Oh Say Can You Sing??

OK, so get this one!! This past September, I was singing with a quartet consisting of Rod, Lyle, Mike and myself, and in the crowd was a long time Wichita State basketball season ticket holder. After the program, he asked us if we had an interest in singing the Star Spangled Banner at one of their home games. Well duh!! He said he'd see what he could do to get us in. At that point I thought oh sure, like that's ever going to happen....

Well, we got a call the other day and we are supposed to send in a demo of our version (it's a Gaither Vocal Band rendition, so how could they turn us down?) so they can hear it and decide if we are worthy of singing in the Roundhouse. How cool would that be!! We're going to give it a shot, and see what happens. I'll update this post if we get past the "audition".

De Colores

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

To anyone who happens to read this over the next couple of days...I hope you have a most blessed and joyous Christmas, whether you are celebrating with family, friends or by yourself. May the peace and love of Christ permeate your days, and may your soul be renewed as you celebrate once again of the birth of our Savior.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Whew!!

I've been fretting and stewing for the past three weeks over my endeavor to become licensed to sell life insurance. Well, after two delays due to weather and computer malfunctions, I was finally able to take the State licensing test this morning. I PASSED!! WWWHHHEEEWWW!!!

A Song In My Heart

I had the pleasure of singing with my brother Mike and good friends Lyle and Rod as a quartet yesterday. We went to the Peabody UMC and sang a few songs in the morning, and then after eating a heaping bowl of chili for lunch, we sang another 30 minute program.

My spirit always takes off and soars whenever I get the opportunity to minister thru song. What a great way to convey God's love for us! As I watched the faces of the congregation as we sang, I saw expressions that ranged from apparent ambivalence all the way to smiles and tears of joy (at least I hope they were good tears). People in their own way were reacting to the Word thru our music.

Not everyone has a gift of singing, but I believe music has a way of connecting us to God, and hearing the Word thru song has a way of making us feel closer to Him. I don't pretend to think that our singing has any great spiritual impact on people, but I hope that thru our love of music, we become an avenue by which folks can connect with our Lord and God, and worship Him.

Keep a song in your heart, it makes the day a little brighter!!

De Colores

School Daze (for me???)

What in the world was I thinking????? I have spent the last few days attending classes in an attempt to get a license to sell life insurance as part of my job. The classes were from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM. If that wasn't bad enough, now I have to go to a place and take an exam (and pass it) to get my license. I'm way too old for this nonsense!!

To make matters worse, I was supposed to go take my exam this afternoon, but due to our snowstorm that is going on, I'm going to have to re-schedule. So I call a number that was given to me, and they tell me that I have to wait until tomorrow to attempt to re-schedule, and then it may very well be several days after that before I can actually take the test. In the meantime, what little information that I remembered from the school is slowly leaking from my brain. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Todays' Upper Room scripture is sure appropriate for me today. It says "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". -Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) I sure can use all the upholding that God will give me as I wait to get this over with!!

Oh well, as I say in my daily prayer, "Lord, you are in charge of everything that is going to happen to me today, both good and bad". I'll be thankful in spite of the disruptions and stresses. After all, if God is in charge, I'm taken care of!!

De Colores

Forgive Myself?

The November 18 reading of the Upper Room posed a very interesting and relevant question for me. How do we forgive ourselves? We ask God to forgive us, we ask God to help us forgive others, but how about forgiving ourselves?

There have been several times in my life that I have done things that I am not proud of, and sin oftentimes was involved to some extent. I know I have asked God for forgiveness in these instances, and know in my heart that God has forgiven me, but I still have a hard time of releasing my sense of guilt when I think about those times. God promises us that when we ask for forgiveness, these sins are "remembered no more". As I work on forgiving myself and "letting go" of those instances, it is a freeing experience. If God, who knows me far better than anyone else can forgive me, then surely I can forgive myself and move on.

In the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-15), Jesus commands us to forgive others. I truly believe this also means that He commands us to forgive ourselves. When we can truly do that, we can experience a more joyful life.

De Colores

Deer me!!!

Each year, the hunters turn out in droves in search of the wiley and elusive whitetail deer. All they have to do is come to my house!! This picture is of a decent buck that was right below us in some trees. I actually got out of my truck and snapped off several pictures from about 30 yards, and he was so preoccupied with the doe in the foreground that he literally ignored me!! Must have had something else on it's mind.....

Happy Birthday Mom

Halloween is a bittersweet day for me. It is always fun to see the little ghosts and goblins parading around town seeking out the best homes for Trick-Or-Treat. Seeing the anticipation in their eyes of what kind of candy that is going to be dropped in their sack is priceless. Besides, we always seem to have candy left over at home, and that means sweets for me too!!

On the other hand, it reminds me of early passing of my mom from cancer. Her birthday was on October 31, so it was always easy to remember. The youngsters in our little community used to love coming to mom's house for trick-or-treat, because oftentimes we weren't home, doing the trick-or-treat thing ourslelves, and she would just leave the basket of candy on the front porch with a sign that said "help yourself"!! Cancer took her in 1995 at the age of 58. She would have been 70 today.

I'll take a rose and a Milky Way candy bar out to the cemetery today and place it by her headstone.

Mom, until we get to meet again and share hugs and kisses, I wish you another Happy Birthday, and God Bless.

