What! It's 2020 ALREADY???

Yes indeed, it is ALMOST 2020. There is something special about those round numbers. This is the year I may reach the big 70. Wow, 70 is old. It's a long time to be on this earth.

I won't belabor that time passes faster and faster as I age. You know it, or will soon enough. I do think that TIME deserves a bit more attention than I normally give it. I have spoken about time management on a couple of recent occasions. I quote Ben Franklin who said approximately, "Doth thou love life, then do not waste time, for time is the stuff of which Life is made."

I explain in this lecture, that time is an equalizer.  Bill Gates has no more time than we do. Sure, he can hire someone to do some of the mundane things, but this is likely more than offset by his need to manage billions of dollars. ALL of us get just 24 hours per day.

So, 2020 will give us all some hours. How will I spend them? Each year that goes by, becomes more valuable than the last, because our days are numbered, and that number is steadily dwindling. We can spend time on things that matter--or on things that don't.

So, what matters? In my view, souls are eternal, and so one of the very few things that matter. People will live on beyond death--some not so happily. This world will pass away, this money will pass away, these "memorials" will too pass into oblivion. Only WE will endure.

So 2020 is another year of opportunity to be self-absorbed and world-absorbed, and another year to be concerned with the souls of men.

What say ye??

Post Christmas Reflections

I need to start with a confession, I wrote this BEFORE Christmas. I am anticipating after-Christmas reflections. As thousands have said before, Christmas in the modern USA is far too commercial. But, that said, Christmas is a great time of tradition, of reflection and of family gatherings.

I say that with some sadness. I know for many, family is NOT always a pleasant thought. We have no shortage of broken families and broken people even within "intact" families. I have mentioned before, but it has been on my mind a lot lately, some college students do NOT want to go home for the holidays. I recall my college days being THRILLED beyond words to get out of the Academy and home with family. As long as my parents, and Brenda's parents were alive, we cherished time with them.

But, of course, Christmas surpasses tradition, reflection and even family. Christmas began as Christ's Mass. The Christ is born, the Messiah, the Savior of the World is on earth. As our pastor Ben says it, our biggest problem is already solved. Because of the Christ, we can achieve the impossible- we can stand in the presence of the G^d who spoke the UNIVERSE into existence! Let that sink in.

Christ resolved the debt we could NEVER pay.
Christ took the punishment we DESERVED.
Christ made the SACRIFICE that made us Pure enough for G^d's perfect standard.

No wonder the Angels sang.
No wonder the shepherds marveled.
No wonder the wise men brought gifts.

We have JUST celebrated the Birth of the Savior. 

I hope we didn't miss that!

Born in a Manger- New depth of meaning!

Just yesterday I was reflecting on Isaiah 53:5-6, which says, 

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him."

Jesus, born in a manger, like a little lamb.

In Gen 22 we read where G^d provides a ram as a lamb to Abraham to sacrifice as a SUBSTITUTE for Isaac.

As a young man, he is described as the "Lamb of G^d who takes away the sin of the world in John 1:29, 36 and Jesus is the Lamb in Rev. 14:1.

And above, in Isaiah, we are, "... like sheep have gone astray...". So, first Jesus is the lamb, and He becomes like us sheep. G^d became man and dwelt among us in John 1:14.

But, as Isaiah points out Jesus becomes the Passover Lamb who saves us from the death angel. In the Last Supper Jesus clearly says MY Blood, MY body, given for you.

From the substitute for Isaac, to the Passover, to that little manger where G^d became flesh, to that last supper, to the Lamb of G^d who takes away the sin of the world on the cross. What continuity.

Only G^d!

 

Graduation

On 15 Dec Brenda and I headed for BHM to fly to Phoenix. We were headed to Andrew’s Ph.D. graduation at Arizona State. It was a BIG deal and likely our last chance to celebrate one of our kids’ graduations, although perhaps we can see a kindergarten, elementary, high school, or even college graduation for one of our grandchildren. It is a long trip, but I decided when I was a faculty member that I would attend every UA graduation if I was in town. At UA I volunteered to be a “Graduation Marshall” because that way I got to get up to escort my group to the stage, and I got to sit with the students. The biggest advantage was that I got to meet with my students as we lined them up to march in. I would get somebody to snap our picture in our graduation regalia. Plus, I got to chat with them a bit about their future. The biggest reason I went though was that I realized that there are only a few occasions in life wherein EVERYONE is happy, happy happy. Indeed, parents are overjoyed to be done paying tuition and room and board. Students are happy because they think “the hard part of life” is over. Now they can “adult”. Even Profs are happy that another cycle is complete and they are a bit closer to retirement, promotion, etc.

