I tend to get in trouble for talking sports a lot.  Let me admit that it's a very easy trap to fall into while talking or writing.  Sports is such a huge part of my growing up as well as present day life that it becomes second nature.  So let me try to promise we can move along from athletic related themes...after tonight.  Please just allow me one more short thought that is tied to the big story of the last few days.  Actually, this story goes far beyond football.  It is a story that brings out deep emotion due to its nature. 

Penn State fired its long time football coach this evening.  Joe Paterno coached at one school for over sixty years as an assistant then as head coach.  He is the paragon of virtue in many respects.  His records will never be broken.  He graduated students beyond their playing days.  He was a walking statue to all that can be good in college athletics.  No one could say much bad about Paterno other than his stubborn desire to continue coaching even at the age of 85.  His assistant coaches remained loyal to him throughout the years. It may well be that his loyalty to them is what would lead to his downfall. 

A former assistant is accused of horrific crimes against young boys over the last decade or so.  The crimes are so awful that one cannot even put them into words.  Paterno would fail in not reporting whatever he knew to the legal authorities.  No one knows all of the reasons why this failure occurred.  Both the college and the coach are not saying much in public.  Odds are good that nothing can be said now with all of the legal troubles lying ahead of everyone involved.  Lots of very good people are suffering from the mistake of not doing enough to protect children at risk.  Even the very best of people can fall short though every intention is good. 

We can learn that doing the right thing may come with a cost but failure to do right has a greater cost.  We again learn that a lifetime of good decisions can be set adrift with even a single poor choice.  Age may come into play as doing what is moral and good has no age limits.  Never forget the idea that children matter much to God.  Our world is doing far too much damage to the most innocent among us.  If we cannot protect these souls then where will we ever find any humanity?  Jesus does indeed love the little children.  What are we doing to express that love to them? 

Bro. Trey

Having a game on Thursday night is throwing my week way off.  I keep having to remember to adjust my schedule to make the trip.  We do tend to be creatures of habit as human beings.  I already mentioned that we tend to be comfortable in the same ruts we complain about.  Every week during the fall has a game on a Friday evening.  Playing a day early means moving projects up a day or so.  It really is a long way from one of the major issues of our times but it still calls for a new approach. 

One of our sports channels spent the day replaying some of the fights of Joe Frazier.  You may remember me mentioning his passing in the last writing.  I was amazed just relearning how relentless he was in the ring.  He was Mike Tyson minus the tattoos or the psychotic behavior.  Attack would be the best word to define how Frazier would take on the other boxer.  Even the great bout with Muhammad Ali was replayed.  It was 1975 when they met for the last time in Manila.  Temperatures were over 100 degrees along with that tropical humidity.  Both fighters gave along with absorbed quite the punishment.  I'd forgotten that Frazier's trainers refused to let him come out for the last round.  He threw every punch possible at Ali yet would fall short in the decision.  This was a brutal boxing match where even the winner would suffer long term effects of the bout.  Both men ended the event fighting for their lives.  They just do not have boxing matches like that one anymore. 

Ferocious is another word that came to my mind while watching that fight.  They stood toe to toe exchanging blows for fourteen rounds.  My thoughts wandered over the the verses in Ephesians when Paul tells us about our spiritual war with the enemy.  I know that sounds a bit odd to do while watching boxing but that is what happened.  Our enemy is not someone who is soft or easy going.  He fully intends to cause as much chaos or damage as possible to the believer.  We tend to forget this as we move through our spiritual life.  This is not to say our attention needs to be focused too much on the enemy.  Scripture presents the truth that God is our defender so that is where we center our heart.  The believer may not be isolated from the attack of the enemy but we are secure with God.  Our present tense faith leaves room to be as ferocious in our resisting our foe as any boxer.  We are allowed to throw spiritual punches against the enemy.  Defense is only one part of our efforts.  Believers are often offensive in the worst definition of the word.  One can hope we learn the better part of that strategy to thrive despite anything our foe sends our way.  We often say that we win in the end as believers.  My hope is don't forget to start with victories now.

Bro. Trey

Perhaps it is fitting that one of the movie channels is showing the "Rocky" series of films.  I just finished watching the intitial story when the news came of Joe Frazier's passing this evening.  Frazier appeared in the first movie as himself seeing as he is a former heavyweight boxing champion.  I realized that he is the first heavyweight champion in my memory.  He apparently hid out his cancer diagnosis until the very end of his battle.  Some of my sadness is due to this awful disease claiming another victim.  Some of it is an age thing to be sure.  Life keeps moving on toward a final destination.  Both the movie and the news of a death will yet again give me reason to reflect.

