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??????