           This was especially sweet because right up until last October, we were NOT at all sure this day would ever come. Andrew had, surprising to me, struggled to finish his dissertation despite that he had collected all his data over a year earlier. He really struggled to get that dissertation written, edited, and defended. We had watched his defense via Facebook messenger.
          Even under the best of circumstances, completing a doc degree takes a lot of time, energy, money and most of all commitment. Anyone who completes their degree, and some don't, has accomplished something major. 
        And we need to celebrate when the opportunity presents. So, we were thrilled to celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. And we thoroughly enjoyed it.

International Coaches Academy = Fun in Ohio!

It is mid-November and Brenda and I are on our way to the International Coaches Academy, which starts in Xenia, OH and then moves on to the Golden Eagle Retreat Center, in Palestine, OH. Yes, we have been to Palestine, and to our surprise, there are two Academy participants from Jericho, Palestine in the Middle East. We also have participants from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Benin, Togo, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, the Maldives, UAE, Egypt, The Congo, South Korea, East Asia, the Philippines, and three more countries. A few we know from the year before, our first there. Some of these are Christians, and one becomes a Believers whilst at the meeting. The Gospel is presented, and Brenda and I get to help some Christians who are struggling with a few of the fundamentals. Brenda talks with a couple in which the husband has fallen away from the Faith. She answers some questions and encourages them both. Others on staff also minister to them.

            The focus of the camp is Jesu Christ, but the program is about helping coaches do better at coaching.  I present 4 times on Recovery from training, exercise in the heat, and using science to train sportsmen, and then two sessions on Time Management. This last talk was added at the last minute, when there is  bit of time and someone realize just how busy coaches can be.  Maybe next year we can do a session on balancing work and family.

            The says are very full. But one day we get to visit the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis and then go to an Indiana Pacers pro basketball game. We arrive at the Pacers’ arena early enough to hear a talk  by a former Women’s NBA player. She describes her rigorous training schedule. I marvel at her report that she took TWO showers each day of practice.  Wow, my skin could never take that! This is Brenda’s and my first NBA game ever. It is an interesting experience and the Pacers win by about 30 points over the OKC Thunder. We are glad we got to do it, but neither of us would spend the time or money to do it again. Sport viewing is not that popular for the two of us these days and seems to be declining further.

            This year, we wisely stay for the banquet that ends the academy on Thursday night. It is a joyous occasion. Brenda and I are both struck by the warmth and gratitude of some many who came by to thank us and have us sign their souvenir basketball. Several of these folks we have gotten to know quite well. Many will have a place in our hearts long after we have forgotten their names. Fortunately, we have a group photo and their names and countries are listed on the back.  That’s great for those of us with old brains.

            The Athletes in Action staff are all terrific, though a bit tired from all their work. We know several of these from Cru Staff Training in CO. I have been on international mission trips with two of them. It is great to be on the “same team” with such fine folk.

            What a great job we have, traveling around and meeting terrific young people from the USA and the world!  Thank you L^rd for calling us into such a great enterprise with such FINE people!  Amen.

Another Hunting Season has Come

It  is another cold, clear morning In Central AL. It is 34 F, with minimal wind. I just had a spike buck and a small 6-point walk about 10 yards in front of me at about 0730. The bigger buck paused briefly to browse on some honeysuckle. I know some readers might be opposed to hunting, and I understand. But you won’t find anyone with a greater love for the outdoors and a stronger desire to preserve it than a bona fide hunter. I sit here in the cold with a big grin. The woods are at the height of color as I sit here on 25 Nov. This is my third season to hunt this area and I a finally feeling a bit familiar with it. Last year Andrew and I took 4 deer out of here with 3 of the bucks. I wrote about the last one, a trophy indeed.

            This is my 7^th time to hunt this season. I have hunted more than any of the 10 members of the group, though EM has been to the property and signed in a couple more times than I. One of the best things about this club is the lack of competition for desirable hunting locations. I have rarely seen another hunter who wasn’t hunting with me. The lease is quite large, so we could handle our full complement of hunters if necessary.

            I have done more WORK whilst hunting here than anywhere. The first year I revised a textbook. Last year I was writing, editing and rewriting the book that came out this past August. This year I have edited a dissertation in part, and a paper for a former Ph.D. student. Now the semester is almost done, so perhaps most of the work is behind me. I love my little laptop which makes this practical. It is a bit hard to type in the cold, but I take breaks.

            Now the sun is melting the frost of the leaves on the bushes and weeds around me. It is a bit after 0800, and the sun evaporates the frost, which then re-cools to form little droplets in the air, creating a fog that makes the weeds look like they are smoking.  This goes on for an hour as different parts of the woods become sunlit.  Neat to see! Now a young Carolina wren flits about only 7 or 8 feet to my left. I saw a larger relative the last time I was in this stand. These are my neighbors and friends. The sun will slowly warm up the earth around me. It is a rhythm that has played out millions of times and will probably repeat a few more times before G^D brings all this to an end.

            And, what a Blessing that I get to enjoy it one more time.  Thank you, L,^rd!

Hotty Toddy!

