Hanging With My Boy

On Monday, Shelly and I took Jared out of school at lunchtime.  We have done this every October 31st since Ashley was in elementary school. Why do we do this? Because we are not fond of the Halloween parties at school. Now relax everyone… There are many different understandings and thoughts on Halloween… Honestly, you do what you feel is right about it. This post has nothing to do with Halloween pros or cons, so keep your Halloween comments to yourself.

This post is to let you know how awesome it is to spend time with your kids.  Spending time with your kids is sometimes difficult. I understand this because we have 4 kids of our own. Our house is a sea of voices most of the time and it is awesome… unless Around the Horn is on ESPN… Our family loves to hangout together and share our day with one another. Many times we share our day with each other as we are running out the door to one of the kid’s events (Church, baseball, football, basketball, Cheerleading or the dreaded band concert).  Another time that is super special is the time that we are able to be one-on-one with our kids.  I had the opportunity to take Ashley back to college a couple of weeks ago. Five hours of conversation with my oldest is always awesome.  Shelly was able to take Lindsey on college visits a couple of weeks ago and had a great time with her.

Well, on Monday, I took Jared and we changed the church sign to cheer on our Bago Football team as they go into round 2 of State Playoffs and we also went to buy him new basketball shoes. Jared and I shopped five stores before we ended up finding the shoes he liked. It was a great time of talking and listening. Yes, listening.  I listened to him share his thoughts and stories. Then I was able to see the huge smile on his face when he found “THE SHOES” that he wanted. I added a Nike shoe bag just to see that smile again.  I don’t know if he enjoyed it half as much as I did, but for me it was wonderful!

So what is my point? Here it is… brace yourself.  It was the best Halloween I have ever had! My recommendation is to spend some time with your kids… Love them and listen to them… Jared is our baby. We will not experience 5th grade basketball again (until grandchildren – UGH!), and I want to make sure that we both enjoy every minute of it. That goes for more than just 5th grade basketball!

Enjoy the time with your kids!

Really? Come On!

Have you ever had one of those days when you are just annoyed by everything? I sure have. There are times when I just want to scream because of some of the craziness that I see happening in the world around us. I sometimes wonder what people are thinking and why do I have to deal with such things. I honestly believe that the Enemy, Satan, loves watching me become annoyed. It sometimes seems like I am being set up to see what my expression will be in some situations. Recently, I have encountered two or three situations where I have been so frustrated that I could hardly contain myself. One of my problems is that I do not have a very good “Poker Face”. If I am upset, I do not hide it well. I get the “REALLY? COME ON! GIVE ME A BREAK!” look.

Well, today, I walked into my office and sat down at my computer and opened my Bible software. It opened up and for some reason it opened up on Proverbs 12:16  where it says: ”A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.“ Prov 12:16 (NIV)   UGH! Are you kidding me! I thought. How relevant is that verse in my life? Very!  I guess I have some work to do today! What about you? Are you dealing with annoyances all around you? Are you feeling the craziness of the world bringing you down? If so, join me in working on overlooking those insults and situations. Let’s not let the Enemy have a good day and a chuckle on us…

Have a super day and God bless!

If I could have…

Last night our family had a real bonding time.  We had a busy night planned. Jared had his open house at his school, Lindsey had Cheer practice, Shelly was coaching her Jr. High cheerleading squad and Justin had a football game. All was going well.  Shelly’s cheer team was doing great, Lindsey had a good practice, Justin’s game got underway and at halftime of Justin’s game we went to Jared’s open house.  We walked over to the open house and talked with Jared’s teacher a little bit then headed back to the game.  Shelly was stopped by a friend to talk and Jared and I proceeded into the game.  While walking in to the stadium, I notice the game had just started and that I did not see a #12 on the field. I felt something say run… So Jared and I ran around the first set of bleachers to the sideline… Guess what?  There sat Justin with his coach… Second play of the half and Justin gets nailed! The full back missed his block and the linebackers crushed him.  Coach saw me run up and motioned me to come to the bench. I got there and coach told me that he thought Justin broke his collar bone.   Justin was in a  lot of pain so we grabbed his stuff and headed to the van. I  called Lindsey who was running some errands to meet us at the Immediate Care in Winnebago.

We got to the doctor’s office and yup, coach was right.  It was a broken collar bone.  Justin was doing pretty good until the doctor told him that he was out for the entire season… that is when the tears started.  Justin is a 100% type kid.  He gives his all in everything he does. He loves sports and works extra hard to excel in them. The news of not being able to play broke his heart.  His next question he squeaked out was “what about basketball?”.  The doctor told him that he would be back for basketball.  That brightened Justin’s spirits a little bit.

