How Much to Bear

It seems at times that life comes at you so hard that you wished you could just step out of its way. Already in a state of mourning over the certain passing of a loved church member I went to visit my grandmother last night at her assisted living home. As I entered the room she was sitting in her chair by her bed with a look of shear panic in her eyes. She began to babble about there being two men outside her room with guns who were shooting at each other and how they needed her help. This, of course was a hallucination and what I hope can be chalked up as a result of her Alzheimer’s disease. As I sat there and talked to her and tried to calm her down she began to discuss how frustrating it is to tell people something is going on and people tell her it is only real to her. This incident is only one in a long list of similar ones. As we talked more grandma began to open up about her awareness that the things weren’t real and the fact that she believes it is Satan trying to cause her to stumble. This, I could not disagree with and she verbalized real fear over her ability to overcome this. She wonders why God is allowing this to happen and is confused over why she cannot simply move on to her reward.

I reminded grandma of 1 Peter 1 and the fact that through these trials we are reminded of our love for Christ and why we do travel this pilgrim land. I reminded grandma that she has been preparing her whole life for this and that if she relies on her study and faith in Christ that she can overcome these terrible afflictions. We then prayed together and I feel confident that God heard my prayer and will answer it in His way and time. I left confident, not knowing that my faith in these words would be tested shortly.

I got home about 7:45 and ate a quick dinner and then began to play with the boys. I was rejoicing over the fact that a brother in Christ was on his way to meet the King. It was awesome and we were having a blast and then about five minutes until 9:00 my phone rang. I received a phone call that one of my very good friends, Mike Real, was involved in a motorcycle accident and that his wife wanted me to come to their house. I hugged the kids, told Joy not to wait up, and left immediately. While driving I was making phone calls to rally Christian soldiers when I received a call from Mike’s daughter Lanice. She told me Mike was gone….. He’s dead….. I told Lanice I was on my way and tried to remain as confident and strong as I could. When she called, I had Jason on the other line and I know I said to Jason (I love you man) that this on top of John’s movement out of this life was more than I could bear. I made a few other phone calls and then it was just me, the night, the road, and my thoughts and emotions. My mind immediately turned to the conversation that I had with grandma earlier in the evening. Now my faith is being tested. My strength is up for display. My parachute of scripture is in need of deployment.

After arriving at Linda’s house I stopped for a second before getting out of my car and I prayed that Christ would shine through me and that His love, compassion, and joy in the fact that not only one Christian brother was on their way to meet Him, but that one has been sent ahead of him. While there are no words to make the hurt stop, there are hugs, held hands, shared tears, and most of all prayers that can numb the hurt for just a moment. The rally of Christian soldiers last night, today, and I know in the upcoming days has been amazing to watch.

I debated over even posting about this night but I think Mike would be disappointed in me had I not. Mike always pushed me to let go of myself and to follow my heart.

If you know me, then you know Mike and probably his family. If you want to leave comments, prayers or condolences for his family, do so by clicking “comments” below this post and I will print them out and make sure the family gets them.

Mike, I love you.

Linda, Lanice, Renee, I love you and your families.

Will and Barry, stay strong.

Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 24, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

Prayer of a Loving Son

This is a comment that was left in the comment section of my blog. Though I am not 100% sure I believe this is from the son of the elderly gentleman I have written so much about recently. These words are powerful and honor God for the great power that He is. I ask all of you who read this to please go to God in prayer and ask that he continue to comfort this family and the faithful Christian who was hurt in that horrible car accident. I can think of no greater thing you or I could do for these people. Read carefully:

A prayer borrowed and plagiarized from an unknown brother, but provided by The Spirit: Dear Heavenly Father, Who breathed life into existence:I come before You today stripped bare of all pretenses. I come before You a humble yet determined son who believes Your Words and bends to Your Will. And I also come to You in pain, caused by my dad’s condition. Oh gracious, merciful Lord I continue to praise Your Name and ask for the courage to pass the hours without fear and doubt. Wonderful Father, submerge my dad in Your glory and drench him with Your Healing Power. Fill the hearts that read this Lord with the courage to change their lives. Lord, I ask that Your Grace insulate the hearts and minds of my mom and family from the searing pain of doubt and fear. I ask this in Your Holy Name. AMEN*from a loving son
Amen. Thank you Tim.
Tim, I am guessing this is you and I hope that you read this reply to your post. Thank you so much. Your mother and father have been like grandparents to me and parents to my parents. Your dad has served as a spiritual guide to my father and his influence in my life has hence been placed. I praise God for using your father and his accident to remind our congregation of the power of prayer. Although, we do not understand God’s ways I know that angels are rejoicing over the renewal in faith your father’s accident and the answering of prayer has caused in Mike, Lanice, Will, Jason, Joy, Reba, dad, mom, Jim, Pat, and myself to name only a few. You guys hang in there and God Bless you all.
I ask all who read this to acknowledge the fact that this family is reading the posts here. This is a wonderful avenue for you to leave your kind words, thoughts, and prayers through the comment section.
Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 23, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

