No Peripheral Issue

On board our cruise ship there was an organised debate about creationism vs evolution. I did not go. This morning I thought if I had been there and participated my opener should have been something like:
“First, I would like to thank God Who patiently keeps our hearts beating and our lungs breathing while we evaluate His work. The Bible says in Romans 1 that the reason we are all guilty before Him is that we have all suppressed the plain truth that we know; the truth that He has created us and everything around us. We fail to acknowledge Him and give Him thanks and honor as the Creator. This is no peripheral issue. Each of us attempts to manage our own lives rather than submit to Him. Thank God that His own great love compels Him to endure our refusal to acknowledge Him.”

You are here

Sitting in the Red Dot, a coffee shop in Northville. As the name implies….I am here. I am here with misty eyes listening to Chris Tomlin sing, “You’re a good, good Father”….through my earbuds on my cell phone. The words sink in.
“You have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me” from Psalm 139 surfaces to my mind from the Holy Spirit in me.

I had a dream that woke me up very early this morning. I was in a dark theater. I asked the lady if I could sit in the seat next to her. She said, “OK, but there is a man who may want that seat” implying that this man liked her. I sat down anyway and talked to the lady a bit when the man about whom she had referred approached and told me to get up. I stood up and saw the man drawing a knife in the dark. In fear, I starting yelling very loudly, “Police! Police! Police!” The man immediately fled across the theater.

At this point, I woke up. I am no interpreter of dreams, but my help in this dream was immediately available and completely effective. My fear of the man with his knife was immediately quelled.

As I listen to it again, Chris’s song begins “Oh I’ve..heard..a thousand stories of what..they think You’re like but I’ve..heard..the tender whispers of love..in the dead of night and You tell..me..that You’re pleased and that I’m never alone……………….….”

Jewells

Jewells

I wish you could meet Mr. Nagy. He prefers to be called “Jewells”.

He is wearing his Corvette t-shirt since he is recruiting for volunteers at church for a neighborhood outreach event at which car guys will bring their cars and eat at food trucks and do other stuff. This is a target-rich environment for car guys.

Jewells no doubt will bring what he affectionately calls his “Frankenvette”. It was brought back to life by salvaging parts from other Corvette model years and assembling it into a beautiful new monster. (Photo in link below).

https://wholehealthblog.is/grit-gratitude-open-letter-battling-cancer-myeloma-survivor/

Jewells has fought myeloma for over ten years. Jewells is the “Cool Hand Luke” in the match. He gets beat up by his treatments and he keeps getting up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n0mgkaEGQc

Jewells’ resilience has resulted in a wealth of information about myeloma for him, for his doctors and for his fellow myeloma fighters. I asked him if he is the “six-million dollar man”. He responded that his treatments have cost more than that. He has become the patient doctors want so they can learn from him. He has become one whom other myeloma patients from around the world contact. They know he is fighting their fight with them.

For me, he models how to live….

Philip

This story starts in the 80s and spans decades. This is Philip. Philip, is the brother of my stepmother, Vonnie. Philip lived an openly gay lifestyle for many years. Along the way he contracted AIDS.  Meanwhile sometime after Vonnie married  my dad in the late 80s, she became a believer in Jesus. Vonnie loved Philip and stayed in contact with him over the years when others did not. Philip was a painter. I wonder if he looked inside himself a lot. His paintings seem to invite you in.

On a Monday night years ago my father called me. He was crying. I asked what was wrong. He said, “I’m so ashamed that I gave up on Philip….but Ben didn’t”. Dad went on to confess that Philip seemed so far from God that he gave up on Philip turning to God. However, my brother, Ben, had said years before that that he would keep praying for Philip. Vonnie kept loving Philip. Ben kept praying for Philip. They did not give up on Philip. On Sunday the day before, Philip had called Vonnie. He asked Vonnie how he could be forgiven and know God. Vonnie, a new believer herself, wasn’t sure of the right words to say. So she agreed to ask someone and call Philip back. She called my dad who was away at the lake. He came home just to help Vonnie with what to say to Philip. She called Philip back. At the time she explained, as best as she could, the salvation message, but she did not know for sure until after Philip’s death. She spoke with the mother of Philip’s partner who had died years before Philip. She told Vonnie that she had shared with him the gospel and had seen him come to Christ. Philip created some wonderful art. As it turned out, Philip himself was a masterpiece of God (Ephesians 2:10).

