A genealogy to die for

For Christians, yesterday was a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior.   Either at home, or at a Christmas Eve service, many return to Matthew or one of the other gospels to hear the Christmas story.  Most will start with Matthew 1:18 to read about the virgin Mary being visited by an angel to announce that she would give birth to the Son of God.  But what about the first 17 verses of Matthew?  Those verses give a genealogy of Jesus, and let's just say that if you spend a little time in the Old Testament, you will find many have quite a colorful past, including prostitutes and murderers.  Why would Matthew kick-off one of the most beautiful stories ever told with an account that would seem to be so ugly?  I believe it is because Matthew wanted his readers to know that Jesus came to save sinners - sinners like me.  And he wasn't just born for me, he died for me.   And that death paid the penalty for all of my sins - past, present and future.  Praise Him.

My post today was inspired by Andy Stanley's current sermon series.

God's Voice

 

This week, I posted about a young local talent at my business website.  Juakeem Fortson is a 14 year old singer from Elberton, Georgia that made a name for himself after appearing on The Voice.  Juakeem doesn't have a long bio yet, but we do know that he grew up singing in church.  His dad wasn't around that much, but there are stories of him waking his mom up to get her to take him to church on Sundays.  Juakeem used his platform on The Voice to honor his time in church by singing "God Only Knows" by for King + Country.  Juakeem didn't win the competition, but he did earn a chance to sing with for King + Country tonight at The Grand Ole Opry.  I'm not sure what he will be singing.  God only knows.  I praise God for using Juakeem to help build His kingdom here on earth.

Marie and Liz

 

In March of 2023 , Marie was just 15 years old when she found herself pregnant and unmarried.  She was overwhelmed with the fear of what to do next.  Her boyfriend encouraged her to seek out a friend or family member that she could confide in.  Marie chose Liz.  Liz was Marie's cousin, much older than Marie, but also pregnant at the time.  Marie showed up at Liz's house, and as soon as Marie entered the house, Liz knew something important was on Marie's mind.  Marie told Liz what had happened, and Liz encouraged her, letting her know that her baby would be special, and that she should love it with all of her heart.   They had no idea at that moment that 30 years later, Liz's son would be the one to baptize Marie's son.

All of the above may have happened in 2023, but the names would probably be different, as I made them up.  For those of you that thought the story sounded familiar, you may remember it happened 2000 years ago, and John tells the story in Chapter 1 of his Gospel letter.  Just to fill in the gaps, Mary was pregnant at 15, but she was a virgin.  An angel let her know that she would give birth to the Son of God.  She went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was well beyond childbearing years, but was also pregnant.  When Mary entered the room, Elizabeth's baby jumped for joy in her womb.  Elizabeth's baby would be named John, and John would be the one to baptize Jesus 30 years later.  Mary and Elizabeth believed what the angel had told Mary, and Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit.

I want my faith to be more like Mary's.  I love hearing this story put to music, and this arrangement is one of my favorites.

Chained Melody

If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that music is important to me.   Aurelia Pitts led our children's choir at First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, GA.  Some time later, I auditioned for the part of Winthrop in The Music Man at the Springer Opera House and was selected for the part.  In that show, Winthrop waits for the Well(th) Fargo Wagon to deliver his new trumpet sold to his parents by Harold Hill, The Music Man.   That brief introduction to the trumpet inspired me to join the school band in 6th grade, where I made eyes at the girl playing flute who would become my wife 11 years later.   After we were married and had our two kids, we joined a traditional church that started a contemporary service.  That is when I was introduced to music by artists like Michael W. Smith and my love for contemporary Christian music grows stronger every year. When my kids were in high school, they had a friend at school named Diana Degarmo.  Diana was a singer with some local notoriety.  She tried out for and made it onto a new TV talent show called American Idol.   We had watch parties to cheer and vote for Dianna, who ended up finishing in second place to Fantasia.   That introduction to American Idol made us fans, and we continued watching.  The following season, a little country girl from Oklahoma won American Idol and is now one of the top selling country artists of all time.  I had no interest in country music before Carrie Underwood, and now I listen to country music regularly.  In 2015, I watched CMA Country Christmas.   It was a great show with some of my favorite singers and favorite Christmas songs, but one performance really hit home - Michael W. Smith and Carrie Underwood singing about the birth of Jesus and the hope that He can bring us every day - the only thing missing is the trumpets.  All is Well.

