Give in or go on?

So, I've mentioned that I've felt moved, called, (whatever you want to call it) to write a book. I signed up for a Christian author's publishing conference in early June to give myself a kick start. The content was good, the people were excellent, and the prospects of publishing were put into reality as slim.

I can deal with slim chances on publishing hopes. This gig is kind of like wanting to be a rock star. Many with talent try, but few succeed. I'm not doing this for fame, but I do want what God wants to say through my words and my life to be spread as far as possible.

What was REALLY weird and a bit unnerving is this:
1. On my way to the conference day one -- I ran into a huge road construction delay.
2. On my way to the conference day two -- flooding had closed the short cut I had discovered to avoid the road construction and the event's parking lot had 3 feet of water in it.
3. On my way to the conference day four -- a 5K run was underway and I had to circle for 20 minutes to find a legal place to park.
4. The kicker is this -- I submitted a sample chapter from my book and a book proposal for evaluation prior to the conference. They were to be returned to me at the conference. On conference day three, I was told there was a delay with some of the "official reviewers" getting all the submissions thoroughly evaluated -- my manuscript and proposal would be mailed to me the following week. Well, it's been a month. So today I learn both submissions, although recorded as "received," have gone MIA. I need to resubmit and wait.

Seriously?

Now, I can see the humor or irony or whatever in this scenario. And I'm not one to turn all things into signs from above. Still, I begin to wonder if "stop" or "wait" or "nobody cares" is an answer.

It all prompts me to ponder -- when do we crash through the roadblocks and when do we say uncle?

It's so simple...yet not easy

Philippians 1:27: Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.

Why? Gratitude
How? Humility
When? All the time
Where? In all places

Show and Tell

A few weeks ago it was my nine-year-old stepson’s “Spotlight” day at school. For you of advanced age like me, that’s what we knew as “Show and Tell.” William got to put together a poster with pictures of him as a baby, with grandparents, and playing baseball. He showed it to his classmates and told them a bit about his world outside of Mrs. Tricket’s classroom. He was also able to take a special item for the class to see. He chose our Beagle, Jackson.

Jackson was quite a hit – especially with the girls who stroked his ears and let him give them kisses. He put on a great act as a good dog for the 15 minutes I had him in the classroom! William told about Jack’s habits – his howling, his insistence upon owning the fuzzy blanket on the couch, and his poop-eating. That stopped the kissing in a hurry!

The Show and Tell session had the other kids asking lots of questions and truly knowing William better. They wrote him notes about what they’d learned.

Showing and telling has impact.

Jesus was the master of show and tell.

Matthew records a version of Jesus’ story in the Bible. It starts with His strange family tree, His birth to a virgin, His escape from Herod to Egypt, and His return to Judah (Israel) and the Galilee region. Then, we learn of John the Baptist – a cousin of Jesus’ – calling people to repent because God’s Kingdom is coming soon, and they’ll want to be “right” with Him. John gets the privilege of baptizing Jesus, and we see God’s acknowledgment of Him as His son in human form.

Immediately after His baptism, we hear about Jesus being tested by evil for 40 days. He overcomes evil with the Truth. Then…He begins to preach – the Kingdom of God is near – repent (turn around). In fact, the Kingdom of God had come to the earth through Jesus, though not all would recognize it.

Jesus begins to preach and the very next thing he does is start building a team. I think there’s something to learn here.

Matt 3:18-22 --
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Why did they follow? We are not told, but I have to believe they surrendered their hearts to the truth of who Jesus is.

Where did they go?They went into a crash course in Show and Tell and Show and GO!

First – off to witness Jesus to heal the sick, then to listen to Jesus’ longest and perhaps richest sermon, known as The Sermon on the Mount.

It covered:
Matthew 5
- The condition of our hearts and God’s closeness to us (Beatitudes)
- Our impact in the world (salt and light)
- His role to fulfill the law (what is right)
- How the law points out sin – but it’s about our heart attitude – not just our actions

Matthew 6
- Living out faith by: giving to the needy, through prayer and fasting, by storing our treasures in heaven, and not worrying

Matthew 7
- Jesus’ students were challenged to not judge, to ask, seek and knock, to enter through the narrow gate, to discern leaders’ intentions, and to build on rock – the truth of Jesus as savior and king.

Moving on in Matthew's account, Jesus again SHOWS the disciples the truth of who he is by calming a storm, restoring a demon-possessed man, and healing a paralyzed man.

Then, he calls Matthew, the author of this story, who needed healing spiritually, as we all do!

All this is followed by more healings. And then Jesus sends out his disciples to multiple His efforts.

We get a rich pattern here of show and tell and show and GO!:
Jesus shows us who he is as truth teller and miracle worker
Jesus tells us to follow him (it’s not a question – but it is an invitation)
Jesus shows us who he is…
Jesus tells us Truth
Jesus shows us who he is…
Jesus sends us out to be his representatives. He tells us to GO!

When He said to fishermen Peter and Andrew, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people,” they dropped their nets and followed him.

That took courage. He taught them with words and by demonstrating to them what it meant to love God and love others. That call “follow me” was to a profound mission to reach and to teach – to reach people who needed God and to teach them His ways.

Jesus asks us all to follow him…and he teaches us how through show and tell examples in the bible and through people he puts in our paths day-to-day.

To love God is to know Him by following and learning who He is and the beauty of His character. To love others is to complete the cycle that Jesus had with His disciples. “I’ve shown you my power. I’ve told you who I am and called you to a worthy mission of sharing who I am,” he says.

