Bent over gasping for breath along with 50 other 9th grade teammates, I can still hear Mike Fields clapping his hands together and taunting us with yells of, "Great day to be alive men. Great day to be alive." as he called for wind sprint after wind sprint following afternoon football practices. We were sucking air like a Dyson vacuum cleaner (a Hoover reference here would just be passe) and convinced Coach Fields was really the devil and that we were about to give up the ghost. He wasn't. And, we didn't. He was teaching us a valuable lesson. We could do just enough to get by and be also-rans or we could push ourselves to do more than we expected and be great. We did not lose a game that season. For over 30 years I still attribute our success to being the best physically conditioned team of all the teams we faced. In the fourth quarter we knew we could play as hard as we did in the first quarter. We finished strong.
Paul the Apostle finished strong as well. He said in II Timothy 4:7 that he fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith. He had a shaky start but he made a great finish. All of the apostles had early set-backs but ended well the race for which they were called. Some doubted. Some argued over pretty prideful issues. One flat out denied that he even knew Jesus. At the end of their lives though, we find them being faithful and courageous.
What changed? What gave those men the ability to end stronger than when they began? I believe it was the power of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost they and the others waiting in the upper room were filled with the empowering Spirit of Almighty God. Then they boldly proclaimed Jesus to the world regardless of threats, imprisonment, beatings, and even death. They were faithful to the end.
Temptations await to lure us to not take our Christian lives so seriously. Challenges arise that represent such broad obstacles in our way that could cause us to cover in fear before them. Both distractions try to get us to take it easy and not push hard to the finish. Sadly we sometimes do exactly that. We take ourselves out of the game. We sit on the bench and let someone else do the work.
Coach Fields was the heart of our 9th grade football team. He would not accept anything less than our best and that was enough, win or lose. The Holy Spirit is our heart to see the Christian life to its mortal end. He urges us to keep going. He convicts us when we offer less than our all. He keeps us from sin, if we are willing to obey, and He always points us to the goal, Jesus.
During that undefeated football season we made mistakes. We had penalties. We missed assignments. We gave up scores to the other teams. But we never quit. You and I will not be perfect in this life. It Goes Without Saying that we will falter and our faith may wain. Just don't give up. Keep pressing toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. You may not have started in first place but by the power of the Holy Spirit you can finish strong. It is a great day to be alive. Now go LIVE! And, finish well.
Because He lives,
Robby
p.s. By the way, there is a prize waiting for you when the race is done. Don't miss it.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
For Mom
God looked at Adam after He created him and saw that he was alone and had no one to help him. Adam must have been a typical man because he needed help. He was alone. Now some guys say they are better off alone and have no desire to marry. We say they have commitment issues. Really, I think those men are simply afraid some woman might get close enough to see how messed up they truly are. They need help. They need a woman's touch.
My dad was and is my hero. Growing up, I always saw him as the strong-man of the house. There was not anything my dad could not do, or so I thought. He was the great alpha lion in our little pride. After I grew up, I began to realize that while Dad certainly was the leader of our family, there was another who really kept things together, Mom. And like the alpha lion, Dad roared loudly but it was Mother who ran the day to day business of feeding, laundering, mending, cleaning, etc. She did so with grace and love. For her heart was for her family.
After my sister and I left home to start families of our own, we always came back to our nest, Mom and Dad's house. She typically had a big meal prepared and wanted nothing more than for us all to come and eat it up. That was her way of saying she loved us and always had a place for us. She did not want a big fuss made over how hard she had worked. She just wanted us to all be together around her table. That made her happy.
Those things can be taken for granted. We tend to act as if nothing will ever change but change is never far around the corner. Mom passed away in 2003. We all miss her certainly. Dad remarried a few years later to a wonderful lady who is Mom to her brood of chicks. I'm thankful that Dad has someone to come along side because he surely needs loads of help. My sister is making her own nest. All 3 of her boys have left home. One is married with 2 kids, while a second is marrying this Summer, and a third for whom much prayer is always appreciated. Her nest is growing and she is much like our mother. She loves having her chicks at home. I remarried nearly 8 years ago and our 2 boys are growing like the proverbial weeds. Before long they will be gone and coming back here to their nest.
It goes without saying that Mom's nest has changed since her passing. It had to. She is gone from our presence but not from our lives. What remains is the love she instilled in us all and is evidenced by the making of new nests for future generations. Though change has occurred, I love how we have all continued even if the momma hen who kept us together as one unit is not with us.