Tight End Legacy

 

College football has been more fun than ever this year with so many unexpected results.  The 12-team playoff is giving a lot of teams a reason to hope for an extended season and a chance at the national  championship.  UGA has had mixed results like most of the rest of the top teams.  They have talent and depth at all positions, and when they hit on all cylinders, they seem invincible.  Tight end, Lawson Luckie, is making a huge contribution.  Luckie has some big shoes to fill following Brock Bowers, arguably one of the best tight ends ever to play college football.   UGA has had some great tight ends recently, but we have to go back about 20 years to land on Ben Watson.  After a successful NFL career, Ben is back in the spotlight as an analyst for SEC network.   But I have been watching Ben on social media for a while.  He doesn't post that much about his performance on the field, but he posts regularly about what it means to him to be a follower of Jesus.  Ben was recognized in 2018 for his strong character when he received the Bart Starr award.  He used the 8 minutes he had with the microphone to talk about what Jesus has meant to him throughout his life.  With so much of the celebrity world pushing a "look at me" world view, I love seeing Ben display his "look at Him" way of life.

Encounters That Count

Our ConnectGroup from church had its last meeting of the season last week.  Meeting with this group is one of the most important parts of my life, and I miss the time in between seasons.  We had completed Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus, so last night, members brought their favorite bible verses and worship songs to share with the group.  As I was going through songs in preparation, I landed on three to choose from, and selected "It is well" performed by Kristene DiMarco at Bethel.   I was delighted that other members chose the other two on my short list.  One of those songs, I first heard at a church plant Caroline and I were involved with about 20 years ago.  It affected me then and still does today.  The song is "How he loves" and David Crowder was one of the first ones to make the song popular.  I found this cover by a husband/wife worship team at Encounters Church in Texas.  It's interesting that the church name and the title of the book we were studying both include "encounters".  I hope you have an encounter with Jesus today.

Divine Election

The presidential election has dominated air time on televisions, computers, and phones for the past several months.  Now that the election is over, I was curious to see how the conversation might change, and more importantly, what the best Christian response would be.  Regrettably, I had a hard time finding something I could agree with - until I landed on this video from Allen Parr. I didn't know Allen before today, but I liked what he had to say. I especially liked that the 13 minute video was loaded with bible passages supporting his thoughts.  He had three main points. 1) Monitor your communications. Don't communicate messages that will be divisive.  Half of the people in the country will be disappointed in the outcome of the election.  Those people, and all people, are children of God. 2) Put your ultimate faith in God.  No human leader will be perfect and will surely disappoint us at some point.  God is our King and the only one that we can trust in completely. 3)  Keep an eternal perspective.  What happens over the next four years, or the next forty years, will seem trivial when compared with the glory of spending eternity with Jesus.  I encourage you to take 13 minutes to listen, and I would be interested in knowing what you think.

The Right Hand

After Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead, he appeared to Mary and his disciples.  Jesus told them that He would be leaving them, but Mary held on tightly, not wanting to be separated from Him.  At the end of Mark's gospel, Mark reports that Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God.  The ascension was more than just Jesus going up into the sky.  It was a visual picture of Jesus being anointed as King and Ruler of the Universe.  It is similar to a worldy king ascending to his throne, taking on all of the power that role dictates - but so much more.

In Acts 7, Stephen is about to be stoned to death for telling people about Jesus.  But even under the threat of death, Stephen had the "face of an angel".  He said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God".  I love that Stephen sees Jesus standing, unlike earlier when the disciples saw him seated at the right hand of God.  Jesus is not a passive king watching his minions stumble about below.  Jesus is our advocate, standing for us before the throne of God.

When Mary was holding tightly to Jesus before his ascension, she did not want to be separated from him - physically.  But while Jesus was on earth, there were times when she would be with him and times when they were separated.  Jesus assured us before his ascension, that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us, and that if we believe in Him, He will be with us always - standing for us, advocating for us at the right hand of God.

These words were inspired by chapter 9 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

Garden of Despair

 

The night before Jesus was crucified, He had his last supper with those that were closest to him.  He warned them that He would be leaving, but they didn't understand.  After dinner, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, which was a favorite spot for him.  The gospel accounts all describe his mental state as being filled with despair over his impending death.  The despair was so deep that his pores were sweating drops of blood.   If Jesus lived a perfect life and was able to perform miracles, then why did he struggle so much the night before his death?   One of Jesus' primary missions on Earth was to show us how to live and how to love.  He demonstrated that in his love for His disciples and others, but He also demonstrated His perfect love for God, his father.   While we may attempt to love like Jesus, we cannot fathom the depth and beauty of the complete love between Jesus and his father, God.  Jesus, in his humanity, could not stand the idea of being separated from his father, so his despair was real.  His reaction to separation from God modeled how we should feel when we are separated from Him.  So Jesus, as man, modeled for us how to love perfectly, and by dying for our sins, allows us to have the Holy Spirit inhabit us when we believe.  The Holy Spirit is available to lead us and teach us every second of every day.  I want to listen more.

