Let me just say that finding information sure does get tough at times.  We are only a few weeks away from Easter so that is where my mind is going.  Took me quite awhile to search for what I need to begin the preparations.  My guess is that it's mostly due to my poor efforts.  This is in the midst of trying to get ready for next Sunday.  We are celebrating the Lord's Supper in the morning service so things will be a bit different than usual.  Jonah will get to take a week off from our studies.  But you can be sure that he will return after a week away.  I just hope to lock in on something that will add to our observance.  All one can do is try to make it meaningful in a way that builds up a believer.  The rest is up to them.

Another problem is we do have to deal with the Super Bowl this weekend.  My usual take on the game is one of frustration.  We now make it the next big holiday after New Years Day.  I enjoy the game of football just as much as anyone.  But there is a large part of me that is just glad when it ends.  Churches now have to deal with the usual interruptions to a normal schedule on that Sunday night.  It really used to bother me greatly when I was younger.  Age does come with some benefits as I now just roll with the punches.  We don't cancel church because of the game.  This does not mean that I have a problem with doing that.  Some churches just don't want to be seen as giving in to the pressure of our culture.  I did try several options to dealing with the popularity of the game.  Some of these worked out pretty well.  Others still needed more trial to avoid error.  But this is the age of DVR so I can watch the game in its entirety should that be my choice. 

Let me go ahead and throw out my prediction for the game.  You may need to know that the Patriots are playing the Giants.  This is a rematch of a Super Bowl a few years ago.  That game was won by the Giants in a huge upset.  Many of the same details are going into this contest.  One difference is more people are predicting the Giants to win this time.  My heart is personally going to be on the Giants side.  Nothing against the other team but that is just who I'm mostly likely to support.  But hear me say that my head believes the Patriots will win this time.  My life will not radically change no matter who succeeds in the end.  But my study of Jonah is affecting my choice this year. 

The owner of the Patriots seems to be a very good man.  He was a key player in resolving the labor issues during the offseason.  He did this even though is wife passed away close to the end of the negotiations.  She sounds like one of those rare jewels you find occasionally.  The team dedicated this season to her and her memory.  A few excellent sports articles detail how even the players on the team dealt with grief over her passing.  My personal choice is not to gamble or make bets on games.  But you can be sure my money would be on the Patriots for one reason.  The team is looking beyond their own interests to do something great in her memory.  Sports has a way of unfolding so these types of stories happen.  So let's sit back no matter what our schedule is on Sunday night and see if this comes to pass.  We will try to be a tad more spiritual the next time we write.

Bro. Trey

We talked about praying today.  It's one of the most basic practices of the faith so why do we tend to struggle with it?  Maybe you don't view prayer as a problem but it can become an obstacle.  My point is that we often hear or read sermons and such on how to pray.  That is not the issue.  God knows we can always do more reading and thinking on prayer.  One great temptation is to take in the information about improving as we pray yet feel less adequate to do it than when we began.  A simple act of communicating with God was never meant to get so complicated or intimidating.  Too often we use guilt to get people to pray more but that does not promise that we will pray better.  Jonah reminds me that perfection isn't always the goal as we pray.  Connecting what we say to what we do matters most of all.

Jonah will pray from the belly of a fish.  I do not know when he started his prayer but my money is it took until the third day to get him going.  His prayer in the second chapter is a wonderful one.  There really is not a thing wrong with what he says.  But you also have to put those words in relationship to his overall behavior in the book.  Prayer begins first with God.  It is our response to His activity in our life.  We not only ask Him to do stuff but we also get to communicate with our God.  What happens too much is we let guilt get the best of us before we even get underway.  Guilt will never lead us to a deep connection to God.  It will always nudge us further away from His heart.  Jonah first needs to remember that grace of God which is present tense.  It is that stirring of the soul which leads to his prayer.  When we understand just how deep is God's mercy or love we will gain a far greater motivation to talk to Him.  Don't we tend to enjoy talking to people who seem to care about what we have to say?

Sometimes we just offer up our best efforts with the wish that God hears us.  We lack confidence in bring who we are to Him.  Answered prayers are not the result of a cosmic accident.  Jonah is a long way from being a model believer but he does remember just how amazing is God.  He then builds on both his past experiences along with his present awareness of his God.  Confidence for Jonah results from putting these parts of his life together.  Now we can look both to scripture as well as our process of growth to guide us when we pray.  Don't allow any problem or situation to determine your prayer journey.  God is far beyond whatever may be happening in your world.  Jonah knows how God is even bigger than the fish that took him inside.  His heart moves from the internal organs of the beast to the very nature of God.  This is more than wishful thinking but a concrete reality of God's providence.  He has no guarantee of getting out of that stomach but he reconnects with his God.  That remains at the core of Jonah's prayer.