Some years ago I wrote what I call a poem for Mom, simply titled, "For Mother." With your kind indulgence, I share it now.
I love you Mom.
Robby
My dad was and is my hero. Growing up, I always saw him as the strong-man of the house. There was not anything my dad could not do, or so I thought. He was the great alpha lion in our little pride. After I grew up, I began to realize that while Dad certainly was the leader of our family, there was another who really kept things together, Mom. And like the alpha lion, Dad roared loudly but it was Mother who ran the day to day business of feeding, laundering, mending, cleaning, etc. She did so with grace and love. For her heart was for her family.
After my sister and I left home to start families of our own, we always came back to our nest, Mom and Dad's house. She typically had a big meal prepared and wanted nothing more than for us all to come and eat it up. That was her way of saying she loved us and always had a place for us. She did not want a big fuss made over how hard she had worked. She just wanted us to all be together around her table. That made her happy.
Those things can be taken for granted. We tend to act as if nothing will ever change but change is never far around the corner. Mom passed away in 2003. We all miss her certainly. Dad remarried a few years later to a wonderful lady who is Mom to her brood of chicks. I'm thankful that Dad has someone to come along side because he surely needs loads of help. My sister is making her own nest. All 3 of her boys have left home. One is married with 2 kids, while a second is marrying this Summer, and a third for whom much prayer is always appreciated. Her nest is growing and she is much like our mother. She loves having her chicks at home. I remarried nearly 8 years ago and our 2 boys are growing like the proverbial weeds. Before long they will be gone and coming back here to their nest.
It goes without saying that Mom's nest has changed since her passing. It had to. She is gone from our presence but not from our lives. What remains is the love she instilled in us all and is evidenced by the making of new nests for future generations. Though change has occurred, I love how we have all continued even if the momma hen who kept us together as one unit is not with us.
Some years ago I wrote what I call a poem for Mom, simply titled, "For Mother." With your kind indulgence, I share it now.
I love you Mom.
Robby
For Mother
What
price would you give for a mother such as mine
Nothing
you could buy nothing you could find
Life
to her was not fancy or expensive things
Big
cars, fine houses, or diamond rings
Mom
found joy in what she did for those she adored
A
special dinner, a birthday cake, into these her heart was poured
She
kept her home and all that that means
By
giving herself without any strings
She’s
gone now from my eyes but not from my life
See,
she still guides me when I face my strife
Her
heart lives on in me and in those she adored
We
take her with us hearing her voice ever more
Now
when I give myself for the ones that I love
I
think of her, hoping she sees from above
Smiling
down on me as I tread through
Seeing
the person I am and seeing herself in me too
So
what price would you give for a mother such as mine
No
price, for she could only be a gift from the Devine
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
It's Time to Mow the Yard
Ah, Spring. The time when Life re-emerges from the drowsy slumber of Winter. Flowers blossom. Bees buzz. The trees are fully leafed. Birds chase playfully after one another filling the air with melodious warbles all saying, "Hey good looking. Whacha got cooking?" Or, something to that effect. And, the grass is growing faster than the national debt. That too is a part of Spring. Grass grows and so do weeds which seem to grow even faster.
Late last Summer we moved to a new house which we love but, unlike the old house, we now have a yard full of grass that needs attention. Our older son mows the yard and like any average kid, he wishes he did not have to do so. But if the yard does not get mowed, our lovely home would be engulfed in a jungle of over-grown grass, weeds, fallen leaves, and twigs. It must be maintained. Weeds can over-take a yard in a heartbeat. The best way to battle them is to keep those weeds mowed. That is no new revelation but it is one that cannot be ignored.
Sitting on my back porch looking at my backyard which needs mowing this week, I had an epiphany. It was not earth-shattering but I found some truth just the same. My life can be like my yard. Weeds spring up and clutter falls into it on a regular basis. If not attended those weeds grow wild and fast and along with the clutter obscure the beauty of the yard. Weeds in my life are more than a cosmetic nuisance. They are real hindrances to my spiritual growth and choke out my fellowship with the Lord.
Weeds sprout taking the place of good grass. Sin is like those weeds. It grows taking the place of righteousness and if not dealt with it spreads. Sooner than thought possible a life can be over-grown with sin. Right living becomes lost in the growing field of sin. What can be done? Mow down that sin! Take hold of it and yank it up by the roots. We tolerate weeds in the yard but weeds (sin) in our lives must not be allowed to remain. It really is a matter of life and death, spiritual health and well-being. Psalm 66:18 says if I regard iniquity in my heart that the Lord will not hear me. We will spend a lifetime yanking weeds out of our lives but the effort pays off in keeping open communication with the Lord. Don't you think being right with Him is worth it?
