Lockhart, TX is located outside of Austin and not too far from San Antonio. It is a typical small town in the great state of Texas. Five miles outside of Lockhart on a dirt country road is where they lived. They purchased five acres and placed a double-wide trailer on it. The trailer sat on the back part of the parceled land.

I had just entered the seventh grade. I lived with my dad in south Austin. Some weekends, I would go out to the trailer that my Mom and step-dad owned outside of Lockhart. The weekends were full of fishing and riding a beefed-up go-cart. My brother Clint and I would catch monstrous sized catfish. Our step-father Bill was a big fisherman. He would take us to Onion Creek, just about a half mile from the double-wide. We always had plenty of fish to eat.

I had finally come to accept the fact that my parents were not ever getting back together. By this time, my Dad had also remarried, to my first step-mother, Elaine. I had settled into thinking I would spend some weekends with my mom, but most of my time would be with Dad and Elaine. Junior High was an interesting place for me. I was bigger than most kids and no one really bothered me. My teachers sort of left me alone.

Just when I thought I had a new normal, the news of Elaine’s pregnancy came. I actually was enjoying being the only kid in the house. My older sister and brother had moved in with my mom, and I had Dad’s attention all to myself. Now a baby? The timing was right for me to make my exit. So the summer before my eighth grade year I moved to Lockhart.

Summertime for two boys in the country meant riding bikes into town, fishing, go-carts, and basketball. We had a pole in the front of the house, and we would shoot for hours. It was in Lockhart that I fell in love with the game of basketball.

I was enjoying my life in Lockhart. I made the Jr. High football team. I loved the fishing and the playing outside in the country. Just when I thought I had a home, more news. We were moving to San Diego, CA...from the country to a big city. As we drove the moving truck across the desert and finally arrived in San Diego, I just knew I would long for the country.

In San Diego, we lived in a very rough part of town. My mom, step-dad, brother and I lived in a two bedroom apartment. The apartment was a part of a four-plex. The walk to the Jr. High was horribly long, and I did not have a friend in the world. I hated living in San Diego. After six months there, I found myself at the age of 13 on a Greyhound bus, alone. I was moving back to Austin and in with my Dad, step-mother and new half-brother.

All this back and forth, uncertainty and loneliness was not at all what life should have been for a young boy. Yet, somehow God protected me. Somehow I just knew life would be ok. I remained with my Dad until I left for college. I was introduced to Jesus, and I had a church family that loved me. I think of those days and only try to remember the good things.

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids who come from broken homes. I have also made a commitment to raise my children in a secure environment where they know their parents love them and each other. I also believe it is a ministry that each Christian man should have...to support the lives of boys who come from broken homes. We have a unique opportunity to share God’s love just when it is needed.

Jim Finch

If we stay in bed in order to avoid making decisions, we have made a decision to stay in bed and by doing so have engaged the very thing we hoped to avoid. It is inevitable!

Another thing about decisions is they come one at a time, each one bringing a consequence. Some of these consequences have huge life-changing elements. For example: I made a decision to ask my wife to marry me. In making that decision it forced the need for her to make a decision. She chose very wisely and said yes. We married and decided to have children. Our lives have been greatly affected by that decision. Our children have life because of that decision. Now if my current wife would have rejected my proposal, my life would be totally different right now. Decisions bring with them circumstances, circumstances bring with them decisions. Some decisions have consequences that are merely temporary.

Other decisions bring with them eternal consequences. One may decide they want to go sky-diving. They have a successful landing and a great thrill. The same decision could bring catastrophic consequences when the parachute fails to open. As we come to an understanding about what decisions mean, we can evaluate things and come up with the best decision. If we make a decision to go hunting for bear, we can make a secondary decision on the type of weaponry. I would suggest that a pocket knife is not the best choice. We need to choose wisely.

Another consideration is our belief system. We live in a world that has many different ideas about where we come from and where we are heading. One decision can forever change our direction. One decision can influence many lives.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24: 15

I am convinced! No more proof needed. I have faith to know that God is God and Jesus is Jesus. I am also daily aware of His greatness.

As I walk in this world, I see the evidence of God all around me. The life experiences I have had are enough for me to conclude, God is God and Jesus is Jesus. As I search God's Word I am also further convinced that God is God and Jesus is Jesus. All these things, Reason, Experience and Scripture, have brought me to a resolve that God is and Jesus is.

It, however, might not be enough for you right now. I make this guarantee, if you seek God with all your heart, He will be found by you. The seeking part is very important. Seeking involves logic, emotion, discipline, education, faith. Basically, heart, soul, mind and strength! The eighties band Huey Lewis and the News sang a song about Heart and Soul when it comes to relationship. God has given His heart and Soul to us. As we seek Him, it won't be long before we give ourselves in relationship to Him. It is the best thing I have ever done.

Now, most people want to pass on good things to their children. If in my mind, walking in relationship with God is the best thing I have ever done, I would want to pass that on to my children. The next generation needs to know about the wonderful greatness of God. Pass it on! Passing the greatness of God on is like handing off a baton to the next runner. You want to get to them as quick as you can. You want the hand off to be received by them. You want to follow in their draft, or wake until they race away from you. In the hand off, you at one point need to let go. In the beginning of the race, your main focus is your own footsteps. Your stride and endurance is your focus. As you become secure in your race, your focus changes to what is before you. The next runner is in front of you.