De Colores

All Out, All The Time

Well, the Warrior JV finished out their season on a high note, beating their oponents 28-0. It was an interesting season, to say the least. Due to low numbers in the upper classes, many sophomores had to play at the varsity level. This left our JV with mainly freshman players. Most of the schools we played against had lots of sophomores and even Juniors playing on their JV teams, so we oftentimes found ourselves out-manned.

Despite this inequality, they managed to win 3 games, and were in all the other ones they played. Our coach kept after the kids every play of every game, reminding them to give their best effort, and never give up. He expected the kids to adopt his "all out, all the time" philosophy with each down. When they played as hard as they could, they were pretty much equal to any team they faced, even when they were out-manned by kids a couple years older than them. They know that this attitude will help them as they get to be upper classmen.

Wouldn't it be great if we Christians lived our lives "all out, all the time for God"? Just think what we could accomplish!! The world would be a much better place.

De Colores.

Matter of Mind

Today, I turned 48. Nothing special, no big deal. Just quietly another year older. The old body is still holding up fairly well, although for some strange reason, my whiskers and hair on my head keep getting grayer and grayer.

An anonymous philosopher (because I don't know who it was) once said "Age is a matter of mind...if you don't mind, it don't matter..."

That's my philosophy for life, at least today.

De Colores

600 miles and still going!!

Today I passed another milestone in my running. 600 miles!!!!! I feel kinda like the Energizer Bunny; I keep going, and going, and going.............

I was running the other day, and as I went by a group of people, one of them hollered "Run Forrest, run!" I don't know if he said that because he thought that I looked like I could run forever, or if he merely thought I looked like an "old guy" that should be pitied...........

De Colores

Frosty Morning

I woke up this morning to an unbelievable reminder of God's creation. The sky was clear, the wind was calm, the air temperature at my house was 34 degrees, and a blanket of frost covered the grass down through the valley below. There were 2 deer grazing in the meadow, and a flock of turkeys were making their way out of the trees to look for breakfast. Looking at the scene, I couldn't help but think that God was probably also watching, sitting in heaven with a cup of morning coffee, more than likely with a smile on His face.

How awesome and wonderful He is!!!!

De Colores

21 Day Challenge

I am currently using a daily devotional called "Men Of Integrity". It tackles issues that we men face in our every day lives.

One of the devotionals last week dealt with being thankful in everything that happens in our daily lives, both good and bad, positive or negative. The writer challenges the reader to devote 21 days to praying the following prayer at the beginning of each day.

"Heavenly Father, you're in charge of everything that's going to happen to me today--whether it be good or bad, positive or negative. Please make me thankful for everything that happens to me today. Amen."

Praying this prayer for the next 21 days won't change anything on the outside, but it should change how I feel on the inside. Circumstances won't change, but hopefully my attitude towards them will.

Ecclesiastes 5:19b says "To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life--that indeed is a gift from God."

I'm going to give this a try. Will you?

De Colores

What's Your Reason?

We had an interesting conversation in our Sunday School class this past week. We were discussing church and why we go. I think most of the time we as humans tend to go to church to "recharge", or to "get encouraged" or hopefully to "be challanged" by the sermon.

But what should be the main reason that we go to church? TO WORSHIP THE LIVING GOD!! How many times have you heard someone complain that they "just didn't get anything out of church today"? Woah, who is worshiping who? We are in God's House; we come to acknowledge His lordship, His authority, His goodness, His grace!!

Just think how awesome the service would be if everyone who walked in the front door would sit down in a pew (or even stay standing) and genuinely started praising and worshiping God. What an awesome experinece it would be!! We invite God's Spirit to be with us as we begin our worship service, but how many of us truly expect to meet Him in the sanctuary? We were joking in the Sunday School class that if we walked into the church and saw God sitting up in the front, we'd probably ask Him "What are you doing here?"

I'm just as guilty as the next person, in that I oftentimes catch myself being discouraged because I "didn't get anything out of the sermon", or the service in general. It's probably because I was focusing on myself and my needs, and not on worshiping and praising. In the future, let's invite God to be in our service, and then truly expect Him to be there to hear us as we praise Him for being our awesome and wonderful God!!

De Colores

Sticker Shock

I went to Manhattan yesterday with Lori to begin the odyssey of #1 daughter's wedding. After meeting with photgraphers, caterers, cake decorators, florists and looking at the church and reception sites, two words come to mind...sticker shock.

It is hard for me to fathom the cost of these various services, and when added together, it can seem a little overwhelming.

Oh well, I love my daughter immensely, and so I will continue to stick by the advice some anonymous person gave me as my duties of being father of the bride....show up, shut up, pay up.

De Colores

500 miles and counting

I just ran to Denver, and boy, my legs are tired!! This past weekend, I turned over my 500th mile of running for the year (ok, it also includes a little walking). It's funny how each day of 3 or 4 miles seems like such a short distance, but when it accumulates over the course of time, it sounds pretty good!!

Not knowing what was a reasonable goal to set at the beginning of the year, I chose 600 miles. Unless I fall into a deep pot hole in the road, or twist my ankle on one of those confounded brick streets here in town, I should easily attain my goal. Maybe I should start slacking off a little, so I don't have to set next year's goal so high!!

My son Brian's first JV football game is in Halstead this evening. It should be very entertaining, as MHS has a pretty good talent pool in the freshman and sophomore classes. We'll see!!

I was blessed to have my girls home for the Holiday weekend. You don't realize how much you miss them until they come home, and then leave again. Oh well, that's the way life works, so I savor every moment they are home.