While all this was going on with the doctor, Lindsey and Jared were in the waiting room trying to stay calm.  Both of them were terribly worried for their brother. Lindsey made some phone calls and text messages to family and friends to let them know what was going on.  There was also another issue with the night.  My phone was going nuts! The Green Bay Packer game was on at the same time all this doctor’s office stuff was happening.  I had text message after text message coming in telling me the score, cheering on the Packers, or Booing my beloved Packers.  It was crazy.  :)

The only thing that I could think of was that I was mad at myself for not being there when Justin was hurt and that I wish I could take his place in the  pain. I NEVER like to miss my boys playing football, Never! Just for the fact of wanting to be there if they were injured. I wasn’t there! I was so frustrated. Baseball and basketball I hate to miss, but I feel that I can… But football… Ugh!  So guilt came in.

Late last night I felt terrible, but started trying to convince myself that it was probably better that I wasn’t there.  Why? Probably because, I would have seen the play and went off on the fullback who missed the block or the offensive line who let the others in on the tackle.  All I can say is that, I missed it! And IF I COULD HAVE, I WOULD HAVE TAKEN JUSTIN’S PAIN.  I hated seeing what the other team (the enemy) did to my boy.

With that said: Think of the pain the Son of God, Jesus, took for us.  He was beaten and died to take away our sin and to give us a way to the Kingdom of God.  I wonder what Jesus thinks when we allow the enemy (Satan) to beat up on us? He hates it… He wants us to give it to him… How do we to that? We turn from sin, do what is right and trust him.  Last night, I wish I could have taken that pain for Justin, but I couldn’t.  But, I do know this, Jesus will take your pain away… Turn it over to him…

On a lighter note… It was neat to see our family come together and support Justin when he was down…. I love my family!

Teamwork

I am currently reading a book by John Maxwell called “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”. I downloaded it onto my phone and I read from it daily.  Today I ran across a quote from the author that says

‎”Your teammates will stretch your vision or choke your dream” -John C. Maxwell

This quote is so easy to relate to.  I have coached several teams in my life that I have witnessed what is said.  I have watched very good teams with good athletes do poorly because of their bad attitude.  Dreams and victories were lost because of the teammates could not and would not work together. On the other hand, I have coached teams that really were not that good, but have worked together and encouraged one another.  These teams have been successful and have watched their dreams come true.  Maybe they were not the best teams, but they accomplished what they sat out to do.

I think that the quote from above also holds true in Church situations.  A church that works together and upholds the vision of the church and leadership of the church tend to do well. But those who are constantly infighting and critical tend to choke out the dream and lose true focus on what needs to be done. That is sad!  Jesus died for us and it is our responsibility to make a difference and work together.  So, let’s grab hold of the vision and move forward! If you are one of the “chokers’, knock it off! Jump in and help stretch the vision and see what God has in store for us. Adjust our attitudes to making a difference in the world around us and then see what God does. I believe it will be a beautiful thing!

Sunday Morning Coffee

I have a little secret that I am going to let out… I never make my own coffee on Sunday morning! Yup, that’s it…. I guess that it is not that big of secret.  But, it is one that is pretty cool.  Normally, I like to be at the church early on Sunday morning.  I like to do the finishing touches on the bulletin, pray and study my message for the morning services. I have a very special man in our congregation that knows that.  Francis Wade shows up very early on Sunday mornings to make sure that the coffee is on for me when I arrive.  He turns on the lights in the building, puts the cookies on trays and makes me coffee.

I don’t know if he realizes how much I appreciate his love for New Life and service to the entire congregation. I do know that he makes great coffee and it totally blesses me! The funny thing is that I very seldom beat him to the church on Sunday morning… But I did this week! Not by much… I highly doubt that I will beat him next week… He won’t let me…

So, with all that said… THANK YOU FRANCIS WADE for making my Sunday mornings start off right!

 

What a Day

On Monday, my two daughters and I decided to head up to Green Bay, Wisconsin to watch my nephew play in a high school football game.  The whole situation is kind of interesting. My sister-in-law was offered a fantastic job in Green Bay and decided to take it.  Tera doesn’t start her job until after Labor Day and will be moving on the first and second of September.  That meant that my niece and nephew are included in that move.  While in Green Bay last week, Tera had the kids enrolled in school.  Isaiah got on the football team and things were moving very well.  The coaches loved him and Isaiah was excelling in the new football program.