Just be sure that God does long to hear from you.  Also know that scripture is the record of His speaking to us.  Praying need not make you feel inferior to any other person.  It remains a cornerstone in finding out just how much we mean to Him. 

Bro. Trey

There is a wedding shower at our house on Saturday.  It's for a bride who is marrying one of our church people in February.  I get to do the wedding.  Some weddings you look forward to doing and this is one of them.  My very best hopes go out to them for a long, happy life.  What is difficult now revolves around all of the preparation for the party.  The last few weeks are one constant cleaning after the other.  No house is probably ever spotless but we are coming close.  Who knew that mopping could become a competitive sport?  One good thing is that when spring cleaning time comes around we will already be ahead of the curve.

Throwing stuff out is also one of the regular chores of the last few weeks.  I spent one day just gathering up stuff to take to the local dump.  Our garage received two separate cleanings over the last few months.  There were things that never moved from the day we arrived at the house.  Filling up the back of my truck was easy once everything was culled out.  I probably found even more to take to the trash at a later date.  My needs are fairly simple.  Holding onto items is not a great temptation of mine.  My guess is there will never be a need for intervention for any hoarding tendencies.  Everyone probably needs to make time to clean out that stuff from time to time.  Some items may be treasures but sometimes we just let the junk pile up.  Cleaning house may not be neat or easy but it does allow us to find what really matters.

You can see where this is going.  Spiritual house cleaning is a basic part of being a mature believer.  Stuff we may think is valuable may turn out to overload what God wishes to be doing.  David would just live his life for about a year before confronted by God about the junk clogging up his heart.  We tend to overlook or not share God's values when it comes to what matters and what does not.  Busyness is often a substitute for actually being open to God's word.  Even going to church is no promise of our heart being honest with God.  We are learning about the life of Jonah lately.  He is a successful prophet of God who fails to allow his heart to share divine values.  His story is one of God giving him a good cleaning out of the mind and heart.  It may not end happily ever after but we can learn from his mistakes.  Learn to take your cues from what God deems as significant.  He knows far more about your heart than you realize.  You may discover that what you thought mattered really only gets in the way of growing.  It may not be easy but it is always worth it for eternity. 

Bro. Trey

My puppy went to church tonight.  Sounds like she wrecked havoc on most everything until I took her home.  Nothing says small town church like having a hyper dog running loose on the grounds.  Some students stopped by the house this afternoon to visit.  What is surprising about this is that my daughter is away at Baylor.  Pokey greeted them in her state of excitement as usual.  My guess is she followed them over to the church rather than staying in the yard.  I heard very little upon my arrival later but stories of her being friendly with everyone.  Sure enough she came following me when I walked outside the building and whistled.  We trudged back home through the rain to deposit her safely away from the crowds.  Who knew that a typical Wednesday evening would become so animated just by her presence?

Church life can be thrilling enough without the added exposure to a very young puppy.  We just tend to get all wound up for all of the wrong reasons.  Far too much time gets spent trying to track down all of the reasons for turmoil.  I think that having some detective skills comes in handy with being a minister.  The one downfall is there isn't much one can do even when deciphering the reasons for an uproar.  This is not to say that doing church stuff falls short in the excitement category.  Scripture paints us a picture of a church that is never at a loss for thrills.  They are always in over their head when it comes to being on mission.  Sometimes we lament at how cold our services can become.  It may well be that we prefer that to any discomfort from being radically engaged with God.  Perhaps we get what we truly desire?

Think about this.  Faith can be risky.  Just ask Abraham about that call of God to offer up Issac.  Faith can be weird.  Just ask Moses about calling plagues, frogs and the like into reality.  Faith can be dangerous. Just ask Paul about his physical pain from being thrown out of towns.  Faith can break your heart.  Just ask Peter about his road to recovery.  None of these characters needed a puppy to create a sense of excitement.  God acts in lives to move us to His purpose.  Following Him will often create upheaval in our being.  Boring is a word not associated with joining God in His work.  One can only hope that our spiritual life will be thrilling for all of the right reasons.  You may find it beats having a puppy on the loose in church.

Bro. Trey

You may remember that one of my new favorite programs is Doctor Who that plays on BBC America.  I remember the show from my growing up days but these are very different.  It's a bit of science fiction along with other odds and ends worked into it.  Reports are that it is now one of the most popular shows in England much less here in the states.  I stumbled onto it about three months ago on what had to be a boring day.  Not many programs grab my attention but when they do it is total.  For me it is a time to escape into the exploits of the characters.  Being a series about time travel means you can do just about anything in a plot.  Being able to reserve logic is a huge factor in just accepting the storyline.  It's just one of the many weird things about me it seems.

