When Paper Trails Matter

Someone asked me recently "why do you blog?  Nobody reads it, what's the point?" 

It's not the "reading" that's the magic. 

For now...it's the writing; great therapy, keeps me engaged, demands rigorous thought and teaches me a great deal as I work through the process.

For later...I'm leaving a cyber "paper trail" that my friends, family...especially my kids and grandkids...can log onto and "hear" me, remember me; who I was, what my passions in life were, how I thought (right or wrong) and what I valued. I pray it just might make a difference in their lives someday...can you spell l-e-g-a-c-y?

Grateful to live in an era that has empowered me "go on the record" and leave something of what makes me unique behind.  I can't live forever, but the words I leave behind, they can.

bN tGit "...thank God it's today."

Take Back Education!

We are 10 hours and 47 minutes from 2015.

Will this be the year we finally take back the education of our kids from the mindless sycophants seeking to advance their careers as politicians, Administrators and Labor activists or their fortunes, in the case of the Testing Companies, now driving the process? 

While I don't believe the answer to our education challenge in America is to turn the keys back over to the unions, this is a clarion call to citizens; it's time we take the education of our Kids back from private enterprise and public politicians--regardless of who they might be, who they work for, or their party affiliation.  Educators, working in partnership with their communities must be restored to their mission as educators.

Education has been hijacked and demagogued by Politicians, Private Enterprise, Management AND Labor; they have all forgotten who matters--KIDS, and what's at stake--THE FUTURE OF THE NATION.

Follow this link to a blog, "How Democracy Ends" that passionately, eloquently calls us back from the edge.  

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-is-how-democracy-ends-apology-from.html


bN tGit

Physics & Truth = Glue

Truth is to living what physics is to life.

Physics is like a rail that gives structure to life.  We can't "see, smell or hear" the laws of physics, but without them, nothing works; what we do see, smell and hear is the result of these laws being applied with purpose or spontaneously.  Physics holds bridges together.

In the same way truth is the rail living rides on. Ethics, the rule of law, cultural norms, relationships, parenting, good government, freedom--to name but a few aspects of living--all work based on a set of core values, derived from the common grace of God, who wired humankind with an intrinsic sense of what truth is and an understanding of what's right.  Truth holds life together.

Truth, like physics, does not function in a deterministic way. I can ingore Newton's Law of Gravity and embrace a belief that I can float, then step off the top of a tall building. Newton's Law does not override my right to choose. But my choice to embrace and believe I can float will not prevent a very bad outcome.

I can believe that truth is relative, subject to change, given to multiple definitions or simply an outdated cultural moray. People, and cultures, can choose to ignore the truth, or worse, be deceived and believe a lie--at great peril. The reality of these choices is sobering; culture spirals out of control, chaos trumps the rule of law, justice is driven by pop-culture and becomes a "moving target," bondage becomes the norm and brokeness the face of a nation.

Life does not work without physics.  Living does not work without truth. 

"Jesus said to the people who believed in him, 'You are truly 

my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 

32 And you will know the truth, and 

the truth will set you free.'” 

 John 8.31,32

Faithful persistence in following Christ leads us to His truth.

"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

John 8.36

His Truth sets us free.

bN  tGit

Happy new year...INDEED

Several years ago a friend asked me about a passing comment I'd made about the Tower of Babel, wanting me to expand on what was said.

I've been a teacher for as long as I can remember.  In that role, I've always attempted to find "dynamic equivalents" in the culture around me to help people understand a deeper principle from the Scriptures. The Tower of course was the ultimate expression of hubris on the part of humankind; our effort to shake a collective fist at God and say "See, you aren't so transcendent after all." Foolish pride led to an inflated opinion of who we were; God breathed, language changed and chaos ensued. We discovered we were no match for the transcendent God.

Fast forward to modern culture: God, in his grace, has empowered humankind to apply intellect and ingenuity, these also graciously granted by God, to "discover" thousands of things that insulate us from the ill-effects of the fall: drugs, asphalt, steel, plastic, roads, air conditioning, engines, automation--the list is endless. We in turn, tainted by sin and swelled with pride, believeing ourselves to be wise "shake our fists" at God and say, "See, the Scriptures are myth; there was a big-bang and then there was 'life' and look at how we have evolved...we have the power to give and take life--reshape it. We don't need myths to prop us up anymore. We ARE God."