Back to Monday. Ashley, Lindsey and I headed up to Green Bay to watch Isaiah’s first football game.  We headed North! We also got so lost! The Mapquest directions that I printed off took us to some cornfield a long long ways from where Isaiah was playing.  I was so frustrated that I almost turned around and headed back to Winnebago.  But, we decided to get directions and show up a little late.  We finally get to the game in time to see Isaiah on the bench without his shoulder pads on and grimacing in pain.  He had just made a catch and was tackled pretty hard.  The trainer decided to tell Tera to take Isaiah to the hospital.  So we got him packed up and in the car and headed to the ER.  While at the ER, we find out that he broke his scapula and that he needed to see an Orthopedic Doctor at the Sports Medicine clinic.  So the girls and I got a hotel room and got up the next morning and went along to the doctors appointment.  Come to find out, not only was his scapula broken …. he also had nerve damage.  UGH!!!  Isaiah is out for the season. He sees another specialist on next Wednesday.

I am very thankful that we did not turn around and head back to Winnebago when we decided we were lost.  We had the chance to be there for Isaiah and Tera during this pretty tough situation. I also got to see Lambeau at night! Breath taking!

I ask you to please pray for Isaiah and his complete healing.  Also be praying for Tera in her new job and for Jaelyn as she starts in her new school.

 

My Kid’s Coach is a Bonehead!

The other night I was at my oldest son’s baseball game.  There was a strange situation that happened during one of Justin’s at bats.  Justin was at bat and hit a line drive to right field.  When he got to first base the coach sent him to second.  The problem was that the ball was already in the infield.  Justin played a little “pickle” with the other team, but in the end was thrown out at second.  It was one of the dumbest moves I have ever witnessed a coach do in my life! Parents were wondering what in the world coach was thinking.  The other coaches were mad and thought that the coach had lost his mind. It was horrible baseball! Now you have to understand that this coach is a yeller, especially at Justin.  Very little grace is shown to Justin when mistakes are made. Normally this coach leaves the dugout and enters the field when Justin doesn’t make a play that many high school varsity players couldn’t make.  This coach is never pleased if Justin gets walked, because he expects Justin to hit at least a double at every at bat. The coach is kind of a jerk.

Guess what?  I am that Bonehead Coach.  I had a very good lesson in grace taught to me the other night at our game.  After the stupid move I made sending Justin to second that got him out, my assistant coach came up to me and asked if he could yell at me like I would have yelled at Justin when he made a mistake.  UGH! Coach Greg (one of my best friends in the world and a part of New Life) called me out!  He called Coach Tim AND Pastor Tim out on the topic of grace.  I felt like I was two feet tall. He was so right! He had every right, according to my actions, to let me have it. But he didn’t.

On Tuesday when I came into the office, I went directly to my computer and pulled up my Bible software.  I did a study on Grace.  After awhile, I figured out that I need to do a lot more work on that topic.  Scripture says “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

2 Peter 3:18 (NIV).  I think that I have a ton more growing to do!  I think that many times we, as Christians, forget the grace that has been shown to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We all fall short and are in need of that grace and we all need to extend that grace to others.

Back to the game: After Coach Greg informed me of my boneheadedness, I sat in the dugout and stewed a little bit.  Then I did what any good coach would do… I pulled out my Droid Cellphone and text all the parents from my team and told them I was sorry for my dumb move… Everyone looked at their phones at about the same time and laughed. Coach Tim was forgiven.  The good news is that we won that game and my error did not cause us to lose.

So what is the point to all of this?  Don’t be a bonehead! Show grace where grace is needed, because someday you will need grace too…

Hate is ok?

Yesterday I preached about Loving each other and reaching the lost. I talked about how the word “hate” is thrown around a lot.  People say that they “hate” other people all the time.  Well… as we saw yesterday in 1 John 4 that if we hate a brother that we are not even Christian.

I said in my message that it is ok to say that “I hate that I just stepped in that stuff in the yard” but that is about it… Well, God showed me something else to hate…

To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Prov 8:13 (NIV)

We are to hate evil, pride, arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Wow… How many of us deal with those things on a daily basis… I would venture to say that many do deal with these things either personally or they are happening around us at work.

Let’s starting hating the things God hates!  Let’s love one another and make a difference for the Kingdom!

Chest Bump!

 

 

Honor

Most of you who read my blog page know that I am a sports guy.  I like to play, watch and coach sports.  Over the past few months I have been the assistant coach of my 7th grade son’s traveling basketball team (The Ken-Rock Tar Heels). This has been a good experience for him.  He is getting  a lot of court time, his game has improved and his confidence has grown.

We have a couple problems with our team.  The first one is that we are not that good.  We knew that going into the season and we were okay with that. But as the season goes on, it is starting to wear on me and the entire team.  Most of the time things go alright. But there are times when things are just ugly. One thing we have been trying to teach/coach the boys on is playing hard no matter what the score.  Many times kids tend to give up if they are getting beat or relax when they are winning.  One of the other points I am trying to work on with the boys is the area of honor.