At the end of October, Brenda and I trekked westward to Dallas for the first ever Cru Grad Expos. More about that in a minute, but we decided that on our way we would detour to Ole Miss, in Oxford. Our friends the Smiths had worked in Cru FCULTY Commons there until they moved to Italy. Brenda and I had agreed to “take over” ministry there, on an as-able basis in 2018. I had tried to set up some meetings there, but never had any response. Now unbidden, we decided to stop by.

            I am thrilled we did. Our first visit was with a friend I made in Italy. Her and her husband are some of the neatest people I have met. It was great to intor Brenda to her. 
           We then met with a young part-time prof who has a clinical practice in town since she teaches “clinical Practice” in her specialty. We bought her a tea and asked her about her ministry. Each Thursday dinner is an open invitation to her present and former students to have tacos with them. She said most Thursdays there were 4 to 6 students having super with her. On Monday mornings, she has  a Christian book study with any of her FORMER students (so as to prevent “brown nosing”). She has good attendance but poor preparation among these students. I suggest she try tome simpler, easier-reading books, as her choices are pretty heavy. But regardless, there is NO doubt that she is having an impact for the Christ on her campus with her students. I wish there were many more like her.

            We then met with a young prof there who I had taught once at the U of AL. She was in a different specialty, but she was happy to meet with us and I was thrilled to see someone I had known in the past. She is a Christian, but I don’t think it had ever occurred to her that she could be salt and light in a very dark place- the secular University. I give her a book, A Grander Story, about how we can participate ion G^d’s grander story. From here we hurry to a meeting with a prof I had met briefly once before who seems to be on the staff of one of my long-time friends who is NOW the DEAN  of Applied Sciences. The dean is an enthusiastic Christina who had told his fellow deans that when he arrived at Ole Miss. He reported feeling immune to their disdain.  We patted him on the back for that and encouraged both the prof and the dean to strive to have an ETERNAL impact on their students and colleagues. A positive impact is always good, but why focus on the temporal and miss the eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18)? I was surprised that the dean gave us a full 2 hours of his time.  Trust me, this is NOT normal. Thank you L^rd.

            Our final meeting of the day was with a Harvard alumnus who I had ministered with in Rome about 4 or 5 years back. He had a lot of stories he wanted to tell, and it is a ministry to give a list3ning ear. We ended up getting away quite late and we had a long way to travel, so we got out of Oxford a little way and spent the night in Forrest City, Ms. Tomorrow we would head to Dallas, but that’s another story.

Jubilation!!

As I write this (26 Oct), just yesterday our son Andrew completed and submitted his dissertation in anthropology. This marks the high-point of about 7 years of intense study. Andrew never thought he would see this day, and many other people likely had doubts.

As parents, we understand that each person makes their own way in this world. Some wonderful parents have wayward children. Some not so great parents have terrific children. Each person, given their individual talents and limitations chooses, within limitations, their path.

Having written a dissertation myself, and directed 52 others, I know a bit about it. I devised a method to make it relatively easy for my students. In my system, grad students got involved in research early in their studies and increased their depth every semester. I used to tell them, "my intention for you is that your three dissertation studies be your 5th, 6th, and 7th publications. In other words, I wanted this "independent" research experience to be routine, not exceptional. In fact, I consider my greatest contribution to graduate education to be my individual institution of a "3-study dissertation" formatted as three connected studies written up for publication with each containing its own Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections. This worked extremely well for those Ph.D. students who had already done this 3-4 times before starting their dissertation.

Andrew did NOT have this situation, so his dissertation was extremely, and unnecessarily, stressful.

But now, huzzah, it is completed. He still has to defend it, but for Andrew that should be pretty easy, since he does understand what he did, how he did it and why.

I used to encourage my students to GO to graduation, which I never did after my BS graduation. There aren't that many truly happy, happy occurrences and graduation is one. So, make the most of it.

So soon I will be booking our flights to Tempe to see Andrew be hooded.

Another cause for Jubilation.

Christians in Italy

I have written about my recent mission trip to Italy with Cru. This was a great trip, which is why I have made several posts about it.

One of the neat changes I have seen since 2015 is the increased number of Christians in Italy. Mateo, and Gianluca, and Andrea, and Maria, and Giosue. I am sure I am missing a few. These are Christian ITALIANS ministering to reach Italy with the Gospel.

Whilst in Rome I got to meet a group of Christian students from Tor Vergata University. These students, internationals from India, Brazil, Kenya, had initiated and conducted a student Christian group on campus. Though not Italian, there they are, honoring Christ in an Italian Uni.

It appeared there were MORE Cru staff than any time since we began visiting. There is still a long, long way for Italy to recover its lost Christianity (think of those early Roman Christians rescuing abandoned babies).

I fear the USA is not too far behind the European abandonment of Christianity. But for now, I am rejoicing that Italy is seeing the light of the Christ.

Pray for Italy.