Momentum - Being/Getting on a Roll!

When I was growing up in Iowa, there was a very small community in the state (Lisbon High School - Class A) whose wrestling team seemed to win State nearly every year. As a matter of fact, I believe their team won State 14 different times over a span of only 20 years in the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Remarkable! During that run, my sister and her husband moved to Lisbon, becoming teachers in their school system. After a couple of years there, I asked them "Why is it that Lisbon wins the State wrestling championship so often?" What they told me was really interesting and has stuck with me all this time. You see, apparently almost all boys in that school from the time they are in the first or second grade start dreaming about being on the high school wrestling team and becoming a State champion. They actually start wrestling at a very early age, and way before they even needed to think about it, they began determining what weight they would wrestle at (since that's how it works - you are paired against someone of similar weight when you wrestle). These boys saw "success" before them all the time (students K-12 attended classes in the same building). It inspired them to want to be a part of that success at a very early age. That school's wrestling program had momentum! They were on a roll!

Yesterday I attended a Leadership Training seminar at our church. It was just OUTSTANDING! There is a new, young pastor named Jason Williams who primarily put it all together for us and he did a fantastic job (even though he's only been in his current position for about 6-7 months)! These leadership training sessions occur once or twice a year for the small group leaders in our church, and they just seem to be getting better and better. What is it that makes this happen? Well, just like the athletes at Lisbon High School, our church now has momentum! We are on a roll! The young pastors and interns we have on our staff have dreamed about doing excellent ministry because they have seen the other older and more experienced pastors do it before them. When they have a chance to "get in the game" so to speak, they step up and generally have similar (if not better?) successes! They are inspired and propelled to do their best because they very much want to continue the terrific pattern of success set by others before them.

Last night I also had the wonderful pleasure of attending a couples wedding shower for our son and his soon-to-be bride, Kristen. It was a terrific event and touched my heart in so many, many ways! We gave our daughter, Katie, a ride home after the shower. It was interesting to hear her reflections on the upcoming marriage of her brother and witness how excited she really is for him and his fiancee! Peter and Kristen will soon begin their marriage, and will establish a life/family of their own. In the course of discussing what she looks forward to and/or anticipates with regards to marriage, Katie made several references to our marriage and how we've handled things in it. She knows for a fact (because we've told her) that it hasn't always been easy. We've had to work at it, and after a little over 28 years, we are only just now beginning to get the hang of it - to understand what God wants two people to experience in a marriage ordained/blessed by Him, totally sold out to each other and trying to live completely for HIM! But, in a lot of ways that is to be expected for Ellen and me. This past summer, we helped celebrate my parents 60th wedding anniversary in Iowa. Ellen's parents were married for almost 50 years before her dad died. Her maternal grandparents were married for almost 70 years when her grandmother passed away in 1993, and my maternal grandparents had over 44 years together before my grandma died in 1968. You see, we've observed people before us have tremendous success in their marriages (if by no other measurement than longevity!). Our parents (and grandparents) built up some momentum, and got things rolling. Now we are attempting to continue that momentum and keep it going through our off-spring and others in our circle of influence (all by God's divine assistance and grace, of course!).

What about you? Have you experienced some successes in your work, your family, your spiritual life, etc. that you'd like to use to develop momentum to continue? Are you on a roll in any of these areas? It takes a lot of work (and God's blessing) to do it, but there is no time like the present to start. Think about the legacy you could be creating for those coming behind you...

Ctrl - Alt - Delete

I am guessing that most of you reading this post are doing so on a personal computer of some sort. Therefore, you know at least the basics of how they work. As a matter of fact, with most personal computers, you can't even "log-in" without doing a "Ctrl - Alt - Delete." It's a curious procedure really, isn't it? Like, why were those three keys (in that exact succession) selected? Why not "Insert - End - Tab" for example? But I digress...

