Breaking Up

In high school we had one of those "married couples." You know, the guy and the girl who were so attached that it's hard for you to visualize the time when they were actually walking on their own. Danny and Tanya were that way. They were always together. Always together. You couldn't pry them apart with a crowbar. It seemed like when he breathed pepper, she would sneeze. We would put down bets as to how soon after graduation these two 'soulmates' would get married.

Imagine my shock when I found out they split up almost as soon as the summer started. These two had been together for three years at least. It was stunning - Danny and Tanya were, well, supposed to be together. It was the talk among the grads. What happened to those two that they'd split up? They were inseparable!

I think of Steve and Julie who broke up in college and how I was shocked, thinking that these two were made for each other. They'd been together for six or seven months, and after they broke up they were miserable. They realized they were made for each other and they got back together. Today, they're happily married (over 20 years now) and have a pack of kids.

I think of people who have walked away from Jesus. Some people say 'walked away from the faith' but that can mean anything from mindless liturgy to repetitive yoga exercises. I mean people who have approached the awesome protection and love of Christ ... and turned away.

I was reading Adrian Roger's "Love Worth Finding" web site and this startling fact was posted:

Did you know that 85 of America’s first 100 colleges were built for the preaching of the gospel?

Harvard was founded as a Christ-centered school. In 1646 one of it rules stated, “Everyone shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ, which is life eternal.”

Yale was founded in 1701 to train preachers of the gospel. Their president told the 1814 graduating class, “Christ is the only true, the living way of access to God.”

Princeton insisted in its early days that every faculty member be “convinced of the necessity of religious experience for salvation.” Its first president said, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”

Tragically, these schools and many of our earliest colleges and universities have abandoned their founding principles and more importantly their first love.

The book of Revelation reveals Jesus' deep disappointment with the church at Ephesus. This was a busy church "on the go" but the tragedy is spoken aloud by Jesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."

We were made for a relationship with Jesus. I don't want to leave that union.

Source: http://www.lwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=for_DiggingDeeper

Jill

Here is a picture taken at Nicholas' wedding. Jill is with her very dear friend Sharon McDuffie. Jill and Sharon have been friends for almost twenty years now, and Sharon was instrumental in making a fantastic presentation of Nicholas' and Alexis' wedding. Jill and Sharon both brighten any room they enter. My wife Jill has a heart for the Lord that is a constant encouragement to me, even in these early days of my new writing career. She has a yearning to follow Jesus each and every day and makes our household a home. I know quite a few people who cannot say that and it reminds me to thank the Lord every day for the blessing of having such a precious wife.

The "Meadowlark weekend" was fantastic. Maryville has embraced the new team and there is excitement about the upcoming season. We had numerous radio shows and press conferences - all went well. Big plans are in the works for the fall season.

Meadowlark is a man after God's own heart. He was consistently talking about following the Lord and the joy that serving Jesus brings. It was a busy but spiritually uplifting weekend.

------------------------------------------

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24

Meadowlark coming

We're moving quickly around here, preparing for the press conference tomorrow. I will be picking up Meadowlark Lemon at the airport at 4 p.m. He will be coming into town to announce his part of the ownership of the new ABA team, the Smoky Mountain Jam, along with his new tour with the Harlem All Stars - everything will be based in Maryville TN, right next to Knoxville. Meadowlark has been a good friend of mine since 2000 and, as the new Director of Operations for the Jam, I am pleased to be able to welcome him on board to be part of our basketball family. His tour is going to be awesome - he still gets on the court and plays!

Nicholas and Alexis Zockoll wedding

Here are Nicholas and Alexis (picture taken with my Blackberry -sorry for the sloppiness. I'll post better pictures later.) What a wonderful time we had. Goid blessed us with great weather and wonderful family and friends. Nicholas and Alexis are spending their honeymoon at Daytona Beach this week. It's great having Alexis as part of our family, and I'm proud of Nicholas for the wise choice he made to receive such a wonderful wife.

Faith in the Journey

I received a phone call last night from my youth group member of 27 years ago, Dan Guerrero. We talked of many events and joys of those days in Hollister, California, and of the journey since then. What a powerful thing to talk to someone to whom you ministered over a quarter of a century ago. I thought of the many things that have passed through my life since then, of which you read in my blog. I realize that through these years, as with the day-to-day walk I experience right now, that faith in the Savior is what keeps each day fresh and vibrant.

Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life, you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.
God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. - Oswald Chambers

Prom

Peter and Libby before Saturday night's prom. They had a great time, and both of them looked great. I can't tell you how enjoyable it is to be able to see them at this special event. I can remember my Junior Prom - I wore (I am not making this up) a forest green tux that was not fitted properly so the pants came up over my ankles. I should have patented the style: high-water formal.

Libby and Peter went to Wasabi's before the prom - a little fancy food-prep-before-your-eyes type of shindig. All in all, it was a memorable evening for them. These are two very special young people.

new week

It has been about five straight days of rain. The azaleas are in bloom.

This is the our last week with Nicholas in the household. As of Saturday he will be a married man. he and Alexis will be settlign in Jonesborough TN as he pursues a career in the Air National Guard. I can still recall him as a child with me pushing him around the house on a Big Wheel truck (yes, it was indoors - we did get a bit rowdy) and his holiday school recitations onstage while a student at Faith Christian School in NC. And now he is ready to start his own heritage. I am saddened by our loss of his immediate presence here but joyful that he is blessed with a wonderful wife and a great start on a new life.

