Birthdays seem to arrive far faster than they once did.  Months once dragged on between one party until the next.  Even the few days before seemed to get bogged down prior to the big day.  Now it seems that birthdays come much to fast.  I find myself less than a month away from another one.  Having a birthday is better than the alternative but does time have to move so quickly?  I barely get used to one age before it is time to hit another milestone.  My hope is to complain about this for many more years.  That is at least my goal.  But how we grow older matters as much as just getting through the day.  Here are a few keys for me moving along.

• Keep moving.  My body is almost 53 years young but keeping it healthy pays off no matter how hard it is.  I think some of my success the last few years in dealing with illness comes from trying to exercise.  Now do not imagine me as some Olympic type athlete.  No one will confuse me with a fitness model.  New knees and hips await me down the line.  But it does appear that trying to keep moving continues to work out just fine.  Most days that means going to the gym but other days it means getting outside to be physical.  Part of surviving cancer and a heart scare may be due to working out regularly.  I still hope to hit the gym wherever my rest home is located.
• Keep growing.  Never imagine you know it all.  Far too many people just exist with the same level of knowledge far too long.  Curiosity maybe killed the cat but it remains a good trait to have.  I keep learning new words as we go along that means knowing how to spell them.  Reading keeps the brain growing when you absorb new knowledge.  Technology may not be my strong suit but it serves as a challenge to grow.  Never settle for what you know at this moment.  Keep thinking as a means to mature.
• Keep hoping.  People who live by faith often are content to guard their hope.  Thinking scares them because they fear having to change.  God does not expect us to simply let our contemporary life be the end of our growing or learning.  This week I am thinking through a new series of studies that is a test of my willingness to stay current with God.  Recycling our faith is no answer for the trials of today.  One writer once said that the faith of yesterday is not meant to handle the realities of today.  We keep hoping in God each day until we are called home.  We also need to remember that once we stop going forward that we face the tendency to go backward.  You would think we know that by now but we do tend to forget. I hope some of this will stir some reflection in your journey of days.

Bro. Trey

I get to go to the Senior Prom yet again this year.  It is not because of my grades that I make a fourth trip to a prom.  My youngest graduates this year so it is my task to accompany him to the party.  My last prom was four years ago when my daughter attended.  That one was not long after finding out that I had cancer.  One can hope no diagnosis comes through this time.  Here I am at 52 going one more time to the big event.  There will no dancing as there is not a single dancing gene in my pool.  Parking cars and waiting on my son should be more than enough.

He is the reason for my joining the party this year.  Being autistic means he has a far different set of expectations than most who will be there.  It may be that dad is being overprotective.  That possibility exists.  But my concern is not so much for my son as it is the others who will be there.  I know my son.  He may do great at the prom or he may not get all of the activity happening around him.  No real pattern exists to predict his behavior.  Mostly he stays close to the tables where the music is played.  He may or may not sit down when songs come on that aren't on his list.  All may be fine until he decides that it is time to go.  Then he will want to go at that moment.

Words escape me when trying to describe what being the parent of a special needs child is really like.  Not everyone understands what a parent does when your child is disabled.  I do not know why God opted to give me this calling.  There are no real sources of information to make it simple.  No one can explain the strange demands or odd decisions you make when trusted with such a soul.  You can study, read, converse with others to gain insight but you still head out on your peculiar journey.  Parenting is hard enough without facing new challenges caused by a diagnosis.  It is not about adjusting for a time but for all of life.

Maybe there are those who want you to feel sorry for them as such a parent.  I hope that is not the norm of my behavior.  My prayer was not to have an autistic child years ago.  Being healthy was first on my list when thinking about the life to come.  But if I am to believe God can turn bad into good then my faith shares responsibility for being the best person possible.  God not only turns bad things into good things but He works on us as well.  Sometimes we go through an experience thinking it's bad when God's best is active in the midst.  Our selfish point of view doesn't allow room for God to define our moments.  Here is where we miss the gifts of God in such a reality.  This is when we let obstacles take control of our existence. We respond by saying this is the day the Lord made, let us muddle through.  I don't think that quite matches up with scripture.  I know it won't help us thrive to be fully mature.  That remains His goal even if not ours.

