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Mom and Home revisited

Following is something I wrote 6 years ago after my mom had passed from this life. I thought I would share this today.     I learned many things from my mom over the years. My mom gave me one great piece of advice about the time I got married. A great piece of knowledge I’ll carry with me the rest of my life. It was simply- don’t go to bed angry. Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, She taught me to never hold on to my anger. Anger is something that can tear a person up from the inside out, letting that anger go is the best thing you can do for yourself. I originally didn’t plan on bringing up cancer, as I wanted to focus on the good in mom’s life. But there is a cancer that she never let overtake her. That is the cancer of selfishness. Selfishness is the cancer that destroys relationships. If you have a relationship in which one or both parties exhibit selfish attitudes that relationship will struggle and ultimately fail. My parents made it
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My hope is in Jesus Christ alone

  The following is the text from my dad's funeral 6 years ago this week. He had asked me to speak (along with my brothers and sisters) but didn't give much direction beyond that. I had no idea of anything else that would be said that day but wanted to make sure that those in attendance would understand where my hope is. My focus would also be on the last part of his life as I would be speaking after the others. I would like to focus this time on the last 8 months. It has been a year of physical challenges for my family. A time filled with stress partly because it seemed every minute has been filled with something to do and partly the unknown future. In late January mom had brain surgery to remove a tumor. This had a great effect on mom’s health but the rest of the family as well- including dad. Both mom and dad have been in and out of hospitals this year. At one time I figured someone from our immediate family had been in the hospital this year more days than not. And with that
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The Permanent Solution

 This time of year in Kansas, driving on the roads can be an adventure. We can have wet, icy or snow covered roads. These conditions can hide imperfections in the road. As I was driving yesterday, the roads for the most part were dry and clear. That doesn't mean that you don't pay attention to the details in the road. The road I was on was in good shape and the ride was pretty smooth. At the time I didn’t notice how smooth the ride was. But (yes there is a but), then I came to a 5 mile or so stretch that I took notice of the road. The road had been patched (or needed a patch) and you could feel and hear each one as you went over it. I even slowed to under the speed limit to make it less noticeable. This lead me to a thought. My first thought was why didn’t they just tear out the old road and replace it? It would have cost more (probably) but the road would have been much smoother. From this thought I went further. Isn’t this how we handle the problems of our lives and the world
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A Husband's Role

       I have been reminded over the course of the last couple of days how important my role as a husband is. It is important to me, it is important to God, and it is important to my wife. The job description as a husband is somewhat simple yet complex and difficult to carry out. I'm not here to make excuses for we husbands that fail in this role. We all fall short but need to improve as we move forward in our lives. I been reminded because people near to me are struggling in their marriages and these people have to make difficult decisions concerning their lives. Decisions that effect not only the couples, but the children God has entrusted to them, the extended families around them, their close friends and even casual friends. My heart aches for these people.      I'm also aware of the fact that I fail in my own marriage and need to remember that part of this job description is to lead. I do fail because I'm not sure of where I'm going part of the time myself and ther
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What's next in the New Year

       As I move into the age which most men think about retirement, I'm thinking about that next step in my life. The American in me says quit working and enjoy the rest of your life. The thought of having no purpose other than improving my golf game scares me. I could be content to set back and retire. But I know that content, purpose, and retirement are terms that don't belong in the same sentence. The Christian in me wants to know what I can do next. I would like to think I've made a positive difference in many people's lives. And that would be a good thing. But what if there's something out there that is better- or greater. Do I step up or step back? I know that God has directed the steps I've taken in life. He has let me falter but always provided a better way. At this point in my life (63 years old) I have many decisions to make concerning my (and my wife's) future. Almost exactly 7 years ago I asked God to show me anything I was missing in ways I cou
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Spiritual Warfare

       Western culture has radically changed in the past twenty to thirty years. The number of people that believe in absolutes has dwindled. The battle between good and evil continues on, but if you listen to society the good side is on its way to defeat. This has an effect on how we see the culture. Television news is a business and newscasts are rewarded monetarily by higher ratings. Bad news brings higher ratings. We sometimes forget about the good things in our culture.      We must also remember that our personal opinions do not always represent good. There are some types of music that I don’t prefer. That doesn’t necessarily mean that God and I have the same preferences. When we sing hymns at church I always look at the bottom of the page to look at the date it was written. I have a tendency to think these hymns have been around forever. I sometimes think that these hymns are more pleasing to God than some other current music. By looking at the date written, it makes me think ba
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Is it a good thing or God thing?

       A few years ago I had an idea of different things I wanted to accomplish in my life. I saw myself moving forward in what I did in my local church. I saw myself moving away from my responsibilities at my "day" job. I made a comment to my pastor that if I was 5 years older I could be in a position to retire and would have more time to devote in working at the church. I have asked God for direction in this matter. I have asked God to give me something I could manage. I have always been a person that struggles with patience. During this time I have struggled with discouragement. I thought I had a clear path of what God wanted my to do and a direction He wanted me to move in preparation for what lied ahead of me.       The first step would be freeing up time in my job to transfer the time spent to working at the church. I passively started looking for a job that would allow me to work toward this goal. The jobs I saw available would cause a location change which would not b
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