A True Friend

I mentioned in my post on July 7 that we had been in Wichita Falls and said that I would tell you why we were there in a few days. Well, it's been more than a few days but here we go....

My buddy, Kevin, is a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and we went to Wichita Falls to attend his Change of Command ceremony. He took over the command of one of the training squadrons at Sheppard Air Force Base. It's his first command and he was within driving distance, and our budget (gas was $3.95/gal. at the time), so we decided to go.

We had a great weekend. I've seen Kevin infrequently since college - once or twice a year, and the kids have been around his family even less. But, kids being kids, they started playing right away as if they were old friends.

To keep this from turning into a novel, I'll get right to the crux of this post. Kevin and I have been friends since high school and we were roommates in college. Kevin's wife has said on a few occassions that she is amazed at the connection between Kevin and myself. Even though we see each other infrequently and talk seldom we always seem to pick up as if we'd seen each other yesterday. I think that connection goes back to a time in high school when I wasn't a good friend.

Kevin and I had know each other for about a year when I started hanging around with another guy (let's call him Brent) that convinced me the Kevin and some of my other friends were bad influences on me and that I should hang around them. For whatever reason, I believed this Brent and blew Kevin off for about a year.

Well a year later, after Brent blew a gasket and revealed his true colors, I found myself in class with Kevin and my old friends. We had to talk to one another and everyone basically treated me the same as they always had and we found ourselves making plans to go camping. I was happy to have my friends around again so I accepted their invitation to the trip. While on the trip, one of the guys, not Kevin, asked me what was going on over the previous year. I told them that I had basically lost my mind, but that I was better. That was the end of the discussion - no one ever asked another question about it - Kevin never asked (I think he might have years later - but I'm not sure.)

I say all of that for this point. Kevin and my other friends showed me the love of Christ. You know, undeserved and unconditional love. Sure they asked what happened, but I had already been accepted back into the fold. They didn't ask and then allow me to hang around with them. They probably didn't realize what they didn't I surely didn't at the time, but I can see it now.

We've long since gone our separate ways and Kevin is the only one that I keep in touch with. I've run into some of the other guys on rare occasions, but Kevin and I really do have a special connection and I believe it goes all the way back to that time in high school. He was a true friend then and he is still the same today. I'm blessed to have him in my life.

Enjoy the ride...

Scott

Something or nothing

We all go through "stuff" in our lives. The good times and the bad times. In the good times everything is great, life's good, no worries, we're on top of the world and everything is coming up roses. In the bad times we're wondering, "What did I do to deserve this? Why me?"

It seems to me that the good times create memories and the "bad" times create character and wisdom. James 1:2-4 states that we should rejoice in times of trial because the testing of your faith develops perseverence and that perseverence will cause you to be mature and complete, lacking nothing. My prayer has always been, during my times of trial, that God make clear the lessons to be learned.

My point here is: Everything that we go through in life can be worth something or it can be worth nothing. You can learn and grow from your experiences or you can wallow in pity wondering; "Why me?" It's your decision. That's the great part - you get to choose.

So how do you deal with trials in your life? Are they worth something or nothing? If you learn and grow then I urge you to share wisdom with others. If you lean to the other side of the equation, I pray that you will stop spinning your wheels and move forward with your life. We all get thrown curveballs from time to time - mine was divorce. The world keeps spinning regardless of what's going on in our lives so we might as well hang on and...

...enjoy the ride!

Scott

Lift up your Pastor

I read a blog a couple of days ago by Mac Richard from June 29th & 30th. They are titled "Go to Church Somewhere Else." The premise of his blogs is that if your out of town some weekend you should visit a local church. Read them to get the whole story.

I only reference Mac's blog because this is something that my family practices. We do our very best to attend church every weekend regardless of where we are. A few weeks ago while we were in Wichita Falls we visited the First Baptist Church. It was the last weekend that their interim Pastor was preaching and it was a great message. I'm going to list the points of the message below but if you'd like to hear the message go here.

The title of the message is "How to Minister to Your Minister" and I think this is something that we don't think enough about. Many of us probably put our Pastor 2 steps below God and think that they have everything figured out and don't need us praying for them when nothing could be further from the truth. They are under the highest level of spiritual attack because they work so hard to fulfill God's commission.

Here are the points from the message:

1. Pray him up.
2. Pay him up.
3. Expand his minstry. (Acts 20:28)
4. Do not make him drive you to serve.
5. Take away the burden of him being a fund raiser.
6. Protect his reputation with your life. (Matthew 18:15)
7. Encourage him in the work.
8. Bless his family.
9. Do not place him on probation. (You'll need to listen to get this one.)

I hope that you will take the time to listen to the message. If not, take some time to mull over the points listed above. If you don't already pray for your pastor then I encourage you to start today. They are probably under greater attack than anyone you know and they need all of the prayer and encouragement they can get.

I look forward to any thoughts you might have on this topic. In a few days I'll post about what took us to Wichita Falls.

Enjoy the ride...

Scott