A Puzzle

   One of my favorite holidays, perhaps my favorite one, is Thanksgiving.

   Maybe because it is a family Day. What better way to celebrate and be Thankful than to be around those that you love and partake of the Day together?

   Fun, Fellowship, Food and Football....those are listed as the four blessings of the Day for many people, and I am thankful for all of those, and what they represent.

   I woke up this morning and lay in the comfortable bed, under warm covers, and reflected on the many things that I have to be thankful for, and I am. So many people do not have a bed, or covers, or heat, or so many of the things that most Americans take for granted. Just flip the switch and open the fridge and you have heat and food and water, and not the worries about all the items that you need and don't have.

   I realize that it can be hard to be truly thankful, really truly thankful, way down deep in the soul, when you can't remember not having all these comforts. How can you know unless you have been without? I think maybe that I can't.

   But then I have to ask the question: Why me? Why us? What did I do to deserve all of these?

   A lot of those questions are unanwerable. They are like the puzzle that we are putting together this week. I know they must all fit together somehow, all 1,000 of them, but right now we don't even have the outside framework together so we can fill in the blanks. We've got a lot of partial parts of the picture done, and we even have the picture on the box to let us know where they go, but there are still a lot of supporting pieces to fit in.

   Sure I know that I will enjoy this Day. There is a turkey in the oven. There will be family around the table. We may even get the puzzle put together,  but there is still the challenge of the questions.

   I know to whom thanks are due. God Himself has blessed me in many ways because of His Love and Grace and Mercy, and I am thankful, but I still can't wonder about the whys and what fors.

   Those to whom much has been given, much is required.

   Micah 6:8 states:

   "He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

   Reading this, I have to wonder how all of these things play out in my life. How do they fit into the puzzle of my life.

   It is cold outside, but the sun shines brightly. The house is warm and filled with good smells and laughter. I am blessed, and I know it, but the puzzles wait.

   Thankfulness is an important start, but it is just a start.

Flexibility Has Its Benefits

   Thanksgiving week and a week for us to do some traveling. Our plans called for us to go to Blacksburg on Tuesday and Charlotte on Friday before returning home. Or so we thought.

   Late on Sunday afternoon Doug called, wondering if we could move our plans up a day and come on Monday. A weather front was moving in Monday night, and Tuesday could be an iffy day to be on the road.

   No problem. We were almost packed, and it would not be hard to leave early on Monday and be there for supper. So we did. Eight hours of driving did the trick, and we were in Blacksburg at 3:30, just as the kids were coming home from school.

   Doug had called while we were on the road, wondering about our arrival time, because he said that Drew had a basketball game, and we could go if we could be there by 5PM. So we were, and we did.

   That was a treat that we had not anticipated. His middle school team was traveling to Shawsville to play Pathway Academy, and it would be the first time we had seen him in action. An added bonus was that I could practice taking action shots inside a gym and play around with the settings on the camera.

   Another bonus was that his school team won the game in convincing fashion and he got to log several minutes on the floor. With 18 guys on the team and being one of the younger ones, Drew does not see much action in close games, but he got in quite a bit in this one.

   We are retired, our calendars are fairly empty, our time is flexible, and we are proud grandparents. That lineup works well for catching a game 450 miles from home on short notice.

   And, Oh yes, we woke up to this on Tuesday morning.

   Our car is parked outside, and the house is warm. Doesn't get much better than this.

   Thanksgiving coming early this year....

A Man Used

   Billy Graham is 95 and still serving His God. His message on The Cross was shown all over the Internet and on nationwide TV in November, and today, the pastor used it as his message for this morning. It was a powerful video, but just hearing Rev. Graham speak brought back several memories.
Here are my thoughts, in no particular order.

   The Billy Graham crusade came to Chattanooga, I think in 1952, and the meetings were held in the Warner Park Fieldhouse, which had just been constructed. I'm not sure exactly how it happened but I had an opportunity to volunteer and help set up the fieldhouse for that use. I remember that I was a junior and was in Dr. Bob McCallie's 11th grade English class when the call came. I was probably more interested in getting out of school for a day than I was for any crusade helping job, but I was quick to volunteer.

   Regardless, a bunch of us boys (no girls in this school), had the job of assembling the seating. There were wooden benches that had been broken down, probably from a previous crusade, that were shipped in and reassembled on site for the new one. My job, as I remember, was helping to put these back together with nuts and bolts, which we did for a whole day.