While I was speaking at a church class, I encountered a man in his thirties, a gentleman who was suffering greatly. "Paul" was enduring the loss of his home and a family tragedy. He told me he felt empty, a shell that just moved around and functioned. I listened and listened. I've been there. It was a powerful way for me to help someone, for me to tell someone that hey, I felt the same way. I shared Romans 8 but mostly I listened. Please remember this hurting gentleman. I will be contacting him throughout the week.

This is a big week. Lots to do, especially with the American Basketball Association. The ABA is really doing a powerful job of renovation and restoration. I'm busy with teams almost 24/7.

Comparisons

Now here's what we call a good snow in eastern Tennessee. This was taken of Jill and Julianne this past winter as I pulled up to the house after work. I bet it took Jill all of an hour to make that little snowman. But Julianne thought it was practically a blizzard. My friends in Colorado called about an hour after this picture was taken to tell me they had two feet of snow on the ground and more was still coming.

But to us - especially the little ones - this was a big thing. I do believe they even cancelled school for this.

In reflection I see that this is the way people are in other areas of their life. They may think events in theri own personal lives - especially trials - are insurmountable and deep. Yet in comparison to others, it pales. At college, one of my roomates asked for serious prayer because his executive dad wasn't getting as much of a bonus as they had hoped... while down the hall prayer was going up for a roommate who has to leave school because of a baseball-sized tumor in his brain. (He survived the harrowing surgeries and came back to school before the end of the year.)

In each of our minds, yes, the suffering I'm going through is real and hurting but let's not fail to realize that others around us need compassion and support. Let's not shut down and fence ourselves in. As Christians let's reach out and assist others who are in need and share each other's burdens, with people both inside and outside the faith. They're all heavy burdens, and in need of extra shoulders.

azab

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. - Psalm 37:25

The truth of God's protection is that His children are given care and guidance ... even when they may not know it. Many times I've encountered Christians who find out the protection they've been given even when they were not aware of it at the time. the word f"forsaken" in this verse is azab and it has a heavy definition: to be left behind, let alone, neglected, abandoned.

There are times when I felt that God had left me. The time I was called to candidate in San Jose at a church of 600. They called me for an interview, phoned me many times, asked tons of questions...and then changed the rules mid-stream. In a heated deacons' meeting the group argued over the percentage of "yes" votes by which they would take me. Through some last-minute dealings, I lost the calling by a few percentage points. I was devastated.

Yet about three years later I found out that the church had an inner cancer of dispute and arguments. The church and school folded and closed down not even six months after that vote.

If I would have picked up my family and moved across the country, there was a good chance I would have been unemployed within a year.

I see that as a firm yet loving Hand of Care, protecting my family from turmoil. Many is the time when I was given help when I didn't even know it. You probably can remember times inyour life as well.

Such is the way of the Father.

Good things

Psalm 37:4 comes very much into mind in these recent days. We've been preparing for Nicholas' wedding, including the rehearsal dinner we'll have here at the homestead, which adds to the family traditions and history that this home is bringing to our family. Peter will be taking Libby to the prom this Saturday night. Julianne is "working" with me every day for 1/2 hour in my office here at the house (she empties my office trash can and then plays with Hello Kitty on a nearby table), while I work alongside the new and eager ABA teams as well as handle my other writing assignments.

Jill is busy but happy in preparing for the wedding here at the house, and many in our home church are helping us in various ways that make this festive time possible. Our outside gardens are slowly but beautifully blooming. The foxes - all seven of them - roam around the back yard, and Nicholas actually caught one of the babies and petted it quietly before releasing it back to the den. I will get you a picture of it tomorrow.

LIfe is almost unreal because things have been good. Oh, make no mistake, we've got our problems - companies deliquent in paying me and constant home repair are just two - but the family is together and enjoying each other all day long. I have been able to enjoy a true delight in the Lord. The word "desires" in the verse is the Hebrew word mish'alah which also means petitions or requests. It has been my desire ( my prayer, my petition) to be in fulltime writing and have a house to accomodate not only my family but also others who have need as well. Right now we are hosting a young man from Oklahoma. We see God's blessing every day and feel His peace. Isn't He great?

Yes, He is.

Ice Bears game

I've been doing some writing for the local minor league Knoxville Ice Bears, winners of the Presidents Trophy as league champions the last two seasons. Here is Julianne with the mascot, Chilly. Highlight of her evening. Any resemblance between the bear and any member of my family is purely coincidental.

Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

I've highlighted the words that mean so much to me. God's will is what I want to do. My will is dull and dead-end, because it will only serve to focus attention on me, nad what eternal use is that? I serve God because I love Him...so much so that I call Him my God, and according to the Bible, He enjoys when I make that claim.

Having been a Boy Scout in my early years and a frequent guest to Yosemite National Park in my twenties, I can appreciate the next part: "Lead me on level ground." Just as I enjoy flat, easy-to-walk pathways, I enjoy it when I can get a break from the ups and downs of life and be able to settle into a pattern where I can concentrate on serving God and reaching out to others. There's a peace I get when reading the Bible that nothing else can give me.

"Here She Comes..."

...and here is Julie - at the time she was 3 years old, coming out onto our back deck to show off her finery. I want you to look closely: she is wearing a tiara, a two-piece bikini, a boa, a Hawaiian lei, a purse, and wrapped around her neck like a scarf are Curious George's legs from a long-departed stuffed animal.

She announced that she was a princess.

