Urgent prayer request

Oftentimes, we find ourselves asked to pray for someone we've never met. That happened to me today, and this one particularly touched my heart. The second grade teacher of one of the children of a family in our church has a pressing issue that is very serious.

I just don't know how I would respond if this was concerning my precious daughter. Please read, and then please pray.

I got the following email this morning:

Lane,

Could you add this to tonight prayer request? Adam's second grade teacher from last year is having a very difficult time with her daughter. I would love to get the word out! Terry and I are so sad for this family.
Thanks.
Vesna

Family and Friends,
I am sending out this email to everyone on my email list imploring you to pray for a little girl named Claire Lane. Claire, her big sister, Olivia, and their parents are in for the fight of their lives right now. Here is her story:

Claire was diagnosed with the flu this past Saturday (9/26/09). She was taken back to the doctor yesterday and was admitted to Texas Children's because xrays showed full blown pneumonia in one of her lungs. Her lung collapsed, and last night, sweet Claire suffered a heart attack. BOTH of her lungs are filled with fluid and she is on a vent to keep her breathing. As I write this, I have learned that the doctors are preparing to do another procedure to attempt to drain her lungs. Her parents have been told that if her body does not start fighting the infection, she has less than a 5% chance of survival.

Please pray for this God-loving, people loving, sweet family. The Lanes are a wonderful family and have touched many lives, including mine. As a mother, I cannot imagine how Lali must be feeling to see her baby girl suffer so.

Please stop what you are doing and lift Claire Lane up to the Lord. Please ask Him to restore Claire to health, to bring strength and clarity of thought to her parents and sister.

I believe in a merciful, loving God, and I believe in the power of prayer. Please pass this on so that He can hear our prayers for Claire.

Thank you and may you be blessed, -- Jill

Oh, Happiness

I think this may be my new theme song. This is off of the new David Crowder Band album "Church Music". We don't talk about grace enough. This song reminds me that grace is there, its free, and its for everyone.

When I listen to this song, I feel like it should be the song playing as we all enter into Heaven, kind of like the song that plays with the end credits of a really good movie.

Read the lyrics below:

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

From the full streams
Of Your care
All who come
Begin again
Hard or friend
Rich or poor
All who need
Need fear no more
Such a thing to give away

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

All regrets
Let go, forget
There's something that
Mends all of that
Such a thing to give away

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Sound the church bells
Let 'em ring
Let 'em ring
For everything can be redeemed
We can be redeemed
All of us

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Oh, happiness
There is grace enough for us
And the whole human race

Life Groups and Lasagna

Last night, Life groups began meeting again for the school year at the West University Church of Christ. Our Life Group consisted of 8 adults and 4 children under the age of 16 months. It was WONDERFUL. We enjoyed having everyone over to our home, and enjoyed the discussion based on our sermon that morning.

I have been tasked with being in charge of our Life Groups as one of the many areas of my ministry. This is my first endeavor into leading Life Groups as a whole. We have 5 groups in our church, and one of them is an experimental group that is basically outreach only in nature.

If you would like to get a copy of our Life Group study guides, I prepare them weekly and then stick them on our website at www.westuchurch.com, and they are located weekly on the home page under "News and Events" You can get to this week's by going HERE.

Last night, after our Life Group met and discussed and prayed, we had a meal of Lasagna prepared by my wonderful wife. While eating, I looked over at Josie (who was also enjoying a meal of Lasagna), and just had to take this picture:

Seriously, She's Gorgeous...

Tears Still Fall...

It has been 8 years.

I was about to step into my third period class during the first year out of college in my teaching career. The sixth grade students entering into the classroom had no clue what had just happened. How was I supposed to handle this? How was I going to tell these students that our nation, America, land of the free, was under attack.

No one had any clue whether or not there would be more attacks. The day continues to haunt me, and so many others.

40 dead in Pennsylvania in a flight that never made it to its final terrorizing destination.

184 dead at the Pentagon, a building that is massive beyond imagination, with a memorial that is moving to the heart.

2752 dead in New York City at "Ground Zero", where people fled a city reflective of a "B" grade monster movie. It was a nightmare coming alive.

This morning, as I sit and watch coverage of the memorials taking place at these three sites, tears still fall.

I did not know any of the ones who fell dead that day. I did not know anyone directly affected by the attacks. I just listen to the words of the family members today, and ache for them. My soul sits inside of me and shudders as each of the names of the fallen is read.

May we see, during this time of great divide in our nation, that we are strongest when we are brought together. May we put aside the partisan politics and quit arguing over so many petty things, and be joined together, not only today, but for all time.

This is the greatest country in the world. We have survived so much at our tender young age, and God has continued to bless us. May we turn back to Him, and once again be "One nation, under God".

God bless the families, friends, and co-workers of all those affected by this day 8 years ago.

Saving in September: Turning Over a New Leaf

I'm so wasteful.

Then again, most American's tend to be rather wasteful. My problem with waste often seems to relate to buying food. My eyes have always been bigger than my stomach. However, I am wasteful in other area's as well.

I have for a long time been a Dave Ramsey fan. He simply teaches that you should live below your means, not accrue debt, and if you have it to pay it off as soon as you can.

Living that way, my wife and I are proud to say we haven't had a car payment in about 4 years. We paid off her student loans about 3 years ago. My student loans are a bit larger, however (gotta love going into debt to get a degree to work in a church) and we have not tackled them like we should.