The series originate in England about forty years ago.  It would run on PBS in my growing up years.  I know that I tried to watch it then but gradually moved along to other things.  2005 is the year someone brought it back after a few years away.  Much of the core remained but lots of bells and whistles were added.  Now it is a global phenomena with fans across the globe.  Remember that it is a British series with actors who speak proper English.  Also recall that my native tongue is American with Texan thrown into the mix.  One temptation is to think my voice can sound remotely British.  That just will not ever happen.  My guess is that even my attempts at sounding like a proper Englishman would still be tainted with that Texan twang.  Surely that cannot sound remotely appealing.

One short point tonight in the post.  No, it's not about the Doctor.  How do we learn to speak God's language?  This crossed my mind last week even though it was left out of the message.  The answer is we learn to listen to God speak to us so we can discover how to communicate.  Getting into God's word will help us talk more like Him.  We learn what He values.  We discover how He operates.  Our very nature becomes more in line with who He is.  God speaks our language if we listen close.  What we gain changes who we are and then how we live.  Programs can come and go over time.  What we become because of God speaking to us lasts for an eternity.  We could use a little more divine language in our world of strife.  Just know that only those of us who know God can ever inject those thoughts into our reality today.

Bro. Trey

We now know who will be playing in the Super Bowl in two weeks.  It is a rematch from a few years ago between the Giants and the Patriots.  Don't worry.  This whole piece is not about football.  But each team won very exciting games today.  Both teams were only a few plays away from being out of the playoffs also.  I will say that my expectations were for these two teams playing in the big game.  You know the Patriots are going to be good.  We also watched the Giants get hot over the last two months.  Our major problem is we now have to live through the two weeks of hype before the game begins.  I am reserving my final prediction for much closer to game time.

We mentioned that both teams won in very tough contests.  Only a few plays separate the winners and losers today.  One game ended with a rare mistake on a kick.  The other game included some strange bounces of the ball.  Sometimes you wonder how all of this works out.  I do not know with any certainty whether or not God has a great interest in football.  My view is that He has a few more things to deal with than the outcome of a game.  But there are times that make you wonder about divine intervention in sporting events.  Most famous football plays are labeled with a Catholic nickname.  Baptists are left to refer to hockey fights for their vocabulary.  My point is there do seem to be times when God has some role in the outcome of a game or event.  I have no explanation as to why this may be true only that observation and experience tells me that things can happen out of the ordinary. 

Providence is our term for how God works everything out for His good in our world.  Not only does God see the future but He is radically involved in our present.  He is not an occasional participant in the affairs of men.  God's very nature says He is part of our every waking or sleeping moment.  We may not always see this in action but be assured of its reality.  Our hope in this life is much more than making wishes.  We can trust God who is bigger than life no matter how out of control it feels.  Our conditions do not dictate any limits on God's power.  Our worst difficulties cannot sway God from being at His best.  How we live in any given moment is largely affected by our vision of God as caring and powerful.  He must be both in order to bring about trust.

Life is the laboratory in terms of our faith.  Answers are easy inside the church walls.  It's the rest of the week that tests whether what we believe matches what we may say.  Jonah discovers that he really cannot run away from the presence of God.  This journey will be a painful to say the least.  We can learn from him so we avoid those same mistakes.  There is much more at stake in our life than who wins or loses a game.  You matter to God so be sure your life counts.  God doesn't give up on any of us even when we give up on Him.  That is what grace is all about.  Failure does not need to be defined on whether or not we disobey.  Real failure is missing His pursuit born of grace.  Let's do what we can to allow that patience of God to work its way into our world.  Our game of life is not ever over until our time is up.  God is here and active if only you open your eyes a bit more to see it.  Don't be like Jonah.  He knew God was busy yet chose to ignore it.  My guess is if you ask for His help then you will see everything in a whole new light.

Bro. Trey

Life has a way of taking us to unexpected places.  My plans to catch up with writing took a back seat to an emergency call this evening.  All is well with my patient so that is good news.  It's one of those people that I want nothing bad to happen to them.  Part of me was sitting wearily in my chair just prior to the phone ringing.  Any decent minister doesn't wait for more information before taking off to check on their people.  My hope is my efforts at ministry were at least that.  You try to find out as much as you can then pray with a genuine heart with those involved.  God has this way of doing things like this when you least expect it.

Most of my reading this week is in the area of providence.  Most of us know the word without much thought as to its meaning.  We believe God is big enough to handle our world.  We truly hope God will always be good in what He does.  My usual example is how we have the second coming all figured out.  We live with our theology about who will do what and when.  Our problem becomes translating that faith into God giving us daily bread.  This is when the God who is big enough to bring about the end of the world may not be enough to get us through our most common problems.  Lots of people have faith in God's providence for something out there but struggle with it right now.