You know, I promise I'll get back to the Bible study info on this blog, but right now I have to stop laughing. I'm telling you, she is the Human Cartoon.

Breakfast

Here is Julianne at breakfast, obviously stunned at my latest creation: a Mickey Mouse pancake. Those cooks on the Food channel have nothing over on me, baby.

Heroes

I was probably seven or eight years old when Dad had us all stuffed into his old Volvo station wagon and pulled up to a fellow's house just outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania. When Dad came out of the man's house, he threw open the back of the vehicle and slid in two crates.

Those crates were stuffed with comic books.


Yeee hah.





This began my venture into the world of the mortals who could achieve feats only dreamed by the rest of us (and of course, they were dreams - sprung from the imaginations of people like Stan Lee and Bob Kane).
Batman, Superman, Spiderman, the original Iron man (who wore a bulky yellow suit and looked like the Tin Man's evil brother), Plastic Man, Flash, Captain America, Hulk, Sub Mariner (too weird for my taste), Fantastic Four and so many others.

Their exploits were phenomenal. I knew every detail about these heroes of the 60s comic book era. I studied and memorized their powers. We had some old ones, to be sure. In some of our collection, Batman had a gun, Peter Parker kept fighting a schoolboy nemesis named Flash, and Superman spent too much time with some magical goblin named Mr. Mxyzptlk.

I did see a lot of weaknesses in the characters - a necessary part of the story line. Superman had kryptonite. Spiderman had temporary web fluid and teen angst. Hulk would turn back to Bruce Banner occasionally. Batman was, well, a great athlete but could get his comeuppance since he had no superpowers.

The Good News Club I attended taught me about One who had much more than any one of these literary figures. Better yet, Jesus was real. He is real. And He, above all else, is immortal and without a weakness. In fact, He took on the form of a man to accept the weaknesses of the flesh and He still won it all!
That's where my interest changed. This Jesus was the real hero. I wanted to learn more about Him and be like Him.

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death... Phlppns 3:8-10

Resurrection and this day

In my childhood, Easter was a time that my mom would drive us over to my great-grandparents' farm in Tarentum, PA where we six Zockoll kids would run around my Grandpap's (Mike Paholich's) 65 acre farm, looking for Easter baskets filled with chocolate and jelly beans.

Although I enjoyed the excitment of the day, I can honestly say I never really figured out the odd secular celebration. The idea of a rabbit carrying eggs in a basket for everyone in the world was preposterous to me even at five years of age, even while I was hanging on to a belief about the winter-time visits by a guy in a red suit and flying reindeer. I couldn't stand the thought of jellybeans, especially after we spilled a bag of black licorice jellybeans against the heater of the VW bus and endured the smell all the way back to Hershey, PA. Never did like the ham dinner ( I don't like ham anyway) or the full suit and tie I was to wear.

As a junior high kid one rainy Easter weekend at my grandparents, I kept eating hardboiled eggs. Ate 32 of them in two days. Took me over ten years to even look at a hardboiled egg.

But what I did like was a good message on the rising of Jesus. That was, and still is, awesome. Here is hope for the next life and comfort from Someone bigger and much better than me. It's a simple but powerful, universe-altering message.

And here is an important truth from the Scriptures. In John 11 ... Jesus is speaking to Martha who is mourning because of the death of her brother Lazarus...

25) Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection (Greek: anastasis) and the Life. The one believing toward Me, even if he should die, he will live.
26) And everyone living and believing toward Me should never die. Do you believe this?

Note this: Jesus clearly teaches that He is the Resurrection. The Resurrection is not a happening, it is Himself–the resurrection is Jesus Christ. Bill Klein of "Greek Thoughts (http://www.studylight.org/) states:

"Additionally, after His resurrection, He is known as The Resurrected One. Jesus' pronouncement is the scriptural basis for salvation, empowerment, and hope for everyone who ever believes toward Him."

Other Greek words talk about the event of resurrection, but Jesus Himself is the only One on which this special Greek word (ana = up, esthmai -= to stand) will be used. He is much more than the instrument making resurrection happen. He is the means by which is is possible at all.

He came out of that tomb and set a new course of history for you and me if we just follow Him. Yes, that's what I want to do. Follow Him.

A good/bad day

John 19
"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon {a branch} {of} hyssop and brought it up to His mouth... "

This day commemorates the day Jesus went to the cross. I cannot imagine the grief of the disciples. It's hard for me to guess the terror of the bystanders as they saw Jesus bloody, torn, exhausted and yet prodded on to His place of earthly death. This day must have been soul-shattering for some who did not fully understand the Master's plan.

It must've seemed like a lonely day. A lost-in-the-desert day.

This is what it's all about, though, isn't it? This is the Memorial Day Weekend of the grassroots of why we believe and what we exist to do. This is our heart because He is our heart. His willingness to die in such a torturous manner is still astounding to me, and to the unregenerate world it is revolting because they just don't understand.

On this weekend I want to reconnect with the foundational story of Jesus. I don't want the social aspect of it so much (large crowds seem to bother me more and more lately) as I want an intensive, no-holds-barred understanding of the suffering He willingly endured for me, and all of us.

To those who were there and personally witnessed the brutal torture of Jesus, this must have been the end of the world to them. A horrible, terrible day.

But in reality, it was a good day. A very good day.

Because on Sunday...

"Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."

Red Fox

Our subdivision is connected to Fox Road, here on the outskirts of Knoxville. When we first moved into our new home, we were told about the largish hole near the back of the property (our whole property is one foot short of being the exact dimensions of a football field) and how it was the home of a red fox and her kits. We would peer around for the fox to come around, and occasionally saw one darting across the subdivision road or sneaking around in the backyard tree line, but never a close encounter.