   The Crusade team also came to our school and had a chapel program which was met with a good response.

   My second thought on Billy Graham takes me back to the time that our daughter, Donna, went with a group of young people from our church to Atlanta to one of his crusades in that city. Billy had crusades all over the country, and in some foreign places as well, but this one stands out because Donna made a profession of faith there, and recorded that event in her Bible.

   Billy Graham was quite a news figure in my lifetime, pictured with Presidents and other leaders around the world. His Evangelistic Association was making motion pictures, making available tapes of his messages and the music of the artists that went with him. It was a big enterprise, and he was in the limelight all the time.

   I was met with a big surprise years later when my older son, Dwayne, asked me to come to his school in Davidson, NC to be a substitute for the high school history teacher when she had to be out for a few months. This was a US History class and they were into the 20th century in their study.

   Part of my methodology was to use the personalities of the period of study to illustrate the events that were going on at that time in our nation's history. So, one day I asked how many of those juniors knew who Billy Graham was. I mistakenly assumed that they would have some notion of who he was and what he was known for, but they all looked at me with a blank look. He just had not figured into their world even though his worldwide headquarters was in Charlotte and his library was close by.

   Finally, one boy's hand went up in questioning recognition. "Is that the person that the Billy Graham Parkway is named after?"

   This was, at the very least, a teachable moment. The material was not in any of the history texts, but those kids now know who Billy Graham is and what he does. They even got to see and hear some clips of his message. There was even a Billy Graham on the next exam.

   Of course, it is not so important to know who this man is and what he has done. The important thing is the message that he preached and the ones that understood and responded all over the world.

   And that God used him to bless so many for so long. His light will shine long after he has been called home, and for that I am thankful.

Thanksgiving is Today

   It is easy to see myself as good, if I don't look too hard at the way I live, but I have to wonder sometimes what God sees.

   I read the Scripture this morning from Luke 18, a parable spoken by Jesus:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’"

   Which person am I, not in my limited vision, but His?

   People may come up and say, "look what all you are doing", meaning, " look how good you are", but I think "you don't really know or see". "if you only knew" is my silent response.

   The Pharisee wanted others to see how good and pious he was, but the tax collector knew his own life and heart.

   God loved both of these men. One knew he needed it, and the other felt he did not.

   The words from my favorite hymn, the first stanza:

"How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure"

   I may think I am "good", but I know who the "wretch" really is. God does, too.

   The passage in Luke continues with these words:

" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

   Justified: declared innocent or guiltless. Not by what he could do by himself, but what God would do through his great steadfast love.

   Thanksgiving is not only on next Thursday, it is any day that we realize what He has done for all us wretches.

For Such A Time...

   This is a post about a Change, a Conscious Decision, and a Realization. Let's see if I can fit it all in starting with a verse or two from the page of Psalm 105:

"When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave."

   As I read this, the words of Mordecai to Queen Esther came to my mind, and the phrase, "For such a time as this".

   In the not so distant past, my wife began having trouble with her right hand. There seemed to be a disconnect between what she wanted it to do and what it actually did, and so gripping with it and holding on to something was uncertain. So a Change had to be made in our division of duties around the house.

   I began to do more of the work in the kitchen. Not the actual cooking stuff, although I can make good oatmeal, but more the clean up and putting away. This would free her from the anxiety of possibly dropping something. A Conscious Decision that this was the time, and life would be easier for both of us. After all there is plenty of time in retirement for me to play, even after a little "work".

   This morning, after breakfast (oatmeal, again), we were talking about how our roles had changed in the kitchen area. As we talked, and she thanked me for all I was doing to help, the Realization hit me. Not only did I not mind doing these things, I actually enjoyed it.

   Me enjoying "women's work"? Now that was a novel thought, but it was true.

   I told Mayre, way back when this all started "You have done all this for me for the first 50 years of our marriage, now it is my turn to do it for you in the next 50".

   She would much rather be able to do all of this and serve me, that is just her way, but times change and circumstances with it. We all must play the hand we are dealt.

   How much better to play that hand with "yes, I can" rather than play it with "do I have to?"

   And I can thank God for letting me see what needed to be done and being able to embrace the change with joy. A miracle for sure.

   For Such a Time as This

 

Hurry or See? A Dilemma..

   I read in Luke 17, the beginnings of a narrative. It starts:

"On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance"

   Jesus was on a purposeful journey, to Jerusalem, for a predetermined reason. It was to be His crucifixion and resurrection.