Jonah talks to us about providence.  It tells us about a God who pursues us even when we fail to follow.  It speaks to us about a God who can take our worst yet make it His best.  We discover that even the worst moments of our life may be God's invitation to join Him.  This will call for more than a few of us to have a real heart change along the way.  We too often take God's guidance and His goodness for granted.  We just move right along with our life without much thought as to what He may be doing in the present tense.  Part of being able to worship is knowing God doesn't take time off from our life.  We may think we do not matter but we do.  Jonah tries all he can to get away from God yet it is His providence that ultimately saves him.  Even the big fish works out the will of God for the wayward prophet.  We can be assured that our God will indeed work things out to His good.  Sunday night will be another chapter in this story.  Remember that every question of why things happen really is not a problem.  Just move further to ask God what He desires to be doing in making you who He wants you to be.  This way you know life isn't just fishy.

Bro. Trey

My daughter now has her own blog.  It's part of her journalism class at Baylor.  I read some of her work tonight.  That may be a stretch as she now has only two posts online.  Her work is really good so far.  What made me proud is that her professor commented on her second piece.  Blogging seems to be both the best and worst of times.  You do get to put down your thoughts in one place.  The problem is that anyone who finds a link can read them also.  You know that I read other blogs related to church life.  You also know that whatever is written here tries not to be negative unless absolutely necessary.  Negative sites tend to get much more attention than what is attempted here.  Just know my goal is to be helpful above being popular.

In other news, you may be curious to know that my predictions for football all came to pass last weekend.  I went four for four in my predictions.  This meant going against my heart a few times but my head told me something beyond my wishes.  Football may not seem religious but it does affect how churches operate.  People want to be out by noon so they can see the Cowboys play.  We will deal with attendance issues the day of the Super Bowl.  One of my former congregations set up to watch the game projected against a wall.  Nothing says football like a really huge setup to watch it.  I do not know yet who my picks are for this weekend.  I do think the Patriots will win since they have a much better offense than the Ravens.  Who they play is still up in the air.  My mind is leaning toward the San Francisco team at the moment.  Let me get back to you in a day or so for a final decision.

Does seem like it is shaping up to be Romney going against Obama in our next election for President.  It seems very difficult to envision Mitt actually winning in November.  He just has so many issues unresolved with social conservatives.  No doubt you will find evangelicals who refuse to vote for Romney due to his being a Mormon.  I have no claim to know what type of President we would get with Mitt Romney.  What some believers miss is that sometimes what you do is vote for the one closest to your ideals.  One wonders just what an acceptable candidate would be to social conservatives.  My political views will remain between me and God.  What can happen is that I pray, vote and follow my understanding of politics with hopes the rest of the country chooses wisely.

Tonight seems like a good time to just throw a few topics out there.  Not every night begins with some great insight to elaborate on here.  You probably wish there were many more evenings with any great ideas.  My daughter will discover that inspiration may come from an odd place if it comes at all.  Just being alive is enough some days to celebrate.  God is busy in each day to tell us about Himself.  This is not limited to just being religious.  Listen to God in any area of your world and you may be surprised just how much He has to say.  He may be saying far more than you ever imagined.

Bro. Trey

John Adams was one of the founding fathers of this country.  He served one term as President along with playing a huge role in the establishment of the states.  Most people do not recognize his name as much as others during those days but he matters in history.  His son would eventually become President also.  The senior Adams was a remarkable man in so many ways.  Words of his would shape our basic thought as a nation.  He serves in other roles besides being President.  The friendship between he and Thomas Jefferson is a remarkable story.  Adams is probably a better man than his friend but still is overlooked.  I do admire him for all of his behind the scenes efforts to secure the beginning of this nation.

One story about Adams stands out for some of the wrong reasons.  Seems he took his son fishing one day when time was free.  My guess is there were few days like that.  The father would later write in his journal of taking the son out to fish.  His conclusion is it was a wasted day.  What he did not know is the son also recorded the day in his journal.  John Quincy Adams would write that it was one of his best days ever.  His time with his father was well spent regardless of the number of fish caught.  Both will spend the same amount of time together that day.  Neither view it in the same light.  What we value always will determine how we see life unfold.

Making time for those closest to you matters.  It is true that not all of our time can be expressed the same way.  Part of having a full life means relationships that make you better than you are.  Nothing can ever take away the good gained with my children.  Simply running errands with my youngest are times loaded with joy.  Being sure you reach out to others will always move your perspective beyond the selfish.  Not every person may share your point of view but it matters.  God can do so much in your heart when you find small moments to share with others.  It may be a break from the stresses.  You may hear God talk to you about your priorities.  Drawing closer to people who matter pushes you past the selfish.  It's a good idea not just for Presidents but for all of us. 

Bro. Trey

When we last left Jonah he was on the run from God.  How silly does that sound?  Here is a big time prophet of God trying to get away from His presence.  No doubt that going to Assyria would bring along a set of dangers but this man seems to actually think God won't be able to find him.  Not many of us get to the physical point of being a divine fugitive.  Most of us just hope that God doesn't notice if we don't pay attention to Him.  This is one of those things that can happen to any of us.  We usually do not receive such a fearsome call as Jonah.  We just go about our business without keeping God's daily direction in mind.  Our call to follow may not be as dramatic as this prophet but it can be just as serious.

