Book Review- The King and The Cowboy by David Fromkin

David Fromkin's book, The King and The Cowboy, is subtitled "Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners". There is an attempt to connect the former United States President Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh of Great Britain as close confidants who shaped history. However, as the book details the relationship between the two world leaders, there is little evidence that much connected the two. In fact, as outlined in the book, the primary contact between the two was via correspondence as well as political emissaries. There was a distinct absence of closeness between these world leaders.

Fromkin is an historian whose specialty is the early 1900's/World War I era. As a result, there are very interesting biographical sketches of Roosevelt, Edward the Seventh as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (Edward's nephew). Additionally, there is concise history of the interactions of the European monarchies at the turn of the 20th century.

Containing 31 chapters across 225 pages, The King and The Cowboy, is interesting, fast-paced, highly readable and would lead me to read other works by the author. It just doesn't make the case that the two world leaders were secret partners.

Counselors That Will Help You Make Decisions- Dr. Rich Liner

Yesterday morning, Dr. Rich Liner, who formerly pastored First Baptist Church, Sevierville until PLS (a neuromuscular disease) attacked his body over a decade ago, spoke to our Young Married Bible Fellowship class. Knowing he was speaking to a group of young adults in their 20's and 30's, Dr. Liner shared a lesson he titled "Counselors That Will Help You Make Decisions".

Dr. Liner shared 4 counselors that Christians should use to make decisions:

1. Scripture: Psalm 119:105; read a Proverb a day that corresponds with the day of the month; read from Psalms daily; read daily of the life of Christ from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).

2. Spirit- Christians, if they aren't filled with the Holy Spirit can make poor decisions. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22, 23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).

3. Situations: God is using every situation for His good in your life, even the hard things and difficult times. Give Him thanks through it all (I Thessalonians 5:18).

4. Savior: Call upon on the name of Jesus. He is the "Wonderful, Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6).

Though I've read and taught about the fruits of the Spirit on several occasions, Dr. Liner shared something yesterday that I'd never recognized before. Reading through the listing of fruits and getting to patience, he said, "If you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you'll have patience with others. You'll have patience with yourself".

For those of us who demand much of ourselves, setting high goals of expectation and achievement, we should learn to be more patient with ourselves. Patience, even with one's self, is a sign of being filled with the Spirit.

I greatly appreciate Dr. Liner sharing some wisdom with us yesterday.

Great Quote Thursday

If you say you believe in something, live it out. And live it in a way that the people around you can see it. That's not arrogant. That's liberating. It frees others to join without reservation and without suspicion- Andy Stanley (Making Vision Stick- page 49).

Parker is 8!

My oldest son, Parker, turns 8 years old today. I am amazed how quickly the time has flown by. As someone mentioned to me last week, he's now "halfway to driving". That's scary (though he does have some impressive MarioKart skills).

When my brother and his family were in for Christmas, Parker would quiz Mike with all sorts of sports facts that he knew. All-time records. Team win-loss records. Who won a championship in a certain year. Facts about specific athletes. In the middle of one of these conversations, Mike, amazed, turned to me and said, "This is a dream come true for you isn't it?" I couldn't help but smile.

Last week, on Valentines' Day, in a card he'd made for me, Parker wrote: "Daddy, I love it that you and I like the same things". He has no idea.

Happy Birthday Parker! Daddy loves you!

Misdemeanors and Felonies

I had lunch today with a man in our church to discuss plans for he and his wife to begin a new Bible Fellowship group at our church. While he and I are relatively close in age, he married and started a family in his early 20's while I married just before 30 and our first son was born almost five years later. So while his kids are older (his married daughter is in her mid-20's and his son is in high school while my sons are 8 and 4), our love for being a Dad is the same.

As I am always looking to gather wisdom from those just a bit further down the road from me, I listened intently as he shared about his family and some things he's learned along the way. He talked of always trying to be there for his children, of trying to keep lines of communication open, of trying to prepare his children for the day they'd be out on their own. Of trying to be full of grace when his children made mistakes. To use those times as teachable moments.

In my own parenting, I find myself constantly instructing my sons. "Don't hit that ball off the house again". "Turn the TV down". "Close that door". Sometimes I must repeat these instructions a couple of times to make sure my sons "hear" me. And sometimes, unfortunately, I begin to get a bit frustrated. But I want to be gracious and encouraging and to "major on the majors and minor on the minors". See, I know that one day there will be a significant matter to address with one or both of my sons and when that time comes, they will need to really "hear" me. While I still must instruct and lead, if I constantly bark about small things like an unflushed toilet or a light left on in a bedroom, they may not hear me when they really need to.

Here's what my friend said yesterday that will stick with me for some time. He said he'd always tried not to turn "misdemeanors into felonies". That's a great line and some great wisdom.

Say Something Nice

"Encourage one another and build each other up"- I Thessalonians 5:11

Brighten someone's day today. Let someone know you appreciate them. Compliment someone's work. Tell someone "thank you".

If you have something nice to say, just say it. Why wait?

Love One Another

Peace and unity in the church is not only a beautiful display of the love of Christ but it is also a biblical mandate.

"By this will all men know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another"- John 13:35

Adrian Rogers wrote, "If we love Him and His love is in us, then we are going to love what He loves, which is His dear family. This is the reason it is foolish to say yes to Jesus but no to His church. To love Jesus is to love His church" (What Every Christian Ought to Know- pg. 39, 40).