Until this past month.

That hole is once again home to a pretty red fox and her three roundish and furry kits. What a sight. Nothing on television or film could replace the real-life entertainment we get every day. We've been keeping a careful eye on them and enjoying the family tussle every afternoon. In the morning I leave an egg at the mouth of their "den", and as I do I have observed tufts of feathers and an occasional large mammal skull in the hole. Mom's been out hunting and doing a good job of feeding her babies.

We also notice that she'll let them wrestle and then get them back inside while she curls up and sits outside for a quiet time.

I guess moms of all kinds need their break from the kids.

Calling Out

Saul answered, "I am greatly distressed...God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do."

This passage in 1 Samuel 28 is heart-wrenching, but also instructive. I truly feel a pitiful compassion for Saul (By reading of his symptoms throughout the Biblical narrative, some researchers suggest he may have suffered from a form of depression or even schizophrenia) when he feels like he's at the end of his rope.

I can sit here in my office now and look back somewaht objectively. My hope's been restored and I now wake up in the morning like in the old days - ready to attack and hit the ground running.

It wasn't that way last year.

I think the worst thing I faced was the feeling that God had abandoned me, left me completely on my own and lost any favor with me.

And it was horrifying. Pulling myself together to face another day was a daunting task. Shuffling to work to sit at a desk and peel through work that had no value attached to it was more than I could bear. Enduring a burning back pain around the clock. Being unable to sit through a simple meeting without breaking out in sweat because of the pain. I suffered...and suffered to the extreme. Through all this, Jill was loving and understanding as she allowed me to talk and express my grief.

But even when it seemed God was the farthest away He had ever ben in my life, I still couldn't keep calling out and reaching for Him. And now I know, as brutal as last year was, it was all for my good. I'm seeing that each day now.

I recall having a dinner with an older couple in Hollister, California back in the 80s, and I got to discussing the local church. The husband got up and left the room. His wife leaned over and told me, "He had a bad experience and won't have anything to do with church or God." I asked her what it was about, and she replied, " A dispute with the deacons about church construction."

"How long ago was this?" I asked.

"Oh, about twenty years ago," she replied.

I was stunned. A disagreeable situation that couldn't be resolved, and the man walks away from God? Even now, after all I'd been through - and a lot of the memories still give me the creeps - I just couldn't bring myself to abandon God and go it alone. Father, if I don't have You, what else is there to hope for?

Reliance

Psalm 91:2 - "I will say to the Lord, 'My Refuge and my Fortress, in whom I trust!'"

A thought for the Christian community

I'm in the final stages of cleaning out the old office and moving equipment into the new office in my home. I've received the blessing of the folks in Administration here at my present corporation and on Monday I will begin my career as a fulltime writer.

As I was heading to work this morning, a glaring truth hit me, and it might be something for us as a Christian community to ponder:

Back last year as I was praying and seeking God's will, I applied and queried at numerous Christian institutions from churches to colleges to camps, and numerous times I was told the reason that I was not in the running was because of my age. I'm 49 years old, and the oft-given excuse was that, yes, even though I met the qualifications to serve in their ministry, it was an issue of age. In other words, I was too old to serve in the Christian community.

But then I stepped into the secular world and was immediately embraced for the years of experience I had acquired. I have more work than I've ever had, and I keep getting calls from companies, sports teams and organizations wanting me to write, speak and assist them.

Obviously I know God has His hand on the direction of all of our lives, and of course I am elated at my writing job - in fact my writing involves both Christian and non-Christian work...

...but don't you think the Christian community ought to reflect on this? Not once have I been told in the secular community that my age was a factor. In more than half of the interviews I had with Christian organizations, my experience made no difference. It was because I was old.

I run over three miles a day. I'm still into weightlifting and other sports. I write over 10,000 words a day. I'm in the recording studio, writing two biographies, and traveling to sports arenas as I write columns. I'm not able to keep up?

Could the Christian community be guilty of age discrimination?

Amazed

I am amazed at how fast 4 year old Joulianne is learning to read.

I am amazed that Nicholas and Alexis will be getting married on May 9th. Time seems to be flying!

I am amazed that starting Monday I will be fulfiling my lifelong dream of being a fulltime writer.

I am amazed at how Jill is as pretty as she was the day I married her - after all I've put her through.

I am amazed at how good Peter is in onstage acting. Especially the British accent thing.

I am amazed at how God gave us this house to turn into a home and have so much fun in it.

I am amazed - every time I look in the mirror - at how much uglier I get every day.

I am amazed at how mind-boggling boring Public Radio telethons are. If I had enough money, I'd pay for the whole station just to make all those people quit jabbering.

I am amazed at how God has given us so many generations of kids - who are now adults - that I had the privilege to teach and love and see grow up... who still call or stop by and pay their respects.

I am amazed at how tired I get more and more.

I am amazed at big snowfalls. Blizzards really throw me for a loop, too.

I am amazed at the brilliant apologetic writings of CS Lewis and the heartfelt narrations of Augustine.

I am amazed - and will always be - and the plan of salvation. What God had made possible for me through Jesus Christ just stuns me. And that Jesus was willing to go through His suffering for someone like me... well, it's beyond words.

Blessed {be} the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly {places} in Christ... Ephesians 1:3

Study last night

Last night was our final study until June. I have numerous obligations out of town in the coming weeks so we are all taking a hiatus. We finished up Revelation - what a journey!



