Courage For Today

dad

Singing in the Rain

Encouragement

 “It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:6

Some of my favorite memories as a child were when our family went on Camping Trips.  Camping was an inexpensive way for all of us to pack up and visit places we normally would not have been able to afford to visit.  We camped near beaches, on mountaintops and everything in between.  There is just something about the camping experience that makes wonderful memories.  Maybe it is the chance to get away from your normal routine.  Or, perhaps its the smell of bacon cooking in the morning.  It might be that your camping neighbors just always seemed to be friendlier than your normal neighbors.  Whatever it was about camping certainly made a lasting impression on me.

I remember one particular trip we took to a local State Park.  We went through the normal routine of packing the car full with our coolers and our tent and clothes and barely leaving enough room for all of us to fit in the car.  Somehow we managed to make it to our destination and start the unpacking and tent set-up.  I have to admit that we weren’t much help to my Mom and Dad.  He pretty much had to set-up the tent and unpack all of our “stuff” while my Mom kept an eye on us as we gathered wood for the eventual fire and had sword fights with the fallen tree limbs we found.

As nightfall approached, we finished our dinner of hot dogs over the open fire finished off with roasted marshmallows.  We slowly made our way to our tent and started coloring in our coloring books and just having fun as a family.  Suddenly, without warning, a huge storm approached.  It rained and rained and rained some more.  My brothers and I were fairly young and, of course, we were scared as the rain pounded our tent and the ground rumbled with the sound of thunder.  Just when we thought the storm was slowing down, some of our tent poles collapsed and the center of the tent fell upon us.  We kids panicked thinking the world was coming to an end while my Dad climbed out of the tent and reset the pole in the driving rain storm.  He managed to re-sturdy the tent and climbed back inside, soaked to the bone, dripping water over all of us.  Despite all of the drama, we could see the calm face of our Dad and somehow that calmed our nerves and made us feel safe and secure.  It wasn’t very long until we were back working on our coloring masterpieces.  The weather finally calmed down and we managed to all snuggle in our sleeping bags for a comfortable night’s sleep—our tent and our Dad protecting us from the storm’s fury.

This story reminds me of the many trials I have been through in my own life.  Trials that many of you are going through as we speak.  There have been times when I honestly didn’t know what to do next.  Times when I thought all was lost.  Times when I felt hopeless.  During those rainstorms in my own life, it always comforted me to know my Heavenly Father was there protecting me and repairing the damage of the storms.  Over time, I learned that the driving rainstorms of life didn’t have to be depressing and defeating.  Instead, I let the storms remind me of His Heavenly protection and shine as an example of His many miracles.

Are you experiencing your own rainstorm in life right now?  Instead of feeling defeated by the trial and the storm, let the rain be a gentle reminder to stay focused on God’s presence in your life while providing you with encouragement that the warm sunshine is not far behind.

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God’s Love Letter

Encouragement

My wife and I just recently moved to a new condominium in the Big City.  As you could imagine, moving from a larger home to a smaller condo is quite challenging.  We have lots of items to possible discard or sell and other items we simply just have to store and organize better.  The good news is we’re making good progress and the new place is beginning to look more and more like home.

As I was unpacking, there was one particular box that caught my attention.  In this box, I had packed a lifetimes worth of letters; cards; and gifts from others.  You know what I’m referring to.  The Father’s Day cards your daughter and son wrote to you in kindergarten.  The love notes from your wife that make me to this day wonder what she sees in me, even though I’m eternally grateful.  The report cards from your children showing their good grades (must be heredity) and the random note telling you what a great dad you’ve been or how you’re special to them.  These are items that are priceless and just really take me down memory lane remembering the fun, the trials, the adventures, and all the seasons in life that make it so wonderful.

There was one particular letter, however, that made me stop.  It was a letter my mom had written to me in 1985.  I had forgotten that she had even written the letter, but it became especially meaningful now since she passed away in 2006.  It was almost like she was there talking to me.  It was like she had never left and this letter was a small legacy of her influence on my life.

In the letter, she was telling me how thankful she was for my Dad and what a blessing he had been for her and how that I was so much like him.  She went on to thank God for sending my wife to me and how she knew my wife was definitely God-sent and a perfect help mate to me.  She closed the letter by telling my how much she loved me and how proud she was of me.  Wow!!  How much did I need to read that today!!

Even though she’s been gone now for 4 years, that letter from 1985 was a lasting tribute from her to me that will always be with me.  I’m sure she didn’t realize it at the time, but the words in that letter “live” in my heart today as I read them, some 25 years later.

