Georgia Packers
“Go Georgia Packers”! Perception & reality seem to seldom match. Some Missionary friends stopped by today to catch the Packers&Bears game. NFL commentary in Spanish can be funny – but what’s funnier is Karley commentary (our 13 yr old). She kept making a big deal about wanting the Packers to win. She’s not into the NFL & I didn’t know she even knew who the Packers were, so I finally asked, “why do want the Packers to win”? “Because they’re from Georgia and Georgia is close to Alabama”, was her enthusiastic reply. Of course we all busted out in hysterics, I could have used a couple puffs of albuterol! Well, at least she recognized the “G’, just the wrong color & league! Going with what we ‘think’ we know can really get us into trouble sometimes. Usually, it just leaves us a little embarrassed. I’m getting a daily dose of that as we are trying to learn Spanish here in Costa Rica. Just today, we stopped at a little Mexican Restaurant and I confidently ordered lunch for Sophia (in Spanish). What arrived on her plate & what I thought was going to arrive, were not remotely related! Many have paid a much greater price for their false perceptions, like this guy from Newton, NC. Kenneth Charles Barger, 47, awoke to the sudden sound of a ringing telephone beside his bed, he reached for the phone but grabbed instead his Smith & Wesson .38 Special which he kept on the bedside table next to the phone. The gun apparently discharged as he drew it to his ear thinking it was the phone. Please don’t get your S&W confused with your phone! Even more importantly, we need to be careful about our spiritual perceptions. Getting it wrong there could leave us paying for a loooooooooong time. Let’s pull out our bibles and get a good dose of reality. Romans 8, Proverbs 3,...
read moreUnopened Gift
Experienced something very ‘heavy’ today in a place called Cartago. We stopped at a historic church about 45 minutes south of where we live in Costa Rica. People were shuffling down the aisle of the church on their knees, even small children & those bent over with age. During the holy week of Easter each year, thousands will crawl on their knees from around the country to this church. Imagine what our knees would look like after hours & hours of scraping them across asphalt & rock, up & down mountains, through dirt & sewer runoff… On one hand, I was humbled that they would at least make an effort to experience the pain that Christ suffered for us. Of course we can’t ‘earn points’ with God by doing this, but taking time to consider the price He paid for us is a good thing. Sadly, most see this ritual as a means to earn salvation, a way to make up for sins. By doing so, we miss the whole point of salvation. It’s a gift that only God could give. His son Jesus dying on the cross is the only payment that suffices. All our efforts to achieve what only He could do, is in vain. What makes the whole situation even sadder is crawling to the holy altar is not even their goal. Their goal is to arrive in front of a little statue believed to bring good luck. Around this statue are thousands of trinkets and objects that people have brought in hopes of receiving a miracle from this mythical figure. (It’s common here for churches to mix biblical principles with superstition and pagan rituals). The church also sells the trinkets, which proves to be a great money maker as the cycle repeats itself over & over. My heart aches for these precious people. I can’t imagine how it grieves God. He loves His kids so much & they try so hard, but the connection is never made. They’re coming to His house but not to see Him. Is there anything we can do? For a second today, I entertained the thought of standing in that church and proclaiming His truth. What would I have to lose really, humiliation, being thrown out, or a night in jail? Now that would be walking in Jesus’ sandals! I just walked away grieved and angry at the devil for the deception he has caused – BUT also more determined! Let’s be determined to OPEN our GIFT of salvation this Christmas and then to share Him generously throughout the year. Thanks for your prayers for us, do what He’s called you to do, & have a Merry...
read moreThe Great White Bear
Just before I woke up today, I found myself back in New York surrounded by family & friends! (we just got back a few days ago from a 6,172 mile trip which included a family reunion in NY) We were having a great time together swapping stories, jokes, & family pics. At one point, I was outside and noticed a small bear cub. I let him gnaw on my hand, but realized he was definitely wild and not tamable, and that if he wanted – he could really chew me up! I left the cub to return inside for more laughter & food. While making fun of my 2 oldest brothers for passing up a recent roller coaster ride, my childhood babysitter Beverly Dashnau (80), joked that she’s so old ‘everything’ passes her by. She was eating yogurt while saying this, missed her mouth, and the yogurt ended up on her neck! In the middle of this ‘happy-go-lucky’ moment, a few of us happened to open a closet door in the next room. To our SURPRISE, a huge white Bear was inside and it was just waking up from a long winter. No one said anything, standing there in shock. I realized that I had to warn everyone. I woke up while trying to get my family’s attention that the great Bear was inside the house & it was about to head their way. You can draw your own conclusions to this dream. For me, God was sending a reminder that the hibernation is nearing an end – get ready, don’t ignore but implore all to listen – the GREAT WHITE BEAR is coming...