The Reverse Hypocrite Golfer

I was fortunate to get to go on a golf outing yesterday with my family and two great friends and their family. We were set to tee off at 5:00 and Joy dropped me off at the golf course about 3:30 then she and the boys went shopping with plans to return later and then we would all go out to eat. I hit range balls for half an hour and teed off by myself at 4:00 just to play a few and get warmed up. When I met up with our friends Jason, Amber, and Maddy at 5:00 I told Amber that she was in trouble (she is the only one of my friends I can really compete with, make fun if you want) today. I believed it too. I got in six holes between 4:00 and 5:00 and shot 2 over par. That is remarkable for me these days.

So, to cut a long story short, I ended up shooting a 53 on the front nine (I still beat Amber though, YES). I couldn’t hit my driver and I left every putt I hit way short of the hole. I walked off the course wondering WHAT HAPPENED? How did I go from playing so good by myself to playing like trash when my friends and family were around?
This really bothered me to the point that I found myself thinking about it today while I cut the grass. As I thought though, I realized that this is exactly how I need to be leading my life and how opposite to how I used to live. Growing up as the child of a preacher I lived a life of being on my best behavior and acting like a Christian when everyone was looking, but allowing myself to give into sin and live life in a horrible fashion when no one else (so I thought) was around. I fear that there are many people who live this lifestyle. People who proclaim to be one thing but in secret they are totally different. I can remember vividly the day that I decided to stop living this way and looking back I can’t believe I ever fooled myself into thinking I was happy. There is a name for people like that, it’s called a hypocrite.
My golf game is the exact opposite. As a matter of fact, my golf game is a mirror of how I think Christ wants us to be. Be good by yourself; play well, live well, serve well. This is no fun though because no one can see us doing these great things and who is there to brag about us or to brag to. If you his a hole-in-one while golfing and no one sees it, did you really hit a hole-in-one? If you make someone happy by simply being nice to them and no one sees it did you really make someone happy? If you help an elderly widow keep her grass cut and no one sees it did you really help her? The answer to all those questions is of course YES!!! How many of us know people who do Christian deeds and then say, “look at me, I’m so great?” I’m pretty sure Christ talked quite a bit against this kind of attitude. We must try to live our lives when no one is looking in a clean and Christian fashion to avoid being a hypocrite.
Further, Christ set up a plan so that when we are with other Christians we have the right to show our flaws and ask for their help. Jason told me yesterday he was going to help me in my chipping and I responded “PLEASE do.” I haven’t ever asked him for help because of pride (that’s another story) but I know he will help me if I ask. If you are struggling with secret sin, it is your responsibility to ask for help and not be afraid to admit that you are a human and that you make mistakes. Besides, on the day of judgment, all of your secrets will come to light. There are no secrets on a golf course when others are watching. You either do it good or not and for most of us, it’s a matter of not always. It is impossible to be a hypocrite on the golf course when others are watching.
So, I challenge all of you to begin living your lives like I golf. I can’t believe I just wrote that but I mean it. When no one is looking, be your best and try your hardest. Focus on what is important to you and give glory to God alone when you do well. Focus on what you are trying to accomplish don’t be afraid to take a mulligan and try again. Don’t brag when you do good and don’t expect others to notice. Always be yourself when you are around others and don’t be afraid to let others see your flaws. Be transparent (thanks Jason). There are very few who do great alone and with others so understand that and be happy that you can look up to those people. This is the very opposite of being a hypocrite so live your Christian lives as a reverse hypocrite golfer. FORE!!!!
Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 22, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

I Stand Amazed

If you read my post from Father’s Day then you will know the background to this post. To summarize, our church went to God in a true sense this past Sunday asking for His will to be done. This post is a follow-up and I hope you will find inspiration from it.

