My Dogs and My Sermons..

Now don’t get me wrong about what I am going to say. I don't hate dogs. I love my dogs. I even talk to them. I just don’t ask them questions expecting them to answer me. They say a dog is a man’s best friend. I guess that all depends on the man and the dog. We have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Bo and Jake are simply lap dogs. They eat, sleep and wait to be petted. They bark only when they want a piece of ice to chew on. They make little or no demands. In fact they give me loads of affection. When I come home from a long trip or even a short trip to the grocery store, they meet me at the door and run in circles until I sit down and let them give me a big slobbery kiss. At times, I feel like walking out the back door and around the house and coming in again, just so I can feel loved and get another kiss. I have found them to be two of  best friends. They serve me well. When I am going over my sermon they lay in the floor and sleep. It makes it feel just like I am preaching in church, with little or no response coming from the pews. They usually wake up when I am finished and expect to be petted. The more I think about it, it’s a lot like church. I wonder if both my dogs as well as people's response in church have anything to do with my preaching?

Frustrated by Telephone Prompts?

I realize times have changed and I'm still a little old fashion, but it doesn't change the fact that telephone prompts frustrate the heck out of me. How many times have you called a business and have been asked to press a certain key to speak to someone. Of course you will need to know their extension. Generally a list of names and extensions are not conveyed. I have moved beyond the frustration of the first prompt which is, do you prefer 'English' or 'Spanish'. 

I prefer a person, even if they speak spanish. I realize I will not be able to use my hands over the phone to communicate with them, but generally the name of a person I speak, they will understand. 

Usually when I call a business, I’m not sure which number to press, because by the end of all the selections I have either forgotten all mentioned prompt selections or nothing matched what I needed. It usually ends up either, “ your business is important to us so please remain on the line, and someone will be with you shortly,” or “please press zero and the operator will direct your call.” Nine times out of ten, it usually ends up that I have to press zero because I didn’t hear anything I needed. Once I press zero I  hear someone say, "we are experiencing a high volume of calls, your call will be handled in 12 minutes." 

Another fun little annoyance with these prompts is when I hear, “please listen carefully because our menu selections have changed.” This is great but I never called your company before, so how would I know what the old selections were? I think they do this because they want you to stay on the phone and hear all their choices, and you won’t try using the prompts before they say what they are. Maybe there could be a game show called “Beat the Prompts.” 

 People still need people. It just seems like it is harder to get to people than ever before. Look, I understand the cost of having a receptionist that is good at multi-tasking, but there has got to be a better way. 

Here’s a thought, just put a receptionist on the phone. Not only will we not have to sit and listen to the laundry list of the “directory” selections, but our call will end up being directed to exactly where it needs to go, even if it is to the right persons voice mail. At least we can move on into hope that they will return our call, plus you’ll help the unemployment rate.

I'm Through Whining...The quilter finally made me a quilt.

If you remember a few post back I wrote about being married to an avid quilter. I shared how she had made a quilt for everyone in the family but me.  Of course, I whined and complained about being her only financial sponsor.  I know it is probably pretty petty of me, but after I saw her first quilt I was blown away at its beauty.  I wanted one to call my own. Well, as much as I hate whining and complaining (which she believes I enjoy),  I must say it worked. It was either that or the $8,000.00 Janome 12000 sewing machine I bought for her sewing room.

Anyway, it was a small price to pay to see her happy face. It has been said, "if momma ain't happy nobody's happy."  I cannot say that about my children's momma. She has always been one of the most, spiritual, secure, gifted, talented, loving, easy going, and generous women I know. Add to that being a pastor's wife for over 25 years, raising three wonderful children, and being a fantastic grandmother to seven grandchildren. And to think she doesn't even teach a Bible Study. But she is for sure a Proverbs 31 woman from my perspective.

Trust me when I tell you I lie…

Why anyone would want to attend a church pastored by me, sit across from me in a counseling session, follow me on this blog or on Facebook, and read anything I write is a mystery. Especially after telling you up front that I lie, yet I can be trusted.

 Is is possible that a man who tells you upfront that he lies can be trusted? OK, maybe I'm not a full blown liar, but for sure one whose life is filled with many harmless contradictions. I guess you could say much of my life is a paradox.

 Let me explain… In my closet are 2 pair of custom made cowboy boots and a pair of riding boots. They are lined up neatly on the bottom row of my shoe rack. But the real truth is I don't own and have never owned a horse or cattle, and have no plans to do so.

On my desk is a nice case that holds many beautiful writing instruments. I think the number is now up to… let me not say. While they are very beautiful and functional, I spend all my time typing and tapping away on my computer or iPhone.

 Mounted on the wall in my office is a nice trout and several ducks. But I'm really not a big hunter or fisherman. Sure, I have hunted and fished, but not enough to be considered a real sportsman. For sure not enough to have game mounted on the wall.

Since I am coming clean maybe I ought to tell you my closet is filled with an over abundance of workout clothes with TCU logos. The truth is I never went to TCU and haven't worked out since I don't know when.

 I could feel bad, but I don't. Why? Because these are as stated, 'harmless contradictions'. You see if all of us closely examined our lives we would find many contradictions. While not changing my office decor or getting rid of my boots, I do want to always be real, open and honest and deal with every contradiction that keeps me from being the man God intended me to be.

Married to an avid Quilter...

My lovely wife Anne known by many as Preacher's Wife became a quilter about 18 months ago. At that time I thought it was a neat hobby for her to take up since she is a fantastic seamstress as well as mother and grandmother. She immediately set a goal to make all her children and grandchildren a special quilt from Nonny.

As of this post I haven't seen her in about 18 months. Don't laugh it's not funny.  Only a quilter's spouse would know this to be a true statement.

