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