Emmaus & Other Thoughts

What an awesome time we had at the Walk To Emmaus this past weekend in Garden City!! I was a part of the music team that led praise and worship singing on the men's Walk. Words can't even begin to describe what God did in the lives of the men who said YES and attended the Walk. The women's Walk begins tomorrow (10-25) and lasts through Sunday. The next set of Walks are in Augusta, and will be held April 10-13 for the men and April 17-20 for the women. Let me know if you're interested!!

Brian's last football game of the season is tomorrow night against perennial powerhouse Hesston. They are ranked in the top 5 in Class 3A. The Warriors' promising season is ending on a sour note, as they have lost their last 2 games, and barring a miracle, will probably lose this one, and end up with a 4-5 record. They have had some bad luck along the way, suffered some significant injuries to key players, and made some mistakes at critical points in the games they have lost. It's hard at this point to not look ahead to next season, as they currently have 6 sophomores playing regularly on varsity, and quite a few juniors that are starting. Plus, Hesston is moving up to 4A, and we won't have to deal with them any longer!! I know it's a cliche', but "Just wait until next year".....

My mother in law Viola is not doing very well. She has congestive heart failure, and is in the hospital at Wichita. We would covet your prayers for Viola, as well as for Lori and the rest of the family.

Off To Emmaus

Getting ready to load up with good friend Rod Just and head to the big metropolis of Garden City, Kansas for the fall Walk To Emmaus!! Rod and I are on the Music Team. Over the next few days (Thurs - Sunday) we'll play tons of songs, eat lots of food, and enjoy watching God pour out His blessings on the folks who attend. We would covet your prayers as we serve God in this wonderful capacity.

De Colores!!

When Bad Things Happen

I have really be wrestling internally with the question of why when some people are faced with a life threatening crisis, they are spared, while others are not and they die. How does God decide who lives and who dies? Or even more confusing to me, does God even have anything to do with it at all, or does He allow life to continue or end without intervention in most cases?

I have a very good friend here in town who seems to throw barbs at church, christianity, or religion in general every opportunity he gets. I found out that he lost his first wife to cancer when they were just a young married couple with small children. He prayed to God to heal his wife, but she died anyway. He became so embittered that he has basically denounced God. I can't imagine being in that position. The closest I came is when my mom died of cancer at 58 which seemed too young, but even this doesn't compare to the anguish he must have felt when he lost his wife when she was just in her 20's. My middle daughter was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 2, and she was healed. Why did my daughter not die, and yet my mom did? Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful that she was healed; it just lends to my confusion.

SO here it is...do you think that God makes every decision and controls every event in every life on this earth, both good or bad, or does He sit back and let our choices and circumstances dictate what happens to us, and only intervenes when he wants to?

I am waiting for the right opportunity to try and talk to my friend about his anger towards God, but I'm not sure how to go about trying to tell him that sometimes bad things happen, but we just have to have faith that God is in control. It is easy to say when a bad situation turns out to be ok, but one of the most difficult things to hold on to when life goes out of control.

Anyone out there who can give me some easy to understand insights that I can pass on to my friend?

De Colores

The Agony Of Defeat

The MHS Warriors had their showdown with their arch rival Hillsboro Trojans last night. The game started off ominously, with a 50 minute lightening delay in the first quarter. The Trojans started off fast, and claimed a 13-0 halftime lead. The Warriors came out fired up in the second half and scored a touchdown with a minute left in the game to get within one point. We were going to go for two to try and win it right there, but an illegal procedure penalty forced us to try and kick an extra point. Brian is the kicker, and he kicked it right through!! Everyone (including dad) went crazy!!

The game went into overtime, and we had the ball first. We scored a touchdown, but Brian's next attempt was no good. Hillsboro got the ball, scored, and their extra point was good. Just like that, the Warriors experienced the agony of defeat.

Of course Brian is blaming the loss on himself. He thinks he let the team down. There were many events during the game that contributed to the loss. He'll have to learn the hard way that life is not all about successes, but that defeats are also a hard reality. All we can do is pick ourselves up and go on.

He and I are headed to Manhattan to watch the Wildcats play Colorado this eveing. I'll bet you that by the end of today, life will again be good for him.

Keep your head up Brian, you're doing fine.

De Colores

Football, Football, Football!!