I've also been able to go back and do voice work (my old radio days are coming back!) for companies. Here is a link to one of the sites. Click on the video - I'm the narrator:
http://abspriorityinfo.com/



I cannot tell you how busy today has been. I have taken dozens of calls and have been chugging through e-mails in anticipation of new writing jobs.

I have received e-mails and calls from a number of friends that I have not been able to return as quickly as I would like. I apologize, but with this big career change upon me, every available minute has been spent in moving files, setting up a new office, and getting legal paperwork in order. I hope you can understand. I will contact you as soon as possible. Besides this, Jill has run into a batch of poison oak and it is brutal. She has been seeing it spread slowly up her arms and legs, and it won't stop oozing despite numerous medications. It was bad enough (the ailment and the medication) that she was bedridden all day on Sunday. Please remember to pray for her.

Amazed, stunned, in awe

God has once again amazed me.

I attended the American Basketball Association owners meeting in Nashville on Friday. I was in attendance with CEOs, civic leaders and businessmen from all over the nation - a pretty impressive list of people. The head of the league, Joe Newman announced that the ABA will be preparing for 62 teams in the fall.

He also required that each of the teams sign on with me as their chief national statistician. I sat there amazed at what has just transpired. This has taken my writing career in terms of the ability to pursue avenues in publishing and outreach in my literary endeavors.

We're all still taking this in.

This changes just about everything in my life.

Memory

Psa 139:1-4
O LORD, You have searched me and known {me.} You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

I find this passage especially striking because I am a person who forgets a lot. A LOT.

I write things down on a calendar - and guess what: I lose the calendar. I am not making this up. In college I was given a Day-Timer schedule book as a gift. I lost it within a week.

Computer filing has been the greatest thing for me. Having cohorts who work alongside me in business is also a Godsend. They will remind and notify me whenever I'm off my schedule. Hmmm, that would be about every three hours or so.

Then there is the name-forgetful faux pas experience I endure just about every week. Yesterday I was shopping and the clerk was a student of mine - for two years. That was only two years ago. I needed to look at his name tag. He saw me doing it.

I can't remember the main characters in a movie five minutes after we leave the theater. In fact, sometimes during the movie I forget their names. Pitiful, I know.

Yet the Lord knows me intimately. When I'm hurt and when I'm on top of the world. When I'm sneaky and when I'm sympathetic. And when I'm grieving to know Him better.

Luk 12:7
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered..."

I agree with Eric

"God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure." Eric Liddell

And if you will understand and accept the deep humility in which I say this, then I can truthfully say I feel a parallel to the Olympic runner in this sense:

God made me a writer. And when I write, I feel His pleasure.

And I am as sincere and truthful as I can possibly be.

Outside of my time with my Lord and my family, there is virtually nothing I enjoy better than to write. When I sit down to start a new chapter or create a plot, I am reminded of the promise in God's Scripture:

"Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart"
Ps. 37:4.

kopiao

1 Timothy 4:8-10 "...godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

John MacArthur, Bible teacher, notes : "'Labor' (Gk., kopiao) means 'to work to the point of weariness.' 'Suffer reproach' (Gk., agonizomai) means to agonize in a struggle.' We work to the point of weariness and exhaustion, often in pain, because we understand our eternal objectives.
J. Oswald Sanders wrote, 'If he is unwilling to pay the price of fatigue for his leadership, it will always be mediocre' ... Weariness, loneliness, struggle, rising early, staying up late, and forgoing pleasures all come with excellence.
Galatians 6:14--Paul said that by taking up the cross of Christ, he crucified himself to the world--he died to everything around him and became consumed with the gospel of Christ....As Paul looked to the future, that caused him to serve with his whole heart, striving in the work of the ministry. We hope in an eternal, living God, who will some day reward those who faithfully serve Him."

I wonder how many of us have been Christians for the sake of the title, or for the asurrance of delivery from Hell alone. We commit ourselves to verbiage, but when the rubber meets the road, we don't have an inkling of serving for the sake of Him... we do it for show, for obligation to our local assembly, for a 'feel good' emotion, but we have lost that commitment to serving the Lord for His sake, and for furthering His kingdom.

I mean, sure, we've served in somewhat of a capacity as long as it fits our schedule, but have we worked in a kopiao or agonizomai manner? Have we given to help a needy person, even doing physical labot? Have we hoarded our precious lunch break instead of seeing a sick one who needs a person to talk to? Have we sought out people and shared the Gospel with them, even if it is at risk of getting ourselves embarrassed?

Hey, we take risks every day. We burn the midnight oil for a job promotion. What happened to our service to Jesus?

Life Lessons In Wrestling

I was never an outstanding athlete.

In fact, at best I believe I was fairly mediocre.

Oh, there were times when I won some sort of trophy here or there, but mostly I wore the label "average, not exceptional" of which so many of us are familiar.

I wrestled in high school, maintaining a love/hate affair with it that takes too long to explain. If you've been a wrestler, you know what I'm talking about.

My story for today concerns the match that wore me out. Completely.

Our high school division maintained that wrestling matches between opponents would consist of three 2 minute rounds. We were playing against a cross-state rival and I was competing in the 138 pound class.