The point is that whoever invented and perfected the operation of personal computers knew that there needed to be some sort of "system" by which a user could command their personal computer to start (that is if they had the appropriate password), and they chose "Ctrl - Alt - Delete" for doing that. In their wisdom, they also knew that there would be times when a user had a need for "escaping" a program or some other procedure when completely bogged down, or when encountering a huge problem, or even for when you are in the middle of something and your computer freezes up and you just need to go back a bit to discover why things aren't working as well as they did at one point in time.

Have you ever hit "Ctrl - Alt - Delete" in your life? I don't mean literally. I mean in a figurative sense. I know I have.

For example, there was a time in my life a year or so after I graduated from college when I just needed to start something new/fresh. The life pattern I was developing was taking me in a terribly wrong direction. I needed to just start over. It took me totally stopping what I was doing long enough to get my whole life system turned in a completely new direction. If I hadn't done that, I couldn't have moved forward. "Ctrl - Alt - Delete."

Then there was that time in my life when I really needed to escape the career/job I found myself in because it was completely bogging me down. I was going nowhere. I needed to take a few steps back and try again. Not throw everything away, just back up a bit to get back to the place where I got off track and try again. This time with the bad experience behind me as a guide to keep me from going there again. "Ctrl - Alt - Delete."

There have also been other times (more frequent than I probably realized until I started writing this) when I've encountered huge problems, things way bigger than what I could ever get through by myself. In those times, I've needed to figuratively hit "Ctrl - Alt - Delete" just to get perspective. Without proper perspective I really couldn't move forward. When life froze up on me, for those times when I just wasn't moving forward at all because of my own bad choices and/or the immense problems I was facing, I sometimes had to just go back a few steps and try to discover why things weren't working very well. What was the cause? What were the reasons? How did I get so far off-track? And then, once I discovered what the problem was, where I had left the track, I sometimes had to take some pretty drastic measures to recalibrate my life just so that I could in fact move forward again. Not easy to do, but definitely necessary. "Ctrl - Alt - Delete."

I believe in a God that designed us and also knew that we would at times mess up our lives. That is why He gave us a "Ctrl - Alt - Delete" to use when we need to start something new, when we need to escape something that just isn't working, and/or when we need to get HIS perspective on things and take some drastic measures to get back on track with our lives. His "Ctrl - Alt - Delete" is achieved through confession (I John 1:9). I'm so glad He created that for us because I've needed it many, many times in my life.

Praise God for His "Ctrl - Alt - Delete."

I'm really going to miss him...

In just 9 days, the United States will inaugurate a newly elected leader for our country. To be honest, I did not vote for Barack Obama. He seems like a very likeable, charismatic guy, but I just don't agree with most of his policies and/or the things he says he wants to do in governing our country. So, I'm not all that excited about this man being in office for the next four years (even though his will be an historic presidency - the first black American to be elected to the highest office in the land is definitely historic!). I do greatly respect the office, however, and as an American, I will support our new president. I will also be praying for him. Furthermore, I wish him great success!

But, what about that other guy who has "survived" being in office for the past 8 years? Today's Dallas Morning News features several articles about our current president - some that are "fair" and some that fall into the category of the same old Bush-bashing and media second-guessing that we have become accustomed to for way too many years.

After reading those articles it caused me to think. And, contrary to popular opinion, and contrary to what is currently the politically correct thing to say, I'm really going to miss George W. Bush as President of the United States.

There. I said it. Some of you are shocked right now and saying to yourself, "What an idiot! How stupid of him to say such a thing (especially in a public domain like this blog)!" Well, I'm sorry; just stating my opinion. Last I knew, we still had the freedom to do that in this country. Last I knew, we didn't have to fear retribution for saying something like that. Last I knew...

Political correctness has never been one of my strong suits, or something I'm known for. As a matter of fact, there have been many times when I've been in the seeming minority with some of my opinions. Especially political ones! But in this case, I believe my admiration for George W. Bush as president is for reasons other than political. I admire him for who he is and what he's done. Let me elaborate a bit.

