My Bucket List

I turned 55 years old today. I had a thought early this morning, what if this is the last birthday I will ever have? What if 56 is just a number put up by mighty Joe DiMaggio?

So throughout the day I pondered over my Bucket List. There wasn’t much pondering, you see I have never had a Bucket List. So the task today, my 55^th birthday, was to create my own Bucket List.

I scratched my head and put teeth marks in the proverbial pencil as I mused over what would be number 1 on my list. Minutes then hours passed with nothing rising to the surface. So I changed strategies, I thought about the things that I have already accomplished or have been blessed with, things that may have been on a bucket list if I hadn’t already experienced them.   

Family always comes first to mind. I was born into the most incredible family 55 years ago. I still see them every week, we still talk and hug, and we laugh and cry together. We grow old together.

I have lived in the Great Northwest, the South Pacific, the east coast and the great state of Texas. I have fished for rainbows in the Russian River and went snorkeling along the Coral Reef.

I have served my country and been called a U.S. Marine.

I went to school with Mark Twain and Thomas Edison and tasted college for a short while. I have read Tolstoy, Dickens, Stephen King and the Bible.

I have eaten at the Ritz Carlton and Taco Bell, both on the same day.

I have had money in the bank and I have sold Coke bottles so I could buy a pack of smokes.

I have been high and I have been so low that all I could see was the bottom.

I have run marathons.  I have crawled across the cold floor on hands and knees, unable to stand because of pain.

I have gone from a 34 waist to a 38 waist and back to a 34 waist. (it is okay to applaud here)

My favorite teams have won the Super Bowl, and the Stanley Cup. I have watched a perfect game and caught a foul ball.

I have listened to Vivaldi, Miles Davis and ZZ Top, all in the same afternoon.

I have tasted Opus One in Napa Valley and drank a Lone Star beer with Willie Nelson while sitting in the Recovery Room.

I have seen every episode of Seinfeld at least three times.

I have fallen in love and out of love. I have made love on a beach and on a mountain top.

I have had two wives, two ex-wives and six children. (Maximized the limit on both of these!)

I was with four of my children when they took their first breath.

I was with my father when he took his last.

I have done everything I want to do, almost. At the end of the day my Bucket List only had one thing written on it, you.

I figure if you are reading these words then you and I have at least met somewhere along the way. And I don’t know if I have ever told you the story about Jesus. You see, He is the reason I made it to 55, I know without Him I never would have.

So, on my Bucket List I wrote just one thing,

1)      Tell someone about Jesus.

I think that someone is you, so here goes-

God loves you and me so much, since the very beginning of time. God can see everything from the beginning to the end; everything, every day and everybody in between. God knew that we would never love Him as He loved us, and He knew that would mean separation forever and ever. So God sent His son down from the heavens, down to earth. We called Him Jesus, teacher, King and Messiah, and then we killed Him. And when He died He took all of your sin and all of my sin and He paid the price for them. He paid the price of admission to an eternity with God. He did it for you and me, and He said all you have to do is believe, He would do the rest.

If you were the only one in the entire world, He still would have died for you.

Do you believe?

Thanks for listening. Thanks for helping me finish my Bucket List.

A Time To Pray

Setting all politics aside, it is time to pray.

One only needs to turn on the television or read any headline to see the evil presence that has been let lose all over the world. Sadly the primary targets of the evil doers are innocent Americans serving their country at Embassies scattered throughout the Middle East and the African Continent.

Their evil stems from a deep hatred of Americans and the beliefs we hold. These malevolent- mongers believe in a different god than the one I believe in, which is their human right. Wars have been fought for thousands of years because of belief in a dissimilar god or because others adhere to a different religion. What we witnessed this week is not new. Historically these profane wars were fought for economic reasons, only masked as sacred indignation. Furthermore the level of criminal behavior that is being exhibited by these modern day Moabites exceeds the definition of evil. Sodomy and torture before death, and then dead bodies being dragged through the streets like a cheap trophy would not be pardoned by any God. Godlessness is always worse. The enemy may defend their behavior in the name of god, but the truth is simply evil.

Have we gone too far in acceptance of diversity? Are we fearful of insulting someone because of a differing view, regardless of the immorality of that view? Is our fear leading to a neutral acceptance which will result in evil spawning from a so-called religious belief?

It is time to pray to God. Not just to any god, but to the only God. We can no longer be afraid to express our belief in the sovereignty of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, and the Father of Christ… the Creator. I am not proposing that my God be shoved down one’s throat until they cry “I believe!” I hope and pray that all will turn to Christ, but I respect belief enough to honor the uniqueness of it. But if we choose to be silent, out of fear or some artificial respect, how will they ever hear about God?

Apostle Paul wrote-

” For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—“

Without blemish and free from accusation! God sees us as perfect regardless of our imperfections. If God see’s us like that, why can’t we? We can no longer be fearful of declaring God. It is not a matter of right or wrong, it is a matter of truth!

It is time to pray. Pray that God will encourage, that He will protect, that He will forgive. Pray that He will again bring Light into the darkness that threatens.

Amen

September 12

Today I have read the memories that so many of us have of September 11, 2001. Poetic, beautifully written words of how that day changed the lives of so many. I listened to the radio and heard stories retold of where someone was on that day, that morning. People always remember where they were when something of this magnitude happens. I remember too, but it is my memory, my story. I don’t want to tell it, fearful that the telling will blur the memory or perhaps lessen the pain that comes with remembering. 

Remembering is important, feeling the pain again is important.