   Next week we will take a purposeful trip also. We will go to our son's in Virginia for Thanksgiving. We won't dilly dally along the way, we will take the interstate all the way to within 5 miles of his house. It will be I-95 to I-26 to I-77 to I-81 until we get near there. It is a long trip, and we will be in a hurry to complete it in the daylight hours of one day.

   When Jesus traveled the roads of Palestine there were no bypasses for any towns, no interstates with one exit for a town that you could not even see from that roadway. No doubt the paths He walked went right through the heart of any town or village. If He had been in such a hurry to get to his destination, He might have missed those 10 lepers in that small place, and they would have missed Him.

   I have to think it would be like some of our courthouse trips. The majority of the county seats in Georgia do not lie in cities or towns right by the interstates. They are on the smaller roads, off the main traffic routes. You can't be in too much of a hurry if you are headed there. We end up on roads such as Georgia highway 37, heading toward the county seat of Calhoun County, Morgan. No bypasses around this town because there is no need. The highway is just another road coming into the town, ending up at the courthouse square. If there is anyone to be seen in this town, it will be here, right in the middle, in the Square. If there is a divine appointment for us with someone in Morgan, it will be here.

   Jesus would have walked right this way, into this town. This did not seem the place to be in a big hurry. He would not be too busy to stop and heal, not too busy to notice and listen to a call to Him.

   How much of my life is like travel on the interstates, drive fast, miss towns and hurry along to a destination of my choosing? How much do I not see along the way?

   I did not see any folks in Morgan that day, maybe because I was in too big a hurry to get my shots and move on toward home, but I bet there were some there.

   Jesus' purpose was to meet the needs of people that were placed in His path. Mine was to get a shot and get home. How much can be missed even on those small roads?

   Hurry may get you there, but it won't help you see.

What Do I Look Like?

   There is a video making the rounds on the Internet, actually it is a Dove soap commercial, where a forensic artist makes a sketch of a person, in this case several women, from the description they give of themselves. He does not even look at them. Then he takes the words of a person who has had interaction with that first lady and draws a sketch from that also. The gist of the commercial is that the women are too hard on themselves, and they really do reflect a beauty that they do not see, but others do.

   The video is here: http://www.upworthy.com/2-people-described-the-same-person-to-a-forensic-artist-and-this-is-what-happene?g=2

   I thought of this as I looked at a self examination sheet that I need to fill out for a discipleship class that I participate in at church. There are 30 character issues that I am to respond to with either a plus, minus or zero. Plus being that I do that, minus that I do not and the zero for sometimes. Then I get to add up the pluses and see how I am supposed to stand in regards to all of that.

   How I rate myself. How others might rate me. Are those the most important things?

   If I am honest with myself, I might gain some perspective on my life, but it is a big "IF".

   If I desire the good thoughts of others about my life, I can spend my time trying to look good without truly being good. That is not good either, whether anybody knows it or not.

   How does God see my life and what I do and think and say?

   He is the ultimate judge, regardless of my thoughts or others reactions.

   And He is the One that I want to give me the "thumbs up" and say "well done".

   Don't let me get caught up in the other two scenarios.

What Do They See?

   As I looked at some pictures that I took yesterday, one theme was evident in some of them. Someone was looking at me.

   And so I thought, as I looked, who else is looking at me and what do they see?

   As I stood at the fence of the pasture, my four legged friend was no doubt looking for something that I might give him, a treat perhaps. What about those other two winged creations? I had just disturbed their meal beside the roadway, and they were waiting for me to leave the premises.

   In one set of eyes, there might be hope, and, in the others, there could be impatience. Who knows?

   What might people see when they look in my direction? A ray of hope or a stumbling block in their routine? What does God see?

   From Matthew 18:

“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!"

   Then from Matthew 5:

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

   The eyes of the world look at all of us. What will they see today?

Affirmation and Confirmation

   Deep down, I guess all of us want affirmation or confirmation. One word seems to be the synonym of the other, at least according to the online dictionary, so I might use them interchangeably.

   These words came up this morning in a reading of the 90th Psalm in The Message:

"And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
    confirming the work that we do.
    Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!"

   So I have to think about where I get this affirmation, is there a hierarchy of persons that makes this act more compelling in my mind?

   If I take what I think is a good photo, and someone says, "hey, that is good", does it make a difference who that person is? Would the fact that this confirmation comes from a professional photographer make it more accurate an evaluation? Does that matter to me?

