Month: August 2021

The Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than in the beginning. Job 42:12

Last year was a rough time for football fans! The stadiums were empty except for cardboard cut outs of fans, there were no marching bands, and people were relegated to at home football celebrations! It was like silence spread across the land of the football faithful.

This year when the red and black (substitute other colors here) run onto the field between the hedges, (substitute other places here) there will again be the roar of the crowd, the striking up of the band, and the traffic nightmare of fans racing to cheer their team on once more.

In the world of sports announcers, there has never been a more beloved voice of the Bulldogs than Larry Munson. During the years of Munson, even if we attended the game in person, we carried a radio in order to hear him call the game. Many times, his commentary was more exciting than the game itself!!

There are many calls of his which are legendary, but in honor of the upcoming Clemson game on Saturday, it’s fitting to remember his call of the 1984 game. The game was tied 23-23 with Georgia on the Clemson 44 yard line and 11 seconds left. When Georgia’s offense stalled, Kevin Butler came in to attempt a field goal. Larry’s call went like this: “This kick is a hundred thousand miles!” Then, as the kick cleared the goalpost, “Oh my God! Eleven seconds! I can’t believe what he did!” Munson always believed the second half was the most important, and he loved to give credit to the players and coaches. In his words, “Now there’s no sense in going away because you know it’s not going to end like this”.

This game and many others were won or lost in the second half. Basically, coaches have two speeches they can give in the locker room at halftime – one if their team is winning and the other if they are losing. If they are winning, coaches talk about forgetting the first half and pretending the score is 0-0 when they come out for the second half. Coaches are quick to remind their players that the game isn’t over until the last buzzer has sounded, the last play has been run, or the last tackle has been made. If the team is losing, the coaches have to analyze the game and decide why? Is it mental mistakes or are we just being outplayed?

I tell this story to show that no matter where we are in this game of life, we can win this in the second half! Many people feel that they have somehow outlived their usefulness later in life; however, if we are still here, the game of life isn’t over for us! We have a lot of life left to live and a lot left to do!

Richard Rohr says that the first half of our lives is focused on our ambitions, plans, competitiveness, and looking after ourselves and our families. The second half seems to be a lot about undoing what was accomplished in the first half in order to help us get a deeper understanding of what’s really important.

It’s almost like the first half of our lives we are building a vessel to hold all the things on which we need to focus in the second half. The first half of life doesn’t have to determine the outcome of the game.

Everyone can look back over their lives and see mistakes, disappointments, and failures. Life can be cruel and sometimes deal us a harsh blow here or there. The good news is that there is a second half for all of us. The final whistle hasn’t blown, and it’s never too late for God to pick us up and carry us straight to the plan He has for us. God always looks at our future not our past.

Just like a coach in the locker room at halftime, God encourages us with words like, “You can win, I am with you, I believe in you, and don’t give up!” According to Head Coach Kevin Wright, the key words in the second half are intensity, focus, finish, resiliency, and playing as a team. Those words can apply to our everyday lives as well.

Whether our first half has been dominated by the good, the bad, or the ugly, God wants us to learn from it, not live in it. The second half is the best time to use the rest and assessment which the first half has presented us!

Let’s live our second half so when the final buzzer sounds, we will have no regrets. copied

Great are the works of the Lord. They are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever. Psalm 111:2-3

During Covid (the first time) many of our friends began the practice of doing jigsaw puzzles. It was therapeutic to put the pieces out on a table, mull over the picture on the box, and work each day on putting the interlocking pieces together. It sounded like a great exercise in brain power, but I can’t do the “table thing”, so I found a jigsaw puzzle app and began completing one puzzle a day. Granted, there are only 64 pieces, but it’s fun, works the brain, and once you find the correct piece, it locks in place!

There are all kinds of puzzles. There are crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, mechanical puzzles, math puzzles, word search puzzles, sudoku and even trivia. Each one is different, but a puzzle none the less.

When the word puzzle is defined as a noun, its definition is a game, toy or problem used to test ingenuity or knowledge. If it’s defined as a verb, the definition changes into feeling confused because one can’t make sense of a situation or problem.

Life itself can be a puzzle and actually the definitions of both a noun and a verb can be used to describe it.

After all her girls left home and married, my Mama began doing crossword puzzles every day. She didn’t take the easy route, but she attacked the very tedious Wall Street Journal ones. I can see her now sitting in her chair with the paper, pencil and a dictionary by her side. The pencil was used rather than a pen because many times her answers were wrong. The answers to the puzzle appeared in the next day’s paper, but Mama didn’t want to look until she had tried every way to work it out for herself.

We are very much like that in our daily lives. We don’t want to look to God for answers to our puzzles until we have tried every other way to solve it for our selves and on our own!

The story is told of a sixth grade Sunday School teacher who was attempting to prove a point to his students. He divided the class into three groups. The objective was to see which group could put together a jigsaw puzzle first. The only rule was absolutely no talking. The first group received puzzle pieces in a box with the picture on it. The second group received puzzle pieces in a box, but the picture on the box didn’t match the pieces. The third group received puzzle pieces but no picture at all.