Jonah ends up in the middle of a huge storm while trying to escape.  It say that God "hurled" a violent storm upon the waters.  The language hints that it was thrown much like a hard fastball at the sea.  What we see is that not even expert sailors know how to handle the calamity.  One might suggest that perhaps God is unfair to put those men in danger when He is after Jonah.  But what we see at the end of the story is these same pagans encounter the living God in a vital way.  Our prophet may be stubborn but the sailors are shown as sensitive to God's activity.  Jonah shows no indication that he is ready to obey God.  He doesn't even seem to pray when the captain awakens him.  You have to wonder just how cold is this heart that will not respond to the obvious?  Yet we know that God's people display that awful tendency to remain in opposition to the divine direction even if it hurts.  Jonah would rather take his chances in the turbulence of the waters than admit to his failures.  This is surely no mild case of drift in the spiritual life.  His theology remains in good shape though his heart is far from God.

The sailors behave in ways beyond their knowledge.  Concern is shown for the prophet even when he gives them an easy solution.  You even read of these men praying then doing an act of worship when all is done.  Our writer is careful to tell us just how rebellious is this prophet.  My guess is none of us never wish to be in his condition but we may see some of the symptoms.  What we learn is the stilling of the sea was not the ultimate answer.  Just asking God to fix your problems may not be enough if you are the problem.  Jonah fails to realize that God is not letting him just go away.  He has to learn again that God is not easily fooled if at all.  We can be better than Jonah.  Our heart need not be in such turmoil.  Jesus would deal with a perfect storm of troubles.  His friends would betray, abandon and deny knowing Him.  He chooses obedience even if painful.  To follow Him may mean the same for us.  No one said it would be easy.  Just be sure that living this way is far more eternal than being stubborn.  Which do you wish to be?

Bro. Trey

One question bothers us as human beings more than any other.  It is the one that asks why do bad things happen to good people?  Few of us get through life without posing that question at least once.  Some use it as an excuse of sorts to deal honestly with God.  Some ask it in the midst of a moment that brings more pain than we can bear.  Most of us know the emotions involved that tear away at our core.  We are not at all the first individuals to have such concerns.  We are also not the first ones to wrestle with the ideas involved.  I mention this as we look to Jonah this week.  Here is a prophet of God being confronted with some very bad experiences in his journey.  He once spoke to kings and now he is faced with storms then a really big fish.  We would do well to learn from his crisis of faith.

There are times when our difficulties are self inflicted.  You and I make mistakes or even sin in ways that lead to troubled times.  Wanting those troubles are far different than our mindset going into making our choices.  David didn't want problems but he did desire Bathsheba.  Connecting the dots from that point really isn't too hard.  Other times we may find our problems are situational.  Perhaps we are innocent from those poor decisions or sin but someone else does it for us.  How often do we get swept up in the wake of another individuals decisions?  There may even be times they are satanic in origin.  Job faces an overwhelming trial by fire that has such roots.  Be sure that if you mature in your faith that times like these are coming.  The last idea is that some are spiritual.  Now it is true that a follower of Jesus would want God to lead, guide and the like in any moment.  Just also know that God may work the circumstances of your life so your heart grows even more sensitive to Him.  Those who grow in faith are also candidates for God to continue working in your life even when painful.  Jonah is aware of most if not all of these reasons.  His story helps us face our worst moments. 

Every trial is an occasion to turn to God in ways you never knew before.  Each  problem offers great opportunity to become more of God's person.  How we handle those times will tell us a great deal about who we are and where we need to be.  Some of what we learn is opposite of Jonah's approach.  His heart does not yield immediately to God's action.  The storm comes upon his ship but he offers no evidence of repentance.  Just remember that our problems are not always meant to be permanent.  Some believers end up so wrapped up in their own world that they forget to look beyond the situation.  Our great hope is not the end of our problem.  Jonah reminds us that our best comes from a living encounter with God.  This takes him a long time to learn.  Let's hope our heart will be more open than his.

Bro. Trey

Far too many of these posts begin by mentioning one day or the other.  You can read too often about Sunday nights on here.  Blame that on lazy writing.  But be warned that this post will relate to Monday as the point of reference.  Some of this is probably due to the already mentioned lazy aspect.  Part of this is just because it is Monday.  Today is my Saturday in relation to how most people live.  It is another strange part of my job.  Days like this one matter greatly in recovering a sense of balance.  Getting older just means that having down time is even more important than in my younger years.  My views on Monday is not that unusual.  I heard a pastor of a very large church once mention how he limited his activity to a few isolated tasks due to the weekend push.  My goal is to always find normal again.

