Life Lessons From My Dad

You can never change your oil too often.
This may be why I'm able to drive my cars for 10+ years.

You can always make room for one more pet.
An abandoned dog or two...or more...many more...make great pets. An injured rabbit is also a good pet. Cows are pets too. That's why they need names.

If it needs to be done, do it.
If you have to do it, you might as well have fun, and singing makes everything more fun. If you don't know the words to a song, make some up.

The secret to good health is warm feet.
Since my dad wanted his family to be healthy, everyone needed to at least wear slippers in the house. So every time he was coming to visit we made sure we did. Sometimes when the phone rang Brooke and Ben would quickly grab shoes just in case it was Granddaddy...because he would ask. 

The secret to a long life, in addition to staying healthy with warm feet, is a daily walk, a daily nap, and a healthy dose of stubbornness. 
One day Anna and I went for a visit and found my dad out building a fence on his property. I asked if he wanted to ride back to the house with us. He said no because he hadn't had his walk yet that day. So he walked home. Because building a fence was not enough exercise.

Stubbornness definitely paid off. I visited him in the hospital on election day 2012. He was there for congestive heart failure and kidney failure. This was a few days after being told there was nothing they could do since the surgery he had in 1995 was really only supposed to last 10 years so he should say his goodbyes. He told his nurse he would need to leave so he could go vote. When his pastor came to visit he told him he'd see him in church the next night. My step mom questioned whether he was going to be able to do either of those things. He didn't make it to church the next night, but he did go vote that day.

One of the last times we all went to see him, he was really weak and could barely talk, but he stood up as we were leaving and declared he was going to walk us out. There was no talking him out of something once his mind was made up.

Food smuggled into the hospital is the best.
On that election day hospital visit my dad hadn't been interested in eating. I handed him a banana and he immediately ate it and reminded me (then and many more times over the next few years) of when he was in the hospital after his open heart surgery and I sneaked malts in for him. The hospital staff may not have agreed, but I think it was a pretty good idea.

The King's Friend

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 15:32-37

1 Chronicles 27:33 “…Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.”

Friend. That’s a good title to have, don’t you think? 1 Chronicles lists all of David’s overseers. One was in charge of the royal storehouses. One was in charge of the workers who farmed the land. One took care of the king’s sons. The list goes on. Then, at the end of the list it simply says, “Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.” When I read that I wondered what David and his friend would have done together. They probably didn’t go to lunch or play golf. How did Hushai come to be called the king’s friend? I would like to be THE KING’S friend. At some point they must have spent some time together developing this friendship. Wouldn’t it be cool to be a friend to King Jesus? Wouldn’t you like to just hang out with Him? So I looked to see what fun things Hushai and David did together. The only place I found him mentioned again was in 2 Samuel 15-17. David’s son, Absalom, had just carried out his conspiracy to take the kingdom from David. When David arrived at the summit where people used to worship God, Hushai met him there, mourning. Maybe he just wanted to be with his friend during this difficult time. But David told Hushai that if he continued on with him he would be a burden. Then David gave him an assignment which he willingly completed. In John 15:14, Jesus said, “You are my friends if you obey me.” So, joyfully doing what needs to be done earns us the title of Jesus’ friend.

I have a friend like Hushai. I love spending time with her, but our schedules don’t allow us to do that very often. If I needed someone to pray with me a 2 AM, I wouldn’t hesitate to call her. And if she knows I have a need, she is always right there with me doing whatever she can to help. Friendship isn’t just about all the time we spend together. It isn’t about the fun things we do together. It’s about always choosing to act in your friend’s best interest.

Called by a New Name

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. Luke 10:38-39 NIV

Did you notice that Martha was named Martha, but Mary was called Mary? As you know, names were very significant in Jewish culture. They represented the person’s character. Now, this is just speculation, but it sounds like Mary’s name may have been changed to something more fitting than the name she was given at birth. According to the New Testament Greek Lexicon, Mary means “their rebellion.” The Hebrew word that is often translated “rebel” is marah. What if she was renamed Mary because she was rebellious? When I think of Mary of Bethany, I never think of someone who was rebellious. I think of someone who was passionate and someone who loved Jesus, but not of someone who was rebellious. It looks like time spent with Jesus changed her.

Time spent with Jesus always transforms us. Think back for a minute. What might you have been called before you met Jesus? Maybe rebellious would describe you. I know it describes me. Were you restless? Were you in bondage? And what might you be called today? Without a doubt, God has brought about some positive changes in your life. Will you just take a little time to thank Him for that? Now, what would you like to be called? If it is in keeping with God’s character and His design for your life, He is already moving you closer to that desire. Will you be willing, like Mary, to spend time learning at Jesus’ feet? Will you gaze up into His eyes and get to know Him? When your life falls apart, will you fall at His feet and present your questions to Him? Will you take what is precious to you and pour it out on His feet? The more you know Jesus, the more you will love and obey Him. Jesus said in John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” And His love will transform you into the person God created you to be.

Why Worry?

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25-34

Matthew 6:27 NLT “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.”

I love baseball. Specifically, I love the Yankees. I love to watch baseball, and sometimes I love to watch the Yankees. But at this time of year - during the playoffs, it can be pretty stressful. Sometimes, if the game is really important or really close, I can’t watch it. The first bad pitch from the Yankees’ starter causes me to yell, “Get him out of there or we’re all going to die!!”