The second and third group became very frustrated as they watched the first group moving along with no difficulty. They had no idea why it was so much harder for them! The lesson that day was that life is like the pieces of a puzzle. We all go through times of joy, sadness, grief, hard times, and many different emotions. We watch others around us going about their lives with no apparent difficulties, and we can’t solve the puzzle. We will never solve the puzzle unless we have the right tools, but the good news is that Jesus is there through it all to help us put it all together.

The first thing that puzzles teach us is that we need all the pieces of the puzzle in order to solve it. One piece standing alone is inadequate. It takes everyone of them interlocking to create the picture.

Secondly, each piece of the puzzle is important. If we work to finish the puzzle and get to the end with one piece missing, the puzzle is of no worth.

Finally, to solve a puzzle, one much start by working from the outside in. When we find the pieces that “frame” the puzzle, we can begin to work on the inside. God frames his plan for us, and He helps us to work toward completing it.

God makes the body of Christ to be like interlocking puzzle pieces. Each one of us is needed to contribute our unique strengths to His kingdom. When members of Christ’s body find their strengths, use their strengths, and value strengths we find in one another, we interconnect to form the whole or the complete puzzle. Together we are stronger.

We are designed to fit together like a puzzle to reflect the character of Jesus in all we do. Just like interlocking puzzle pieces, we build on each other and together we exemplify Him.

He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

On our wedding day some forty nine years ago last month, Randy and I chose an old song and tweeked the title just a bit to fit the occasion. Actually my Mama and my aunt, Joanne, (the resident musical authorities) chose it for us! The song is usually entitled, I’ll Walk With God, but we decided it should be, We’ll Walk With God since we were entering into a brand new career for which we had no roadmap and God was a big part of that career!

I know neither one of us in our wildest aspirations for our lives ever dreamed we would be taking on the ministry. The years we spent at UGA knowing each other as friends, never hinted at that particular avenue. Actually, I was doubtful that Randy would make it in this calling, not because he wasn’t capable, but because I wasn’t sure what this calling entailed. Early on, however, I realized that if he failed at ministry, he would make an excellent lawyer!! That man can argue a case!!

We were certainly ill prepared for many things as are so many young couples, but parsonages, below minimum wage salary, and no air conditioning were not on my wish list!

During the forty four years since he actually did make a pretty good minister, fulfilled that calling, and helped God build five churches along the way, there are many things we have learned. As many of us face uncertain times in the many things which are important to us such as our country, our church, our jobs, and our personal lives in general, it might be a good time to share some lessons I think we learned.

First, when God calls you into a profession, we need to know that sometimes we might have to walk alone. When God uses you, people often assume you are filled with God’s strength and you don’t need anything. They often don’t realize that you are just a regular person who’s scared to death a lot of the time and more amazed if you succeed at something than they are!

We have been so fortunate to have friends, church members and others who have stood with us during the years on a pretty wide variety of issues, but when friends or others don’t stand with you or minister to you it becomes discouraging. Nobody wants all people to be of the same opinion, but friends should be there to support each other in good times and bad. The good news is that with God, usually the people who stand with you and minister to you are more than those who don’t!

Secondly, we can rest assured that we will need God’s help pretty constantly. If you don’t think you will, you’re in trouble. Sometimes we get so busy and caught up in things and doing them our way, that we, like Samson, do not know that the Lord has left us. (Judges 16:21) We have to live with that sense of dependence on God because He can slip away if we don’t speak with Him daily.

Next, it’s God’s power not our own that makes the difference in all we do. If your ministry is truly a calling, then you know if you wait for God to give you supernatural powers before deciding to get in the fight for good, then you never will experience any victories. It’s His power and His alone that is with us!

Finally, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we can’t understand God’s ways or feel His presence in our trials or weaknesses, we can still trust in His unchanging and loving character.

There’s been so many rewards as well as trials through these years, but it’s always a certainty that God cannot break His promises, abandon His children, or fail to love and bless us. When you are called of God and adhere to that call, you’ll never walk without Him!

The lyrics to the following song are more true to me today than they have ever been.

I’ll walk with God, from this day on; His helping hand I’ll lean upon. This is my prayer, my humble plea; May the Lord be ever with me. There is no death though eyes grow dim; There is no fear when I’m near to Him. I’ll lean on Him forever, And He’ll forsake me never. He will not fail me as long as my faith is strong. Whatever road I may walk upon. I’ll walk with God, I’ll take His hand; I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand. I’ll pray to Him each day to Him, and He’ll hear the words that I say. His hand will guide my throne and rod; And I’ll never walk alone while I walk with God. Lyrics by Nikolaus Brodszky and Paul Francis Webster

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20

In the last letter she wrote to George Burns before her death, Gracie Allen said, “Remember, don’t put a period where God puts a comma“. That seems to say don’t lose hope, God is still in charge.

