First Funeral Eulogy (for Eva Lundy)

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Eulogy

I imagine that if Eva could speak to us today after seeing us cry, hearing our kind words, and choosing songs that we think she would like she would be very moved and thankful. She would flash that smile that meant so much to so many of us. Her face might even get a little red out of embarrassment that anyone would say so many nice things about her.

I also imagine the first words that would come out of her mouth would be something like, “Good night, I don’t know why everyone is making a fuss over little old me.”

I got to know Eva late in her life. She had just hurt her leg a little bit. She was not able to walk like she used to be able to. I think this at times, at least with me, led her to be a little reflective. When I visited with her, I got the impression that she saw her life as good, and yet at the same time fairly common and ordinary. This was something she was very happy with. But I believe Eva was far from ordinary. Eva, was in fact, a woman of extraordinary character and class, who expressed her faith in simple ways as she went about her everyday life. And that kind of simple, honest, real, authentic faith is very unique, and becomes less and less common every day.

Eva would say that she would not want us making a fuss over “little old me”, but there was very little that was little about Eva. She stood tall in stature. Her grandson Eric said that even as he grew taller than his grandmother, he still felt like he was always looking up at her. I think many of you felt the same way.

But there was nothing small or little about the way Eva lived her life. Each of you can testify to this. There is nothing small about living a righteous life. There is nothing small about living a life of character. There is nothing small about loving your neighbor. There is nothing small about being a good mother, a doting grandmother, a beloved auntie, or a faithful friend. There is nothing small about living a life of faithfulness to the Lord and to her church, Fowler First Baptist Church.

I have thought and prayed since Wednesday about what Scripture I would like to share to describe Eva. I wanted to find one that would speak to the kind person she was, and the kind of character she had. I thought and I thought. Then, as I was driving home from the family dinner out at Anna Jean’s last night, I felt led to share this passage from Proverbs 31. In many ways, Eva was a Proverbs 31 kind of woman. She was a woman of character

Eva and the woman in Proverbs 31 were both hard workers. Eva did not like to be idle. And as she got older it drove her crazy that she could not get out and do half of the things that she could do most of her life. Even as Eva’s mind was deteriorating, she would often talk about how she was doing chores and getting the wash done before noon. To stay active, there were many years that Eva would walk around town collecting pop cans. Sometimes people thought she did this because she was destitute. She wasn’t. She simply wanted to keep active. And do her part in helping keep Fowler a wonderful place to live. And the collected money from doing this helped her to give a generous gift to each of her grandchildren at graduation. She held jobs around town. She also held offices at the church, spending many years as treasurer of First Baptist, and many other years as a Sunday School teacher to the children of Fowler.

Eva was a caretaker. She looked out for folks. She delighted in her children and grandchildren. She adored her brothers and sisters as well. She made sure her family was taken care of with well-cooked meals including noodles made from scratch. She was also the kind that would take people under her wing who would benefit from and appreciate her attention and/or mentoring. She would not hesitate to set an extra place at the table for a family friend. She would seek to include people in her social circle who she felt needed a place to be and to belong. She enjoyed cleaning house for Doris Coberly as her health deteriorated, and trained her granddaughter Clair to take over the job as she grew older. Even in the last couple of years, Eva had this arrangement where she would read the paper, and then get the paper to Doris so that Doris could read the paper and not have to have a separate subscription.

Eva loved people. And she loved many of you. Eva showed often showed her family and friends she loved them through acts of service. She taught family and friends how to make pies from scratch. She would have grandkids over to spend the night, and get up early to make them a big, full breakfast that they would eagerly devour once they awakened. Many of you will attest to something that she did for you to let you know that she cared for you and was thinking of you. As humble as Eva was, she probably kept no mental account of the kindness she showed you, and it was you that still remember her good deeds even now.

Like the woman of Proverbs 31, her character extended into her relationship with Jesus. No dust settled on a book of crossword puzzles or a crossword dictionary in Eva Lundy’s home, and no dust settled on her Bible. If you look at Eva’s Bible, you could tell it was not a decoration, but rather a tool for living. The spines of her Bibles were cracked, and then put back together with packaging tape. The verses inside of Eva’s Bible were highlighted. Notes litter the sides of her old Bible, with summaries of what the passage of Scripture was saying. And those were just the Bibles she had in recent years. Because the Bible she treasured the most the dog tore off the end table and ate most of it. A sad story and a funny story, but a telling one. Her Bible was usually at her end table in the living room, and she read it daily.

Eva was also a woman of prayer. Even when her mind was not working as she would like it, her heart had been trained to pray. I remember visiting Roger and her in the hospital. I wanted to pray a simple prayer as I left her. She took it as an invitation to lead me and Roger in prayer. She couldn’t necessarily keep a train of thought for long at that point. So she kept praying a similar prayer with minor variations. That prayer was thank you. Thank you God for our family. Thank you God for my church. Thank you God for all that you made. Thank you God for Jesus. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

A couple of weeks later she was home, and being moved into the nursing home. She would fade from being awake to being asleep. I came to check in on her, and on the Lundy family. And as she would sit there, with Richard and Roger making arrangements around her, and she would sing a song of praise. Over and over again she would say “Alleluiah, Allleluiah, God is so good. Allelujah.”

Eva was such a woman of prayer that when her mind could not put many words together, she had trained her heart to sing. You could see the same thing when she was in chapel at the Fowler Health Care Center, and a song would click. And she would start singing along from heart. She might not be able to remember who I was, but when I would leave and I would pray the Lord’s Prayer with her, she still knew it from memory.

Finally, I think Eva would want me to say this. You don’t need to be sad for her. You may be sad because you miss her, but don’t be sad for her. She is with Jesus now. She is standing on the other side of eternity, and she is filled with joy. When Roger showed me where she left off in her daily Bible reading, it appeared that the last chapter that she read was Romans 6:23. It says this, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” Eva would want me to say today, from the other side of eternity, that her choosing to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior made all the difference in her life. And if you will accept him it will make all the difference in your life to.

Today, as we remember Eva, like the people around the woman in Proverbs 31, we rise up and call her blessed. We rise up and call her blessed because we have been blessed by her, and each of us has been enriched by knowing her. We call her blessed because she was a woman of character. We call her blessed because she was a woman who loved God, and faithfully lived her life following and trusting Jesus.

This world is going to miss Eva Lundy. This community is going to miss Eva Lundy. And I know I will too.

Sermon for 7-25: What to do when you don't know what to do

12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk[b] from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers[c] (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."
18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, " 'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,'[d] and, " 'May another take his place of leadership.'[e] 21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.






WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
By the time we get to the second part of the first chapter of Acts, we see the disciples in a holding pattern. Jesus has just ascended to heaven and has told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Then he says they will go out into places near and far and be witnesses of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done with the whole world.

They were told, I repeat, the Holy Spirit WILL come upon you.

Until that happened, until the Holy Spirit came upon them what should they do? What are they supposed to do?

Ever been in a situation like that? When you are kind of in between things? Have you ever been in that kind of situation where one opportunity has passed, and another door has not quite been open to you yet?

Or maybe you are not eagerly hoping for something specific in the future. Perhaps you are just living, and you have retired, and you don’t know what is coming next. You feel like your life is behind you, and you are not sure how to get out of the stuck place that you are at in your life.
I know I have felt like this at times. I wanted to be married. I at least wanted some sort of relationship heading in that direction. I would date a little bit. I would talk to some gals. Then there would be times where I would not find someone I wanted to date at all. Even when the odds were on my side as far as single women went, a phrase that women use about the higher proportion of men to women in Alaska came to mind. The odds were good, but the goods were odd.