This past Friday, our Warriors traveled to Lyons to take on the Lions (who had the sick sense of humor to name them the Lyons Lions??). They had one of those games where they dominated every aspect of the game, except the scoreboard. Fumbles and penalties killed us. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, we were only ahead 6-0. Finally, they cut out the mistakes and started playing some good football and ended up winning 28-0. They held Lyons to only 18 yards rushing for the game, so the defense was the obvious hero of the game.

With that good start to the weekend, I settled into the recliner to watch my KSU Wildcats dispatch of KU. Something went terribly wrong, and much to my dismay, I found myself looking at the score that couldn't be correct. I think this is the first time KU has beaten KSU at our home field since 1989. They had the same problems as the Warriors, too many mistakes.

OK, I thought my weekend could be salvaged with a victory by the KC Chiefs. After all, they seemed to have righted their ship somewhat the past couple of weeks, and were playing fairly well. WRONG!! Either the Chief's offense was as pathetic as it looked, or the Jaguar's defense was as good as it looked. Either way, the Chiefs lost, my weekend was ruined, and I was sick and tired of football.

Then came Monday evening, and Lori and I decided to go out to Warrior stadium and watch our JV play.......oh well, I guess we are gluttons for punishment.

Getting the guitar tuned up and my fingers toughened up for a whole bunch of music at the Walk To Emmaus next week. Ask me about it!!

De Colores

Old Settler's Day 2007

The little town of Marion celebrated another successful Old Settler's Day weekend. The weekend started with a Homecoming football game against state powerhouse Hoisington. The game started off rough for the young team, as Hoisington returned the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and then blocked our first punt and returned it for a touchdown too. It was 28-0 at halftime. The Warriors came out in the second half determined not to allow a blowout, and actually outplayed them in the second half. We ended up on the bottom side of a 35-14 score, but everyone was proud of how the kids came out and played the second half. Brian was successful on both extra point attempts and played every down on offense. He also got to see a lot of action on defense.

On Saturday, downtown Marion was filled with several thousand people who came to watch the annual OSD parade. It was pretty impressive by our standards, as it took nearly 45 minutes to all go by. The above pictures are a shot of the parade as it was coming down the street, and a picture of Brian's sophomore float. He's riding on it.

Every MHS class from 2002 to 1947 in five year increments had a class reunion. They were recognized in the afternoon in the park. It's pretty impressive that so many classes got together to reunite and reminisce.

A fun weekend with lots to do!!

De Colores

Lessons From Nature

Yesterday evening I was mowing my yard, and a small covey of quail came out right at sunset to look for an evening snack. They made their way through my back yard, and stopped at our wildflower garden. A male hopped up on a boulder that I have in the garden, apparently standing guard. His job was to watch for anything that might pose a danger for the covey, and warn them. After a few minutes of looking for food, they moved along my fence line to another spot where I have another large rock. Sure enough, the male hopped up on the boulder and stood guard again until they made their way on out into the meadow.

How much is our Heavenly Father like that male quail. God stands guard over our lives and warns us of impending dangers. He is ever watchful, and makes sure that His people are safe. Proverbs 2:8 says "for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."

God's lessons are evident everywhere in nature. I was fortunate enough last night to be reminded through these quail of God's steadfast love and protection for us.

De Colores

Warrior Update

The MHS Warriors are 3-1 on the season. After losing a tough, hard fought battle to Sterling two weeks ago, they traveled to Haven this past Friday. In spite of losing our starting tailback, middle linebacker and nose tackle to injuries, the Warriors were able to come away with a well deserved 19-0 shutout victory. The younger players stepped up and played hard, and filled the upper classmen's shoes admirably.

Brian played well (he's number 76 in this picture). He played every down on offense (right guard), and got to get in quite a few minutes on defense (tackle). He kicked an extra point, and handled all the kickoffs. He comes home from the games all beat up and bruised, but has a smile on his face, knowing he played as hard as he could.

This coming Friday will be the toughest test to date for the young Warrior team. Traditional powerhouse Hoisington invades Warrior stadium, and will try and play spoiler for our annual Homecoming festivities. They will be an extremely tough foe. The Warriors will have to play error free fottball, and get a few good breaks to have a chance to beat them. Hopefully our injured players will be healthy and ready to go.

GO WARRIORS!!

Bandwagon Christian

I chided my son on my last blog for being a bandwagon New York Yankees fan. I think I can legitimately pin this tag on him, because several years ago he was a "die hard" Denver Broncos fan, only because they were a powerhouse each year. When they fell from the top of the NFL's elite teams, he suddenly seemed to stop rooting for them. The Yankees, with their marquis lineup caught his attention, and for the last several seasons, they have become his team to root for.