   What if I take a recipe off the internet for oatmeal, and my wife ways that is really good, is that a confirmation that I followed the recipe, or that my skills are good in this area of cooking? If I taste it myself and find that she is right, is that an affirmation of anything?

   Regardless of the situation or the acts that I do, somewhere in my psyche I look for an affirmation that I am on the right track, that I did it right this time. Perhaps this is not a good thing, but it is real.

   I want to do it correctly, and I want others to see it to be meaningful in some way, but the one that I want to affirm me the most is God Himself.

   So when I get up and pray, and read, and walk, and write, I want to please Him. I want to feel His pleasure. When others tell me that I have done a good job, I am thankful, but when He does, I know I am on the right path.

   And there can be another facet to this also. I can be His voice to affirm others. I just need to make sure it is actually His voice and not just my flattery.

Space...For What Purpose?

   One of the definitions of the word space, used as a noun, is:

"freedom to do what a person wishes to for his or her own personal development"

   Today, as I was reading, that word appeared and jogged my memory back to yesterday. It was in one of the readings of that day also, in a part that I had quoted in this blog.

"Discernment begins when we open our decisions to God, intentionally inviting God's leading. It includes "making space for God" by identifying and releasing our preconceived notions, biases, and fears."

   We use the word to denote a lot of ideas, and it takes many forms, noun, verb, adjective, but the way that I think of it this morning has to do with an individual's private, personal space, especially in the mind.

   I hear people say things like, "don't get in my space" or "I need my space", referring to the room they need to be themselves, but when you think about it, that usage is pretty self centered. When we fill our lives with activities, no matter how good, that are all about us, we don't leave much room for others or for God.

   I guess that is one reason I like the early morning quiet time. I can dedicate it to God and what He would like to impress on me. At the very least, it is a time that is open ended, and I can try to still my mind and heart for more things than just me.

   In the quote I used yesterday, and again today, the term is used "making space", as in it is something that I need to do. So I do have a role in this whole thing, a freedom to invite God into that empty space that I have made.

   Seems like this making space is like a dike, holding back the water from flooding. There are a lot of things that will fill my space if I just clean it out and leave it there, thoughts and ideas, plans, dreams, regrets and various others. Some of these can be God's filling, but I leave that up to Him with the purposeful invite.

   Come Lord Jesus, Come

  

Decisions..We All Have To Make Them

   Way back in 1741 the Moravian Church made a decision, one that needs to be my daily practice 272 years later.

   As a backdrop to this I point to a time in our own church where out pastor led us to read the Moravian Daily Texts as part of a spiritual emphasis time. I liked their messages so much that I continued to read them as part of my own quiet time in the mornings. Today the heading on the text was "Chief Elder Festival" and, after I read the daily reading, I went back and looked up the definition and use of this terminology.

   The background: The Moravians had a position called the Chief Elder, and he bore the responsibility for leading these believers in all things. As the church grew and its mission expanded, this role became overwhelming, causing the man who held the office to just say he could not do it. When the church met and thought about this situation, God led them to a new arrangement. They had already acknowledged that Christ was the head of the church, as the Bible taught, so they put Him in His rightful place as Chief Elder.

   In thinking through what that might mean, both then and now, I came across these two paragraphs from the Weekly Moravian Message for this day, November 13, 2013. Let me quote them here:

"When we are faced with important decisions as individuals and churches, it's natural to respond with the same approaches used by the world around us: we gather information, weigh possibilities, make a choice, and act. We become "decision makers." But what if, as our forebears believed, Christ our Chief Elder is willing and able to actually lead us? Doesn't this suggest a profound change in our methods? Instead of simply "deciding," aren't we instead called to "discern"-to discover and follow the will of our Chief Elder?

Discernment begins when we open our decisions to God, intentionally inviting God's leading. It includes "making space for God" by identifying and releasing our preconceived notions, biases, and fears. Prayerful attention to the witness of Scripture, noticing God's activity already at work in a situation, and receptivity to the input of trusted Christian sisters and brothers have their place. Faith, humility, silence, and patience are impor-tant too. Discernment-we Moravians might call it "consulting with the Chief Elder"-is a learning process, centered upon our desire for God. For those willing to pursue it, it is an adventure. Who knows where our Chief Elder might lead?"

   I thought about how I make decisions, and how much better it would be for me to follow these ways. When God says "My ways are not your ways", I know that His are better and that my life, both secular and spiritual will be better to follow His. There is a lot to unpack in those words above, and I can think on them for a long time.