The next Walk to Emmaus is coming up in October; I'm hoping that God will give a little nudge to some people to want to attend. It is a great event, and is a wonderful way to allow the Lord to show you ways in which you can grow and serve Him.

De Colores

MHS football

Well, MHS didn't get their footabll season off to a very good start Friday night. The Warriors hosted Halstead, who was the pre-season favorite to win our division of the league. Our starting quarterback had a devastating hand injury about mid-way through the first quarter, and had to be taken to Wichita to have surgery done on it. Needless to say, he was lost for the game, and most likely for the rest of the season. You could hear the collective air come out of the team when that happened, and they were out manned and out played the rest of the game. We lost 34 - 6.

On a positive note, my son Brian was the place kicker for the Warriors, and got to make his freshman FB debut with an extra point attempt in the first quarter. Unfortunately, his kick was blocked :(. He was worried what the coach would say when he got back to the sideline. Coach Thierolf told him not to worry about it, and said from his vantage point, it looked like it would have been good, had the line held up. That made him feel better.

The young Warrior team will have to re-group during practice this coming week and figure out how to come together and play competitively without their senior leader at QB.

Could be an interesting season!!

De Colores

Engagement News!!

I am venturing into an area that I have no expertize in, I'm going to be a father-in-law!!! My oldest daughter Amanda called us with the exciting news that her boyfriend proposed to her at school on Friday in front of her 2nd grade class. He must have done it right, because she said yes!! No wedding date has been set yet, but they are thinking early summer of 2007. He is a good guy (an elementary teacher also), and I am glad to have him be a part of the family.

I will gladly accept any words of wisdom from anyone out there with experience in this field!!

De Colores

School Daze

It's back to school time for my 3 kids. Amanda, our oldest is in her second year of teaching in the Junction City school district. She has a class of 2nd graders who will hang on to her every word and action. What an awesome responsibility it is to be entrusted with shaping, molding and nurturing the lives of such young children!

Erin, our middle child, has transfered to Johnson County Community College, where she is going to enter their culinary arts program. She has this real desire to get into the pastry and catering business. She can come home and try out what she learns on ol' dad any time!!

Brian, our youngest is now an official "high schooler". He is a freshman at MHS, and has started two-a-day practices in football. He is discovering new aching muscles every day. Let's hope he exercises his mind in high school as vigorously as he is currently exercising his body!!

Life goes on, Lori and I are getting older, our kids continue to grow and mature, and God continues to bless us beyond measure!!

De Colores

Stay Hydrated

In these hot, dog days of summer, you often hear people say that it is very important to drink lots of fluids in order to not become dehydrated, and cause harm to your body. My son Brian has been doing a lot of conditioning in preparation for the upcoming football season, and we can't seem to keep enough Gatorade around the house!! He drinks it down about as fast as we can buy it!!

It got me to thinking about how we sometimes allow our souls to become "dehydrated", by not seeking God in His Word, not going to church, not taking time to pray, or allowing the busyness of our lives to interfere with doing God's work.

Jesus offers us "living water" to keep our souls hydrated. In John 4:14, he tells the Samaritan woman "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life".

Stay safe in these hot days, and be sure to drink plenty of fluids!! Likewise, lets keep hydrating our souls with the "Living Water" that Jesus offers us!!

De Colores

Lessons on Winning and Losing

Well, our 14 year old CVL All Star team went to the Babe Ruth State tournament this past weekend, only to lose two consecutive games and be eliminated. Of course, they were very disappointed, and quite discouraged. That is, until they cooled down a little, got their swimming trunks on, jumped in the swimming pool with their buddies and enjoyed the benefits of being 14 year old kids again. When they were losing, life didn't get much worse than at that moment. However, when they realized that life goes on, they quickly forgot about the defeats and continued doing what they do best, enjoying life.

We as adults sometimes wallow around in our past failures and sins. God, however, wants us to take those failures and give them to Him so we can be released from the burden and enjoy life once again. Psalm 103:12 says "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Yes, we were all disappointed that our boys weren't more successful than they were, but they tried. When they were done, they moved on. Let's see if we can give God our failures and mistakes so we can move on to the goal of eternal life. That is the ultimate victory!!

De Colores

District Champs!!

Congratulations to the Cottonwood Valley 14 year old All Star team for winning their District Tournament!! Brian's team from Marion, along with kids from Cottonwood Falls, Hillsboro and Peabody make up the All Star team.

Now they are off to Fort Scott, Kansas to participate in their 5th straight State tournament. They have won State once and finished second once in the past 4 years. Not too bad!!

Lori and I will be loading up the car for another road trip to support and cheer them on beginning this Friday the 28th.

GO CVL!!

De Colores

Cool Change!

At a little before 6:00 this morning, I reluctantly drug myself out of bed to go for a run. I walked out the door and was greeted by dead calm air, 82 degree temperature, and dreadful humidity. I just about turned around and went back inside!

After about a mile or so, I felt a North wind starting to blow in my face. It was a welcome breeze, and lifted my spirits a little. The farther I went, the steadier the wind blew. By the time I got back in the house, the air temperature had actually fallen a couple of degrees, and the wind was blowing at a steady 10 to 20 mph. When I left for work, my thermometer showed 72 degrees!!

How quickly things can change in Kansas! It's supposed to be nice for a couple of days, and then get back to being hot again next week. I'll sure enjoy the "cool change" while it lasts!