These ideas were inspired by Chapter 8 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

The Other Advocate

All four gospels talk about the night before Jesus died, but only John details Jesus' instructions to his disciples.  Jesus lets the disciples know that He will be leaving them, and they respond with surprise, confusion and dismay. He lets them know that He has to leave so that the "other advocate" can be with them.  If we think of an advocate as a legal advocate in today's world, it is someone who represents you, someone who stands up for you and even someone that makes a case for you.  With God the Father as the judge, Jesus is our defender and our advocate.  He is making a case for us with God.  But after that, the analogy breaks down.  Jesus didn't just represent us and make a case for us.  When God, the judge, pronounced us guilty, instead of the sentence being imposed on us, Jesus took the punishment through his death on the cross.  I'm not aware of any defense attorneys that have done that for their clients.  So if Jesus is our advocate, who is the "other advocate" he refers to.  The other advocate is the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us.   While Jesus, the first advocate, speaks to God on our behalf, the Holy Spirit, the other advocate, talks to us for us.  I want to do a better job listening.  And I pray that is true for each of us today.

While these are my words, most of the ideas were inspired by Chapter 7 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

An Open Purse

Robert attended Pasadena Nazarene College and spent the next several years as an evangelist traveling across California working mostly with troubled teens.  He joined an organization called Youth for Christ, and became close with Billy, who was one of the leaders there.  Robert's involvement in Youth for Christ took him overseas where he was moved by the poverty and despair of the war-torn areas that he visited.  He founded an organization called World Vision International dedicated to helping children out of poverty.  He then started Samaritan's Purse dedicated to providing food to starving children and helping with disaster relief.  

Robert Pierce died of Leukemia in 1978.  It was 1950 when he started World Vision International.  In 1970, he started Samaritan's Purse which is now run by Franklin. It  turns out Billy from Youth for Christ, and Franklin from Samaritan's Purse, have the same last name - Graham.  You may have heard of them.  

Robert probably wouldn't have guessed that 46 years after his death, The Samaritan's Purse organization that he founded would be coordinating hurricane relief in the area surrounding their headquarters in Boone, NC.  Praise God for the vision that Robert had to help others, and please continue praying for and supporting in any way you can the victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Flood Of Emotion

 

I posted this week at SpotOnTheLake encouraging readers to do what they can to help the victims of hurricane Helene.  I'm sure there are 100's of stories of heroism that have been circulating about rescue workers and private citizens that have been able to help victims, but this one got caught on live TV.  Bob Van Dillen was doing a live broadcast from Peachtree Creek in Atlanta.  He heard a woman calling out from a partially submerged vehicle and he called 911.  The screams became more intense, and he realized that someone needed to help right away.  He stopped the broadcast and waded in chest deep water to the car to free her.  The cameras rolled again as he was carrying her to safety clinging to his back.  Bob was very humble in his remarks afterwards downplaying his actions, but as we all know, the risk of entering high, moving water can be very dangerous.  I can't say for sure, but I hope my response would have been the same as his.  We lift up continued prayers for all of those affected by the storm.  Summary video     Longer video with interview

Something To Wine About

 

These days, huge wedding celebrations are commonplace, and I can't think of anything better to celebrate than a couple making a commitment to love each other for a lifetime.  But today's celebrations can't compare to the wedding parties that took place when Jesus walked the Earth.  Wedding celebrations lasted for a week or more.  One of the center pieces of the wedding celebration was wine.  Jesus attended a wedding celebration that was just getting going good, when his mother approached him to let him know that the hosts had run out of wine.  Jesus' response was surprising.  "Woman, why do you involve me?  My hour has not yet come."  But Mary told the servants to get Jesus whatever he needed.  Jesus directed the servants to get six twenty gallon jars used for ceremonial washing and fill them with water.   When the liquid was presented to the master of the banquet, the water had been turned to wine.  Jesus had completed his first public miracle.

But why did He pick this one to start with?  It seems a bit underpowered based on what we now know He was capable of.  The celebrations were not just about the bride and groom, but a union of the couple's families, and the new family's connection with the community at large.  With wine being such an important part of the celebration, running out of wine wasn't just a social faux pas, it was a public disgrace.  The family avoided public shame and scrutiny when Jesus provided the new supply of wine.  