In fact, when we first got married, we made a decent salary, and bought a whole lot of crap. We went out to eat a lot, we bought a lot of clothes, toys, etc that we didn't need. We probably could have paid off my student loans with all the playing we did with the money we made.

So we refer to that as our "stupid tax", and are trying to remedy that now. Our goal is to try to pay off my student loans by the time the new year rolls around, but realistically it will probably be around March of next year. That means we will be living below our means, living on less than we make, and throwing a big chunk of our income towards that debt.

So here's a few things we're going to stick with in September:
1. A budget. We've had a budget for 6 years now, but we've never really stuck with it, rather, we've used it as a guideline.

2. Cash. We don't have credit cards. We never have, and hopefully we never will. I don't have a problem with other people having credit cards, I just know that we would probably buy a lot more with them if we had them. We do use our Debit cards a lot, and I've realized we spend a lot more when we do. We don't even think about it, we just get stuff and pay for it with a piece of plastic. We are going to use the envelope system, and we're going to make it work.

3. Eating out is reserved for Sundays, and maybe Wednesdays. Sundays are hard for us to make it back to the house, plus, we enjoy hanging out with our new friends. I have had a bad habit of going out to eat for lunch A LOT. Its just so easy, but it also kills the wallet and the waist line.

4. Water. When we do go out, Kristen is real good about getting water. I, however, always tend to get a drink of some sort. A soft drink at most restaurants costs between $1.50 and 2.50, and I never look to see how much it costs, I just get one.

5. Brown bagging the lunch thing.

I know that this will be hard, because we've been somewhat wasteful when it comes to our money. After I sat down and crunched some numbers, I was floored as to how much money we spent eating out, and wasting money on things we don't need. The goal is to pay off the loan, redo our kitchen, and then start paying off the house.

Things will get in the way, and Murphy will move in for a while, but we're going to do our best to act our "wage".

Tweet Tweet and other stuff

Okay, so I caved into peer pressure and joined Twitter. Okay, really no one pressured me into joining. I was curious. For now, I don't see how its much different from Facebook, without all the crap. You give a 160 character update on how things are going.

I am following several celebrities, however, and find that entertaining. Rainn Wilson is a gas.

If you would like to follow me on Twitter, you can go to www.twitter.com/lanewidick and choose to follow me.

I've also been tasked with redoing the website at our church. The guy who used to do it, Ryan McDonald, has a full time job with IT Work at Channel 2 news here in Houston. He did a stellar job setting up the old website and maintaining as often as one could with a full time IT job. If you would like to visit our website and let me know what you think, go to www.westuchurch.com and look around.

This One's Dedicated to my Big (little) Sister, Mary Anne!!

Ever since I was born, I have had an older sister.

I know, it sounds silly doesn't it? Of course if my sister was already alive, then I've always had an older sister. The point is, I've never known life without her. So, imagine the response I had when my mom and dad called me a few months ago and told me that my sister had breast cancer. My first response in my mind was "How bad is it?", or "How long does she have?", and those questions are probably similar to what most people think when they hear those dreaded words.

My best friend growing up, Jason Bybee, sat at the feet of cancer and felt its tightening grip around the life of his mother and his father. Both passed away before he was ever married, had kids, or even graduated from high school. I was so confused at that time, wondering why his life had been touched by cancer, but my life hadn't been.

So, to hear that my sister had cancer, sent me into a world of emotions I had never felt before. My father had been diagnosed with some skin cancers on his back and shoulder, but those were simply cut out, and he continues to live a normal life. He didn't have to suffer through chemo, surgery, or anything of the sort. When my sister was diagnosed, this was a lot more "real".

Its never easy to hear bad news. I remember about 3 years ago when my mother called me and told me that brother was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack, at the age of 36. We rushed to the hospital to visit with him, and sit with during his open heart surgery.

And the same thing happened when my sister had her surgery. Money was not an object at all. We bought the plane tickets, and combined some time at home with Josie's birthday party. I wanted to be my her side, to let her know that I loved her and was going to do my little part to get her through this.

Since then, I've thought about all the times we've had together. I remember when I was very little, maybe three or four years old, she would play with me. We would do concerts while singing along to our "Disney Sing Along" records in my room. I remember as we got older, how she would play with her Barbie dolls and Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and I had my G.I. Joe men and my A-Team action figures, and we would an imaginary world for them to play in.

As we got even older, I traveled to every single one of her high school chorus performances from 9-12 grade. I watched her in the plays she was in. She was so good to try to include me in as much as she could. Her friends were my friends as well.

When she left to go to college, I remember getting in the old Dodge Caravan and driving down to Freed Hardeman with her. We didn't have a tape player in the van, (way before CD players), and I had brought my battery powered stereo with me. I played a Suzy Boggus song titled "Letting Go" about 4 times on the way down, getting a kick out of watching my mom and dad cry, and my sister sobbing. She always loved being at home, and she loved us.

I also remember after we dropped her off, and we pulled away from the parking lot, I sat there and watched her walk away, and the "tough guy" inside of me went soft, and I started to cry. At that point, I realized that my big sister wasn't going to be one of my best friends anymore, because she was getting older, and a new chapter in her life and in my life began at that moment.

It has broken my heart that I can't be with my sister and see her while she is going through all of what she is enduring. It breaks my heart that she can't see the concern I have for her. Sure, I could call her and email her everyday, but that's not the same. She means the world to me, and as I've seen her attitude throughout this whole situation, it makes me so proud of her.