Fallen leaves, twigs, and other clutter in my yard makes me think of all the possible THINGS that tug at my time and attention. Not all are bad. Most are not bad at all but too much clutter robs my time for the most important things like family time, personal time with God, and service time to others. In today's world there is no shortage of activities vying for our time. Kids sports go year round now. Companies hold more and more meetings. Civic organizations abound. Video games and television and the internet and now smart phones and ipads and mp3 players and tablet readers all offer us some way to spend our time. When do we have time to be still? Clutter can take over a life the same way sin can. All you have to do is ignore it. So, what are we to do? Set priorities. Then keep them. It is not complicated and it may not be easy at first. But as with weeding out the sin in our lives, clearing the clutter is worth the effort. Make first things first.
Oh, I wish it were as easy for me to do as it was to write this. It is not and you and I know it. Weeding and de-cluttering takes me off the couch and puts me into the yard to work. But it goes without saying that a well kept yard is a pretty sight and so is a life free of sin and distraction.
Because He lives,
Robby
Late last Summer we moved to a new house which we love but, unlike the old house, we now have a yard full of grass that needs attention. Our older son mows the yard and like any average kid, he wishes he did not have to do so. But if the yard does not get mowed, our lovely home would be engulfed in a jungle of over-grown grass, weeds, fallen leaves, and twigs. It must be maintained. Weeds can over-take a yard in a heartbeat. The best way to battle them is to keep those weeds mowed. That is no new revelation but it is one that cannot be ignored.
Sitting on my back porch looking at my backyard which needs mowing this week, I had an epiphany. It was not earth-shattering but I found some truth just the same. My life can be like my yard. Weeds spring up and clutter falls into it on a regular basis. If not attended those weeds grow wild and fast and along with the clutter obscure the beauty of the yard. Weeds in my life are more than a cosmetic nuisance. They are real hindrances to my spiritual growth and choke out my fellowship with the Lord.
Weeds sprout taking the place of good grass. Sin is like those weeds. It grows taking the place of righteousness and if not dealt with it spreads. Sooner than thought possible a life can be over-grown with sin. Right living becomes lost in the growing field of sin. What can be done? Mow down that sin! Take hold of it and yank it up by the roots. We tolerate weeds in the yard but weeds (sin) in our lives must not be allowed to remain. It really is a matter of life and death, spiritual health and well-being. Psalm 66:18 says if I regard iniquity in my heart that the Lord will not hear me. We will spend a lifetime yanking weeds out of our lives but the effort pays off in keeping open communication with the Lord. Don't you think being right with Him is worth it?
Fallen leaves, twigs, and other clutter in my yard makes me think of all the possible THINGS that tug at my time and attention. Not all are bad. Most are not bad at all but too much clutter robs my time for the most important things like family time, personal time with God, and service time to others. In today's world there is no shortage of activities vying for our time. Kids sports go year round now. Companies hold more and more meetings. Civic organizations abound. Video games and television and the internet and now smart phones and ipads and mp3 players and tablet readers all offer us some way to spend our time. When do we have time to be still? Clutter can take over a life the same way sin can. All you have to do is ignore it. So, what are we to do? Set priorities. Then keep them. It is not complicated and it may not be easy at first. But as with weeding out the sin in our lives, clearing the clutter is worth the effort. Make first things first.
Oh, I wish it were as easy for me to do as it was to write this. It is not and you and I know it. Weeding and de-cluttering takes me off the couch and puts me into the yard to work. But it goes without saying that a well kept yard is a pretty sight and so is a life free of sin and distraction.
Because He lives,
Robby
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Fresh Start
Every so often a fresh start is needed. I find that true of myself and my blogging efforts. Have you noticed that as we wander through life there are times when we look up from our steps and notice that we have somehow drifted off course? Varying from the path, however great or small, often occurs subtly, even unintentionally. Regardless of the amount of drift, we find ourselves in places where we were not meant to be and going toward destinations where we were not meant to go. The great problem is that once we notice that we are not where we should be we struggle with how to return to our intended path.
Wandering implies that we have lost direction or focus on the destination. As we walk through life we can stray in many ways. Possibly we lose sight of financial aims. We make a few unbudgeted purchases, take impromptu trips or simply go out to eat a few times too often. In these and in other ways we can easily remove ourselves from sound financial goals possibly taking months even years from which to recover.