There are times in everyone’s life where circumstances, problems, or failures make us want to quit, drop out, or just give up on things. We find ourselves thinking, “That’s it, I’m done. Period.” We put a period where only a comma is needed.

A period and a comma are two punctuation marks which look similar but have entirely different meanings. A comma means to pause, and it is used to connects things. A period means a full stop, and when its used, the sentence or thought is over.

The comma is used to encourage us while God is working on the situation we face. We can pause and rest because He has not given His final answer. We have hope in Him and in the resolution of the situation.

A period lets us know that it’s over, and God has spoken. When that happens, we need to obey and rest in the resolution.

Sadly, sometimes in our situations, we tend to rush to use a period when we really should use a comma. When we use the period before God is ready, we have basically lost hope. All through the Bible there are examples of people just like you and me who faced problems that seemed to have put their life on hold or full stop, but there was still hope. Hope is defined as the expectation of something good, and it is something we, as Christians, can count on because of what God has done and says He will continue to do.

When we are going through a crisis and tempted to put a period instead of a comma, there are three things we need to consider. First, God’s timing is always perfect. Secondly, God’s ways are not our ways. Finally, God always has the final say.

This past week as the Olympic Games in Tokyo continued, a situation reminded me that things are never over until God says they are over! An alternate gymnast for the U.S. team was preparing to board a plane back to her home state of Utah convinced that her Olympic career was over. Mykayla Skinner, the oldest alternate on the team, had accepted the fact that she would forever be an Olympian but not an Olympic medalist.

About that time, God said, “But wait, I haven’t said this is over.” Simone Biles withdrew from the competition, and by that evening, Skinner was back in her leotard and competing for a medal as she stepped in as an alternate. Only one gymnast earned a higher mark than she, and Mykala Skinner ended up a silver medalist! The door was also opened for Suni Lee and Jade Carey to take home medals! Don’t ever put a period where God puts a comma.

We can have some of the greatest encounters with God in the everyday experiences of life, but we have to be open and receptive otherwise we will miss it! Author William Barry once said, “Whether we are aware of it or not, at every moment of our existence we’re encountering God..who is trying to catch our attention…to draw us into a reciprocal conscious relationship.”

The difference in the period and the comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence just like their usage can change our trust in God’s timing. There is a time and place where everything connects like a comma. Imagination, faith, and effort come together with the spark of God’s grace and things become whole, real and good. Let’s use more commas and let God take care of the periods!

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 1 John 5:4

The Olympic games in Tokyo have been leading the news and entertainment spotlight for over a week now. It is fascinating to watch these athletes compete in their individual sport and do their best to push through to victory and a coveted medal.

As we’ve seen, the athletes themselves aren’t immune to the stress, problems, and trials that each of us experience on a daily basis. Simone Biles is suffering from mental and emotional issues, COVID-19 has dashed the hopes of some, and defeat has taken its toll on some of the hopeful. It’s not always ecstasy in this quest – it can sometimes be agony. It’s the same for us in this life of ours.

Victory is defined as an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game or other competition. These Olympians, just like us, are working toward victory in whatever battle is facing them in this life.

It’s interesting to me that the three times we tend to give up on victory and settle for something less, usually happens when we are facing what I call the three T’s. Either, we are tempted to give up on our circumstances, we are tired of our battle, or we are troubled about something over which we have no control. When these situations or T’s pop up, we need to recall Paul’s words: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. Romans 5:3-4

These words of Paul remind us that when we are at our lowest, it is time to turn to three words which offer inspiration: endurance, strength, and confident hope. If we put these words into action, we can begin to draw on the amazing benefits God provides us when we face problems and we can be assured that He will carry us on to victory.

First, God provides us with endurance. Endurance in life is a commitment to draw daily on His grace and keep moving forward regardless of circumstances. Secondly, He gives us strength to use that inner fortitude which is based on our own personal integrity. Finally, He gives us confident hope that whatever it takes to achieve victory, He will ultimately bestow on us. We are guaranteed success in our mission for God because His hope will never disappoint.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps captured the gold for USA in swimming. As he touched the wall, winning the race, nobody knew what he had undergone to accomplish it. Michael pulled off his goggles and the world watched as water poured out of them. He had swum 200 meters of the butterfly almost blind. Counting strokes, looking for any marks on the pool floor for guidance, he finally touched the wall, a victor in every sense. Phelps used his frustration to increase his stamina and determination to win. He was tempted to give up, troubled and tired, but he persevered. He employed endurance, strength and confident hope. We have the ability to do the same.

The fact is we all savor victory. We desire it in our own lives, and in the things we pursue. The path to victory is one of sorrow and joy, suffering and healing comfort, tears and smiles, conflicts and triumphs with a dose of hardships, dangers, persecutions, misunderstandings, trouble and distress sprinkled into it. Yet, we are more than conquerors through Him, and Jesus would have us turn our trials into chariots of victory.