Will Your Children Remember? (Part II)

How many children, around the globe, now, will not get to remember anything about Obama's tenure as President of the United States of America because of the lift on banning government funding to international organizations that promote abortion or counsel women to seek abortions?

I realize that this debate goes down every time a new party is in Office, but still, why can we not see life for what it is worth?

My heart is heavy thinking about the implications that this new executive power has... at least for the next four years, America will not be an advocate for children nor for ethics.

Again, the arguments in my head for moving to New Zealand roll in my head like thunder.

Will Your Children Remember?

I don't know how many times in my life I will hear the question "Where were you when the Towers fell on September 11th?" This is, I guess, my generation's version of "Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated?" No doubt, after tomorrow's inauguration of our nation's 44th president, the question will be "Where were you when Obama made history?" This question may just be asked several times in his presidency, as we look at new policies and how he will deal with the economy as well as foreign policies.

Bigger than any of these questions, though, and much more important than whether or not your child will remember where they were when President-elect Obama dropped the "elect" from his title, is will your children remember the influence for Christ that you had in their lives. More important than any political ideology or leader, more important than our nation's first black president, more important than any simple slogans to be repeated by the masses ("Hope. Change."), we must teach our children about faith and, even more importantly, live those tenants out for them to see and emulate.

Bring Back the Fireside Chat

2009 will certainly be a year for change for many things: our economy is going to improve, new big government items are going to be brought into being, the Church is going to continue to grow and worship and bring more people into the community of Christ, Israel will grow in strength (I pray), and many people around the globe will view Obama even more as a sort of saviour.

When it comes to Obama, I've been quite critical of how many things he has copied from his predecessors in the Presidency. Many of his ideas are not original, at all, and have been copied from those who have gone before him. Evidently, though, a lot of his ideas have come from the presidency of FDR, the "New Deal"er, and a fellow Socialist (although Obama is of the neo- variety). If he's going to take one cue from FDR, though, I genuinely hope it's this: bring back the "Fireside Chat."

I know that our society and even culture have moved forward quite a bit since the days of FDR encouraging his people over the radio, but how many modes of communication does Obama have to utilize that haven't been done since the time of FDR? I don't know about most, but I think the idea of our president speaking to his people several times per week is a great idea. Even if I don't agree with a lot of his policies, I think that most people would feel more "in the loop" if more communication directly with the people, rather than through press conferences and whatnot, were carried out through different mediums.

2009 will certainly see me doing a better job of communicating with those who support Carrie and I, as well as just with our loved ones. If you're perusing this blog, then chances are, you may just very well be in that group; here are some ways we can stay in touch:

   1. this blog

   2. Facebook

   3. Brite Kite

   4. Twitter (probably my favorite form)

   5. better phone calls

   6. (although it's quite impersonal) texting

   7. email, email, email

Looking Out...

In my personal study time (what many might call a "Quiet Time") on Tuesday morning, before I happily made my way down from the Northern Climes of Little Elm to Grapevine, I read this particular part of a verse in the book of Jeremiah:

"The land lay subdued before them." (Jeremiah 18v.1b)

This got me thinking: What if we looked at life in this way? Not in a presumptuous way, as though the Lord should give us every single thing we want just because we say a prayer or anything like that... but in the simple knowledge that God truly is in complete control of every aspect of our lives. Would we still be terrified by economic woes? Would we freeze up when someone says we're not being politically correct or sensitive enough? Would we finally be men of faith who would lead in all areas, like we're supposed to?

The land that is our lives lies before us and, although there are definitely wild areas and places where we might come upon things that scare us to the core, we need to know that that land is subdued before us. We serve a mighty God who preserves His children to the end, and it's time that we see this and trust in that strength and love, not to mention grace.

Sleep Deprived? Not Hardly

Sometimes, I wish that more blogs carried a time-stamp on them, something to let you know not only what day the article was posted, but also what time. I know there are a plethora of thinkers and writers out there who are up at all times of the day and night, sending their thoughts out into the meta whenever it strikes their fancy. I'm just curious as to when most bloggers do their critical thinking and writing.

Since you can't see what time I'm posting this, I'll tell you: 5:10am on Friday morning.

I know that I have a meeting in just over an hour with the FCA leaders of Little Elm High School. I know that I've an accountability meeting at 11:00am. I know that between those two things, I've got stuff to get done at the office. But, I've been up since 4:30am. Conscious since about 4:15am. To most, this would seem like an incredibly horrible thing but, for me, my brain is running on all cylinders and this is becoming a kind of common thing.

I've never been able to sleep like most people. Growing up, I was always a little bit jealous of my buddies who could go to bed at midnight and sleep until noon the next day. For me, I can't sleep past 9:00am, ever. Even if I've stayed up all night, I simply cannot stay asleep after that threshold. I can take naps and have the ability to kind of go into a twilight stage when I need to (I believe Jason Bourne called this "delta meditation"... something to do with the brain's delta waves), but I can't stay in bed. I really started to get worried, as I've only been sleeping in the five to six hour range (with the occasional four hour night) each night.

So, that being said: it's not a lack of exercise, bad heart rate, sleep apnea, or anything else like that. I think I'm just one of the weird ones who only sleep in the four to six range.

Sharpening the Edge

At Providence, we've been expositionally moving through the book of Ephesians. It has been a great last few months in diving into the Word together with the rest of the body at our church. The title of the series, "Shine," perfectly nails what the book encourages us to do in the world that we live in. Missionally-speaking, we are called to constantly shine in order to glorify Christ Jesus.

On Sunday morning, our pastor, Barry Keldie, drew parallels between Ephesians 5v.25-28 (in husbands loving and leading their wives and families) and Ecclesiastes 10v.10. More and more, there is a great need for men to plug in to one another's lives and build strong, lasting relationships. This is more than just for men to grow individually; it is in order that men might become stronger leaders.

In Ecclesiastes 10v.10: "If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed." (ESV)

If our hearts, minds and spirits are not sharpened and honed in by the Word, through prayer, and through community both with God and fellow Believers who are men, we must use more and more strength in order to lead our families, churches, and lives. Of course, we know that, on our own strength, we will NEVER be the leaders we need to be. But, we must continue to hold one another accountable in order to sharpen ourselves along this path. Wisdom is the key to leading in any circumstance.

Be wise and continue to hone the iron! Let us continue (or, in many cases, intentionally BEGIN) to meet together in accountability and love.

FCA in Little Elm

So, after quite the run-around, I finally was OK'd to make contact with the main FCA sponsor at Little Elm High School. My prayer is that, through the FCA program there, I will be able to impact quite a few students and lead them further in their walks with Christ.

I know that, for me at Cooper, FCA was not near as deep as I would have hoped it to be. Several of us tried to change these things, but, for the most part, were not backed up by our peers. I pray that I might be able to help some of these students at Little Elm step up to really lead their peers.

We're getting more and more plugged in at Providence, where we are now officially covenant members; I hope to help the youth guy there, Carl, in getting the youth group started. But, for now, I am hoping to take a few athletes from Little Elm under my wing and begin discipling them there. Who knows? They may even want me to speak or help lead huddle meetings.

Please be in prayer that we might see great potential in the students at LEHS!