Also, I felt led to be a leader of a church while I was serving as an Associate Pastor in Colorado Springs for a couple of years before God opened the door to come here to Fowler. It took time for God to open the right door to where he was calling me to go.

The disciples are in this place between where Jesus has ascended to heaven, and where the Holy Spirit comes to indwell believers on the day of Pentecost and thereafter. As they wait they teach us how live in those waiting, hoping, trying to figure out what is next times. They teach us what to do when we don’t quite know what to do.

There are a few helpful hints to notice as we go. You should see them on your outline as we go along. You can fill that out, or just listen as we go.
Those points are these.
Point 1: They gathered together
Point 2: They prayed together
Point 3: They let the word of God speak to them
Point 4: They obeyed what God said

Let us look at each of these points individually.

Point 1: They gathered together

Perhaps no spiritual practice is so overlooked and disparaged as the importance of believers gathering together. Of course, I know I am preaching to the choir right now, because each of you is here this morning. You have gathered together. But even when we are together, we may take this blessing for granted.
We need each other. We need each other for our own well being, but we also need each other to live out our faith in Jesus Christ in a meaningful and powerful manner.
There are several reasons why gathering together is important, especially in those times when we are seeking and searching for the answer to that “what to do question”
· We find wise council from and with others (Proverbs 15:22)
· We find people with different gifts and perspectives to offer (Rom 12)
· We find accountability (Matt. 18: 15-17)
· We find greater power in prayer (Matt. 18: 19-20)

So often our world drives us so hard toward independence. Scripture leads us toward interdependence on one another. We are made to need one another. We are made to lean on one another.

If you feel stuck in wondering what to do, come here. Share your heart with the people here. Allow their listening words and kind actions to lift you up, to offer you hope. Let us pray with you. Cry with you. Sing with you. Hope with you.

Point 2: They prayed together

If you notice nothing else in the book of Acts, I want you to notice how the early church prayed. How the apostles prayed. How when they were joyful, they thanked God in prayer together. How when they were scared, they gathered together in prayer to pray through their fear. You need to notice that when they early church faced a big decision, they bathed it in prayer. And, when they were suffering, they brought their confusion and heartache to the Lord in prayer. We tend to think we need to go to prayer when everything is out of our hands, and we have no control. Instead, we need to be in the habit of taking everything to God in prayer. Nothing is to trivial. Nothing that is important to you is unimportant to your heavenly father.

I want you to notice that the Scripture said they prayed TOGETHER. This is hard for some of us. We go to the Sermon on the Mount and we read that we need to go to our closet to pray. And we understand that means to pray in private.

When we are told to go to our closet to pray, we are told not to make prayer a show. Not to do prayer as a performance art so that other folks are impressed.

Scripture calls us both to pray in our closet, and to gather together for prayer.

We need to pray for each other. We also need to pray with one another.

Scripture says that there is power when we gather together in prayer. Scripture promises the presence of Christ in our midst when we gather together to pray.

Prayer is especially important when we are seeking to figure out what to do when we do not know what to do. We need to gather friends around us to pray for us. We need to enlist our church to pray with us and for us in times of stress, in times of grave concern, but also in those times when we need to have God lead us in what we should do with our next day, our next week, and the rest of our lives.

It would be so exciting even if after this service you found two other people to gather together with you and pray for you once a week. Pray for each other. Support each other. We are not only called to gather together, we are called to pray together.


Point 3: They let the word of God speak to them

The Bible is an amazing book. It is God’s word. It is without flaw. You would do well to know it. You would do well to study it. It would even be better if you understood what you studied. The Bible is written, though, so that you will let it speak to your life and situations you live in.
The story goes that there was a nobleman that was taken prisoner. He asked for a Bible as his only possession. He read it and he read it. This impressed people who checked in on him and watched him. Then he died, and then went into his dungeon cell. And they looked around and there were notes on the wall. Tallies on how many names were in the Bible. All sorts of other trivia. Really meaningless trivia about the Bible. It became apparent to his jailers that he learned the facts about the Bible, but he had little interest in what it meant or how it could make its way into his heart.

My friends, I want you to read the Bible. I want you to be faithful in doing it. But I don’t just want you to know facts and figures about the history of Scripture. I want you to allow the truths of Scripture, the stories in the word of God, the proverbs and the prayers, I want you to let all of that speak into your life. I want you to not just know the Bible, I want you to let the Bible guide and direct your life. I pray that the Bible will guide and direct your decisions.

I pray that as you read Scripture you will be challenged about how you raise your kids, treat your spouse, how you speak to your neighbor, and how you talk about people around your friends. I pray that the Word of God will speak into how you live and relate in relationship with others.

I pray you will allow the Word of God to speak to how you make your decisions, how you spend your time, and how you spend your money. I pray you would allow the Word of God to influence what you listen to, what you watch, how you drive your car, what you speak about, and what you think about.

The early church allowed the Word of God to speak to their specific situation. They found Scriptures after they prayed that spoke to a specific situation. In their case, it was what to do with their small little community after one person had betrayed their cause and killed himself. They found Scriptures about the Messiah which seemed to say that they needed to appoint another apostle, so that is what they went about doing. They sought God through his Word, and they allowed Scripture to speak to their lives where they were at.

Point 4: They obeyed what God said

We can pray and pray and pray and pray for God’s guidance.

We can study God’s Word for hours on end asking him to speak to us.

We can gather with other believers every time the church is open.

We can do all these things. However, if we are not willing and ready to obey God and his leading, we will end up feeling stuck, lost, alone, and awash in a sense of depression and hopelessness.
God speaks to us so that we can obey what he asks us to do.

The disciples felt like God was leading them to put someone in Judas’ position after his death. They found suitable candidates. They cast lots. They installed the person as apostle that they felt led toward.

God may lead us to do things that are uncomfortable. He may simply ask us to be still and know that he is God. God may not want to change our actions as much as our attitude. We need to obey.

If God says we need to forgive someone, we better do it.

If we feel led to have a more positive attitude and a more thankful heart after we pray, we better obey that leading.

If God speaks to you, you better obey. You better not harden your heart.

The disciples gathered together. They prayed together. They sought God in his Word. They obeyed what they had been led by God to do. They did this, and they conquered an empire with the power of their faith without ever lifting a sword.

What will you let God do in your heart, in your church, in your life. There is no limit in what God can do through us if we have the heart that they had back then. May the Lord find us faithful.

Parenting Posts #2

Some further reflections on parenting in the second month of Karis' life

• I have the opportunity of spending most mornings at home with Karis working on stuff that I can do at home. I start at 7 and drop her off at 12:30. It allows me to get the same amount done as I get done from 9-Noon generally on any other day before she was born.


• Slowly I am being able to discern between her cries. The feed me cry is most recongnizable. Followed by the "you dont quite have it, you need to move me a little bit" cry.


• She is becoming more social. A month ago when she started to make noise, we started to make a plan to soothe her. Now, she likes to thrust her arm toward you and get verbal like she is talking with you. Of course, she does not have any words yet. A month ago kicking and flailing was always a cause for concern. This month, at times, it is simply exercise.