She is taking it all in stride. She poked fun of me on Facebook this past week, saying that she is starting to look like her younger brother Lane due to the chemo. Most women would shy away from bringing attention to themselves during a process where their hair was falling out, but not my sister. If you'll go to her blog: "A Journey of Hope and Peace" you can read her tales, and how she is keeping God even closer to her than ever. She was even brave enough to post a picture of her with a cleanly shaven head, which in, sadly, she still has more hair than I do.

Please continue to pray for my sister as she deals with this, and her husband Kevin, who has been a rock for her throughout this trail. Pray for Faith and John Derrick, who have to see their mother go through hurt and pain. I love you big sis, keep up the fight, and know that you are an inspiration to so many.

Lord, give my sister the strength she needs to continue going through this procedure. Please eradicate all the cancer from her body. Help her to fight this fight. Please give her a long and cancer free life from this moment on, as she gives all the glory to you in whatever goes on with her. Amen.

Give Me A Heart That Wants To Be Holy

What comes to your mind when you think of the word holy? Seriously: Most of us probably think of things such as robes, chants, long prayers, Bible carrying scripture quoting type people. Or we think of a very sacred place.

Holiness simply means consecrated, sacred, hallowed, or most importantly, set apart.

How many of us really think about ourselves when we think about the word “Holy”.

Peter did. Peter, a fisherman by trade, a scummy and dirty job that didn’t require good looks or a good attitude, tells us that we’re supposed to be Holy. That’s like a fat man telling you to go on a diet. Its like a bald guy giving you hair styling advice. Of all the people to tell us that, why him? We all relate to him so well, because, well, he often seemed one of the most unholy of disciples. He was always sticking his foot in his mouth. He’s the one whose flaws seem so great. He’s the one who was swearing, denying that he even knew Jesus. He’s the one who cut off Malchus’ ear.

He’s the one who has the audacity to reprimand Jesus, only to have Jesus say “Get behind me Satan!”

If you want to go a step further, Peter is the one who when he first met Jesus said “Go away from me, I’m a sinful man!” By his own admission, he was saying he couldn’t be holy like Jesus was Holy.

And that’s how a lot of us feel. We feel like Jesus is just too Holy. There’s no way that He would want anything to do with a sinner like me. Peter felt the exact same way. Peter knew a thing or two about unholiness.

But there it is simply stated in I Peter 1:15-16 -- Be holy, as I am Holy.
For many of us, that might be the thing that basically tells us to close our Bibles, put them away on the shelf, and never look at them again. We might as well say goodbye to everyone this morning, and let them know we won’t be back again. We know God isn’t messing around when he gives us a clear cut demand from the Bible. This isn’t one of those GRAY issues that the church debates and argues about…oh no…this is a command, a straight up command: BE HOLY. See ya church! I can’t do that, and I suggest you come with me, because there ain’t many of us that can.

It just seems so hard to achieve, to reach, to even strive for. How can we ever be Holy?

God said to a little teenage girl: “You’re going to bear my one and only Son”. And Mary gave birth to Immanuel, to Jesus. And Jesus walked on the earth, and the people were with God, and they could touch him and talk with him. They could hug him and see him. And that was as close to God as they could be.

Then we took this Holy Child, and we arrested him, and we beat Him, and we put him on trial for being the king of the Jews. We convicted Him, and hung him on a cross, and crucified him. That’s where the cross comes in. 2 Corinthians 5 says God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. The cross is the place where we see most clearly that Jesus is indeed Immanuel, “God with us”. He atones for our sins and we are purified by his blood, which makes Holiness possible.

But then this Savior rose from the dead. He came and appeared to hundreds to show the prophecy fulfilled. He went to the mountain and ascended back into Heaven, and in ACTS 2, after he had ascended, his Holy Spirit DESCENDED amongst the people. Now we are truly as close to God as we can be, with his Holy Spirit among us, living in us. When you became a Christian and the Spirit of God came upon you, you became HOLY!

If you are a Christian, you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. But how much room is there for the Spirit’s Holiness to shine through? Even though we received this wonderful gift of God into our lives, so many of us treat it like a gift that we were given by a third cousin in law at Christmas. We accept it, and we forget that its there. Instead, it gets shoved aside, never used or remembered. This is what we do with the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at some verses that show what many of us fill our hearts with, instead of the holiness:

Colossians 3:1-10 NLT Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the Sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Look at these examples of unholy living: Anyone sweating yet? Anyone realizing that maybe your life isn’t so holy after all?

Sexual Immorality? Oh well don’t worry Lane, I love my spouse, I’m saving myself for marriage, I would never lust after someone…

Impurity? Oh, I live a pretty pure lifestyle…I don’t defile myself.

Lust? Even if a pretty lady or a handsome guy walks by, I can control myself after a peek.

Earthly things? I mean, I’ve got my possessions that I love, but I’d never put them before God…

Greed? I’m not greedy, I’ve got all I need, except for…

Anger and Rage? Not me, I’m perfectly calm all the time,

Malicious behavior? Why that sounds horrible. I always behave.

Dirty language? You won’t ever hear the words come out of my mouth.

REALLY? We have all these things under control, right?

The problem is, we may love our spouse and save ourselves for marriage, but what about the raunchy television shows and movies we watch that promote sexual immorality? But I’m not doing those things, I’m just watching it…YEAH, but you’re supporting it, you’re letting those things enter into your heart.

Impurity? So we don’t defile ourselves, except for the food and drink we fill ourselves with, the things we smoke or drink, or the images we put into our heads from the internet. There’s such filth we come across on the web. The things we see never leave our mind.

