Tonight at dinner I was sitting next to two ladies who were excited about an event they were going to later in the evening. I couldn’t figure out who they were going to see but heard them eagerly discuss where their seats were, how many people would be there and so on.

On the way back to my motel (I’m in lovely Salado tonight), I passed the Bell County Expo and saw that Joel Osteen was speaking tonight. He was the object of their excitement and anticipation for a great evening. They were prepared to hear the good news and were obviously excited about the opportunity but as I drove by, I wondered what good news they would here. Would they hear the good news that there sins have been covered by the blood of the Savior, that life is not about us but about serving God and others or would they hear the good news that if they believe in Christ good things will happen in their lives?

Too often I hear people try to put the “pretty” spin on their love for Jesus…that they love Him, He loves them and everything will be good. More often I wish I heard the real story…that our churches are full of people who have battled drugs and alcohol, service to self, sexual sins, pride and hatred and all the other tools the devil uses against us. What would it be like if we all had to wear our signs of struggle at church instead of putting on our pretty clothes and looking right? Would we be more broken, more humble, more open to the beauty of grace and mercy?

These TV evangelists scare me because I wonder what their message is really doing to people. At the same time, the facade we maintain around those we know, those we worship with and those we love scares me too. Would it help someone if they knew they faced the same struggles I face or that someone else faces? Would it help if they knew the pretty church building was really a place that could deal with the ugly face of sin?

I hope those two ladies will really know Christ and the love He has for them. I hope they will know that people struggle just like they struggle and knowing the love of Christ doesn’t mean their problems will all go away. I hope they know that whatever trouble the face today will mean nothing if they will let the blood of Christ cover them and receive the promise of an eternity unlike anything imaginable. I hope they will know the true Good News.

I spent part of last night at the multi-purpose building listening to a music program done by the 5th grade. As I sat and looked around the room, I was struck by how many people I know because of my children. Being sociable does not come natural to me. Most of the time, I rather be left alone to enjoy peace and solitude. Thankfully, there are drivers that get me up and in front of people from time to time and I have found over the last several years that my kids and their activities are often the biggest instigator of putting me in front of people. I wasn’t suprised by the number of people I knew last night as much as I was floored by the amount of people I have the opportunity to make an impact on and began to wonder what kind of impact I make. I also realized how many people I had a “Hi, how are you? Great and you?” relationship with, a surface level relationship where the only thing we may have in common is that our kids are at the same place at the same time.

I pray God will help me be an influencer for Him in peoples lives. I pray that they will see through my faults and failings and know that behind all the facades I put up, they will see that God’s will is my purpose and that they will be drawn to Him. I pray also that each day I will live more like God wants me to live. I pray that for you too.

I enjoy the cold weather. Today isn’t all that cold but it’s better than it has been. I look forward to winter every year and while the fall and spring are nice, I’d like just a bit more winter than what we get around here.
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Two weeks from today I’ll be leaving for Brazil. I’m excited but not completely ready either. It’s a busy time of the year and a hard time to be gone. I’m looking forward to my time there though and ask for your prayers that it will be profitable time spent building up the kingdom and that we will have safe travels.

I come home Thanksgiving morning and know that I have, and will have, much to be thankful for.

We’ve been watching Dancing With The Stars and are cheering for Emmitt Smith to win the prized trophy. While some of the dances and costumes are a bit provocative, I get caught up in the effort and time these people are putting into this contest. It’s obviously no easy feat to perform one of these dance routines yet several of the contestants do so well week after week while still carrying on a somewhat norml routine for their lives.

I’m often impressed by people who display great dedication to something they are passionate about. Professional athletes are the easy example of people who have to spend time and effort perfecting themselves and their trade. One example works with some of the youngsters on our baseball team each week. He is up at 5:00 for his first workout of the day and has a second one mid-afternoon. He lifts weights, runs, does yoga and is careful about what he eats. It’s a 7 day-a-week process for him.

I hope, as a Christian, I can have the same focus and dedication.