In reality, everything we touch we corrupt. Consider...our "system of Justice." How about air?  We condition it while at the same time we poison it with hydro-carbons. We pollute the planet, poison our bodies, can't beat cancer or aids and when/if we do, something else always emerges. Regardless of how effective we are at blunting the effect of sin on life and the planet, sin always trumps our best efforts...and God allows it, to point us to our need for a Savior and His gracious provision for our redemption.

The farther evolved civilization becomes the further it devolves into moral and spiritual chaos--abortion, failed economies, addiction, violence, corrupt governments, greed, broken relationships, idolotry, shaminism, social injustice. Think about it, in 1965 LBJ gave us the Great Society. These mandates have done little, or nothing, to enlighten culture and end poverty--but they have driven us to edge of bankruptcy and destroyed families while perpetrating genocide on the poorest of the poor. The smarter we get, the dumber we are. We can run from God, but we can't hide.

So then, civilization as we have fashioned it, has become humankind's' most recent "Tower of Babel;" the work of "our hands" which demonstrates our independence, our ability to get it done without God.  We set out to be like God, and in a final irony, we create the very modality that could be the end of life as we know it. We can destroy it, but we can't fix it..."and all the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put humpty-dumpty back together again."  

The lie that deceived Eve, continues to vex us; but we aren't beaten: this Truth sets us free...

"When we were utterly helpless...God showed his great love for 

us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."   Romans 5.6a,8

Hallelujah, what a Savior!  Happy new year indeed.

bN tGit

Beautiful Minds

We recently said our farewells to Laura's dad as he passed into the presence of God, whom he loved and served since embracing Christ as a boy in Washington, Illinois. Gene was such a giant of a man.  Perhaps the most difficult sojourn Laura and I have made over our 42 year marriage was watching Gene "lose himself" to dementia these past 4 years.    

This "passage" moved me to learn more about the brain, how it functions, and why; more about the relationship of the material, the organ we call our brain, and the immaterial--our minds.  I offer this comment with great conviction: the cause/effect relationship between the way we think and the outcomes we achieve is immutable, can be scientifically documented and is the result of loving-intelliegent design. 

A "mind," even a poorly developed one, is a powerful force.  God blessed us all with beautiful minds; having been fashioned in His image gives us access to resources beyond the natural, built right into our DNA.  

Our minds are, of course, the most unique aspect of our beings.  So, what are you doing with yours?  It's the first day of the rest of our lives,  December 29, 2014,  a wonderful portal from which to look back at what was, then gaze into the new year at what might be. 

Here's a perpetual list I believe can keep our "life-compass" oriented, True North. Quite frankly, this is a three steps forward, two steps back process much of the time; but even ONE step at a time is progress!

For a better 2015 (and long-term, a more productive life)...

• Go to and get out of bed earlier.  Be active, body and mind, with the extra morning time.

• Give up painful thinking. Don't throw others "under the bus."  Refuse to think like a victim. Seek balance in your life.

• Look for the best in people. Find ways to add value to other peoples lives.

• Give generously to a cause you feel great passion for. Volunteer and serve in some fashion, some place.

• Don't be a cynic. Refuse to associate with negative people.

• Spend time in dialogue with people who don't think like you. Make the effort to grow your intellect and expand your perspective.

• Transform obstacles into opportunities. Begin something that makes you feel challenged.

• Mentor someone younger and/or less experienced. Find someone to mentor you, then be accountable to that person.

• Read, or listen to, good books that make you feel enriched. Journal: keep it simple and short; then watch that discipline begin to expand. 

Finally, and most significantly...

"Love justice, do mercy and walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6.8

For me, it starts by asking God (again) to empower me to resolve and retool the way I think and as result, the way I experience life. 

"Father in heaven give me clarity to know myself... give me desire to reflect Christ... give me discipline to lean into You... give me focus to remain on task... give me wisdom to make 'best decisions' and think like You.  All this through Jesus name I ask, amen."   


bN tGit
Happy New Year!

What's in a day?

Each year, on December 28, I pause to reflect on my story.

Life moves past us at such a brisk pace that it's easy to forget what life was like 46 years ago; what life could have been like, had God not intervened that night in 1968.  It was the last Saturday night of the year; I had a plan for my evening, and it certainly did not include an up close conversation with God.  But, He had a different plan...and, as it turns out, it changed my life forever.

