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).