Faith+Life

I'm Not a Serious Christian

2011-04-21T21:19:00.000-05:00

I took Macy and Mallory to see the movie Soul Surfer last week. It's the story of Bethany Hamilton's remarkable recovery after being attacked by a shark. The movie shows how her faith in Christ helped her find life again. After the movie Macy said that Bethany Hamilton was a serious Christian! She also said that after watching the movie she knew that she was not a serious Christian and wondered when she would be.

I was curious as to what serious Christian meant to her so I asked her to explain. She said she wasn't exactly sure but she knew I was one and Mommy was one and Grandpa Mac was one. She went onto explain it's people who read their bible a lot and pray and stuff. She said she thinks about other stuff sometimes - she doesn't just always think about Jesus. I think what Macy meant by a serious Christian was someone whose faith in Jesus changed the way they live.

In that moment I wanted to encourage her because she seemed a little down by it, but I could sense the Holy Spirit prompting me to just wait. So I didn't say much.

Then tonight something happened at her basketball practice where Macy said something that caused one of her team mates to cry. Macy found out after practice that this girl was really upset by it. Macy was very troubled when she realized she hurt her friends feelings. She felt like she didn't mean what she had said in a bad way, but nonetheless it wounded her friend.

So Macy thought about it for a while. Then she decided to track down her friends phone number and she called her to apologize, but also to let her friend know how much she meant to her. I listened to the phone call and Macy was crying as she confronted her own mishap.

Macy did several things here that I personally think are pretty amazing. First of all, she admitted her own mistake. Then she actually did something to correct it. But she went beyond all of this and made sure to build her friend up. These are the kind of actions that strengthen friendships and build character.

After her call I asked her how it felt. She was still a little upset by everything until I told her this: "Macy - do you realize that you are a serious Christian? Anyone in the world can make a mistake... in fact everyone does make mistakes. But because you have Christ in your heart, you decided you couldn't live without making your mistake right. Now that is a serious Christian!"

Sign of the Times

2010-03-24T19:34:00.000-05:00

This is a note from my brother Mike about his teenage son:

Sign of the Times
Yesterday I received our mobile phone bill. Nickolas sent and received 13,963 texts last month. And spoke a grand total of 13 minutes on his cell the entire month.

What is a Trader?

2010-03-11T19:50:00.002-06:00

A Trader is a new kind of missionary, not defined by geography, but defined by a resolve to …

• CHOOSE DAILY to sacrifice our time and money to apply the parable of the Good Samaritan and to "go and do likewise."

• HATE INJUSTICE and find specific ways to bring the hope found in Jesus to desperate situations.

• WORK AS WORSHIP because God is glorified when we use our God-given passions and skills with excellence.

• ACT SWIFTLY because the time is RightNow!

Trading in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ!

Back from Haiti

2010-03-10T11:50:00.004-06:00

I am back from Jacmel, Haiti and had a great trip. It has been 10 years since I have been to Haiti and to be honest with you it doesn’t look very different than it did the last time I was there. The needs are overwhelming. The poverty is extreme. The people are jobless. The children are uneducated. But… the people are resilient.

We met some amazing folks who are doing great work establishing the church in Haiti. Consider Danny & Leann Pye…

Danny is 29 years old and he is a Trader. He and his wife moved to Haiti six years ago as missionaries and established an orphanage where they parent 21 Haitians from ages 7 to 21 (they have already had three kids grow up and start their lives as adults). They have a baby of their own who is three years old. The Pyes have also rejuvenated a once dying church that now has more than 700 people in attendance each week. They launched a school that educates and feeds hundreds of children each day. Of course, they don’t do it alone. They have three other families in their ministry and they are all serving with them.

Two days before the earthquake Leann had a miscarriage and their world was rocked. On the evening of the earthquake they began a refugee camp in their garden and started to house and care for an additional 120 people beyond their family. They had serious injuries to deal with and no hospital or medical care available. The next day and Danny had the foresight to go to the airport (less than 2 miles from their house) where he discovered total chaos. From what I can understand Danny took over the airport and was instrumental in getting aid to Jacmel. The airport had previously not allowed any international travel, but Danny was able to get planes coming in from the Dominican Republic with crates of beans, rice, water and tents for shelter. Danny contacted four organizations to distribute the goods. A warehouse was secured and the goods were being distributed right away. You can read more about Danny and his amazing friends on Oprah.Com – where they have an article detailing their work in the days after the Quake

Meanwhile, Leann became very sick. She had to be evacuated to Florida and sent to intensive care. After days of testing, she was diagnosed with a rare virus. Danny was unable to accompany Leann to Florida, because the needs in Jacmel were so tremendous. Leann came back to Haiti after a week in the US. She is still sick – the meds will take 3 weeks to 3 months to kick in and heal her.

Danny told us that two thirds of all the missionaries in Haiti left immediately after the earthquake. He was told that more than half of them will never return. He said that the comfort and security of the US is very appealing in times like these, but his resolve is stronger than that desire. He and Leann will stay in Haiti.

Danny and Leann have not been able to deal with the loss of their own child, because they don’t have that luxury right now. Danny told us that they know that they will eventually need to mourn and grieve that loss, but that the current situation dictates that they be strong for others.
1. Pray for Danny and Leann – for healing, for rest and the work they are doing.
2. Pray for the continued resilience of the people of Haiti.
3. Pray for the churches in Haiti to boldly proclaim the Gospel while meeting the tangible needs of the people.

The amazing thing is that Danny is not down or depressed. He is extremely hopeful. He hasn’t said “why me” – but instead embraces the unique role God has given him. Danny’s vision has actually increased in the last two months. He believes that God will use him in even greater ways. Danny is 29 years old and he is a Trader.

Landed

2010-03-08T08:38:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Haiti from 25,000 feet. We have just arrived in
Jacmel and are ready to get to work.

Great Day in History

2009-12-02T10:24:00.003-06:00

On December 2nd, 1995 she said I do! And I have lived a charmed life ever since! Robin is amazing - words could never express what she means to me. What we have is better than anything Hollywood could dream up. What we have is a gift from God. Thank you Jesus!

Today I Drink... Water!

2009-12-01T08:43:00.004-06:00

Today I drink… water! I will drink something else at some point, but I am amazed at how much this tiny lifestyle change has affected me for the good. I really can’t point yet to any physical good that drinking water only has done for my body, but I’m confident its there. What has amazed me is the mental good that it has done. I just feel better. And as silly as it seems it is really refreshing to not have any beverage options anymore. I’ve often heard that simplifying your life brings more freedom than regret and I think that must be true. Drinking only water has given me a sense of freedom that is strange to me.

Like I said before, I will drink something other than water, but I will probably stick to mostly water. And I am certainly willing to go on another water only streak if I can get some people to join me. So let me give you a little insight into what I did with drinking only water and why it even matters.

When I measured how much I drank in November of 2008, I also measured how much I spent. Two things about this exercise were very alarming to me: how little water I actually drank and how much money I spent on beverages. I was spending an average of $28 a week on drinks alone! That seemed pretty high to me, but when you factor in the 7/11 coffee every morning, another stop or two at 7/11 during the day for a 44 ounce Diet drink, a Gatorade or two, a couple of cans of Diet Dew at night, and a trip to Starbucks each week – you get to $28 a week.

So I decided to take that $28 each week and donate it to The Last Well where we are helping to eradicate the water crisis in Liberia. In fact, in less than 6 years Liberia will be the first African nation to have clean, safe drinking water for every single citizen! It costs $1 to provide the water needed for one Liberian for one year. So by $28 per week will help 28 people for an entire year… every single week! And it’s not even money that I’m donating as much as it is money that I’m redirecting. I was spending it on myself, and this tiny sacrifice allows me to spend it on Liberia.

As I got through my first week last December and I knew that this was going to be easier than I initially thought I started to think about my friend Scott’s advice to get other people involved in it. I began asking friends one by one to do an H2Only challenge with me – where they would drink nothing but water for one week and take the money they saved on not buying beverages and donate it to The Last Well. I would typically ask people to agree to donate $20 for a week –that way they are helping 20 people have clean, safe drinking water for one year. One week of small sacrifice for 20 people to have one year of fresh water – what a deal!

Since the first week is by far the hardest, I would typically ask my friends to consider doing it another week and to recruit someone to do it with them. Most people took the challenge and kept going!

Let me know if you want to take the H2Only Challenge. I’ll do it with you… because you’ll probably need someone to kick you in the butt in those first few days when you will be tempted to raise money to build a Starbucks in Liberia instead of water wells. Yes – the first few days do stink – so load up on the Advil, but it does get better. Much better!

Here is the link to donate to the Last Well – be sure to type in the word RightNow under the climbers name so we can measure how much money we raise!

Here is a recap of what I drank in November of 2008:
30% of what I drank was Diet Coke/Diet Dr Pepper - 976 ounces – good with any meal
19.5% of what I drank was Gatorade – 636 ounces – for that deep down body thirst
14% of what I drank was Diet Mountain Dew – 452 ounces - must have been a slow month
13% of what I drank was 7/11 Coffee – 432 ounces – used to begin each day at 7/11
6% of what I drank was Starbucks – 200 ounces – all types of drinks!
5.5% of what I drank was water – 188 ounces – it made the list!
5.5% of what I drank was fake beer – 180 ounces – someone had given me a 12 pack so I took it down
4.5% of what I drank was juice – 144 ounces – I think it was OJ when I was sick
1% of what I drank was milk – 36 ounces – I think I had dozen brownies with that

Here is a recap of what I drank over the last 12 months:
100% of what I drank was water – 39,228 ounces – mostly from the tap!

Day 365

2009-11-30T17:43:00.002-06:00

Day 365

I seriously can’t believe it. I have had nothing but water to drink for 365 days! This crazy idea of mine started on November 1st of last year and here are a few actual journal entries that I made:

November 1st, 2008
I was sitting down at lunch with my family and decided to order a water for lunch. Robin looked at me rather strangely because I never order water when out to eat. I'm Diet Coke or Diet Dr Pepper all the way. So she asked why I was drinking water and for some reason I said this: "I heard on the radio last week that Terrell Owens drinks only water." Now Terrell Owens is an NFL receiver who played for the Dallas Cowboys at the time - otherwise known as TO. Here's my favorite TO quote: “I love me some me." Needless to say - TO has quite a bit of an ego. But for him to drink only water… how perplexing? Robin and I discussed whether or not we believed him and I went on to say that he made some declaration that the number one piece of advice he would give to all athletes is to drink only water. Then Robin went off on how good water is for me, yada yada yada... And it clicked... why don't I drink nothing but water for an entire year! I could lose weight. Get healthy. Write a book. Make money and buy a pool! What an idea!

November 1st, 2008
Later in the day I was talking to Robin about this again and I realized that I have never gone an entire day in my life where the only thing that I drank was water. How could I do 365?

November 2nd, 2008
So I'm thinking about this water thing and I think I should go for it. I'm thinking about recording everything I drink for the next two months to have a record of the old me and then beginning my journey on January 1st. And while I seriously do want to make some money on this thing - I don't really know why someone would want to read a book on me drinking only water for a year? Maybe I could get a sponsor like Aquafina or someone? I don't know. But I do know that it would be hard for me to actually do this unless I was passionate about it. And for me to be passionate about it - then it will have to connect to my faith in some way.

November 3rd, 2008
I decided to google the year of drinking water because I remember hearing about a book called the year of living biblically and figured that would be my gimmick. The good news was that I don't think anyone else has ever done this. But as I was thinking about this -it became pretty clear to me. Why don't I go on my water crusade to raise awareness not only for the benefits of water - but the need for the needy and poor throughout the world to have clean, safe drinking water. yes - that's it. Goodbye pool though - now that I have connected it to my faith - I'm going to need to give the proceeds to Living Water International or some other group to help provide water in areas of the world that need it. Maybe I'll raise money for The Last Well movement which is going to give the entire nation of Liberia free access to clean, safe drinking water in the next 7 years. The entire nation! How cool is that! I also realized today that I may have had a day in Eqypt in 2006 where all I drank was water. No - that's not true - I had at least one Fanta everyday I was there. Oh goodie.

November 3rd, 2008
Robin asked me tonight if I wanted to go pick up some Starbucks. My answer was immediate - no words… I just grabbed the car keys. No way can I go a year without Starbucks. I'm already doubting my decision and I really haven't begun yet. At Starbucks I weigh my options and land on a green tea latte - venti of course. I'm in line and wondering what will I do for a year of meetings at Starbucks? That's when I see Ethos Water in the check out line. I pick up a bottle and apparently this brand of water takes proceeds to third world areas that need clean water. Pretty cool - I just emailed myself the website to check out later: ethoswater.com

November 4th, 2008
So Francis Chan has this video clip from his book Crazy Love where he talks about cars in a used car lot. He goes through all these amazing cars in great detail and then arrives at a junkie one and exclaims that this is his car. He says something like: why would I spend $30,000 on a car when I can buy a cheap one and then spend that extra $30 grand on an orphanage. Then he says something shocking - that he does this for selfish reasons. He is more fulfilled knowing there are orphans taken care of then knowing he drives a really nice car. Yep. I can't take a dime from this thing. If any money is to be brought in, it will ALL go to help others. How ironic that I would want to make money on something like this to "waste" water in a pool that 4 people would enjoy and God would turn this into a quest for water for the multitudes to survive off of.

November 5th, 2008
Water stats: One dollar a day provides clean, safe drinking water for one person for one year. My $50,000 pool would provide water for 50,000 people for an entire year! Yikes! Shnikies!

November 5th, 2008
I shared the idea with Bill and then with Scott and got really positive feedback. They both agreed it would be next to impossible for me to do. Scott thinks I should try and get others to do it with me. I like the idea. I don't know if I start it and get going and then tell others. Or if I make a big splash before I do it and get a team to do it, etc... Then that puts a lot of pressure on me though!

November 6th, 2008
We are doing a dollar challenge at our RightNow Conference next weekend where we are going to give people one dollar bills and ask them to invest them in some way into the kingdom to see what God would do with those tine dollar bills. I have decided that I will use my dollar to buy my first bottle of water!

November 7th, 2008
I feel a strong sense to pray through this decision and check my motives. The original motive was honestly about money - and I could justify it by saying that I would get healthier and perhaps help others to get healthier. But I knew that wouldn’t flame a passion in me to actually go through with it. My motivation has to be spiritual. So now I feel this strong sense to pray through this idea and make sure that it would glorify God and not me. And this my friends is the story of my life! I face a daily struggle to either live for myself or live for Christ. There are two kingdoms in my life: the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of heaven. I often live for the kingdom of this world by making decisions that will pad my comfort or make me feel better. And make no mistake! I cannot live in both kingdoms at the same time. My hearts desire is to live in the kingdom of heaven. I can still enjoy this world, and I believe that God wants me to enjoy this world. But it’s all based on my worldview. My mindset. My grid in which I run my own thoughts and motives. So I am praying for God to reveal my motives. If they are pure - meaning they are about bringing Him glory and stamping out injustice (now that's kingdom of heaven talk!) then they will prevail!