But why did Jesus respond to his mother so sharply?  Being fully human, He knew that this miracle would start a string of miracles that would lead to His death.  "My hour has not come yet".  But being fully God, He knew that His greatest miracle would be his own resurrection.  It's no coincidence that the evening before Jesus' death, He directed all who follow Him to drink wine as a symbol of His blood shed on the cross as atonement for our sins.

Praise God for the supernatural way that He gave himself to us.

This post was inspired by Chapter 4 of Tim Keller's book, Encounters with Jesus.

May I have the next dance?

 

Our family has had a tough week.  My mom, 92 years old, passed away in her home on Thursday.  Mom was born in Virginia.  She and my dad raised me and my two brothers in Columbus, GA.  Mom was a high school teacher and school administrator for almost 20 years in Columbus.  When my dad retired, they moved back to Virginia, and Mom continued to teach at the Community College there.  After my dad passed away, she moved back to Georgia and lived next door to us in Braselton for the remainder of her life.  Mom continued to teach kids Sunday school at her church as long as she was able.  My mom was the rock of our family, and we were so fortunate to have her near us for the last 13 years.  Over the past several months, her mobility began to fail, but we were fortunate that her mind stayed sharp until the very end.  We will miss her greatly, but we know that she is dancing with my dad in Heaven today.  Praise God for His promises.

Thirst Quencher

 As Jesus made his way from Judea to Galilee, he passed through Samaria in the middle part of the day.  The heat was intense and Jesus' thirst was almost overwhelming.  He found a seat near a well, but had nothing to draw the water with. A Samaritan woman was coming to the well for water, and Jesus asked her for a drink.   For Jesus to speak to her was shocking for three reasons.   She was a woman; she was a Samaritan, and she was a moral outcast, as she was by herself in the middle of the day, instead of taking care of her family.  She challenged Jesus as to why He would speak to her, and He responded. "If you knew the gift of God, and who you were speaking with, you would have asked me for living water."  Confused, she questioned, "How could you provide me with water when you have no way to get it from the well?"  Jesus replied, "Whoever drinks the water from the well will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the living water will never be thirsty again."  She then asks Him for the living water, but Jesus tells her to go get her husband.  She confessed that she didn't have a husband, and Jesus confirmed that she has had five husbands, and she was currently sleeping with a man she wasn't married to.  The woman recognized Jesus as a prophet and told Him that she knew the Messiah would come, and when he came, He would explain everything to her.  Jesus declared, "I am He".  

Jesus' thirst that day led him to an encounter with a woman that could have gone in several different directions.  But His calm approach, and uncondeming manner led her to Him.  Jesus has that same thirst for each of us to know Him and follow Him.  Come and drink from the well.

Mental Health Crisis

Once again our country is dealing with a sick or troubled individual who has decided the appropriate response is to shoot and kill innocent people.  Only this time, the incident is in my backyard.  People I work with and go to church with have students at Apalachee High School.  Thankfully, their children were not harmed physically, but I can't imagine what they and their families went through yesterday.  The shooting will change their lives forever, and I hope and pray that they have extended family, friends and counselors that are able to provide some level of comfort.   I am all for whatever we can do to make schools safer, but I have to believe if someone is that sick, they will find a way to act on their impulse, even if it is outside of a school at some other less protected venue.   I think our only hope is to do a better job recognizing and addressing the mental health issues that are leading to these tragedies.  I am not an expert, but I did find these resources for help:  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Crisis Services at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health.  If you are struggling with anything, I would welcome a call at 678-469-9917.

He's from where?

Jesus' disciple, Phillip, had heard Jesus teaching and had seen him performing miracles.  He told his friend, Nathaniel, that he had to meet this man from Nazareth.  Nathaniel scoffed at him, not believing anything good could come from Nazareth.  But when Nathaniel met Jesus, Jesus greeted him as if he already knew him.  Nathaniel asked, "how do you know me?", and Jesus replied, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Phillip called you."  Nathaniel was amazed and immediately believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  But Jesus rebuked him for believing so shallowly. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, you will see Heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man".

How many of us discount what someone else thinks based on where they are from or who they know?  It is natural for us to put others down in order to elevate our own position.  But there was nothing natural about Jesus.  Indeed, He was, and is, supernatural.  He was known for associating himself with lepers, thieves and adulterers.  And only those who truly grew to know him understood and appreciated His desire to know the least and the lost.  That is what He calls us to do.  I want to try to be more like that today.  I want to see heaven open.

