In my opinion there is an increasing list of words which get over used and at times used improperly. The word Awesome is used all the time to describe how wonderful something or someone is in the mind people. I believe that Awesome should be reserved primarily as a description of how great and marvelous our God is. Another word is Love. We love everything from soft drinks to sports teams to a pair of jeans to our family members.
Lately I have been thinking that the word Sacrifice is another one of those over used words and Memorial Day gives me a reason to reflect on Sacrifice. You hear that word a lot these days. Moms and dads “sacrifice” to send their children to a Christian School or University. Parents “sacrifice” so their children can play little league, take kick boxing or music lessons. Families “sacrifice” for a few months so they can take their dream vacation. We are a people who “sacrifice” for a good number of things.
Let me suggest that those kinds of “sacrifices” are not really sacrifices. You may have to adjust your budget so your children can attend a private school. You may have to eat out less so your children can participate in an extra curricular activity. You may have to do your own laundry and cancel your cable TV so you can save up money for a family trip to Disney World. Those may be adjustments or inconveniences, but they are not sacrifices.
Sacrifices cost you a great deal more. Sacrifices normally require one form of payment – your life. So on this Memorial Day I am thankful for those men and women who loved the ideals of freedom, independence, liberty and justice that are wrapped up in our “One Nation Under God” so much that they were willing to first serve our country and then die for a cause much great than themselves. To their families I say thank you. At the time of your loss you may have received a folded flag, a letter of condolence, and perhaps a silver star. Regardless of the length of time that has passed since your husband, wife, son or daughter sacrificed their life for this country, you need to know this. Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed and I for one am grateful and moved by their courage, honor, and commitment to a people and a nation.
When you go to our Nations capital and walk among the memorials of the various wars and conflicts you see name after name after name of men and women who paid with their life so that you and I can have the freedom to live in this great land. Those memorials remind you and me that freedom is not free. Freedom only comes when those who are true believers in the cause choose to sacrifice themselves so that other may live, work, play, and worship in freedom.
It bothers me more and more these days when I realize that some in this “land of the free” are willing to give away those very things that so many of our best and brightest have sacrificed to achieve and protect. I would hope that as a nation we would live in such way as to honor all those who serve and sacrifice.
In closing, I just want to say thank you to all those who have given their life for this great nation. May your families be treated with honor and respect for the sacrifice you have made.
Love God. Go Love Others.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Made By Design
As you drive around the Dallas Fort Worth area you see a lot of buildings that were originally built for one business and now they are something completely different. It is kind of fun to try to figure out what the business used to be before it was sold and remodeled for the business. For instance, just the other day I noticed a Mexican Food restaurant that was originally a Bonanza Steak House. At this point some of you are asking, “What is a Bonanza Steak House?” Well, back in the day it was a restaurant chain started by Dan Blocker who played the part of Hoss Cartwright on the Bonanza television show. There is also a Chinese Buffet place that was once a Red Lobster. Now I personally have a problem with that one. A Chinese food place should look like a Chinese food place. That is by far not the worse use of a former Red Lobster location. For me the funeral home on 635 East that used to be a Red Lobster wins the award for “Worst Use of a Building Formerly Used as a Red Lobster”.
Now there are some remodels that I really like such as the Pantry which used to be a hardware store. As much as I like old hardware stores a restaurant with great “homemade” pies is even better.
What about you? What were you designed to be? You and I were made in the image of God and in His likeness. We were made to glorify the Father in all things. But what exactly were you designed to be by the creator? Maybe a better question is, are you living the way you were designed to live?
I am not talking about your occupation or your job. I am talking about the way you live your life. You see it does not matter if you are a doctor, attorney, chef, teachers, mechanic, plumber, or a professional baseball player. It does not matter if you are a white collar or blue collar or no collar. It does not matter if you are male or female. Over paid or under paid, employed or unemployed or retired. What does matter is this, are you living the way you were designed to live?
This week I just encourage you to dwell on that question and consider God’s purpose for your life. Consider the way in which you live your life. The thoughts you have the words you use, the things you do, the things you don’t do. Consider your whole life, your relationships, your work, your play, your study, and your habits. Is this the life you were designed to live or were you called for something greater?
One of my favorite books for reflection and meditation is, “God is No Fool” by Lois A. Cheney. One of my favorite passages is,
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
If it were just a matter of the mouth,
I wouldn’t have so much trouble,
but it isn’t ,
and I do.