Think about it like this.  Sunday is the time when the minister speaks for God at least once.  Most days there are important meetings between or before services.  Your job is to speak a divine message whether or not anyone listens.  You are asked to make big decisions that may arise without warning.  Every eye is upon you for a few hours that day.  By your own admission there are eternal decisions to be made by your words.  All of the hours of research come together once if not twice.  Every ounce of your energy is poured out in words or actions.  All of this can feed the ego if not careful.  Some ministers forget they are not God along the way.  Monday is a good day to recapture your humanity.  If you forget that you are a human being then you really are in spiritual danger.

My mind is usually blank after Sunday so it feels good to do the humdrum stuff of life.  Today was a day to work on the house in preparation for an event later this month.  Laundry called for my attention as usual.  There was some time to do some reading but it was just for fun.  Exercise is always welcome on a Monday.  I try to do some running on Sunday afternoon like I did yesterday.  People my age need to get out to stretch so gravity doesn't completely take over.  It is not that there is a refusal to work on Monday.  There are times when visits or other issues call for my attention no matter the level of fatigue.  But if you can haul off the trash with a sense of duty then you may be better equipped for the big sermon or meeting.  Every follower of Jesus needs to grasp the concept of renewing the mind and body so you can continue to grow.

One of my favorite authors wrote a book entirely devoted to keeping your life fresh.  Some of my observations even made the final work which surprised me.  His point is that even Jesus took time to step back from simply being busy.  Another writer reminds me that Jesus enjoyed going to parties.  You read of his being at various celebrations during his life.  Obviously there are some who attend church that may not do enough for whatever reason.  My point is not to applaud apathy but to argue for balance.  Remember that is God who works through you.  A broken down you does not leave much room for that miracle to occur.  You may not need a whole day to recover but you do need time.  Learn to enjoy the recharging of your batteries so your heart can expand even further.  You may find the rest of your week having more room for God to work.

Bro. Trey

My guess is that most people who attend church still have an image of their pastor as being practically perfect.  Times may change but more than a few will carry around the idea that the minister borders on sainthood.  He is neither too tall or too short.  He is neither overweight yet he is not skinny.  He speaks for hours while doing it in under thirty minutes.  His suits are always expensive though they should not cost too much.  He relates to every age in the congregation with ease.  He is young to the old and old to the young.  He is never out of the office while he is out visiting anyone and everyone.  The sermons are extremely well researched while leaving hours for dealing with administration or the problems of people.  You get the basic drift of these thoughts.  We mostly imagine the minister as an example of perfection.  But what do you do with a character like Jonah?

Jonah is one of those prophets who enjoyed success then crashed and burned.  He once spoke boldly to the King but will later try to hide from God.  His heart is not especially gentle toward the sinner.  His emotions give the picture of a man who has unresolved issues with others.  Jonah didn't need to be stuck in the belly of a whale in order to be rescued.  His problem is mainly his problem with God.  Jonah just doesn't seem to appreciate the divine commission to go offer compassion to a sinful people.  He really is not a hero in terms of how we usually see our heroes.  He is a mess.  God will still use him but it will be with all of his faults in full view.  He may be closer to our reality than he is to our fantasy idea of God's hero.

Nobody is ever perfect.  Even ministers tend to fall short in regards to perfection.  There are still a large number of skills or habits remaining for me to learn.  I would like to believe that my intention is noble.  This still will not automatically provide perfection.  My sermons still drift when they should be right to the point.  My efforts to stay in touch with people will never be enough for some.  My approach to leadership may be too vague in a world that embraces convention.  Jonah is a good place for me to study.  His story reminds me that God knows how we really are yet chooses to use us anyway.  No amount of past accomplishment can ever replace living in the present tense with God.  Our prophet seems to forget that somewhere along the way.  God will still call him to go carry a message to a people that he cannot stand.  Not only is God patient with the sinners but He is just as patient with Jonah.

All of us have faults or weaknesses.  We each live with unresolved sin to which we are blind.  God still desires to see us through so His word is indeed the last one.  His call will seldom lead us into an easy path.  What we learn is our greatest obstacle may not be where we are to go but who we are on the inside.  God will have to confront us about what we cannot see.  We have to trust Him to be gracious in that challenge.  Perfection may be an illusion but God's patience is as real as air itself.  Jonah will learn how great that journey can be.  Will we? 

Bro. Trey

Who would think that a Friday in January would include push mowing the yard?  I actually did not push all of it but there were some places calling for attention.  There will be a big gathering here in a few weeks so it was a good time to start the process to be ready.  Saturday looks like there will be the final putting away of Christmas stuff which means making room for it.  My allergies will be grateful for the yard work as well as being outside tomorrow.  Winters can be strange around here.  Warmer weather is usually a sign of a cold snap waiting to begin.  But having to mow down weeds and such does seem premature.