A Walk To Remember

 

I am still coming off of the two-week high delivered by the Paris Olympics.   Some of the competition was riveting, and the stories of overcoming adversity and personal sacrifice were inspiring.  One of the events I didn't catch in prime time was the walk-race, and I didn't seek out any clips of the results either.  It is interesting that the walk-race was one of the track and field events that my family witnessed in 1996 at Turner Field.  I wasn't that excited about it then either.  But, this interview caught my attention.  Australian, Jemimah Mongag, won the bronze medal, and her level-headed comments gave me chills as she talked about what the achievement meant to her and her advice to other young athletes.  After a quick search, I learned that her grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust, so it seems clear to me that her grandparents and parents did a pretty good job of teaching her what things really matter.  I hope she inspires you as much as she did me.

Nothing Short Of Rival

I saw a news article about a revival called March for Jesus that is taking place in Boston on August 25th.  They are expecting the largest crowd for a gathering of this type since Martin Luther King preached there in 1950.   There are a lot of speakers and musicians participating, but Jaymz Sideras, a revivalist originally from London is spearheading the event.  I hadn't heard of Dr. Jaymz before so I searched up this video where he describes the impact of the greatest person that ever lived.  Take a few minutes, listen, and pray for revival in Boston and across the globe.

Which God Is Which?

 

Christians around the world were outraged last week when the opening ceremonies for the Olympics depicted a group of drag queens posing in what seemed to be a depiction of the Last Supper.   After closer scrutiny, most people agree that the depiction was actually of the Greek god, Dionuysus, son of Zeus.  Dionysus was recognized as the god of wine and spiritual ecstasy as depicted in this 1630 painting by Jan Harmensz van Bijlert.  The reference to Dionysus would make more sense due to the Greek origin of the Olympics.  That being said, many believe that the Christian outrage was not over the Last Supper depiction, but the inclusion of the drag queens in the opening ceremonies.  The assumption that the re-creation was of the Last Supper, and the social media frenzy that followed, does seem to indicate to me that we, as Christians, sometimes believe the world to revolve around us.  The world doesn't revolve around us.  The world revolves because God put it in motion so that we could seek Him, find Him and follow Him.  I want to do that more.

Close Encounters

Our ConnectGroup from church had the summer off, but we are getting ready to crank up the Fall season.  There will be 17 of us this semester studying Tim Keller's Encounters with Jesus.  If you aren't familiar with Tim, he is the pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and is known for his clear, reasoned approach to Christian apologetics.  If you haven't read any of his books yet, I highly recommend them.  And if you're not sure about who the Christian God is, I highly recommend The Reason for God, Belief in an Age of Skepticism.  I hope some of you will read along with us.

Healing Prayer

 

I have been reading a book called Healing Prayer by David Chotka and Maxie Dunham.  The authors tell stories of their personal experiences with miracles that God has performed as a result of prayer.  The stories are inspirational, but they both acknowledge that there are many more times when their prayers for healing were not answered.  I have prayed for people I know with serious illness, and to my knowledge, those prayers have not been answered yet.  It raises the difficult question.  Why does God sometimes answer prayers, and at other times, he seemingly doesn't.  I wonder if my prayers are not bold enough, or if my faith is not strong enough.  Those things may be true, but there is another truth.  God instructs us to pray for others.  We may not understand his methods, or his timing, but our obedience is rewarded.  I found this great testimony by CeCe Winans about a healing miracle in her family history.   And if you haven't experienced her gift of music in a while, this is one of my favorites.

Thomas and Lauren

Even if you aren't a fan of country singer/songwriter, Thomas Rett, you have probably heard his music or at least recognize his name.  You may not have heard about his wife, Lauren Akins, unless you saw her on Good Morning America this morning like I did.   GMA did a feature story on her because she has been surprisingly open about the struggles she has had as a mom and a wife.  She became pregnant with her first child as she was in the middle of a 13 month adoption process of a baby that she met while on a mission trip to Haiti.  After the birth of her first natural daughter, she then quickly had two more girls.  She struggled with postpartum depression and was resentful that it seemed that Thoms's life and career was just continuing as usual.  In an "I am second" video, Lauren describes what she was going through and how support from her friends and counselors, and her faith in Jesus, were the three things that allowed her to emerge from the depression.  Social media usually paints a picture of how perfect it is to have fame and fortune.  I am thankful that Lauren had the guts to let people know it's not always that way.  I was disappointed, but not surprised, that GMA did not mention her faith in Jesus once during their segment.  I hope a lot of people, including you, take a moment to view the full 11 minute "I am second" video.  Praise God for people like Lauren who are willing to use their position to help build God's kingdom here on Earth.

