Keep the faith

You never can tell the future no matter how smart you are. I was listening to WFAN radio yesterday. The hosts of the afternoon program were discussing the upcoming play-off game between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. Both of them agreed that the Yankees would win and they each made an excellent case for why it would happen.

They talked about all the key players and reviewed past performances. They matched up the teams player for player and the final analysis made it so obvious that the Yankees would win that I wondered if it would even be fun to watch the game.

I was in the car when the game started and before the Yankees even came up to bat they were losing 2 - 0. So much for knowing it all. The Yankees were heavily favored but they still lost the game and the series. Why? Because life is not lived in a book or through statistics. It is lived moment by moment.

The things you do today will affect tomorrow. That is why we can always hope. The final pages of our life story haven't been written yet. We are writing them as we speak. The good news is that the victory doesn't always go to the swiftest or the brightest. It goes to the most faithful. So trust God and you will be amazed at what you and God can do together.

Cal

Skimp and swim

I went out to water my plants and ended up watering myself as well. I didn't intend to get wet. It just happened. Well actually it happened when I got a little lazy and decided to cheat a bit.

You see I had just finished watering everything and I went to turn off the water at the spigot. When I turned it off some of the pressure was still in the hose and as a result a small spray continued to flow from the loose connection at the wall. I decided to relieve the pressure by grabbing the nozzle at the end of the hose. Only this time I got lazy and decided to step on it with my foot instead of bending down to pick it up.

The nozzle was facing the ground and the water went flying upwards and I got soaked. So much for doing the easy thing. Of course the easy thing rarely works out in life. When we try to cut corners and skimp on doing things right it usually comes back to get us. That's why God calls us to give everything we have our very best. He hates waste. He wants us to excel so that our works will glorify him. So don't be a wet blanket! Do it right the first time.

Cal

Trust God and live victoriously

I was at the hospital this afternoon and I stumbled across one of the most compassionate physicians I've ever met. The family I was with was having a difficult time trying to make the right decision regarding their mom. Knowing that I was present, he immediately picked up on the "God language" and told them that the best thing they could do was put their mom in God's hands.

He spoke to them about the loving care she had given them and commended them on their love and support of her. It was very touching to see. Even though he had met them a year earlier, he spoke to them as if they were his own family. He told them of their options and then left them to make the decision.

The truth is that all of us live lives that are fragile at best. We never know when our hour will come. The best thing we can do is approach life and put our faith in trust in God to see us through. Once we do that, we can live victoriously because as the Apostle Paul said, "we are more than conquerors in Christ."

Cal

Making an offer that honors God and yourself

A man came up to my car as I was sitting in my driveway yesterday. I was waiting there for my daughter to come out out of the house when he knocked on my window. He wanted to know if he could do a little yard work for me, raking leaves and the like, for some money.

I looked at my yard, which is relatively small, and there wasn't a leaf in sight. Well I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday. I sensed right away that he was just being polite. What he really wanted was a handout.

It made me think of the way I approach prayer sometimes. Whenever I want something I tend to beat around the bush a bit with God. I confess that sometimes I am ashamed to be so blatantly needy so I try to make nice.

Well guess what? We aren't fooling God any more than that fellow was fooling me. Maybe we need to be a little more honest with God. That may even mean trying to honor him and do his will before we come to his door. Imagine that. Then we would be giving him the respect he deserves and that just might gives us a little more self respect as well.

Cal

Go ahead and dance

I went to my first dance class tonight and I had fun. As I walked into the room I couldn't help but think how I would never have done this as a child or teen. There was a stigma attached to dance lessons for boys. Yet now I see that it takes real talent to be good at dance, just like it takes to excel in athletics.

There are so many things in life that we don't do because we let other people's opinions sway our actions. We let them rob us of some of life's most precious moments. I guess that I am at that age where I have realized that life is too short to let other people's inhibitions control my happiness. So I am going to dance and I don't care what they think.

The same thing goes for my faith. I went through a period where I didn't want to offend anyone with my beliefs. It is natural in our secular society. We are told to keep our faith to ourselves. But I say go for it. Let the whole world know you love Jesus. If he is the source of your strength and he brings you joy, then don't let anyone stand in your way.

Get up and dance for joy. King David did it and so can you.

Cal

Happy anniversary mom and dad

Thirty six years ago I did something that came back to bless me a thousand times over. I stood up for my father and step mother as the best man in their wedding. I was thirteen at the time and was very excited to be in the wedding. I'm sure at the time that my excitement was due to the fact that I got to wear a tuxedo and stand up in the front of the church. As the years rolled by I began to understand that in blessing my father's marriage I was also blessing our family.

My stepmother became so much more than just my dad's wife. She became my mom. She became my friend. She became a sister in Christ when we were baptized together a year later. She became a prayer partner and at times my spiritual teacher.

Today she lives half a world away, or so it seems. She and dad moved to Kentucky/ It doesn't matter though. Whenever I need to talk, whenever I need prayer, I pick up the phone and give her a call. She does the same for me.

Today is my parent's anniversary and I thank God for bringing my mom and my dad together and giving me the good sense to bless it.

Cal

God will comfort you

It is a sad day in the Lord household. In a little while I am going to take our dog Praise to the Vet. He has cancer and this past weekend he has gone downhill quickly. For the first time since we noticed something was wrong, he seems to be uncomfortable. I thank God that we had him for ten years and got to enjoy him and make him part of our family.

Death is not an easy thing to grasp. At any given moment we are bombarded with news of war, accidents, and tragedies that give details on how people we don't know have died. We listen and then move on. But when death touches your house, your family, then you have to make sense of it.

I thank God for my faith. I know it gives me support and strength for my times of mourning and sorrow. Our Christian faith reminds us that we are not alone. The one who cried at the grave of his friend Lazarus, weeps with us. The one who darkened the sky when his only begotten son was hung on a cross, understands and he will sit in mourning with us.

So if you are in mourning, if the world has taken someone close to you, don't be afraid to call on God. Tell him how your heart is breaking and how unfair life can be. He will hear you and without a word, sit and cry with you in agreement. Do it. You'll feel better. God will bless you and keep your loved one in his eternal keeping.

Cal