• I am becoming more attached to her as time goes by. I am ok with dropping her off at day care for 4 hours of so. When I have had to drop her off for a full-day I have to leave quickly because I get close to tears.


• Another time I was close to tears: I went to daycare to bring by someone who wanted to meet the baby. She tried to hold and capture the baby's attention. But, Karis heard my voice. She started looking over in my direction and reaching out her hand. She loves her daddy and misses him! This makes me happy.


• I have learned that my child's anxiety is directly related to mine, especially when I hold her. If I get upset because she is a little fussy, she gets more upset. If I take a deep breathe and model poise and peace to her, it helps her to do the same. Having said that, I have not perfected this at all.


• When I preach, my daughter hears my voice amplified, but cannot find out where I am. She looks around, she gets confused, then she cries out. This is hard to deal with, but it also makes me feel good.


• Unlike every other kid I have seen, unless Karis ends up moving with her cart or the or in the car she HATES her car seat. She is ok when she is in and out of it when we take a break from travelling. But it really does not work to put her in the car seat otherwise.


• I find that part of what frustrates or encourages me as a parent is when I feel competent or incompetent as a parent. If I am able to soothe Karis or make her smile, or get a difficult burp out of her, I feel good as a father and a parent. If I fail in care of her somehow I feel like I shoulld have never been a father. In this case, parenting can be an emotional rollercoaster.

Thats about it...

Whatever this means,,,,

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

The mixed blessing of television

I was born in 1973. I am a member of the "Baby Buster" generation or "Generation X". This means I have never lived in a world where there was not color television.

I like my television. I especially like watching television from August to February. This is because I love watching college and professional football. I am an avid Seahawks fan, and an even more passionate Oregon Ducks fan. Sometimes it makes me sad I live in an area where I don't get to see my teams often enough on television.

My wife likes reality tv. We watch shows like HGTV's House Hunters together. She watches the Bachelorette while I find something else to do.

Lately I have been pondering how the invention of the television has influenced my life and my world. Specifically, I am wondering how our television-centered culture effects our ability to be hospitable to one another, pay attention to one another, and love one another.

For instance, I have been thinking about how our home is organized. Currently, all our seating faces the television in both our den and our living room in the parsonage. I wonder if that was the case when the house was built over a hundred of years ago. I imagine that the seating faced others so that people in the home could look at each other, visit each other, and welcome others into their home. If this is the case, we have changed in the last 100 years from having homes being centered around relationships, to being centered around entertaining ourselves.

In many homes, the television has taken over meal time. Fewer and fewer families eat with one another and visit at the table. Instead, we often eat in the living room where we can see what is on the television at the same time.

When our small children are needing something to occupy their time and we want to do other things, it is not uncommon to place our children in front of a television with a video or children's programming. This is not always bad. Sesame Street taught me to read at a young age. However, I wonder if we use the television a little too often to soothe our kids when they would be better off with more time and attention from people that love them.

Recently, honest, civil discussions about matters of national importance, including political matters, has become more jaded. I think this is because the news shows on tv often manipulates us with sound bites and video clips designed to insight fear and distrust. I wonder if the world looked different when people had the patience to talk through difficult issues, and the commitment to read more instead of flipping on the television and quoting their favorite newsman or newswoman.

So what does all of this have to do with the Christian faith? I don't think this power of television in our lives means this pastor is ever going to recommend that all tvs should be thrown out of the home. It does that we might be wise to wake up and take control of the influences we let into the house instead of letting them control us. It might mean we choose to be aware of the television's influence in our home, and put some limits on when we watch it and for how long. If we are concerned about the overwhelming influence of television in our lives, we may want to choose certain times of the week where we intentionally turn our televisions off so that we can visit with our families, make that phone call we need to make, write that note we have been putting off, read a book or take some time for Bible study and prayer even.

Anyway...something to ponder as you go through your day!

A Poem

It is when

I feel

the loss

of your presence

that I

know

what you mean

to me

It is when

I feel

your absence

that your presence

lingers

and surrounds me

like a pleasant aroma

It is when

I am hungry

for your touch

that I know

how much

your love

fills

and fulfills

It is when

I cannot

see you

that I see you

and when I cannot

hear your voice

that your words

ring in my ear

Your love

is near me

when you are present

and surrounds me

when I am not near

so that I will know

the strength of our love

always

Book Review of THE JOURNEY HOME by Michael Baron

THE JOURNEY HOME
By Michael Baron
ISBN-13 978-0-9819568-6-2
The Story Plant
Reviewer Clint Walker

As THE JOURNEY HOME begins, Warren’s life sounds like a bad country song. His wife has left him. He lost his job. On top of all this, Warren’s mother Antoinette is in an assisted living facility and dying of Alzheimer’s disease.

At the same time, a man named Joseph awakens in a strange place. He does not know where he is or where he is from. Joseph runs into a young man named Billy who offers him the opportunity to get out on the open road and rediscover his memory and his old life.

The book alternates between the stories of Antoinette, Warren, and Joseph. Throughout the novel, each character looks to the past to help them find their way in the present. It is an extremely well-written book that tugs at one’s heart strings.

One of the unique things about the story was the interrelationship between food, memory, and home. Walter spends most of the novel recreating his mother’s old recipes in her apartment as a way of reaching her and connecting to her memory. Each significant movement in the novel is accompanied by a meal. And the whole novel centers around both Joseph and Antoinette’s struggles with remembering.

This book has been marketed as a Christian novel in some circles Even though this book is an excellent read, I believe it will be a disappointment to readers who are expecting a Christian novel. The name of Christ is never mentioned. The theology of the afterlife communicated in this novel contradicts the plain teaching of Scripture. The only way this book seems Christian is that the whole novel communicates traditional values and a high regard for family life. For many readers seeking a Christian inspirational novel, this will not be enough.

NBA Drama

I have had several thoughts to share about the NBA free-agent period. It has intrigued me a lot. And, what intrigues me most is not where the top 8 free agents go, but rather where the next top 42 fall. I have also been interested in the big Lebron drama too, and have thoughts about all of it.

1. The Big 3 in Miami (if it happens) will not be all it is cracked up to be

A team is not made up of three players. A basketball team needs at least 8 servicable players. Maybe more. Dwayne Wade has been so beat up, I think he really only has 3 really good years in him. What if one of the "big three" get hurt? Who will fill in? Will Charles Barkley come out of retirement? He better, because that is going to be the quality of the supporting cast.

I think the Big 3 in Miami will still struggle with Orlando, Los Angeles, Boston and others.

2. My thoughts on the not so big rest of the players

Randy Foye
Nate Robinson
David Lee
Tyrus Thomas
Luis Scola
Raymond Felton
Joel Childress
Shaquille O'Neal
Udonis Haslem
Richard Jefferson
Corey Brewer
JJ Redick
Al Harrington
Z. Ilgauskas
Brad Miller--
Matt Barnes
Luke Ridnour--
Jordan Farmar--
Kyle Korver
Sergio Rodriguez
Mason
Wes Matthews
Matt Miller--
Earl Boykins--
Josh Howard
McGrady

I think after Lebron decision several things will happen.