I admire him because he is a fellow Texan and a fellow believer in Jesus Christ.
I admire him because he loves and protects his wife, and has been totally faithful to her.
I admire him because he is a loving dad. In spite of the demanding circumstances of public life including very little family time and "privacy," he has done what he could to shelter and protect his daughters from the sometimes ugly spotlight they were placed in at a very awkward time in their lives.
I admire him because he is not unwilling to leave the presidency in 9 days; he knows that his time in office is completed and that he has done what he could over the past 8 years. Now it is someone else's turn. Good for him! He doesn't need the office like some politicians do. He is more than happy to step back into private life and enjoy it.
I admire him because he is a straight-shooter and has never tried to be something he's not (overly intellectual or "uppitty sounding" in his speeches, etc.).
I admire him because he worked very hard behind the scenes to keep me, my family and this country safe and free from the vicious attacks of terrorists since 2001.
I admire him because he has withstood an unbelievable amount of negatives, slander, untruths, and hatred while doing his job, but hasn't allowed it to either defeat him or cause him to be bitter about life.
I admire him because he has "survived" the presidency for 8 years even when all decks have been stacked against him from almost the beginning. What a testimony of perseverance! Many other lesser men (or women) could not have survived what he has been subjected to. I'd challenge any of you reading this to even try to imagine being in his shoes for just one day; I dare say many (if not most of us) wouldn't even be able to stand it for a half a day! The demands of the office are enormous; the responsibilities overwhelming.

Is George W. Bush a saint? No. Is he the greatest president of all time? No. Has he made mistakes while in office? Of course. After all, he is human. None of us (not even Barack Obama!) is perfect, for goodness sake (See Romans 3:23).

But, let me just leave you with this final thought. George W. Bush is not the devil. He is not the absolute creep many have made him out to be over the past 8 years. He is not the worst president we have ever had in this country. As a matter of fact, "history" may prove that he was in fact a pretty good president after all...

I'm really going to miss George W. Bush as President of the United States.

The Value of "Connection"

Truth is, I am a real loner at heart; I really prefer being alone more than I want to admit. But even I understand the extreme value of being in close connection with others - especially fellow believers in Jesus Christ. We really NEED each other. We were created for "connection."

This life concept has really been driven home to me in several powerful ways during the recent Christmas/New Year holiday celebrations. Let me explain.

First, on Christmas Eve, my wife and I had the happy occasion of seeing some of our really dear Christian friends (and you know who you are!) at church. These friends used to live near us and attend church with us, but have since moved a couple of times and are now about to move yet again! As we spoke, you could tell that there was still a strong desire for "connection" between us. We all felt it. It is something really, really special. And of great value, too. We are still connected, but in a much different way. We long for the day-to-day connection we once enjoyed.

Second, on January 1st we celebrated the new year by inviting many of our family and friends (plus neighbors, co-workers, people from our church, our children's friends, etc.) into our home for a pancakes and sausage breakfast. We've been doing this for 30 years now, and it has become a huge part of our family's holiday tradition. This year a most amazing thing happened. A friend of ours who we had somewhat lost contact with over 15 years ago showed up at our front door. She and her family moved away from the area and experienced way too many trials and life changes. But, unbeknownst to us, she recently moved back to the area by herself. We did not know that she had. So, when she showed up at our annual pancake breakfast gathering, we knew that she also desired connection again.

I'm sure that I could go on and on with other examples of how we have experienced valuable "connection" and just how much we personally value it. But suffice it to say again, we were created for connection and we all need it.

So, who are you connected to these days? Are you even "connected" at all? And if you are connected, are you connected to the right people? Where are the people you're connected to taking you? Closer to the Lord, or farther away from Him?

Since it is the beginning of a new year, I resolve to value "connection" even more so in 2009. I want to make sure that I enjoy all the various benefits that connection with others brings. I want to reach out to those who are not now connected in community and try to help them get connected in some beneficial way. Because without connection, we can become unhappy loners - selfish, self-centered and disconnected.

Who in their right mind would choose that? Get connected!