Brian's 14 year old baseball team goes to Buhler tonight to play in the District 4 tournament. They have the potential to take it all the way through State, or they could go out in two games in this tournament. We'll see which team shows up!! Good luck to them tonight!!

De Colores

Area Of Influence

During my prayer time this morning, God seemed to ask me to stop and focus a little on all the people who have shaped and influenced my life. I know that I am certainly not a saint, and have a long way to go to reach spiritual maturity (I know, you are all going DUH!!). But in significant ways, small ways and subtle ways, many people have helped shape my life.

My parents, family members, school teachers, Sunday School teachers, people who gave children's stories in church, choir directors, pastors, past and present church members, friends, bosses, co-workers, youth group leaders, just to name a few have all left their mark in one way or another.

I guess it made me realize how important it is to recognize the opportunities I have to be a positive influence in other's lives. As I go about my daily living, I am casting a wide "area of influence". As I help with and participate in worship services, serve on administrative council and trustees committees, play in the praise band, teach Sunday School, sing in the choir, or just lend a sympathetic ear, I hope to maybe encourage someone so they can say years later that I was an influence on them. Hopefully, most of it will be positive!!

Stop and thank God for all the people who helped shape your life, then think about the ways and opportunities you may have to help influence other's lives. Whether in church, or out in the world, be willing and ready to cast your "area of influence" net!!

De Colores

Vacation

You may have noticed that it has been a couple of weeks since my last blog posting. That is because Lori, Brian and I loaded up the car and spent some time at Tan-tar-a resort at the Lake of the Ozarks. Although it was way too hot and sticky, we still managed to have a good time. Brian and I got a few rounds of golf in, and Lori managed to work a spa day into her busy schedule. There was a junior high cheerleading camp with several hundred middle school girls running around while we were there, so needless to say, Brian was a little distracted with the scenery!!

From there, we went to Kansas City to meet up with Amanda and Erin and attended a Royals baseball game. It was great to have the family all together in one place, even if just for the day. Unfortunately, the Royals lost (again), but there was a spectacular fireworks show after the game, so it was fun to be there.

The best part about vacations is getting to spend time with the family. How much fun would it be to go do things alone? You wouldn't have anyone to share the experience with. Spending time with your family strengthens the bonds between husband and wife, parents and kids.

Same thing thing with your spiritual walk. It is much more rewarding to share your experiences of life with fellow believers. There is joy in sharing in the good times, and there is strength in leaning on others in the bad. Matthew 18: 19-20 says "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Share your experiences of life with others. Meet regularly with fellow Christian brothers and sisters. It is in gathering together in fellowship that we grow and mature in Christ.

De Colores

The Long Haul

I have just hit a major milestone in my commitment to better health. As of today, I have logged 351 miles of running and walking since Jan. 1. I set a goal of 600 miles for the year, so with half of it gone by, I am ahead of pace to reach my goal. Not too bad for a 47 year old codger like myself!! I'll have to admit that when I started back in January, writing down 2 miles was kinda discouraging. Pretty soon though, that 2 miles turned into 50, then 100 and so on. As I log each days distance, it reminds me that I can't base my success or failure on what I did that day, but to remember that I am in this for the long haul. Hopefully when I reach the end of the year, I'll have made my goal, and that 2 miles in January will have been just as important then as the miles in December.

Perseverance is talked about a lot in the bible. James 5:11 says "11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." As we go through life, we are not to be content or gloat with our present successes, nor are we to become discouraged with our present sufferings. As we persevere, we are working to attain the goal of becoming saints in God's eternal home.

I'm going to keep on running, and do my best to attain my goal of 600 miles. Likewise, I am going to continue to pray, study, and trust in God to attain my spiritual goal of eternal life.

De Colores!!

Right Of Passage

OK, I am officially in distress. I took my youngest child (14 years old, all 6', 183# of him) to our local vehicle department to get his learner's permit. It seems the driver's ed instructor thinks he passed enough tests to get his permit.

How did this happen? Where did the time go? What happened to my children, they're all grown up!! My two little girls are now beautiful young women making their mark in the world. My son, who was a shy, timid little kid now is bigger than me and is going to be a "high schooler". Somehow, I seemed to have leaped into a time warp, and the past 23 years of my life occurred in a matter of mere seconds!!

If you see my son driving down Main Street in Marion with a grin from ear to ear, wave, but give him plenty of room!! After all, a mere flash in the pan ago, I was that same kid with my crispy new learner's permit in my pocket ready to take on the world. Lord help us all!!

Congratulations son, you have worked hard and earned this permit. May the next 4 years of your life in high school bring you many opportunities and much joy. I'll be right beside you, enjoying the ride.

De Colores

'Til The Storm Passes By

There have been many times in my life when I have been faced with a situation that has caused me physical, spiritual or emotional distress. I have prayed many times for God to take me away from the situation, only to continue to struggle with it for a period of time. Sometimes for a long time. It is so easy to get discouraged and wonder why God doesn't answer our prayer to make the situation better.

During these "storms" in our lives, it is important to remember that God is always in control. I'm sure God wants us to let Him know when we are hurting or in distress, and we can sure ask to be delivered from that situation, but we must always ultimately submit to God's sovereign will and not our own. Even Jesus, when facing his ultimate crucifiction and death prayed "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

An old hymn that became a favorite of mine when my mom was suffering from cancer, and ultimately succumbed to it, is "Til The Storm Passes By". Part of the chorus goes...