1. Each of the teams that cleared space will go looking quickly for servicable point guards. This means that Ridnour, Farmar, Robinson, and even Rodriguez and Boykins will be signed by the end of the weekend. Also, look for some point guard trades
2. Next, teams will seek to fill their outside shooting needs. Matt Miller and Kyle Korver and JJ Redick will have offers before the end of the weekend too
3. Miami, with or without Lebron, will work at filling out their roster. If Lebron comes, look for veterans hungry to win. If Lebron does not go to Miami, look for young, lanky athletic types and a tough center to join the team.
4. After that the big moves by teams with cap space. For instance, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, perhaps Cleveland will make signings
5. Teams that are already decent will look to sign players with mid-level exceptions
6. Teams get filled out with veterans minimums

Book Review for Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

In 1871, the lives of sixteen women are changed by one desperate decision to leave the security of their homes and board a train for a new future. The Ladies Emigration Society offers the women a free homestead and a way to support themselves and take control of their lives during a time when independence was often limited or impossible. Each of them abandon the lives and lifestyles they know to become homesteaders, only to learn soon before arriving in Plum Grove, NE that they are being sent to the frontier as mail order wives instead of land owners.

The story of this time and place in history becomes even more interesting as each of the womens' situations that brought them to this point develop. Each woman in the story takes charge of their individual future in suprising ways. This leads to different outcomes for each person, and in turn also tells a unique story about how the community of Plum Grove is transformed by these courageous ladies.

The author weaves some history of the early life of settlers and how they relied on their faith in God to guide their decisions. It also highlights an interesting historical situation that women found themselves in as they settled the West. Too often the stories of women like these ladies are forgotten. Although the story is predictable, there are some exciting plot twists. If you enjoy stories like Little House on the Prairie, you will enjoy this book.

*A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Bethany House Publishers as a review copy in exchange for writing this review. I was free to write the article honestly.

**This review was writen in conjunction with my mother, Patricia Walker

As for Me and My House--Scripture and Part 1

As for Me And My House
Joshua 24: 1-5; 14-28
1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River[a] in old times; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.********
14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” 19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

It was not an easy day for Joshua. There were very few after Moses passed away and passed on the leadership of Israel to him. God had blessed them with a miraculous victory in battle in Jericho. Then they marched into Ai. In Ai many of their men died in battle. They were trounced. They were defeated in battle because one man, named Achan, and his family betrayed the instructions of God by holding back some of the spoils of battle for themselves.

That day Joshua gathered the people, and he had them go to the town of Shechem. Shechem was a town that was at the entryway to a mountain pass. It had two mountains on either side of it. On one side was Mount Ebal. On the other side was Mount Gerazim. Half of the people climbed one mountain. Half of the people climbed the other mountain overlooking the city. With hundreds of thousands of people on each side of the mountain pass of Shechem the read the covenant in Deuteronomy….all of it…as a responsive reading. The people in the valley below must have been impressed. All of the people of Israel did this. Men…women…children. They renewed their covenant with God and one another. And they went about entering the promised land. All of this happened around Joshua 8.

Fast forward. Israel has finished their battles. They are about to take possession of the land that was promised. There were still people occupying some of the land that they had been promised. But they were disbanding as an army and moving from being a nomadic people to being a people owning and tending a land. The word came out to the people that they were gathering in Shechem again. Once again to renew the covenant. Then to go and take possession of the promised Land.

The mountains around Shechem were the place where Abraham was buried. It is probably the place where Jacob meets Esau, fearing for his life after wrestling with the angel on the other side of the River. It was also along a major trade route. It was the area where Jacob settled for several years. Where Joseph was sold to merchants who took him to Egypt. Now, as escaped slaves from Egypt, they stand above it. They look at this land of history. They look at the land of Promise. The land that had been promised to the children of Abraham, that land was being claimed by his decendants half a millineum later. With Joshua as their leader. Joshua meets with the elders. Then with the people.


Bible scholars and Hebrew tradition agree that they once again renew the covenant over those two mountains. Some traditions say that they read the cursings from one mountain, and the blessings from the other. This is very interesting, because one of these mountains is a fertile easy mountain climb with creeks flowing through it, while the other mountain is full of prickly pear and jagged rocks. If the people are faithful, they have one kind of ascent discovering the presence of God. Beautiful and fruitful. If they take another direction, jagged rocks and prickly pear with a steep slope. Painful and rough.

They stand to make their commitment. All of them, in this massive crowd, climb the mountains again. All the idol worshippers watch in the valley below. Joshua recounts their history. The decision that is before them. That decision was that as a nation they could choose to follow God, submit to him, and obey his word. Or, as a nation, the people could choose to follow the gods of Egypt and of the people of the land. Joshua tells them that if they commit to a covenant with God, then they need to remember that there is a blessing for doing it, but that it will be awful for them if they choose not to follow the Word of the Lord as stated in His Law.

He tells them that they have an option to do as they please. Then Joshua utters these famous, brilliant words that we have heard many times, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.

As for Me and My House--Part 2

“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord”

If you are like me you have heard this passage quoted before. You have seen it written across people’s doorposts. You have heard it quoted on Christian radio. You may know it is in Joshua. You may not know the many layers of meaning that this passage held when Joshua said it.

For instance, you may not think of this passage in the context of a people who had been wandering through the desert. The people of God had been living in tents for over a generation. For 400 years they had been in slavery. All the while they had been clinging to a promise that God would bring them into the promised land of what is modern day Israel. For twice as long as America has been a nation, the Hebrew people had been clinging to a promise that someday God would give them a land to live in. Now that moment was happening. That promise was fulfilled. Joshua says that he will honor God with the promise he has been given. He will honor God in the place he lives. He will recognize God as the one who fulfills promises and answers prayers. And he will get the chance to live in a home, and not just a tent. His house will be a place where God is honored in.

He said, “Me and My House, We will serve the Lord”

But a house, in Hebrew thought, is more than just a building. It is a group of people. Specifically, it refers to a family grouping. This is how we often interpret it. We look at this verse and say when Joshua says “Me and my house” he is talking about his family. He is saying, as the leader of his family, that his family will follow the Lord. When he does this he does what all good leaders should do. Specifically, he says in effect “I don’t know about you, but this is what me and my family we are going to do. We are going to serve Lord. Are you going to do the same as I?” By being the first to commit his family to follow God, he invites other to follow suit.

He said, “Me and My House, We will serve the Lord”

Along the same lines, maybe he is saying that he is not going to be swayed by what anyone else does. He is committed to the Lord, along with his family. This would certainly fit his character. Those of you who know Bible history know that he and one other person had the only “yes” votes in entering the promised land of Israel when everyone else was too scared to enter. Can you imagine? What is the vote? 200,000 no. 2 yes. Yet Joshua was right then. He is correct in this moment as well.

He said, “Me and My House, We will serve the Lord”

I think all of these things are layers of meaning in the passage. I think it is interesting if you study the passage, though, that the most common use of house is not a building, and not a nuclear family unit. The most common use of the word of house is used of a tribe, or even a nation of people. Over and over again, as a nation the Hebrew people are referred to as the “House of Israel”.

Joshua said, “Me and My House, We will Serve the Lord”

So along with these other layers of meaning, when Joshua stands up and says, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” What he is saying is that as long as he is leader of the people of Israel, they will serve the Lord. He will not lead them in any other direction. So the people have a choice. They can follow Joshua and this covenant as God’s people, or they can meld in with the rest of the world, and follow a different leader and join with one of the other nations around them. Or they can find a new leader. But when he is leader, he is going to lead the people to serve the Lord. He will not let it go in any other direction.

