Sports Wrap-up

13 Monday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in Angels, champions, Langdon, Mavs, Morena, Roger Knight

The Mavs win! The Mavs win!

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You can thank me later. I picked the opposing team in every series and the reverse psychology worked. Dirk has made me a believer and I’m happy for several of the Mavs who get the rings. I still think picking up Tyson Chandler was the best move the Mavs have made in awhile. JJ Berea is my favorite NBA little man. JJ is lights out. I don’t know how he gets it done but he does. Rick Carlisle deserves some apologies but I doubt he wants them. He did some good coaching this year.

LeBron is 0-2 in championship series. I wish he could have won in Cleveland. I’ll keep hoping they don’t get close in Miami.

I’m headed east today for a funeral. I’m sure it will be sad but I trust it will also be a celebration for a life well-lived and for addition to the ranks in heaven. Join me in a prayer of peace and comfort for the Knight family today.

Why the Rangers Are Cool

10 Friday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in funeral, Jimmie Armes, Rangers

≈ 1 Comment

It’s Friday so how about nothing too heavy today? Works for me.

Recall this note from yesterday’s Newberg Report:

[Supplemental first-round pick Zach] Cone hit .363/.403/.627 for the Bulldogs in 2010, leading to pre-season All-America recognition and prompting BA’s Jim Callis to write a year ago that he profiled as a first-round pick this season and that he “[m]ight be the best athlete in the 2011 college crop.” But he collided with fellow Bulldogs outfielder Jonathan Taylor as they converged on a looping line drive in March, leaving Taylor (who weighed 20 pounds less than the 200-lb. Cone) partially paralyzed with a neck injury after his head struck Cone’s hip. He may not walk again.

Texas just drafted Taylor in the 33^rd round (h/t Jason Cole of Lone Star Dugout).

I find this very, very, very cool.

Jamey

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This is a good reason why I’m a Rangers fan; win, lose or draw. I know it doesn’t mean the Rangers organization has the heart of Jesus…or maybe it does. Either way, it sounds like good people doing good stuff. I can’t imagine being paralyzed and what that does to someone emotionally. I can’t imagine being the guy who ran into the guy who is now paralyzed. I wonder if it slows him down on the field when he knows another player is chasing a ball. I’m guessing there could be a strong bond between those two players now and maybe both getting drafted by the Rangers helps both of them heal and look forward to what can be.

Go here for more on the story from the Rangers website: Rangers Draft Taylor

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I went to a memorial service for Jimmie Armes on Wednesday. I didn’t know Jimmie as well as I would have liked to but knew him well enough to know he was a good man, a sincere and compassionate man and based on what was said at his memorial service, a man who wanted to know God better every day of his life. I’ll miss seeing Jimmie, even as infrequently as I did, but he’s someone who left a story of doing good and loving people for me and I will always appreciate him for that. His wife, Marye Nella, is cut of the same cloth, a good woman with a loving heart and I am thankful to know her. I hope she will find peace and comfort through the Lord with the loss of Jimmie.

Don’t Be a Wiener

09 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in all-in, heart for God, Wiener

≈ 1 Comment

Anthony Wiener is the new poster boy for sexting and the question of how much/far is too much/far. He followed all the typical paths; denial, blame, shifting responsibility and, finally, admitting what really happened. I’ve walked some of that road he’s on (no, not the sexting part) of finding a million reasons and excuses for doing something wrong and then wanting to take the position that it’s not my fault. I think Mr. Wiener will find that owning up to his wrongdoing and, I hope for him, making significant changes in his life will lead him to a better road.

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I met with one of my counselors Tuesday. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Jerry, a good, Godly man who has helped me get off the road of denial and blame and shifting responsibility and has helped me get on the path that God wants me to walk. Oh, I’ve ventured off of it but I’m better equipped than ever to get back on God’s path for me and to seek him more than seeking my own pleasure. I went back to see him because I don’t celebrate victories as well as I suffer defeats and I wanted to celebrate with him and share in what God has done through him in my life and to talk about areas where there are still some cracks that need to be fixed…because I want more victory celebrations.

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I hope Mr. Wiener will learn what I’m learning. With God, you’re either all-in or you’re walking the other way. There’s no “I sent lewd pictures but I didn’t have a physical relationship with them” with God. My heart is either set on the things of God or they are set on the things of Jeff. I still have moments where I hurt for not learning that lesson years ago but all I have is today. Will I live it for God or live it for Jeff?

Happy, Happy, Happy

08 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in Eldredge, fulfilling, happy, seek God

≈ 4 Comments

I’m borrowing from John Eldredge again. I get emails from him and he often speaks to things that are on my mind and on my heart. This is one of those emails.