I never met him. I wish I had.

Still Breathing

Today I start year 64. As I type this, Someone keeps my heart beating and keeps my lungs breathing. I give no conscious command to make these things happen….to keep them at the proper cadence. It was not my idea to be born. I provided no input into being born in Texas. (My fellow Texans would say, “Thank God for that!”)

Lately I have been praying a different prayer. As I go to bed I ask God to reveal something to me about Him. The bible says He gives to His beloved even while His beloved sleeps.

He and His ways are incomprehensible but there is much He has revealed about Himself. He is the great artist. A new color pattern for each sunset…He created gazelles, ladybugs, hippopotamuses, anteaters, eagles, mosquitoes, and ……. He has given great athletes speed and agility. A lightening storm can be quite spectacular…another one of His artistic creations. And… there is the quiet peace of a glassy lake in the morning. Every day there is a new look. It is perpetually around us.

Does He want to be known? I think so. He said let the one who boasts boast that he understands and knows Him Who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness because He delights in these things. Surely He knows He is incomprehensible to us. Surely He knows we can’t fathom how He holds the galaxies together, listens to our prayers, creates all of these animals and bugs, keeps track of the hairs on my head and your head….but never grows weary or tired.

So what do I know about Him? I know one thing He has said….He came for me and He is committed to me. Just typing that makes me uncomfortable.

Handsome Jack

In December of 2011 Brent had been told by the doctors that his son, Jack, had a serious disease. This meant that Jack, 19 months old at the time, would begin losing the abilities that he had gained up to that point, and eventually the disease would take his life as a toddler. Jack had already been diagnosed with cortical blindness, epilepsy, microcephaly, cerebral palsy, and then this.

The initial distress for Brent and his wife was indescribable…as Brent says, “the kind of thing that puts you on the ground”.  After the dust settled, Brent began to accept this truth as a reality and to think about how the future day-to-day activity would look. At that time, his wife and he were both working full-time, and she carried the health insurance. What began to consume him was the idea that his wife would need to maintain employment while they had what appeared to be very limited time with their son. Brent became obsessed with this, and began to pray and beg for answers. He told me that he was praying to a God that he didn’t yet know. He wanted a reset button. He wanted all of this to go away.

Brent had already started playing guitar as a way to bond with his blind son. He had even recorded a song so that Jack could hear his voice when he wasn’t home. The recording was nice enough, and everybody enjoyed the tune. Then a clear message came to Brent … “share your story, and make the song available to the world”.

Brent with Handsome Jack

He sat down and got to work, a few hours later he had a web domain, a digital store front, and his song. He composed an email to his friends and family sharing his feelings and current situation, and giving them an opportunity to purchase his music. Within 5 minutes the song had been downloaded, then again, then again, and again. $100, $10, $100, $200, $2.00… The letter he had sent traveled and before he knew it there were people in Europe, Canada, China, Australia, and all over the US contributing to what he intended to use as a gift to his wife to let her stay home more with Jack.

Did I mention Brent really loves his wife?

After a few days and tens of thousands of dollars later, the phone rang. It was the doctor saying they had revisited Jack’s test results, and he was changing his diagnosis. He said Jack did not have the terminal disease.

*pause*

Praise God? Yes.

Brent says he hadn’t prayed for a cure. He prayed for relief… but the answer came above and beyond his wildest expectations. To pray for a cure wasn’t even conceivable to him at that time.