November 8th, 2008
I flew to Baton Rouge today for the LSU and Alabama game. I had lots of fun and thought about coming next year and only drinking water. I drank a ton of water at the game. I think I could do this.

November 17th, 2008
I learned a ton at our RightNow Conference One of the lines that kept ringing in my ear was during Donald Millers talk on Friday night entitled, "Let Story Guide You." He was describing the formula of all good stories and he defined a character as "one who wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it." His over arching message was that God was calling each of us to live the best story we could live. And one measuring stick is to ask what would happen if we were no longer here? Who would miss us? What ministry would suffer? What people would suffer? He explained that all good stories have conflict and it made me think about this idea. And how I will encounter some extreme conflict. But... if I have enough passion (from Christ) to follow through - then it will make a great story!

November 30th, 2008
What the heck… I’m starting tomorrow. I won’t tell anyone I’m starting… That way if I can do it, then I’ll have a few weeks under my belt. If I can’t do it, I just won’t start up in January. I have been measuring every ounce of beverage intake for the last month to see what I’m up against. It doesn’t look pretty:

30% of what I drank was Diet Coke/Diet Dr Pepper - 976 ounces – good with any meal
19.5% of what I drank was Gatorade – 636 ounces – for that deep down body thirst
14% of what I drank was Diet Mountain Dew – 452 ounces - must have been a slow month
13% of what I drank was 7/11 Coffee – 432 ounces – used to begin each day at 7/11
6% of what I drank was Starbucks – 200 ounces – all types of drinks!
5.5% of what I drank was water – 188 ounces – it made the list!
5.5% of what I drank was fake beer – 180 ounces – someone had given me a 12 pack so I took it down
4.5% of what I drank was juice – 144 ounces – I think it was OJ when I was sick
1% of what I drank was milk – 36 ounces – I think I had dozen brownies with that

I don’t know how I’m going to do this… but I’m starting tomorrow… After I go to Starbucks one more time!

Today
Fast forward one year and… I did it. The first three days sucked big time. I had huge headaches and was totally wanting some Starbucks. But I was absolutely amazed at how quickly those cravings went away and how easy the next 362 days were. Seriously – it was so easy to do! People never believe me when I tell them that… but it’s true!

I have much more to share about all the good that has come about. I did end up raising a bunch of money for The Last Well, but I’m not done yet. There is more to come… stay tuned!

One thing I need from you though… what should my first non-water drink in one year be? Comment, Tweet me, text me, email me, facebook me… Let me know!

97 Days

2009-10-29T19:38:00.002-05:00

At our RightNow Conference last year there was a huge theme to dig deep into the word of God and apply what we read. Matt Chandler even said that if he stuck you with a needle he would want you to bleed Bible! I remember going away with a renewed passion to read my Bible more. That passion stuck as the months went by and about 100 days ago I decided I would read the entire Bible before this year's conference. I figured out that if I read for 30 minutes a day I could get it done. And to add some accountability I decided to take on a Nazarite vow and not cut my hair. I hate long hair - so this was some serious incentive to get in the word!

Ninety-seven days later I finished! Reading the Bible for 30 minutes each day was a wonderful experience. Here are a few of my big takeaways:

The Old Testament is all about our faith in God expressed through obedience and marked by being set apart for God. Almighty God asked Israel to do things that demonstrated their faith and obedience in Him.
The New Testament is all about our faith in God expressed by loving one another. Jesus came and changed everything by establishing a kingdom built on love.
The whole Bible is an amazing story where God chooses His people and His people have the wonderful opportunity to glorify Him through faith and obedience expressed in love.
Jesus Christ is the savior of the world! And I love Him deeply - more than words can express!
And... I'm convinced that all good mafia movies were inspired by the Old Testament - those are some seriously epic stories - and even though I knew the outcome there were nights where I simply couldn't put it down. Cain & Abel, Abraham, Jacob & Esau, Joseph (love me some Joseph), David and the list goes on...

What a great 97 days!
And Robin is very happy that I got my hair cut on day 98!

The Champs

2009-06-24T22:11:00.003-05:00

LSU won the National Championship in baseball tonight defeating the Texas Longhorns. This was the Tigers 6th National Championship in the last 19 years - they are clearly the most dominant baseball team in my lifetime! I was actually at their first championship in 1991. My high school team won the state championship two weeks earlier and was invited to play in the College World Series High School Tournament. We finished third in the tourney and got to go the the National Championship game with LSU beating Wichita State.

I was able to go to one LSU game this season at their new stadium and it was a blast! LSU baseball is known for their amazing fans and their unique style of play coined Geaux-rilla Ball because they absolutely smash the ball aruond the ball park. Tonight was no different as football player Jared Mitchell began the rout in the first inning with a 3 run homer. Way to Geaux Tigers!

Mitchell celebrating his first inning HR

Stop the Madness

2009-06-08T12:06:00.002-05:00

I was walking by Lonnie's office today and it looks like he has taken his affection for Matt Chandler to an uncomfortable level...

Marraige Advice

2009-06-02T09:39:00.006-05:00

A group of guys at church have been working at being more intentional with our marriages. One of the lessons we have learned early on is that the point of being intentional in our marriages isn't to change our spouses hearts – it’s to change our hearts.

God wants to get you to a place where He can use you. So let me ask you a few questions about your relationship with God before we get into your relationship with your spouse.

What kind of encouragement do you have from being united with Christ?
In what ways do you experience comfort from his love?
What does it mean to you to have fellowship with the Spirit?
Do you ever feel compassion? How?

Our marriages depend on our relationship to God. If we truly believe that our relationship to God is a good thing in our lives, then we will strive to:

be like-minded
have the same love
be one in spirit and purpose
do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit
in humility consider others better than yourselves
look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others

Think about Christ Jesus himself. He was God, but He didn’t use that to His advantage! He made himself worth nothing – He even acted as a servant. He was a mere man and obeyed Father God even to the point of death. And what did the Father God do to Christ Jesus?

He exalted Him above all else! And one day every single person on this planet will bow their knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

So imagine what Father God will do for your marriage when you stop trying to change your spouse, but instead – by faith – start to love your spouse. What would God do with someone who did nothing out of selfish ambition or vein conceit? How would God use the man or women who decided to consider others better than themselves?

Stop trying to change your spouse… change yourself. Stop talking bad about your spouse, build him or her up. Love God… and watch Him work!

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phil 2:1-11

This Day in History

2009-06-01T08:47:00.001-05:00

On this day in history my high school won a state championship in baseball, defeating our league rival Smoky Hill 8-0.

Can you guess what year this was?

Can you find me in the pic?

Fast of Self

2009-05-15T17:01:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine told me about a fast that he was doing with a bunch of people. He said that when you think about it we all give ourselves to one of three things each day: Ourselves, Others or God. So he decided to go on a 21 day fast of himself! He said for 21 days he is going to make decisions based on what God wants and what others need.

I met him for lunch on day 4 and he was totally psyched up about it, plus - he bought my lunch! So the moral of the story is... find people who are fasting from themselves and go to lunch with them. Kidding. The truth is that I am challenged by this big time. I know that fasting of myself would be great for me and everyone around me.

I'm praying for the courage to start this fast.

Victory

2009-05-06T09:37:00.002-05:00

A great friend of mine just came into my office with his college diploma in hand. This is a big deal because he has been working on his degree for several years. The reason why it took him so long to get his diploma has nothing to do with his work ethic or intelligence.

My friend had a problem with credit card debt. In his words, "while most men struggle with porn addictions, my addiction has been credit card debt." Several years ago he discovered that his vice was actually an addiction and he began the road to recovery and freedom from the bondage of credit card debt.

His diploma is more than monumental. It's true that it took a ton of discipline for him to pay for school while raising a family, working a job, and living in a culture that always tells you to buy the next new thing. But this is victory - because his testimony is that the grace of Christ gave him the strength to say no to his fleshly desires and yes to what he knew was right. Victory!

Robyn Mac on the News!

2009-05-04T20:34:00.009-05:00

Robyn, Macy & Mallory's school was featured on our Dallas news station as "Hometown Heroes." Robyn is in charge of Rachel's Challenge at her school where the students are carrying on the legacy of Rachel Scott - the first student killed at Columbine High School during the shootings. Rachel was a Christian who believed that she could personally start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion to spread the love of Christ. Robyn and her students have had more than 100,000 documented actions of kindness and compassion this year and will hold a rally with more than 10,000 people on Thursday.

You can watch the story here.

I am very proud of Robyn for being such an awesome example of someone on mission for Christ and using their faith with whatever platform God gives them!

Mother's Day E Cards

2009-05-04T10:05:00.002-05:00

Mother's Day E Cards from DaySpring starring Robyn Mac & Mallory Mac!

Follow this link and then click on the video entitled: Mom's Little Helper

Learning About Love

2009-05-01T16:13:00.000-05:00

Let me make a bold statement: God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him.

Do you believe that God is love? How do you know? Do you think that anyone who doesn’t love others has never known God? … Ouch! What does it mean to love others?

What if I were to tell you that God showed you his love went he sent his only Son into the world to give you life? Would that answer your question about God being love? He exchanged his son for you. Sounds like he loves you, but maybe not his Son? I think our problem is that we don’t understand what real love is. We think that we can get love apart from God. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

I think the point here is that God loved us this much - so we must love each other. And if we do love each other, then we will actually be demonstrating real love – the kind that our world is longing to see. But don’t take my word for it…

“God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.”

1 John 4:8-11

It is because of your faith that you are healed – Jesus

2009-04-27T17:40:00.005-05:00

Note:

It is because of your faith that you are healed – Jesus

That’s the subject of an email I received from a great friend yesterday morning. His brother-in-law, Bubba, had a freak accident on Thursday night where his Father accidentally hit him with his truck while they were working on installing a basketball goal at their house. Thank God that his 3 year old son – who was standing next Bubba was unharmed. Bubba got pinned against the house by the truck and had to be care-flighted to the nearest hospital. The Doctors quickly diagnosed that Bubba was fighting for his life and was likely to lose his leg.

After a surgical procedure in the middle of the night the Doctors determined that there was a small pulse in Bubba’s foot, but that his muscle tissue was dead. They would operate on Sunday morning – the chances of survival were growing, but losing his leg was a definite.

I had my phone with my while I listened to the message at church on Sunday morning. I saw an incoming call from my friend and then a text message that simply read: “check your email.” I looked at the email and read the following:

It is because of your faith that you are healed - Jesus

The doctors were stunned this morning during surgery that the "dead" tissue was in fact ALIVE this morning!!!!! And attached to the bones! This is huge news.

My sister broke down at the news. The Doctor is trying to find a clinical reason - there is no reason!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, praise the Lord!

I showed Robin the email and I couldn’t help but start crying as I read this news. Which was kind of funny because our message was on fasting and I’m sure the people around me were wondering why I would be losing it over a message on fasting!

I love my friends response to Jesus healing his brother-in-law: Thank you, thank you, thank you, praise the Lord! My friend understands that just because we pray for God’s healing, doesn’t mean we will see it. I think that’s why his response is so precious to me – because it’s so genuine.

Miracles do happen. God is at work. Rejoice and give Him glory!

Coming Out of the Closet

2009-04-24T16:10:00.002-05:00

It has been a long time since I have blogged because I have been going through a traumatic experience. This has really been a life long issue for me, but I have been trying to ignore it for the last few years. But the tension in my soul over the last few months has been unbearable. This will come as a shock to many, but to those who know me best I suppose you have always known. And I feel like this is the time for me to let the whole world know, because of the urgency of the matter...

I am a Detroit Lions fan

Billy Simms... Anthony Carter... Rodney Peete... Barry Sanders - these were my heroes growing up. I love the Lions! I even like the stupid teeth they just added to the logo. But it is time for me to speak my mind because tomorrow my beloved Lions may draft Matthew Stafford with the number one pick of the draft. Now Mr Stafford is indeed a fine young man, but it is my belief that drafting him will set the Lions organization back another 5 years... and put me back in the closet! So I'm hoping my drastic announcement will catch the attention of the Lions front office and cause them to do the right thing... draft the Baylor Bear!

Slugger Slugging

2008-12-10T20:46:00.001-06:00

The Slug is Back!

2008-12-10T20:32:00.002-06:00

I picked up my Dog Slugger today and brought him home. He had been staying with some friends since we moved out of our old house and we finally brought him home today. Thanks to Lonnie & Anita for taking such great care of Slugger. Macy & Mallory were beside themselves to see Slugger again. Needless to say, the Slugger Dog has been treated like royalty tonight.

What Do You Expect?

2008-12-10T11:38:00.001-06:00

Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas where you live? It’s not really looking like Christmas here in Dallas as much as it’s starting to feel like Christmas! A cold front came in yesterday sometime between arriving to the office and leaving the office and I have officially brought the winter clothes down from the attic. And I love it! Growing up in Michigan & Colorado, I can appreciate some cold air.

I absolutely love Christmas time! I love the lights, the food, the music, the time with family, but most of all I love the opportunity to share the love of Christ. On Saturday I read Luke 1 & 2 (from The VOICE) to my daughters and they were hanging on every word. We discussed how Israel had waited 400 years to hear from God and they were on the lookout for a conquering King, but God sent them a baby! We prayed together about how to show the love of Christ to others in an unexpected way. And the great thing about kids is that they don’t forget. So the last few days we have been finding unexpected ways to shares Christ’s love!

As I think about God’s love and His plans it is so obvious that (as the scripture tells us) His ways are not our ways! I encourage you to ask God to find unexpected ways to share His love. I bet you won’t expect what He shows you! And I bet that you will be as blessed as anyone by it.

Merry Christmas!

Challenge

2008-12-04T19:58:00.002-06:00

I like challenge. Maybe that's why I like sports so much - because each game represents it's own challenge. I'm pretty sure I got this disease from my Dad. I remember him doing stuff when I was a kid like running for 200 consecutive days, or getting up earlier than everyone else in the morning, or committing to do things that others wouldn't do. I felt like sometimes my Dad would do these things because he liked the challenge. I have some of my own examples:

Diets - I love to do fad diets because of the challenge. Eat only meat and cheese for 3 weeks...sounds good to me. Have to give up all products with white flour in them... why not! No meats and sweets for 60 days... I'm in!

Card Games - I find it impossible to simply enjoy a game of cards. I need to study your play. Determine your patterns. Count your cards. And prey on your tendencies.

Pancakes - I want to be the man when it comes to making pancakes. I make them virtually every Saturday of the year (unless my current fad diet doesn't allow them). I experiment with different ingredients. I use the latest flipping techniques. I know the difference between real eggs and egg beaters. Sometimes I make 9 different flavors of pancake for one Saturday morning meal... for four people.

I've learned that one of the by products of someone who likes challenge is discipline. And this carries over to every area of my life. If I view things as a challenge - then I will form the necessary disciplines to meet the challenge.

Back

2008-11-29T20:34:00.001-06:00

We are back from a great trip to Colorado. Mallory summed it up best last night when she said she was happy/sad that we were leaving. She was happy to come home to Texas and see all of her friends, but sad to leave Colorado because she will miss our family.

I know how you feel kid!

