i needed to hear this

Found this here (via Ed Stetzer's blog) and God used it to speak to me. Perhaps God would use it to speak into your life.

forgiveness as part of our story

Nobody likes an incomplete story. Once you get started, you want to see how it ends, to be satisfied by finding out how it resolves conflict, if the villain gets what is coming to him, and so on. To summarize: we remember movies with bad endings, and not in a good way.

Here is what I believe: Christians have left forgiveness out of the story they present to the world around them. It's why the term "fall from grace" has such significance in our recent past. We who claim to be followers of Jesus often live public lives in which we "do everything right." Then, when our sin goes public, it is this huge event for which there is no context in our story.

The truth is that sin is still part of the life of the Christian. Forgiveness is something we understand that we need from God, and for any Christian with half a brain, it's a regular part of life. But those who observe our lives never see that, unless we make it part of our public lives. And I believe that the inclusion of forgiveness in our stories is not only more true to reality, it's much more powerful.

Jimmy has been part of our church gatherings for the past several months. We have had some awesome conversations about how faith plays out in our journey, and I was excited as he shared a story with me recently.


Jimmy operates a fork truck for a local manufacturing plant, and some of his co-workers have been known to get under his skin. In the past, he has responded in kind; but lately, he has been asking God to help him control his temper and his tongue.

About a week ago, Jimmy had a disagreement with a co-worker, and he responded in anger. Through the day, he realized what he had done, and he later went to the co-worker to ask his forgiveness for the way he had responded.

Another co-worker who had witnessed the argument approached Jimmy, asking why he had asked for forgiveness. After all, he'd seen the whole thing, and Jimmy was right. He'd have never went back to him, the man said.

Jimmy responded by mentioning that he had a relationship with God, and that he had asked God for forgiveness, and that God wanted him to reconcile their relationship. And in doing so, Jimmy offered the man a living - and, I believe, more complete - picture of what it means to live as a follower of Jesus. As his pastor, I was really proud of him for doing so.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are really big parts of what it means to follow Jesus. Are they part of the story you're living?

to mom and grandpa, with love

This past weekend, we made a trip to central Illinois to be part of a 50th birthday party celebration for my mom. We had a great time; dinner at Famous Dave's with our family on Friday evening, then a surprise open house event Saturday. We enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, and the kids always love spending time with Meemee and Pawpaw.

On Saturday morning, Mom took Kristy and I to see her dad, my Grandpa Hammock. God has blessed Grandpa with many years of good health, but he began to display symptoms of dementia, and they have worsened to the point of needing to place Grandpa in the care of a facility.


We entered the room where he sat restrained in a chair, looking out the window. We pulled up chairs and began to talk to him, and he responded with an attention span that came and went. Sometimes he seemed to recognize us, sometimes he didn't, and sometimes he recited events from his past as if they had just happened.

We talked this way for several minutes, and as his lunchtime drew close, Mom asked if we could take him to the front room and sneak the great-grandkids in to see him. (Flu concerns had caused them to restrict the age and number of visitors, as is the case with many medical facilities.) They agreed, and we wheeled him in, then waved in Pawpaw and our kids.


The front room had an old piano against the wall, and Dad asked Kristy if we would sing a song for Grandpa. So we gathered around, and our kids and us sang "Goodly Heritage" together. (You can read the lyrics here.) Grandpa's eyes opened wide, and he listened intently.

Then, at Dad's request, Kristy started to play some of Grandpa's favorite hymns. We sang "Victory In Jesus" and "I'll Fly Away." And as we sang, the most amazing thing happened: Grandpa began to sing along. With tears flowing down his cheeks, he sang every word of those songs.

Then we sang together:

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

It is one thing to believe the message of those lyrics. It is another thing entirely, a holy moment, to be present as someone uses those lyrics to give voice to the cry of his heart, and uses a moment of clarity to sing of his eternal hope.

We cried as we hugged Grandpa's neck and said our goodbyes. Then we watched as Mom straightened his afghan, combed her fingers through his tousled hair, and spoke softly to him. They have been through a lot recently, these two; and even now, Mom is where she has always been when Grandpa has needed her.

a heart for children

I'm not old yet, but I'm old enough that I remember when I was getting started in ministry. And some of my fondest memories of that time are of people giving me a chance, of placing trust in me, and listening to and affirming my dreams.

So it was with joy that our church hosted Khory Allen and his family this past Sunday. Khory is establishing a ministry of conducting children's events for churches and equipping those who work with children in church settings. He and his wife worked with our MiniTemples on Sunday morning, and then Khory spoke to our Learning Environments group on Sunday evening.


I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Khory, as we talked about his journey and how God has equipped him for this work. We also had some great conversations with Joshua and Shameer about life as a follower of Jesus in our time and space.

One of my favorite things is to pick up on something that one person enjoys, then connect them with someone else who shares that interest. The shared backstory allows conversations and relationships to form and grow much more quickly. So when I picked up on Khory's enjoyment of video games, I knew he could hit it off with some of our guys, and he did. It was great fun to watch them "nerd out" a little. (And I use that term with the utmost respect. I do the same thing, given the opportunity.)

I'm thankful that God allowed our paths to cross, and I'm excited about what lies ahead for Khory, his family, and their ministry.

work

My FedEx Ground route boss told me I'd need to stay out late tonight, because he needed me to cover some pickups for a truck that had to go in early.

It took two hours longer than expected, which put me leaving work at 8:30 pm, and the truck was so packed that I had fifteen packages with me in the cab on the way back.

I've realized some things about work that have shaped my attitude:

- Work is sacred. To do it with excellence is to honor God.

- My children are watching me. They are shaping their attitudes about work, about responding to adverse work conditions, and about stewardship of what God provides by watching and listening to me.

- My church family is watching me. Young men. Families struggling to make ends meet. Older men who have been through far worse conditions than mine. My attitude about this job shapes their attitudes.

So I am thankful. I do not complain, even when I grow weary. I work hard, and put the needs of others ahead of my own. And in so doing, I pray that God finds this part of my life acceptable, and receives glory from it.