Love God, Go Love Others.
Now there are some remodels that I really like such as the Pantry which used to be a hardware store. As much as I like old hardware stores a restaurant with great “homemade” pies is even better.
What about you? What were you designed to be? You and I were made in the image of God and in His likeness. We were made to glorify the Father in all things. But what exactly were you designed to be by the creator? Maybe a better question is, are you living the way you were designed to live?
I am not talking about your occupation or your job. I am talking about the way you live your life. You see it does not matter if you are a doctor, attorney, chef, teachers, mechanic, plumber, or a professional baseball player. It does not matter if you are a white collar or blue collar or no collar. It does not matter if you are male or female. Over paid or under paid, employed or unemployed or retired. What does matter is this, are you living the way you were designed to live?
This week I just encourage you to dwell on that question and consider God’s purpose for your life. Consider the way in which you live your life. The thoughts you have the words you use, the things you do, the things you don’t do. Consider your whole life, your relationships, your work, your play, your study, and your habits. Is this the life you were designed to live or were you called for something greater?
One of my favorite books for reflection and meditation is, “God is No Fool” by Lois A. Cheney. One of my favorite passages is,
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
If it were just a matter of the mouth,
I wouldn’t have so much trouble,
but it isn’t ,
and I do.
Love God, Go Love Others.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Who Wants All This Stuff?
My parents have made a decision to down size and move into a much smaller home. This decision is forcing them to get rid of much of the stuff in their house. They have started by asking each of their three sons if they want any of the stuff. Well, some of things are old toys and things from my childhood and some of that I want and some I don’t want at all. Some of the things they want to pass down are items that belonged to my grandparents and great grandparents and I have to say that is pretty cool to have those things.
All of this down sizing and passing things down has caused me think about this question, Just what do I want my parents to pass down to me? I think for the most part I want the things they have already given me. These are things that I will always have and they are things that don’t take up any storage space and they will last me a life time.
My parents have given me the following:
1. An appreciation for a good joke. I love to hear my dad share an old joke even it is one that I have heard a hundred times. The joy he has in the telling of a good joke is better than all the punch lines in the world.
2. An appreciation for a good days work. I will forever remember the long hours of work put in by both my parents. My dad would spend hours in preparation of his sermons and Bible lessons. He would spend hours sitting with families in a hospital or a funeral home. My mother always kept a clean house, clean laundry and she feed her three sons like we were kings. She would spend hours sewing new shirts for each of us and to this day I don’t like the feel of a tag on the back of my neck.
3. A willingness to show compassion to the less fortunate, the lonely, the hungry and those in despair. I will forever remember my parents bringing home enlisted men from the army who were stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I am sure that some of those men who ate fried chicken at my mother’s table never made it home from Vietnam and maybe they never knew how much this nation appreciated their service to our country, but for one afternoon they enjoyed a good home cooked meal and a long nap on the couch and for those few hours they knew someone cared about them.
4. An understanding of what it means to love someone for a lifetime. One of the reasons Mary and I have such a good marriage is the fact that each of us grew up in homes that were built on forever love. My parents never owed a house until they were in their fifties. They never spent their money on senseless things. I remember thinking that my family was probably the last family on the planet that owned a black and white television. I was a teenager before I saw a cowboy game in color and I had no idea that Little Joe’s jacket was green. We did not have a lot of stuff back then, but what we did have was a mom and dad that truly loved each other and were committed to a life time of love for each other and their family. This is a love that has sustained them for over sixty years.
So, what do I want from my parents? Simple, it’s all the stuff like that which will last me to the end of my days. It is also the kind of stuff that I want to pass down to my own children. Hopefully, they will see the value in those things just as I have.
Thanks mom and dad. You have given me everything I need and for that I am forever grateful.
Love God. Go Love Others.
All of this down sizing and passing things down has caused me think about this question, Just what do I want my parents to pass down to me? I think for the most part I want the things they have already given me. These are things that I will always have and they are things that don’t take up any storage space and they will last me a life time.
My parents have given me the following:
1. An appreciation for a good joke. I love to hear my dad share an old joke even it is one that I have heard a hundred times. The joy he has in the telling of a good joke is better than all the punch lines in the world.