My opponent was the same age as I, and was a rookie on the varisty team as well. As we started the match, I felt a sudden surge of excitement. I was stronger than this guy. In fact, I could move him around at will. I was going to destroy this little cretin. Ha! I could sense the kill when after the first period, I jumped out to a 4-0 lead. In the second period I was muscling him all over the mat. He was flopping around, diving and scrambling with his legs while I forearmed, pulled and grappled with him, flexing my now bulging muscles.

And that was my mistake.

I was trying to out-muscle him. And in the third period it caught up. My arms were shot. I mean, they were dead. And slowly, slowly, he climbed back in points. I could hardly pull myself up. My biceps were twitching from fatigue. Exhausted, I felt myself being pulled and shoved now. The little-regarded opponent now was within one point.

I still could not respond, only try to escape and buy time. But it didn't happen. With twenty seconds left he took me down and had a near pin. By the time the clock ran out, the underdog had beaten me by two points.

Man, I thought I had this guy. I knew I had him.

But as I sat in the hallway, stunned, I came to a great realization that day. I was not as strong as I thought. My concept of my endurance was much, much less than I had ever imagined. Hey, I was limited! I think all of us come to this epiphany sometime in our young life - and this was one of mine. I began to realize that not only could I be defeated, I could actuially defeat myself, as I had done in the match. By not pacing myself or by patiently thinking through the approaching moves, I set myself up for a fall.

My Christian walk was that way as well. I was in the emotionalism, social enjoyment and excitable events that made up a teen group calendar. But relying on Jesus? Well, why should i, I reasoned. He let me walk this earth, and live my own life, right? I can make it on my own.

But I found out, as I did in this wrestling meet, that my attempts at serving Him and living for Him through the teen years and adulthood trials of life would take much more than my own strength, I didn't know how to pace myself. I wore out too quickly. I needed the quiet, lone times with Him in prayer and reading in order to build trust and renew my spirit.

And those renewal times with Jesus, my friend, have been the best times of my life.

Isa. 40:31 - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

Mrs. Downey's Estate

A couple of my old college classmates told me that there was an extra room on the country estate. "If you help with the property, Mrs. Downey will give you the room for free," said Jared. "And now's the right time, because a buddy of mine is moving out of her home - well, really, it's like a small mansion. Three other guys each have rooms there. If you call this number -" he handed me a slip of paper - "you can get first rights on the room."

I called the number and was greeted by a kind, elderly voice. Mrs. Downey was more than happy to have someone take the room. Having grown up in a rural town, I was fairly familiar with farm chores, so I moved into the basement room and would care for her horse, two cows and twenty-five acres of pastureland. For free rent. Nice.

So it seemed.

I was unpacking my stuff and carrying it through the basement door when the departing student bumped into me. "It's a huge place," he said. "She even has an elevator inside."

"You're kidding," I said.

"But you need to know something," he warned as he packed his car. "The reason I'm leaving is that she's a nut case." He looked me in the eye. "I've been accused of stealing, crawling on the roof and even bowling in the upstairs hallway." He tapped his forehead. "She's losing it, and I'm not going to be around on the day she snaps, free rent or not." He left and I pondered my new situation.

To make a long story short, it was true. Almost every night I would hear the brrrrrp of the old elevator coming down to the basement and would then have to explain myself.

No, Mrs. Downey, I wasn't bouncing a basketball down here.

No, Mrs. Downey, I didn't take all the ketchup.

No, Mrs. Downey, I wasn't trying to sneak a girl into my room.

No, Mrs. Downey, I wasn't climbing the magnolia tree last night at 2 a.m.

I had just about had it with this little 78 year old woman who stood inches below five feet tall. She wandered the house, cutting glares at us each evening while complaining that she needed our protection to watch the estate. She ate alone and she muttered about the inequities of the War Between the States. I am not making this up.

I was enduring this odd lifestyle, mainly because I needd to save money, but in truth, I was tiring of it quickly. I enjoyed taking care of the farmland and caring for the animals, but in truth, I found them much more pleasant than I did the sour-faced Mrs. Downey.

Then one cold, raw evening I happened to be carrying some farm tools to the back porch when I saw friends pull up to the front of the mansion. Mrs. Downey had some neighbors and a family member arrive for coffee. I stepped inside to return a broom and I noticed the small party was uneasy. The heating had not caught up to the quick temperature drop. The main room was cold, and nobody knew how to start the fire in the fireplace. Mrs. Downey was crestfallen. She was appearing to be a poor hostess, and in her world, that was worse than profanity.

I did the only thing I knew to do. "Here,"I said briskly. "That's my job. I see I made it just in time." The group looked at me while Mrs. Downey's eyes grew wide with surprise. I didn't wait for a comment, but ran out into the yard and grabbed as many branches as I could find.

For some reason, I have always been able to make a good crackling fire. Other people play a Steinway or run a four minute mile. I can handle an Ohio Blue Tip match with a bit of a talent, I humbly admit. Within three minutes I had a strong, warming fire blazing in the hearth and throwing out much-needed heat. The guests smiled and I nodded, but as I left to go feed the cows, I saw Mrs. Downey's eyes.

She was grateful.

Grateful.

What resulted was a fine and unusual friendship between this elderly widow and myself for the final three months until the end of the year when I was called into a new ministry elsewhere in the country. Mrs. Downey and I would sit at her messy kitchen table and watch a miniscule black and white TV while sipping instant coffee from old ceramic mugs or dining on leftover macaroni on mismatched plates. She shared her concerns for her family and her daughter's history of illnesses. She chatted about many things - maybe some day I will tell you about them - but above all she opened up to me, a 23 year-old college grad between jobs.