   Then there is this question at the bottom of the message:

"Are you facing an important decision? Have you consulted your Chief Elder? Will you decide . . . or will you discern?"

   I want to discern, not just decide.

   Who knows what might happen?

Disappointed...Again

   Truthfully, I had not even heard of Briny Baird. He was playing in the McGladrey Classic last week, playing well in fact, and had a chance to win on the last day, even up to the last hole.

   Baird has been playing professional golf since 1995 and holds the unenviable record of the player who has won the most money, over 13 million dollars in his case, without winning a PGA golf title. He has played in 365 tournaments, finishing second a few times, but never won.

   Watching him come to the 18th tee on last Sunday, tied for the lead, and then watch him hook his drive into the fairway bunker, was hard. I was pulling for him to break his drought and win. It looked like this would be his time until that shot.

   With his opponent in good position for a second shot to the green on this par 4 hole, Baird really had no choice, if he wanted to win. His one chance to do it on that finishing hole was to try a miraculous sand shot from a bad position in that trap. The ball was close to the left edge of the trap on the upslope. He had to hit from a stance with the ball below his feet, with a long iron, in order to reach the green, a very tough shot, to say the least. He could have played it safe and pitched out to the fairway, try to hit it close to the flag and sink the putt for par, but, even that was not a gimmie par. Play for the win from the trap, or hope for a tie from the fairway?

   Unfortunately, he did not hit it well, and the ball ended up in a water hazard, well short of the green. After taking a penalty drop, he proceeded to hit the ball on the green and sink a longish putt for a bogey, losing the tournament by one shot to his playing partner, Chris Kirk.

   I could almost see the pain and disappointment in his eyes as he congratulated the winner and walked toward the scorer's tent. So close, again.

   How a person handles setbacks can tell you a lot about his character. I really don't know how this golfer handled this one. Outwardly, the gracious loser. Inwardly?

   Does he blame others, maybe his caddy, for giving him bad advice? Does he blame God for letting him get into that position? Does he put all the blame on himself? Does he play the "what if" game?

   Or, does he go back to the practice tee on the next Monday, as he has 364 other times after a loss, and get ready to compete again?

    I do not know Briny Baird at all, so I cannot speculate as to how he will handle all of this. I can only pray that God will speak to him in his disappointment and assure him that his life is in His control.

   Handling disappointment is hard, but doing it without God in your life is harder.

Words from the Printer

   A strange thing happened as I sat down this morning and opened my laptop. My printer spit out two pieces of paper. These same two pages I had printed for my wife last night, but here they were again, a list of sentence prayers by the kids in her Good News Club, ones that the kids wrote last Thursday in that club setting at their school. I did not hit the command P key or anything, they just came out.

   I read over that list and wondered about the faith of these elementary kids. A sampling:

   "Please help me in school"

   "Dear God, I hope that my dog does not die"

   "Help my Mom heal for her arm, please"

   "To help my hed not hert"

   "Please make my dad safe in the Navy"

   "I pray that my aunt and cousins will feel better, because their dad died"

   I think of the verse in Matthew 21, from the NASV:

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

   Praying in faith, believing. There is a lot to unpack in that one verse, but as I try to think about those words and how they play out in my life, I am left with a lot of questions. Questions about why I pray, how much I believe, and my role in the affairs of my own life.

   If I am honest, I wonder if I am worthy to be listened to by the God of the Universe. How could He take any notice of me? What do my cares matter in the great scheme of things in this world?

   As I sit down each morning, open my computer, look at the readings for that day, the first prompt for me in the program is to pray, to write out in the space provided, my prayer as I start my time with Him. So I do. I write out my thoughts as I begin. I ask for help, not only in this time, but in my day that lies ahead. I pray for others. I pray for my attitudes and actions. I reflect on my past days and see my blessings and my sins. I try to write from the heart, and I try to be honest, with God and with myself.

   Sometimes I write for a few minutes, sometimes I go on longer. It is a set part of my day, but I do not want to make it just an exercise. I want God to be in it with me. I know I need His help in everything, especially in those areas that I think I can handle by myself.

   I want to pray in faith, believing that He hears and He cares, and I pray like that man in Jesus time who cried out: (Mark 9:24)

“Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

   Or as the New King James Version translates that verse:

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

   Help me to have that child-like faith, like the kids in that Club, and help me know in my times of unbelief, that all of this really matters.