As for Me and My House Part 3

All of these ways of looking at the meaning of this one sentence are true. They are as true today as they were then. Whether you have a big house, or whether you have a small house. Whether you have a full house, or you live alone. Whether you rent your home, or you own it. You can make your home God’s home. You can let the Word of God reign in your home.

You can say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

You can be a leader in your family. Parents, you can set standards for your children. You can say, these are things that we will stand for in this home. These are things that we will not permit. Your commitment to be here today speaks of just such a commitment. When you commit to be here, worshipping and praising here….

You say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

We can all be in situations like Joshua had been decades before. Where everyone around us are going the wrong way. And we have to make a stand for what is right. And we know we are going to be in the minority. And we know people are going to be angry with us. And we might even be scared. Never the less, when everyone else is doing whatever is right or good in their own eyes, we can look at our lives a little bit differently.

We can say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”


Generations ago, people came to this country from all over. Many of them came because they loved the Lord, and wanted to worship him as they saw fit. They formed colonies. They began created charters. They may have done well in some ways, and fell short in others. But many of them came to America saying…

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Today we desperately need people in our nation like Joshua. Leaders who stand for what is right, even when it is not popular. Leaders who would ask what Jesus would do before they decide what direction to lead us in. Even if it costs them their office for a season, or their popularity. People who are going to stand for the truth, and stand for what is right. People who are not going to have their choices shifted by polls, or who gives them what financial support.

Leaders who say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

When I think of modern day Joshua’s I think of people like Manute Bol, who died at the end of last month in Olathe, KS. Manute was eulogized in the National Cathedral after his death. Honored with a hero’s memorial in our country. Friends with Senators like Joe Lieberman, he was lauded as one who embodied our country’s values. Yet, he never fought in the military. He was born halfway across the world.

Manute was a son of a tribal royalty in the Danka tribe in Southern Sudan. He was tall. His grandfather was taller, he said, standing at 7’ 10’. Manute was 7’7” tall.

In his teens he was discovered by someone affiliated with basketball back in the United States. He showed a little adeptness for it. They tried to get him in to a Division I program in the states. Rules did not permit. He ended up at a very small college for two years on scholarship, and then went on to play in the NBA. Yet he kept his Lord and his people in his mind, “God guided me to America and gave me a good job. But he also gave me a heart so I would look back.” He said in an interview


He made millions of dollars in the NBA, but held on to very little of it. Instead of hoarding his millions he spent his money reaching out to his people back in Sudan. Building hospitals. Standing for justice for the people in Darfur, even though the people in Darfur used to be mortal enemies of his tribe.

As one person said of Manute, “Most NBA cats go broke on cars, jewelry & groupies. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals”

In the 90s they told him he could have a cabinet post in the government in Sudan if he would simply become a Muslim. He said no. “I WILL NOT. I AM A CHRISTIAN!” He said.

So they tried to deny him the opportunity to return to his home in America. He ended up in exile in Egypt for a year, until several congressman found a way to get him back into the country.

He ran out of NBA money, so he made himself a laughingstock to support his ministry with the Christians in the Sudan being persecuted by Muslims. He took his 77 and 225 frame to a hockey game for thousands of dollars. His thin frame boxed with William the Refrigerator Perry to help more people as they laughed at him. He became the tallest horse jockey ever to support his outreach.

He kept standing for Jesus, working for Christ, returning to Sudan. On the last time he went to Sudan he got a skin disease that burned his mouth, lips, and part of his throat. He couldn’t eat. He had a kidney disease. He died, in part at least, as a martyr and missionary to his own country and to ours, in a hospital bed in Suburban Kansas City.

He said “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

We will spend our lives loving and serving others. We will refuse to betray Christ, even when offered great amounts of political power. Manute said, “I will be laughed at so that I can love others.” I will use my wealth to help my people. I will use my voice and my stage to stand up for the freedom of my people, and people that were once my enemies, but are now my brothers in Christ.

Manute LIVED, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord”

Today, we have the opportunity to renew our covenant. We come to the table of God. We take the bread and the cup. We remember the body and the blood. And we are asked, once again, to make a choice to form or renew our covenant with the Lord. We come to this table to answer the question,
“Who will you serve?”

I hope you will say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The Parenting Posts #1

I have several blogging friends whose blogs became baby blogs after they had children. I do not plan on this being the case with this blog. However, I have always tried to use this blog as a place to openly and transparently share my personal and spiritual journey. Being a parent is being a big part of my journey now, so I plan on having parenting posts at least once every week or two. Maybe more at some times and maybe less at others. The forthcoming post is pretty raw. I hope as you read it you will see it as a snapshot of my life, and not judge me or think I am contradicting the more joyful and positive things I also say and believe.


The Unexpected Things I Have Discovered with Parenting an Infant



There were several changes that I expected in having a child. I expected less sleep. I expected more garbage. I expected the house to be cluttered with baby stuff everywhere. There are several changes that I did not expect about being a new parent. It is about those changes that I want to share with you today.



Having to think and live at a slower pace



I expected that I might have to bottle feed our baby at times. Actually, I have looked forward to holding the baby and feeding her a bottle. What has suprised me is how much feeding the baby, and doing things with the baby forces me to slow down.



Our daughter usually eats every three hours. I did not expect that often times those feedings would last 45 minutes. My theory was that I would often be able to multitask during Karis' feedings. For instance, I might be able to feed and read at the same time. I have found that when I feed Karis she wants me to slow down and give her my full attention. She gets a little unhappy with me if I am not looking at her when I feed her, because she is looking at me. Often times she will grab one or both of my fingers as I feed her, especially when she wants my full attention.



She has slowed me into more stillness. She forces me to quiet my mind. When we are alone, I find that this feeding time at this stage is a perfect time for prayer, especially praying for her. That is, until she wants me to sing to her. Sometimes she wants me to sing to her...I can just tell. And the singing with her and holding her, when it works, is the time I feel closest to her. Especially when she gazes right at me while I do it. Sometimes when I sing to her. Other times I sing prayers and songs of worship and praise to continue my prayer time. She likes both.



Having to adjust some of my household routines



I was suprised at how much housework, home maintenence, and chores that I chose to do between the time Jennifer goes to bed and the time I go to bed. I often pick up stuff off the floor, put all the shoes in one place, and do the dishes once Jennifer goes to bed. I think I did this because I could spend more time with Jennifer if I waited to do these things until she went to sleep.



Our routine these days is that I stay up until midnight, feed the baby, and then go to bed soon after that. This gives Jennifer an extra couple of hours of solid sleep before she gets up for Karis' middle of the night feeding.



Nowdays, I am learning that I need to take out the garbage at lunch, water the plants earlier in the day, and do some other chores earlier in the day. Since I get out of my routine, often I forget what I should be doing earlier because I am used to doing it later.



I Have A Harder Time Setting Priorities



When I am doing office work, I feel badly about doing that instead of family stuff. When I am doing family stuff, I feel badly about not getting more work done. I felt this a little once I got married, more when Jennifer was on bed rest, and even more intensely now that we have a baby at home. This would be easier I think if I had a normal 9-5 job. But when I live in a parsonage, and have a self-made schedule, I feel that the responsibility is always on me to choose one thing, and by doing so I feel like I am slighting the other.



I Am Suprised I Don't Feel More Attached to Karis



I love my daughter. I cried a little when she was born. I have learned a lot about who I am and who she is, and who God is since I became a father. There are moments when I can think about my baby, and I have to do something else because I am moved to tears. I love her with all my heart. If anyone tried to take her away from us, or hurt her, I would fight them ferociously.