Boat Church

 

Most of you know that we have been loving Lake Hartwell on weekends for the last 26 years.  Our kids were young teens when we began.  We had a home church in Gwinnett County, but many Sundays were spent at the lake.  We missed being at church on Sunday mornings, so we started Boat Church.  Several families gathered to sing, pray and worship at a friend's dock.  We would usually have about 20 people, but on holiday weekends we might have as many as 50.  People came by car or boat.  When our kids started having their own kids, the logistics got more difficult to manage, and we began meeting less frequently.  This year on Memorial Day weekend and on July 4th weekend, we revived the tradition.  My good friend John and his son led music, and my son-in-law, Trey, prepared a message for us.  The music and message were inspiring, and it was so good to connect with friends that we don't get to see that often.  I hope that we can start meeting more regularly on Sundays at the lake.  I hope you have a meaningful place to worship every week.

Freedom

 

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating our country's freedom from the tyranny of oppression by Great Britain.   Last week, I posted about some of the heroes that sacrificed everything for our freedom from the Nazis during WW-II.  Struggling against oppression has been a part of our history since the beginning of time as recorded by the earliest manuscripts known to man.  That oppression can be attributed to man's broken nature described in the Book of Genesis and throughout the Old Testament.  Our true freedom from that broken nature was only made possible by the life and death of Jesus, God in the flesh, who came to Earth to save us from our sin.  I was reminded of the words from this worship song, "Come out of the dark, just as you are, into the freedom of his love."  I hope you are able to celebrate our country's freedom well and also take a few moments to celebrate the freedom available through knowing and following Jesus.

The Cost of Independence

I just finished watching Band of Brothers for the first time.  Band of Brothers is an HBO/MAX miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg that follows a regiment of paratroopers through WW II.  Ironically, it was released on 9/9/2001, just two days before 9/11.  There is also a local connection in that the Band of Brothers were trained in our backyard, Toccoa, GA.  The series is widely believed to be accurate to the actual events, and several of the servicemen were interviewed, with those interviews being used to set up each episode.  The 10 episodes take you from Normandy, to France, to Holland, to Belgium, to a German concentration camp, to Hitler's outpost, Eagle's Nest, in Bavaria, all following the same regiment.  The violence throughout the series is gruesome.  But I am sure it was nowhere near as gruesome as the actual events.  49 of  the 360 men were killed and many more injured.

The personalities of the men in the company were all over the map, just like the rest of the world, but many were leaders that put their personal needs aside for the betterment of the company.   However, I see every one of them as a hero for being willing to endure the trauma of the war to stop the oppression, aggression and mass anihilation by the Nazi's, that if left unchecked, would have certainly changed the world we know for the worse.

As we come up on Independence Day, I am more thankful for the sacrifice of our servicemen than ever before.  If you haven't seen Band of Brothers, it is streaming on MAX and Netflix.  If you have seen it, you may want to watch it again.  There is also a podcast with the producers and actors which accompanies each episode.

Happy Independence Day.

Pirate Plunder

 

For the past 9 summers, scalawags have descended on Lake Hartwell to enjoy the bounty of their hard work from the previous year.  Regrettably, one Captain Hook, has sought to spoil their celebration by stealing their treasure.  The scalawags begin a relentless pursuit to find Captain Hook and recover their rightful plunder.   No stone is left unturned, tracking him by land and boat.  Other activities include crafts, tubing, a limbo contest, cliff jumping and lunch on the scalawag  dock - and that was just day one.  This year 11 scalawags were old enough to attend, and the oldest have been promoted to senior scalawag status.  6 of them come from my bloodline, and the other 5 from the bloodline of some close friends.  I believe I have reported this in the past, but these three days are some of the most exhausting, but three of the most important days of the year for me.  Isn't that how it usually works?  For some video coverage from yesterday, check out my facebook page.

Acts Like Him

I am reading through Acts now and came across the account of Stephen's short time on earth.   After Jesus' death, the disciples are busy spreading the story of His death and His resurrection.  The physical needs of the people saving others and those being saved were growing exponentially, and someone needed to be responsible for distributing food to all of them.  Stephen was chosen to lead this important ministry, but Stephen was also known for his unquenchable desire to tell people about Jesus.    The rulers of the area were threatened by his words and many wanted him dead.