Bro. Trey

I cheated.  My confession is that I did indeed cheat.  Worse than that is the truth that my plan was to cheat.  Breaking the rules did not even change my mind about it.  It felt good to do it.  Odds are good that I would do it again if given the opportunity.  Cheating was fun and I still don't feel awful about it.  The topic is pitching in baseball.  Skirting or ignoring the rules was one of those things I did.  Now don't confuse my confession for pride.  My only desire is to admit to what I did.  The rest may be painful to read should you expect me to come remotely close to perfect. 

Baseball is a game where any advantage is welcome.  It was while on the mound that my failures happened.  You learn that a ball with a scuff on it no longer does just what you ask it to do.  The rotation of a pitched ball changes when there is a scuff or cut on it.  I learned how to use that to my advantage.  There is also the fact that a pitcher can hold the ball in such a way you put tiny marks on it with your belt.  It is also true that part of my practice was to use the old spitball on occasion.  What you do is wipe your brow with the pitching fingers then replace the hat without drying those fingers.  You actually wind up more with a "sweat ball" but you get the idea.  You may not know all a pitch may do but it is a given the unusual will happen.  Those were the days!

Motivation for this topic comes from last night's baseball game where a pitcher for the New York Yankees was ejected for using a different substance while pitching.  Pine tar was his weapon of choice.  Michael Pineda already went through one game with the goop around his glove.  Last night his approach was to put a big old patch of pine tar on his neck.  It was literally impossible to miss.  Ejection was the only alternative once the umpires examined him on the mound.  Some wonder why a person in the dugout did not stop him before taking the field?  Surely they knew that pine tar on the neck would end badly?  Then some question the need to take such a short cut when there are other answers.  These inquiries matter little after the fact.  Damage was already done.

We cheat in our spiritual life by looking for short cuts in growth.  Some do it by waiting for God to send a huge deluge on them to curtail the troubles of life.  Others may do it by skipping out on the spiritual life when things get hard.  That is the approach of waiting until life calms down to return to religion.  Another short cut is in ignoring reality whether eternal or earthly.  We just go our merry way as if nothing was wrong.  Cheating in these ways will keep us from drinking deep from God.  Learn to take your counsel from God before looking for such a short cut.  He will tell you to take the pine tar off or leave it alone.  He is more than enough to get you through.

Bro. Trey

We tend to let worship or praise be mostly a matter of talent these days.  Gifted singers and performers combine for music that moves our emotions.  Style is less important than the ability to sing or play an instrument.  Even our cherished hymns receive an upgrade by adding new bells and whistles to the mix.  Smaller congregations are at a serious disadvantage due to this reality.  Leaders do try hard in such places but old pianos and organs are no match for multiple member bands and trained singers.  Many a small church often feels lacking in comparison to the performances they see on television or at special events.  Making a joyful noise becomes difficult at such times.

Yet it is scripture that reminds us that authentic worship and praise begins and ends with God.  David would write psalms and hymns in diverse conditions without the tools we believe we need today.  New Testament writers will begin their epistles with words of praise to God because of His grace and mercy.  Emotion seems to give way to a spiritual reality not affected by song or style.  Believers are urged to recall the grace of God that brings us into relationship with Him.  Those events of Easter are the measuring stick by which we gauge our worship.  Real worship is a matter of a reality or truth that goes far deeper than an oft repeated chorus.  We begin to understand that truth of grace until our eyes and hearts look realistically at the present and longingly into the future.  Perspective becomes what God both did and is doing in our world right now.

Emotions can be fickle at the least.  Reality is what we perceive or what we calculate about the moment.  Trials come our way to dampen that enthusiasm we felt at one time.  The true temptation is to long for the feeling more than the reality.  It is our way of putting the cart ahead of the horse.  Troubles are often referred to as fiery much less painful.  Ever notice there is not much casual about fire?  Even the smallest flame can cause damage along with the pain.  Maturing in faith calls for us holding intently to truth while learning new applications in our conditions.  None of this is simple or easy.  It is a fight for the faith in our heart and mind.  David in those songs will often find something to praise God for even if he is at a crossroads.  He cannot control all going on around him but David will choose to turn his attention on God.  He finds deep grace in the worst of disasters.

No one will ever be able to call a truce in the worship wars.  My guess is they started long ago and shall continue until Jesus returns.  Only in heaven will we all get on the same page or note.  That is when we are overwhelmed by God in His truth and glory beyond words.  Look a bit more closely at Him rather than the emotions in play.  Never settle for just feeling better when you can find God in your midst.  Set sail from the shallow waters of feelings into the deep sea of truth and grace.  It may just give you a genuine reason for praise.

