Beautiful

Caroline and I had plans to go to the Fox Theatre tonight for “Beautiful” with our good friends, John and Annie Crawford.  We have had this on the calendar for months, and have been looking forward to the show and to seeing them.  One of their close friends died from cancer, and the funeral is today.  John  has been asked to speak at the funeral.  While I will miss seeing them, I know that John will make an impact for the kingdom today.   I first met John in the UGA Redcoat Band.  He then became my life insurance agent, then Caroline’s boss and then my real estate client.   While each of these relationships is significant on their own, I count John as one of my  closest friends and more importantly, my mentor, when it comes to matters of God.   We are the same age, but his spiritual maturity dwarfs mine.  I know that if I ever have a moral dilemma, I can count on him for Godly advice.   I hope all of you have a John in your life.

Food For The Soul

This past Sunday, Caroline and I performed in our last concert of the season with the Georgia Wind Symphony.  GWS is made up of music educators from around the state with some regular old people like us thrown in to keep the group humble.  I have talked about our relationship to the conductor in past posts.  David Gregory was our high school band director in Columbus.  We have remained friends and are now playing under his direction again.  The whole idea of a bunch of  people getting together to make music is very special.  First of all, each member has a skill.  Some more than others, but we wouldn’t be there if we couldn’t make a sound with our instruments.  Second there is desire.  People have to want to volunteer their time to get to rehearsal and prepare their parts.  And then you need a leader – someone to instruct, create and inspire.  Next, there is the audience.  In this case mostly family and friends who have some stake in the people on stage, but their attendance and reaction is immediate feedback to the work of the members.  While you can always go back and listen to a recording of the concert, there is nothing like being there during the creation.   For after the note is sounded, it is then gone.  But the anticipation of what might come next is the magic of music – and music is a good mirror of other good things worth working for.

Buried: a life

I read with horror the story about Ding Cuimei, a pastor’s wife, who was buried alive by a bulldozer that was demolishing their church in Beijing.  She and her husband had been attempting to prevent the demolition by staying on the property.  Her husband managed to crawl away, but she was killed.  While about 5% of China’s population are Christian, the government continues to do everything it can to slow the growth and ensure that people’s religious beliefs are subservient to the political system.  I am thankful that my family and I live in a place that allows us to worship freely, and I pray that other countries will somehow come to know and love the one true God.

Guns and Roses

I have a close friend whose son is a gun advocate.  He has been vocal in trying to get guns to be allowed on college campus’s with the appropriate license.   He is 21 years old, licensed and can carry his almost anywhere except for at school.  He maintains that good people with guns can help stop bad people with guns or other weapons.   Others say that more guns on campus’s will just result in more violence.  What do you think?  Feel free to email me at tommiller@kw.com if you prefer not to post publically.