I learned the deep and yet delicate power found in Colossians 3:12:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

I never saw Mrs. Downey again. That was 26 years ago. I still remember, though, the door of friendship opened when I saw that someone had an estate that needed repair and a little love.

And I'm not talking about the house.

Last night was probably the most off-the-wall Bible study we've had so far.

The initial studies (we'll have two of them a night and maybe three if time allows) were from the book of Philemon and the book of Revelation, specifically from Rev. 19. As we were talking about the coming of the Lord and the ensuing battle of Armageddon, the conversation changed - and I am not exactly sure at which juncture this occurred - we got into "nasty deaths in the Bible."

Among others, to the best of my memory we started discussing:

- Herod being eaten by worms.

- Ehud stabbing Eglon and getting his hand covered by the fat of Eglon's belly.

- Saul's suicide.

- Samson's torture (his death wasn't that grotesque, but the blinding he received was awful)

- Jezebel getting thrown out of a window, gettign run over by a chariot and then being eaten up by dogs.

The discussion was rather lively and not disrespectful in any way. After we had animated conversation for quite awhile the guys looked at each other and started laughing. Yet the point was made which came out in Revelation 19 - the birds were called to eat the flesh of the rebellious ones (Now I remember, yeah, that's where the conversation turned to the grisly death stuff) and I had made the point of the egocentric claims of the many who, as in Psalm 2, thought they could overthrow God and promote themeselves. Their end is not only swift, it's also humiliating.

Invitations

I've been able to visit wonderful places: Grand Canyon, Yosemite, National Cathedral, Liberty Bell, Tower of London, Carlsbad Caverns, Badlands, and a great BBQ place in Lulling, Texas.

There were strange places as well: Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and Westminster Mansion in San Jose come to mind quickly...

I think I like best the places where I've been invited.

And I've been invited to some pretty memorable places in my life.

In college, I was invited to be part of a Federal Communications Commission petition on behalf of the state of Delaware. An ad hoc group gathered me up and took me along to their meeting in Washington DC. We were able to take a tour of the Senate Chambers. That reminds me of the one time in high school where I received a formal invitation (as a high school newspaper editor) to attend a Secretary of the Army press conference in the Pentagon. Both were great trips.

I like being invited to places. Invitations are great.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable I invitations I had over the years was to be asked over for a simple but fun family dinner at one of the homes in Hollister, California. The Kliewers were a hoot to be around, always filling me (a single guy with no social life whatsoever) with solid stick-to-the-rib meals and great stories. I still remember the relaxing evenings we had. The Guerreros would invite me over for a no-nonsense Mexican dinner which still makes my mouth water in memory. Quesadillas, tacos, refried beans, tostadas...

Then there was the older gentleman in Fresno CA who met me at the church and took me to a Greek restaurant and let me pick and choose anything off of the menu. I remember the deep conversations we had while dining on halvas, lamb, artichokes and thick coffee.

It's a grand thing to be invited.

And that's what I like about this omnipotent Lord of ours: God is a God of Invitation!

Am I wrong? Take a look at Isaiah 1:18.

Then read Isaiah 55:1.

And then we remember that Jesus Himself said "Come unto Me and I will give you rest?"

God invited Noah into the ark, where He was. Isn't that a great picture of salvation?

Best of all, look at Revelation 22:17. You know the qualifications for coming to Him? You must be thirsty and you must be willing. That's it. He's a God of Invitation.

Some random Super Bowl Pix

Above: Halftime set up. They rolled that stuff in and out within minutes. Well, I guess they had to.

After the win... I still can't describe the feeling. It was an event that has few equals. People across the aisles were hugging and shouting, high-fiving and cheering. Put New Year's, Christmas and July 4th rolled up into one and you have an idea. Taylor Moran and I take a break from screaming.

I'm going to say that this was taken about 40 minutes before kickoff.

The above photo was taken a couple of hours before game time. We chatted with everyone around us. A really exciting atmosphere, and everyone friendly, even "enemy" fans. The Steeler-to-Cardinal fan ratio was about 4 to 1. Maybe that's why Card fans were so friendly.

After these guys warmed up, a grounds crew came out and picked up shreds of grass of the field with their fingers, one at a time. I'm not kidding.

Ben and some players loosening up. Every time these guys sprinted along the sideline, the crowd erupted.

This is one of the first sights I had after I found my seat about two hours before game time. yeah, we got in early.

This was one of the walls to help direct us to the many parking lots after the Game.

Earning tickets

When I was a child and attending Sand Beach Independent Bible Church, there was a running challenge to little kids like me. The glass-enclosed case in the lobby of the downstairs section had prizes for those who earned enough tickets. Each Sunday if you attended you would get a blue ticket (1 pt). If you brought your Bible you got a red ticket (2 pts). I also believe you got a red ticket for memorizing a verse.

And, oh, the prizes you could win! There was a little display full of trinkets and baubles.. but not the ones on the top shelf! Those were the Bibles.

And, buddy, I earned a Bible. Took me long enough, but I was able to "buy" a Bible for about 50 or so ticket points. Man, I loved that Bible. It was great to carefully write my name on the inside cover, and leaf through the maps and various passages.

The Bible still holds an awe to me today.