Bro. Trey

Trying to capture Easter is a bit like attempting to herd a hurricane.  It sounds exciting but just can't be done.  Preachers both anticipate yet dread the Easter service.  On one hand you know it is somewhat easy with its story.  The other hand is trying to find a fresh approach to the message.  Let me say that this year it was not my goal to make Easter easy to handle.  My hope was to simply be open to whatever came across as new in my reading and reflecting.  If you can really get Easter in bottle form then can it really be all it is?

We never seem to grasp that those very first travelers to the tomb did not expect it to be empty.  You read how they carried various spices to finish preparing the body of Jesus for burial.  An empty tomb seems to be the last thing on their minds.  Matthew says the first to arrive wanted to kind of gaze at the grave as we might when visiting our relatives in the cemetery.  The angel probably only added to their fear from just seeing the stone rolled away from the entrance.  God has a way of operating even when we don't see it.  He pursues His agenda that often is gigantic in its scope.  He needs not our permission or understanding to work.  It is our task to orient our heart to His.

Maybe you noticed how women played a large role in all of the happenings on that first Easter.  They show up to the tomb before anyone else.  Jesus encounters these followers early in the story prior to talking with even His disciples.  It may not sound like much now in our culture but it is a shock to the readers way back then.  If the writers made up this account of the first Easter then they got it wrong.  You would expect Jesus to see the men first if this is only a legend.  Jesus interacting with the women first is an indication of the truth of the gospels rather than of it being a fancy tale.  God yet again has a way of surprising us as He works.  He reaches out to the unexpected as well as the unusual person in these accounts.  He sends the women to reach out to His disciples who failed Him miserably.  Jesus does not start over with new followers but brings the original into a new relationship with Him.  We have a serious problem of letting failure define us without moving into divine renewal.  It seems that the one way to fail with God is to not let Him move you from your downfall.  We end up content in our carnality so we can sit on the sidelines.  That is the opposite of that first Easter message.

Easter 2014 came and went in its normal hectic pace.  Here is to hoping your encounter with God matches that of those original followers.  Maybe you did not capture Easter in an easy fashion but let Easter capture you.

Bro. Trey

Life is hard.  We really need to remember that more often.  Scripture never tells us we live on easy street during our sojourn here.  Ever wonder why so many verses through the Bible are words of comfort or courage?  Ever notice how many words are directed to God's people walking a dangerous path?  Life is hard.  Easter doesn't even do away with difficulty for us.  Ours is indeed a Lord who is risen but He was a Savior rejected and killed before that.  Our tendency can be to sing songs about the blood of the cross without thinking through what that truly means.  Jesus died a inhumane awful death.  Our salvation is not simple but it is valuable. 

Easter is one of those times when there are more themes than there is time to cover.  We like Christmas because it has one main idea about God sending His son.  We can decorate, sing and party together to remember that birth.  Easter is a bit messier.  To get to Easter you have to go through crosses, blood and death.  You have to work with a story of betrayal, denial, torture and a finality that escapes our imagination.  One does not wander into the truth of this occasion without first getting messy.  Now it is my hope that lots of people show up in new clothes for a time of worship.  I enjoy seeing the new fashion as much as the next person.  But my heart always feels a bit of empty afterwards.  It is taking years to figure out there is no short cut to Easter. 

My reading for the week takes me to Psalm 31 which echoes so many of the ideas behind that first Easter.  You find the words of one who is suffering in this world while looking into eternity.  One academic said, " the intent of the speaker in the Psalm is to turn his problem into a problem for God."  He writes not of denial but a healthy recognition that only God can see him through.  You and I have no real power to ultimately change the future even when we obey.  It will always be God who does the true change in response to our heart for Him.  Maybe instead of seeking to escape the problem our best hope is to gain God's character from an open heart. 