I have people tell me from time to time, “you deserve to be happy” and it’s something that just doesn’t sit well with me. For me, happiness is a fleeting thing. I’m happy one moment, not so happy the next. I’m happy and a problem pops, I’m happy and someone does something to me that hurts, one minute I’m happy and then I’m not so happy for a multitude of reasons. Happiness comes quickly and it goes quickly. Sometimes life is hard and it beats me down and if happiness is what I really seek, I’ll be miserable.

As Good as It Gets?

If for all practical purposes we believe that this life is our best shot at happiness, if this is as good as it gets, we will live as desperate, demanding, and eventually despairing men and women. We will place on this world a burden it was never intended to bear. We will try to find a way to sneak back into the Garden and when that fails, as it always does, our heart fails as well. If truth be told, most of us live as though this life is our only hope.

In his wonderful book The Eclipse of Heaven, A. J. Conyers put it quite simply: “We live in a world no longer under heaven.” All the crises of the human soul flow from there. All our addictions and depressions, the rage that simmers just beneath the surface of our Christian facade, and the deadness that characterizes so much of our lives has a common root: We think this is as good as it gets. Take away the hope of arrival and our journey becomes the Battan death march. The best human life is unspeakably sad. Even if we manage to escape some of the bigger tragedies (and few of us do), life rarely matches our expectations. When we do get a taste of what we really long for, it never lasts. Every vacation eventually comes to an end. Friends move away. Our careers don’t quite pan out. Sadly, we feel guilty about our disappointment, as though we ought to be more grateful.

Of course we’re disappointed-we’re made for so much more. “He has also set eternity in the hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). Our longing for heaven whispers to us in our disappointments and screams through our agony. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy,” C. S. Lewis wrote, “the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

(The Sacred Romance , 179-80)

I know the people who tell me I deserve to be happy mean well and I don’t set out to give them my outlook on things (because they’d likely think I’m loonier than they already do) and I appreciate their concern for me. That said, I’ve also got some other friends who share their hopes for me in this way: Seek God. Seek his favor. Seek the peace that comes only from Him. Seek joy from knowing Jesus’ love. Seek comfort from being a child of God. Seek God. Nothing more, nothing less. I know today, more than ever, that seeking God and his ways for my life will lead me to something greater, more fulfilling, than happiness ever could.

Grace and peace to you.

BUSTED!

07 Tuesday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in gossip, honor God, mouth, Power of Words

≈ Leave a comment

I got busted Sunday night. Not the handcuffed, off-to-jail busted (at least not this time!) but the “why did you say that” kind of busted that reminds me so well that the moment I start thinking I’m doing so good, I go and do something I wish I didn’t. Now, the error of my ways was a bit of gossip I dropped into a conversation that 1) isn’t something I really even care about and 2) was totally useless and inappropriate. I had heard a 3rd or 4th hand story about someone famous a few days ago, the famous person came up in a conversation Sunday night, I spoke as if I was an authority on the subject and later, that friend asked why I said it if I really didn’t know.

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Good question. It’s why gossip is a bad thing. It’s why I detest those magazines hanging on the racks at Wal-Mart ready to give us all the dirt on someone. And, the crazy thing is, I look at that stuff and think I’m above it.

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The simple little reminder here is that I need to check what I say before I say it. There’s a reason James talks about the damage that can be done with the tongue. There’s a reason Paul tells the Corinthians that they are not their own, they were bought at a price and to honor God with their bodies (including their mouth).

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A few years ago, that gentle reprimand might have brought forth some anger from inside me. Sunday night, I was thankful for the reminder that I need to always be alert to the things I can say and do that do not honor God because that is what I want to be doing, honoring and glorifying him in all my ways.

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Grace and peace to you.
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Dream Sharing

06 Monday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in Bart, Crazy Love, dream, dreams, God's love, Sirman

≈ 1 Comment

It’s scary sharing your dreams. What if people laugh at you? What if people talk about you behind your back? What if people think you are crazy? What if you are crazy? Or…

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What if they want to share in the dream, crazy or not?
Wednesday, I taught my last lesson out of Crazy Love at our workplace Bible study and my good friend Bart shared his dream of helping these guys we’ve met over in Denton. As he shared, the interest level in what he discussed was evident and when he was done, everyone was offering to help in some way.
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Sometimes our dreams seem wacky to the ways of the world but perfectly legitimate to people who want to be disciples of Christ. Sometimes we are crazy for dreaming our dreams based on what the world/flesh tells us we should want or want to do but they seem so normal to God.

The Lies We Are Told

03 Friday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in Eldredge, God's love, lies, love, satan's lie

≈ Leave a comment

I’m borrowing from John Eldredge again today. He talks about a lie I have fallen for and still fall for from time to time but as I learn more and more about God’s love for me, the lie is rapidly losing it’s power over me.