 

 

It Is Just Not Fair!

   Yesterday morning the wind was up, the temperatures were down, and yet, there was golf to be played by the pros in the McGladrey Classic. For some, the day was hard, for others it was more mild. It all depended on how you played the hand you were dealt.

   For some of the golfers, it would have been easy to say that "Life was not fair", and it would have all gone back to the people who made the pairings for the opening round of play. Those players that drew the morning start on the first day, got the afternoon start on the second, and that made all the difference in the weather conditions that they played in.

   An illustration from the group of 3 pros that I followed. As I mentioned yesterday, the first round was delayed by fog in the morning, meaning that the tee time for this group was pushed back until 2PM. Because of that late start, we could not finish the round and had to come back early on Friday to complete round 1, and then immediately begin play in round 2.

   So, it was cold early, and the wind was bad, gusting well above 20 knots out of the north. On courses further inland on our island, this was bad, but not awful. Out there on the Seaside course, right by the ocean and the sound, it was brutal. Not a good day to have a 7AM start. While players who had drawn the early round on Thursday, and who would have the afternoon round on Friday, and were maybe still asleep, my guys were out on the practice range, under the lights at 6AM and out on the course at 7. Not Fair!

   Not only did these less fortunate players have to finish round 1 in the early morning wind and cold, they had to turn around immediately and move on into round 2. As the morning progressed, the sun warmed things up a bit but the wind continued to howl, making the course harder to play. Conditions were not ideal, and the scores mirrored the conditions.

   Now think about the players with the more fortunate draw: Morning on round 1 and afternoon on round 2. They finished on time on Thursday, had time to practice a little after their round, got plenty of sleep, had the warmer part of Friday to play in, and, on top of all that, the wind died down.

   It seemed like Life was not Fair at all.

   I'm sure that someone will do these statistics, but it would be interesting to compare the scores of the 54 players who got caught on Thursday and did not finish play, those that had the bad conditions in the morning on Friday, against the stats of the guys who drew the afternoon. I've heard it said that the whole weather thing will even out over the course of a year's tournaments, for each player, but it sure was not for those 54 this time around.

   One of the pros in my group was 2 under par when play was suspended on Thursday, and came back Friday morning to bogey 2 of the 3 remaining holes. He never recovered and finished at 4 over, missing the cut. And he was the defending champion. Tommy Gainey

   Another of my players fought through all the adverse conditions, coming into the final hole at 1 under par, only to have a big gust of wind push his tee shot into the water. After dropping and hitting right of the green on his approach, he proceeded to hit 2 bad chip shots, and took a triple bogey 7, moving him from minus 1 to plus 2, thereby missing the cut also. Kevin Na

   It may be easy to quote "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade", but it is not that easy to drink it without some sugar. For a professional golfer, there has to be a way to shake off adversity and make the most of what he has been given, but it can't always be easy.

   In golf, in life, I pray that I will not use the "Life is not Fair", excuse, but live each day in the knowledge that God knows and controls all things, and he tells me that:

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

   Oh, to live that out, and mean it.

   And pray all those golfers will know the verse and its meaning, too.

 

Yesterday Does Indeed Affect Today

   Life is not lived in little separate entities. The things that happen on one day, have an effect on all the days that follow. It is a snowball, a life that is the cumulative of all that has gone on in the past.

   An example from yesterday, not perfect, but one that an effect on my today:

   My golf tournament schedule yesterday called for me to be at the course at 11:30, for a group tee off time of 12:10. Arriving at around 11:15, the first change that greeted me was that, due to some heavy fog in the  early part of the morning, all the tee times were pushed back almost two hours.

   So, there was time for lunch and watching some of the groups completing play on No. 18. Getting to the tee at the appointed time, our group of 3 professionals moved out onto the course. When you don't start till 2 in the afternoon, this time of the year, you cannot finish 18 holes before dark. When the horn sounded to end play because of the light conditions, our group was on 15 fairway.

   There is an option for the players; mark where they are at that time or play on and try to complete that one hole. Our group was able to get everything in except for one putt of one player, who, although he could see the cup, could not see the breaks and contours well at all, and elected to try his birdie putt when play resumed Friday morning.

   The result of 54 players not being able to see, was to finish round 1 the first thing Friday morning, and then continue on with the schedule for Day 2. So the 54 pros, along with their support people, including us walking scorers and standard bearers, would complete their round 1 from the spot where play was suspended the night before.