But the path to that evening in 1968 started many years before...when my Grandmother, who lived with us at the time, would gather me up and carry me off to Church and Sunday School--I still have my first Bible, the one mom gave me to take to church with Grandma.  I didn't know, until I was a young adult, that my grandmother faithfully prayed for me each day--that "BJ would experience the power of Christ in his life and embrace Jesus as his Lord and Savior."  She eventually moved back to her roots in Fort Scott Kansas.  But I continued to get myself to church until 8th grade.

I don't recall why I decided to "drop out" but I'm sure it just didn't feel very "cool" to attend church and sunday shcool any longer--and since I went by myself, it was my decision to make.  Fast forward to the fall of my Jr. year in High School.  One evening I landed at a "Campus Life" meeting at the home of a classmate (Jim Rehnberg)...it was the kickoff for the school year and as advertised, it was a "Burger Bash"--all you could eat--and a huge crowd of students.  But I got more that evening than a big meal.  The Campus Life leader, Mark Zier, gave a short talk at the end and he asked the crowd..."If you died tonight, do you know where you're going?"  I didn't; it bothered me, then I moved on.

On the evening of December 28, 1968 I was set to attend an "Afterxms" party with some buddies (Jerry McClain was driving).  Our "wires got crossed" (coincidence?) and they never showed up; stuck, I recalled something was happening at the Rec-center with Campus Life that night--they called it a "Campus Life Rally."  There was a girl I had some interest in (Colleen Rehnberg) and I knew she would probably be there (I was right);  I managed to catch Mark (Zier) before he'd left his house.  He was delighted when I called, and he swung by and picked me up.  An evening of activities, music and then a guy, Roger Cross, got up and challenged me again about my life and death.  This time I was ready and wanted to get this question resolved; Mark talked with me and then invited me to pray a short, simple prayer, and the rest...is history.

"The way we were" 1969

Three weeks later I went to the Ventura "Rally" because Mark asked me to share about my recent conversion experience with that half of the county we lived in. Mark mentioned a girl he thought I'd really like, a cute sophomore at Buena HS named Laura--he wanted to introduce us; he was right.  In that span of three weeks I'd had two introductions that literally changed the direction and the outcome of my life: I'd trusted Christ and met my future wife--we married 3 years, 48 weeks and 6 days later.

My home was a rather complicated place.  Lot's of love and pain.  I was carrying some emotional baggage by that time and was making some bad choices.  Christ changed all that in an instant.  The baggage was there--if fact it didn't get fully "unpacked" for years.  But His presence in my life set me in a "best direction" that just never wavered.  Laura's family embraced me as a "son" as our relationship grew; they, especially her dad (my dad died suddenly in 1970), filled a great need in my life.

In the 80's there was a popular gospel song written by Bill Gaither that describes my story, I get choked up every time I sing it; the chorus declares..."Something beautiful, something good; all my confusion He understood, all I had to offer him was brokenness and strife, but He made something, beautiful, out of my life."

December, 28, 1968.  What a difference a day makes.

bN tGit

Happy New Year

It's Simple.

God's love is simple.  The Word became flesh.

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..."  Romans 5.6,8

Christmas is joyous because God's love never fails.

To all our friends, family and those who stumble into this blog posting, Merry Xristos and best wishes for a prosperous New Year.  

bN tGit

Becoming Flesh...still

As believers we have been "gifted" to add value to the lives of people. We've been called to love people--the best and the worst--with a love that looks past what they are and sees WHOSE they are.

Whether or not they come to effective faith in Christ, is not my responsibility; this is the work of God. He uses me (it's not a head thing, it's a heart thing) when I selflessly serve people in a way that adds value to their lives, I reflect Christ--no, I flesh-out Christ--and they wonder, "Why, what's in this for you?" This testimony is powerful becasue the reality of Christ in me has manifested itself in an "incarnational" way; they have seen Christ through me. That reflected image is intense and compelling. God uses that kind of "vision" to transform hearts, minds and lives.

This needs to inform our outreach effort, the way we see people; it needs to inform the way we see their sin. When our efforts at outreach do not wholistically address the felt needs of people and work toward their spiritual needs, we diminish the Gospel at best, and erect substantial barriers to faith, for people without hope. 

This is especially relevant given the the world we live in today. God does not need us to defend Godly values. They stand on their own. What He desires from us is to love "the lost sheep, the lost coin" the Way He does. He isn't finished yet, Matthew 25.34-40 makes this point very clear... 