Subtle Attack?Looking for Agreements

The devil has more temptations than an actor has costumes for the stage. And one of his all-time favorite disguises is that of a lying spirit, to abuse your tender heart with the worst news he can deliver-that you do not really love Jesus Christ and that you are only pretending, you are only deceiving yourself. (William Gurnall)

Satan is called in Scripture the Father of Lies (John 8:44). His very first attack against the human race was to lie to Eve and Adam about God, and where life is to be found, and what the consequences of certain actions would and would not be. He is a master at this. He suggests to us-as he suggested to Adam and Eve-some sort of idea or inclination or impression, and what he is seeking is a sort of “agreement” on our part. He’s hoping we’ll buy into whatever he’s saying, offering, insinuating. Our first parents bought into it, and look what disaster came of it. The Evil One is still lying to us, seeking our agreement every single day.

Your heart is good. Your heart matters to God. Those are the two hardest things to hang on to. I’m serious-try it. Try to hold this up for even a day. My heart is good. My heart matters to God. You will be amazed at how much accusation you live under. You have an argument with your daughter on the way to school; as you drive off, you have a nagging sense of, Well, you really blew that one. If your heart agrees-Yeah, I really did-without taking the issue to Jesus, then the Enemy will try to go for more. You’re always blowing it with her. Another agreement is made. It’s true. I’m such a lousy parent. Keep this up and your whole day is tanked in about five minutes. The Enemy will take any small victory he can get. It moves from You did a bad thing to You are bad. After a while it just becomes a cloud we live under, accept as normal.

(Waking the Dead , 152-53)

Lord, I thank you that your love has more power than anything else I will ever know.

Grace and peace to you.

Turn It Around LoMo

01 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in camp coldwater, Charity Water

≈ Leave a comment

“If you don’t want to follow me, don’t follow me,” he says with a shrug.

That’s Logan Morrison’s response to questions about his use of bad language, sexual jokes and innuendo and other comments he makes on his Twitter account. He’s a Florida Marlins baseball player who estimates his audience ranges from 15 years old and up.

I wonder what would happen if he used his Twitter account to say positive, wholesome statements. He’d probably lose many of his 26,000 followers I suppose…or maybe he would gain more. Either way, he takes a selfish approach to the social media opportunity. I’ll be one who doesn’t follow him.
___________________________________________

Here’s something good to follow. Go to mycharitywater.org/campcoldwater and donate. This is part of a project the youth group at our church in Decatur is doing this summer and they are wanting to raise $5,000 to help drill a water well somewhere in the world that doesn’t have clean drinking water.

Grace and peace to you.

Can You Spare Some Change?

31 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in change the world, Ecuador, love

≈ 2 Comments

Mahatma Ghandi is quoted as saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

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I think about all the things I’ve seen or heard about that I wish wasn’t going on in the world and my best idea to date has been to quit watching the news. I have to admit I’m happier not keeping up with all the news, at least not the way it is typically reported, but my ability to ignore it isn’t making it go away.

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I hope my remaining days will find me being the change I want to see in the world. Change that helps the poor. Change that feeds the hungry. Change that clothes the naked. Change that gives shelter to the homeless. Most of all, change that gives light to the lost, hope to the hopeless, compassion to the hurting, healing to the wounded and love to the lost, hopeless, hurting, wounded and lonely souls who need to know Jesus’ love for them, who need to know there is love, mercy and grace in abundance that he wants to lavish on them.

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For anyone reading this, I would ask your prayers for some people headed to Ecuador later this week to be the change they want to see in the world that their efforts help people spiritually and physically and that they will grow in their effort to show others a glimpse of what Jesus looks like.

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Grace and peace to you.
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Going "Home"

30 Monday May 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in enough, homeless, Mike, Preston, Wendell

≈ 1 Comment

I took Wendell and Preston home from church yesterday. We had a good visit on the way with Wendell doing most of the talking and Preston cracking a few jokes at Wendell’s expense along the way. I heard about how good Preston had slept the night before and their fascination that the hotel they were in had a phone in the bathroom. They couldn’t figure that one out. When we pulled up, they unloaded their stuff and got to take a brisket, beans, potato salad, cookies and cupcakes with them. Not a bad haul!

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The hard part of the whole thing was dropping them off because they are staying under a large tree that provides a good bit of shade with the Texas heat in the 90’s to 100 degrees. They’ve been run off a few times because it’s close to an office building and they don’t hang out there much during the week. Preston wouldn’t let me pull up in the parking lot close to the tree because he didn’t want anyone to notice them getting out there if possible. I left them there with some food, a little money and the knowledge that I was headed back to a comfortable place to live, air conditioning, a job that provides all I need and a reminder that I am blessed and that God is hoping I’ll share some of what he has provided for me.

Oh Lord, let Wendell and Preston and Mike be forever present in my mind so that when I start wanting this or that, I’ll remember my friends who live under a tree with the clothes on their back and their appreciation for their bikes and their backpacks. I pray you’ll be with them and let them know you are with them always, that you love them completely and that this world and it’s sufferings are only temporary. Open my eyes to see what you want me to see so I may serve how you want me to serve.

Grace and peace to you.