Even in the face of hate and danger, he continued to proclaim the good news.  Stephen was dragged from the city and stoned to death, becoming the first known martyr as a follower of Jesus.  His final words were "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do now hold this sin against them."  I pray that I will someday have an ounce of Stephen's courage.

Standstill

I'm not very good at sitting still (or standing still).  And if I am sitting still, the television is probably on.  Even if it is only on in the background, it is there.  I have been encouraged by multiple people that I respect to find time to sit still in the quiet and focus on who God is.  When I do that, I have felt renewed and at peace.   I listened to this worship song this morning for the first time.  I love this prayer put to music: "I breathe you in. Come fill me Holy Spirit with your mighty rushing wind.  Flood me with Your living water.  Rush through me now 'til my soul overflows."  The idea of inviting the Holy Spirit inside me until I am so full that it overflows to others is a beautiful word picture.  I have so far to go.  Thank God for his patience with me.  Now, let me sit in silence and invite Him in.  I hope you will do the same.

Healing Prayer

A friend let me borrow a book called Healing Prayer by David Chotka and Maxie Dunham.  I have just started it, but I am already inspired and scared.  I am inspired as each of them shared their personal experiences with healing prayer in the first chapter.  David had an acquaintance that had ridiculed him for his Christian belief.  The acquaintance was diagnosed with phlebitis and had asked through a mutual friend for David to pray for him.  He stated, "David is the only one I know that believes."   Based on the history, David initially rejected the request, but later was convinced that he needed to be faithful to God and to the request.  David visited the acquaintance in the hospital, laid his hands on the diseased area, and prayed for healing for the first time in his life.  He felt a warmth go from his arm into the diseased shoulder.  The next day multiple doctors confirmed that there was no sign of the phlebitis.  Maxie's story was different in that his family and church community was praying for his grandson who had multiple issues with his vision over several years.  Doctors said he would never be able to see normally, but after multiple years, his vision was almost completely restored.  These stories are inspirational, but the scary part to me is that I know I have prayed prayers for healing that have not been answered immediately, and most have still not been answered to my knowledge.   I know that this is true for many of my friends who have done the same.  That makes me question both my level of faith and my capacity to pray "correctly".  I hope this book is going to help me with both of those fears.  I would love to hear your experiences with healing prayer.

Extended Family

 

My earthly family is the second most important thing in my life after my relationship with my heavenly Father.  I am fortunate that my two brothers, my mom and both of my children's families are all in the Atlanta area.  I get to see all of them regularly.  But time away from work is pretty rare.  Over the last six weeks, both of my children, and Caroline and I, have had couples-only trips, and all of us just completed four days with the grandkids at Disney.  We had a blast.  Since Michael and I work together in real estate, one might have expected the extended time off to take a toll on the business.  But somehow, out of hundreds of Keller Williams teams in the southeast region, our team was number 4 in April, and May will be the best month in the history of our company.  All of this build up is to let you know that there is another important member of our extended family.  Janet Jeanes has been the Client Services Manager for Spot On The Lake since 2007, and she has stuck with us through thick and thin.  Her title describes her role perfectly, as she is responsible for serving our clients in the best way that she can.   Many times when I show up for closings, the client will say, "oh, we hoped Janet would be here."  Her dedication to our clients and her faithfulness to our small company are two of the primary reasons that we continue to have success.  And with Michael and I being gone recently, it is obvious that she has everything that she needs to handle things beautifully while we are out.  I count myself very fortunate to have Janet as a part of our extended family.  Thank you Janet for all you do for us.

P119

 JC is a good friend that I have written about in the past. (John Crawfrord, not Jesus Christ).  I first met JC in the Redcoat Band at UGA in 1980.  We both played trumpet in that band and in the UGA Jazz Band.  We were more acquaintances than good friends at that time.  After college, JC joined Northwestern Mutual and Caroline and I eventually became his clients for life insurance.  Caroline became his office manager about the time I changed careers to go into real estate.  We both like to waterski, and JC eventually became my client for real estate when he bought a home at Lake Hartwell.  We have watched our kids grow up loving the lake and for several years met for boat church at the lake on Sundays.  JC is one of the most generous people I have ever known, and I happen to know his secret.  He is a fervent reader of the Bible, and he consistently reminds me that I need to be one, too.  I have a long way to go.  This week he encouraged me to read Psalm 119.  I'm sure I have read what turns out to be the longest book of the Bible in the past, but it has been a while.  It is packed with truth, and you could spend hours meditating on just a few verses.  If you haven't read it in a while, I want to follow JC's lead and encourage you to read it today.  

"Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands." v73

The Other Brother (update)

 

On January 11th of this year, I posted about Jeymes Samuel, who wrote, produced and composed the score for the movie, The Book of Clarence.  I had not seen the movie yet at that time, and this week, I finally had the opportunity to see it.  The movie presents Clarence as the undocumented brother of Thomas from the Bible.  Clarence is a street-wise man with a disreputable past, who after hearing about the growing popularity of Jesus, decides he should be a Messiah, too.  His interactions with other characters from the Bible artfully blend truth with what "could be true" to deliver a very compelling story.  But it is the change that takes place in Clarence that turns a story that could be considered by some to be a spoof,  into a true reflection of the power of the one and only God.  If  you have seen it, I would love to hear what you think.  If you haven't, I strongly recommend it.

The Seventh of June

 

On 6/7/2017, when Anne was 15 years old, she received the news that nobody wants to get.  Her older brother, Jacob, had been killed in a car accident.  She had been very close to her brother, and of course, she was traumatized.  In planning the funeral, Anne's mother asked her if she would sing, and Anne agreed to sing one of her favorite songs, "What a beautiful name" from Hillsong Worship.  This was the first time that she had sung publicly.  During and after the service, Anne realized that singing, and especially singing worship music, was something that she felt called to do.  Afterwards, she was encouraged by friends to record this video, and posted it to YouTube.  Over a million people watched it, and one of those people was a talent scout for Capitol Christian Music Group, who signed Anne to that label in 2019.  Two years later, at the age of 19, Anne Wilson's debut song, My Jesus, was nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Song.  Last year, Anne released The Seventh of June as a tribute to her brother and a statement of God's presence while she was dealing with her grief.  Praise God for bringing healing from sadness, and thanks to Anne for sharing her gift to bring Him glory.

Celebrating Marriage

 

It is a sad fact that almost one half of all marriages in the United States will end in divorce.  I am proud that my parents were married almost 50 years until my dad passed away.  Caroline and I have now been married for 40 years, and this week we are celebrating with a well-deserved vacation.  We have booked a Mediterranean cruise stopping in Barcelona, France and three stops in Italy.  I can't wait to spend extended time with Caroline and am also thankful that Michael and Janet are fully qualified to keep Spot On The Lake thriving while we are away.  I feel very blessed that God gifted us our marriage.  I want to continue to do everything I can to honor the union that He is a part of.

Control Freaks

Last night, our ConnectGroup from church finished up our study of The Cost of Control by Sharon Hodde Miller.   One of the main points Sharon left us with is that the only things we can really control are ourselves, and there are plenty of times when I do a lousy job of that.  She differentiated control from influence.   Control is about forcing our agenda on others.  Influence is attempting to understand another person's position and then offering counsel when that person is open to it.   I face this decision on which approach to take a lot in my business and with my personal relationships.  I believe I have gotten better at choosing influence over the years, but I still have a long way to go.  While our group didn't always understand Sharon's recommended approach, her writing did a good job of stimulating conversation with the group, and as the group leader, I appreciated that.  And there is one other thing we know for sure.   Our gathering, our study and our desire to know God more are pleasing to Him.  I hope you have, or can find, a group of believers to share your journey with.

Masters of what?

 

Even people who have never swung a golf club love to watch what will be unfolding in Augusta for the next four days.  The Masters Golf Tournament is steeped in tradition and that tradition is strengthened by the fact that it is the only major golf tournament played in the same location every year.  Tiger Woods is playing again this year, and there are literally millions of fans that want to see him do well.  Scottie Scheffler won the tournament 2 years ago and is currently ranked number one in the world.  His golf skills have been honed to the highest level.   But an interview I saw with him yesterday made an even bigger impression on me.  The question from the reporter went like this: "How does golf fit in defining you  as a person right now?"  Scottie responds: "Hopefully it doesn't define me too much...I am a faithful guy. I believe in Jesus.  Ultimately, that is what defines me the most."  Celebrities and athletes have a tremendous platform to push their agenda.  Regrettably, most of the time, I am not on board.  I am so grateful for people like Scottie who are not ashamed to share what Jesus has done for them.   Click here for the full interview (the comments on his faith starting around minute 11).  I also found this interview from 2 years ago after he won the Masters.  I love to watch Tiger, but you probably know who I will be cheering for.