Getting Our Bragging Rights Right

"...What do you have that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV

Those are two good questions. Ones that correct and sharpen our focus and perspective. Check 'em out again. . .

They remind us that any ability, skill, talent, gift, endowment, blessing or advantage we have is a "gracin" from God. A gift - undeserved through & through - from our lovin' Lord.

Yet, we act as if who we are & what we can do is solely of us. Yes, we may have worked diligently to develop our abilities. And yes, we may have applied ourselves to get where & what we have. BUT - even the ability to apply diligence, spunk, moxy and even elbow grease is an enablement of the gracious Almighty.

So kudos to any and all who work hard to make something of themselves. YET, all due proper respect, regard and credit should point Heavenward. (That there's a circumlocution for God...)

I guess that why we call the gifted that... "gifted"?! Let us remember to give credit and thanks to WHOM it is ultimately due. If it requires a little humbling and thanking along the way, so be it.

Looking Good

Our church web page is not only a rich tool, it's is looking good!

Why don't you www.GetGraced.org

A Tribute to a Good Man, a very Good Man

My Uncle Tommy Oakley died early this morning. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ, this meant an entrance into the presence of God and being welcomed on the basis of the blood and righteousness of Christ. Mercy was his, grace was his. Hope was his and ours.

We had a kid at our Halloween party Sat. night dressed up as a face of death. Her name is Hope. Made me think... If you looked closely into death's face / mask (& I did) you could see Hope behind it - smiling in fact. So it is for the believer. Because of Jesus'death, life & grace, we have hope in the very face of death. And yes, there is hope hiding behind death, smiling.

Today - the day of Uncle Tommy's death - is All Saint's Day. He may not have died for Christ, but more importantly, he lived for Him. And does so still, evermore and even more, without hindrance of temptation, sin or illness. Makes one jealous.

Our prayers go up & out for Aunt Sandra, Kelly, Cari & their (our) families.

No skin off my nose . . .

... well, actually, there was. My nose is healing up from the surgery.
The Wed. repair of the hole they cut Tues. required a second cut (a graft?) on my nose. It looks rough, but hopefully will heal nicely.

Leper was our guest this Thur PM - a Christian Goth Techno / Romantic band out of JPUSA in Chicago (Jesus People USA). Our friend Joby plays the accordion in the band. We enjoyed our time with them.

And then there was one - Congrats Bo Sox

Yeah Cubbies! There is only one team with a rightful claim to a curse - the pitiful, longsuffering Chicago Cubs and their loyal fans. Thanks Bo Sox for making the Northside Bums even more distinct.

Is it me or did the Bo Sox owner - the trench coat guy - look like an older, pasty, over-Botoxed Dana Carvey?

All clear, says Puff Daddy

They got all the cancer (see previous post). Now I just need to wait for the swelling go down. My eye is half closed & going to be black & blue - just in time for Halloween. I am staying home from church tonight to rest my eye.

My brother & sister got mom admitted to a hospital for rest, tests... I pray they can get her meds & system in balance.

Under the knife

Cancer! Sounds so ominous.
Cancer surgery - sounds even worse.

I have been such a good boy.
I had a no-big-deal skin cancer removed today (out patient surgery - on the bridge of my nose, near my right tear duct.)) I have - up to this point - resisted getting any mileage out of it. I have resisted making the following pronouncements for cheap effect:
"I have cancer"
"Did I tell you I was having cancer surgery?"
"I have cancer and I am dying" (aren't we all dying?)

They cut it off / out today & will sew it shut tomorrow, assuming they got it all.
Until then . . . pity me while there is still time (& I get a clean bill of health).

Just the right word

"A man finds joy in giving an apt reply
- and how good is a timely word!"
Proverbs 15:23 (NIV)

This is not talking about "zingers",
those are fun in a different way (not usually good).

But how cool is it when you have just that right word or answer at the right
time?! As opposed to ten minutes later thinking up what you should have said...
Timing is everything.

Lord - give us tongues that are ready to speak or ready to stay silent.

Best TV all year - Championship Baseball

No matter who is in it, I love playoff / World Series Baseball. How do you match this year's Bean Town Comeback? I confess that I felt far less sympathy for the Yankee fans than I did for Boston's.

Since we don't believe in jinx, if Boston blows it in the Series is it:
a. well, at least they made it - who expected this much
b. a deeper wound, false bolstered hopes again . . . Da Curse

I hope Boston wins for lots of reasons, one is make the Cubbies the last cursed team in baseball.

FAR MORE SIGNIFICANT we had some kids make eternally significant decisions at church tonight. This will last long after any and all baseball penants fade. The Vermaases did a great job.

Like they care

Lived in NY & loved it
Love NY'ers & even like / respect the Yankees. . .
but... & here it comes . . .
Yankee fans make it tempting to hate the Big Apple
What a shame to see a game having to be played with NY's finest on the field
Come on, show some class Yankee fans
Keep the debris off the field
You make it easier to say: Go Bo-Sox

Do I dare dream . . .

that Boston can go to NY & win two games?
Speaking of dreaming, these long games cut into sleep time...

An Observation & A "Q":
Boston fans are the most wonderfully common mob of blokes
- no Hollywood cuties, et al...
I am rootin' for the team out of sympathy & identification with the fans
(they remind me of the long suffering Cubbie fans - just not as many yuppies)

Why are Boston's batting helmets so gnarlly (blistered paint)? Pine tar?
Why do they let them use them in a nationally televised game? Superstition?