I also helped pack my favorite daughter for her return to college tomorrow.  She didn't seem to take my request for her to remain home as serious.  Time flies when she is home.  Seems as if she just drove up yesterday after the fall semester.  Before long it will be time to move her back home for the summer.  I may not have many skills but for some odd reason packing is one of them.  Everything is loaded waiting for her trip tomorrow.  It took me about 45 minutes to get it all put in order.  She has friends who will meet her to assist in the unloading.  Just know there is another adjustment period coming.  But it will be good for me to let go once again.

Our house becomes extremely busy when she is home.  Friends just pop over without warning at all hours.  You can never be sure how many cars may be sitting in the front yard.  The noise level also increases greatly during those times.  What is good about that is it often is the sound of laughing.  Good times seem to follow whenever the gang congregates in our home.  This usually is preceded by trips to the grocery store for strange foods.  All of this is very agreeable to me.  Being a dad is an honor or privilege.  I am grateful for both my favorite son and favorite daughter.  Not sure what I could say if a third child was born?

I thought of how church should be somewhat like those times when my daughter is home.  You can invite friends to share the time.  You can be yourself since its comfortable.  Nothing is off limits for conversation since people care about you and your feelings.  No one is in competition to be noticed since everyone is the same.  I fully realize the analogy breaks down in other ways.  But it is a great idea that church should not feel strange in relation to the other parts of life.  We are family by God's grace.  Maybe we can be even more by sharing that grace to others. 

Bro. Trey

Life takes you by surprise sometimes.  One never knows how the past may intersect with the present tense.  My view is that fewer things are coincidence than we imagine.  A follower of Jesus might wonder why things happen at one point then find the answer even years later.  God doesn't always work on our timetable.  This is yet another reason to absorb as much of His will in your current situation so He may direct your paths.  People may come through your world with no immediate explanation.  Circumstance may change without warning that are only a prelude for better things ahead.  These are things you cannot catalog or organize in any given moment.  Remaining sensitive to God's direction often leads you to new understanding down the road.  Our initial question of why must lead to a what in terms of finding God's purpose.

I say all of this because of recent developments.  You may or may not know of my attempt to earn my doctoral degree back in the 90's.  Sure seems like a long time ago now.  Everything was completed except for my final project.  At least my grades do reflect that every seminar earned an A on my final report.  Why it never came to pass is due to a combination of several issues.  There was a move from that ministry setting.  There was a change in style due to a new administration.  My youngest also ended up being diagnosed as autistic.  But one of the great things about my effort was spending time with the pastor of a larger church who served as an adviser.  I cannot speak for him but my time was enjoyable at the least.  Maybe there were some lessons learned during that time but most of my education was just getting out to see how things were done elsewhere.  I lost track of him following that move and for several years after that.  Last year began a new time of catching up in ways that were surprising.

He ended up working at Baylor University which is where my daughter now goes to college.  I saw him during our Baptist state convention last year.  Chemo was just behind me so I had to introduce myself to him.  We got to catch up along with my finding out information on my daughter's future home.  Let me make a long story much shorter.  Our paths crossed a few times more over the last year.  My most recent visit was at our high school playoff game down in Waco.  What no one knew that night was a coming announcement that he would be nominated to take the job as Executive Director of our state convention.  I impressed my daughter after that by calling him to offer congratulations.  My many years of doing this job brought a few notables of our denomination across my path.  This is the first time for me to have more than the slightest background on such a person.  His job will not be easy nor filled with many thanks should it all come to pass.  But he can do a great job if people get out of his way.

Our denomination is a mess.  It's been this way for four decades now.  We fought lots of enemies among ourselves.  First we waged war on a national level with a clear winner and loser.  Then my state became another battleground with new rules but the same outcome.  You need to understand how my heritage is locked into being a Southern Baptist.  I can and will not apologize for that.  Many of my friends over the years fell among the various camps in the conflict.  I personally went to meetings on either side of our disagreements.  No matter what one group claims victory it is my opinion that everyone lost.  My friend will be trying to lead a state divided by years of antagonism.  He has my support regardless.  I know him even though much of our friendship is in the past.  I will not claim to be close friends but there is a friendship.  Who could know back then how a connection would come full circle?   It was good to catch up when the time came.  Now my hope is he can be free to lead our state into better days.

Bro. Trey

About six weeks ago we welcomed a new member to our family.  It may actually be better to say now that I welcomed this addition.  Someone dropped a very small puppy off in our area where she found shelter across the street.  My family told me about it so I wandered over to check on her.  Turns out she was barely weaned at that point.  Seems like she was barely as large as my hand which isn't too huge.  It's been awhile since we had a pet.  Our cat ran off a few years ago without giving two weeks notice.  People kept asking me what the new puppy would be called.  My view is that a name has to grow on you so it fits.  After awhile my mind remembered the name of Pokey from the old children's book.  So our new resident became Pokey.  This name does not fit her at all now.  She is many things but pokey is not one of them.