2. An appreciation for a good days work. I will forever remember the long hours of work put in by both my parents. My dad would spend hours in preparation of his sermons and Bible lessons. He would spend hours sitting with families in a hospital or a funeral home. My mother always kept a clean house, clean laundry and she feed her three sons like we were kings. She would spend hours sewing new shirts for each of us and to this day I don’t like the feel of a tag on the back of my neck.
3. A willingness to show compassion to the less fortunate, the lonely, the hungry and those in despair. I will forever remember my parents bringing home enlisted men from the army who were stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I am sure that some of those men who ate fried chicken at my mother’s table never made it home from Vietnam and maybe they never knew how much this nation appreciated their service to our country, but for one afternoon they enjoyed a good home cooked meal and a long nap on the couch and for those few hours they knew someone cared about them.
4. An understanding of what it means to love someone for a lifetime. One of the reasons Mary and I have such a good marriage is the fact that each of us grew up in homes that were built on forever love. My parents never owed a house until they were in their fifties. They never spent their money on senseless things. I remember thinking that my family was probably the last family on the planet that owned a black and white television. I was a teenager before I saw a cowboy game in color and I had no idea that Little Joe’s jacket was green. We did not have a lot of stuff back then, but what we did have was a mom and dad that truly loved each other and were committed to a life time of love for each other and their family. This is a love that has sustained them for over sixty years.
So, what do I want from my parents? Simple, it’s all the stuff like that which will last me to the end of my days. It is also the kind of stuff that I want to pass down to my own children. Hopefully, they will see the value in those things just as I have.
Thanks mom and dad. You have given me everything I need and for that I am forever grateful.
Love God. Go Love Others.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Old Hands
This past week I was able to be on a college campus to visit my children and pick up some of their stuff for the summer. It is always fun to be on a college campus in the spring when all the young hearts are in love and newly engaged. It is fun to watch that young love as it starts its journey together.
Recently I have had the opportunity to be in the company of several married couples who have celebrated life together for over 40 years and some well over 50 years. I love to hear their stories about the early years of their marriage. Most of them started out with nothing or close to it and they would not want to change a thing if they had it all to do over again. Some of them remembered their first house being a bedroom, living room, kitchen with the simplified floor plan of using one room for all three needs. That floor plan works great for the couples who like having breakfast in bed and a couch in their bedroom along with a small dinning table. Speaking of the dinning table, one couple often used the space under the table to double as the spare bedroom for overnight guest.
These are great examples of life long love that survives all the struggles of life. This is the kind of love that faces cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, unemployment, special needs, and the rest of life’s ups and downs with loving grace and determination. These are couples with life long love that still enjoys a walk in the park, sharing a piece of pie, a good laugh or a good cry. These are couples that still enjoy the touch of their hands clasped together. These old hands may have wrinkles and age spots, but they know a thing or two about life and love and the meaning of forever.
So for you and I let us look forward to having old hands with our life long mates. Let us have the love and determination to walk hand in hand through both the joys and struggles of life. This does not mean that we won’t have moments of anger and frustration, but it does mean that those moments will not define us or our love for each other. So keep walking, keep living, keep longing for the time you and your spouse can look back and say “we did it!”
One more thing for all the young couples out there, Life and Love are not about moments that take your breath away. Life and Love are about the moments that give you breath and a reason to keep walking hand in hand.
Love God. Go Love Others.
Recently I have had the opportunity to be in the company of several married couples who have celebrated life together for over 40 years and some well over 50 years. I love to hear their stories about the early years of their marriage. Most of them started out with nothing or close to it and they would not want to change a thing if they had it all to do over again. Some of them remembered their first house being a bedroom, living room, kitchen with the simplified floor plan of using one room for all three needs. That floor plan works great for the couples who like having breakfast in bed and a couch in their bedroom along with a small dinning table. Speaking of the dinning table, one couple often used the space under the table to double as the spare bedroom for overnight guest.
These are great examples of life long love that survives all the struggles of life. This is the kind of love that faces cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, unemployment, special needs, and the rest of life’s ups and downs with loving grace and determination. These are couples with life long love that still enjoys a walk in the park, sharing a piece of pie, a good laugh or a good cry. These are couples that still enjoy the touch of their hands clasped together. These old hands may have wrinkles and age spots, but they know a thing or two about life and love and the meaning of forever.