I was in high school when the first "Rocky" movie was released.  This is a film that no one wanted to make except for the lead actor.  Few expectations were given when it opened to the public.  Odds were good is it would be a sports movie that few would want to see.  Studio executives really did not have a clue about what would happen.  It made tons of money for those who took the risk to make it.  Awards were abundant including the Academy Award that year for Best Movie.  We would eventually be given five more installments in the story of this one forgotten boxer from Philadelphia.  Guys would come out of the theaters showing off their best boxing moves.  Girls would be swept up in that rarest of love stories between two people who were overlooked.  It would take until the last sequel for the star to recapture that initial magic.  "Rocky Balboa" would end the series much as it began.  He would remain our hero.

One thing stood out to me tonight while watching this now 35 year old movie.  This was no fairy tale despite our images over time.  It was a raw and gritty movie in its day.  Maybe some of the effects seem a tad cheap by comparison to today but it was very much an adult film.  Every one of the characters has some flaw that besets them.  Some will overcome those flaws or discover new layers to life.  Some would remain forever trapped within those shortcomings.  Some even forget that Rocky did not win the fight in the first film.  He loses on a split decision to the champion.  Punishment is delivered by both of the combatants.  Neither character will be presented in that realism of the first movie ever again.  We would go from honest and raw to the soft focus of illusion.  But it seems that human nature prefers that over honesty.

I could write so much here that would reflect the dark side of church life.  You can find other blogs where the focus is on negative issues even when the writer is a believer.  Doing church stuff is a very real and sometimes ugly occupation.  Words are used to describe other believers that you could not use on your children for fear of being abusive.  Politics has nothing on the use of dirty tricks for some church members to gain that which they seek.  Seems to me that when Jesus told us there would be wars or rumors of wars in the last days that He was not referring to churches.  Ironic is a good word to describe how we conduct our business in private yet act as if we are in that soft focus of illusion in public.  But we will let those private skirmishes remain under wraps.  We will avoid being so genuine that it frightens us about what we do.  This will keep us from dealing with those flaws we all have but it will allow us to guard that illusion of safety.

Bro. Trey

This next week is going to feel a little out of balance.  Routine will not be common among the days.  It always seems odd to me how we complain about being stuck in ruts yet are scared to death of anything changing.  I already know of meetings, outings and a high school playoff game that will be on Thursday rather than Friday.  Cruise control is not an option for the next few days.  Maybe this just goes to our human tendency to be unhappy no matter how life moves along.  Ruts bore us.  Change scares us.  We just really do not often know how to react.  There is one lesson learned when I was sick that stays with me.  Each day is enough on its own to get through without adding stress over the unknown.  Jesus tried to tell us that by saying that worry adds nothing to tomorrow but only takes away from today.  Let's hope those words keep me company.

I have a new addition to the household since Saturday.  A little baby girl came to live here without warning.  You will be glad to know that it is a puppy.  She was wandering around the second house owned by our church.  It is a tiny pup that is barely past being weaned.  She came home with me mostly because it did not seem right for her to be damaged by other animals or people in the area.  We are working on our relationship now.  Looks like we have a long way to go for us to reach some agreements.  The first lesson always seems to be to get a new pet comfortable with the caretaker.  She needs to learn my voice and know that it is safe for her.  I hope she will trust me enough to know to feel important and such.  The next lesson will probably be for her to clean up after herself.  We will see how all of this goes but one can hope for the best.

Ezekial may be one of the oddest books in scripture.  We studied part of it today in our services.  The vision of the dry bones is a place where you can roam around while learning new lessons with each reading.  It still says that God has more in store for His church than clunking around as spiritual skeletons.  We are often guilty of counting or organizing our dry bones rather than asking God to give us life.  We saw that the Holy Spirit is more than capable to bring life according to His purpose.  Our trouble is we aren't always sure we want that purpose for our life.  We do not mind agreeing with God's Word but we are afraid to take a risk to follow through.  How many believers spend their days more afraid of losing what little they have without believing for better from God? 

Make this week count for something or someone more than just you.  Life is far richer when you give of yourself to another human being.  One reason we are filled with the Spirit is to give away what we receive.  When you spend time guarding what God gives you often discover how fast it is lost.  Math works differently in the Kingdom.  The more you give away will help determine how much more you gain.  This sounds contrary to our human nature but maybe this is why it is something only God can do if we let Him.

Bro. Trey

Let's move on to a topic totally unrelated to the last few nights.  One can only reflect on deep thoughts for so long without being overwhelmed.  I do advocate deep thinking but it also runs the risk of wearing you down.  There is a certain quality to baring your soul but balance is still important.  Just because you can work though the depths of spiritual life doesn't absolve you from being lighter on occasion.  Laughing can be as good for the soul as serious reflection. 