Lust? So you may catch a peek and not lust…but the Holy Spirit is there to keep you from the peek. If you’re in a loving committed relationship, what does that person have that your spouse doesn’t have?

Earthly things? So many of us have things we can’t give up, and those things continually make us unholy. They make us unholy because we can justify putting God aside for things we spend good money on, or things we need to make good money with. Season tickets, fancy TVs and cars. Our jobs are so much more important than our God. Remember the Rich Young Ruler? He was asked to give up everything to follow God. His inability to do this kept him from being holy. What can you give up that is keeping you from dedicating your life to God? Are you so busy that you can’t devote yourself to Heavenly things every once in a while?

Anger and rage? I’m never angry…especially while driving through Houston during rush hour. I know what its like, I also lived in Memphis and Nashville. Anger and rage rear their ugly heads all the time. Anger and Rage may be one of the biggest things keeping the Holy Spirit out of our hearts.

Malicious Behavior? What do you think gossip is? Me gossip? Its all constructive gossip, for their benefit…

Gossip is one of the most unholy things we involve ourselves in, yet its one of the things we involve ourselves in the most.

Dirty language? God will forgive the occasional slip, right? If those words are in your mind, is there room for you to also store up God’s Word as well?

Think about this. What is the only unmistakable evidence that an apple tree is an apple tree? ANSWER - It has apples on it. The fruit is all the evidence you need.

Jesus talked about the same thing in Matthew 7. He said “by their fruits you shall know them.” You can tell a lot about a person by the fruit of their lives.

The fruit of the Spirit filled life is outlined in Galatians 5.

Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.

That’s the evidence of the Spirit filled life. The Fruit of the Spirit.

Authentic Christian Holiness is characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit.

The Spirit of God produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control in our lives. We can’t obtain them by trying to get them on our own. And we can’t live this way consistently apart from Him.

John 15:4-5 (NIV)
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

If you want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in your life, you must join your life to the life of Christ. You must know Him, love Him, hear Him, and obey Him.

And once you are connected, you must stay connected. Because just like any branch will die if it is detached from the vine, you must stay connected to the life-giving Source which is Jesus Christ.

In talking about what holiness is, we learn that Anything less than being holy is not obedience, but disobedience

If we are not children of obedience, we are children of evil desires. We live out a life of disobedience. We do those things that God makes clear He is against.

EPHESIANS 5:1 says to Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

My father is my hero, I’ve told him before, and I’ll tell him again. He means so much to me, and I want in so many ways to be just like him. Many of you imitated your parents when you were young. I remember him letting me use an old shaver with the razor taken out of it. He’d take his old shaving mug and fill it with the cream, and take his shaving brush and brush the shaving cream on his face. Then he’d give me what was left, and I’d smear it all over my face. I’d shave just like him, minus the razor, imitating what he did. I’d look up and he’d be smiling at me, and I’d smile back.

But I’d often get in trouble. I’d get in trouble for lying, even though I never heard my father lie. I’d get in trouble for talking back, but my father never talked back. And even though I’d be imitating my father the best I could, I always got off course. When I got off course, I continued to go off course time and time again, even though My father was always there to punish and correct me.

Why do so many choose to stay in their disobedience, to stay away from the Holiness, to remain Unholy?

1.) Pleasure -- We are creatures of pleasure. Our society promotes an attitude: If it feels good do it. Like fools we buy into it. We may not do things that are “sinful” in our own minds. Maybe you eat a little too much of that food you like so well. Maybe you flirt with the co-worker because you like the attention. Maybe you spend money for the thrill that the purchase gives you. Even if you’re not willing to admit it, you do things that make you happy or feel good.

2.) Comfort -- We are also creature of comfort and there are times when we would kill rather than leave our comfort zone. We strive to that which we are comfortable with. This is why we often settle for far less than God wants for us. Growing spiritually is seldom comfortable. God stretches us and expands our limits. We like what we are comfortable with. Things that are comfortable give us a sense of security.

3.) Change -- The simple fact is that it is incredibly hard for people to change. People only change when they have enough information to make a decision or when they are hurting bad enough that they have to change. Change is hard but often difficult.
So we need to stop, and re-evaluate our lives. Ephesians 5 continues to say many of the same things Colossians warned us of: Sexual immorality, impurity and greed, obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes. It goes on to say that NO IMMORAL, IMPURE, OR GREEDY PERSON WILL INHERIT THE KINDGOM OF CHRIST AND GOD.

But the kicker is this, in verse 6. “Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light.”.

I Thessalonians 4:7 says God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Luke tells us right before the story of the Wise Man and the foolish man in Luke chapter 6, in verse 46: So why do you keep calling me Lord, Lord, when you don’t do what I say!”

What does he say? I Peter 1:16 – Be Holy, for I am holy.

But I just want to do other things.

Be holy, for I am holy.

But my job keeps me from being involved in the church.

Be holy, for I am holy.

I’m struggling with pornography.

Be holy, for I am holy.

I only gossip at work, and its not about anyone here.

Be holy, for I am holy.

The world is calling my name, I need to go be with them:

Be holy, for I am holy.

God, I’m struggling, its so hard. I can’t go on. How can I be holy, I can’t be
like you. You’re God, you’re perfect. I’m so far from perfect.

Be holy, for I am holy.

Stop saying that God! I can’t be holy. I’ll I try and I try, but I’m never going to be holy.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10 that we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. He knows its impossible for us to perfect, but he planned for us to do good things.

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3) This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot--then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy--when I see my image in it."