It seems to be just as easy to be a "bandwagon Christian". When things are going well in our lives, it is easy to pray, worship, praise and generally be a Christian. It is when the times are tough in our lives that we are commitment to God is really put to the test. I personally find the most difficult time to be a true Christian is when I become discouraged. Doubts, fears and anger can take away the joy of following Christ. Bandwagon Christians look for earthly things to pick them up during these times. Spending money, drinking, sex, all these things are ways in which we try and push the discouragement out of our lives. Unfortunately, they are ultimately never successful. Only when we put our faith in Christ and look to Him for encouragement can we keep on going.

Isaiah 41:10 says "So 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."

Don't be a bandwagon Christian. Look to God for your strength in the good times, as well as the bad, and ulitimately, the victory will be ours!!

De Colores

Those "darn" Yankees!!

My son Brian is a die hard (bandwagon) Yankees fan. For his birthday, we got him tickets to see them play the KC Royals this past weekend. My daughters were able to join us, so it was great having the family all together, even if it was just for the day.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost (again). A-Rod hit another home run, and Mariano Rivera got another save, just like what happens about every game. I guess that's ok, as it was Brian's present, but darn, I hate the Yankees!!

As we have said for many seasons now, just wait until next year....

De Colores

2 - 0!!

The MHS Warrior gridiron team came away from Ellinwood with another victory last night, 28-6. This puts them at 2-0 for the young season. I'm not ready to declare them state champs yet, but hey, they have already matched the total number of wins from last season!! Brian got pretty beat up, as he spent most of the evening blocking a guy who was 6'3" and weighed 242 pounds. He's pretty sore today, but was glad that he got to play both ways for quite a bit of the game.
GO WARRIORS!!

De Colores

Freedom Train

We had a really cool event happen here in the little "burb" of Marion, Kansas this morning. The "Freedom Train" a 1940's team locomotive stopped in town for about a half hour. On the train were 51 soldiers who were wounded in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The Patriot Guard showed up and close to 1,000 folks welcomed the soldiers and thanked them for serving this country and protecting our freedom. The Patriot Guard presented a flag to the soldiers in a touching ceremony. The train is owned by Union Pacific Railroad, and they are sponsoring this trip. The train will make it's way through small towns in Kansas, end up in Oklahoma, and then return in a couple of weeks.

Made you feel proud to be an American!!

De Colores

Friday Night Lights

The MHS Warriors were 14-2 winners at their season opening game vs Halstead!! It was a particularly sweet win for them, as all the newspapers in the area had them losing. Brian is a starting right guard for the team. Just being a sophomore, he is pretty happy that he gets to play. He is number 76 in the picture. Ol' dad is pretty happy with that number, as that was his number when he played at MHS back in the ????'s. Let's just say it was at least a generation ago!!

They have already won half as many games as they did all last year!!

GO WARRIORS!!

De Colores

Am I Crazy?

Lovely wife and I have been thinking about getting a different car for quite some time, and have been doing a lot of looking. Tradition says that you go to a car lot, have a salesman literally hold you captive in his office/cubicle until he wears you down and you relent and buy the car.

I turned to the internet, went to cars.com, typed in the kind of car we were wanting, and up popped page after page of cars. The one we ended up deciding on was in Omaha, Nebraska. Through emails and a couple of phone calls, we made the deal. We took a day off, drove to Omaha (a 4 hour drive), spent some time driving it around to decide it fit our needs, and in less than 30 minutes, owned the car!! No hassles, no headaches, just a long drive!!

If you are not afraid, it seems to me that the internet has opened up a world of opportunities.

Or am I just crazy!!

De Colores

Aulne UMC Building Dedication

On Sunday, August 26, 2007, the Aulne United Methodist Church held a dedication service and open house to commemorate the completion of our Fellowship Hall addition project. What a great time we had!! We are so fortunate that we were able to add this 3,000 square foot addition, complete with state of the art kitchen to our church, debt free!!

Nearly 150 people came out to our little church, worshiped with us, ate with us and helped us celebrate this achievement. God has truly blessed our church, and we are excited to see what blessings He has in store for us in the future as we utilize this addition in ways to glorify Him.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!!