Great Quote Thursday

It doesn't take great faith to be saved; it just takes a great Savior- Hollie Miller

Book Review- The Slow Fade

Coauthored by Reggie Joiner, Chuck Bomar and Abbie Smith, The Slow Fade encourages the formation of intergenerational relationships. Rather than allowing college students and young adults to simply "fade away", much emphasis is placed on connecting with college students as well as including them into the life of the local church, even if the student is only in that church for a brief period of time. The book asks "What if we have drawn the wrong finish line?" in regard to asking churches and leaders to view the college years as critical years of spiritual formation. Though college students are adults, in many cases, churches release these students to find their own way after high school graduation.

The concept of intergenerational relationships is not only practical and reasonable, but mentoring is biblical (II Timothy 2; Titus 2).

Here are some highlights from The Slow Fade:

We are disconnecting from teenagers at graduation, when the stakes are the highest. We are not tapping into our relational influence, when the felt need is the greatest (pg. 32).

When I meet twenty-somethings, I can't help thinking, "Who is the adult in your world who really cares about you, who is willing to connect with you in a healthy way"? (pg. 34)

God loves people we don't have patience for, and He sees those we don't even know exist. God cares about things we intentionally ignore (pg. 52).

If every adult got passionate about investing in one person, the world would be changed (pg. 55).

Connecting them to a community of faith means teaching them they can never outrun the reach of grace (pg. 93).

Also, don't miss Appendix C "Shifting Perspectives" (pgs. 129-137).

He Doesn't Hold Her Hand Anymore

There is a senior adult couple in our church. Been married 50+ years. Served as missionaries to underprivileged peoples in the American southwest for a number of years. It seems they've always had a loving and strong marriage. But he doesn't hold her hand anymore.

When they retired from the mission field in recent years and came back to Knoxville, you would see them at church often. Possibly teaching an adult class, volunteering with children or leading a missions club. Almost always hand-in-hand. But he doesn't hold her hand anymore.

If he didn't drop her off at the door like any proper gentleman would, they would park the car together and walk into church hand-in-hand. Their affection for one another was obvious. In the past, I've referenced this couple when encouraging young married couples to build an enduring marriage. But he doesn't hold her hand anymore.

Time has passed. Health fades. But love endures. See, he can't hold her hand anymore because her hands must grasp tightly to the walker she uses for stability. His hands, meanwhile, are occupied carrying their Bibles, jackets and his wife's purse (very few things say "I love you" to your wife as much as carrying her purse).

She's always held his heart and he's had hers. They're still very much in love. Maybe today more than ever. He just doesn't hold her hand anymore.

Fun on Friday- More Turnerisms

We went to visit my brother's family last weekend and meet our newborn niece. Turner loves little children but is still earning their limitations.
Turner: "I can't wait to play with her".
Me: "She can't play yet, big guy".
Turner: "Okay then, when she wakes up, I'll crawl with her".
Me: "Buddy, she can't crawl yet either".
Turner: "Well, what can a baby do"?

Turner: "20 is my favorite number".
Me: "Why is that"?
Turner: "Because it has a two and a zero in it".
Me: "You're right. It does".

Great Quote Thursday

You will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making- C. S. Lewis

Everyone Has a Story

Yesterday afternoon, two men were walking around the parking lots of our church campus. This is not an uncommon activity for members of the church or the community at large as our campus is easily accessible and our parking areas are large with limited traffic during the weekday.

But what made these two men stand out was the way they were dressed. While both men were wearing t-shirts and shorts, it was their boots, packs and helmets that drew attention.

Our Connections Pastor, Neal Thornton, himself a former Marine, went outside to engage the two men in conversation. Turns out the men were doing some fitness training (on their day off) in advance of an upcoming deployment. But as they spoke briefly, one of the men shared that he is going through a divorce while the second man expressed interest in possibly visiting Sevier Heights.

A quick conversation. A moment for Neal to provide encouragement. It didn't take much effort.

Everyone has a story. Take time to listen to someone's today.

1 in 100 Happens

It's easy to view a situation and think you "know" exactly what's happening because you've "seen it before". It could be a bad diagnosis. A marriage that's headed for divorce. A troubled teen.

But 1 in 100 happens. Though the odds are slim and highly unlikely, 1 in 100 happens.

Here's The Point: There are some lessons to be learned from 1 in 100.
Don't give up. God can change people and situations.
Don't prejudge. God knows all the details, you probably don't.
Don't forget. God loves the 1 (Matthew 18:12-14).

1 in 100 happens.

Super Bowl XLVI Prediction

The Super Bowl seldom lives up to anywhere near the hype that the game receives in advance. But this game, pairing two teams who met 4 years ago in the big game, is an interesting pairing. The New England Patriots vs. the New York Giants is also a replay of a regular season matchup won by the Giants.

Tonight's Super Bowl will answer many questions:
Is Gronkowski really hurt?
Can Eli continue his amazing run?
Can you beat the Patriots twice in one season?
Will the Giants front four continue its dominating ways?
Is the Patriots defense, now healthy, stronger than it's been all season?
Can either team's running game impact this game?
Who will be the surprise player of the game?

If defense wins championships, then this should favor the Giants.

Parker's pick: Giants (though he's for the Patriots)
My pick: Giants

Fun on Friday

Our family recently took a trip to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area to visit the Creation Museum. While there, we stayed in a hotel near a horse race track and went to an afternoon race. Here are two Kentucky/horse questions I have:

1. I've heard the old phrase, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". I've never known what that meant exactly. But sure enough, before the race we watched, I saw a woman check a horse's mouth. I'm still wondering what that's all about.

2. As you drive by Kentucky Horse Park as well as some other large fenced equestrian areas, there are two sets of fencing. Why is that?

Just a couple of things I was wondering about on our trip.

Great Quote Thursday

Churches that are effective at reaching and retaining people are typically clear about their purpose- Thom Rainer