It is no longer about you, but about how you will hand off to the next runner. The next runner is the next generation. They have a different stance than you did. They have a different rhythm, but it is what works for them. Your main goal is the hand off. The next runner must rely on you for sight. They cannot see behind them, but must trust that you are placing the baton in their hands. You could try to give them a lesson in basic running, but that's the coach's job. Yours is to pass the baton. They are in a different leg of the race. Their side of the stadium has different challenges. The one thing that remains the same is the baton. It has not changed. It is consistent. The Holy Spirit is the coach. The baton is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us hand off the baton to the next generation.

Run the race!

There are many people whom I greatly respect. If they speak, I listen.

The words they say are valuable. I listen for their wisdom and very much want to give application to what they say that will improve my life. Yet, the one whose word should speak louder into our life than any other is God.

No matter if it is the Lord or the direct representation of God in Jesus Christ, the words of God should be heard. Here in Haggai, God says: "give careful thought to your ways." I am caused to stop and consider the way I live and conduct of my life. So many times I just do. I do life! I don't think about what I do, I don't stop to consider what I do, I just do. Sometimes the do I do gets me into doodoo. It does you too, the do you do!

Why do we do what we do? Give careful thought to your ways. Hmm, careful.

Consider your ways. I think in my life I want to move beyond consideration and into obedience. Do things His way.

Psalm 119:58-60
I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

God has a wonderful plan for each of our lives. It has peace, comfort, simplicity and adventure all wrapped together. It is not the easy road but it's the road that is best. It is targeted in one direction: Eternity.

God's original intent was an unbroken relationship, He with us and us with each other. He constantly draws us back to that original intent. In my doing, am I directing myself to Him? In my being am I being that which He would have me be? I wonder, do I do what I do to do the do I want to do, or do I do the do He would want me to do?

"Give careful thought to your ways."

She had a rare confidence that I lacked. Perhaps it was her confidence that drew me to her. I actually thought she was an upper classman because she just acted like she knew what she was doing. I, on the other hand, did not have a clue.

She helped me figure out my schedule and we even had three classes together. We quickly become friends. The thing that impressed me most was her deep love for God. She talked of Christ as though she really, really knew Him. She trusted Jesus with a pleasant approach that made me want to be a better Christian. It was like she knew that she would soon be with Him. She always spoke of Him like He actually was standing there with us.

At the end of our freshman year, we broke for the summer. I would spend an amazing summer working at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. I remember returning to school to be greeted by so many friends excited for the New Year. It did not take long for me to realize I did not see her around. It was not until I ran into her sister that I found out why.

"She has cancer". The words cut through my heart like an icicle dropping from its perch. I questioned God and wondered out loud how such a precious Christian girl could be afflicted. The semester went by quickly. I remember walking across campus the first week of the second semester and there she was. I could pick her out of a crowd. She was much thinner and her hair was so short, but it was her. I raced to embrace her. We laughed like children on a playground. She was back!

That semester was hard on her body. She fought for every moment like she was on a mission with limited time. Her countenance was so pleasing that one just could see the reflection of Christ in her smile and in every word that came from her mouth. No matter the crippling cancer, she loved God!

By Christmas at the end of our junior year she could no longer attend class. Her days now numbered, she was so kind to the hospice people who attended her. We talked of heaven in that final conversation. She was not bitter, never bitter. She was happy. She knew the mystery. She forever made a mark on my life that helps me not fear death.

That was twenty-two years ago. I have had other friends pass on and I have thought joyfully of each one. I know others will be called home and I know that my day will come. I am good with that. I want so badly to walk each day with a confidence that Jesus Christ is my risen savior. I want to have a reflection on my face of joy and peace and grace. I want to be like my friend. I want to be like Christ. Walk with me!

I have also learned it is good to be from somewhere, but better to be where you're at. To live for the here and now and look towards the future is better than staying in the past. We should learn from the past, but make choices for the future. Staying in the glory days of yesteryear leaves one old and outdated. Hopes and anticipation for tomorrow makes one vibrant and creative. God is the God of yesterday, today and forevermore and He is active, progressive and building for our tomorrow. He knows what you need, and has made you for a purpose. Spend each day in pursuit of that purpose. The journey towards the goal is the goal!

Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD.

Hook'm Horns!

Why think about how I am going to die, instead of considering how I should live? If I have one week or forty years, I want to produce a daily life that is pleasing to God. I want to invest in people. Starting with my family and trickling down to each person I have a life moment with. I want people to know how important they are to me. So if you are bothering to read this right now, I want to say something to you:

You are very important to me. You have touched my life and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I want you to have joy, peace, laughter and grace. I want you to experience Christ. Hopefully I can represent Him in front of you and when I fail, please don't hold that against Him. My life is so rich because I know you. You are valuable to me but more so to God. Walk in the understanding that you have many people who need you. I consider myself one of them! I even want to represent you before God.