My youngest child never ceases to amaze me.  I miss having very young children even at my age.  But his presence seems to brighten the darkest of any day.  We celebrated Halloween for almost six weeks around the house.  Now do not go crazy on that remark.  Dad sets limits on what we do and what is avoided.  He knows the monsters or really ugly stuff is off limits.  But it is also true that we enjoy going to the Halloween store for several weeks prior to the big day.  Even the owners of this seasonal outlet know him by sight when he comes in now.  We look at all of the costumes even though he is limited to cartoon characters.  He will add to his toy collection with gadgets that light up or make sounds.  Our time is spent walking around just taking in all of the sights and sounds.  Dad does not get much out of it but it is enough that he does.  The holiday came and went this week.  His reaction was unique and memorable.

It was either Sunday or Monday night that he declared Halloween to be over.  It is time for him to focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He would put up Christmas lights and decorations now if we allowed that.  What was amazing is he gathered up all of his Halloween stuff, put it back into boxes, then carried it all out to the garage closet.  He was simply done with it all.  Dad said he would help but he was not waiting for that.  It was time to put away all of the old stuff to get ready for the next celebration.  All that I could do was stand back to watch him in action.  He declared at the end of the process that Halloween was over.  It is time to move on to what comes next.  I wish more of us could be like that.

How many of us still hold on to the stuff of the past without ever moving on?  I fully realize that some of the past is not really meant to be discarded or forgotten.  However, we find people along with churches who never turned the calendar from some year gone by.  What happens is we recycle the years rather than being fresh for today.  Some will say they are looking forward though their gaze is behind them.  That which cannot be changed requires a divine way of moving along.  Confessed sin need not be a continuous presence in our life.  Failures of whatever size are no match for God's present tense grace.  Behaviors or attitudes that worked at one point may no longer be effective.  My son reminds me that sometimes the best thing to do is just cart up the past and put it away.  How else can we get ready for the new things God wishes to do?

Bro. Trey

We began our journey into our latest topic two nights ago by asking if it is dangerous for us to be real with our life.  Can believers honestly be open about what is taking place at any time along with how it affects us?   I do not know if we are reaching any conclusions but maybe that is an indication of our answer.  Words can be multiplied to hammer home the point that tough times happen to us.  Knowledge of that truth is not what keeps us from being healthy.  Sometimes it seems to me that we can even spend so much energy talking about how hard it is that we lose sight of our eternal reality.  There is yet another danger to this scenario.  Our mind or heart becomes so wrapped up in difficulty that we become blind to Gods greater blessings.  It may be well with our soul but the rest of us hurts greatly. 

Being depressed really is not a sin.  Now it is possible that to remain in that condition becomes more about our carnal quest to control our lives so it becomes sinful.  Grief in its various forms is part of our daily reality as we live.  Feeling sad is acceptable when it is within the terms of the purpose of God.  Some folks end up adding guilt to grief which is a deadly combination.  Remember the experience of David who would write of his moodiness while penning the Psalms.  He is brutally honest about his emotions but he also has the ability to look beyond them to God's best.  It was never about simply escaping the situation as much as it was about growing in grace even in the presence of grief.  He understood walking in the darkest of valleys but he would not lose his hold on God being with him.  Sadness is less about where you are than it is about where God wants to take you.

Paul will write in 2 Corinthians of a despair that almost overwhelmed his life.  I say this so you realize that even the greatest of God's saints faced awful turmoil.  One of the things that made his world bearable was the presence of friends who came to encourage him.  I also think David knew this gift as he was surrounded by people who listened to his heartache.  Both of these amazing believers would deal with their sadness through the comfort of those around them.  Let me restate my original point from Sunday night.  We must be able to be real with others about how we feel in order to be healthy.  Isolation was never God's intention for humanity.  Relationships are at the core of how we are wired.  But once we have moved past being alone then we must be able to trust others with something different than the schedule of any given day.  Insulating our heart from further damage may actually cause more problems than it solves.  Risk goes hand in hand with relationships.  We often discover that our fears are unfounded as people gather around us.

All of this obviously includes a heart open to God's activity even when it feels painful.   One aspect of this is doing all that you can to remain open to hear God.  Intentionally blocking out other noise comes into play here.  Easy does not come into play with this but it matters.  Praying may sound like a grocery list of complaints but keep at it.  Just listen to yourself when you are talking to God.  Get to the root of what hurts for your benefit.  We are often guilty of saying to God those things we think we should say.  Learn to let it all out since God already knows more than you do about the moment.  You are not going to take Him by surprise with your words.  He can more than handle anything you have to say.  The real questions is what will you do when you get to the core issues that trouble you?  One can hope you will allow God to reshape your character along with any answers He may bring.  Scripture tells us to throw all of our troubles on God because He cares about us.  We may find His answers satisfy much more than our human efforts. 

Bro. Trey