"34  Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35  For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37  Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39  When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40  The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’"

Friends, the Word is still becoming flesh.  Are you part of that redemptive process?  

Merry Xristos/bN tGit

Metrics Matter

This from the closing "reveal" scene in The Delivery Man... 

"I'm a meat truck driver.  I'm an incompetent meat truck driver."  To which his father replies "You ARE an incompetent delivery man.  It takes you four times longer to deliver the meat than any other driver.  But, every where you go, they love you."

So how do you measure success?  Metrics matter.



bN tGit

An ounce of prevention...

Freedom of conscience

During the battle to ratify the US Constitution, many Americans worried that the founding document failed to list specific rights to be protected against government's tendency to abuse power. Thomas Jefferson gave voice to their concerns in a letter to James Madison: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth...and what no just government should refuse."  Indeed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Reluctant at first, Federalists agreed to add amendments protecting personal liberties. Madison along with several others, crafted a set of 10 Amendments, a "Bill of Rights," which  were ratified December 15, 1781. These of course, constitute the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution. 

These are historic days. Regardless of what the future holds, the strength of our Nation is demonstrated by the civility of our process.  I pray the extremists on both sides of the isle, their Citizen Groups, POTUS and his the Administration will take a breath and stop agitating.

I am proud to be an American.  Our system of governance will outlive these divisive and difficult days. 

Merry Xristos. 


bN tGit

Run hard...finish well

Several years ago I decided it was time to fix my shoulder--torn rotator cuff, labrum and a large calcium deposit on my bursa.  I'd postponed the inevitable surgery for 42 years. Two months after the repair I began my rehab process.  I am intrigued by how fast our joints "freeze up" and muscles atrophe when we don't use them. As I strained to lift my arm above my shoulder, I could only move it half that distance; no matter how hard I tried--I could not "will" it up. Getting my "shoulder back" took discipline and hard work.

Life is like that too. When we live careless, reckless, aimless lives, we miss the best life has to offer. People are filled with potential; we are "wired" for growth, relationships, productivity and yes, achievement. Realizing these possibilities brings shape to life, purpose for living; talent and apptitude must be transformed into ability by disciplined effort. "Willing" it won't make it happen. Success and failure are two sides of the same coin and people tend to get what they expect. Our expectations tend to dictate our effort; dicipline tends to dictate our success. Successful people do the things unsuccessful people aren't unwilling to do; the door to success isn't hard to see, but it demands much of those who choose to pass through it.


But, what about "life" after death?  People of faith believe thatwe've been created with eternity in our hearts. The Scriptures tell us that...

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us."  Rom 5.6,8 NLT

We embrace this gracious provision by trusting Christ as our Lord and Savior. But this kind of effective faith doesn't just kick back and "let it happen." Saving faith points us to "a long obedience in the same direction." Life becomes the canvas where we see worked out, what God has worked in.  Embracing Christ opens a door to a whole new perception of who and Whose we are.

Spiritual strength and godly character are the by-products of disciplined effort and purposeful living. The apostle Paul understood this...

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." 1 Cor 9.24-27 NLT

Good outcomes don't just happen.  Life and eternity demand our very best and our very best, once we have embraced Christ and His work through effective faith, is always more than enough.


bN tGit

No Mulligan's

We don't get many "do overs" in life, but thank God, every 24 hours we get a chance to start over.

Make the most of this GRACE day.


bN tGit

Emmanuel our Safety-net

"The Incarnation of Christ serves as a glorious reminder that God’swillingnessto clean things up is infinitely bigger than our willingness to mess things up."

TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

Not only DO we "mess things up" we don't have the ABILITY or the PROCLIVITY to get things right! Not to worry, the God of the universe has our backs. The Word became flesh and dwellt among us. Emanuel.

Merry Xristos.

bN tGit

Infamy...Grief

December 7, 1941. 

   2400 dead. 1200 wounded.
   18 US Ships and 300 planes destoryed or damaged.

"A date that will live in infamy"   President Roosevelt

"I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and instilled in him a terrible resolve."  Admiral Yamamoto

Both men were right; the world was rescued from an "Axis of evil," but not before millions lost their lives and the planet was gashed by nuclear weapons. 