God, bless my friends today. Help them realize that you are interested in every aspect of their life. May they understand how important they are to you! Help them to smile in the face of discouragement, to trust you in the moment of anxiety and to praise you for others' kindness. In Jesus name, Amen.

Tomorrow, I have another chance to do it again...........

How should I live this day?

Laurie and I made plans to travel with my in-laws to Ohio for vacation. We had been married for a year. No kids in the picture and time was our own. The two-week trip sounded fun. To save on expenses, we would share a hotel room at some of the stops along the way. First night out, we settled in for a good night's slumber.

Not really caring about the agenda, I was along for the ride. Then it happened. Not an alarm clock, not the ringing of the phone, but a sonnet which would make the worst American Idol contestant sound good. Laurie's mom, my new mother-in-law, belted out a rendition of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning". It was loud it was scary, and it was meant to antagonize. I bolted out of bed as though I'd missed the second coming. It was a wakeup call. The intent was to rouse me from my sleep, and rouse it did! My bolt so caught my mother-in-law off guard she could not stop laughing.

As we live this thing called life, sometimes we fall asleep and we need a wakeup call to remind us what is really important. I received a wakeup call last week. It is not the first wakeup call I have had in my life, but it is one of the more serious ones that has come along in some time. My doctor had a stern conversation with me about my health. The blood pressure is high and the time for change is immediate. A wakeup call!

I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:22

If I have truly given my heart and life to Christ, I have time on loan from God. I spend way too much time pretending that this life is my own. I have a responsibility to honor God by living a life that is pleasing to Him. I am not under obligation to anyone but my Creator. If I walk in this attitude, it will change a lot of things about how I live.

As much as I want others to acknowledge me and like me, if that is in contradiction to who God wants me to be, I am out of line. I am trying to recapture my life, which should be lost in Christ.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:2-4

The wakeup call for me is this: I need to guard how I take care of my body, so that I can be about God's business. I am awakening to the trap that I must "enjoy" the things of this world. We are not of this world and our joy does not come from the things of this world. Christ Jesus, who is my joy, has such a peace available to us that if we could just get past ourselves, we can enjoy what God has intended for us from the beginning.

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13–14

We drink of the wrong cup when we think our value and pleasures are wrapped in this world. Jesus has offered us a new cup and a greater understanding of what is important. As a fresh spring fills the countryside with green, so the Spirit of God can raise up in each of us a scenery of joy in our lives.

My wakeup call has given me back my joy. I have work ahead of me, but I am confident to know that God will help me. I have been enlightened to the fact that Christ continues to offer the cup of eternal life to me, the taste of which will help me set aside the temporary moments of this world, as I anticipate the eternal pleasures of the next.

One flaw Jake has is he is a runner. If he finds a hole in the fence, he is gone. I recall one time after we just moved to Yuma, AZ he made a great escape. At the time we had another dog and they both got out of the backyard. We searched everywhere for them. Three days went by and I finally called the pound. They did not have the dogs, but someone called in with a description that fit them. I went to the person's home and, sure enough, it was them.

The person said he found them on the highway heading east. Returning home, we fixed the hole in the fence and waited till the next time. Since that time, Jake has probably taken off 8 or 9 times. He has it made at our house. He's spoiled. So why does he jet? Why does he do things he should not do?

We are a lot like Jake. We have it made with God. He gives us everything we need. Yet, we look for holes in the fence. We turn away from the good we have. I know human nature often calls us to think there might be something to this life of sin. Sin is attractive. If it was not fun, it would be no problem for us to avoid. When we run, God searches for us.

God makes calls, he drives streets, and He does what He needs to for your return. The best thing to do is to realize where you have come from and not return to a life of sin. As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 26:11

The sword of Christ is the Word of God. We quote it in times of trying to prove our point, yet we like to dismiss the parts that are uncomfortable or that do not fit into our lifestyle. For instance, I can take this one verse found in Matthew and make Jesus look like someone who has no mercy.

Yet, it was also Jesus who said in John 10: "I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

The same Jesus who brings the sword also provides abundant life? If you give no relevance to the Bible being God's Word and you have no foundation in being in Christ, you can easily put aside anything the Bible has to say. However, doing so does not therefore remove you from any responsibility when eternal judgment arrives.

Those who reject the Word (rejection does not nullify) will be judged by the Word. Those who accept the Word will be saved by the Word (who is Jesus Christ). So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13) Referring back to the original quote of Christ, the sword represents God's Word. Jesus is also the representation of God's Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:1-3)

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

We have good intentions, or do we? I cannot judge that, only God can and will. So I bring this not as a judgment, but rather a call to evaluate your own heart. We can hide nothing from the Lord, so why try? Be honest before God and say, look into my heart and show me. If what you see (and only you will know) is not pleasing to you, turn to Him and ask Him for mercy. The sword quickly turns to grace when we accept on faith Jesus as Lord.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6)

It is a good feeling to think that all paths lead to God. The reality of God's Word is that only one path leads to God and He is Jesus Christ. Avoid the cliff and walk the path of Christ.