When she first started I had no idea that quilting would be so expensive. According to statistics it ranks above hunting and golfing for the most money spent on a hobby. That was hard for me to believe until now.

Being the loving husband I am and wanting my wife to be happy and totally fulfilled, I turned our guest bedroom into her sewing and quilting room. And that was when she first went missing.

At present she is on target for her goal of making quilts for the children and grandchildren.  Even though I am her ONLY financial sponsor, I have yet to hear about any quilt being made for me.

So as she quilts away for others, I am left with only a U-haul moving blanket for any means of cover. Prayers welcome!

I am pretty sure she will will have a rebuttal of this post on her blog soon. Preachers Wife Speaks

Til Death Do Us Part...

Anne and I will be married 45 years on December 6th. She had just turned 16 and I was 19. Honestly, as I look back and reminisce I must admit we had no clue what we were doing. We were just ‘in love’. So how did we stay the course for almost 45 years? I think it was love but not the kind of love we read about in romance novels rather the kind of love that is described in the Bible. Love is more than a feeling because feelings change. Anne and I have not always felt in love or felt like we wanted to remain married. Love is a choice. Love has to do with the will. We must love when we don’t feel like it because this is what God requires. This is real love.

We don’t feel we are better than others in the marriage arena. We’ve had our ups and downs, our sharp disagreements. Yes, we have allowed the sun to go down on our anger as well as come up while we were still angry. Maybe we’ve stayed married because we were both to proud and stubborn to leave or quit. We had 3 wonderful children and they deserved better than us giving up or just quitting.

I know a little about young love and romance. Through the years in ministry I have learned about covenant. I know which one is most likely to last. Romance so often is seen in the phrase “as long as,” while covenant is ‘until”.

If you know me, then you know this is not written to belittle anyone who has experienced the hurt and pain of divorce. It’s about how it takes God, and two people who are willing to hang in there when the going get rough. Hopefully, wherever you are in your marriage relationship you will allow God’s love to prevail in your heart, and keep choosing in the hard times to will it so. We are but one of many testimonies that declare you can make it.
Thanks for rejoicing with us.

A Cardinal is just a noisy red bird...

I don't want to make a big deal out of the upcoming World Series. I want to be fair and non-bias. I am sure you who know me believe this. To be honest, I'm not even an avid baseball fan. I usually tune in during the play-offs right before the championship.

Now I don't want anyone to take what I'm going to say all wrong. I don't hate the Cardinals. I have nothing whatsoever against the Cardinals. A Cardinal to me is just a beautiful red bird that makes a lot of noise.

But there is something about me I would like for you to know. I am a God loving, God fearing man. I love God, my family, my many friends, the USA, and last but not least the Republic of Texas. I root for every Texas person or team who is competing with anyone outside of Texas. If two Texas teams are competing against each other I flip a coin (unless I have a dog in the hunt = a bet)(either way I win) to choose my Texas team of the day.

I have difficulty understanding how a Texan can root for another team who is playing a Texas team. I know this happens and I am sure there are many good reasons one could give. I just said, "I don't understand it."

So my friends, as the World Series begins tomorrow, I hope you'll sit back and enjoy and root for the team of your choice. GO TEXAS RANGERS!!!

The Filing Cabinet Finale... +Go Rangers

I'm really not interested in the assembly of the filing cabinet becoming a series, but I would like to wrap things up in a positive way. When my children were growing up and they made a bad choice or had a bad experience, I would always encourage them to put it behind them and move forward. I would then ask them what they learned from the experience. Now I can hear my children saying to me, "OK Dad, what did you learn from this, or what is the principle behind this experience?" It is amazing what our children remember from their childhood and how it will often come back to bite you in the butt. So here are 3 things for us (me) to remember. First, when the price is not an issue, go with what you most like. Second, if you're not good at assembling things, don't do it. Third, finish what you start...even if there are parts left over. So if I was a Texas Ranger going to the World Series I would be batting over 600. First, I bought what I liked, and thought would fit the decor. Second, I finished the project. But I struck out by not having it preassembled. Go Rangers!

The Saga of the Assembly: When Will I Ever Learn...

One would think by the time you reach my age you would have learned certain things to do and not to do. Yesterday, I told Preacher's Wife that I was going to shop around for a filing cabinet for my office. So I rushed off to Office Depot to check their selection. I must admit they had a nice selection of standard preassembled metal filing cabinets in various colors. All I needed to do was pick the color and determine if I wanted one that locked or not. But no, my eyes had to see a nice beautiful black wooden one that matched my office decor. It looked so good there on the showroom floor and the price was right, so I said to the salesman, "I'll take it." I went to the cashier and paid for it. He returned shortly from the back of the store pushing a huge flat box. Immediately my memory of all my life experiences concerning assembling purchased items had not served me well. I knew better than to buy things that had to be assembled. But I loaded it up and brought it home...Thinking... Yes, thinking, I can do this. Well here I sit posting on this blog and the cabinet is in the garage only half finished after 3 hours of intense frustration. I will finish it sometime today, hopefully before college football begins. Just to think it could have been assembled in the store for $50.00. When will I ever learn?

Payback Time...

This past Sunday I was speaking at New Covenant Church in Longview, Texas. For you who are not familiar with Texas, Longview is a town 120 miles east of Dallas. The people there are avid Dallas Mavericks fans. So a couple of years when the San Antonio Spurs beat the Mavericks in the playoffs, being from San Antonio I decided to preach there in a Spurs T-shirt. It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but I did it anyway. They laughed but somehow I knew it was the kind of a laugh that said, "we will repay - someday."  This past Sunday was that day. After being introduced I moved toward the podium and as I did I heard the crowd begin to laugh. When I looked on the huge overhead screen this is what I saw. Payback time it was. We all had a good laugh.