I received a phone call last night about 7:00 from my friend Lanice. Lanice has been a long time friend and is the great-niece of the gentleman our church prayed for on Sunday. Lanice wanted to share with me a story. She said that her father, the nephew referred to in the Father’s Day post, went to Memphis to visit the man involved in the car accident. As this nephew was conversing with the family he received a shocking revelation. Sunday, the gentleman became stable enough that the doctors could perform a surgery that was crucial to his chances of recovery. The amazing part is the timing that this took place. This man’s condition changed between 11:15 and 12:00 Sunday morning. This is the same time that our church was bowed in fervent prayer and supplication for this man. I got chills as Lanice was relaying this story to me and I thank God for this. My wife prays often that God will reveal Himself to her and that she can get to know Him better. I believe this has happened. God has revealed to us what happens when we pray faithfully.

1 John 5:14-15 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
While we do not know what will come of this situation I know that God’s will is going to be done. Perhaps God’s will is for our church, or just me, to see what happens when we pray with faith that God will answer. I know in my heart that every man who prayed that morning did so with the knowledge that God is going to answer this prayer in one way or another. We must always pray, not just to pray, but to receive answers so that we can see the power of our God and praise Him even more. If you are reading this I hope that you will stop now and give God thanks and praise for answering prayers, not just this one in this post, but all of the prayers you have offered in your life.
As I write this I am reminded of a series of lessons I heard Dale Jenkins deliver on the book of James. In his discussion of James 1 he points out the importance of expecting an answer when we pray. We must pray knowing that God cares and is listening to us and if not, we have no right to expect an answer. Let us all remember to pray with wisdom and with the remembrance that God is listening.
James 1: 6-8 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 18, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

Pilgrim's Map of the Day

* I had to share this picture I found over at Kingdom Living

* Tomorrow night is the “solstice moon.” Make sure you go out to see it. This would be something fun to do with church friends tomorrow night after church. If you want to look like you know what you’re talking about, click here to read the story about it from NASA.

* Time just released their list of the the 50 best websites in 2008. I have been to only a few of them before but I plan to at least glance at all of them.

* The first pictures of a human egg being laid was snapped recently during a hysterectomy. Click here for the full story, look below for the picture.

Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 17, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

Blunder Dad

Luke lost his second tooth Friday night as he was trying to open a McDonald’s toy with his teeth (NO, NO). As he said his prayers that night he asked God to take care of the Tooth Fairy and not let her get lost on the way to his house.

SPOILER ALERT: The tooth fairy is not real. Sorry to all of you who may still believe that but I have to say that before I go on.

The last thing Joy said to me that night was, “don’t forget to put money under Luke’s pillow.” Well, the next thing I knew both of my sons were leering over me in my sleep scared to death because of the torrential down pour of rain outside. That’s right, I fell asleep before I put money under his pillow and removed the tooth. I did not think about it when they woke me in the night but it was my first thought that morning and Joy made sure to make me feel even worse about it(thanks Joy) reminding me of Luke’s sweet prayer. What was I to do?

I then remembered the fact that at some point during the night a huge rain came through. HA HA. I explained to Luke that maybe the tooth fairy could not make it because of the rain. To those of you who have seen Bee Movie, you will remember how hard it is for bees to fly in rain, I bet it’s the same for the tooth fairy. He was very understanding and agreed with my assessment of the situation.

Do I feel guilty about this, NO, not at all. If you want to make me feel guilty you must first answer me one thing. Is it worse to stretch reality about there being this magical fairy who collects teeth (GROSS by the way) or to stretch reality about why this enamel loving nymph can not always make it on time?

Needless to say, the tooth fairy came Saturday night and paid up, with interest. I have already had thoughts about how glad I will be when all this tooth pulling business is over but ironically I was randomly reminded of how much longer we have to go. As we ate dinner last night with friends from church and some of our youth group this one girl who is 13 just out of the blue said she only had four more baby teeth to lose. 13!!!!!! and four to go.

Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | June 16, 2008 | comments Comments (0)

Pilgrim's Map of the Day

It’s been a while since I posted a map of the day. Hopefully you will all find enjoyment from today’s stroll around the web.

* First off, this is the latest in a long line of funny wedding dance videos. This one is kinda like a greatest hits

Evolution Of The Wedding Dance – Watch more free videos

* In really strange news, check out this story about how scientists have genetically altered some bacteria to poop crude oil. Pretty cool!

* Matt Dabbs may be one of my favorite bloggers online. Here is a great post from his blog about problems facing the church today. Read these and think about how you can make a difference.

That’s all for today.

Google Buzz

categories Uncategorized | | comments Comments (0)