Furthermore, I am so proud of my family. I love taking pictures of Karis. I love seeing her in her "daddy wear". With Jennifer at home now, I love coming home for lunch and having all my family together. It feels good and right.



Yet, I don't feel as bonded to her as I expected to. My wife gets excited just looking at Karis, and her and I together. You can see that when Jennifer playing with her and holding her fills up a part of her that she did not know was there before she was born. I don't have the same kinds of feelings. I do not always feel this wave of emotion when I am holding her, and after 30 to 45 minutes of cuddling with her I am ready to pass her on to someone or for her to take a nap. I dread those days when I might have to be alone with her with Jennifer out of town.



I think part of this lack of bonded feeling is my sense of inability to do things "right" with Karis. This sense both has to do with my time spent together with Karis, and what other people tell me I should think, feel or do. Jen has done the middle of the night feeding, but several people have told me that I am not being a good father unless I am sharing that responsibilty at this time. If I can't burp her efficiently, I get frustrated. There is never a time when I am being graded when I am with her, and that I am on the verge of failure. I especially feel like a failure when I cannot stop her from crying, or when someone is making a comment about how I should do something that we are not doing.



I love my baby. I enjoy her presence in the house. I like holding her when she is not crying and I like feeding her. I think she is adorable. I wouldn't want our baby to be any different than who she is. Yet, I expected to ENJOY her as much as all these other parents talk about enjoying their babies. On a day by day and moment by moment basis, for me, there is much less enjoyment of being a father of an newborn child than I expected their to be. Or that I feel that their should be. It makes me wonder what is wrong with me. And it breaks my heart, because I think my family deserves better. I expect this to change as she grows. I hope it will.

Best of the Bloggies....

My random collection of good reading from the bloggie world. Here it goes.

Shawn's trip to the DMV

Jason on his blogging journey

Chris talks about social networking from a sports information director's perspective

Thoughts from David May

Lessons Learned #1--Fatherhood Lessons from my Heavenly Father

This morning we are going to do something a little different. The sermon is broken up into three parts. When I was trying to think about what I should say for Father’s Day, a number of things ran through my head. I opted for something kind of similar to my article in the Tribune the other week.

What I want to share with you this Sunday, very briefly, are some lessons I have learned about who God as a heavenly father from my two-weeks as an earthly father. I realize this is dangerous because, well, I don’t have a lot of time on the job. On the other hand, being fresh to the fatherhood experience, I might have some perspective that might bear reminding for some of us.

Anyway, not a lot of this is really based on my experience. It is based on the word of God, and some Scriptures that teach us about the love and character of our Heavenly Father.

The first passage is this one, from the minor prophets:

Zephaniah 3:17
17 The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

The prophet Zephaniah writes this to Israelites as they were exile. He points them to a future hope when they will again be at home, and again be at peace. To give them a picture of what this is going to be like, he gives them an image of a Father caring for his young child, possibly as the child is just born. It talks about God being full of rejoicing over us, trying to lovingly quiet us, and singing over us.

When Karis was born, I was lucky enough to spend the first moments of her life with her. I assisted in the delivery by holding and pushing against one of Jennifer’s legs. Karis greeted her mother. I cut the cord. I carried her over to the little burrito warmer. I helped the nurse with the footprints, the weight, and the measurements. They cleaned her and swaddled her. I held her as they were finishing caring for Jennifer. I got to rock her.


As I began to hold her she whimpered a little. I talked to her and welcomed her to the world. I told her how lucky I was that out of all the little girls in all of the world, God had given me the best one. She quieted and kind of put her eyes in my direction. I sang over her. I sang songs I knew, and songs I just made up for the occasion—which I am known to do. I may have even shed a few tears. She was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen.

That tenderness I felt as I held that new life in my arms—that tenderness you have felt with your own children—that is the kind of love God has for those who are his faithful children. Those who are born again.

God says that your life may be difficult. You may have felt isolated and alone, like those Jews who spent a generation in exile. But you can count on the hope that at the end of your heartache and despair, your isolation and loneliness, that God will sweep you up in his arms. Like a little child that is newly born he will rejoice over and sing over you, he will comfort you with his love.

He won’t do this because of anything you have done or anything you can do. He will love you like a tenderly loving father because you are his, and he is yours, and to your Heavenly Father you are one of the most precious and beautiful things he has ever seen.

Lessons Learned Part 2: Lessons Learned about my Heavenly Father

I John 3:1
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

It is always nice to belong to someone, isn’t it? To have someone say….look at them….they are mine! To have someone say, “That’s my baby! That’s my boy! That my girl! That’s MY man! That’s MY woman!” Or vise versa. It is always nice to have someone to say that about.

When we are believers in Christ we have this privilege. When God watches us and looks upon us, he looks on us and says, “those are my kids”.

At one point in my life I had a pastor who did this prayer exercise where he challenged us to ask God, “God, what do you think of me?” Then he told us to listen for a response.

The pastor told us if we heard stuff that was like “you are worthless” or “I hate you” that this was the devil, who is called the accuser, and to rebuke him. But he also challenged us to listen to what God would say, and if God gave us some mental image to think about that as well.

I don’t always do well at these touchy feely exercises, so it took me a while to slow down enough to hear what God was saying. But when I slowed down this picture came to mind. I was with God in a room, a small living room with white walls and pictures all around. I asked the question. And God said, “I think of you all the time.” And then I looked around. And all around the room there were pictures of me at important and fun moments of my life. And it seemed to me that it was obvious that God was there at every moment those pictures were taken, taking those pictures. Furthermore, I noticed that God loved me so much that it was my pictures that he had on his wall, on his table, near his chair. And the thought of this moved me to tears. Why? Because I knew my Heavenly Father loved me like only a perfect father can. This vision I believe God gave me told the story of what it means to have a Heavenly Father that treasures me as only he can.
When God calls us his child he has given us his name. He has created us to look more like him, to act more like him, to share more and more of our life with him as we grow. He has given us an identity as his child, his heir, a member of his family. People can look at us and say “that is God’s child!” What a privilege!

The moment Karis was born, and I began to hold her in my arms, I knew that no matter what she did, or no matter what happened to her, I could not love her more in that moment, and I could not love her any less than I did in that moment for the rest of my life.

Let me say this again. One of the things I learned very quickly as I gazed into my child’s barely able to focus eyes was that there is nothing that she could ever do that could make me love her any less. Would I want bad things to happen to her? No. Would I want her to rebel and make a lot of bad mistakes? Of course not! But no matter what happens, deep down in my heart, I know my love for her can only grow.

The same is true of our Heavenly Father. There is nothing that we have done, or could do, that would make God love us any less. Does he want us to rebel? No. Does he want us to run away from him? Of course he does not. But if we run away from him or rebel against him, he offers us forgiveness and restoration. He loves us more than we will ever know.

Lessons Learned #3--A Father Welcomes Us Home

Luke 15:11-24
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.



When you are a new parent, one of the big moments of excitement and worry is when you get to take your children home from the hospital and welcome them into your home. I think this might be especially true with your first child. You have been preparing your home for months. You get a room ready as a nursery. You get all those little baby toys and baby furniture items put together. You gather hand-me downs. Your church throws a baby shower for you, your bride, and the little baby to come.