Happy Halloween to all of you witches and goblins out there. Watching the news last night, they were interviewing a lady who was upset that her child was part of a Halloween program and felt it offended her religious beliefs. I’m not here to debate whether she is right or wrong but it got me to thinking about Halloween and my memories of it over the years.

1. Dad dressed up in football pads and helmet with a mask on sitting on our front porch scaring people.
2. Halloween at the Lott’s. The Lott’s had a farm outside of town. Some of our dear parents dressed up as witches and boiled body parts or babies. I never got too close to figure it out. Dad was in his costume hiding in the creek bottom chasing us just when we thought it was over. Another parent appearing to be hanging from a tree limb. The preachers wife falling into an open grave. Someone coming down a zip line at an old cemetary and one of our kids getting so scared he ran off down the road with parents chasing after him. Cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows around the fire when it was over.
3. Dressing up in costumes when I was little and trick-or-treating with Suzanne Kirby. I don’t remember the costumes but I’m sure they were cool.
4. Wondering how sick my kids would get trying to eat all the candy they collected and hearing “let me unwrap it first to make sure it’s OK” ringing in my head.

Halloween was always scary fun. It still is in many ways. Tonight we will stay home most of the night and give out candy to the little ghouls, warlocks, pirates and angels that come by. Maybe we’ll hide in the bushes and scare a few of them too. 🙂

We had a great class last night at church discussing the desire for “things”, for material goods and the danger that it leads to – pulling us away from our relationship with God. Keeping up with the Jones’ (easy enough for me) seems so prevalent in our society. After spending time in a foreign country, I could see how we looked in their eyes. It’s saddening in many ways and I hope I can stay focused on God and want less and less in the days to come.
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Along those lines, this was in a church bulletin I receive. I thought it was great.

Cell Phones vs The Bible
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around on our belts or in our purses?
What if we turned back if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t afford to live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as a gift?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?

I like the analogy. I am one of the few who thinks the world was a better place before cell phones and leave mine somewhere else as often as I can. Yet, the analogy it makes with the Bible is a good one in the sense that the Bible should be a focus point for living our lives.

We’ve recently added an employee benefit that will help people get help they need through Wise County Christian Counseling. I am aware of several couples and families going through difficult times in the last few years and I hope this will be an opportunity for them to get help.
An employee approached me yesterday and asked if relatives would qualify. She told me about her sister-in-law who is in remission from cancer but depressed and battling bulimia. She has a young son who wants attention from him mom but can’t get it because of the mental struggle she is in. The son is suffering also and is now acting out in different ways for attention. Our employee’s concern is that the sister-in-law won’t get help, that she will feel like those trying to encourage her are intruding, meddling.
There are so many people we are around each day that need help and we don’t even know it. I’m praying this morning that those people will seek and find the help they need. I know people are hurting and feel all alone. I hope they can find the hand of God and will follow Him, that they will find love and support among us to help them through the struggles and that they will know a loving and saving Christ who has given us all we will ever need. I hope that even in times of distress, they will find peace in the shadow of the cross. This is my prayer.

The Cowboy game had it’s bright spots last night but not many.
1. We sat four rows up from where Chris Berman, Steve Young, Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson were doing the pre-game and halftime shows on ESPN. Stuart Scott and Chris Mortenson were also there for Sports Center. ESPN was a great idea.
2. The QB switch at halftime had the crowd buzzing. It didn’t turn out so well but it’s all Cowboy fans can expect I suppose.
3. Red parking isn’t all bad. It’s just all the turns you have to make to finally get on the highway you want to be on.
4. The announcer noted that “football is a team sport” and “in that spirit, the Cowboys take the field as a team.” They did and all the hoopla was cool. Loud music, flames, fireworks. I was ready to go play until I saw Michael Strahan hit Drew Bledsoe. OUCH.
5. Once the team was on the field, all the cheers were for TO and Romo.
6. It’s amazing how many people will sit in the stands and cuss at players and coaches mistakes. I can’t imagine spending $80 or so a seat to let your anger out at people you don’t know. (I should have had a local counselor’s cards with me to hand out.)
7. Michael Irvin still gets the love. People were continually yelling his name hoping he would look up and wave at them. (Sidenote: People can be incredibly forgiving of athletes but harsh to people close to them. As Christians, we should be the very example of that. Sadly, it isn’t always the case.)
8. There were a lot of people drinking beer but surprisingly not as many as I would have expected.
9. The guy in front of me brought radio headphones and a little TV. Why come to the game?
10. We stood for almost the whole game. It was loud. I remember when people on TV talked about Texas Stadium as being quiet. It’s loud now.
11. Hank Williams Jr. was there to start things off in a really cool looking Ford truck.
12. Rayfield Wright and Troy Aikman were there to receive their Hall of Fame rings. Things have gone downhill since their playing days.
13. It’s just a little humorous to hear thunderous cheers for the backup QB coming in and then, on his first play, he throws an interception. He did good but made a number of mistakes along the way.
14. Two kids in front of us painted their upper bodies blue. One had a T, the other an O on their chest. I think they had dreams of TV that didn’t pan out for them. They were peeling it off by mid 4th quarter.
15. I wondered how many people stayed in the parking lot during the game at their own little party area.