Colorado vs Nebraska X

2008-11-28T10:08:00.001-06:00

Why is ice no longer available at the Nebraska football games?
The guy with the recipe graduated

How many Nebraska players does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but he gets money, a car, and 3 hours of credit for it

Colorado vs Nebraska IX

2008-11-27T10:07:00.001-06:00

The University of Nebraska Football team has adopted a new honor system:
“Yes, your Honor: No, your Honor”

How did new Husker Coach Bo Pelini spend the first week of Spring Training with his Nebraska Football Team?
Studying their Miranda Rights

Colorado vs Nebraska VIII

2008-11-26T10:06:00.001-06:00

Four Cornhusker Football players are in a car… whose driving?
The Police

Why can’t most of the Nebraska football players get into a huddle on the field?
It’s a parole violation to associate with known felons

Colorado vs Nebraska VII

2008-11-25T10:06:00.001-06:00

A lady in Lincoln, Nebraska calls 911 and hysterically proclaims, “Someone has just broken into my house, and I think he is going to rob me!”
The Lincoln police officer responds, “Ma’am, we are really busy at the moment. Just get the guy’s jersey number and we’ll get back to you.”

What is new Husker Coach Bo Pelini’s biggest concern in his first season at Nebraska?
Does the NCAA count bail money as a recruiting violation?

Colorado vs Nebraska VI

2008-11-24T10:05:00.001-06:00

What is Nebraska’s state tree?
A telephone poll

What is Nebraska’s state bird?
A mosquito

Colorado vs Nebraska V

2008-11-23T10:05:00.002-06:00

Did you hear about the Cornhusker who was injured in a pie eating contest?
A Cow stepped on him

Last year at the CU/Nebraska game things got pretty spirited among the fans. So the Nebraska fans decided to throw firecrackers at the Colorado fans.
Then the Colorado fans lit the firecrackers and threw them back.

Colorado vs Nebraska IV

2008-11-22T10:04:00.002-06:00

Why does Nebraska have a turf field?
To keep the cheerleaders from grazing

What do you call 5 Nebraska Cheerleaders in a hot tub?
Gorillas in the Mist

Colorado vs Nebraska III

2008-11-21T10:03:00.002-06:00

Did you hear about the Nebraska football player who locked his keys in his car?
It took him 3½ hours to get his team mates out of the car

Last week severe thunderstorms and an F5 tornado moved through Lincoln…
Damages are estimated to be $5

Colorado vs Nebraska II

2008-11-20T10:02:00.000-06:00

Did you hear about the Nebraska fan that lost $50 betting on the CU game last year?
He lost $25 on the game and $25 on the replay

Why do all Cornhuskers have “TGIF” written on their cleats?
Toes Go In First

Colorado vs Nebraska

2008-11-19T09:13:00.002-06:00

What did the Nebraska Graduate say to the Colorado Graduate?
Welcome to Taco Bell, may I take your order please?

What does the “N” on the Nebraska helmet stand for?
Knowledge

Post LeadNow+Fusion Thoughts

2008-11-18T10:41:00.002-06:00

LeadNow+Fusion were phenomenal! God showed up in some big and amazing ways. Check out Brian Mosley's thoughts here. And you can check out my thoughts here and here.

I get sick and tired at the end of each of our events. For a full explanation you can read my entry from last years event here.

LeadNow+Fusion Dallas

2008-11-11T19:45:00.005-06:00

We just finished up the final touches for the preparations of LeadNow and Fusion. I am excited about this years event. We have had two different speakers contact us in the last three weeks and ask to be a part of the event. It's exciting to see folks catch a vision for what we know God has called us to do. I'm also pumped because over 150 people from my church have signed up for the event - we've never had that many from Lake Pointe there before.

We will start setting up at IBC tomorrow morning. Come on by and help us out!

I'm just saying...

2008-10-16T14:26:00.001-05:00

That's Scott Mosley on the left... He's 24 years old. That's my nephew
Nickolas on the right... He's 12 years old.

Why I Love Soccer Practice

2008-10-10T06:39:00.002-05:00

I coach my daughters soccer teams because its a great way for me to do something with my girls. We have a lot of fun together and I get a chance to know their friends as well. But the absolute best part are the conversations that take place off the field. Last night I had the amazing privilege of praying with three little girls as they asked Jesus in their hearts! It was a precious moment that reminded me why I love soccer practice so much.

The Clash

2008-10-03T10:22:00.001-05:00

Will they both look this happy tomorrow?

Diversifying Your Portfolio

2008-10-03T06:52:00.001-05:00

This was something that I posted last year to help people have more joy in their lives. I feel that the nation needs to hear this message again...

Fifteen years ago, Monday morning’s would have been horrible. I would have gone to school/work and some wise guy would have made a crack about my beloved Wolverines losing to who??? But today, I am absolutely content with my college football life. And I was actually able to enjoy App States big upset in the Big House. Here is why - I have discovered a profound truth over the last few years that I would like to share with you. When choosing your favorite college football team it is absolutely necessary that you diversify your portfolio. Case in point: the 2007 Michigan Wolverines. There was a time when the Wolverines were my favorite team and I lived and died with their success and failures. That time has passed…

I’ve had several events shape this conviction beginning with my Dad’s profession. Since Dad was a coach, we naturally had a few loyalties. We had Michigan, my birth place, Dad’s first college coaching job, and my first football love. We had the Colorado Buffaloes, where pops coached for fifteen years - during that time I think I really did bleed black and gold. We had Mizzou, his alma matter. We had his assistant coaches that went on to be head coaches at other schools. I had brothers go off to college and give me a sense of loyalty to schools like Ft Lewis, Washburn, and North Carolina – all three of those thanks to Mike. My nephew TC is a freshman on the LSU football team. Then of course, I had my own collegiate experience where I became a Baylor Bear for life.

This enormous puzzle would confuse most people, but I have embraced this schizophrenia and even created an approach that I believe I have perfected into a science. Today was not horrible, it was actually quite pleasant. When I walked in the office this morning and the guys began to gather to discuss the weekends events, I had a sense of superiority come over me as I awaited their question. And the question came, how was your weekend? Of course I knew that the question had nothing to do with family, church, or actual newsworthy events. They were asking about my portfolio. So I replied proudly, “4-2. Buffs won, LSU won, Baylor lost, Michigan lost, Oregon won and Rutgers won.”

“Rutgers?” someone questioned? “Yes, I decided last fall to add them to my portfolio because my brother said they were good. Besides I needed an East Coast team anyway.”

You see when choosing your portfolio you have several things to consider. First, your childhood loyalties, thus CU & Michigan. Then your alma matter, go Bears! Next you can add any additional family ties. This gets tricky for McCartney’s. Of course LSU rises to the top because of TC, but it is also bolstered by the assistant coach clause. Any coach that at one time coached under my Dad is a candidate to become one of my teams. We’ve had several assistant coaches through the years to choose from. I could add UCLA, Washington, Penn State and probably other’s I’m not thinking of. Don’t forget to add any of your spouse’s loyalties in here. Now you look at your region and add those teams – it’s always good to be a fan of the home town team (SMU). Finally, you get to add some wild cards, Oregon because we did a PK event there and I liked Eugene and Rutgers for the aforementioned reason. Now is where it gets tricky, the trimming of the portfolio. Here are a few rules to reflect on.

It is illegal to choose more than one team per conference (unless they are in different divisions). Because of this I must choose between UCLA, Washington, and Oregon - only one of these has made OU cry - so I choose the Ducks. (By the way - Conference loyalty is way over rated, get with the new millennium!) Penn State was also eliminated because of this rule.
You may not choose teams that are rivals.
You may not choose teams from Florida.
You should consider including teams from the major regions: West Coast, East Coast, Midwest.
You can’t choose teams that your Dad decided not to coach, when everyone else thought he was going to go and coach them – sorry SMU.

I hope this helps you to better enjoy your fall.

RightNow Road Trip

2008-09-28T12:18:00.003-05:00

Lonnie, Bill, Rob and myself took a trip to Baton Rouge this weekend to see the LSU Fighting Tigers. It was fun for me to introduce these guys to a little bit of LSU tradition. The game itself was just okay but the Tiger Stadium atmosphere was awesome. Here are some of our highlights:

Rob making up for being 21 minutes late by driving illegally to get us to the game on time
Walking up on tailgaters and declaring that we were hungry Tiger fans to get free gumbo
An incident at WalMart...
Lonnie setting his eyes on Tiger Stadium for the first time
Free Subway for being the last customers of the day
Yelling Tiger Bait at perfectly innocent Bulldog fans
Lonnie asking me if I was up all night creating this blog entry
Listening to "Coyotes" by Grizzly Man
Lonnies phone conversation with his wife Anita where he discussed his shower in great detail

Lonnie's True Colors

2008-09-28T12:03:00.000-05:00

The Sooners may be number one in the polls, but it's obvious to all
that LSU is number one in his heart.

Sweet Home Alabama

2008-08-27T16:08:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last two days in Birmingham and today I got to meet
and spend time with Debbie, Denny & Noelle from South Highland
Presbyterian Church. They are going to host our LeadNow simulcast on
November 15th. They have a great spirit about them and I am excited
about the ways God is moving in young adult ministry in Birmingham.

A Franciscan Benediction

2008-08-13T16:26:00.001-05:00

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

An Obvious Lesson

2008-08-12T11:58:00.001-05:00

I learned an obvious lesson yesterday. Obvious because it was something I already knew. But a lesson because it’s still something that I don’t fully grasp.

I had to take my car into the shop over the weekend to get my catalytic converter fixed. I ended up going to a new mechanic that I had never met and I already have a distrust of mechanics. But this experience actually went well – I felt like I was treated fairly and was impressed with their speed and service. Until… I drove out of the shop and my car stared rocking and bouncing like a hip hop mobile. I stopped to see if I had a flat tire. Nope. Then I just drove home to see if it would stop (why would it stop?). I didn’t think about it again until Monday – when I drove 30 miles on the sidestreets of Garland, Texas to get to work. This is when my hissy fit began…

My car was bouncing so bad that my coffee was jumping out of my cup, through the lid, and all over my bad self. I had no rap music blaring, but I can assure you that the words in my car were worthy of an explicit lyrics tag. I was furious. I was mad at the mechanic because I was sure he had ripped me off. I was mad at the situation because my back and neck were killing me. I was mad at the drivers in front of me because their cars weren’t bouncing. I was yelling – no seriously – I was yelling things out in the car – just because. I basically lost it.

When I finally arrived at work, with whiplash and coffee spilt all over me I came to the simple realization that I didn’t have to get so mad about this. I started praying and telling God I was sorry for my actions. I had a choice in the matter. I could have chosen to react differently to the situation – but I didn’t. And even knowing that I had been acting like a bonehead didn’t change my day. I didn’t fully repent. In fact, I was pretty much ticked off all day. The lingering neck pains kept reminding me of the mechanic. And oh yeah – I made a not so nice phone call to the dude – demanding he fix my car today! And he did by the way take a look at my car and offer to help me out. He was never the problem… I was!

So by now the day is almost over and I am taking Macy to her basketball practice and something amazing happened. The 10 minute drive with Macy melted away all of my anger. Her sweet spirit and presence literally transformed me. I began to pray to God thanking Him for Macy and in my prayer I came to learn an obvious lesson.

God’s kindness leads you towards repentance – Romans 2:4

I was acting a fool. God didn’t need to do anything to make me feel better. This was all my fault. But God… used Macy to show His kindness towards me. When I didn’t deserve anything good – He gave me something spectacular in Macy. And His kindness through Macy – led me to immediate and full repentance.

The obvious here is that God loves you and me and He desires the absolute best for our lives. The lesson is that the best for our lives doesn’t necessarily include our own desired results. But God has mercy on us… again and again… so that we will turn to Him and live our lives not for ourselves, but for His glory!

RWB

2008-08-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

Rob Wilson Band was rocking at Pier 419 last night!

The Sein

2008-07-19T21:32:00.000-05:00

Robin and I are eagerly awaiting Jerry Seinfeld. He will appear inside
that tiny spotlight on that big ole stage any minute now. Looks
intimidating...

This is the man

2008-07-14T15:11:00.001-05:00

Who is about to unleash my iPhone

Supernatural Hero

2008-06-15T07:26:00.002-05:00

In honor of Fathers Day, I woke up early and read every scripture in the first 5 books of the Bible that has the word Father in it – that’s 347 for those of you who are counting. Here are my observations:

God created Fathers and gave them a supernatural ability to do lots of amazing things. Fathers are leaders, protectors, diligent, strong, and so many other things. But in reading the Old Testament scriptures about Fathers, the two things that stand out to me are that Fathers make a tremendous impact on their children and that Fathers are the mouthpiece for God.

Impact - Story after story we see children doing amazing things to capture their Fathers love.

Noah’s family spent about 100 years building a giant boat because their Dad was convinced God told him to
Isaac walks three days to the mountain with Abraham and is bound at the altar ready to be killed by his Father
Jacob steals his Fathers blessing from his brother Esau
The first thing Joseph does after revealing himself to his brothers is to get his brothers to go and bring back his Father; Joseph wants his Father to know about everything he has accomplished

Mouthpiece – God uses Fathers to tell the people what He wants them to do.

God is known as the God of our Fathers
The God of our Fathers: Abraham, Isaac & Jacob

I was also struck that God calls us over and over again to defend the cause of the Fatherless. He wants us to care for those who don’t have a Dad and after reading all the scriptures about Fathers it really makes a lot of sense. God has given Fathers this supernatural ability and incredible responsibility and when a kid doesn’t have his Father – then God extends grace by using other key men to step in and be that supernatural hero. So I am left with two prevailing thoughts from my little Fathers Day project.

1. Thank you Jesus for giving me my Dad as my Dad!!! I may have had the greatest Dad in the history of the world, because my Dad is such a passionate pursuer of Jesus Christ. My Dad is my supernatural hero and he is worthy of being emulated. He has made an impact in my life that has given me vision for who I want to become. And as God’s mouthpiece my Dad has challenged me to be the Father that he was and more… Only by the grace of God!

2. I want to be a supernatural hero to my children and to the Fatherless. I want to love Jesus in a way that causes my daughters to want to pursue Christ more than anything else in life. And I want to defend the cause of the Fatherless.

Prince Caspian

2008-05-13T19:32:00.005-05:00

I went to an advance screening of Prince Caspian last night. I told my kids that I had to go and check it out to make sure the film was suitable for them. Truth is, I wanted to go. I am a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia and as I was watching last night it occurred to me that watching these movies from a kids perspective is the way to go. I let myself get lost in the magical world of Narnia for those 140 minutes and it was a great ride. The thought and creativity behind the story is enchanting and the cinematography and CG work is just spectacular.

Sure, as an adult - there are some serious flaws in the movie. But as a kid, it was amazing! The story is loaded with symbolism and Biblical messaging. I don't want to ruin the plot for any of you who never read the books, so I won't go into any specifics. But there is a scene near the end that speaks to our reluctance as followers of Christ to put our faith in action even when we know we clearly heard God's voice. And in those times, we often listen to all of the other voices of "conventional wisdom" even though we just heard the voice of Almighty God. My prayer is that we would become a generation that is willing to follow God no matter what he asks. Please pray for me that God would develop in me an Abraham type of faith!

