Out of My Mind

One phone call can change a lot.  After celebrating a great Christmas with my family, I was awakened at 2 am by wife telling me that a friend was on the phone.  His daughter had been killed in an accident.  As a pastor, you get more of these phone calls than you would ever care to.  There is something surreal about a call like that in the middle of the night.  I found myself in unbelief as I crawled out of bed looking for some clothes to put on.  I had to go to my friend’s side and take his family to the hospital to identify their daughter.  It was a hard night, and it has led to a tough week.

I know God is there.  He has shown himself throughout this situation.  The Holy Spirit has been sweet to minister to all those involved.  I know there will be other unfortunate deaths that I have to deal with in the future.  But I will never get use to the tragic loss of a young person.  Death always seem to be an intruder.  The Bible describes it as our enemy - and it will be the last enemy to be defeated.  There is just something haunting about the tragic death of a young person.  It is so emotional and hard.

More than ever, I look forward to a day in heaven when there will be no more sorrow, suffering, and pain for the old order of things will have passed away.  Jesus said, “I make all things new!”  It is a new year.  I have a lot to look forward to.  Our church has a lot to look forward to.  But I can’t help but start off the new year a little sad.  Its been a hard week.  And for some friends, there family will never quite be the same.

Last Sunday, Amber and I were sitting on the couch watching a professional football game. One of the commentators just went off on how much he loves Thanksgiving - really because of food and football.

He said, “I love Thanksgiving. You get to eat and watch football, and eat some more and watch football, and eat some more and take a nap. It’s like the greatest day ever. How could it get any better than that. Thanksgiving is like the greatest day ever!”

Amber was sitting there with me and laughed, “Oh that is such a man’s perspective.”

It is Thanksgiving morning as I write this, and she has gotten up, straightened up the house (I helped), prepared the turkey to roast. I prepared a smaller one to smoke on the grill. She has planned and strategically coordinated the cooking and eating schedule with her mom. It is a real science. She seems to be fine, but so far I don’ think it would be classified as the best day ever!

As for me, I am ready for a little food and football. Oh what a great day, at least from a man’s perspective. Oh ladies, don’t worry, I will help clean up the dishes.

God bless. Happy Thanksgiving!

I don’t really cry a lot, but yesterday I had tears in my eyes. On Monday, my family had some pictures taken by Tim Brown, a really good photographer and friend. So Friday morning, Amber and I sat down with Tim and Michelle (his wife) to view the pictures. He basically showed a slide show of our session from the beach complete with background music.

I can’t describe what happened as I viewed the images on the screen. It was like watching a movie starring my family. We had some of the nice posed portrait pictures, but then we had a lot of candid, fun, laughing pictures as well. It was so cool. The pictures seemed to tell a story of the life of my family, and I just began to cry. I am not quite sure why. Part of it was realizing how the time is passing by. Eli is now a teenager, growing up. Jonathan and Hannah are no longer babies. Another emotion was just gratitude - grateful for my family, grateful for life, grateful for every good thing God has allowed me to experience. Watching that slide show became a moment of worship to my God as I thanked Him with tears in my eyes.

I left that session with a full heart. I called a friend to tell him how much he meant. I wrote an email thanking someone I wanted to thank. I slowed down and enjoyed the day. I hugged my kids a little harder and let them know how much they meant to me. I watched a movie with my son Jonathan. I celebrated life and lived it as well as I could yesterday. It may all sound a little corny and emotional to you, but I find that the older I get - the more emotional I am becoming. My heart it a little softer, but it lets me appreciate life a little deeper.

How great are those moments when you really come in touch with the goodness of God, and the gift of life that he has given. Have you had any of those moments lately? Have you had any moments lately where life stood still, and you just soaked it in? If we let it, those moments can be an incredible occasion for worship! What ya think?