There’s a song called “Refiner’s Fire” whose words simply state the following:

Refiner’s Fire
my heart’s one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for you Lord
I choose to be Holy
Set apart for you my master
Ready to do your will

What Are You Living For?

Have you ever awakened in the morning and gone through your morning routine and suddenly asked yourself, “Where is my life headed?” Does it ever seem to you that you have had an empty and pointless life up to this point? There may have been some successful business deals and you may have had some fun, but in terms of satisfying friendships or lasting accomplishments, your life has been a zero. Maybe you have climbed the ladder of success, only to discover that all the while it had been leaning against the wrong wall.

When one takes a look at the life of Paul, how would you put a measuring stick to his life? Was he a success or a failure? I guess it all depends on whose yardstick you use to measure success. When measured by the world’s yardstick of success, his life seemed almost insignificant. He put too much aside in order to minister to the needs of others. As Paul looks back over matters, he saw that it had been rewarding but not easy.

Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy while languishing in a cold, damp dungeon awaiting execution. In a matter of weeks, the apostle would stand before Nero, the half-insane emperor of Rome, and learn that his life was coming to an end. But Paul knew that after his death he would receive the crown of life from the King of kings. History will reveal to us that the influence of his life had in reality changed the course of history itself. As Paul penned the words of that last epistle, he stated “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:7). Wouldn’t it be grand to one day have the same confidence that the apostle had and to look over our life and say with confidence what he had penned centuries earlier.

Nero made a mark on history also. Ancient historians as well as modern historians have written volumes about the splendor of Nero and the vast Roman Empire. These same historians rarely if ever mention the apostle Paul. He was simply another radical who was put to death by the emperor. It is interesting to note that in our society we name our dogs Nero and our sons Paul. It seems to me that what we live for is pretty important after all. I think it would benefit each of us to simply review what it is that we are living for. Remember there are no losers with Jesus and no winners with the devil.

May each of you be blessed with a life that is fulfilled in service to the master.

"Lost" bringing back characters from 1st season

Reuters
By James Hibberd James Hibberd – Sun Jul 26, 9:25 pm ET

SAN DIEGO (Hollywood Reporter) – The characters Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) will be back on ABC's "Lost" next year, along with several other characters who haven't been seen since the first season, producers said over the weekend during a panel presentation at the Comic-Con convention.

The revelation confirms reports that suggested a "Lost" reunion of sorts for the final season. In May's finale, the castaways detonated a bomb on the mysterious island in hopes of resetting the last several years of their lives.

The news was among a scant few tidbits dropped during a well-produced hour in San Diego that featured several new mock ads and parody shorts, but no new video from the final season.

"There's a good chance you'll be seeing many characters you haven't seen since the first season again," said executive producer Damon Lindelof.

The final season, producers said, will in some ways resemble the first.

"(In the first season, the characters) were running around the jungle, things felt intense and surprising and (there was) the emotional discovery about the characters," said executive producer Carlton Cuse. "We have a way that we're going to be able to do that in the final season too."

Yet fans shouldn't think that any sort of narrative reboot will invalidate everything that's already happened, "because that would be a real big cheat," said Jorge Garcia, who plays Hugo on the show.

"Just trust us," reassured Cuse.

The show will also employ a new narrative device that's unique to the final season.

"The time-travel season is over, the flash-forward season is over," Lindelof said. "We're going to do something different."

As for lingering mysteries about the show's story, "everything that matters we're gonna answer," assured Lindelof.

Fans camped overnight to see the "Lost" panel at Comic-Con, which occupied the pop-culture convention's largest ballroom, usually reserved for presentations on major summer movies.

Other news from the panel:

* The matter of the mysterious Dharma food drops will be solved ... but there won't be much about the Dharma Initiative in the final season.

* Asked if the mysterious Jacob has ever appeared as any other character in the series, Lindelof said "no."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

Open your Eyes

I have always loved reading all the old Peanuts cartoon strips in the paper. There is a simple humor about the characters that Charles Shultz developed. The first Peanuts strip ran in 1950. In February of 2000 after 17,897 comic strips, the series came to an end. Recently there was one in the paper that caught my attention. Snoopy is looking up into the sky and is communicating with his friend Woodstock. Snoopy says “You have? You’ve actually flown above the clouds?” In the next frame, Snoopy continues and says; “Wow! What was it like?” In the final frame Woodstock mumbles something to snoopy (I guess in animal talk). Snoopy responds, “Well you shouldn’t have closed your eyes.”


I believe there are a number of things that we are blind to in our life. We hurry from place to place and never take the time to open our eyes to see the beauty that is around us. Maybe it is a scarlet red maple tree that we drive by every day. It might be a beautiful sunset as the clouds disappear just at the right time to allow the sun to set in all of its beautiful glory. There are times when you could slow down and watch the birds gather around your bird feeder and enjoy the meal that you have left for them. There are countless items that we seem to be blind to, or seemingly have our eyes closed just like Woodstock.


As important as it is to keep our eyes open to the beauty and might of God’s wonderful creation, it is even more import to keep our eyes open to the word of God. To know and understand what God’s will is for each of us. Wouldn’t it be a shame to go through life with our eyes closed to the wonderful teaching of God’s word. It is in God’s word, the Bible that we can gain strength to face another day. II Thessalonians 3:3 tells us “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” When I know that I can face the day with renewed optimism, it gives me an entirely different outlook on life. If I closed my eyes to that simple truth, imagine what I would be missing. What would my life be if I closed it to the truths of Romans 15:4; “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Isn’t it wonderful to be able to read the beloved stories of the Bible and receive encouragement so that I can have hope. As we go through life, let each of us resolve to keep our eyes open not only to the beauties around us, but also to the comfort that we can find in God’s word.