Rachel Joy Scott

2008-05-08T20:50:00.006-05:00

I just got back from Rachel's Rally where nearly 8,000 people from Rockwall gathered to honor the life of Rachel Scott and accept her challenge to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. Rockwall ISD was the first school district in the nation to accept Rachel's challenge and Robin and the girls have been working on it all year. Kids from all of the Rockwall schools have been documenting acts of kindness and compassion by creating chain links made out of construction paper with the names of the people who exhibited kindness.

At our high school football stadium tonight, the sixth graders from each elementary school carried the 123,000+ chains of kindness and compassion. You read that correctly - over 123,000 documented acts of kindness and compassion - wow! I am very proud of Robin, Macy & Mallory for the part they played in Rachel's Challenge and Rachel's Rally.

Rachel Scott has been a hero of mine since April 20, 1999 - which in my opinion was one of the worst days in our nations history. That's when two students murdered 12 of their class mates at Columbine High School. Columbine wasn't the deadliest school shooting in our history, but for some reason it seemed to hit our nation the hardest. Perhaps it was because of the media coverage that let us inside a portion of the tragedy? Or maybe it was because of the specificity in which the killers chose their targets. It could have been the culmination of several school shootings in a row and this was just the boiling point. I don't have all the answers, but I do know that it profoundly impacted a generation that was fed up with senseless violence.

Rachel Scott was the first one to die that day. The killers had already shot her once when they asked her to renounce the name of Jesus. Rachel wouldn't do so. She proclaimed Christ and was subsequently shot in the head.

As stories came out about the shooters, it became evident that they felt like outcasts and misfits. The irony was that Rachel Scott had been one of the few people to actually reach out to them, but they killed her anyway.

The amazing thing is that Rachel's life has impacted far more people than her death. Even though, April 20, 1999 will remain a dark day in our history - the life of Rachel Scott is still shinning bright. The love of Christ compelled Rachel to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.

I accept Rachel's Challenge !

Thief Stopped Again

2008-05-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

It turns out the basketball goal was stolen by a 7 year old! Okay - let's call it borrowed, not stolen. One of the neighborhood kids thought it would be a good idea to have a basketball goal at his house, so he got his friends to help him drag our goal down the street. I was driving by his house yesterday and his Dad waved me down. Evidently his son told him we had thrown the basketball goal away and that he could have it. Hah!

Thief Stopped!

2008-05-01T19:22:00.004-05:00

No... not the thief that stole my basketball goal, the one that comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

My precious daughter Mallory asked Jesus in her heart tonight! It doesn't get any better than this! We were at soccer practice and we took a few minutes to share about Jesus. Two other girls asked Christ in their heart as well. I have coached these girls for three years now, so it was a pretty awesome night!

Stop Thief

2008-04-30T21:44:00.001-05:00

I got my basketball goal stolen from my house tonight. That stinks!

My Lucky Number 238

2008-03-10T20:46:00.000-05:00

My Mom turned 65 on Saturday! She is an absolutely amazing woman of God, an incredible Mother, and THE glue that has kept our family seeking Jesus! She has a blog called String A Pearl. Last week she was reflecting on her life thus far and I thought you would be blessed by her writing. Enjoy…

My Lucky Number 238

I’m coming up on my 65th birthday this week. Funny, when I started dreaming of life I never actually dreamed of this moment in time. Thanks to Medicare and all the mailings that arrive for this mile stone moment in life I’ve been thinking of this for months. Feeling a slight disconnect to my youth as our grandchildren gaze upon family photos from the 70's & 80's and recognize everyone but grandma and the dog. The dog died people but that’s me and I’m still here. I gathered photos of myself at all ages. Laying them side by side it’s rather startling. I wound up selecting a few from my childhood then adding one from each decade. Suddenly life was pretty short. If, in a perfect world, one had 10 decades to live I’ve already used 6½ of them. It’s too late for a do over and frankly I don’t have the energy. It just might be prudent to enjoy what God has given me and stop fighting so hard to improve it. How did those 900 year old people in Biblical days deal with the crinkled, brown speckled, parched skin look? Oh, pardon me, I digress.

This is about my lucky number 238. Odd I know but it happens to be my address from when I was a kid. I use to think of the bad things that happened to me when I was a kid and feel sorry for myself. Poor little thing I would think. A couple of decades ago a pastor friend encouraged me to see my pain through God’s eyes. I began to realize all the trials and any suffering was in fact my strength. Endurance and perseverance built into me by God. Only God can see a whole life and only God can build a ship that will survive the stormy seas of life. God built me after he created me in my mother’s womb. So now I look back at my start in life and see the goodness of the Lord. I see the numbers on my house and it reads 238 – pretty lucky huh? I have a Scripture verse that reveals the truth of my lucky number and a fun little story to showcase that truth.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled,”STOP! Acts 2:38!"

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the
police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell Scripture at you." "Scripture?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an Ax and Two 38's!"

A pearl to string: Remember knowing Scripture can save your life in more ways than one!!! Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38 Turn your love away from the wiles of this world and……

Turn your heart toward Jesus,
He’s got a gift for you.
Lyndi

Take a Risk

2008-02-12T09:14:00.000-06:00

Brian Mosley and I recently went to an IMAX Theatre to see the grand opening of U2 3D. It’s released nation wide this week and if you are a U2 fan – it’s a must see. I have to admit that it was pretty amazing to see Bono so close and feel the thunder of the crowd bouncing up and down with hands raised to the sky. The sound was crystal clear and the images were completely life like. The whole deal was fascinating. It was so cool that Brian and I wondered if this was the future of concerts. We only had to drive 9 miles and pay $10 to see U2 in Argentina… wow! While I don’t think that we could replace actually being at the concert with a movie – I do think we live in a culture that won’t mind settling for the cheaper, more convenient version.

We recently sat down with Erwin McManus and asked him a ton of questions about God, our culture and our generation. I can’t get something that he said out of my head,

“We’ve become accustomed to watching life happen, rather than living it.”

Brian and I watched the concert, we didn’t live it. We didn’t feel the heat of the Argentinean Summer night. Our ears weren’t ringing from standing so close to a speaker. No sore throats from overly loud singing. Our calves weren’t sore from jumping up and down for 90 minutes. We just sat and watched. In this clip, Erwin helps us understand the danger of living as Christians with this type of voyeuristic mentality. He directs us to have a faith that is alive and even risky.

I can’t wait for you to hear Erwin live at LeadNow and Fusion. In the mean time watch this video clip of Erwin and ask yourself what kind of faith you want to have.

I hope to see you in Orlando, Seattle, or Dallas.

Marc McCartney

Is This the Generation of Change?

2008-02-06T06:55:00.000-06:00

I was watching this clip from LeadNow speaker Marcus "Goodie" Goodloe on Nehemiah. God used Nehemiah’s generation to change the world. The RightNow Campaign has a passion for our generation. When people think about the word generation, Tom Brokaw and his book, The Greatest Generation quickly comes to mind. The book is a magnificent picture of a generation’s tenacity to endure such hardships as the Great Depression and World War 2 in route to building America. I like that. I like honoring great men and women for their efforts. I’m proud that my Grandfather fought in World War 2. But I don’t want to be the Greatest Generation…

…The RightNow Campaign is a movement of 20 & 30 somethings trading in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ! We don’t need to become the Greatest Generation; we need to become the Generation of change! Erwin McManus, while speaking at one of our past Fusion events said this:

“What I like about RightNow is that it’s not centered on believers. It really is centered on calling the church out to care about the world. And that’s not only needed… It is what will change this time in history.”

Erwin and Goodie are telling us that we can be the Generation of change, but in order to do it we must do away with the myopic view of life that has permeated our culture and realize that when the Church becomes activated then change will happen. We can be that Generation!
Erwin, Goodie and many others will be at LeadNow08 in Orlando, April 24-26 and Dallas, November 13-15. I hope to see you there!

Chants

2008-01-31T19:26:00.000-06:00

I love Super Bowl Sunday. We always seem to find our way into someone else’s home to watch the Super Bowl. It’s genius really. Think about it. I get free food. I watch the game on a bigger, more expensive TV than I have. My kids destroy someone else’s home. I get credit for being social just for showing up. And I get to watch football while doing all of this! What a great day!

Super Bowl Sunday reminds me of all of the days I spent at practices growing up. Since my Dad was a football coach, I practically lived around the practice field. I understand the blood, sweat, and tears that these two teams have put into getting to the big game. I know about the hours in the weight room, the film sessions, the emotional investment, and the physical beating. But I also know the camaraderie, the brotherhood, and the sweet feeling of giving everything you have and it being worth it. One of my favorite things about football were the chants that coaches and players would say to either motivate or unify.

In Junior High we thought we were pretty tough when we would chant, “Let’s Get Psyched Up.” Sure, it sounds corny when reading it, but do realize that after rhythmically chanting these words we would follow up by slapping our thigh pads twice and then clapping twice. It was so cool. Then in High School our Defensive line coach would conclude every drill with, “good, better, best – never let it rest – till your good is your better and your better is your best.” I love these chants so much that I created one for my daughter’s soccer team, “We’re rough. We’re tough. We are the Fusion!” Chanting is really big with eight year old girls.

But my all time favorite chant was one that my Dad’s football team at Colorado used to do. Now this chant was not your ordinary chant. The team didn’t do it at practice and they didn’t do it after every game. In fact, if they were lucky they would do it only 12 times a year –because they only did this chant after a victory. The word victory reminds me of another Junior High chant, “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, that’s our Trojan Battle Cry.” Back to Colorado…

It may sound trivial to know that the chant was only two words long, but being a part of it was magical. The chant transcended the actual words that were said and cut deep into the emotion behind the words. I remember being in the locker room after we beat Michigan in 1994 on a 64 yards pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook to win the game. It’s still one of the greatest finishes in the history of sport and what I will never forget about that game is the two word chant that began right when we entered into the locker room. The chant lasted four minutes! Now that’s a long time for a two word chant, but it just kept going. “Offense, Defense”… that’s it. The offensive players would begin chanting the word “Defense” in unison and the defensive players would return with “Offense.” The chant was loud. The guys screamed it with everything they had. The echoes of “Offense, Defense” would ring off the locker room walls creating a thunderous feeling. The floors would shake. Think about it. These guys had given everything they had and the ultimate prize each week was a victory. But the amazing thing about football is that you can have the greatest offense of all time, but if your defense stinks – you will still lose. What I’m trying to tell you is that football offers an amazing look into the virtue of dependency. The offensive team is so motivated to scream out the word “Defense” because they know the work the defense put into the game. They know that they couldn’t do it with out them. So they give it up for each other.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Jesus Christ / John 15.6

Dependency is a key aspect of my faith in Jesus. I have learned that there is nothing worthwhile that I can do with out Christ. Since I know myself better than you know me, you are going to have to take my word for it, but I have serious issues. OK – so maybe that isn’t so difficult to believe… The truth is that I am in desperate need of Christ and His guidance in every single area of my life. As a husband. As a Father. As a brother. As a friend. As an employee. As a leader. I seriously can’t think of an area of my life that doesn’t need Jesus. So the challenge for me is to remain in Him. My favorite definition of the word remain is: to be left after the removal. I love that because when I become a branch that is a part of the vine, I remove the selfish aspirations that permeate my life and what is left is total dependency on the vine.

Jesus concludes this teaching about the vine and the branches in John 15.16 by saying: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

Sounds like there is a chant in there somewhere…

Bears Win in 5 OT's!

2008-01-23T22:12:00.000-06:00

#25 Baylor 116
#16 Texas A&M 110

Just Do Something!

2008-01-23T15:17:00.000-06:00

In the early 90’s Nike came up with their slogan of “Just Do it!” That resonated with our culture because people don’t like excuses. We like action. We like results. Of course we don’t always like the effort or hardships that we have to endure with the Just Do it mentality, but we sure do like the way it sounds. And we love our athletes to have this mindset. Just Do it has helped professional and amateur athletes alike to focus on the task at hand and disregard the pain that it may take to succeed.

I thought about this slogan after watching the San Diego Chargers lose to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Phillip Rivers is the quarterback of the Chargers and two weeks ago he was most notably known for trash talking and jawing with opposing crowds. But after his gutsy performance on Sunday his status has elevated to a Just Do it guy… even though he lost! Why? Because he played after having knee surgery earlier in the week - and on top of that – he is going to need further surgery because he decided to play. Just Do it! It’s moments like this that define people and set the trajectory of their careers. This may be that moment for Phillip Rivers?

Just like Nike’s Just Do it, Erwin McManus made a very similar statement that gave me a great deal of clarity in my Christian walk. While speaking at our Fusion Experience in Dallas he ended an inspirational message by chanting the mantra: Just Do Something! He was talking about the way that we go about discerning Gods will for our lives and how we want God to give us a Google Maps turn by turn directions of everything we should do in our lives. But God doesn’t work like that does He? Instead he gives us spiritual gifts. He wires us with passions to pursue. He burdens us with a desire to stamp out injustice. He places us in relationships that help us see where He is at work. God gives us everything we need, just not in the way that we may want it. Erwin was telling us that we need to stop waiting for the “voice from heaven” because He has already spoken! God has given us our charge and we need to Just Do Something! Watch this clip where Erwin is delivering that same message and let me know what you think…

The RightNow Campaign is a movement of 20 & 30 something’s trading in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ! We are calling for a revolution of other 20 & 30 something’s who will Just Do Something and put our faith in action!

Erwin will be with us once again at our Leadnow and Fusion events this year. Please make plans to join us at one of these events!

Bears Crack Top 25

2008-01-21T19:35:00.001-06:00

The Baylor men's basketball team is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1969! I could not miss the chance to blog about this historic achievement. Scott Drew is in his fifth season at BU and many experts have said that it would be impossible for him to rebuild this program after the disaster of Dave Bliss. Way to go Coach Drew!

Customer Service… Deal or No Deal?

2008-01-14T19:33:00.001-06:00

I have a confession to make that I know will shock you, but nonetheless I shall make it. I watch Deal or No Deal. That wasn’t the confession… I don’t watch it every time it’s on, but I do like the show. I was watching on December 13^th with Robin and I couldn’t tell you what happened on the show that night, except for the fact that they ran about 13 ads asking me to text in my vote for the lucky case. They said that if I picked the correct winning number that I would be entered into a drawing with all of the other Chachi's who also picked the correct winning number and one of us would win the grand prize that night of $20,000. If you watch the show then you know that at the end of the night they always tell you the name of the lucky case winner and what city they are from. Since it was December 13^th and my Christmas purchases were looming – I though how nice it would be for them to call someone from Rockwall, TX and why not make it me! So I texted in the number 3 for obvious reasons, knowing good and well that standard text messaging rates would apply. That’s my confession.