America, an idea that produces passion to sacrifice.
Freedom isn't free.

bN tGit

Lost & Found

Christmas is, for many, a difficult passage at the end of each year.  Because our memories are so strong, and so many memories are surfaced by this blessed time of year, those who have experienced loss, feel it most acutely over the six weeks from Thanksgiving to the New Year.  I'm reposting a blog I wrote three years ago about the mystery and paradox we call "loss."  For those in pain today...

Loss. I've had my share over the years.

Two weeks after I graduated from High School, my father died, I was 17. In 1984, just after my 31st birthday, my mother died . I was 38 when I learned I had diabetes. I began a 'rest of my life' battle with skin cancer in 1996, at age 43. Disappointment...oh my, where do I start. Failure--several crushing instances. Unrealized dreams, of course.

My story isn't unique. It's called, 'being human.'  Loss is a part of the 'cycle of life.' Life is hard, and, can be very harsh. Loss, though we all face it, is not simply a one size fits all process. For some, loss means never experiencing 'what could have been.'  For others it's remembering 'what was.'  For all of us it's losing people we love, to death. Life's 'Harsh passages' include broken relationships, disease, tragic accidents, children 'lost' in adolescence and never able to move on to productive adult lives, addiction, betrayal, unfaithful spouses and/or friends, failure...have I described your 'loss-story' yet?

Recently, an extended family member, and friend, facing a number of very difficult circumstances posted a comment about loss, she concluded, 'Easy to be philiosophical...easy to be grateful too.' As I paused to reflect on her words, I was struck by this profound insight.

'Easy to be grateful too...'  Really?  We can't, generally, control loss. Bad things happen to good (and bad) people. We can, however, control our attitude and our response to loss. We can ask 'why me?' or we can declare'"why NOT me!' That's the 'philosophical' part.

The 'grateful' part comes when, our pain notwithstanding, we aren't swallowed by bitterness; through the darkness of the moment, we still see the sunshine we've experienced over the years--as well as the expectation that the sun will shine again. Loss frames our perspective. It reminds us of the providence of God and the blessings we enjoy and have enjoyed through the ebb and flow of life. It's ironic, loss and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. Tennyson understood this when he penned 'It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.'

The sentiment that struck me as so profound was 'easy.'  It just never occurred to my friend to not be grateful. The emotional and spiritual place that she 'lives' made gratitude a logical extension, not of her pain, but of His promise. 

The Psalmist (42.5) said it this way.

'Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again—

my Savior and my God.'

Loss isn't abandonment. It isn't the death of hope. It's an intersection of life where one can step back and see life not just for what it isn't, but for what it is; it's at that place, in that moment, we see the goodness of God, and it's easy to be grateful.

Lost and found. A fitting description.

bN tGit

Art & Power

Jon Meacham's book Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power is a GREAT read.   The election of 1800 required 32 elector ballots before Jefferson prevailed to become the nations 3rd President.

In his first inaugural address, March 4, 1801, President Thomas Jefferson made this remark.  

"All will bear in mind the sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable.  That the minority posses their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.  Let us then, fellow citizens, unite in one heart and one mind."  

These words, as with so many preserved and passed down from the Founders, have particular application as we move into 2015 with our current administration of shared power in WDC.

May God bless America with leadership who shall embrace this counsel from ages past, so relevant, yet still so elusive.


bN tGit

NOT the reason!

WE are the reason for the season. HE is the answer to our dilemma.

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..." Romans 5.6,7

Christmas is joyous because God's love never fails. Never.

Shalom L'Chaim. 

Merry Χριστός (Xristos)!




bN tGit

Liberty v. License

Culture in America is in an out of control inverted spiral--devolution.  "Civil rights" have replaced "the moral imperative" as the final arbitrator in America.  We've come to embrace the idea it's "immoral" to deny the rights of individuals to act as they see fit as long as "no one is hurt in the process."  But this rubric fails to understand that morality isn't defined as just "the absence of a victim."  Debased behavior, wether it's Wall Street, the Silver Screen, Congress, Education, Church or at home diminishes the entire culture and has set in motion a "death by a thousand cuts" cultural bleed-out. 

A little liberty goes a long way.  In the name of freedom we have acted in ways that have produced unintended consequences.  We have come to believe that because we have protection under law to do something, produce something, say something--we can.  The irony is that liberty in that context is license--and license leads, too often, to lawlessness.  One of the most important lessons I learned at home was this; just because I CAN do something, doesn't not mean I SHOULD do it.