So for you and I let us look forward to having old hands with our life long mates. Let us have the love and determination to walk hand in hand through both the joys and struggles of life. This does not mean that we won’t have moments of anger and frustration, but it does mean that those moments will not define us or our love for each other. So keep walking, keep living, keep longing for the time you and your spouse can look back and say “we did it!”
One more thing for all the young couples out there, Life and Love are not about moments that take your breath away. Life and Love are about the moments that give you breath and a reason to keep walking hand in hand.
Love God. Go Love Others.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Construction Ahead
When you live in the Dallas Fort Worth area you can count on one thing – construction. Currently we are surrounded by road construction efforts. It seems that everywhere I want to drive there is some type of road construction happening. The other day I was meeting someone for a lunch meeting at a restaurant near one of our construction projects. I got there a little early so I sat in my truck and watched the men working on the project work. That is one of my favorite things to do actually. I have always been fascinated by construction. I love the tools the machinery and seeing a project slowly come together into something useful.
One of the things that are fun to watch in construction is the difference in the two basic roles of the workers. One group is responsible for the construction of the new building, house or highway. Another group is responsible for demolition. You know the tearing down of something so that land can be cleared or a path can be made for something new to take its place. Demolition is also fun to watch.
I know there is more planning to demolition than it appears, but it looks like they just start pushing things down, moving things over, digging things up, cutting things apart until the object is completely torn down and removed from sight. It is hard work.
On the other hand the guys on the construction side seem to move at a different pace. They measure, survey, test, draw plans, meet with various environmental groups and then they start their work. As they work, everything is done in a very deliberate way. They dig hole at a precise spot to a specific depth. They take out dirt and bring in gravel. They level the ground. And they work day after day. They continually refer to the plans and drawings. Everything has to be done just right. These men are professional builders and construction workers. When they finish the job you and I have a brand new highway to drive on.
As much as I like to watch the demolition I enjoy the construction phase even more, because they are building something and not just tearing it down. It may not be true, but it appears that those who tear things down are not as careful and deliberate as those who build things up. Which brings me to my point this week -
I want to encourage you to be involved in construction or the building up of people. It seems today that too many of us are active in the demolition or tearing down of people. I know people who go to work every day for weeks and years and never hear an encouraging word. I know children and teens that go to school everyday and never hear a positive comment made concerning them or their work. I know people who claim to follow Jesus who never seem to see the good around them and they are quick to tear down those around them. Christ followers are to be in the building up business. We are to build up one another and encourage one another. Leave the demo to Satan. God’s people are builders!
So as you go through out this week look for those people who have suffered a demolition attack and do what you can do to build them up. Who knows, you might be the answer to someone’s cry for help. Now get out there and build something.
Love God. Love Others.
One of the things that are fun to watch in construction is the difference in the two basic roles of the workers. One group is responsible for the construction of the new building, house or highway. Another group is responsible for demolition. You know the tearing down of something so that land can be cleared or a path can be made for something new to take its place. Demolition is also fun to watch.
I know there is more planning to demolition than it appears, but it looks like they just start pushing things down, moving things over, digging things up, cutting things apart until the object is completely torn down and removed from sight. It is hard work.
On the other hand the guys on the construction side seem to move at a different pace. They measure, survey, test, draw plans, meet with various environmental groups and then they start their work. As they work, everything is done in a very deliberate way. They dig hole at a precise spot to a specific depth. They take out dirt and bring in gravel. They level the ground. And they work day after day. They continually refer to the plans and drawings. Everything has to be done just right. These men are professional builders and construction workers. When they finish the job you and I have a brand new highway to drive on.
As much as I like to watch the demolition I enjoy the construction phase even more, because they are building something and not just tearing it down. It may not be true, but it appears that those who tear things down are not as careful and deliberate as those who build things up. Which brings me to my point this week -
I want to encourage you to be involved in construction or the building up of people. It seems today that too many of us are active in the demolition or tearing down of people. I know people who go to work every day for weeks and years and never hear an encouraging word. I know children and teens that go to school everyday and never hear a positive comment made concerning them or their work. I know people who claim to follow Jesus who never seem to see the good around them and they are quick to tear down those around them. Christ followers are to be in the building up business. We are to build up one another and encourage one another. Leave the demo to Satan. God’s people are builders!
So as you go through out this week look for those people who have suffered a demolition attack and do what you can do to build them up. Who knows, you might be the answer to someone’s cry for help. Now get out there and build something.
Love God. Love Others.
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