So I was looking at my AT&T (formerly known as Cingular) phone bill today to see how much this impulse text would really cost me and I cringed when I saw the $.99 fee. Then I totally lost it when I saw the line below the $.99 fee because it read $19.99 - a charge from a company called Fun Mobile. It turns out that when you text in your vote for Deal or No Deal, you actually sign up for a monthly subscription with Fun Mobile at the tune of 20 bucks per month. I say no deal because that doesn't sound fun or mobile to me. Further researched showed that they had already charged me for two months worth of a subscription! My little standard text messaging rates apply rendezvous was now costing me more than $40! And I knew it was about to get worse. UGH! I was going to have to call in to AT&T and get this taken care of. When was the last time you called a big corporation like AT&T looking for customer service and actually got some? The irony is a little too thick that companies even have the term customer service anymore because it is almost impossible to reach someone on the phone. But this was $40 I was talking about here. So I had to make the call!

Four minutes later, not only had I talked to an actual person who was kind and helpful, but they had explained to me that I had signed up for a subscription by making that Deal or No Deal phone call and that she would take care of it immediately for me! In fact, about three seconds after she said that I got a text confirming my cancellation and she got me my money back! Way to go AT&T Customer Service… now that’s a Deal!

A Season To Remember

2008-01-13T08:21:00.000-06:00

I went to four LSU games this year - and boy do I know how to pick em...

September 8th :: LSU vs. Virginia Tech
This was my birthday and Steve Hayes took me to Tiger Stadium and taught me everything I needed to know about being an LSU Tiger. Virginia Tech was ranked in the Top 10 at the time and the Tigers totally dominated them 48-7.

October 6th :: LSU vs. Florida
Tim Teabow and the boys came into Baton Rouge ranked in the Top 10 with national title aspirations and gave the Tigers an epic fight. By converting on 4th down 5 different times throughout the game the Tigers pulled out a 28-24 come from behind victory that Lee Corso called the greatest game he had ever seen in person.

October 20th: LSU vs. Alabama
I got to take all of my girls to this game and introduce them to the Golden Band from Tigerland. With the game starting at 8 pm, Robin and I didn't think we would even make it to halftime since they normally go to bed at 7:30 pm. But the electricity of Tiger Stadium kept them up all night long. They loved it and the Tigers won the game 30-24 with a phenomenal TD pass with one second to go.

January 7th :: LSU vs. Ohio State

The whole family went to New Orleans to watch LSU beat top ranked Ohio State 38-24. The game was an absolute blast. While it really couldn't compare to being at Tiger Stadium, the atmosphere in the Superdome was still pretty incredible.

Colossal Fanatic

2008-01-11T20:50:00.000-06:00

A Fan: an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.

Everyone is a fan of something. It may surprise you to learn that I am a fan of various sporting activities. Well, I am... And as I think about being a fan, I have some baggage that not everyone has. My enthusiastic devotion to the teams I have followed has often been tied to the fact that a family member of mine was intricately involved in that sports team. Case in point: Colorado Football. Since my Dad was the Coach of the team, my fandom of Colorado Football was not ordinary. This was my Dad's job. The teams performance greatly affected our lives. It made the difference between staying or moving, fame or infamy, security or vulnerability, friends or enemies, etc... Colorado Football was very important. So when I cheered my favorite team on, I just didn't cheer for them - I was cheering my Dad on. The depth of care that goes into this fanatical devotion is impossible to measure. Let me try to give you a glimpse...

My brother Tom is a high school football coach. His team, the Fairview Knights, is my favorite team in all of sports. I care infinitely more if they win or lose than any other team that exists on this planet. Why? I already told you - my brother Tom is the Coach! My Friday nights in the Fall consist of several dozen text messages to determine the score of Tom's games. I can't sleep until I know how the Knights did. I scour the internet to see if their are any radio broadcasts available. I purchase packages on the satellite dish that enable me to see even highlights of his games. I forgo a night at the movies in favor of 19 phone calls from my sister updating me on the progress of the game. I have driven 16 hours one way to watch his games and turned around the next day and driven 16 hours home... many times! What I am trying to tell you is that I am more than just a fan. I am a Colossal Fanatic. I am tied to the Fairview Knights in a way only few can imagine. The result of being a Colossal Fanatic is that your stress level is at an all time high for these games. In a very real sense - I live and die by the outcome.

This year, I entered into a new season and became a Colossal Fanatic of two teams. My nephew TC used to play for Tom at Fairview, which admittedly took my addiction to a whole new level. But this year, TC is a freshman at LSU. The day TC decided to go to LSU, I instantly became a Tiger. I'm sure it's difficult to imagine, but I dove in head first. And it was so sweet! Monday night was the culmination as LSU rocked Ohio State to win the National Championship... and I was there! Here's some proof:

Geaux Tigers!

BCS Solution

2007-12-03T20:21:00.000-06:00

College Football is my favorite sport, but I wish so bad that we had a playoff. I think it would go through the roof in popularity. My brother Tom came up with a simple scenario that would include the tradition of the Bowl games with the need for a playoff. He thinks we should play all of the Bowl games just like we do with the exception of the four Biggies (we chose Cotton over Fiesta). Take the Major Conference Champions and give them in automatic birth to a predetermined Bowl game and then use the BCS to determine the two at-large teams to come up with a total of eight teams in a playoff. This would give teams like Hawaii (not in a Major Conference) and Georgia (possibly hottest team in the nation) a chance to make the tourney.

You would use the four traditional Bowl games for the first round and the winners would advance to a Final Four. It would look like this:

Rose: Big Ten Champ vs. Pac 10 Champ
Sugar: SEC Champ vs. At large
Orange: ACC Champ vs. Big East Champ
Cotton: Big 12 Champ vs. At large

You could make the argument that they should use a variation of this system, but just seed the teams 1-8 and then let play the typical 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc… I could go with that. I just think that the tradition built through this proposal would allow teams to make their conference championship the focus. So Big 12 teams could eye the Cotton Bowl as the ultimate prize because winning the Cotton Bowl will mean entry into the Final Four. There could be some phenomenal conference rivalries that develop as well like the Rose Bowl has already seen with the Big 10 & Pac 10.

This is how it would look this year:

(1) Ohio State vs. (6) USC in the Rose Bowl
(2) LSU vs. (8) Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl
(3) Virginia Tech vs. (7) West Virginia in the Orange Bowl
(4) Oklahoma vs. (5) Georgia in the Cotton Bowl

The Final Four would then have the Rose Bowl vs. Cotton Bowl winners and the Sugar and Orange Bowl winners. Just to make sure you are with me – I will simulate the tourney:

Round 1
USC 24 – Ohio State 9
LSU 45 – Hawaii 42
Virginia Tech 13 - West Virginia 10
Oklahoma 33 – Georgia 10

Semi’s
LSU 48 – Virginia Tech 7 (sounds familiar)
Oklahoma 27 – USC 24

Final
LSU 21 – Oklahoma 14

Wow! That would be a tourney!

Tom suggested that the first round be on Christmas Day, the Semi’s on January 1^st, and the Championship on January 8^th. After consulting with my wife, I have decided to start the first round on December 22^nd or 23^rd (no games on Sunday’s) and make sure that people still celebrate Christmas on December 25^th!

Just to prove how amazing this would be, I looked up the conference champions from 2000 and combined the BCS rankings to show you what could have been. Enjoy…

2000
Rose Bowl: (4) Washington vs. (8) Michigan
Sugar Bowl: (5) Virginia Tech vs. (7) Florida
Orange Bowl: (2) Florida State vs. (3) Miami
Cotton Bowl: (1) Oklahoma vs. (6) Oregon State

2001
Rose Bowl: (4) Oregon vs. (7) Illinois
Sugar Bowl: (2) Nebraska vs. (5) Florida
Orange Bowl: (1) Miami vs. (8) Maryland
Cotton Bowl: (3) Colorado vs. (6) Tennessee

2002
Rose Bowl: (2) Ohio State vs. (4) USC
Sugar Bowl: (3) Georgia vs. (6) Washington State
Orange Bowl: (1) Miami vs. (8) Florida State
Cotton Bowl: (5) Iowa vs. (7) Oklahoma

2003
Rose Bowl: (4) Michigan vs. (7) USC
Sugar Bowl: (1) Oklahoma vs. (2) LSU
Orange Bowl: (6) Florida State vs. (7) Miami
Cotton Bowl: (5) Ohio State vs. (8) Kansas State

2004
Rose Bowl: (1) USC vs. (8) Iowa
Sugar Bowl: (3) Auburn vs. (4) Texas
Orange Bowl: (6) Virginia Tech vs. (7) Pittsburgh
Cotton Bowl: (2) Oklahoma vs. (5) California

2005
Rose Bowl: (1) USC vs. (3) Penn State
Sugar Bowl: (4) Ohio State vs. (6) Georgia
Orange Bowl: (7) Florida State vs. (8) West Virginia
Cotton Bowl: (2) Texas vs. (5) Oregon

2006
Rose Bowl: (1) Ohio State vs. (5) USC
Sugar Bowl: (2) Florida vs. (3) Michigan
Orange Bowl: (6) Louisville vs. (8) Wake Forrest
Cotton Bowl: (4) LSU vs. (7) Oklahoma

Somebody please make this happen!

Black Friday

2007-11-30T06:38:00.000-06:00

Most people know the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday. A day to get a head start on Christmas shopping where retailers over fantastic sales. It is often the busiest day of shopping the entire year. I too celebrate Black Friday, but I do not enter any department stores to do so. I honor Black Friday each and every year by watching the Colorado Buffaloes take on the nebraska corn people on the gridiron.

Black Friday 2007 will go down as one of the more happierestest days in a while because the Buffs absolutely demolished the corn folk scoring 65 points. I will hereby commemorate Black Friday 2007 by wearing CU clothing for 65 consecutive Friday’s.

Happy Black Friday… one week later

Pony Up

2007-11-16T20:44:00.000-06:00

I am so pumped to be doing the Chapel service for the SMU Football team tomorrow. The entire team will be in attendance along with coaches. I will get to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to about 150 people and many of them do not know or follow Christ. Wow! I am so excited! How often do you get to tell the sweet story of Jesus to such a captive audience. I can't wait!

Please pray for me tomorrow morning. Pray for those Ponies as well. Pray that they will respond to the powerful truth of Jesus Christ!

Rescue

2007-11-15T20:29:00.000-06:00

So I took my own advice and read some Job. Wow...

Job 38:2-3
"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me."

Yikes.

Job 38:4-5
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off it's dimensions? Surely you know!"

Uhh...

Job 38:22a
"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow..."

Well, uh - no...

Job 38:28
"Does the rain have a father?"

Not sure...

Job 38:35
"Do you send the lightening bolts on their way? Do they report to you 'Here we are'"?

And it keeps on going. So I have decided that I want in on God's wisdom and not the wisdom of the world. I have a song on my heart today that we often sing at church. I can't get it out of my head - it's called Capture.

I need You Jesus
Come to my rescue
Where else could I go?
There’s no other name by which I am saved
Oh capture me with grace
I will follow You
This world has nothing for me
This world has nothing for me
This world has nothing for me
(I will follow You)
This world has nothing for me

That about sums it up!

The Wisdom of This World

2007-11-14T07:01:00.000-06:00

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says:

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."’

I started thinking about this verse and kept wondering… what is the wisdom of this world? I know a part of it is the education that we can gain, but I think the main point here goes beyond that. I think the scripture is talking about the things that the world values and holds up high. I think we are talking about the importance that we place on things. So yes – we value education, but what other things do we really think matter? Things like status, and money, and career, and personal space, and movie stars, and appearance, and technology, and self-esteem and all of the other things that we place way too high a value on. I believe that Paul is telling us that the things that we think will satisfy us won’t. So if you give yourself to those things, in the end it will be futile. In contrast, God works in a different economy of wisdom. He tells us to shun the things that the world elevates and embrace a totally different type of life. Become a radical. Be a fool in the world’s eyes. But in doing so – become completely enamored with Me! As we become enveloped in God’s ways we do lose our desire to be wise by the world’s standards. We begin to have an appetite for the things of God – things like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 22-23).”

Let’s review:

The wisdom of the world
Education
Status
Money
Career
Personal Space
Movie Stars
Appearance
Technology
Self-Control

The fool
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness

If you want to know more about wisdom – try reading Job 38 – 41…

No Way!

2007-10-29T07:38:00.000-05:00

One Second to go...

2007-10-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

Wow! What can I say? I have been to some amazing games this year and I was really excited to bring Robin, Macy & Mallory to a game ... I definitely picked the right one! We arrived in Baton Rouge on Friday night and got up fairly early Saturday morning to spend time with TC. He took us to see Mike the Tiger and we walked all around campus and hit some tailgating for free food - always a good idea. Then we got to hang out with TC at his apartment all day because kick off wasn't until after 8 pm.

Coming off of a loss, the LSU fans were not quite as crazy as normal, which is a good thing because I don't think my daughters could have handled the Florida game. But even a tame LSU bunch is much more intensity that they have ever seen. Macy & Mallory absolutely loved the atmosphere. I had taught them all of the cheers and songs and they were all up and in it. The great thing about an LSU game is that there is always something going on. When the play is over, the fans immediately start another cheer or song and dance and the girls ate it up.

As the game progressed it really looked like we were going to lose, so I was trying to prepare myself to not get upset and remember that we were here to soak it all in and spend time with TC. Then, in typical Louisiana Saturday night fashion, the Tigers put together a game winning drive culminating with a 25 yard pitch and catch (diving catch that is) with only one second left on the clock to give us the victory. Ok - at that moment - the place went bonkers. And we all joined in, jumping up and down and screaming like crazy people.

Macy told me that the game was amazing and so much fun, but that the best part was seeing TC!

4-3-2-1

2007-10-19T08:31:00.000-05:00

I wasn't happy last Saturday when Kentucky beat LSU in triple OT, but I wasn't devastated either. It took me about 10 minutes and then I remembered that it was just a game. I took a deep breath and carried on with my life. Until Sunday afternoon when the BCS rankings came out and LSU was ranked #4! Are you kidding me - we're back baby! Now I am just as crazed as I was before - it's more than a game again - it's everything...

I boldly predicted earlier this week that the top three teams would all lose this weekend and by the time we kick off in Death Valley tomorrow night @ 8 pm, LSU will be playing themselves back into the top national ranking. I am thankful to report that Rutgers took care of their end of the bargain once again creating Pandemonium in Piscataway by toppling the #23 South Florida Bulls. Now we just need the Hokies to hold serve at home against BC and the Spartans to pull off the upset of Ohio State. Then... Tiger Stadium will be rocking once again. And let me tell you - no stadium rocks quite like Tiger Stadium...

I was there two weeks ago when LSU knocked off the defending National Champion Florida Gators registering a mind numbing 129.8 decibels at one point. It was the largest crowd Tiger Stadium has ever seen with more than 92,900 and an estimate 50,000 plus outside the stadium taking it all in. As long as my plan of the Top 3 losing comes to fruition, it should be even louder tomorrow night since we are playing Auburn. There is some serious history in this rivalry, but no game more fun to reminisce over than October 8, 1998 - The Earthquake Game. LSU was down 6-0 late in the 4th quarter and completed a 4th down TD pass launching a celebration that literally registered on the Richter Scale! I'm telling you - Death Valley is crazy at night.