Do you honestly trust God enough to put life in His hands?  Most of us do not which is a normal human trait.  We wonder somewhere in our being whether or not we can trust a God who would allow such trouble in our world.  Both the writer of the psalm and Jesus will move past that attitude to find God in the midst of their trial.  What makes the cross so powerful for us today is both who Jesus was and how He lived out God's purpose no matter the conditions.  The blood is more than plasma as it reveals the heart of God to forgive us.  The cross is more than an awful way to die when we see our sin placed in that sacrifice.  Easter is more than a holiday as we accept a God who is limitless in grace.  None of this is ever easy but it is essential.  Life is hard.  Life without God is beyond that truth.

Bro. Trey

Baseball is perhaps the most popular topic of sports writing.  There is something about the game that lends itself to literary devices.  Books, magazines and other forms of publishing can be found on most shelves related to the great game.  Maybe it is how we play it on lazy afternoons.  Perhaps some of it is just the living history of characters down through the years.  I would wager some expert already thought about this to put it down in written form somewhere.  Even writers such as Stephen King have books based on the sport of baseball.  We never cease to find new meaning in the old game.

I played the game when growing up.  No one will accuse me of being good but I do think it was my best sport.  Sunday newspapers would have a section with the statistics on every player in batting and pitching.  For me it was like manna from heaven every week.  Those were the days when not every single game was on television somewhere.  You had to plan around the game each week to be sure you saw it.  I always say that if God offered me the chance to be even an above average ballplayer that I would take it. 

Coaching baseball was also fun for me.  I had a few teams in pitching machine as well as regular baseball.  Most of the kids were a little older so we got to do a few things with them.  This year is a whole new challenge.  Someone asked if I would help coach in the T-Ball league.  These kids are from 4-6 years old.  No pitching is involved as they hit off a tee set up for them.  One practice was all it would take for me to realize that in this league coaching means doing a lot of babysitting.  I was trying to instruct a player on how to stand or something like that.  He just looked up at me to tell me that he is 4.  It was then reality struck that this was a whole new ballgame. 

Spending time with young kids is always a treat for me.  They are still innocent without the hardness life brings to some.  You can get down to the basics of life since they do not bear the weight of stress or expectations.  One word that comes to mind is the word possibility.  Nothing is yet impossible for them.  We have not taught them yet how life is ugly at times.  They are not yet stuck with a stereotype about their looks or abilities.  No one has yet told them that you must paint in the lines or else be different from others which becomes a horrible fate to bear.  They just laugh and do their best while we applaud them for any effort.  If only we could do with each other as we do with them.  We might just have a better world.

Bro. Trey

Good grief.  It's been forever since we wrote.  Who knew that most of my time the last few weeks would be engaged in solving crime here in the big city.  We had several burglaries recently where I ended up making statements and the like.  Pollen season is also in full swing so that is no help at all.  I also am doing stuff for my youngest as we file legal papers now that he is 18.  This is once again no excuse but an explanation.  So today it was my major goal to get back to writing.  What makes things worse is I thought of a great subject a few weeks ago just before putting on my detective hat.

Let's talk about the crime first.  My truck, our church and another church went through vandalism and robbery for a time.  I lost a window on my vehicle.  We lost windows and other damage in our building.  And my friend had his church robbed a week or so after ours.  I admit that one of my speed dial numbers now is the police chief of our town.  I was the one who found the damage at both churches so I learned the art of writing out an official statement for the authorities.  Part of me wants to ask for an old badge since the crime wave began.  Our police nabbed the suspects so now we wait on insurance, repair and whatever charges come to pass.  Thirty minutes of unlawful activity ended up costing me two weeks in repair and recovery.

I almost hate spring.  Pollen is falling like the fine snow you see in the Panhandle of Texas.  Breathing is now something one does not take for granted.  We are supposed to get rain today but no luck so far.  I am actually hoping for a good storm to wash out the trees and my truck.  Even my youngest is really suffering this year.  Some people question why God does some things or allows this, that or the other.  I want to know why He came up with pollen.  Heaven will be pollen free no doubt.  The other place will be fire and that awful dust.

People like me who do religious things for a living are just like you.  Now it is true that some in my field keep that human side at a distance.  This was once the norm for ministers about thirty years ago.  But my life goes through ups and downs just like you.  We get no special guarantee that daily life will not interfere with the eternal.  My journey needs that daily presence of God to wander along like any other person.  It may be crime that gets in the way.  Allergies can be a pain when trying to read and think.  But all of us need that hope in God to see beyond the moment.  We all need our hope to be built on nothing more than His blood and righteousness.  It really is not a bad way to live.

Bro. Trey