What was once an adorable, tiny creature is now becoming a terror.  Chewing up stuff is one of her primary hobbies.  She also wants to attack anyone who simply walks across the floor.  Her mind must think that just going through the house is an invitation to play.  There is indeed barking involved also.  Most of her noise is aimed at me while playing.  Resentment must be a part of this since it happens when I refuse to let her dine upon my hand.  No doubt the final straw is she is a walking bladder.  Surely she has the entire yard as well as too much of the house marked as her own.  Most days involve at least one good mop around the house.  Raising a puppy does tend to make for exceptional housekeeping.  I am now the only one who will give her attention.  Everyone else usually just yells at her.  No matter how much you remind the others that she is a puppy it goes unappreciated.  She is just doing what puppies do.

The nature of a puppy is to be noisy, messy and a work in progress.  Taking the time to train them often seems pointless.  What we forget is a puppy is just doing what comes naturally.  His or her brain operates on a far different wavelength than ours.  We see old shoes while they see something to be fought.  We see time as something for resting while they see our sitting down as an invitation to play.  We see floors as important to stay clean when they see the need to mark their turf.  Much of our time is spent wishing we could get them to view our world in our perspective.  Our mind reels as to why they act as they do.  Trying to communicate with this ball of energy is a one step forward then two step back affair.  If only they would be more like us this world would be safer if not much cleaner.

You can probably see the point already.  Our nature determines so much of our spiritual life.  Who we are is crucial to what we do.  The great struggle is much the same for us as for my puppy.  What is our nature as followers of Jesus?  Far too many react to those around them from that old personality unchanged by grace.  Fingers get pointed.  Accusations are tossed about.  Messes get made from either our lack of activity or doing something in very selfish ways.  Jesus told us in Matthew 25 that our behavior matters greatly to God as well as to others.  He went so far as to suggest that our character is of far more significance to God than it often is to us.  We already live in a world that usually operates at the level of the least common denominator.  Our nature is to be shaped by the Spirit as our heart becomes new.  We can either make our world a better place or just make messes.  Too often we choose the latter over the former.  Allow your nature to be remade in God's image.  You need this just as much as do others who can be blessed by your efforts. 

Bro. Trey

We tried ringing in the new year with a bang last night.  Fireworks are part of our celebration at the house.  My youngest really enjoys seeing the bright ones that go high in the air with noise and lights.  I bought a few then waited until dark to begin the show.  Money is a limit so I got the most bang for the buck so to speak.  He was quite the happy kid once we got underway.  Nothing says the holidays like a backyard fireworks display.  Our new puppy did not quite see it that way.  She ran halfway out of the county at the very first explosion.  My guess is puppies and fireworks do not have the same relationship as my son does with them.  Ringing in the new year deserves some excitement along the way.

Now we begin our march into the heart of winter.  Weather may not play as large a role as it does in our Northern states but reality still sets in our life.  The holidays are behind us so now we are left with a few months before spring really gets underway.  Most of my true celebrating revolved around taking down the decorations in the house.  Most people can put their stuff away in a short amount of time.  Our house takes several hours of work to get it done.  Our current count is about ten buckets of varied sizes with a few more things left to be carted off.  I will admit to using some of my obsessive nature to get the closet organized to hold it all.  You need to know that there are other containers which hold decorations for other holidays or seasons.  Making it all fit calls for a degree in engineering sometimes.  Now the house looks almost drab compared to the last few weeks.  This is another mark of winter setting in for the duration.

2012 will begin to write its own story now.  Most of the news year is going to focus on electing a president.  Every small step of a candidate will be examined down to minute detail.  I don't think there would be any chance of me running in today's world even if it was feasible.  We also have the Olympics coming up this summer.  My son reminds me of this event almost every day.  He also tells me that the world will end during this next year.  I have my doubts but he saw the movie that spells it out.  The world actually does not end in the movie but we are going to have to find a way to China to get on the secret ships.  Anyway, the whole point of the paragraph is a reminder that finding our way in this new year needs to be more than what comes up in the news.

I usually make no resolutions for the new year.  Perhaps that is my one constant resolution?  Getting sick in 2010 made me even less likely to make big promises.  One learns how fleeting life can be so you approach stuff in smaller pieces.  Maybe this mindset does not work for everyone but it does for me.  Goals are important and do matter.  I probably should do a better job at setting them.  My one resolution can be to do better with goals.  Just be sure that each year will have its interruptions.  Never forget that these may also serve as divine opportunities.  Being sensitive to God will give you discernment each day.  Keep your focus more on God than your goals.  He may want to shape those targets into His design.  Be sure you let Him do just that.  Find that trust to grow in 2012 beyond your imagination.  This can honestly be the best year ever.  Allow God to have the first and the last word so you can be sure that whatever happens belongs to Him.

Bro. Trey