Robin, Macy, Mallory & myself are driving to BR tonight. I have been trying to prepare my daughters for the craziness for the last two weeks. Since it has been scientifically documented that my daughters talk more than any other two human beings in the world, I have a feeling they are going to love it there!

Roctober

2007-10-19T07:33:00.000-05:00

April 8, 1993

The Colorado Rockies had just been swept by the NY Mets at Shea Stadium in their first two games in franchise history. People doubted if Major League Baseball could make it in Denver - a town that is crazed for Pro Football and their beloved Denver Broncos. The Rockies would play their first game ever the next day at Mile High Stadium - home of those Broncos. Mile High Stadium? It seats 80,000 and the biggest of baseball stadiums usually can't even hold half that crowd. If baseball would make it in Denver, the Rockies would eventually need their own stadium, but that was a big if...

So the Rockies came home from New York on April 8th with a day off before the big home opener. The city wanted to hold a Parade for the team to demonstrate that there were some people ready for big time baseball in Denver. But after being handled by the Mets Rockies players thought maybe a 1,000 fans would show up so you can imagine their surprise when the streets of downtown Denver were packed at mid-day with more than 200,000 crazy, screaming fans.

The next night the Rockies opened with the Montreal Expos and I was one of the Major League record 80,277 at Mile High Stadium that night. Eric Young was the lead-off hitter for the Rocks and you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but EY took the 6th pitch of the game over the fence for a Home Run and the place went ballistic. What made that so improbable is that Eric Young does not hit Home Runs - in fact it took him 160 more games before he hit another Homer! The fans energy fueled the Rocks at an 11-4 victory and Denver knew they had something special! Improbible would be a word used a lot to describe the Rockies, but unfortunately not usually for their play. The real story was the fans. The team didn't win a whole lot of games that year, but the fans kept coming at a record pace smashing the old MLB attendance record with 4,483,350.

The Rocks have played at mediocrity or above ever since that home opener, but their fans have stuck with them waiting for the eruption. Colorado Rockies fans - welcome to Rocktober - the time has finally come! Those of you outside the state of Colorado probably have not grasped the significance of what the Rockies have done in the last month. They are in the midst of one of the most improbable runs of all time. Check out what ESPN's Jayson Stark has to say about it:

This didn't just happen. Did it? That couldn't have been Coors Field, shaking so hard Monday night that it must have knocked all the snow off the nearest Rocky Mountain tops. That couldn't have been the Colorado Rockies, dancing beneath the fireworks, pulling on those National League Champions T-shirts, the only National League team still standing in the second week of October. This can't be the Rockies -- the Rockies -- heading to their first World Series in franchise history. Can it? If you watch enough baseball games and follow enough pennant races, you come to think after awhile that you have a grasp of what's possible and what isn't. And let's be candid here: This isn't possible.

But on another magical autumn evening a mile above sea level, the impossible turned possible. The Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series. Just don't ask how. Don't ask how a team on life support can suddenly start winning and winning and winning some more to find it has just won 21 of its last 22 games. Don't ask how a team that was a mere four games over .500 on Sept. 15 could make it here from where this team came from. From nine games under .500 (18-27) in May. From six games out in the wild-card race in September. From 4½ games back in that wild-card race with only nine games to play.

From two games behind with two games to play, and having to watch that Padres team they were trying to catch get within one strike of clinching. From two runs behind in the 13th inning of the 163rd game of the year, a game they never should have had a chance to play in the first place. Has any team ever overcome all of that to play in a World Series? Not a chance.

So what we have here is one of the most historic, most astonishing, most compelling stories in baseball history. We're not sure the other three time zones have comprehended that yet. But now's your chance, because this team is not done playing yet.

Clearly, they had to believe, or they couldn't have done this, right? Couldn't have become the fifth team in the last 70 years to go 21-1 in any stretch of any season. Couldn't have become the first team to do that in the middle of one of these mad charges to, and through, October. Couldn't have become the second team in history (along with the 1976 Big Red Machine) to sweep its first two postseason series in any given October. Couldn't have become the fifth team of all time to make it from last place one year to the World Series the next. Couldn't have become the sixth team in history to fall nine games under .500 and still climb out of that canyon to make it to the World Series. And, finally, couldn't have become the first team ever to find itself two games out of a playoff spot with two games to play and somehow survive to scramble into the World Series. That didn't really happen. Did it? That wasn't really possible. Was it?

Before Todd Helton's dramatic walk-off bomb off Takashi Saito. Before Josh Fogg turned into The Dragon Slayer. Before Matt Holliday's slide. Before Kaz Matsui's slam. Before Yorvit Torrealba turned into David Ortiz. And then, finally, before this night -- the night their journey carried them to the top of the only mountain peak around that no Coloradan had ever climbed before. For a while there, it almost looked as if this night might be different from all the other nights. On this night, the Rockies actually (gulp) trailed for an entire inning. But for a whole nutty month now, somebody has always stepped forward, to grab onto the moment and turn it into another one of those here-they-go-again evenings. And sure enough, on this night, it was Seth Smith's turn. Until now, he was probably better-known to some folks as Eli Manning's backup quarterback at Mississippi. He didn't even join this team until Sept. 16, when the Rockies brought him in from Colorado Springs. And he never started a single game -- not one. But would they be here without him? Heck, no. Wouldn't. Couldn't. In his 12 at-bats since he arrived, all Seth Smith has done is hit .583 -- .636 as a pinch hitter. So when game-breaking time arrived Monday -- with two on and two out in the fourth inning, Clint Hurdle pointed in his direction. And of course, Seth Smith got it done. With an ugly little inside-out, opposite-field bloop shot that plunked two feet inside the left-field line. But this was no beauty pageant. This was a game-turning two-run double in your box scores and your history books. If anyone ever asks him later about this mighty blast, Smith promised he would tell the truth and nothing but the truth -- that it "slammed off the wall." Or something like that. But this was just the latest, wildest chapter in the crazed, stranger-than-fiction story of the Rockies. Game 2 was saved by a pitcher with no big league saves (Ryan Speier). So why wouldn't Game 4 be altered irrevocably by a fellow whose first two career major league RBIs came in the game that sent his team to the World Series? "You know the funny thing?" said Smith, who joined the immortal Brian Doyle (1978) as the only players in history to drive in the first runs of their careers in a postseason game. "I didn't even realize it when I was on second base. Then I ended up scoring, and when I got back to the dugout, somebody said, 'Hey, we got that ball for you.' And I was like, 'Why?' They said, 'It was your first RBI.' And I said, 'Oh.' But in a game like this, you don't worry about that." Minutes later, there was even less to worry about. That was because Matt Holliday crunched a 452-foot three-run homer that flipped the scoreboard to 6-1, set off an eruption of fountains and fireworks, and launched a party that may not end for a week.

"I've never even seen a National League championship trophy," Todd Helton said. "So when I saw that -- 'National League champions' -- and realized we were going to the World Series, that just sounds so good coming off the tongue it's ridiculous." Oh, it was ridiculous, all right. A month ago -- just a month -- it was an idea that was literally ridiculous. But 22 games and 21 wins later, here they are, the Colorado Rockies, World Series bound. C'mon. That didn't really happen. Did it?

Jacket Fight Never Dies

2007-10-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

Coach: "Jacket Fight!"
Team: "Never Dies!"

Coach: "How bad will we win?"
Team: "Real bad!"

Coach: "Jacket Fight!"
Team: "Never Dies!"

Coach: "How hard will we play?"
Team: "Real hard!"

Coach: "Jacket Fight!"
Team: "Never Dies!"

There is a buzz in the air. Emotions are high. My blood is flowing free! My heart is beating faster and faster. I feel like I am in High School again! It's the day before a big game and the coaches and players are fired up. They are chanting, screaming really. I think they could go out and play right now!

It's the Rockwall Yellow Jackets (please don't ask why they wear orange and white) High School Football team. I am sitting in on their team meeting as the coaches make the final preparations before their big game tomorrow night - which will be on TV on Fox Sports. The big game is coming... how could these students possibly think of anything else. Their ultimate goal is to win the state championship, but their immediate goal is to play 11 games. Translation: in order to get to that 11th game they need to make the playoffs and tomorrow night's game will be a big test. It's on!

So what the heck am I doing in the middle of all of this? That's a great question. I have been asked to lead the team in a devotional. No spell check needed - a devotional. I am here to tell them about Jesus Christ and how my relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in my life. This is the second year in a row that I have had the privilege of speaking to the Rockwall Football Team during their weekly chapel service. I absolutely love doing it. It's fun for me to be back in the team environment. But its even better to see how these coaches are pouring into these kids lives.

Anyone that knows me understands that I love sports and in particular football. But what I love about sports goes way beyond the practices and the games. It has to do with the deep relationships that are formed and the amazing impact a coach can have on a player. And Rockwall is an incredible example of this...

I spoke for about 10 minutes and threw in a couple of football stories, but the basic message was John 14:6, "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me." I felt like I connected with the team. Not an eye left me during the entire talk. But what happened when I was done, well that is the real story...

The Head Coach gets up in front of the team and calls each coach up one by one to address the team. Every single one of them comments on my talk and then talks about their own personal faith in Christ. Each one of them is passionate. They all talk about how much more important it is to them that the kids know Christ than it is for them to win football games. Scripture is quoted like a coach spouting the game plan and the Gospel is told over and over. The Head Coach talks last. He reiterates the team goals and the hard work they have all put into playing for the 11th game. But, he says... I don't care about any of that compared to my desire to see you bring glory to God.

That's why I love sports. I saw men of God at work tonight in these coaches. These guys don't compromise for a second their mandate to win football games, but they also understand that as followers of Christ they have a higher calling. It was a beautiful thing to experience. I suspect that even my friends who don't get or enjoy sports would have been blown away by tonight. This is a public High School after all, but isn't this also how we are supposed to live? On mission... at all times... in all circumstances... for Christ. It was awesome!

Jacket Fight Never Dies! That's the motto of the Rockwall Football Team that you'll hear the fans cheer and the team play by. But the glory of God is the banner under which they have been encouraged to play and live. Praise Jesus!

A Hurting Friend

2007-10-16T17:19:00.000-05:00

I have a favor to ask you. Would you please pray for a friend of mine that is going through a tough time? Dan is a faithful reader of the blog, but more importantly he is a friend of mine. Last week his Dad slipped and fell outside of Yankee Stadium while attending a game. He didn't realize it at the time, but the fall caused severe damage to his brain. He is going to die. It is obviously a sudden accident and the family is broken over it all. You can read specifics on Dan's blog.

Please pray.

If You Think I'm Torn Between Two Lovers, Then You Must Be Feeling Like a Fool

2007-10-03T19:19:00.000-05:00

It was my freshman year at Baylor, two weeks into school, and I was already making the news. TV interviews, feature articles in the Waco Trib & Lariat, radio shows... Everyone knew who I was, but not because of anything I had done. They knew me because of my last name and the fact that the Baylor football team was about to play the defending National Champion Colorado Buffaloes.

My dorm room was decorated in CU black and gold. Okay - decorated may be too soft a word - lets go with plastered. I think it would be safe to say that everyone on that campus knew where my loyalties were. The Waco Trib article was entitled, Blood is Thicker than Dr Pepper.

I am telling you this because the Buffs & Bears will meet again this Saturday and people are always asking me who I will be cheering for. While it is true that since my Dad no longer coaches the Buffs, my loyalty (or fanaticism) has indeed waned. It is also true, that with more years of living - my intoxication with sports in general has become more tempered. And lets be fair, since my first two weeks of college my love for Baylor has grown leaps and bounds. But people... let's be clear. When it comes to college football: I am a Buff first and I am a Bear second. The Bears are my favorite team in every sport but one. So there is no need to ask me about this Saturday, just simply join me in chanting: Go Buffs!

By Popular Demand

2007-09-30T09:16:00.001-05:00

4th quarter pick

Game tying TD

Rushing the field

Fight CU Down the Field

Someone please photoshop me in this

Buffs Win!

2007-09-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

The Buffs beat the Oklahoma Sooners 27-24 today. It was an amazing game as CU came back from a 17 point second half deficit. Colorado dominated the game, but two fluke turnovers seemingly had cost them any real shot at an upset giving OU an easy 14 points. But the defense was phenomenal and in the 4th quarter the Buffs got all the breaks and the offense capitalized a couple of times on 4th down. It was a great comeback. Then with two seconds to go, CU's kicker booted a career high 45 yard field goal to give CU the win! Go Buffs!

Hugh Charles scores the Buffs 1st TD of the day

Hey Jealousy

2007-09-29T07:07:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a friend of yours do something really amazing that you should be really proud of, but you kinda sorta wish that you were the one that did the amazing thing? I can think of countless moments of glory that people who I care about have had and how I have been happy for them, but not totally happy. If I am honest, I have to confess that there is a part of me that is always jealous. And there is definitely a big part of me that likes the glory and wants some more of it. This goes against everything that I believe. I do not like this part of me. That's why I am so amazed by my daughter Mallory.

Last Saturday morning, I brought Macy & Mallory up on stage with me at Fusion. I started talking about Macy, telling the crowd what an awesome young girl she is. It is really easy for me to talk about Macy because she has so many admirable qualities. I told them that she was a little Amy Carmichael in the making. I have no doubt that Almighty God is going to do great things in and through Macy. Before I went on stage, I began to wonder what I would say about Mallory. She is such a cute and fun little thing, but I didn't have anything prepared to say. Then it hit me. As I was talking about Macy, I was saying so many really nice things and Mallory was listening and she just couldn't contain herself. She ran over to Macy and gave her the hugest hug. You see, Mallory loves her sissy so much that she doesn't even know what jealousy means. She heard Macy being praised and her first instinct was the opposite of mine - it was to celebrate her sister. I understood right then and there, on a stage in front of 2,000 people, that Mallory has been given a gift from God. She has the unique ability to love deeply. I can't tell you exactly what this will mean for little Mallory and her future, but I know that God has great plans for Mallory and anyone in her circle of influence will be greatly blessed by having Mallory in their life. Reflecting on this for the last week, I have felt compelled to ask God to keep developing this gift in Mallory. Those prayers have actually helped me to see where I need to grow and be more like my little Mallory so I can be more like Christ.

Macy & Mallory

Mr Personality

2007-09-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

I never knew so many ready my blog until my last entry... Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern - I guess I wasn't very clear! I am fine with the process of what I go through after the event. The end result is that I lose a piece of me that I don't need anyway and I gain a deeper union with Christ. It's not always easy, but it is always good. And furthermore, I am feeling very much like my personality is back. What? You don't believe me? Well I will just have to prove it then...

Yesterday I went on a fundraising trip to Los Angeles. I wore black Crocs (and Brian still wore his brown tennis shoes).
I brought three items with me while traveling - my PSP, video i Pod, and Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller with an endorsement from faithful blog reader Dan on the back cover. I had left my backpack and semi cool gap bag at work - so I smushed these three items into my PSP bag. It is really small and convenient, but it looks kind of like a purse. So I strutted around LA with Brian and my man purse yesterday.
I watched PTI in the airport and yelled aloud at the TV screen when Tony Kornheiser said that the Rockies 10 game winning streak (now 11 games) was no big deal.