 Today’s technology allows us to replay the moments that were recorded on that infamous morning. I didn’t want to watch it again. But I couldn’t help it. Just like that morning eleven years ago I was unable to take my eyes off the images, unable to ignore the sounds of September 11. It’s different though, because we know how it ends. Like a movie you’ve already seen, we know who the bad guy is; we know that the first explosion is followed by a second, bigger, scarier explosion. But knowing doesn’t change how we feel. We don’t get up and leave before it’s over, because we want to see. We want to remember.

I have the same memories of so many of you but what I want to remember, what I want to tell you about is September 12, 2001.

On the day after I remember the sun coming up in the east, the sky an almost perfect blue, and no reminisce of 9/11. I remember arriving at work and seeing our flag, Old Glory, our symbol of freedom, flying high above the building. The red white and blue saying “Don’t tread on me.”  I remember praying, and knowing that God was hearing me. I remember knowing that God was still there.

4015 day after’s have now come and gone. The things that are meant to still be there are there.

Each morning the sun still rises on our great nation.

Our flag, liberty and justice for all, still flutter’s high and proudly.

Our memories of September 11, 2001 are still with us.

The pain of loss remains.

God.

God Missing?

In a year when as a nation we return to the polls to cast our vote for the President of these United States I would hope that some differences could be set aside long enough to remember our heritage. To ignore the common threads that form the fabric of this great nation, a nation comprised of Republicans, Democrats, conservatives and liberals, the undecided and all those in between, is to cause the unraveling of that very fabric.

It was reported today that the Democratic National Convention had removed all mentions of God from the party platform. This act should not surprise anyone that follows the four year cycle of electing a leader. Each year since 2000 the number of times that God is mentioned has dwindled. Those that create the platform quietly boast this achievement, probably believing that this is somehow justified by the concept of separation of church and state.

Just as they ignore heritage they also ignore history.

“I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition [hand of God] in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they [American people] failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.” Because, “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”

These were the words of George Washington, advice given to the nation after the Revolutionary War.

“We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us!”

The words of Abraham Lincoln in the midst of a Civil War.

In each instance the nation heeded the warning of their leaders and acknowledged God, returning to Him in thanksgiving and prayer. Our nation would go on to prosper because like the prodigal son we returned to the Father. That is not to say all her citizens believed in the same God or even believed in God at all. That is one the freedoms fought for 200 years ago; to not be told by a king what we must believe or who we must worship.

The nation listened and returned because of their leaders. Leaders, who were not ashamed of their beliefs, nor afraid to say the name of God out loud, Oh, were that true today.

The DNC can remove the name of God from their platform but they cannot remove God from this country. He is sovereign and He is faithful. He looked down upon the world when we nailed His Son to a tree, yet he didn’t stop loving us. Removing His name from your pitiful platform is like an annoying little gnat buzzing around because of the aroma of manure, it is easily swatted away.

New Day. New Blog .New Book.

I was reminiscing today by reading some of my old blog posts. It was a bit depressing to see how much time has passed since I had added to the blogs.

You see, when I grow up I want to be a writer. If you looked to the right and saw my picture then you know that technically I am all grown up, 55 this month. But this is just an age. As long as I have children living with me I cannot grow up. In order to understand my children I must be able to think like my children. For instance, I know that if either Sara, 16, or Joseph, 12, happen to read this entry, they are presently upset that I have referred to them as "children" more than once.

Back to me. To be a writer full time,  and be self supporting through my art, has been a dream of mine for many, many years. I have tried on a number of occasions to reach the golden ring of success. I have had three books published, two by a publisher and one self published. If you look to the right side of this page you will see links where you can purchase the books or read an excerpt from the books. But in case you are unable to take your eyes off what you are reading, this is the short list-"Going Numb", "Addicted to Faith" and "The Wooden Box".

I have also had two blogs, links also provided on the popular right side of this page. They are, Addicted to Faith and Is God in My Pajamas? The first more on the serious side, the latter an attempt to find humor in God's world.

I have retired both blogs and brought to life the one you are now reading. Part of the motivation comes from a lack of self discipline, discipline that is required to blog on a regular basis. Without this discipline readers become bored and move on.

My hopes with this blog is to organize my writing and provide an all inclusive menu for the reader. I already mentioned the links. In addition to those I am going to have another page dedicated to Bible study. This will probably be the most active page for new entries. I am blessed to be able to teach each Sunday at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. I teach in "Thee Class", a group of wonderfully wiser people than the teacher. Because of their collective wisdom and knowledge of scriptures I have little choice but to be disciplined in my preparation. My intentions is to include my study notes and prose in this blog. I went back to my own archives on this very laptop to make sure that this task was doable. My notes are rather cryptic, so I will spend some time deciphering them and translating them into a product that I hope is beneficial, enlightening and enjoyable for the reader.

Please note that you don't have to wait to read the Bible Study page. You are invited to come any Sunday morning to Trinity Baptist on Mulberry Street and navigate your way to "Thee Class". We begin not so promptly at 9 AM. I look forward to seeing you.

The final reason for launching this new blog is to promote my next book that is due out this fall. It is a fiction, "Broken Crosses". I am excited about this book, I have been enthusiastic in writing and creating characters that I hope will keep your attention and move you they way they have already moved me.

Well that is a lot of blogging, I will try my best to remember the words of Isaac Bashevis Singer,

"A good writer is basically a story teller, not a scholar or redeemer of mankind."

See you between the pages.

Jim