   So, for me, it was up at 4:30, to the bus shuttle by 5:30, to the check in volunteer tent at 6:00, get to the the previous stopping point by 6:45, so that play could resume.

   When the horn sounded, and as the sun peeked over the horizon, we began play. Playing 16, 17 and 18, we finished round 1 and went to the scorers trailer for the wrap up.

   I had not realized that this would be an unusual day for these pros. They had finished round 1 at approximately 7:45, and their tee off time for round 2 was 8:00.

   For me, the day of work was over. Most of the other volunteers for Friday were just showing up for their assignments, and I was getting on the bus to go back to the parking area, where I could go on home. And I was not even scheduled to work today, anyway.

   A heavy fog on Thursday morning, had altered the plans of many and affected the lives of a bunch of tournament volunteers and players. Besides the amount of sleep I got, what else was altered because of the way events ran?

   And, maybe the morning so far has not been greatly impacted, except for sharing the time with people I may not have otherwise, but the day is young. Let's see how it all plays out.

   I was not at all connected with the fog of yesterday, why we had it or how long it lasted, and I have about as much control over the events and people that will come my way today. My schedule was impacted, sure, but there are reasons for everything.

   My schedule is His to set, and I'm OK with that.

 

There was Yesterday, and now there is Today

   Yesterday was the pro-am for the McGladrey golf tournament. From where I walked, it was a day when the pro in the each group took another practice round on the course that he would play today. It was a day for the amateurs in each foursome to get a chance to interact on a personal level with a man that made his livelihood in that sport. It was also a day that the non-professionals got a chance to show a pro that they too could play this game.

   I saw some bad shots, some good shots, several that were ugly, and a few that could be classified as great. I saw balls in the fairway, balls in the rough, balls in the water, and balls in the waste areas. I saw some balls only briefly, before they vanished into not-findable land. I saw players hit balls that traveled 300 yards and some swings that produced a movement of only a few feet.

   But what i saw most of all were 3 men playing a game on that course on that day. I heard their banter with the pro and with each other. I saw the expressions on their faces when they scored success and when they flubbed. It was an interesting study.

   The professional in the group may not remember much of what happened yesterday. After all, it was a weekly occurrence for him, but, for the 3 men playing along with him, it will be remembered for a long time. The autographs that were signed for each of them may hang on their walls at home forever, and their exploits will be featured in their family's stories for years to come.

   Yesterday it was their day.

   Today is another one entirely.

   Today, the pro goes to work. The practice is over, and the real play begins. Today it is for real, and his scores will be tallied. The shots he made yesterday wont count except for knowledge of the course. He may play in some spots today that he did not even see yesterday. In his mind, he may see the break of the green and its speed, but today he will actually have to make the putts.

   I cannot even fathom the skills needed to play this game for money, much less the pressure of the shots, when they really count. But today I will be walking with 3 pros for whom it will not be just another day at the office. It will be another chance for each of them to highlight both their game and their mental toughness, and I look forward to observing how they handle all that will come their way.

   What will I be called on to handle today? What spots might I be in that I have not seen before? What chances to shine and what chances to flub?

   Yesterday was fun.

   Today is the real game.

   It matters how I play it.

   My prayer is to be ready to play it the way God desires.

   In golf, you play the ball where and how it lies. That is true in life, too.

   Be ready, with God's help.

 

Golf, Golf and More Golf

   As I talked about previously, the McGladrey Classic begins with the pro-am tomorrow. The real tournament begins on Thursday, and I have walking scorer assignments for both of those two days.

   In the pro-am tomorrow, my pro is Rory Sabbatini.

   My first threesome of the tournament on Thursday will be:

      Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey (he won here last year)
      Charlie Hoffman
      Kevin Na

   These pairings are better than my first and second days last year, when I had pros that I had not even heard of before that time. It was fun watching them, but I guess we always look for the bigger names.

   This year will be the 4th Classic, and it has gotten larger each year. It is estimated that they will raise over $1 million for local charities this go around. WSe don't get the Tigers and the Phils, but you have to echo the PGA ads when they say "these guys are good", and they are.

   I'll try to get in some quiet time before my early start tomorrow, so I can look for any spiritual revelations from the course. If those don't come, or maybe I don't see them, I'll at least try to write some of the inside stories from out there, ones that I see on my 18 hole walk.