Now if this isn't proof that my personality is back - then I just don't know what is...

I Have No Personality

2007-09-26T21:02:00.000-05:00

I was in my office on Monday with Natalie and we were working together on a project finalizing some of the details from Leadnow+Fusion. It occurred to me that we had been in there for quite sometime without even speaking together. I apologized to Natalie telling her that I just didn't have any personality today, so I probably wouldn't be saying much...

The day before, Sunday morning, Robin and I walked into church and I felt pretty weird. We had already skipped "Big Church" and we were just going to our class. We were about to see some of our best friends, not to mention a ton of people who had just sacrificed lots of time and energy to volunteer the two nights before at Fusion. I should be ecstatic to see them, because the way they supported me was phenomenal, but I am not excited to see them. I really don't want to see anyone. I turned to Robin and said, "On no baby - there are so many humans here today. I don't want to see any humans." She chuckled because she knows exactly what is happening to me. We go to class and I have nothing to say. I am sick and have lost my voice, but that's not what I am talking about. I just have nothing to give.

I can't wait to write a post about Fusion - because it was such an amazing, God honoring event. So many incredible things happened that I want to tell you about. But that will come another day...

Lot's of people want to know how I feel after one of our events, but I'm not sure you really want to know. The truth is that I feel Depressed, Empty, and Broken. Every Mission Trip I have led or event I have planned and invested in has yielded these same feelings.

I am Depressed
I don't have my personality because a piece of me is gone. It's coming back, but its not here quite yet. Robin and I have been through this so many times before, but it's still difficult. These events take such a mental and physical toll that I get sick almost every time. Robin is amazing. She understands it because she has been through it herself. She keeps me going the week after the event. I am so thankful to have her. I don't know how Godly men make it without a women who loves Jesus with all her heart like Robin does. In fact, as I look around at the men that I know who really live for Christ - every single one of them has a wife that is sold out as well. I couldn't make it through the tough times with out Robin and her Godly strength. I love Robin!

The depression is hard to explain. Robin says it's kind of like an athlete who is at the end of their season. They have put so much into it and now it's over. I think she is right, but multiply it by 100 because with the event I am investing my very soul. I believe that Almighty God has called me to do this, so the investment goes so much deeper than mental and physical. I guess its just really difficult for me to go back to normal life immediately after the event. I want to see more change. I don't want life as it was before. I want to see more people wholehearted for Christ. So when the daily grind hits again, and people are able to return to life as normal - it hurts.

I am Empty
I don't have anything left to give. I want to give. I feel so selfish because so many give so selflessly to make Fusion happen and I owe so many so much. But I am done. I have nothing in the tank. I didn't even care to watch college football on Saturday - I'm just kind of existing. I'm tired, but its more than that. I'm sick, but its more than that. It's something spiritual. I should have nothing but joy over what God did at Fusion and that He let me play a small part, but I don't. My joy is gone, I am just empty.

I am Broken
The event helps me realize that I have absolutely nothing to offer. All my efforts and all of my plans are completely worthless unless God shows up. And if God shows up - nothing else matters. And the amazing thing is that God shows up every single time. He doesn't do it because of me or anyone else. He does it because of Him. He is just that good. He is just that worthy of our worship. I am broken, not because I have done something wrong. It's because I can do nothing right - apart from Christ. And the fact that Christ would use me - is just too much to handle. It breaks me. I can't believe it. I don't let myself believe it. Why would He use me? I don't know. I don't deserve it. I am broken.

It is an amazing thing to be a child of God. I don't fully understand the emotions that I go through after these events, but I embrace them. I know that they only last a few days. This post has actually taken me a few days to write and I think I'm already starting to get my personality back. I hope I haven't scared you. While these emotions are very raw and real, there is always a faith that supersedes them. I wish I could fully describe the union with Christ that I feel on the other side of the depression, emptiness, and brokenness. He is so good!

I just flat out love Jesus!

Met Expectations

2007-09-14T20:19:00.000-05:00

It is so rare in this day and age that something lives up to the hype. Movies are often over rated. Concerts don't always perform up to the price of the ticket. But nothing is more disappointing than a live sporting event. The fans can be obnoxious to the point of violence and the parking and weather are not all that fun to deal with either. And then there is the issue of the stadium seats... do they make any stadiums thinking about the fact that there will be 6 foot 3 inch tall men who weigh more than 200 pounds sitting in there? It just isn't fun for me anymore. Besides that - most stadiums do not carry Diet Mountain Dew and if they do, it most certainly isn't chilled like it is at the house. Thus, I usually choose to watch games at my house.

However (written with Stephen A Smith punctuation), this game was supposed to be different. I was driving on my birthday to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to watch the second ranked LSU Tigers play #7 Virginia Tech. The seven hour drive was going to be worth it because my nephew TC is a freshman quarterback on the team, plus his Mom - my sissy, would be at the game. To top it off, I was taking the trip with a great friend of mine - Steve Hayes. Seven hours in the car with Hayes is priceless because he is one of the funniest and Godliest guys I know - so I was pretty excited when Saturday morning hit and it was time to make the trek to Tiger Country.

The car ride was as expected with a mixture of humor, prayer, and Tiger talk. We had 11 Diet Mountain Dews in a cooler which kept the stops at a minimum. We pulled into Baton Rouge about four hours before game time and walked a mile or so to Tiger Stadium. I don't think I could ever do justice to the sights I saw. Now keep in mind that I have been to games at the greatest stadiums in the land. I've been to The Big House, Touchdown Jesus, Aggie Land, Folsom Field, The Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, The Orange Bowl, The Super Dome, the place where people are made of Corn, Sooner land, Floyd Casey Stadium (seeing if anyone is reading this list) and on and on... I have never seen anything quite like this...

First of all, these people know how to tailgate. There was food for miles and evidently more than 25,000 people kept on tailgating during the game with no intention of ever entering the stadium. They set up couches, BBQ pits, TV's with satellites, sound systems, and other amenities. And when we approached the P Mac (Pistol Pete Maravich Center), we were able to get up high and get a birds eye view of the more than 125,000 people hanging out a few hours before kick off. As we were on our perch, one of the cool things we saw was the way that the band gets the crowd into a frenzy. I have never quite understood the purpose of cheering before the game outside of the stadium when your team and the opposing team is inside the stadium warming up and cannot even hear you. But these folks have it down. The band marches down this curvey hill that leads to the football stadium playing a rhythmic drumline. The beat of the drums is motivating and even I am being caught up in it. I found myself yelling "Geaux Tigers" to no one in particular as my heart is beating louder and faster. Steve points out to me that from our view, which seemed to cover miles, you could not see one blade of grass or concrete - it was all purple and gold - wow! This was insane. Then the band held in formation for what seemed like 25 minutes hammering the same beat over and over. Every once in a while they would bob there heads in unison. I realized that they were faking us out. We were all waiting for them to bust out the famous tune, "Hold That Tiger," and they were stringing us along. No one was talking to anyone else, everyone was fixated on the band. All 125,000 plus were waiting...

The it happened - the band members heads popped up and they turned together to face the crowd and hit it - "Baaah Bah Bah Baah!" and everyone yelled "Geaux Tigers." I say yelled, it was more like an eruption. Here we were 2 hours now before kick off and the place was going bonkers. There was no way we could keep this up. Yes we - I am totally in it now!

The entire crowd then makes a mad dash to the gates to get inside and watch the Tigers warm up. It takes a few minutes to knife through the crowd, but Steve and I eventually make it to our seats. My sister Kristy is there and I am so pumped to get to experience this with her! She quickly points out #17 and my eyes become fixated on watching TC. Every little thing that he did made me giddy. He must have thrown 95 passes during warm ups and completed every single one. He was absolute money. And he was doing it in front of 92,600 admiring fans. What a rush! Watching him complete 45 yards passes to future NFL stars like Early Doucet and Brandon Lafell was well worth the trip. Happy Birthday Me! My expectations were met - I needed no more. Of course the other 92,599 didn't exactly feel the same - so the game had to go on. And wow did it ever.

LSU completely dominated in every facet even gaining 600 yards on what was thought of as the best defense in the nation. In fact, the LSU defense put on such a show that they just went ahead and assumed the title of best defense in the nation. I could go on about the game, because it was really fun to watch - but what really got me was the fans. They kept on going all game long. They have cheers that they do in unison that rival anything I have ever seen the Aggies do, but it happens with such a sense of spontaneity that causes you to join in. I acted like a complete fool for 3 1/2 hours with the rest of the 92,600 and loved every minute of it!

Proud Uncle, Proud Mama

Pulling the ole tip toe trick on TC

Steve like Popcorn (AD reference)

I can't wait to go back!

Diversifying Your Portfolio

2007-09-04T09:53:00.000-05:00

It is illegal to choose more than one team per conference (unless they are in different divisions). Because of this I must choose between UCLA, Washington, and Oregon - only one of these has made OU cry - so I choose the Ducks. (By the way - Conference loyalty is way over rated, get with the new millennium!) Penn State was also eliminated because of this rule.
You may not choose teams that are rivals.
You may not choose teams from Florida.
You should consider including teams from the major regions: West Coast, East Coast, Midwest.
You can’t choose teams that your Dad decided not to coach, when everyone else thought he was going to go and coach them – sorry SMU.

I hope this helps you to better enjoy your fall.

Things I can't get enough of...

2007-09-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

1. 1 Corinthians - I have been studying it lately and been getting blown away. It is inspiring, but also very challenging. I don't understand all of it, which leads me to more study and lots of meditation. I love it.

2. Chocolate - not the food, but the song... by Snow Patrol. It has become as regular as a 7 Eleven cup of Fusion coffee in my daily routine.

3. College Football - I am so glad it has finally arrived. I could watch every night and the preacher helped my case yesterday by saying that Ecclesiastes shows us that everything is sacred... sorry Dan.

4. Facebook - I have taken the plunge and am in it full on. I am amazed at how much I get out of a computer software program. Love it.

5. My Three Girls - We have experienced a lot over the last three months - trips to DC, Disney and Colorado - all dazzelous (word made up by my daughters), but just being together is so much fun. The three day weekend has been just what the doctor ordered.

Ouchies

2007-08-31T09:43:00.000-05:00

Freedom!

2007-08-28T09:41:00.000-05:00

The Taliban has announced that they will free the 19 South Korean Christians that are being held hostage! Praise God!

You can read this article for more info.

Can You Say Bonehead?

2007-08-21T16:56:00.000-05:00

So... I was recently on a trip to an undisclosed location to ask a foundation for money for our ministry. This was a big deal. We were going to ask this foundation for a great deal of money so we had to have our "A" game on. I say we, because I was with my esteemed colleague, Brian Mosley. You can learn all about Brian by watching this video:

So Brian and I have our slick presentation prepared with all of the bells and whistles. We have folders, picture books, video, etc... And we are both wearing our lucky shirts. All is well - we were ready for a great meeting and some serious needed dollars for our ministry. Now before I reveal my boneheadedness, I must give you some additional background information. This undisclosed location was far enough away from Dallas that Brian and I had to take a jet plane to get there. And the meeting was early enough in the day, that we had to fly in the night before and stay over night. I am not much of a fan of checking bags with the airlines, so I will do whatever it takes to make sure I can carry all of my stuff on board with me. This was not going to be too difficult in this circumstance because I only needed one change of clothing. However, as I was packing I realized that my shoes were going to make or brake which carry on bag I brought. If I could somehow get away with not packing any shoes for the meeting, then I could carry a small backpack and have all that I needed. Bringing the shoes would require a rolling bag. So I chose the backpack. Now I had to determine which shoes I could wear with both the slacks that I needed to adorn for this big meeting and the shorts I would wear on the plane and walking around this undisclosed city that night. Because clearly, one should never wear any thing but shorts on an airplane...

This severly limited my options. Upon a detailed review of all of the shoes I own (4 pairs of Crocs), I decided to go with my Black Crocs. These particular Crocs are actually named The Professional, so this is a sound choice by me. Of course, they don't look too good in shorts, but I can live with looking like a dork on the plane and at night in the undisclosed location because after all, the big meeting is why I am going. Oh yeah - and another thing about The Professionals, they are not only super comfy, but due to their dark black coloring, they go virtually un-noticed and can easily be passed off as "dressy."

Okay - that last line I just wrote may not be entirely true. Because when we got into our meeting our host did something quite strange. Since we were going to be meeting about money, he wanted to open the meeting by symbolically washing the feet of myself and Brian. He reasoned that this was a way to keep our meeting focused on ministry and not dollars. Sounded good to us. Just after he said this he got a phone call and had to leave the office for a while leaving Brian and I a few minutes to discuss what we thought symbolically washing our feet would mean? We were stumped.

Our host re-entered the room and promptly knelt by my feet. Then he opened up a shoe shining kit and began to survey my Crocs. "Hmm," he said, "I've never seen anyone wear Crocs to one of these meetings before. I mean I have a pair I use to mow the yard..." He didn't really know what else to say. He decided to use his rag to dust my Crocs off a little and then turned to Brian. I felt like the bonehead that I am of course. What a great way to start the meeting. Fortunately for me, Brian was wearing these brown and brown tennis shoes. So he looked even more boneheaded than myself. Our host took out his brown polish and pretended to scrub and wipe around Brian's shoes before ultimately giving up. The meeting continued after that... as does our search for the necessary dollars needed to fund our ministry...

South Korean Hostage Update

2007-08-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

Reports on the South Korean church workers that are being held hostage in Afghanistan are hard to come by, but I did receive a report this morning that the 21 remaining hostages are still alive.

I don’t know what you think about the 23 church members that were on mission in such a dangerous place. I know many would call them irresponsible, senseless, or reckless. I actually think that they are heroic. I am in awe of their devotion to Christ. I am praying for them and I hope you will to.

More Adventures

2007-08-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

So... the day after my 1 am adventure at the wrong house I had another bonehead moment. My friend, who I was staying with, Josh Wimberley, was experiencing some discomfort due to a migraine headache. I had also experienced a similar discomfort earlier in the day and decided I should purchase some sort of medication to alleviate my pain. Since I was in an unfamiliar area, downtown Atlanta, I simply stopped at the first grocery store that I could find which happened to be a Whole Foods. I don't know if you are aware of the fact that Whole Foods does not carry any real drugs. They only had herbal remedies - so I bought the bottle you see in the pic, aptly titled "Migraine Headache Relief." Naturally, when my gracious host told me of his migraine headache, I was ready to come to his rescue. I told him of my recent purchase and asked him if he would like to partake of my newfound medication. Josh seemed a little hesitant, apparently he had some real migraine medication that he could take so he asked me, “do you think I can take both?"

I told him I had popped 7 or 8 of them in the last few hours and that they were harmless because they were herbal. Besides - they kind of tasted good - "go for it."

Ten minutes later we were enjoying a nice bar-b-que dinner with his whole family when Josh proclaimed that his migraine was feeling much better. He publicly thanked me for the medication. It was a nice gesture, I felt really swell inside. Then his wife’s face turned white. A very pale white. Very much like Snow White… She asked Josh, "what medication?"

