First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4

Tomorrow, like each first Thursday of May since 1952, we will observe the National Day of Prayer.  This is one of the rare occasions where our government asks us to pray for them.  Interestingly, so has God.

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to ask the church to pray for their national leaders.  This was done for a purpose, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.”  I think many in our nation, especially given the events of this week, would say that is the desire of their hearts. The question becomes, will they pray toward that end?  Will they pray for their leaders?  Will you?

This year, I have the privilege of speaking at the Annual YMCA Prayer Breakfast at the Jerry Long Family YMCA on Thursday, May 5th.  Various people from various different backgrounds will gather for breakfast, worship, music and prayer in observance of this day.

Perhaps you have not given much thought to official observances such as this, but recognize, God asked his people to pray for their leaders long before it was created by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Whether you attend “events” or not, we urge you to pray.  Please, set aside some time to pray for our leaders and our nation.  It is what God has asked you to do.

It used to be that all you needed to profess some love was a pencil, a piece of paper and good folding skills.  You wrote your little note, complete with boxes to check “yes” or “no”, folded it diligently and addressed it appropriately.  You gave it to the guy next to you and hoped it would make it across all the rows arriving at the girl of your dreams.  Back then, you were mortified if it was intercepted, opened and read by unintended eyes.  That was for her.  Not you.  Quit reading.  Then a couple of guys changed the rules.

Who first thought of renting a plane? I was a kid at a Toronto Blue Jays ballgame when I looked up to behold an airplane pulling a sign affirming Steve’s love for Jody.  He was interested in marrying her.  And now an entire stadium of baseball fans knew it. What would she say?  Steve must really love her.  He rented a plane!!! I hated Steve for that.  Talk about raising the bar?  I was a good folder.  Girls liked my notes.  Now I needed a plane to make it real.  Those types of thoughts keep a kid up at night.  Trust me.

Continue Reading…

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 20:8-11

I am not sure where the Lord rested on that seventh day, but a beach in Phuket would have been a great spot.  Now, almost seven days removed from our time in Thailand, I am so thankful to have gotten away with my beautiful baby to enjoy a little break together.

I am thankful for rest. C.J. Mahaney, in his book Humility: True Greatness, calls on believers to “accept the gift of sleep.” Obviously, he points out, we could have been created without the need for sleep but God has chosen to do otherwise.  God did not need to take a rest or afford us the same, but He did and He does. Why we can so easily dismiss His command to observe a sabbath (and often in His name) I do not know?  Lying on a lounge chair on the edge of the Andaman Sea, leisurely reading a book and listening to the lull of the waves hitting the shore, it occurred to me what a gracious gift of my Lord and Savior that sweet time was.  Not only has He redeemed my life from death, but He affords me a rest from the daily grind and expects me to take it.  My boys and the church back home were all under His attentive care (as they always are) and I need not worry about them.  He gave me a break and I am thankful for the rest.

I was a youth pastor and she a had year left in college. We were getting married. I recognize how old it makes me sound and I cannot believe how fast time flies.  It seems like only yesterday that we (I really) were packing up my 1995 Ford Escort and heading out on our honeymoon.  We knew it wouldn’t be an exotic trip, but we planned to take a real honeymoon when we were older.  The plan: “We’ll do a sweet trip for our ten-year anniversary.”  And we set out to begin our life together.

We’ll be married 13 years in July. Time to get after it. I don’t think we could have imagined what the approach to the targeted year ten was going to be like.  We were thick in the middle of pastoring a young church and we felt responsible for two little men. The “trip” was of little concern and we energetically moved forward in life.  In the blink of an eye, another two years passed. We added a third little man and that young church wasn’t so young anymore.  Now I really wanted that trip. It was time to get after it.

One day for every year we’ve been married (three years ago). I’m not entirely sure why Kimberley’s attracted to Thailand, — she claims something about “colors & culture” — but she has wanted to go there for a long time. We have some good friends who live there so I contacted them to ask if we could drop in for a few days and if they could recommend any sweet beach spots.  It all came together brilliantly and on Christmas morning Kimberley opened her (belated) ten-year anniversary trip.  Now we’re headed East.

One of our Elders remarked that I haven’t taken a vacation with Kimberley as long as he has known me. There is something seriously wrong with that.  A “holiday” (as Kimberley calls it) doesn’t have to be somewhere exotic or for an extended period of time, but it should be somewhere for some amount of time, shouldn’t it?  Over the years, we have had nights away just the two of us, but I think a “holiday” is something we need to do more often.  Raising a family and the business of church is work.  Hard work.  And we all know we’re supposed to take a break from our labors.  Are you?  If not, that needs to get on the calendar.  Soon.  If you’re looking for ideas, I’ll let you know about Thailand or, if you’ve got a 1995 Ford Escort, I can highly recommend an amazing trip.