De Colores

One Down, One To Go

Our daughter Erin called a couple of days ago and told us that she got her Associates Of Arts Degree from Johnson County Community College. Way to go honey!! It's "step one" in her quest towards her ultimate goal. Hopefully if all goes well, she will finish up with a second Associates Degree Of Applied Science in a year and a half or so, and enter the exciting (and sometimes cruel) world we know as the work force.

Erin, I'm glad you have found what interests you in life. Keep working hard to attain your goals, as I know you have so far. I'm proud of you!!

De Colores

A Real "Classic"

This past weekend, Brian got the opportunity to play in a 15 year old Babe Ruth "Classic" event in Elkart, Kansas. He was one of 36 kids chosen from across the state to participate. The highlight for him was hitting a 2 run home run. It traveled about 360 feet over the right-center field fence, and ended up on top of the batting cages. It was the only home run hit during the 2 games, and the other kids mobbed him when it hit it. He was presented the home run ball after the game by the State Commissioner for Babe Ruth Baseball. He also hit a double and had 4 RBI's. It was a special time for him. He got to meet a lot of kids who he will be running into throughout his high school career, and who knows, maybe even beyond!!

Baseball season is now finally over!! It started back in March with high school ball, moved through summer league and tournaments, and culminated with this. It has been a long season!!

2 a day football practice started this week, so I have a feeling that he will be changing gears and getting a football mindset pretty quickly!!

De Colores

Patience Is A Virtue

For those who know me fairly well, it is pretty evident that patience is not one of my strong suits. I'm pretty much a "come on, let's get it going" type of guy. For some reason, my impatience really comes out in the weather. I guess that maybe part of the problem stems from my growing up on the farm, and knowing how important rain is in the summer months.

The past few days have been a real exercise in patience for me. For a couple of days in a row, we have watched rains fall literally within a couple of miles of town, only to see them either dissipate, go around town, or literally split and go around us. Despite my best praying (begging, demanding, etc), I was frustrated that God wouldn't answer my prayer and make it rain. After all, don't the farmers right around town deserve rain just as much as the rest of them in the county?

Just as I was about to say something to God that I probably would have regretted, the rains started to fall. When it was all said and done, we picked up 2". I could just about hear God gently chastising me to not second guess Him, or try to think that I know more about the weather than He does.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 says "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." I need to get out of the way and let God do his thing. I know that He has His master plan, and that I need to have the faith that everything happens in His time.

I will be praying that God will give me more patience, but boy, I hope it happens soon..... :)

De Colores

Close, But No Cigar

After battling their way through the loser's bracket over the weekend and Monday night, the CVL All Stars got a chance to play for the District 4 Championship last night. Unfortunately, they came up just short, and had to settle for runner up. All things considered, they have a lot to be proud of. It was a very tough District, probably the toughest one I have seen them play in since they started in Babe Ruth baseball as 10 year olds.

Even though they fell short this year, the boys can look back at an amazing run of 5 consecutive State tournament berths, including being runner up once and state champs another year. This was the last year for this format, and now they'll go on to the next level with a lot of memories and even more to be proud of.

Brian was honored in the tournament by being named MVP for his pitching in two games, and won a "WOW" award for his hitting and fielding in the championship game. After the final game, he was invited by the State Commissioner to be a part of a 15 year old "Kansas Babe Ruth Classic". He will be one of 36 kids from across the state who will play in two exhibition baseball games to showcase their talents in Elkhart Kansas On August 11 and 12. Why Elkhart, I have no idea!!

Brian, I'm very proud of you. I'm glad that you acknowledge that your talent and gift comes from God, and I hope you can use this gift to be a witness and servant of God as you continue on.

De Colores

Stayin' Alive

The 15 year old CVL team is stayin' alive! After winning their first game of the District Tournament, they lost the next day, which put them in the loser's bracket. Those of you who are familiar with any kind of tournament know that it is not a good place to be!! You have to keep winning to keep playing. One more loss and you're going home!

They have won their last 3 games, including two last night, and have worked their way into the championship game this evening! Brian pitched in the late game last night and did very well for 6 innings, striking out 11 batters. He went out to finish the game in the 7th, despite throwing 111 pitches in the first 6. He got to 2 outs, took at least 5 batters to 2 stikes, but couldn't get a strikeout or an out on the field!! The other team came back from a 10-4 deficit to get within 2. Finally our coach took him out and brought in a different pitcher who promptly recorded an easy out, and we won. WHEEEEWW!! For his efforts, Brian was awarded the MVP for the game.

Here's a picture of him collecting the award at 12:15AM this morning. I need some sleep!!