   God has put this opportunity in front of me, for what I don't know, but hopefully I will find out. There are no chance encounters, and I pray that I'll see them for what they are and respond as He would want.

    We'll see....

Am I Good Enough?

   The PGA Tour comes to the Golden Isles this week.

   This is the 4th year for The McGladrey Classic, and, again, I will be a volunteer, serving as a walking scorer three days of the tournament. It is a fun week and getting to see a lot of good golf, up close, is one of the perks.

   As I looked through the list of players, read their bios, their stats, and other information, I could not help but wonder what they were thinking of this morning as they prepared to begin this event. Some were seasoned professionals, some were rookies with no wins on tour, some had achieved success in various degrees, but I wondered what their common question might be right now, in this week.

   In spite of how many times they might have won tournaments, I wonder if these pros still ask the question "Am I good enough?". The question for those who have had success might be "Am I still good enough?" Regardless of our profession or our accomplishments, it is still a valid question.

   The back up to this wondering is the question of whose's standards are we going by, by what yardstick do we gauge success? To whom do we look to for approval of our efforts?

   Golfers may be judged by their victories and their stats, but all of us are ultimately judged by God. All of us, pro golfers included, want to be right in His eyes, but we cannot do it on our own.

   Am I good enough? No way on my own, but a reliance on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can make it right in the eyes of God. He provided, I accepted, that is good enough.

Preparation

   This may be a stretch, but it might work.

   The Scripture from Luke 12 this morning:

 “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes."

   There are some things in life that you can prepare for. You may not know the exact hour circumstances will present themselves, but you can have things in place to act when they do.

   For several weeks now, there has been a visitor to our nearest pond on the golf course. Now, although he might think that we are the visitors, he has made that pond his temporary home for the time being.

   I have wanted to take his picture, but when I carry my camera, he does not show himself. Besides it looks a little foolish to carry all the equipment I need, while I am playing golf.

   As I finished my 9 holes yesterday, there he was on the last hole, just sunning himself on the bank. "This might be my chance to get him". So, I finished the hole, walked back to the condo, got the camera with the zoom lens, got my wife so she could see him too, got in the car and drove over closer to the pond. I had my tripod in the trunk anyway, so I had what I needed.

   Since I had the right lens, I could take the shot from the other side of the pond. Could be safer that way, I figured. But when he just lay there, I decided to go around the end to his side, and see what I might get. I did, and saw him up close and personal.

   The verse above speaks of preparation, but it also takes application. The servant knew the things he needed to be doing to be prepared for his master's arrival, and he did them, not just thought about them.

   My example of preparation is puny I know, but it does remind me that my life is full of surprises and there is a time to take advantage of them. As I moved closer to my friend, I heard a splash, and he was gone. But I did get some shots before he left.

   As I wrote all of this, I realized I did not know if my friend was a "he" or a "she", but I guess that is ok. You don't know how big he was either, or how far away I was when I took that last shot.

   Preparation includes that zoom lens and also an ability to crop the picture in the computer.

   Oh, that life was that safe and convenient.

 

Sunday, It Will Be Right

   While in downtown Brunswick yesterday, waiting for my wife as she visited a store, I took my camera and wandered the street, looking for an interesting shot. There is an older building in that area, one that used to be the old city hall, that has been restored and now houses a police station. When I took this shot, I thought something was wrong, but didn't realize what it was until later.

   The time on the clock in the tower read about 10:17, but in actuality it was an hour faster. The clock face on all four sides were reading the same time, so it was not that one side was out of balance with the others.

   Were the handlers of this timepiece just getting a head start on going off daylight saving time? Early Sunday morning was the official time for changing our clocks back an hour.

   The clock was on Eastern Standard Time, while the world around it was running on Eastern Daylight Time. Maybe the clock was left on that time all year round and the people who relied on it for the correct time had to think twice in the summer to be sure of getting to their appointments on schedule.

   Then I thought this morning, as I reflected back to that scenario, that on Sunday I would not have gained an extra hour of life. The march of time had not just taken a step backwards, allowing me to go back and live that hour again. No, time had moved at its own pace, regardless of some governmental mandate. I had to adjust my schedule to the "new" time, but each hour was only new in the sense that I had not lived in it before.

   I thought of the verse in Psalm 31:

"My times are in Your hand;"

   My times, my destiny, my lifespan, are in His hands. The hours that are left in my life here are important, but what I do with them is more so.

   God, help me to use them wisely.

   That clock will tell the correct time on Sunday. Will my life be right also?