His wife and he decided that the prayers, support, and rekindled friendships that came out of his email were all that they needed. So, they hit the refund button, promptly returning the financial gains. This process had given them their family and friends back, who they had lost when they isolated themselves from the world early in their son’s journey.

However, Brent had made a promise, both in writing and in his heart. He had said if this works, he would pay it forward to other families like his. All of this had generated quite a stir and what bubbled to the top were the people who wanted to be part of fulfilling that promise.

Brent has since incorporated Giving Songs, recorded 20 songs, earned tax-exempt status, and delivered life changing impact to families like his own. Each one of these events was only possible because God opened His doors. The music? 85% off at the recording studio where his brother works. 501c3 attorney? free – he grew up down the street from Brent and they are childhood friends. The list goes on, and on.

Giving Songs has already put handicapped vans in families with children who have challenges similar Brent’s. Check out the website and consider how this all started….While you are at it, buy some songs.

http://givingsongs.org

The Professor

This is the professor….(aka “Ginger”).

Not sure of your area of expertise but Ginger’s professorship goes beyond expertise. She was bred for this. She was trained for this. She was born for this. When Ginger is in the house, she crowds you off the couch. She slobbers on your leg. She sniffs your food and looks at you longingly. The house is not her classroom.

When you approach the aspen and oak with thick underbrush cover, Ginger knows. If a grouse was sitting 4 feet from me in this brush, I could not see it. Any grouse within 50 yards of Ginger has a death sentence. Only the hunter can miss. Not Ginger. Pay attention, class.

It is beautiful to watch. As she runs through the underbrush with us stumbling behind I am amazed at Ginger. She locks on to a grouse. If it is near she puts her nose close to the ground as if to say, “how much closer do you want me to get?” When she is done, she returns to look up at Tom. She knows she nailed another hunt. He’s delighted. She knows it.

It makes me think of how cool it would be for Jesus to look at something I am doing and say to someone next to Him, “watch this”.

He made me see the stars

A 1995 movie, “Nixon” played in the background as I looked at cars on the internet this morning.
Nixon comes to the White House kitchen in the middle of the night. His Cuban chef comes in to ask him how he can help. Nixon asks if he misses Cuba. He says, “Yes”. Nixon says, “We let you and your people down didn’t we?” The chef says, “That was Mr. Kennedy, sir.” Nixon says, “You don’t think he was a hero do you?” The chef says, “He was a politician.” Nixon says, “Did you cry when he died?” The chef says, “Yes, sir”. Nixon asks, “Why?” The chef says, “I don’t know…..he made me see the stars.”

The rest of the movie is of no interest…like elevator music… but when the chef said, “….he made me see the stars …” it captured my attention.

Something in me needs to see the stars. I suspect it is true of everyone….but I need more. I need guys like Chris in my previous blog. I need men like him and other young lions who not only make me see the stars but give me a way to do something great….

….but sometimes seeing the stars means just hearing from God that you are OK….that you’re right where you need to be. Notice how God used seeing the stars in Abraham’s life in Genesis 15…..” After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Walk outside

Chris

To say Chris is no little person to someone in Detroit today is to elucidate the obvious…but let me give you the context.

In the spring of 2011, Cynthia and I were new to the Detroit area and were looking for a church to join. One of those churches named “Ekklesia” met in a high school. This was not a church amid trappings of wealth. I noticed no high-end cars in the lot. It was not a large church. On the Sunday we visited, the church served lunch after its service. At lunch we sat next to three homeless men who had come for lunch. It was at that point Chris, the pastor, sat down to visit with us.

Chris, Andrea, Levi and Judah

Ekklesia was a smaller church in a lower income neighborhood. Ekklesia had a vision to build a house in 6 days for a struggling family. The sense I got was …no, we don’t have a bunch of rich folks here but let’s do it anyway….and they did.

The next year they did more houses. Last year they built a house in the middle of a forty square block renovation and blight removal project in one of the toughest areas of Detroit.