In the athletic area of life, I would rather have 10 coachable average/below average kids than 1 kid who is a super-star who is not coachable. I believe that applies to life in general.  Most people would rather deal with teachable people and not deal with non-teachable.  Basically, it comes down to honor. This season I have dealt with a HUGE lack of honor from some kids… I HATE IT!  I CANNOT STAND IT!  At times I want to stand up and scream! (Actually, I have… but….. )  This is not only happening in basketball…. It is happening all over our country.  People are living lives that lack honor.  You can tell it by their speech and actions.  Many times kids AND parents do not honor teachers, coaches, pastors, police, and other authorities. It is unbelievable! There are so many people that lack wisdom and honor.

Scripture tells us that “The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up to shame.” Prov 3:35 (NIV).  Here it talks about the wise inheriting honor.  I think that we could say that honorable people inherit honor. Then it tells us that fools are held up to shame.  That is sad and it is preventable!

Folks! It is time to stand up for HONOR and WISDOM!  Encourage your children and grandchildren to honor others in authority and to use true Godly wisdom.  When you hear them speaking like a fool and not honoring others, stop them!  Correct them! Discipline them! Why should we do these things? Because it will keep them from shame. It’s our duty to protect our young people from shame. Step up and teach honor in your household. Expect it and demand it. Don’t raise fools… It will only lead to shame…

Another Day at the Office

 
On Monday night I received a telephone call from the Winn/Bur/Sew Fire Department Chief.  He asked if New Life Bible Church would like to be a “Stranded Motorist Center” for those who would be caught in the snow storm that was supposed to be coming in on Tuesday.  I said that it would be no problem and that we would love to do it.

My Tuesday went as normal, except I dealt with the Red Cross most of the day.  They brought in 20 cots, water, and some snack food.  Before they left they told me “God bless” let us know if you need any more cots… then left with a smile on their faces.

I took a late lunch and came back to New Life. While at lunch I packed a small bag with contact solution, my glasses, deodorant and a change of clothes.  I also picked up a few groceries for myself too…

I returned to the church and set up the cots in classrooms.  I put out the Playstation, the Wii, the Game Cube and a computer so those that come in could email or Facebook their friends and family.  I also set up the antenna to get television to watch the news and entertain myself and the others. 

At 5pm I cooked a frozen pizza and ate.  The snow was falling and the wind was howling.  But I was warm and cozy just waiting for the crowds of people to come in from the snow.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I was praying that no one was hurt in the storm and that those who did need assistance would get it.  I went from thinking no one would come all night to a possible full house.  I had visions of New Life looking like the Super Dome in New Orleans after Katrina…. Cots and people everywhere…

The night drug on and I contemplated taking a nap.  The problem was that I did not want to be asleep if anyone came in… I wanted to be ready… The snow fell and the wind blew.  Then around 3am a convoy of 4 wheel drives and SUV’s pulled in behind a HUGE road plow tractor. 

They dropped off 3 people.  While they (the fire dept., police, and other rescue people), were at New Life I fed them sandwiches, chips and pop or coffee.  They seemed to be pleased. 

Later the convoy was back with 2 more people.  That was it for the night. Five stranded people and me.  They all were fed and made comfortable then went to bed. I stayed up to see if any others would be coming in.  No more did.

Around 7AM the 2 men were picked up by friends on snowmobiles. At 10AM one young man was picked up by his father.  That left a young couple who had both of their vehicles left along the road in rural Winnebago. Around noon, I was about shot… I decided to try to take them home myself… DUMB mistake!  We traveled down Hoisington, which was barely one lane.  We made it to about Edwardsville (where they live) and got stuck… really stuck… A nice gentleman, who chewed us out for being on the road, used his tractor to plow us out. We  then returned back to New Life. I called the Assistant Fire Chief and asked if they could get snowmobiles to take this couple home. He was successful and the couple got a ride home around 4pm.

Ugh… That is my Storm 2011 summary.  A day at the office!   People have been very excited on the way we stepped up and helped serve our community.  Honestly, I failed miserably.  Next time we will be more organized.  But the good news is that we did the best we knew and people were comfortable after being in uncomfortable situations.

I do want to thank my wife, Shelly, for being awesome.  She was fine with me being gone through the worst storm we have seen since we were kids. My kids were ok with me being gone also.  I also need to mention that our snowplow guys (Mark and Corey) were amazing too… They were doing all they could to keep our lane open to the church building.  It was near impossible considering all the snow and drifting. Another mention would be Tracey and Dalton Garst.  They came out and cleared the sidewalks and kept me company during my last hour at the church before I could leave.  I really needed them at the time.  PT was about to breakdown.  I was tired!   I started my day on Tuesday at 8:30AM and ended at 4PM on Wednesday. 

All in all… It was another day of ministry… Thanks to everyone who was praying for me or sent encouraging text messages, emails and/or Facebook comments.  I think it’s time for a nap.