upward & inward

God has wired me to work. So, while I have a day each week to be away from the office, I still work. He works my mind and heart to be better aligned with Him. I catch up from the previous weeks and dig out of email (and voicemail) jail. But I also try to plan. Planning for the future is important - but while that is true, I must also realize that the plans I make are all under the complex sovereignty of God. He reminds us in His Word that His purpose prevails over our plans ( Prov. 19:21 ). What am I left with then? I must commit my plans to Him first, then they will succeed ( Prov. 16:3 ). Without that caveat in our planning, we're whistling past the graveyard, ignoring our ends ( Heb. 9:27 ) and, more importantly, ignoring the power and will of the Most High God. Given that all is up for change - my personal vision, mission, strategy, etc. - this will take a while. And, that's a good thing. In this approach, I can be more assured that I'm not getting ahead (or going sidew

On Friday, November 26, 2010, Richard "Dick" Buehler, Sherry's Grandpa, passed on to his eternity with Jesus. I met him soon after I began dating Sherry, my bride. And, over 23 years later, I've learned a lot from him. Here are just a few observations: Grandpa loved. This was not the emotional, sappy, temporary kind of love that our common culture seems to advocate. In his generation, love was a "many splendored thing". In mine, it was a battlefield. But, the love I'm describing is God's love, the love Christ commanded us to have toward one another ( John 13:34-35 ). This love was the one Jesus described as none greater (that a man would lay down his own life for another - John 15:13 ). A love that was patient, kind - not rude, envious, boastful, or proud. This love delighted in the truth, not evil, keeping no record of wrongs. This kind of love always trusts, hopes, perseveres, and protects. This love never fails . He demonstrated that love for his

" Randy passed away tonight." That’s the first line of an email I didn’t want to read. As I write this, I’m starting my first day of a 2 week mission in Uganda. My heart breaks that I’m unable to attend the celebration of his life, saying farewell, and comforting those that mean so much to my friend: his bride, his boys, his parents, family, and friends. But, God is not surprised. Somehow, in the complex sovereignty that only He can manage, I’m supposed to be here and not there. Often, when I called him over the phone, Randy would answer in a falsetto “Helloo?”. I still answer the phone that way occasionally and bring a smile to the caller. He was my “brudda of anudda mudda” and we would remind ourselves of that nearly each time we would see each other. When he and I would sing together, I felt I could sing better just because it was us singing. Randy included me. He encouraged me to play guitar, sing, and lead. For more than a few years, when we were on the PEAK Worship t

Here's some sobering information from a site that shares analysis on government revenue and debt. US Federal Revenue 2008 Total: $2.524T ($1.45T Income Taxes) 2009 Total: $2.105T ($1.04T Income Taxes) US Federal Yearly Deficit (more than 3x increase!) 2008 Total: $459B 2009 Total: $1.41T Ok, so here's the point. There are some very hard times coming where we will have to make some difficult decisions as a nation. Not to be over-simplistic, but when the revenue falls, each of us as families must take a hard look at what we can cut out of our expenses to stop or slow "the bleeding". For a time, we might have to take on additional debt to get past a season of reduced revenue. But, the government seems to avoid these "third rails" of politics and, as a result, we're passing them down to our children and their children. Looking at the expenses , there are no easy answers. Assuming there are inefficiencies (probably not an assumption) in the expenses, even 10

As I grew up working through high school, into the military, through my college days, and into the corporate work environment, I learned that it was perfectly acceptable to speak negatively about others while they weren't around - especially about whoever I was working for at the time - but also colleagues and coworkers who weren't living up to "my expectations." At its base level, this is gossip and God is clear about what He thinks of this behavior. As God began to convict me of these (and other) sins, maturing me in my walk with and for His Son Jesus, I learned something extraordinary: gossip dishonors God, the target of the gossip, the receivers of the gossip, and me. It's plainly a lose-lose-lose-lose proposition. What's the answer? It's simpler than it may seem. Under most circumstances, words spoken to describe another should be the same whether they're in the room or not. And, those words should be as objective as possible and as kind as possib

When I enlisted in the US Army back in 1980 (yes, June 17 will make 30 years since my enlistment), the Armed Forces had been a volunteer fighting force for a mere 7 years and it showed. Morale was low and esprit de corps was even lower. Looking back now, I wonder if the pain of the Vietnam conflict, only 5 years over by then, manifested itself in a fighting force with a self-esteem problem. Maybe it was only found in the US Army and then only where I was trained and stationed. But, then again, I don't think so. Since then, the US Armed Forces have celebrated many victories and now even though the main stream media often struggles to do so, citizens and corporations are celebrating our warriors. It now seems more "cool" to be courageous and perfectly appropriate to be a patriot. This is what I witnessed as our son Lewis graduated from Basic Military Training in Lackland AFB, TX this past weekend. The picture is of him and his friend Sam Dixon in front of the Alamo

How do you read the Bible? I know, left-to-right, top-to-bottom, page by page. Ha-ha. No, seriously. How we perceive any source of information dramatically shapes how we receive the information. For example, if I'm reading a tabloid magazine or one of those forwarded internet stories, I'm going to question the truth of the story until I have confirmation from a separate source (another publication or a place like www.snopes.com ). On the other hand, if I have grown to trust a newspaper and/or magazine or author, I may believe the story a little more readily before I look for outside confirmation. Get it? So, how do you read the Bible? I hope this description of an approach I've come to might help you provide your own answer. First, I believe that the Bible is true. Therefore, when I study the Bible, I open my eyes, ears, and mind to the Bible giving it every measure of the “benefit of the doubt.” If there is something that seems amiss, then my first a