Don Meyer: A True Hero

When I was a kid, my Grandfather and Grandmother Smith were some of the biggest Lipscomb University Basketball fans ever. They, along with the McKelvey's, had season tickets together, sitting proudly in McQuiddy Gymnasium watching the Bison play their games.

In 6th grade, I went to Lipscomb's basketball camp. I was fortunate enough to learn and study under this gentleman. It did me some good, because I ended up coaching on a State Championship team at Westbury Christian.

Don Meyer has touched the lives of so many. Now, he's had impact on even more. This could be the best 5 minutes or so of television I've ever seen: (this link may end up being kicked off of YouTube, if it does I'm sorry)

Getting Fit Week 10

A bit scary yes, but this after 10 weeks in the gym. Still not perfect, but I'm trying my best. I've always had pretty scrawny arms, so I'm trying to pump those up. While I haven't been working the biceps out that much, I've really been working my triceps hard.













My posture has always been pretty poor. I've probably worked my back and shoulders out more than I ever have. I personally think my back, shoulders, and neck area are looking better than ever.














This is the side profile shot that shows how skinny people are. As you can tell, I'm still not skinny. In fact, I haven't lost any real weight, but my body fat percentage has dropped about 5%. I'm still working on chest definition, which has a looooong way to go, but I'm working the best I can on that. Its always been an issue for me.






















From 2001 to 2003, I worked in the gym like a beast. Partially, because I was a coach and had free access to a gym, and partially because I wanted to finally be fit. During that time, I worked as hard as I could.

I have a long way to go. I know I do. But the silver lining in this is that I've stuck with this for 10 weeks now. I'm proud of myself. Its still a struggle to find time to work out. Some days, I have to go in the mornings because of afternoon and evening activities. Sometimes, the afternoon around 4 or 5 is the time to go. But all too often, the time falls in the evenings, around 8:30 or so. This is after Josie has gone to sleep. Kristen and I realize that if I want to stick around and be healthy, I have to go do this, no matter what.

I got myself into this mess, and I have to work hard now to clean it up.

Deep Water Faith in the Shallow End

Do you ever notice that when you’re in the auditorium, listening to a sermon, a lesson, or participating in a moving worship service, that everything just seems to be real clear? You know what you have to do, what you should do. It seems to be easier to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. You know who you need to talk to about Jesus and the saving power that he offers, because the whole discussion is playing over in your head.

The problem is that the walk from our seats to our car is a long walk to make. Its easy to get pumped about sharing our faith with others while we’re amongst brothers and sisters who already know the Lord. That problem occurs when you’re out on your own.

Something happens between the altar and the door. You’re altar may be the church building, or the people who make up the church. It may be the close friend you sit next to on Sundays, or the families you look forward to seeing because they lift you up. Something happens, because now you’re on your own, relying on your own faith, your own walk with the Lord, to lead you and guide you.

You may start to question whether or not you can share with other people the good news of our Lord. Its so easy to have a deep faith when we’re surrounded by others who share that with us. However, please don’t forget, when you walk through those doors, Jesus is with you.

Jesus is going to walk through those doors with you. He's with you! He's ready to help you, no matter what the situation. You need to realize the commitment He has to you! Jesus walks with you every step of the way.

Sure its easier to have that deep faith on Sundays when everyone else is experiencing the same thing, but true deep faith occurs the rest of the week, when you’re out there away from the comfort of the elders and the ministers, the teachers and your friends.

There are so many areas of my life where I know I'm holding back because of fear, but I do see some freedom growing in those areas. What I find comforting is that Jesus hasn't started the journey across the bridge without me. Our shallow faith and religion tells us that Jesus keeps moving and if we don't move we'll be left behind. How can that be true when he said he would never leave us or forsake us? No. Instead, he's standing right there ahead of me encouraging me to go forward with him and, when I do, he'll be right there helping me to navigate the difficult journey.

Reclaiming America's Values

Late night talk show host and HBO® special host Bill Maher recently represented those opposed to Biblical values on Larry King Live. In response to a question about restoring the separation of church and state he said:

“I hate to sound like a broken record. It has to take place at the top. When you have a president (this took place during the Bush presidency) who is this openly religious and this openly contemptible, in contempt, rather, of the separation of church and state, I don’t think anything is going to change until that changes. This is a man who proudly says that Jesus picked him to be president. You said something about, ‘You have to respect people’s beliefs.’ I know that’s what we always hear—we have to respect. I’m sorry, I don’t. I don’t respect religion. I don’t respect superstitious thinking, which is what religion is.”

“We talked about this before, this whole gay issue wouldn’t even be an issue except it says it in the Bible. The Bible, that book that has people who lived to be 900 years old and says the world is 6000 years old, and that there are people who lived in a whale. That infallible work of genius and slavery is okay. You should stone a guy to death if he works on Sunday. That’s the book that says, ‘Sorry, no homosexuals.’ So I’m sorry, I don’t respect people who believe in religion. I was religious when I was a kid. We all had dumb stuff drilled into our head. It doesn’t mean when you get to be an adult you can’t drill it out.”

Many social and political leaders of our era are attempting to discredit the teaching of the Bible and eliminate any accountability to God. The enemies of God are willing to ridicule Christians, rewrite history, sandblast Scripture off walls, redesign city seals to erase the cross, change the Pledge to remove any mention of God so we can live as we please.