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of your hand. Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

God doesn't always answer our prayer by making the storm immediately go away, but He always is ready to hold out His arms and cradle us and keep us safe until it passes by. Some day, we will have our eyes opened, and will get to see what the reason was for those stormy times, and we will understand. Until then, I'll keep praying, keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

De Colores

Chingawassa Days

Our community of Marion just completed it's 10th annual Chingawassa Days festival this past weekend, and once again, it was a resounding success!! The festival which runs from Friday evening thru a Sunday morning church service brings all kinds of activities to our community of 2,000 people. For the running enthusiasts, we have the "Rhino Run", for the strong at heart and stomach we have the "Rhino Challenge" (our version of Fear Factor), for the brave we have the dodge ball tournament, for the musically talented we have "Chinga Idol", and for everyone we have just about everything else imaginable. The weekend culminates in a concert in Central Park on Saturday night. This year's act was The Guess Who. They put on quite a show, singing their old favorites such as "American Woman", "No Sugar Tonight", "No Time", "These Eyes", and many more. They were fantastic musicians, and seemed to be genuinely glad to be playing for us. There were approx. 3,000 people in the Park to see the show.

Groups who have performed in the past include Little Texas, Restless heart, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, 38 Special, 3 Dog Night, Kentucky Headhunters and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Not too bad of a line up for a small town!!

Mark your calendars for the 1st week in June of 2007 and come join us next year!!!

De Colores

The Steadfast Love Of The Lord

One year ago, an event occurred that significantly changed my life. I was working for a corporate bank, struggling to fit in their culture. It was affecting me in many ways, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. My relationship with my wife and my kids suffered. I went to bed at night and woke up each morning consumed with all the things that needed taking care of. I thought I was too locked into this job to consider doing something else. After all, it provided me with a good income, it had a lot of good benefits, the retirement plan was great, and the stature in the community was important. But, I was miserable.

I went to a Walk to Emmaus in April of 05, and looking back now, I can see God's hand in preparing me for a change in my life. I prayed a lot over that weekend that God would make things better at work, and I had the sense that He was telling me that everything was going to be all right. I took that to mean that things at work would get better.

Little did I know that what God had planned for me was to lose my job. The way I figure it, God decided that since I didn't have the guts to remove myslf from my situation, He would do it for me. On May 26, 2005, I learned that the bank had eliminated my position, and that effective immediately, I had no job!!

I dreaded calling my wife, thinking that she would be devastated and ashamed of me. I think the Lord gave her insights and wisdom for the situation, because she immediately saw this event as God working in my life. She didn't allow me to wallow around in self pity, but encouraged me to seek God and His will. She and I immediately began praying that God would reveal Himself to me, and show me direction on what to do with my life. A passage of scripture really spoke to me. It is Jeremiah 29: 11-13. It says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

I called on the Lord, and He was gracious and steadfast in His promises of this scripture passage. To make a long story short, I now have a great job that I look forward to going to each day, I have a peace in my mind and my heart, I have a much better relationship with my wife and kids, and most importantly, I have a refreshed, renewed and much deeper relationship with my Lord and my God.

As the familiar chorus goes,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning.
Great is thy faithfulness oh Lord,
great is thy faithfulness!

I never want to go through something like this again, but I thank God that He gave me the shove, then gave me the strength to make a significant change in my life.

Thanks be to God for His steadfast love that never ceases!

De Colores

In Memory

Memorial Day is coming up soon. Time to think back and remember those who made an impact on our lives and honor them.

I think of my mom, who was a hard working farmer's wife. She never complained about the difficulties and long days they faced while farming. She was a very spiritual person. She shaped the foundation of my life, and along with dad, helped establish and nourish my faith walk with God. She died "way too soon" from cancer in 1995.

I think of Rev. Charlie Hanes. He was a "tough old bird". He was a no nonsense pastor, who deeply cared about the Lord and his Church. He died "way too soon" from a heart attack while pastoring our church.

I think of my grandpa and grandma Fruechting. What special grand parents they were! Many, many memories were spun from the holiday gatherings at their home. My most precious memories, however are from the quiet times I got to spend with them "one on one". I learned a lot about family, dignity, honesty, and compassion for mankind from them.

I think of the kids in Amanda and Erin's high school classes who died "way too soon" in tragic accidents. I hope that through these tragedies, our young people will learn life lessons that will help them make smart decisions as they continue their journey in life.

I think of the soldiers who answered the call to duty throughout history. They are oftentimes called heroes, but if you would ask them, they would probably merely say they were doing their duty and following orders.

If you have a family member who is or was in the armed forces, take the time to stop and thank them for their sacrifice they made. If you have a family member who helped shape you into the person you are, tell them thank you. If they have passed away, stop sometime this weekend and thank God for the time they were on this earth and for the guidance they gave you.

I know I will.

De Colores

Patience

I had another portion of my yard seeded to grass 5 days ago. The ground was carefully prepared, the grass was drilled in, fertilizer was applied, and I have been faithfully watering it, being careful not to let the ground dry out. Each morning I go out into the newly seeded area and look for the first signs of new grass coming up. I have no patience!! I want a lush green yard, and I want it now!! Even though I have done everything I know to make a nice yard, I need to have patience and let nature do it's work to sprout the grass seed and make it come to life.

How much like this yard is our spiritual journey!! We pray, we read our bibles, we go to church on Sunday morning and expect God to give us all His blessings right now!! But, we need patience so that we may learn to grow in Christ.

Colossians 1: 9-14 says "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."