If we as a culture, can get back to this simple lesson and apply it with consistency to the way we LIVE our lives, run our companies, invest our money, lead our homes, churches, communities and our nation, THEN I believe we will have taken a FIRST-STEP toward restoring sanity to our decision making process and rebuilding the ramparts that protect our culture from evil and devolution toward certain destruction.

But mark this, the solution leading to "check-mate"  is a spiritual one.  The Older Testament prophet Micah lived in a truly evil world.  The theme of his prophetic letter stresses the integral relationship between true spirituality and righteous conduct.  Toward the end of his letter he turns to an axiomatic concern: Micah 6.6 "...with what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high?" 

In today's vernacular it might sound something like this..."What kind of life will reflect and infuse truth in a world whose reality is based solely on pragmatism and driven by relativism?"  He reveals that answer to us in chapter 6, verse 8... 

"He has showed you O man, what is good.  To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."   Micah 6.8

Friends, it's not a fiscal cliff we see looming on the horizon.

bN tGit

My Christmas wish list.

You may be familiar with the list of 7 modern sins--or not; the conditions it describes are infamously familiar to us all: 

• Wealth without work
• Industry without morality
• Worship without sacrifice
• Politics without principles
• Science without humanity
• Knowledge without character
• Pleasures without conscience...

This, then, is my Christmas wish list for America in 2014: Work, morality, sacrifice, principles, humanity, character and conscience. 

My prayer for my nation in 2015 and beyond:

"Father create in us a hunger for what is right and just. Help us to understand that...

• ...Wealth driven by lust for money is evil and work is an honorable endeavor that gives us meaning and purpose. 
• ...Industry must produce social justice and opportunity for all. 
• ...Worship demands a values-centered life and requires sacrifice.
• ...Politics is the business of the people and is a noble and self-sacrificing life-call.
• ...Science can create in us a deeper spiritual hunger; 
• ...Knowledge is a path to humility. 
• ...Pleasure is the by-product of good character.

 ...May we be given the clarity to see, 'You, are the awesome God.'"

bN tGit

Don't be distracted.

Hope yours will be a THANKSgiving day filled with grace, peace and love. 

So much to distract us.  Refocus on issues that really matter: God's love and provision--undeserved and unconditional, our famlies--where life makes up its mind, friends and mentors--our "difference makers" who've been there for us, and liberty--the legions of America's best who've served and sacrificed to preserve it. 

Color me thankful.

bN tGit

Give thanks.

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. 

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

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...The Main Thing.

On December 28, 1968 (age 15) I said "yes" to Jesus, and in that moment my life was transformed. Forty-six years since then is...a few.  My life has a not always been a clear reflection of His presence, but it has for the most part been, by His grace, a slow and steady "long obedience in the same direction."

The dynamics of our culture, over my lifetime, could be described as a devolution of "conscience" and evolution of "relevance" as our moral compass.  It's ironic that the most extreme expression of the conservative mind, libertarianism, is in many ways the penultimate form of liberalism.  My point is that "systems of thought," even theological systems of thought, can't change the trajectory of the human spirit. God does that one person, one decision, at a time. We just don't have the temperament to pull that off.  History is filled with movements which morphed into extremism that marginalized human beings, in the name of a "greater-good," producing tyranny and crimes against humankind.

It's not my job to save my culture from itself.  The part I have been given, as a Christ-follower, is to point the people in my sphere of influence to God, who can. This is "the main thing" for me.  I'm not called to point them to "systems" or movements that will save the day, but to the God of eternity who loves human beings with an everlasting and long suffering love, a transformative love.  He does the formative work in transforming people that can change culture.

That said, how can I "keep the main thing," the main thing?

• Be humble. 
• Love my spouse. 
• Act as an agent of peace. 
• Trust in the power of God. 
• See people the way God sees them. 
• Focus on walking close to God on a daily basis. 
• Empower my kids and grandkids with a legacy of godliness. 
• Declare the principles and precepts of God in a loving, inclusive way. 
• Love unconditionally my enemies and those who might seek to hurt me. 
• Pray for those raised up as leaders in my church, community and nation.

Systems and movements, by their very nature, devolve.  God, "is the same yesterday, today and forever."  

I choose God.  He produces change which gives me, gives us all, hope.


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