But if there is no Creator, no validity to the Bible, then there is no foundation for right and wrong and the result is national confusion and chaos. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

If you neglect your car, it takes a while for the engine to become so polluted that it breaks down. And if a nation neglects its moral values, it takes a while for the complete collapse to occur, but it’s inevitable. Arnold Toynbee, respected historian, wrote that, of the 22 major civilizations in history, 19 collapsed from within. That was written before the fall of the Soviet Union. We are not exempt. Let’s reclaim America’s values!

The Day I Learned About Worship

I can remember when it finally hit me. I was sitting in a hot, stuffy room that held about 25 people, but had 100 crammed into it. I was 17 years old, and had been a Christian for about 3 years, but never had fully grasped this whole “worship” thing. I knew all the songs that were being sung, but was just giving them lip service and nothing more.
I was in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. There was a Honduran man standing next to me. He was probably in his forties, but looked about 75 years of age. Years of poverty, working in the hot sun, and sub-standard living conditions had not been kind to him. There was a group of about 20 teenagers singing some devotional songs in English to a group of about 80 Spanish-speaking only adults and teenagers in a small community outside of the capital city. These songs, which were routine songs we had sung over and over again, had little to no meaning to me. I continued to sing, because we were supposed to, but my mind was on a trip to the soccer field later on in the day.
All of a sudden, while I was singing the song “Worthy Is the Lamb”, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I thought maybe one of the adult leaders of our trip needed me for something, so I looked behind me, but there was no one there. I looked next to me, and the older gentleman standing next to me had placed one hand on my shoulder, had his eyes closed, and had his other hand straight up in the air.
I already knew the man spoke no English, so he didn’t understand what our words meant. All he knew was that we were singing songs of praise to our God, and he wanted to participate in the worship as well. Even though we weren’t praising with the same language, we were both praising the same God. At that moment, I realized this “worship” thing was more than just singing a song, but it was an experience. It was something that I needed to understand more. At that moment, I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and I finally grasped that my worship to God was not just for my benefit, but was to first of all praise God, and second of all, to teach and admonish others.
Paul tells us in I Corinthians 14:19 that he would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. That day, this man knew we were speaking of God, His Love, and His Grace. Those words were enough for him to enter into his own time of worship. Today, we’re going to learn how to grow in our worship to God. May God bless our worship service today, and accept our praise to Him.

Update on my sister

Here's an update on my sister. She had a small set back, but she seems to be taking it in stride. Please continue to pray for her. Its not the best news, but its definitely not the worst.

This is from her blog, which you can link to on your right:

The right side where there was no cancer was perfectly fine. No cancer in the breast and no cancer in the lymph nodes. The cancer on the left side was a smaller then they thought. It was 1 1/2 cm and all the margins were clean and it did not appear attached to anything. The sentinel lymph node that they took out first was a little larger then normal. At first glance in the operating room, there appeared no cancer cells. As they did a little more investigating, there were 2 specks of cancer in the lymph node. The largest was 1 1/2 mm (not cm, but millimeters).

Dr. Lawson wants to go back in and take a few more lymph nodes out and test them. She wants to do this to plan my treatment better. She told me that I might benefit with having radiation done on my chest wall. This will probably guarantee that I will have to have chemotherapy. By doing this, I can lower my chance of the cancer coming back in the remaining tissue.

I will have to have surgery again but this time, I will do it as an outpatient surgery so I can get home quicker. I don't know what the date will be but I will let post it when I find out. I have found that this is annoying. It definitely is not what I wanted it to be but cancer is not simple and I knew that from the beginning.

Right now, I want to back to some type of normal. I miss spending time with my kids and doing for them. I miss sleeping comfortably on my bed and I miss Kevin sleeping beside me. I miss fixing dinner at night (but don't get me wrong, I LOVE having meals ready to fix.) I really miss taking a long hot shower. Right now I am just whining and after a good night's rest, I will feel better.

This is just another step that I have to take to get back to being myself. I am will do this and get it done and fight my way back to healthy. Thank you for all your prayers and keep praying.

Her first birthday cake...followed by her first sugar rush

This is the sugar rush that came after her first bite of birthday cake. She had not enjoyed the taste that is sugar, and she rather enjoyed it.

She enjoyed it so much, that when I asked her how the cake was, she answered this way:

Guess who turns 1 today?

Josie on the day she was born!


A year ago today, we were all just anxiously awaiting her arrival. As we sat in the delivery room at Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville, AL, we knew our lives were about to change. Finally at 7:19 pm, Josie Layne Widick was born into this world. Never has there been a greater girl born.

A lot has happened in a year, especially the big move from Guntersville to Houston. And now, as we celebrate her first birthday, we have arrived at my parent's house in Lebanon, TN to support my sister as she is about to have her surgery.

I thought I'd place a few pics so you could see how she looks now that she's a whole year old.

Josie's new toy for her first birthday!
Josie takin a dip in the backyard.
Josie in her rocking chair holding the Raggedy Ann doll my mom made for her.
Josie and I about to go see the Alligators at Brazos Bend outside of Houston.

Praying for my sister

Tomorrow, Wednesday May 27, we will be flying home to Nashville to be with my family for my sister's surgery. We will be there till late Saturday afternoon, and then we'll fly back to Houston.