It’s a sports fan heaven right now. The World Series, football and the start of basketball and hockey. I’m pulling for the Cardinals but won’t mind seeing the Tigers win (with stuff on their hands or not). I’m pulling for my fantasy football players instead of teams. The Chargers defensive problems are really bumming me out. I haven’t figured out hockey so I don’t watch it but enjoy the games live. Pro basketball doesn’t do much for me so I don’t watch until the playoffs come along. Lest I forget, the Chase for the Cup is winding down and the Byron Nelson and Colonial are only half a year away.

It’s been a good weekend for me. I’ve been able to spend time with Randy who is a missionary we support in Brazil. We have been able to pray and talk about the future. I was able to be with him in Lewisville last night as he spoke to the church there and saw the encouragement they give him.

Randy is a humble man when it comes to his needs yet a bold man when it comes to sharing the Good News. He is a servant and often overlooks his own well-being for the sake of others. As we discussed his budget needs for the coming years, he was ever hesitant to talk about his own salary, what he might need and want. I am hoping through our church and his other supporters, we can raise his salary 50% next year. To many of us, that seems like a big jump but that isn’t the case with Randy’ situation. After currency conversions, he actually receives less money in Brazil than he did when he started there 4 years ago. I hope to get him in a situation where a 50% raise equates to about a 10% increase in Brazilian funds over his 2002 salary.

If you know of a church that might add Randy to their missions support, please let me know. Also, I ask for your prayers that the Decatur church and his other supporters can rise up and meet the needs of an expanding Brazilian work that is gaining souls to the Kingdom. 77 baptisms in 3 years, 500+ people coming through the School of The Bible – the field is ripe for us to play our part in reaching the lost around the world.

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I’m headed to the Cowboy game tonight. I’ll be the one with my shirt off and these words painted on my chest, “TO, Rick’s pulling for you!”

There’s a group of us from church who play fantasy football each year. Typically, I have always finished high enough that I won back the money I paid to play. Things aren’t looking so good for me this year and I will be 3-4 after the weekend. Adding insult to injury, I lost this weekend to a previously winless team. Hopefully, tonight the Cowboys will win and our parking spot will be close and I can forget about the slackers on my fantasy team who let me down.

I’m so glad we are getting cold weather finally. Those who know me know I am not a hot-weather guy. I like it under 80 degrees and enjoy these bursts of cold weather. I started thinking about chili today on the way to work and am wishing I had a big bowl right now. What do you like to eat when it gets cold? (Sonic coneys don’t count since they are more for medicinal purposes.)

Last night at church was good for me. Our missionary from Brazil spoke and showed pictures from our trip there. I was reminded of some of the wonderful people I met and came to love. We saw one picture, a family of 10, and I noticed most of them were not wearing shoes. I saw a picture of Idasio and remembered he was always smiling, always laughing or you would find him playing his recorder or guitar and singing to us. So many great memories, so many wonderful blessings that we all experienced. I thank God for the way that trip has drawn me closer to Him.

Have a great (colder) day!