You organize the clothes by age. You buy plenty of diapers. Or at least, what you think is plenty of diapers until a week after you get home. You prepare the house for the baby to be in it. You get the base for the car seat set for the new little child to be in it. Jennifer even wanted me to take the car into that Octopus car wash and get an express detail for the baby so that the car would be as clean as it could be when we brought our baby home.

The moment comes when the doctor says that momma and baby are free to come home, and you put that precious cargo in your car. I told Jennifer not to be surprised if I drove 5 miles an hour down Highway 50 all the way home. The truth was I went about 50, but I was still driving slow, deliberately, and cautiously.

I discovered my normal laid back approach to driving fading, and being replaced by a newly minted road rage as I got frustrated at every car that cut in front of us or rode to closely to our bumper. I scolded them from inside my car, and told them in no uncertain terms, that we had a baby on board inside our car and should show us more respect.

I was more excited, I think, to bring our new baby inside the home we had been preparing for her arrival than when I came into our apartment for the first time as a married couple with Jennifer after our honeymoon. We had prepared a place for our baby. We were welcoming her home.

When Jesus was about to go to the cross, he said this, “In my Father’s house are many mansions (or rooms depending on the translation). I go to prepare a place for you…”

Just like we spent over 9 months waiting for our baby to arrive in our home, preparing, anticipating, hoping and dreaming, God has a place set aside for you. Jesus is preparing that place for you. There is a lot of anticipation in God’s heart, and hope for your homecoming.
Jesus told this story about this father, who son had spurned him. The Father is supposed to be like God, the son like those who had strayed far from God and went their own way. The rebellious son had taken his inheritance early and ran away to a land far away. He had gone broke spending all his money on loose women and wild living. He had his share of fun, sure. But when the money and parties had run out, so did the fun. He looked around and he was broke, he was lonely, friendless, with very little hope. All those things he thought would make him happy had led to a dead end.

He decided to go back to his father’s home and be a hired hand for his father. When the father, who represents our heavenly father, was out one day he looked off in the distance. He saw the son. He must have been looking out there every day hoping his child would come home. The father ran to his son and threw his arms around him. He called him his son. He put the family ring on his finger. He threw a party for the lost son. He prepared a feast. He welcomed him.
Friends, our Heavenly Father is always ready to welcome us home.

You may be coming toward the end of your life, and you may be thinking of eternity. Remember, just like some parents preparing a place for their newborn child, God is preparing a place for you.
You may have run away from God. You may have wasted most of your money and your life on wild, selfish living. Know this. God is eagerly awaiting your return to him and his ways. He has a feast prepared for you. He is eager to welcome you home.

Either way, God is waiting eagerly for your homecoming. He is anticipating that moment when he can walk you into his home, and say “Here is my boy! Here is my girl! After all this waiting, the family is finally home. Together.”

Catering to the Least Responsible Among Us: Reason #2 I still consider myself a conservative

Before Karis was born and while Jennifer was pregnant we participated in a childbirth class. It was something that was recommended to Jennifer, and she thought it would be helpful for us.

As her pregnancy went on, her enthusiasm for the class waned. Once Jennifer was put on bedrest by her doctor, she became even less excited about the one day intensive on the joys of giving birth . The class, as it turned out, happened to coincide with a visit from my wife's father and my wife's aunt. We decided to attend anyway, believing that since we had paid for the tutorial, we most likely should attend.

We showed up to the event in Pueblo. The building was approximately 45 minutes from our house. We were told we needed to bring our lunch with us, because we would work through lunch. In order to be prepared for this lunch, we drove to Rocky Ford (about 25 minutes one way) to get the Subway sandwiches we wanted.

We showed up that morning on time. The meeting started about ten minutes late. Although some of the information was basic, we learned a few things in the class. Jennifer was getting tired. It was getting to be lunch time.

When it was time to have lunch the instructor asked how many people had brought their lunch. About half had not. So the instructor told the class that instead of taking a short break and working through the class they would take an hour break and let people go out and get their lunches and come back.

This made me very angry. I had made a special effort to be prepared for the "working" lunch. I had made an effort to get to the class on time, and it had started late. We both were perturbed enough to confront the issue directly to the teacher.

"I thought we were having a 'working lunch', weren't we?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes, we were," the instructor responded, "but half of the people did not bring their lunches, and we cannot go to four without letting them eat, can we."

"You know what you are doing," I responded, "you are catering to the least responsible among us."

She shrugged. We went out to the car. We ate our lunch. We skipped the rest of the childbirth class because we were frustrated with the way the class was run, and because most of the second half of the class was a lot of standing up and moving.

This class demonstrates another reason why I consider myself a conservative. Many liberal policies and liberal persons tend to be so enamoured with their concerns with mercy and justice that they enable people's lack of responsibilities. Instead of offering people subsidies or incentives to become stronger people, liberals tend to pity people and offer them handouts to keep them weak and dependent. At their worst, liberals cater to the least responsible among us.

Compassionate conservative ideals (though often not conservative practice) attempt to address poverty and injustice through offering incentives for people to be more responsible. This is one of the reasons I became a conservative when I was young. This appeal to the best in us instead of the worst in us is also why I continue to consider myself a conservative today.

Review of Hunter's Moon by Don Hoesel

Hunter’s Moon begins as a homecoming story. CJ Baxter is a successful author, but his personal life is a mess. As he returns to his hometown for his grandfather’s funeral he begins to question his choices, those of his powerful political family, and the secret they are all trying to keep hidden.

The story begins a little slow, but the characters and plot all become intertwined in the family secret. As the pace of the story picks up, Baxter finds himself in a life or death struggle that forces him to come to terms with both his personal choices and his family’s history. As CJ struggles with his difficult circumstances, many readers will identify with him, which makes this novel even more interesting. He begins to realize that all he can do is move forward from the past and do the right thing in the present. It is when this realization comes upon him that he begins to understand matters of faith more clearly, and make his faith a real and active part of his life.

The nice thing about Hunter’s Moon is that it incorporates a number of different elements that people are looking for in an enjoyable reading experience. Baxter has to deal with significant relational struggles. The main characters are developed clearly. At the same time, as the story ramps up the pace of the novel increases, it becomes a mystery novel. Then the storyline turns a corner later in the novel and becomes more of a thriller. There is something for everyone’s taste in this fine book.

*This review was written in parnership with my mother, Patricia J. Walker

**This book was provided to me at no cost by Bethany House publishers in exchange for an honest review. As positive or negaitve review was not required in order to obtain the book.

NCAA Conference Realignment

Conference Realignment in the NCAA Division I is happening quickly these days. There are some things that seem to be settled. Those things are:

1. Colorado is becoming a part of the Pac 10 Conference. (Yipee)
2. Nebraska is becoming a part of the Big 10 (makes sense)

As you can see, both teams are from the Big 12 North, which has gotten short shrift in light of the dominance of Oklahoma and Texas in the conference. There move is understandable. Unfortunately, it puts the rest of the Big 12 North (KU, Mizzou, KState, Iowa State) in a lerch regarding being in a BCS Conference. In the Big 12 South, it also puts Baylor in a precarious position.

These leaves several possibilities:

1. The Big 12 going down to 10 teams as it is, moving Ok. State to the North.

2. The Pac 10 superconference

3. The Big 12 pulling in some mid majors like BYU and TCU to keep the conference alive.

4. The Big 12 imploding in a number of directions.


What do you think is going to happen? What teams are going where? Why do you think that?