Okay, this may be "PC", but watching the Red Soxs work their chaws & spit makes me appreciate teams that ban that stuff... SICK! While I am at it, do they have a team barber? Is he on vacation . . . ? :-p

Happy Birthday Kaleb ! ! !

Our fourth child turns 10 today, making him our fourth "double-digit dude". We now have only one kid under 10 years of age. For some reason, that struck me this morning, making my back feel even stiffer.

Da Oldest of our Krew - our onliest girl - is a Jr. camp counselor this weekend.
Number One son has had some hearing restored with tubes in his ears again (4th time).
Number Two son is enjoying Robinson Middle School & has been elected a Scout Patrol Leader.
Number Four son, our first grader, will miss his "birthday brother" today, as he goes to a Webelos activity. He is enjoying Andrew Jackson Elem. & has a great teacher (again).

Final child note: we now have children in Elementary, Middle, Senior High & College.

We have been inexpressibly blessed (see Ps. 127).

I am "debated" out

Love politics
Enjoyed - for the most part - the debates
But, sure am glad they are over

I am tired . . .

. . . but hopeful.
There is a great verse in Judges 8 about Gideon and his men. It describes them, in the midst of battle, as "weary, yet pursuing." I love that!

I ask myself at times, "am I tired of or from the ministry?". There is a huge difference. One just requires a little extra nap, the other is ... yikes!

FYI: I am just tired "from" - a good tired. Like Gideon, I too am in pursuit with some great God-given guys, ready to cross the river before us, by God's grace & enablement.

As good a group as they are, for the record, my best "skin & bones" encourager is my dear wife - 20 years this Dec. 1!.

Sunrise in the Mountains - giving credit

I drove to KY for a camp board meeting today (Twin Rocks Bible Camp, Viper, KY). Heading out about 6:40 AM, I was witness to sunrise in the mountains. Going north & up in elevation, the leaves were already turning - breathtaking! It was foggy in places, crystal clear in most, glorious in ALL. Talk about your artist - God out does them all.


Psalm 19:1-6 (NIV)

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Saddle up your horses . . .

Three years ago, my family hitched our wagon to God's leading & headed to a new chapter of life (ignored the mixed metaphor). Today, our church gets to follow suite.

Property rich & cash poor, our church is needing to sale its building. No small step. Thankfully, the place is not who we are. Though financially deficient to maintain a large, wonderful building, we are otherwise strong, healthy & maturing - the real crux of the matter. (FYI - "crux" comes from the word cross or crucifixion - any church's true central matter.

So the Shepherd is leading the sheep to find its identity increasingly & solely in HIM. Not a bad place - figuratively now more than ever - in which to be. I am proud of the good leaders & people I am honored to serve. A real people of grace!

"No Respect" a Rodney Dangerfield Tribute

"I tell ya, I get no respect." What a funny guy, that Dangerfield. He met His maker last night. After being in a coma for weeks, his time ran out.

I admit it, I was a fan. Though sadly foul-mouthed at times, he was also flat out funny. (Does it reveal too much to say you liked him / felt a kinship with him...)

His passing made he wonder if he was ready to meet the One who most deserved respect. I wondered at the Almighty rightfully saying about us to the angels, "I get no respect."

While we should say prayers for the grieving family of the departed, we can also be reminded - ironically - to show respect to the One we will all face some day, ready or not.

Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (NIV)

A Good Sunday

What neat people.

Facing change, challenge or uncertainty is not just unsettling, its threatening.
Our little church is facing an uncertain future in terms of finances and facility.
It is a faith-stretch for each of us. What might sharing or selling our building mean? How might that reshape, redefine or refine us? What new doors (literally & figuratively) might this open for us?

It is a great adventure indeed. Saddle up and stay close to the Chief Shepherd (Cowboy?)!

Cuttin' Grass in the Dark - A Suburban Myth

So its a gorgeous evening & I'm feeling spunky.
Birds have chirped & crickets are cranking - loudly.
What else is there to do but grab the lawn mower & cut until dusk.
Make that dark...
Dew is descending (or ascending)
& alls I cans sees is the wheel marks in the grass.
But baby, I'm making progress - line upon line, row upon row.
This thing is cutting smooth tonight.
When I get out of range of the street light,
I gun down one last section before I park that puppy
- that pushing beast in the shed.
I am a stud.

I come in, aglow with manly sweat
& my wife asks what I have been doing...
I resist the urge to "Duh" her...
20 years of marriage teaches a guy a thing or two
(& that's about all for most of us guys).

With a confident smile of accomplishment,
I proudly tell her I was cutting the grass
She should be wowed - in the dark - "what a man",
but instead she is bewildered

"I didn't hear the mower" says she.
"Are the windows open?" asks me.
"They sure are" says she.
I step to the window & hear the lawn mower running.
This is getting weirder each moment.
"Excuse me" I say, stepping caustiously to the shed.
It is silent, the mower motionless...
I run to examine the fresh cut lawn - flashlight in hand.
It isn't . . . No clippings.
Yet, I hear the mower, the mower... or is it...
no it, can't be... stupid crickets.

Bragging on "The Boys"

What an honor & priviledge to serve at a church with like-minded men. NOT "yes men," but mature brothers whom can handle honest discussion, face hard decisions and forgive foibles and failings.

Contrary to popular thot, not all churches are filled with petty politics and fighting.

Indeed, how good & pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity (not uniformity).

Lord, protect us from us & help us to be diligent to maintain the unity of Your Spirit in the bonds of peace.