As Christians, we have a similar letter written to us.  It’s called The Bible.  It’s sad to me that so many today feel the Bible is outdated or irrelevant.  In reality, it couldn’t be more up-to-date.  Even though God’s word was written thousands of years ago, it’s message filled with love and hope and encouragement mean as much today as it did all those years ago when Christ walked on this Earth.

Is it time for you to have a new love affair with God’s Word?  Maybe you need to dust off the cover and begin reading HIS Word again.  Just like when I read my mom’s letter to me all those years ago, her letter had as much, if not more, meaning to me now in my life than it did when the letter was written.  A mom’s love has a way of knowing what to say and when to say it.  A mom’s love has a way of praising and encouraging, but balancing that with the right amount of discipline and focus and instruction.

God’s Word is no different.  I would encourage you to fall in love with God’s Word again and allow HIS words of guidance and encouragement to reach the inner-most depths of your being so that your Christian Walk will be stronger and be a lasting testimony to others.

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We Are All Fishers of Men

Self-Worth

I must have been 10 or 11 years old when my Grandfather invited my Dad and me to go fishing one Saturday afternoon with him.  My grandfather loved to fish.  I wasn’t that crazy about it myself; I would rather have been playing baseball or basketball.  I think fishing was just too slow of a pace for me, but he certainly enjoyed it.  So, my dad decided the two of us should go along with my grandfather and have a “guys day out.”

We drove for what seemed an eternity, but finally came to some person’s home on the lake.  I found out later that this home belonged to one of my grandfather’s co-workers and we had permission to fish off his lot for that particular day. We must have had 15 poles between the 3 of us, or at least it seemed that way. There were tackle boxes full of shiny lures and plastic worms and red and white bobbers.  We also had the mandatory Styrofoam buckets full of minnows. We were ready for action.

My dad painstakingly helped me rig my fishing pole and showed me how to catch the little minnows out of the Styrofoam bucket and how to bait my hook.  He then showed me how to throw my line out into the water, as far as I could throw it, and watch patiently as my red and white bobber floated with the ripples of the water, but with no fish to be found.  I would reel in the line and throw it out again with a loud grunt, and wait ever so patiently—-for nothing.  After about 30 minutes of this, I decided fishing was not going to be a career path for me.

My dad would encourage me to keep trying and he would tell me to throw the line over near this fallen tree, but I ignored him.  “Try over by those branches,” but I wouldn’t listen.  I just took my time; day-dreamed for a little while, then threw my line where-ever my hard-headed self desired.  After all, my dad and grandfather weren’t catching any fish either, so what did they know?

All of a sudden, I heard a shout.  “I’ve got one, shouted my grandfather!!”  He reeled in the fish; removed the fish from the hook; baited his hook; and threw out his line again.  “I’ve got another one, he shouted!”  Suddenly, fishing became interesting again.  I grabbed my fishing pole and quickly baited my hook and threw it in the exact spot where my grandfather had been catching fish. The second my hook hit the water, a fish grabbed it and I had my first fish.  I reeled it in as fast as I could, removed the fish, re-baited my hook and cast my line in the exact spot.  Immediately, and I do mean immediately, another fish took the bait and I had my second fish.  After an exhausting day of fishing, the three of us managed to catch over 80 fish.  I was ecstatic.

In the Book of Mathew, Chapter 4, verses 19-20, the Lord was speaking to two  brothers Simon Peter and Andrew and said, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  Immediately, they left their nets and followed him.

I was thinking the other day of the time when I first accepted Christ back when I was a teenager. Just like that day at the lake years ago,  I remember being hard-headed and putting off doing what I knew I needed to do.  I knew the Lord was pulling at my heart strings to accept Him as my savior, but I didn’t act as quickly as I should have acted.  Fortunately, the Lord kept working on my heart and sometime later, I accepted Christ.  I say fortunately because sometimes we don’t get a second chance or another opportunity.

Where are you in your relationship with Christ?  Is the Lord pulling you toward Him?  If so, act now.  Do as the Lord instructed Simon Peter and Andrew and act immediately.  I promise you won’t regret it. Its the best decision I ever made.

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Like the Ocean Waves

Grace

My wife and I love going to the beach.  Not so much to swim, but simply to lay out in the sun and take long walks on the beach.  We’ve been fortunate to see some of the World’s beautiful beaches from Key West to Daytona to Destin to Savannah and even Mexico, the Bahamas, and Grand Cayman all the way to Taiwan.  Its very relaxing and peaceful to lay in the sun and listen to the waves roll in and out.  There’s also always good food to be found somewhere and always time to people watch.  We get a kick out of watching the children on the beach and the unfortunate souls wearing swimsuits a couple of sizes too small.