read moreA Little Boy’s Dream
33 Year Later… I found myself mourning in the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel in Tupelo, Mississippi yesterday. No big sobs or big tears, but a big sense of loss. We stopped there (followed by a Graceland driveby!) on our way to Missions School in MO. We walked around the grounds learning about this legend, even took a family picture sitting in his swing on the front porch of the tiny house he was born in. Everything about his childhood was extraordinarily ordinary. On his 11th birthday, his mom took him down to the hardware store to buy his present. Elvis had his heart set on a 22 rifle or a bike. She concluded that both were just accidents waiting to happen! The clerk promptly unveiled a guitar. Reluctant at first, he & that guitar wrote history! His-story really hit home when I stood before the Assembly of God church he attended as a boy. All of a sudden, I felt a soul connection to the ‘king” – like maybe I “knew” and understood the real Elvis. We were both just regular kids from regular little towns, attending regular little Assembly of God churches. That’s about where the comparisons end. I’m sure he loved God though and I know God loves him . It would appear that satan ‘stole’ one. Elvis was made to use that anointed voice to lead others to the one who gave it to him. I want to believe that somehow, he made peace with his Creator in those last tragic moments. Karley asked me how he died. That really deserves a much more complicated answer than what’s on his death certificate. As we left, I couldn’t help but to grieve, not for another celebrity victim of bad choices, but for that little boy with such big...
read more86,400
86,400, thanks to Kris Allen, is probably the most popular number these days. Not sure what I’m talking about? Turn on the radio for a few moments and you’re bound to hear it mentioned in the song, “Live Like We’re Dying”. It’s the number of seconds in a day. We don’t often break down life to the second, instead, we just wonder where the year’s gone! We all “swear” that time is speeding up as we get older. I’m currently in the middle of a road trip excursion through Texas and New Mexico. It really hasn’t been much to do about the road though. It’s been a flashback trip about reconnecting with people that have meant so much to us in years past, people that have become a part of who we are. Our lives intertwined somewhere along the journey and now they share a part of our future also. Ashley and I moved to Albuquerque from New York in ’93 to serve at First Family Church. We celebrated our first anniversary there, had Karley there, and we tried our best to live our 6 years there to the fullest. Now, eleven years after moving to Alabama, this trip back has left me feeling comfortably full. Some things changed incredibly (mostly for the better) and many things that should never change, haven’t. For me, New Mexico was all about people & nature, both of which is God’s. GOD + PEOPLE + NATURE = a FULL LIFE. If you’re feeling a bit empty, I encourage you to break your day down to the second…”turn it all around or throw it all away, we gotta tell em that we love em while we got the chance to say”. Spending seconds is like spending cash – sometimes we waste it and sometimes we invest it. Invest more & have a great...
read moreDon’t Stop Believin’
“Don’t stop believin’, hold on to the feelin’!” Steve Perry had it almost right. Feelings come & go though and if we hold on to them, they’ll take us on a ride – usually right up a creek w/out …! I’ve found that it’s best to keep on believin’, no matter what the feeling. It all started at the altar of a little church in Fulton, New York when I was around 7 years old. There, stretched out on the altar, was a 30 foot snake. This wasn’t one of those weird snake handling churches we’ve see on 60 Minutes. A Missionary brought this skin of an Anaconda from somewhere in the jungle. I was hooked and began to dream of being a Missionary in some remote corner of the earth. God gave me that feelin‘ that day. More like a passion or desire. Check out Psalms 37:4. Through the years that feelin’ would be tested until it was hardly recognizable. It was birthed and put to rest almost daily. More important than the feelin’ was the believin’. I chose way back then to believe in God as my Dad and to follow His Word. He can’t leave me and His Word doesn’t lie. A lot of years have passed, highs & lows, life & death, great experiences, a wonderful family, and now the dreams of a 7 year old are being lived out. May our journey inspire you to run after God and His promises, never give up and – Don’t stop...
read moreThe Beginning
33 Year Later… I found myself mourning in the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel in Tupelo, Mississippi yesterday. No big sobs or big tears, but a big sense of loss. We stopped there (followed by a Graceland driveby!) on our way to Missions School in MO. We walked around the grounds learning about this legend, even took a family picture sitting in his swing on the front porch of the tiny house he was born in. Everything about his childhood was extraordinarily ordinary. On his 11th birthday, his mom took him down to the hardware store to buy his present. Elvis had his heart set on a 22 rifle or a bike. She concluded that both were just accidents waiting to happen! The clerk promptly unveiled a guitar. Reluctant at first, he & that guitar wrote history! His-story really hit home when I stood before the Assembly of God church he attended as a boy. All of a sudden, I felt a soul connection to the ‘king” – like maybe I “knew” and understood the real Elvis. We were both just regular kids from regular little towns, attending regular little Assembly of God churches. That’s about where the comparisons end. I’m sure he loved God though and I know God loves him . It would appear that satan ‘stole’ one. Elvis was made to use that anointed voice to lead others to the one who gave it to him. I want to believe that somehow, he made peace with his Creator in those last tragic moments. Karley asked me how he died. That really deserves a much more complicated answer than what’s on his death certificate. As we left, I couldn’t help but to grieve, not for another celebrity victim of bad choices, but for that little boy with such big...
read more