At this time, I ask you to all take a moment over the next few days and say a special prayer for Mary Anne. The surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning. They will check her lymph nodes first to make sure nothing has spread, and then begin the procedure.
My sister got a new haircut with the pink highlights, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.
Faith got a pink hair extension put in her hair.
Even my mom got in on the action. Never thought I'd see this, but its pretty cool, to say the least.

While I'm not going to be putting a pink strip in my hair, or my beard (thanks to all that suggested it), I did buy a pink polo shirt and will be wearing it to support Mary Anne.

Getting fit is a God thing for me now

I joined the gym on May 4th. Since then I have been consistently, doing weight/resistance training 3 times a week, doing cardio on those days for 20 minutes, and then doing cardio two other days a week for 40-60 minutes.

I never realized how spiritual working out could be. I get the best thoughts and ideas while working out. Most of them are centered on God, and what I can do in my life to honor him. I have been to the gym now a total of 12 times since I joined, and there have been days when I didn't want to go at all, but I powered through and made it.

Everyday, as I pull into the gym parking lot, I'm amused by people who are waiting on a car to pull out of a spot that is closer to the door. That just cracks me up. I also have a pre-gym ritual I do each time I pull into the parking lot:

1. Pray
2. Listen to the song "He's A Pirate" on the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack

I go into the gym, get changed, put my ipod shuffle on, and head upstairs to do my 20 minute cardio warm up. Then, on the weight days, I move on to my area to do my resistance training. On days when I'm just doing cardio, I will either stay on the same machine for another 20 minutes, or move to another one.

I've realized that there are some songs that really get me going while I'm working out or running. Here are a few, and if you have any other suggestions, let me know:

1. Baba O'Reily by The Who
2. The Distance by Cake
3. Here Is Our King by David Crowder Band
4. Stronger by Kanye West
5. Vertigo by U2
6. Nuisance by John Reuben
7. Separate Ways by Journey
8. Pierced by Audio Adrenaline

Anything I'm missing?

By the way, please remember to pray for my sister, Mary Anne Walton, who is having surgery on May 28. Lord willing, Kristen, Josie and I will be making the trip to be up there with her.

For a Lifetime

I can't even begin to count the amount of times I've posted about struggles with my weight. This would probably be the 6th or 7th time in past three years I've brought this up. However, I would like to hope that this time is a bit different.

Kristen and I are very budget conscious, and we have a very limited budget to work with. Now that we have a child and we are a one income household, some things have been restricted in our home. After we moved to Houston, we found that there were about 6 different gyms within a two mile radius of our home. As I looked around, I found that all of them were anywhere from $35 to $55 a month to join. I thought that was preposterous. However, in wanting to commit to getting in shape, I went and looked at one.

The one I looked at happened to be called Lifetime Fitness. When I walked in, it was unlike any gym I had ever seen. It was so clean, full of smiling happy employees going out of there way to make sure I knew where I was going. I spoke with a customer service guy who showed me all over the place, and I was sold. We had a decision to make -- do we both join for $100 a month, or do I join for $50?

Kristen is very happy jogging outside, and she does it quite often. She also enjoys doing her pilates dvd in the living room. She is real committed, however, I am not. We decided that I would join for now, and if we come into some money later on, she could join (they offer free child care as part of your membership, and child care area is stellar to say the least).

The first time I went to the gym, I was set up with a personal trainer who was tasked with the job of measuring how fat and out of shape I really am. With a sister who was just diagnosed with cancer at 35, and a brother who had a heart attack at 36, it concerns me greatly that I have not taken care of myself. With the test, the following was determined:

1. For a 6'2" guy, I weighed 254 pounds. This puts my body mass index (BMI) just slightly into the obese category. However, the BMI is rarely correct.

2. My cardiovascular endurance is in the very poor category.

3. My bicep strength is in the good to excellent category.

4. My sit and reach was in the poor category. This is that exercise when you put your feet against a box that has a guide on it that measures how far you can reach with your legs completely straight. I have no flexibility whatsoever.

5. Based on the computerized model taking into consideration my heart rate after a brief stress test, I am in the overweight category, almost into the obese category.

6. My overall fitness is in the "fair" category.

What all of this means is that I'm completely out of shape. Out of 254 pounds, 82 pounds of my body is complete fat. My body size should only have approximately 19 pounds of fat. I am told by their computers that if follow their plan for 42 weeks, at 3 times a week of working out and 5 times a week of cardio, I can reach those goals, and get down to 191 pounds.

The most sobering part of this was the actual age versus body age category. I am 31 years old, but my body age is actual at 41 years old. This is based upon my body composition, my cardiovascular strength, flexibility and my strength rankings.

So this week, I have been to the gym 4 times. Here's to many more weeks, and a greater health and total lifestyle change.

Introducing Henry Ian Cusick as...

So we're at church on Sunday morning. Calvin uses a video clip to demonstrate anger, from the film "The Gospel of John". I had no clue who i would see in the clip of Jesus overturning the money tables in the temple. Watch the clip below, at around the 7:00 minute mark is where we started our clip Sunday morning:



Striking resemblance to this man?



I never knew Desmond was also Jesus...at least portrayed Jesus in the Gospel of John.

Update on my sister

Mary Anne will be having surgery on May 28. She asks all of us to pray for her. One way you can keep up with what's going on is on her new blog: "A Journey of Hope and Peace" Please follow her journey, and post some encouraging comments on the way.

You can also join the facebook group: "Support for Mary Anne" started by her husband, Kevin Walton. I sent many of you an invite through Facebook, but if I forgot, please go and join!