Josh explained that he had taken his prescription along with the stuff that “he” gave me (as he pointed across the table in my direction). All eyes were now aimed at at me. I was then instructed to produce the said medication and promptly hurried upstairs to retrieve the little pills. Upon further review, I learned that Josh's wife is a Pharmacist, which does beg the obvious question that know one dared to ask... why didn't josh ask Stephanie first? Nevertheless… Stephanie did not look happy as she perused the ingredients list on my tiny white bottle. Dinner was now over. All of a sudden, Josh became queasy and Stephanie announced that my harmless herbal medication was actually some sort of like heart stopper something thingy. I don’t really know – I couldn’t understand between Josh’s loud moans. Evidently, what I gave him doesn’t mix well with what he was already taken and next thing I knew Stephanie was on the phone with Poison Control and Josh was laid out in his bed. The bonehead strikes again!

I actually had to leave for the wedding while they were on the phone and have not spoken to Josh since. His sister, Jordan, has told me he is still alive though. And if you like reading about boneheads, perhaps you will enjoy the following entry about Josh on his aforementioned sisters own blog… Definitely worth the read!

the image above is of the actual bottle used to apparently poison Josh Wimberley.

Please Pray

2007-08-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Have you read about the South Korean church workers that are being held hostage in Afghanistan? It is a horrible situaiton that seems to be getting worse. On July 19th a group of 23 church volunteers from South Korea were taken hostage as they traveled by bus along the Kabul-Kandahar highway. The church team, composed mostly of women, was in Afghanistan on a medical mission.

Tragically, since their capture, two members of the church team - the pastor and a volunteer have lost their lives. The situation remains extremely critical for the remaining 21 members of the South Korean church group. There is spleculation that some are being released and speculation that some are set to be executed. No one really knows what's going on - please pray for our brothers and sisters!

"Overdressed" Dresses up Nicely (A review of the new Caedmon's Call release)

2007-08-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

The following is a review from Steve Hayes. Check out more from Steve at his blog: Cajun Roast Beef

When you're wearing a fig leaf, it's hard to feel overdressed, but that kind of ironic imagery not only paints the cover of Caedmon's Call's new release, it permeates nearly every song on the album. The return of Derek Webb brings with it a raw and rich honesty, and the songwriting talents of the underrated Andrew Osenga give this album, and the band, a mature yet edgy, warm yet independant feel that is unmatched in their previous efforts. If 40 Acres told of a band coming of age, Overdressed tells of a band entering a new age with a feel that is at the same time both fresh and trusted.The album begins, as it should, with Webb singing Trouble, a bluesy number that speaks of sin as not simply a "struggle", but something as deep as "the blood running through my veins." Webb's return is marked by the band's trademark B-3 organ, and fresh harmonies. Trouble is a song that sounds at once familiar, and demonstrates, right from the start, that all is right in the world of Webb/Caedmon's relations.As the album progresses the thing that stands out is the flow of different styles and voices, instruments and arrangements. Need Your Love and Sacred, songs that easily bear the Caedmon's Call signature, are followed by Expectations, a simple yet sweeping epic that speaks of the over-optimistic outlook often attributed to real world faith. Osenga writes with great timing and truth that Christianity is often presented as another "expensive ad for something cheap." The variance in arrangements and writing gives the album the same kind of flow as a good compilation or soundtrack, and, as the album builds, a sense of anticipation develops within the listener. This is a "can't wait to hear what's next" release.The anticipation created by the beginning of the album is richly rewarded in the second half of the release. The back-to-back-to back string of Share in the Blame, Hold the Light and Two Weeks in Africa is their best three song combination in recent memory. Share in the Blame is a folksy and melodic modern day admonition to get the log out of your eye before blaming others. Hold the Light is Osenga's tribute to accountability and trust, and it's haunting chorus is framed well by beautifully arranged instrumentals. It's a song more felt than heard, more absorbed than encountered, and it flows nicely into Two Weeks in Africa, a celebration of the change of perspective that comes only from participation in missions. The bridge on Two Weeks in Africa takes you from internal struggle to hope to outright elation over the possibilities present when people become partners with Christ in international missions.The record ends with another gritty Webb number, All Across the Western World, followed by the encouraging Always Been There and Start Again. In a twist of irony, the final songs speak of the presence and new beginnings that Christ offers only to those who come poor and weary. It is a fitting ending for an album that recognizes man's propensity to stand before God Overdressed, embelishing his own goodness in light of God's glory.In all, it's good to see Caedmon's Call return to form. The addition of Webb, though significant, is not all there is to Overdressed. Truth be told, this album dresses up very nicely. The writing is solid, as usual, but the overall flow of the music and themes is what makes Overdressed the best Caedmon's Call release in years.

If you're anxious to hear something off of Overdressed, check out Share in the Blame on the Caedmon's Call Myspace Page here. Great guitar solo by Andy!

Thanks Steve! I had the priveledge of getting my hands on this disc a while back and it is really good. It comes out on August 28th.

Adventures of a Bone Head

2007-07-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

For anyone who really knows me you understand that I am not kidding when I say that I am a bone head. Here is an example...

I was in a wedding in Atlanta last weekend. I have an old fraternity brother who lives outside of Atlanta so I was staying at his house. When I got finished with all of the wedding stuff on Friday night it was a little after midnight. I called my friend and he said he was up watching TV - so when I got there I should just come on in. My friend lives in Cumming, Georgia - The Gateway to Leisure Living, which is a little over an hour from downtown Atlanta. So my estimated arrival is after 1 am. I have never been to his house before, but fortunately I have Bianca in my car. Bianca (penned by Leif & Margaret) is the name of the Hertz Never Lost Navigation System that came with my rental car. I love Bianca. She is really good at what she does. So Bianca is giving me turn by turn directions as I make my drive to The Gateway to Leisure Living. I have to tell you that I am really glad that Bianca is with me, because it is really dark in Cumming. I don't think the town has any street lights. This is beginning to concern me because when I told some of the groomsmen at the wedding that I was staying in Cumming, I got some odd facial expressions back at me. One of them even said, “I hope you brought a shot gun.” I have no idea what that meant, and I didn’t explore the comment any further. Now I wish I had.

But Bianca is on her game as she weaves me through about 8 turns in less than a mile and finally declares, “you have arrived at your final destination.” As I approach the door I am glad to see the TV on and an undistinguishable figure watching it. I definitely don't want to find my room in a house I have never been to all by myself at 1 am. So I pull the door handle, as instructed, but the door is locked. Almost simultaneous to my attempt to open the door, I see the undistinguishable figure distinguish herself. And she doesn't look happy. And she doesn't look like my friend. Or his wife. Or his four year old daughter. I don't know who this women is? She scurries frantically at the door with a sense of purpose. Why is she coming to the door? She doesn’t know me - shouldn't she be scared of me? I am quite an imposing figure to those who don’t know what a friendly person I am. But she is coming quick. She opens the door and says, “You are at the wrong house aren’t you?” I stammered through some words and eventually asked her if she knew my friend. She did – he lived two doors down. I guess it would have been a good idea for me to look at the address, clearly labeled on the mailbox, before entering an unknown home at 1 am – even in the Gateway to Leisure Living.

I am a bone head.

Who Am I?

2007-07-24T10:03:00.000-05:00

Can you guess who that studly looking guy in the top left corner is? Yeah - the one sporting the mullet? I'll give you a clue - He has been at every Fusion event we have ever held...

I Remember it Well

2007-07-24T07:40:00.000-05:00

I was at Chiloso yesterday and encountered a sight that warmed my heart. In front of me in line was a group of five who had never been to Chiloso before. Listening to their conversation brought back a rush of memories. My first time was just as exhilarating. They talked about the number of choices, the jalapeño ranch, the fresh made tortillas. I heard one of them say, "how can one place have so much stuff that I love?" Their faces were giddy as they declared their individual orders. Mine was as well.

I think I will go get some breakfast tacos now...

Gratitude

2007-07-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

Luke 17:11-19
It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus' feet, so grateful. He couldn't thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."

How did only one of the ten come back to thank Jesus? What were the others thinking? Because the one was called an outsider, most theologians believe that the other nine would have been Jews – on the inside. Maybe they had a sense of entitlement where they kind of expected healing. As if it were owed to them.

I wonder how many followers of Christ today have a sense of entitlement. We serve God, as long as it benefits us. We cry out to God, when we see things that are not right in our lives…

All ten in this story received the blessing of a physical healing. But what Almighty God wants us to see is that the physical healing is only a small portion of the blessing He has for us. There is so much more that he wants to lavish on us. The one got more. He received the physical blessing, but he kept going after God. His gratitude gave him entry to the greater blessing. He wasn’t only healed, but he was saved.

What kind of gratitude do you have for Christ? How have you showed it? I can speak for myself here – I need to get over me. Get over my issues. Get over my entitlement. I need a grateful heart. Are you one of the nine? Or the one?

What God has joined, people must not divide!

2007-07-17T14:21:00.001-05:00

I was in a wedding from one of my high school buddies this weekend. He is Catholic and the wedding service included a mass. I was so impressed with how Christ centered and Christ honoring the service was. The Pastor (he called himself a Pastor and the church members called him Father) was very intriguing. He was a tall and skinny man with a deep and booming voice. He had a way of saying things with eloquence and beauty that really captured my attention. Walking into the service, I thought it would feel route and rehearsed, but instead it felt authentic and alive. My favorite part was when he was talking to the church about our role in supporting our friends who were getting married. He took some steps forward, out of the pulpit, and got really close to us. Then he charged us with the words, “What God has joined, people must not divide!” He said it with such conviction and power. I felt a responsibility in that moment, as a brother in Christ; to do whatever I can to make sure my friend’s marriage stands the test of time.

What if we lived as if we believed that statement: What God has joined, people must not divide. How different would our lives be? How different would our friendships be? How different would our parenting be?

Bears Win :: Bears Win :: Bears Win!!!

2007-07-12T11:25:00.000-05:00

The Baylor Bears Football Team just picked up a hard earned forfeit victory over Oklahoma for the 2005 season! That means the 2005 Bears finished 6-6. The first non-losing record since the internet was invented! Go Bears!

I Can't Believe it Either...

2007-07-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

Anyone who really knows me understands that I go on about 8 diets per year. Once every four or five years - one of them works for me. Well... after the 4th of July is a natural time for me to be dieting. I am trying the magical eat healthy and eat less tactic. Just so you know - I am absolutely money on the first 7-10 days of a diet. I have no problems sticking with it. And I always lose 5-10 pounds in that time. It really is truly remarkable. But then I decide, I really could care less if I weigh 5-10 pounds more or less, but I do like Pumpkin Pie. So I usually end up eating like a true McCartney again within two weeks of beginning a new diet. But today something happened that I think is telling me that I am on the verge of some serious weight loss. I had a breakfast meeting with Bobcat Bill at Chiloso this morning. I would normally get three breakfast tacos with three extra tortillas, have them load up the eggs, bacon, sausage, potato, beans and jalapeño ranch and then create six tacos out of the three. A mighty fine and hearty breakfast. But today, as I stood in line I found myself not hungering for three. I actually ordered one. One breakfast taco! Do you realize how ridiculous that is - my five year old daughter eats at least two. An 88 pound girl at my office always orders three. "One" - I said. David - the owner of Chiloso (the finest eating establishment know to humankind) looked up at me in complete bewilderment. All I could say was, "I can't believe it either."

Another Cool Memory

2007-06-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

I was reading my hometown newspaper today and was reminded of a bit of history that I experienced first hand. Unless you are from Boulder, or are really into running - you may have never heard of Melody Fairchild. I went to junior high and high school with Melody and she absolutely dominated the sport for a three year span. When we were in high school, Melody won something like 12 state championships and two national championships. She still holds state records and a few national records. If you google her name and read some articles you will quickly find words like, "Melody Fairchild is arguably the greatest high school runner of all time." You could not possibly overestimate how good this girl was.

Melody winning a national championship in 1990

Boulder has a race every Memorial Day called the Bolder Boulder. It's a 10 k that attracts some of the greatest runners in the world. The race ends with a lap around the football field at CU and thousands of fans in the stadium. While we were in high school, Melody won the citizens race every single year and our senior year, her time would have placed her second overall in the world class division. The girl was amazing!

I remember in junior high, our PE teacher issued a challenge to us. He said that if anyone could beat Melody in the "Jolly Jog" then no one would have to run the rest of the year. The "Jolly Jog" was a trip around two football fields, three soccer fields, four baseball fields, and 24 tennis courts. We had to do it every Monday and every one hated it. Everyone except for Melody. This was the ninth grade, where the boys are supposed to be faster than the girls. We had one kid, Eddie Panton, who ran like a 4.5 in the ninth grade. We would get Eddie ready all day long to beat Melody. The night before we cooked him spaghetti. In the morning we would feed him pancakes. there was gatorade in between classes. And packets of honey for the run. We were determined to beat Melody. There were about 10 guys, myself included, who would sprint off at the beginning of the run and try to block Melody in. Eddie would always get off to a big lead raising our hopes up, but inevitably Melody would get out of our maneuvering and break free. I'll never forget seeing her pass us. She was so tiny and her long pony tail would swing back and forth like windshield wipers. She was absolutely rock solid steady when she ran. You couldn't break her. And every single time, without fail, she would end up passing Eddie. She would actually keep on running at the end of the "Jolly Jog" all the way into the girl's locker room. She was amazing.

We all knew we were a part of greatness then. Nobody could stop Melody Fairchild. And sure enough, when we got to high school she kept on dominating. Championships rolled in left and right. We used to have all school assemblies anytime our school won a state championship. The way it would work is that all of the current teams would get paraded in before the whole school and they would talk about how they we hoping for a great season, yada, yada, yada. Then they would introduce the state champions at the end and everyone would go nuts. Our girls basketball team and softball team won the state championship every year we were in high school. So it always seemed like it was one of those teams and Melody getting cheered on. We had one about three times a year for Melody alone! I have to admit that the guys on the baseball team were getting pretty aggravated about it. We vowed to get our own assembly one day!

The Boulder Daily Camera recently did a huge story on the best athletes in the history of Boulder County. This would include college and pro athletes as well as local high school legends. You would think with top notch college athletes such as this one:that a high school kid wouldn't stand a chance. But Melody won the award in a landslide as the top female athlete in the history of Boulder!

Melody's story took a wrong turn after high school. Her Mom died the summer after we graduated and then she suffered what many thought would be a career ending hip injury her freshman year at Oregon. The girl who was destined to win Olympic Gold, was not even able to run. I can't imagine the inner turmoil she must have battled. She was a bonified celebrity in Boulder. Now she was unable to do what she was celebrated for and she didn't even have her Mom to turn to.

After two years off of running, Melody went back to the University of Oregon to run again. One thing about Melody was she had this quite amazing combination of a really sweet spirit mixed with a fiery competitive edge. I guess that competitive edge kicked in because Melody ended up winning a national championship her senior year and beating the records she had set in high school.

The story I read today that brought about all of these memories said that Melody is opening her own running camp in Colorado for young girls. She is going to teach them how to run, but she also wants to teach them life skills and talk about how to have a healthy body image. Way to go Melody!