At the end of Matthew’s version of Jesus’ life – after Jesus has suffered, died, and risen from the grave, he tells his disciples “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…”

That’s our mission… to learn, grow, and go – through showing and telling -- and by showing and telling. As we show and tell of His glory, we expose people to His love and His power works through us to reflect a life of purpose.

Listen to Jesus' story, and then tell His story. Receive His love, and then show people his love.

For nine-year-old William, sharing his hobbies and his crazy dog with his class opened up his world to bigger, better-connected relationships – in a third grade way. But that’s how we all are drawn to bigger, better-connected relationships…through show and tell and show and GO!

Happy Trails!

Participating in Bob Lowery's funeral yesterday was bittersweet. It was filled with fitting tributes and laugh-out-loud anecdotes. It was so good to see former classmates and professors -- and so sad to say goodbye. In the end, the 2-hour tribute which honored God first and Bob second, was closed with hundreds singing "Happy Trails." Bob was a cowboy at heart, you see. He fought the good fight, loved well, and served many. He lived by the book -- God's book.


Lyrics to "Happy Trails" by Dale Evans Rogers
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.

Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It's the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.

Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.



Alternate Religious Verse:
Happy trails to you, it's great to say "hello".
And to share with you the trail we've come to know.
It started on the day that we met Jesus,
He came into our hearts and then he freed us.
For a life that's true, a happy trail to you.



Roy Rogers Riders Club Rules:
1. Be neat and clean.
2. Be courteous and polite.
3. Always obey your parents.
4. Protect the weak and help them.
5. Be brave but never take chances.
6. Study hard and learn all you can.
7. Be kind to animals and take care of them.
8. Eat all your food and never waste any.
9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly.
10. Always respect our flag and our country.

Singing

‎"If we listen to John, we learn that in the end, you, I, indeed, everyone, will have a new beginning, either the most wonderful or the most awful beginning of all. It is an ending that leads to rhapsody because we stand before the reigning Lord and the redeeming Lamb or to woe because we are banished forever from their presence. In the end, what makes the difference is the song we sing." - Robert Lowery

This quote is from "Revelation's Rhapsody", a book by Bob that my classmates and I (who were in his 2005 Revelation course) were privileged to participate in creating. In his humble wisdom, Bob always invited the dialogue of fellow believers to inform his scholarship.

Bob is singing for Jesus in His full presence today -- and for all time. My head says "Rejoice!" -- my heart isn't there yet.

Simple Wisdom from an Excellent Teacher

Dr. Robert Lowery - Academic Dean of Lincoln Christian University's Seminary - PhD in New Testament from Aberdeen University - Teacher - Pastor - Friend - Grandfather - Father - Husband -- is nearing the end of his journey on earth. He soon gets to know if His understanding of what happens after his heart stops is what he's believed for 50+ years. I believe it will be even better than he or I or you can imagine.

One of Doc's final formal speaking engagements was February 19 at a seminar for Church leaders. I was blessed to be a part of the gathering. He said many, many thought provoking things (as Doc always does). But this I will cling to:

"When all the ink is spilled about the mission and the purpose of the Church: it is simply to glorify God. It is to make more and better disciples of Jesus, period. According to the New Testament, the Church is thoroughly organized when all God's people are spiritually equipped and empowered to serve God."

It sounds so obvious, doesn't it? But I see "us" (the Church) get in our own way many times through debating the finer points of "who?" "how?" and "when?" instead of focusing on the simple, clear, effective truth.

I pray that in honor of Bob and to honor God, I will keep my focus on what is simple and clear in order to be effective for His glory.

Get Real

Ignorance may, in fact, be bliss. I have days when I wish blissful ignorance would descend upon me. But, once exposed to the truth, God's truth, we are no longer ignorant and we become continually challenged with the need to be real and accept the "realness" of others.

I'm glad to live in the space where the curtain has been pulled back some...but it isn't easy.

Consider this past Easter weekend...

1. I had the privilege of helping a woman publicly tell her story of sexual abuse, turning her back on God, and looking for love in all the wrong places -- including alcoholism. After 40 years, God's truth has restored her to the woman she was intended to be. Powerful; but so real it feels like taking a gut-punch.

2. One of my dearest friends shared her own powerful story at her church in California. Also a childhood victim of sexual abuse and abandonment, she too has only recently become fully free by the power of God's truth. It was "the best day of my life," she reports. Still, someone she had counted on to support her, didn't show up. Another punch.

3. I learned today that my professor and friend Bob is in hospice care. Losing another precious friend to cancer is sickening, but I must sit with the pain and loss.

4. My cousin broke her ankle last week. And while for healthy folks this would be a painful inconvenience, for Jill medical complications made it a life or death issue. The reality of that fact is frightening.

5. I also "got real" with my 14-year-old stepson this weekend as we watched "The Passion of the Christ." The impact of the senseless violence that preceded Jesus' death was real to him. "I can't get the blood out of my mind," he said the next morning. I reminded him that he'd seen bloody scenes on TV and in movies before, and he said, "This is different. I didn't really care about those people." The Passion wasn't a made up event. It was real and so is its gut-punch impact. I thank Jesus so much for the sacrifice, but feel saddened to know (as much as a human can) the depth of his suffering.

No wonder many people choose to live at the surface. It doesn't cost as much as diving deep and getting real. The problem is that life's value is in its realness -- pain and all.

Today my prayer is to embrace what's real instead of bracing for it. Getting real isn't for faint of heart -- and it rarely garners applause. But it pleases God as we learn to mature and obey regardless of the cost.