Relationships that begin well may sour if not maintained. Marriages come to mind here. Years into a marriage a couple might find that the fire in their relationship has cooled. How does that happen? We start well. We are full of love and commitment to each other and cannot imagine anything becoming a distraction. Many times distractions are exactly what take our eyes off the very real commitment made to one another. We begin to focus on a job, or kids, or church, or _________ (fill in the blank). Whatever the distraction, the result can be that after time we find our marriage is not what we thought it would be. When that happens the easy thing to do is complain, blame, and worse, look for someone new.
Spiritually, we sometimes wander as well. We miss a few church services, we forget to have quiet time with God, we don't read His word as often, our prayer life gets neglected. The joy of our salvation gets lost amid a myriad of other activities that, in themselves, are not bad but that serve to lead us away from our focus on Christ. That happened to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2. They had grown so busy with church work that they lost the true reason for their life. They lost their first love for Jesus even as they appeared busily working for Him. He told them to repent and return. The answer was simple and effective but they had to make a choice to change.
Wandering in the woods on a lovely Spring afternoon can be a wonderful experience. The sights, the sounds, the smells can make for a much needed respite from a hectic schedule. Meandering in life, while at first seems just as fun and harmless as a stroll in the woods, can have negative consequences. Bad habits can easily be formed that are not so easily discarded.
How do we fix things? How do we get that fresh start we so desperately need? I think Jesus' admonition to the Ephesians applies any time we stray. We must first recognize that we have gone off course, then we must agree that we should return and then we must plot a path back to the original plan. In finances, we return to sound planning. In relationships, we communicate openly and together find ways to focus on each other even as we deal with all the aspects of life. Spiritually, repentance is needed and as David said in Psalm 51 ask God to restore the joy of our salvation.
The choice for change, once we recognize that we have gone astray, is ours. I have not written in quite some time. I strayed from a path that I believe God has placed in my heart and this is my return to it. It Goes Without Saying that I needed a fresh start. Are you on the paths that lead where you want to go? Do you need a fresh start too?
Because He lives,
Robby
Wandering implies that we have lost direction or focus on the destination. As we walk through life we can stray in many ways. Possibly we lose sight of financial aims. We make a few unbudgeted purchases, take impromptu trips or simply go out to eat a few times too often. In these and in other ways we can easily remove ourselves from sound financial goals possibly taking months even years from which to recover.
Relationships that begin well may sour if not maintained. Marriages come to mind here. Years into a marriage a couple might find that the fire in their relationship has cooled. How does that happen? We start well. We are full of love and commitment to each other and cannot imagine anything becoming a distraction. Many times distractions are exactly what take our eyes off the very real commitment made to one another. We begin to focus on a job, or kids, or church, or _________ (fill in the blank). Whatever the distraction, the result can be that after time we find our marriage is not what we thought it would be. When that happens the easy thing to do is complain, blame, and worse, look for someone new.
Spiritually, we sometimes wander as well. We miss a few church services, we forget to have quiet time with God, we don't read His word as often, our prayer life gets neglected. The joy of our salvation gets lost amid a myriad of other activities that, in themselves, are not bad but that serve to lead us away from our focus on Christ. That happened to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2. They had grown so busy with church work that they lost the true reason for their life. They lost their first love for Jesus even as they appeared busily working for Him. He told them to repent and return. The answer was simple and effective but they had to make a choice to change.
Wandering in the woods on a lovely Spring afternoon can be a wonderful experience. The sights, the sounds, the smells can make for a much needed respite from a hectic schedule. Meandering in life, while at first seems just as fun and harmless as a stroll in the woods, can have negative consequences. Bad habits can easily be formed that are not so easily discarded.
How do we fix things? How do we get that fresh start we so desperately need? I think Jesus' admonition to the Ephesians applies any time we stray. We must first recognize that we have gone off course, then we must agree that we should return and then we must plot a path back to the original plan. In finances, we return to sound planning. In relationships, we communicate openly and together find ways to focus on each other even as we deal with all the aspects of life. Spiritually, repentance is needed and as David said in Psalm 51 ask God to restore the joy of our salvation.
The choice for change, once we recognize that we have gone astray, is ours. I have not written in quite some time. I strayed from a path that I believe God has placed in my heart and this is my return to it. It Goes Without Saying that I needed a fresh start. Are you on the paths that lead where you want to go? Do you need a fresh start too?
Because He lives,
Robby
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