The Bible, as you know, has 66 books, with 39 in the Old Testament, and 29 in the New Testament. The OT, as some people call it, foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah, and gave prophecies and hints about it through the 39 books, like:

The Messiah would be born of a virgin Isa. 7:14

The Messiah would be rejected by men and be wounded for our sins Isa. 53 (the whole chapter)The Messiah would not only be the Everlasting Father, He would be the Prince of Peace Isa 9:6

The Messiah would be pierced in His hands and feet Psalms 22: 16

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2

There are many many more but these beginning ones give you an idea of the supernatural nature of the Bible. These prophecies came true even though they were separated by hundreds of years. The Bible, all 66 books, are cohesive and make up one theme: Jesus making the way for us to be with God and be part of His family.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Paul meant that both the New and the Old Testament were - and are - inspired. The word "inspired" is literally "God-breathed." This implies that the Scriptures are from the mouth of God.

As I said, the OT had prophecies, right? And you see that 2 Peter 1:21 says "for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." Peter is saying that prophecy is not the product of human will, but by those moved by the Holy Spirit.

Julianne's haircut

This is an old picture I found of Julianne during her first "professional" haircut. Unlike the boys, Julianne actually enjoyed her haircut. In fact, these years later, she still "cuts our hair" and as she plays the part of the hairdresser, she insists on calling herself the name of the stylist you see in the picture here: Erin.

Sort of gives you an idea of the strong impression adults leave on kids.

Childlike Faith

I spent the morning speaking to five different groups at the conclusion of the ministry known as the Upward Basketball season, in which I had about seven minutes with each group. My presentation was the culmination of weeks of messages from their coaches and leaders in which they heard Bible verses and instructions on God's plan of salvation.

I met with them at the West Park Baptist gym and gave them a joyous message of God's free gift of salvation and the way to accept it.

I was stopped on the way out the door after one of these times by a man who called himself a Christian. He told me that I was not presenting the Gospel correctly. In a nutshell, he said that "the kids were too small to understand."

???

Since when did the Bible tell us that the simple childlike faith of loving Jesus, wanting to go to Heaven, desiring to follow the Lord and not wanting to be sinful could not be understood?

Luke 18:17 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Ventroloquism part 2

Side note: I am getting more writing assignments than I thought possible. I am backlogged at least a week on immediate assignments, not to mention the two biographies I am working on (interviews, phone calls, etc) It was necessary for me to "fire" one of the companies for which I work. As I was assembling the content and sending in the features over the weekend, the company supervisor (my sole contact) slowly started requiring web-building requirements to my assignments. As I was discussing this issue, he became rude and disrespectful...and that was it for me.

You see, about four months ago, I made it a policy that in any business that I would do, if anyone would show disrespect to me or any of my teammates in the network, I would cease the business relationship. I might be the last businessman in the world that holds a strong policy on manners, but there must be civility in all aspects of the working world, I believe. Christian or non-Christian - no matter.

--------------

Now, back to the story:

I was the most anxious kid in the country the week before Christmas. Nothing else seemed to matter but that Jerry Mahoney ventroloquist puppet. I dreamed about using it and speaking without moving my lips. I studied the "Throw Your Voice" sections of party games books in the Hershey Library. I talked about how I would entertain church groups and school meetings alike. I was obsessed with Christmas morning.

The day came.

I bolted downstairs - along with the rest of my brother sand sisters - to the front room of our country house on Airport Road. Mom had us sit down (Dad wasn't around - I think the divorce was final) in front of the tall Christmas tree decked with plastic icicles and spray snow (which I still think is awesome stuff). We went through the smaller gifts that we exchanged among siblings (car-shaped soap, box of nonpareil candy) and laughed a lot. It was great.

Then there was one more present for each child.

The Big Gift.

One by one we worked our way around the room. I'm telling you, I was in a sweat, (and I believe I was too young to even have sweat yet) but I can tell you the honest truth, I was shaking whenever I grabbed that wrapping paper. It seems the right size, but you never know...

I held the rectangular parcel vertically and I ripped it open halfway up.

Jerry Mahoney peeked through the whole inteh wrapping paper.

I shouted, screamed and laughed. I kissed my mom and shouted some more. Christmas Day was Perfect.

I waited and waited and waited for something so long that I ached - and it came to pass.

And I look at the life we have right now, and as much as I know things are fun and enjoyable, there are also hurts and griefs that we all face. I know there is a better life that God has for us. He's not a monster to make us suffer and then extinguish from existence. There is a Heaven and I wait anxiously for that day whenever I can see it all come true.

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down-when we die and leave these bodies-we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.
For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies.
Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life.
God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
That is why we live by believing and not by seeing.

2 Cor. 5>2

Thoughts on Christmas wishes

I can recall the Christmas I wanted to be a ventroloquist.

Specifically I wanted to be as good as, or better than Paul Winchell (whom many of you will recognize as Tigger's voice in the Winnie the Pooh cartoons.) This guy could make the doll talk without so much as a flinch of his lips, and I was enthralled at the idea of being able to set up a partner onstage to make wisecracks and witty asides while I played the straight man. Oh, I could see my career take off, especially in my 4th grade class in January, when the teacher, Mrs. Riley, would let anyone march to the front of the class, proudly display one of their Christmas gifts and chat about it. Why, I don't know - perhaps for the experience of getting in some public speaking. No matter. This was my chance to take center stage and impress the girls, especially Lynette Bredbenner and Lori Morris. I would show my gift, go into a routine and make them swoon. Never mind the fact that I was a buck-toothed kid with a long neck and a bad haircut. It's the sheer thespian talent that knocks 'em dead, didn't you know?

Well, I was dropping every hint possible in order to let my mom know that I wanted a Jerry Mahoney puppet more than anything in the world...