On one of our more recent beach vacations, we were all cozy and comfortable in our reclining chairs under our beach umbrella.  The breeze was wonderful and the sun was just right.  Our IPOD’s were playing and we were just enjoying the peace and quiet.  Life just couldn’t get any better than this!!

After a few minutes of peace, our solitude was disturbed by a family on the beach near us.  As best as I could tell, the family consisted of a grandmother; an adult daughter who was pregnant; her husband (I assumed); and their 2 small children.  There was something eye-catching (not in a good way) of the daughter who was at least 7 months pregnant wearing a two-piece bathing suit.  Not to be outdone, the grandmother, who also looked at least 7 months pregnant, had her own 2 piece swimsuit.  Not very flattering in my opinion.  The husband was already seemingly drunk and was back for another beer.  I could tell this was going to be interesting to watch, so I had to turn my lounge chair around to watch this family.  My afternoon’s entertainment was now set.

I can’t tell you how funny it was to watch the husband try to show his 2 children how to fly a kite in the ocean winds, while drunk.  He was staggering all over the beach, dodging other people’s coolers and chairs.  How in the world he wasn’t totally tangled up in kite string is beyond me.  I don’t think the Kite ever got off the ground but it wasn’t without his trying.  When all was said and done, the dad asked the child to go get him another cold beer.  Of course, the child was only 7 or 8 years old, but he acted like it was perfectly normal for him to be the beer fetcher for dad.

After a long morning of attempted kite flying, staggering, and beer drinking, it was time for lunch on the beach.  Out of the blue, I heard the grandmother yell to everyone out on the beach, “time for lunch, come and eat!!”  Like ants to an ant bed, the family came rushing to grandma.  I was getting hungry myself.  As fast as everyone ran, I figured it must be something really good.  Just as the kids were all sitting there waiting for food like baby birds in the nest waiting for the mother bird, the grandmother gives them the days meal choices, “boys, do you want Vienna Sausages, or Chocolate Chip Cookies?”  The lunch of champions.  Now, I wasn’t very hungry anymore, but they didn’t seem to mind.  Of course, for the Dad, there had to be a couple of more beers to top off this gourmet meal.

After their “lunch,” the children started doing what most children do on the beach which was digging holes in the sand.  They actually had a pretty good hole dug when dad decided they needed his engineering knowledge.  After all, he had already had at least a 6 pack, by my count, within an hour and who knows how much more that I didn’t count.  It was obvious that he felt he could contribute some much needed guidance to his children’s hole digging enterprise.

They dug and they dug and they dug.  I would guess the hole was knee deep or so before dad got the brilliant idea that they should fill the hole with ocean water.  He didn’t seem daunted by the task, even though they had only a couple of buckets and were at least 200 feet from the water.  I told my wife that this was about to get really interesting.

They ran to the water; filled the buckets; and returned to the hole.  Time after time after time.  First the kids would go until they were tired.  Then the drunk dad would fill his bucket and slosh it all the way back until by the time he got back to the hole, there was nothing left in his bucket.  Needless to say, it didn’t matter how many trips to the water they made, they couldn’t fill up the hole.  The sand in the hold just absorbed the water and they never made any real progress.  After about 30 minutes of extreme effort, they gave up the battle and the dad had another beer.  In his mind, he had earned it this time around.

I started thinking about this wonderful thing called God’s Grace.  It’s one of those terms that sounds goods and we hear it often, but don’t really understand it , or at least I didn’t.  The true definition of Grace centers around God giving us something that we don’t deserve, like Salvation.  We didn’t ask for it.  We can’t buy it. We can’t do anything to earn it.  God’s Grace is available to all of us, even though we don’t deserve it.  The other beautiful thing about God’s Grace is that there is a never ending source.  Like the Ocean Waves that day on the beach, His Grace is ever flowing and never ending.

Our lives are full of sin, whether we admit it or not.  The good news is that no matter what we may have done, God’s forgiveness of those sins and the Grace He shows us is from a never ending source.  There is no sin greater than what Grace can forgive. If we sometimes feel that our sin has sometimes “dug such a deep hole” that we can’t dig our way out, it’s comforting to know that God’s Grace will ALWAYS be sufficient to fill that hole with His Love from the never ending Ocean of God’s Grace.

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