Since I enjoy watching baseball, I watched the last World Series. The Yankees weren’t there, so it didn’t matter to me who won. When one of the pitchers walked the second batter in a row, I calmly wondered whether they would take him out of the game or leave him in and see if he improved. How nice it was to just enjoy watching my favorite game! After all, there was nothing I could do to change the outcome, so I might as well just enjoy it. Hmmm…come to think of it, there was nothing I could do to change the outcome of the Yankees’ game either. All my worrying didn’t get them to the World Series.

See why I love baseball? It’s like life. All our worrying doesn’t change anything but us, and that change isn’t for the better. When God tells us not to worry, it’s for our own good. After all, He already has everything under control.

Weariness

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28 AMP “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. (I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.)”

Jesus will cause us to rest. Does that sound as good to you as it does to me? The Greek word translated “rest” here is Anapausis. It means again to pause; cessation from toils; implies the relaxing or letting down of chords or strings which have been strained or drawn tight.

Why are we weary? I’m not talking about being physically exhausted from a job well done. I’m talking about being mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. We don’t have to be, you know. Jesus promises to ease and relieve and refresh our souls if we come to Him.

Jesus cares about every detail of your life, including your schedule. Have you ever asked Him about your schedule? There may be an activity, one that seems acceptable, that He is calling you to leave behind.

Or there may be an activity that is more than just acceptable. It’s godly. But it may be a part of God’s plan for someone else. Have you said yes to ministries just because you didn’t want to disappoint anyone? Have you ever taken on a responsibility because it needed to be done and you were afraid no one else would do it?

Do you ever rely on your own strength or ability to accomplish what God has called you to do? When we rely on the strength God provides for us to accomplish His work we feel energized and joyful…maybe even rested.

Then there’s something that is one of my biggest problems. I’ve been putting off telling you this, but sometimes we procrastinate in being obedient to God. I sometimes invest my time in something that seems acceptable in order to avoid doing something I know God wants me to do, but which I’m afraid will be difficult.

We don’t have to be weary when we are yoked with Jesus. He promises His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The Amplified Bible says Jesus’ yoke will bring us rest, “relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quietness for (our) souls.”

Free To Choose

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Christ set us free so that we would be free. It sounds pretty simple, and yet we’re not always free. Sometimes we’re like Lazarus. Jesus raised him from the dead, but he was still bound. Jesus had to tell the people who were watching, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” And sometimes after our grave clothes have been removed, we choose to put them back on. Paul tells us that if we don’t stand firm, we can be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. I want to know how to keep that from happening, don’t you?

The Greek word for freedom is Eleutheria. It means liberty to do or to omit things having no relationship to salvation. The Greek Lexicon says that true liberty is living as we should, not as we please. The freedom Christ has given us is the freedom to choose. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “’Everything is permissible for me’ but not everything is beneficial.” We are free to choose, but not every choice we can make is good for us. 1 Peter 2:16 tells us not to use our freedom as a cover-up for evil. We are to use our freedom to live as servants of God. If we choose to live as we please rather than as God intends, we will be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. I want to be a servant of God, but being burdened by a yoke of slavery doesn’t sound very appealing. The word translated “burdened” means to harass, badger; to have it in for; to be entangled, to be enmeshed. No wonder it doesn’t sound appealing.

Our choice to follow Christ sets us free to be His servant. Our choice to follow our own will makes us makes us entangled and enmeshed. Just as Isaiah prophesied, Christ came to proclaim freedom for the captives. Let’s stand firm in that freedom by making the choice to follow Him.

Wholehearted Devotion

Scripture reading: Isaiah 26:1-4

2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him…”

What is your passion? The dictionary defines passion as boundless enthusiasm or obsessive love. Obsessive…now there’s a word that gets my attention. I tend to be obsessive about pretty much everything. I’ve been trying to figure out my passion. I’ve decided my passion is trying to figure out things. What consumes most of your attention? Is it deciding God’s will for your life or how to spend your time or how to spend your money? Is it worrying about things you can’t change or trying to plan how you can change them? So many things call for our attention. It’s hard to focus on anything when our minds are everywhere.

The bible says God is looking for someone to strengthen. He is looking for someone who is fully committed to Him. The word translated fully committed in the NIV is “Salem.” It means complete, whole, perfect, peaceful, without strife, total obedience. That word is sometimes translated wholehearted devotion. The dictionary defines wholehearted as unconditional and enthusiastic. One definition for devotion is addiction. Could God be looking for someone who is unconditionally and enthusiastically addicted to Him?

Isaiah promises God will keep us in perfect peace if our minds are fixed on Him. Frank Laubach, a missionary to the illiterate, was committed to constantly bringing the Lord back to his mind. Here is an excerpt from his journal as recorded by Max Lucado in his book, “Just Like Jesus.”

May 24, 1930: This concentration upon God is strenuous, but everything else has ceased to be so. I think more clearly, I forget less frequently. Things which I did with a strain before, I now do easily and with no effort whatever. I worry about nothing and lose no sleep. I walk on air a good part of the time. Even the mirror reveals a new light in my eyes and face. I no longer feel in a hurry about anything. Everything goes right. Each minute I meet calmly as though it were not important. Nothing can go wrong excepting one thing. That is that God may slip from my mind.

We all want to be peaceful and without strife, don’t we? The secret is to make God the object of our focus and our passion. He will take care of everything else.