In today's world of instant gratification, may we have the patience to wait on God, and enjoy His blessings as we persevere in doing His will.

De Colores.

Happy Mother's Day

Ah, Mother's Day. That wonderful day of the year that we husbands, fathers, sons and daughters make a clumsy and oftentimes inept attempt at showing our wife/mother how much we appreciate them in our lives. To be sure, the days previous to this and after this special day are just like any other to moms - filled with expectations of keeping the house picked up, having meals ready and on the table at the prescribed time, wiping dirty bottoms, soothing hurt feelings and body parts, oftentimes all within the scope of one day. In today's world this is commonly expected and achieved in a day that includes a full day of work outside the home.

Hey guys and kids, let's try a bold move and make every day "Mother's Day" for our wives and moms. Let's lift them up daily with encouragement, love, prayer, praise and especially HELP in their daily routines. Tell her you love her every day. My mom died in 1995, and even today, I wish I could call her up and tell her I love her. Somehow I think she probably knows, but it probably would have been most helpful to tell her more often while she was here.

President Teddy Roosevelt once said: "When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls, who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as well as more important position than any man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist."

Guys, let's honor our wives and mothers all day, every day. Happy Mother's Day honey, I am thankful that God chose you to be the mother of my children. Happy Mother's Day mom, may you continue to enjoy your eternal rest in heaven that you so much deserve.

Marion Middle School - Boys MCAA Track Champs!

Congratulations to the Marion Middle School Boys track team for winning the Mid-Central Activities Association (MCAA) track meet!! There are 12 schools in central Kansas in this league, so the boys are to be commended for being the best!! Here is a picture of my son Brian throwing the shot put. He threw a personal best of 40' 1 1/4" to take 4th. He also took 4th in the discus. Now, if he could just run a 4.4 second 40, he'd be in good shape!!

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

My wife and I had the pleasure of going to a Mercy Me concert at Central Christian Church in Wichita this past Friday. What a blessing!! The tickets were cheap (only $15), and they were selling their newest CD (Coming Up To Breathe) for only $5!! The church held 3,000 people, and it was full. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear you were at a church service, not a concert. They would play a few songs, talk about the ups and downs in their own lives, lead the "congregation" in some choruses and then play some more of their songs. They had a very interesting story to tell about their beginnings, their struggles in traveling in a bus for 12 years before they "made it big", and their desire to serve God even now when they are on top. They are just a bunch of guys like you and me (OK, maybe they're quite a bit more talented than the average guy), and they love to serve the Lord. All in all, we were blessed to be ministered to by them for 2 1/2 hours. What a concert!!

De Colores

"Clutch" performance

I opened the top of our bluebird house yesterday and was surprised to see that the eggs have hatched!! Mom and dad bluebird are nervously and ferociously guarding the nest against other birds. It seems that all kinds of birds must want to get a close up view of them, and they won't let any other birds near the nest.

Dad says that the term for a nest of baby bluebirds is a "clutch". I have no idea how that got started, but I guess my bluebirds have just delivered a "clutch performance"!!!!

Safety In Numbers

I was looking out one of our windows into the back yard this morning, and watched a deer come out of the trees. Now this is not unusual, as we have many deer in a meadow below our house. What was interesting this morning was a coyote came walking along and noticed the deer. Of course, the deer saw him too, so they engaged in a stare down of sorts trying to figure out what the other one was going to do. Pretty soon, another deer came out of the trees and watched the coyote, then another, and another, until there were 6 deer all staring at the coyote. My guess is the coyote decided that there was no way he could take on all 6 of them, so he turned tail and ran the other way. The deer probably have learned that there is safety in numbers in the wild.

We Christians can learn a good lesson from these animals. When Satan is lurking around, he has numerous opportunities to exploit our weaknesses. However, if we surround ourselves with other Christians in worship, prayer and friendships, we can find safety in numbers and can be more effective in thwarting his plans.

One of the Emmaus phrases is "Find a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ". Look for those opportunities to serve God and help protect your fellow brother or sister in Christ.

De Colores.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Time to pack up the old guitar, a few clothes, some bedding, and head to the big metropolis of Garden City for the men's Spring Emmaus Walk. It is a priviledge to be a part of this event, as it is a great opportunity for men and women to strengthen their faith, and be better equipped to serve in their local churches. It is 72 hours of food, great speaking, food, singing, food, fun and oh yes, did I mention food?

The Walk is based on the scripture found in Luke 24 where Jesus appears to two men as they were walking back to their home town of Emmaus after Jesus' death and ressurrection. I urge you to read this chapter and see how Jesus opened their eyes to see Him for who He is, the risen Christ!

If you're interested in attending one of these Walks, you are in luck, there are two more scheduled this year. The next men's walk is July 13 - 16 in Haviland, and the women's walk is the following weekend. Or, if you prefer to wait until fall, there is another one in Wichita on October 5 - 8 (men's) and the women's is again the following weekend.

Pray for the members of the team, and the people attending the walks. I have seen God meet people in unbelievable ways at these events (myself included!!).

De Colores!!

"Egg"citing News!!

After successfully enticing a pair of bluebirds to build a nest in one of my boxes, I was excited to see the female had laid some eggs in it!!

I have no idea how long the incubation period is for a bluebird egg, but I'll post some pictures once they hatch.

Today is Good Friday, and as I'm anticipating the hatching of these eggs, I am also anticipating the Good News of Jesus' ressurrection on Easter Sunday. We typically don't like to dwell too long on the agony that Jesus went through on Good Friday, but without this event, our Easter story would be incomplete.

