All gave some, some gave all...

"Uncommon valor was a common virtue"
Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz

Today marks the 67th Anniversary of the fateful day, February 19, 1945, US forces launched the assault on a cipher in the South Pacific, the volcanic Island, Iwo Jima.

Big thanks to Navy and Marines.  

The Congressional Medal of Honor, our Nation's highest award for Valor, defined as "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..." was awarded to 22 Marines and 5 Sailors--nearly one for each day of the battle; 13 of the 27 were awarded posthumously.  

Consider the human carnage: Thirty-six day campaign; 26,800 American casualties--6800 dead. Of the 22,060 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island, 21,844 died either from fighting or by ritual suicide. Only 216 were captured during the battle.  It was hell on earth.

Losing so many of our WW2 vets every day.  Invest time this week in an effort to make contact with one you might know or not...and tell them how much their service means to you.  (Why not call a local Nursing Care facility or American Legion Post and get some contact info...make a call, write a note, drop in for a visit.)

Semper Fi.

Hopeless? Not.

It's nearly dawn as I set at the table in our kitchen; dark.  But hope penetrates the darkness, for He is alive, in us!

Listen and worship through whatever part of the day you discover this..."You reach for us from heaven's throne when we have no hope...the enemy is under our feet, we are free...death has been defeated by love..."

Is it just me?

It's been almost a week since the NFL gave us Super Bowl 46.  Lot's of speculation and controversy in this week of post-game brinksmenship.

So...let me add some post-game whimsey; is it just me, or does anyone else think Madonna looked out of her depth in the half-time show?  I confess, I've never seen Madonna perform an entire "routine."  She simply looked out of sync...almost like every one else had to slow down to accommodate the pop-once-diva.  I was reminded of the auditions for "So you think you can dance."

Perhaps it was a "dumbed-down" version forced by NFL sensibilities; or I needed a special pair of glasses--who can say.  This is what another season watching Brett Farve attempt to play quarterback would have been like;  good call Brett.

Oh...by the way; Loved the outcome of the game. 

Lost and found...

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 just a part of the "living experience." Life is hard, and, can be very harsh--and it's not fair. 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...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.

Where Can I Run...?

Can swift water outrun its flow,
Can darkness swallow the sun?

Where can I run…
His lovingkindness not transform?
His watchcare not attend?
His provision not sustain?
His strength not carry?

Can swift water outrun its flow,
Can darkness swallow the sun?

Ready, aim...

(This blog was originally posted 1/4/11.  It's worth a second look...)


Quick thought: we tend to get what we aim at.  Good, bad, indifferent, unhealthy.The "cause/effect" relationship between the way we think and the outcomes we achieve is uncanny.  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 considerable resources, 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 January 4.  A great time for resolve to retool the way we think and as result, the way weexperience life.  What must be done for that to happen? 

Give up painful thinking.
Seek balance in your life.
Look for the best in people.
Refuse to think like a victim.
Go to and get out of bed earlier.
Don't allow yourself to be a cynic.
Transform obstacles into opportunities.
Refuse to associate with negative people.
Find ways to add value to other peoples lives.
Read good books that make you feel enriched.
Begin something that makes you feel challenged.
Volunteer and serve in some fashion, some place.
Mentor someone younger and/or less experienced.
Don't participate in throwing others "under the bus."
Find someone to mentor you; be accountable to someone.
Make the effort to grow your intellect and expand your perspective. 

Journal...keep it simple and short; then watch that discipline begin to expand.   

Finally...

"Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks through him to God the father."    Colossians 4.16,17 NLT

What a difference a day makes...

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 44 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 about the 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.

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 became a surrogate family for me 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 song written by Bill Gaither that really captured 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.

Goof proof...

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

TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

Number 58

All's quiet.  A wonderful two-day Christmas celebration with our Kids and Grandkids.

Braden (10) played, quite well, his own arrangement of Silent Night that he'd composed on his guitar--seriously good stuff--amazed at his music progress since getting his instrument last Christmas.  Kellen (6 in three days) was busy shopping on Amazon for "treasure" (aka "Bionicals) to invest his Christmas money on.

We welcomed a new member to the family this year, meet Cosmo, Joseph and Miranda's 12 week old...toy poodle...a real hoot; fit in famously.

Movie selections this year...The Help and Water for Elephants...two great movies.  Visited with family in New Jersey, North Carolina and California over the phone, wish we could all be in the same room at the same time...but, we were earlier this year at Joseph and Miranda's wedding.

Best of all...we christened the celebration by reading Romans 5.1-11 that ends with this statement..."So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God."  The reason for the season.

Laura was a wonderful hostess today, Erin last evening.  Blessed in so many ways.  Thanks be to God.

Why We Need Jesus...

"Reason and morality cannot show us a good and gracious God.  For that, we need the incarnation...The God revealed in Christ does what reason and morality cannot to....Many people today act like someone has created a peace treaty between reason and faith, after reason won the war...Special revelation, especially the incarnation, is precisely where the Christian faith breaks down the wall our culture has erected between faith and reason...The gospel creates not speculative pundits, spiritual gurus, or moralists but witnesses."

Excerpts from "The God Who Came Down" by Michael Horton

Christianity Today  December 2011

Well worth the read!