As a result of all this Chris founded LifeRemodeled (liferemodeled.com) and now does this full time. This week about 10-12,000 volunteers from GM, Quicken, churches, construction companies and many others are showing up at Cody High School in Detroit to renovate the high school and a 3-square mile area around it.

So, Chris did (and is doing) what I wrote in my previous blog. Don’t wait to win the lottery. Line up with what God already wants to do and ask Him to tap His foundation…..really. And do it now.

Start your own foundation

So here is my recurring fantasy. I don’t play the lottery. However, one day when the jackpot is $150 million…not $149 million ….but EXACTLY $150 million, God gives me a lottery ticket that I don’t buy. Either I find it or someone gives it to me…I am not sure how God gets this to me. That’s all part of Him demonstrating that this is ALL Him…

So back to reality. For the last few years as I drive down the road, I actually check out the amounts on the lottery billboards and look at the amounts. I really do this. This is not part of the fantasy. If you could read my thoughts you would know….but so far I have not seen $150 million exactly show up on a billboard.

Meanwhile, I think about what I am going to do with all this money. I think I am not so good at managing the money I have now. So, I think I need some help. I need a good financial guy. I need some good people. Tax. Investments. Someone with a missions background. I have some specific people in mind for this. These folks are really gifted.

If I got that money I would suddenly become less noble-minded than I fantasize that I would be after winning it. So I will have to move fast before I start buying Lamborghinis. I need to find a lawyer NOW so that as soon as I win I can implement the plan…I don’t know EXACTLY when that would be…so I have to be ready. As soon as I win, I will call my lawyer with whom I have this all worked out. He will protect my identity so no one knows I won. No press. No papparazzi. No local six o’clock news human interest stories.

No one will know that I won. I really need to work on this part about the lawyer. I need someone I can really trust with this big of a secret. Someone who won’t speak of it even generically. Someone who will be absolutely a CIA-type…take-it-to-the-grave, secret-keeper.

I won’t change my buying habits. Don’t want anyone to notice. I will be doing great things and they won’t even realize it was me behind it…er….I mean God behind it.

As Patton said, “… a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” Some of this will have to wait until I actually have the money. So my “good” plan is to limit how much I will quietly keep for myself…er…my family. I’m thinking about $5 million but I’m not sure. That could change. You know the dollar is losing strength fast…and I’m not sure how soon this is all going to happen.

With the rest I would start a foundation. I would call the foundation “Eye on Argentina”. I will need some board members to help me steward this money. (I have specific people in mind already. I will get back to you and let you know if you’re one of the lucky ones!!).

I haven’t quite figured out how to keep the board members from knowing I won the lottery. Not sure it makes sense that these folks would conclude that some mystery person would put me in charge of this foundation named “Eye on Argentina”. I need to get my story straight.

I would spend my time quietly talking about mission needs. Praying about stuff. Visiting obscure ministries. Flying coach. Investigating first-hand. Low profile. Talking this over with my expert friends/board members… and giving BIG sums of money away. Well, OK. It’s not Bill Gates/Warren Buffet level but it’s a lot bigger than now.

We would need to pace ourselves. I need someone smart who can help the foundation resources grow. I’m just not good at that.

And there’s all sorts of other things I need to work out. Do I involve my kids in the foundation? You know it’s not good to give them too much too fast or to make it too easy….

There is A LOT to figure out!

…………….

So, at 3:50am this morning I wake up and God proposes an alternative.

It’s like He says,..” start your foundation now. Walk into your living room and just start talking to Me about where we should put this money. What ministries, people, heart-wrenching needs you’d love to see resolved. I can just move the hearts of my guys and you won’t have to figure out the rest of this stuff. No tax filings. No pesky board meetings. No paparazzi. …and you won’t have to go overboard trying to look so humble. Yeah I know you don’t have a $150 million but you know…I really do and it’s very portable.”