May this Easter season be a blessed one for you.

De Colores

The Bluebirds Have Landed!

A pair of bluebirds has been busily working on building a nest in my bird house. It's funny to watch, as the female works endlessly, and the male just sits in a nearby tree and seems to be supervising.

I have two theories for this behavior. Either.......(1) the male is saying "The nest building is your job", or (2) the female is saying "Let me do this, because I want to make sure it gets done right the first time!!"

Sound familiar, anyone??????

Boulders

Three years after building our house, we are still working on getting our yard in!! I had an irrigation company working on putting some more sprinklers in this past week, and he ran into some rather large rocks as he was trying to cut in the lines. Several of these rocks were big enough that he had to stop and remove them with larger equipment.

Just as these boulders caused me grief in working on my yard, the bible warns us of "boulders" in our lives. 1 Peter 2:8 says "They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it".

What are the "boulders" in your life? What causes you to stumble? Seek God's guidance, and He will help you remove those boulders from your life. Psalm 119:165 says "Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble".

I look forward to the transformation of the yard as the grass gets planted, the retaining walls go up, and the patio gets built. I also look forward to the transfomation God promises as I study His word, pray and look for His guidance in my life. I know that those boulders in my life that are too heavy for me to lift can easily be removed with God's power and strength.

De Colores

The Difference

In one of my earlier blogs on habits, I touched on the importance of a consistent prayer life. I found the following poem quite a few years ago, and had forgotten about it until I was going through some things in my bible this morning. Oh how true this poem is!! Read it and enjoy.

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I have so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier became each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak.
I wondered why God didn't show me. He said "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.

May you start each day with prayer and ask God to show you His will and blessings for you. Try it, it works!!

De Colores

Rain

I'm keeping it simple today. When you read this, pray for rain!! I know God supplies us with what we need and everything is provided in His time, but I also believe that God wants us to ask for the desires of our heart. Exercise your faith. Tell your friends and family to join in, and let's bombard the gates of heaven with our request!!!

Corn rows

I was talking to one of my farmer customers today, and it brought back a lot of memories of my days growing up on the family farm. One of the things I never could master was the art of making straight rows when planting corn or milo. My dad and brother could make rows that were as straight as an arrow, but mine meandered all over the place. Needless to say, I wasn't asked to run the planter very often!

The secret to making a straight row was to keep your eye straight ahead to the other end of the field, and not get distracted by looking around at what was going on behind or beside you. You would pick out a land mark at the far end of the field and focus on it until you reached the end. As long as you stayed focused on it, your rows were straight, but if you took your eye off of it for a length of time, you would get off course, and the row would end up crooked. Only by again looking ahead could the rows get straightened out.

What a great lesson for us in life!! If we keep our lives focused on God, we are assured that He will make our paths straight. But when we lose focus, we meander around and can make a mess of our lives. When Jesus called Peter out of his boat to walk to Him on the water, Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus, AND HE WALKED ON WATER! But, when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and saw the water and waves, he became afraid and started sinking.

Hebrews 12:13 says "Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong." Life is hard, and it is easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. But, we must remember that it is only by faith and trusting in Him that we can keep our paths "straight".

Keep focused on Jesus!!

Habits

I have been taking our 13 year old son Brian to Manhattan to get some pitching lessons the past couple of months. One of the first things the instructor did was to evaluate Brian's pitching motion. At the end of the first lesson, the instructor told Brian that he could easily add 10 mph to his pitching speed, just by changing his mechanics. Unfortunately, this meant that he would have to teach his body to forget all the things he had learned over the past 13 years, and develop a new "habit" of pitching with a different motion. He said the only way to train his mind and body to do this was to do certain exercises and drills over and over again. Eventually, the new mechanics will take over and replace the old ones. Hopefully, Brian will reap the results of his new mechanics and have a fastball in the 80 to 85 mph range. Not bad for a 13 year old!!

I have been told that a habit, either good or bad, takes about 30 days to develop. Likewise, it takes about 30 days to break a habit. We all are creatures of habit, doing things over and over until they are forged in our minds. Oftentimes, we don't even realize some of the things we are doing!!

1 Corinthians 9: 27 says "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should...." By being consistent in our prayer life, by studying God's Word daily, by always being aware of opportunities for God's service, we develop habits that make us more effective Christians. Let's look at our habits in our lives and decide if we need to change any of them, or maybe even add new ones that will make us better people!!

Be My Valentine

Today is Vaentines Day, that wonderful day when we attempt to convey to our sweetie how much we love and cherish them. Yes, it is a wonderful day, full of love and romance. But, too often, the pursuit of romance with our mate is limited to this one day, and the rest of the year is "the same old same old".

A truly successful romantic relationship requires a constant effort of "wooing" and "romancing" our spouse or mate. The art of romance unfortunately, seems to be fast becoming a lost art. If we truly want to have a strong relationship, we need to learn that we have to pursue that relationship daily. After all, isn't one of our deepest desires to feel like we are special in our mate's eyes?

God is wanting to enter into a special relationship with us on a daily basis. He doesn't just want to show us how much He loves us just once a year, He gives us His love daily. He constantly pursues us. He constantly woos us. He wants us to be His Valentine. He wants us to feel like we are special to Him, BECAUSE WE ARE!! Are you ready to accept His love every day, and likewise show it to others?

Happy Valentines Day!!