Big Brother in the Baby Ward

My daughter was born last week. Because of that fact, we have spent a lot of time at the hospital. I think as far as hospitals go, Parkview hospital is a good hospital. However, the more time I spent at the hospital, the more I got frustrated and angry about all of the control and power I had to give away to the hospital staff and administration. It felt like big brother is running amuck in the halls of our labor and delvery wards.

After our baby was born, my wife and I got to hold her briefly. Then the powers that be took the child away to the hospital nursery. I asked if I could bathe the baby. They told me I was welcome to stay in the room and watch. Are you telling me they could not tell me how my baby needed to be washed? Or they could not have done it in our own room instead of taking her to another room. Ridiculous.

They also had to tell us when we could take our child home. If we did not wait for her to be released to go home we would have been in trouble. We sat in the room and waited for hours for someone to come and let us take OUR BABY home. Crazy! Who is the hospital or the government to force us to fill out paperwork to take our child to our home whenever we see fit.

Then there were the small things. The nurse who changed our child's diaper when we specifically said we wanted to change her ourselves. The insistance that many patients must wear robes, which are supposed to be more hygenic, but really have been worn by several hundred other people before you have worn them.

All the unecessary tests that are run. All of the intrusive control and power they take in your family and with your friends.

Did you know that you can not take pictures of your own child's delivery, or video tape it, at the hospital we were at. Do they know that we chose to come to their hospital? That it is our insurance that puts food on their table? Shouldn't they then give us more power and control in our own family health and development.

All of this really makes me angry. It makes me remember why I still consider myself a conservative. More government does not make things better. It makes a citizenry weaker and with less individual power over their own lives and the lives of friends and family.

Uncle Steve Retires

It seems like yesterday that Mom packed us up to Alaska in a Mazda GLC with plans to stay with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Tammy for a month or two during the summer until we got on our feet. She had a job lined up in a frame shop, and hopes of becoming a teacher. Steve, if I remember right, was working on the "Binkley Street Project", which meant that he was turning the heart of Soldotna from gravel roads to paved roads with curbs and sidewalks. Quite an adventure!

That was 23 years ago. This month Steve retired from the city of Soldotna having constructed or reconstructed most of its infrastructure. Starting out in Alaska with next to nothing, he did what many people coming to the last frontier did. He worked hard, made friends, made a life and a reputation for himself through his honesty, integrity and hard work.

I am so thankful that the Clarion honored him with THIS ARTICLE. I hope you will take time to read it.

DVD Review for READ AND SHARE: THE JESUS STORIES, LIFE AND MIRACLES

This evening I recieved the opportunity to watch the DVD Read and Share: The Jesus Stories, Life and Miracles. I was excited to watch this DVD for several reasons. First, I am thinking about what children's videos might be appropriate for the congregation I am a pastor of. Second, I am a father of an infant looking for videos that would properly teach my baby girl about Jesus from early in her life. Finally, I was interested in how a publisher would choose what to show and what not to show in their videos.

Many videos in this series are chopped into short three minute segments of parts of the Bible witness about Jesus. This section of the series was a half of an hour long. The video quickly moved from the flight from Egypt, to Jesus in Nazereth, to the Miracles and Teachings of Jesus, to Maundy Thursday. Each of the stories were told pretty close to the Biblical text.

There were several things I enjoyed about the video. There were several attempts by the creators of the video to be true to Jesus' Jewish heritage. I have no idea if they did this correctly or not, but I thought the effort of presenting Jesus as a Messiah in a Hebrew context was worthwhile.

Also, I enjoyed the simplistic animation the video was presented with. I think this would be especially appropriate for young children, much like Blue's Clues works with its simple presentation.

Unfortunately, as I watched I wondered about some of the choice of content for the video. For instance, some of the teaching they featured is highly metaphorical, and thus difficult to understand by younger children. Also, I wondered why there was such a strong emphasis on Judas.

Overall I would recommend this video for a nursery/preschool audience, and their adult caregiver who both need to learn a little bit more about the Bible.

(Thomas Nelson gave me this video in exchange for reviewing this video. No favorable or unfavorable review was required in order to receive the video)

Through a Father's Eyes

1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!—I John 3:1

On June 2, my wife Jennifer gave birth to our baby girl. Her name is Karis. For most of my adult life, I was not sure I wanted a child. One week later, Baby Karis has captured my heart and defined my new world.

When the baby was born I got to be the first one, after my wife, to hold her. I rocked her, held her in my arms, and quietly began singing to her. As the doctor finished up caring for my wife he came to me and said, “Pastor, I have to tell you, I don’t think your preaching will ever be the same.”

I replied, “Probably not.”

I thought, “I hope not.”

During those late nights when you are snuggling that little child to your chest, you have a lot of time to think. One of the things you do is pray for your family. Another thing you do is meditate on what being a good father is. There is nothing like becoming a father to help you grow in your understanding of who God is as our Heavenly Father.

One of the things I learned very quickly as I gazed into my child’s barely able to focus eyes was that there is nothing that she could ever do that could make me love her any less. Would I want bad things to happen to her? No. Would I want her to rebel and make a lot of bad mistakes? Of course not! But no matter what happens, deep down in my heart, I know my love for her can only grow.

The same is true of our Heavenly Father. There is nothing that we have done, or could do, that would make God love us any less. Does he want us to rebel? No. Does he want us to run away from him? Of course he does not. But if we run away from him or rebel against him, he offers us forgiveness and restoration. He loves us more than we will ever know.

Book Review of Sleep: It Does a Family Good by Dr. Archibald Hart

I just loved reading Sleep: It Does a Family Good by Dr. Archibald Hart. It is an excellent book filled with good information and it is also a book that is written in a very readable manner.

Published by Tyndale Publishing in partnership with Focus on the Family, Dr. Hart shares how most families are so active and busy that they are about to burn out due to lack of rest. Following that, he shares how sleep is essential to healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual lives. Then, he shares some techniques and skills to increase the amount of sleep that you and members of your family get, and the benefits that will provide. He integrates his research on the importance of sleep and rest into a thorough theology of sleep and rest. Finally, Dr. Hart shows how integrate some ancient prayer practices into your life that will not only aid restful sleeping, but less anxious and busy living.

This book is countercultural. Our society teaches us that we can do it all, and do everything well. Our culture tells us to always look for ways to work harder, and to be better. Thus, we often rob ourselves of the sleep and rest that Scripture commends over and over again. God commands us to keep a Sabbath. The Lord Jesus offers the invitation, "Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). In many ways our attemps to live without rest are an attempt to at best earn God's approval, and at worst build an altar to the God of self. In either instance, choosing not to sleep and not to rest is an affront to the grace of God that we are called not only to be saved by, but to live in each day as well.

One thing I loved about this book is that it is well-researched, but at a very accessable level. Thus, there are lots of little tidbits about sleep and rest that drew my attention. I kept reading something to myself, and then re-reading little parts of the book outloud to my wife after I read them.

Sleep: It Does a Family Good is a wonderful book and an easy read. It should find a place on the bookshelf of Christians who want to be happier and healthier. It should also find its way into the hands of any Christian leader who wants some simple tools to help people become happier with their lives and healthier in their relationships.

(I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for reviewing it for Tyndale Publishers. A favorable review was not required in order to get this book, just an honest one.)