Build It (and they will come?)

Our church (Aulne Methodist) is considering a substantial building project. We're looking at adding on a new fellowship hall and kitchen facility. These items have been needed for a long time. The architect has done a great job, and the plan is a good plan.

I am struggling with questions that keep coming back to me time and time again. How does this project enhance our ability to serve and praise God? Are we wanting to do this for our convenience? Is there a better use of our funds? Is God more pleased to see a church give it's money to mission projects, or does He smile when He sees us taking care of His house? Are we being good stewards by potentially putting the church in debt and obligating future generations?

A good arguement can be made that if you enhance your church via improvements to the facility, it sends a signal to the surrounding community, as well as people who don't attend regularly that the church is making a long term committment. It is a well documented fact that building projects alone can and often do have a fringe benefit of increased attendance. The "build it and they will come" adage definitely has merit. Increased attendance hopefully brings increased giving, not only to help pay for the cost of the improvments, but also to help fund missions and other vhurch supported evangelism projects.

I know there are other areas within our church walls that need addressed (Sunday School class rooms, updated and increased sanctuary space, ect), but with the high cost of construction, it is just unreasonable to expect our little rural church congregation to "bite off more than we can chew". The arguement can be made that the fellowship hall project can be the springboard and foundation for future improvements that can address these other issues/needs.

Pray for our church that we make the right decisions. All we want to do is praise Him and be His servants in all we do. After all, we are His hands and feet. Will making improvements to his house make us better servants? We will find out!!

De Colores

Bluebird of Happiness

Not too long ago, my son Brian and I set up a couple of bluebird houses in our back yard. If you are not familiar with these, they are bird houses that are set up with certain exact dimensions (size of interior, access hole size, etc.) that somehow make them attractive and practical only for bluebirds. These birds have the most beautiful blue colored feathers on their backs, and a rust colored chest and throat. Their songs are amazing to listen to. I came home from work at lunch yesterday, and was surprised to see a couple of pairs of blue birds looking them over! I have not really seen any all winter, and almost magically, here they are! Hopefully they will choose these houses as their homes for this spring, nest and have their own little blue bird families that we can enjoy.

Just another example of God's amazing creation!!

Psalm 65:13 (New Life Version) The grasslands are covered with birds. They call out for joy and sing.

De Colores

One On One

I was channel surfing last night and stopped to listen to a preacher on the Trinity Channel (he was actually very engaging). He had a message that I will remember for a very long time. He was relating the scene in the Upper Room when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection. All the disciples but Thomas were there to see him. As you know, Thomas did not believe them when they told him they had seen Jesus. Here's the part that I will always remember...Jesus made the effort to come back and personally minister to Thomas!! He had already suffered and died to save mankind, He had come back "through the door" several times to reveal Himself, but He recognized Thomas' need and took the time to show him "One On One" that He had indeed risen and was there for him.

How many times do we think that God is too busy to worry about our little trials and worries. The scriptures are full of stories of God meeting individual's needs. Yes, God also did things that were far reaching and affected many, but I'm pretty sure you'll find more instances where He went "One On One" to heal, comfort, correct and love His people. As He did in the scriptures, He'll do for us today!! All He asks is that we seek a personal relationship with Him.

Oh how He loves you and me!!

De Colores

Running Shoes

In an effort to keep my middle age body from taking on the proportions of a beach ball, I took up running a few months ago. Grudgingly, I would put on my sweats and running shoes and head out on the streets of Marion to try and will myself to make it a block or two before my lungs started screaming for mercy and air. If I was lucky, I would log a few miles a week and call it good. Something kind of strange started occurring however, about a month ago. I actually started enjoying it!! Yes, my lungs still yelled at me for putting them through the agony of breathing so hard, but I started noticing that they actually waited until I had covered more than just a couple of blocks. Blocks turned to miles, and I started to enjoy the "runner's high" that I had heard about. Now, if I don't get out almost daily, I find myself missing that time when I can enjoy the solitude of my run.

My spiritual health and Christian "walk" with God is much the same way. I used to be satisfied with a prayer or two once in a while. A daily devotional time did not seem that important. I have since come to realize how important it is to exercise regularly my spiritual life. Oh sure, I'll admit it; I started out dragging myself out of bed in the morning, and getting my devotional out to read it. Gradually over time however, I found myself looking forward to reading, praying and having that solitude time with God each morning. Now, if I miss that time for some reason or another, I don't feel right the rest of the day.

As important as it is for me to maintain my physical health through exercise, God has taught me that it is just as important to stay spiritually healthy through daily devotionas and prayer. I think of Paul's writing where he says in II Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Some day, I'll get to put on my eternal running shoes and run the streets of gold in heaven. Until then, I plan on keeping physically fit by continuing my running, and keeping spiritually fit by exercising my faith regularly. De Colores

Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

I am venturing into the blogging world with my maiden blog. I hope this finds anyone who might read it to be blessed by God in 2006. There has been much to celebrate in 2005, and God is truly Good! My theme for 2006 is "Keep the main thing the main thing". If I keep my eyes and heart focused on the Lord, I know He will take care of me.

My heart goes out to the Bowers family in the loss of their son Stephen. My prayer is that God will open His arms wide and envelope the entire family as they struggle to try and make sense of this tragedy.

I look forward this year to playing baseball with my son, going on dates with my wife, working in my yard, helping with another Emmaus Walk, and seeing what God has in store for me.

God is Good, All the Time!!