“Embracing God In Trials,” “Time is Filled with Swift Transition,” and

Embracing God In Trials

I admire people who respond well to trials and tribulations. I am so glad we have a holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday. I believe, and I am not exaggerating in any way, that he was one of the most important human beings, who ever lived on this planet.

When I was in Argentina, I experienced just a small taste of prejudice. But I did not respond well. I remember when I was studying Aiki Do, I earned a belt and began training those who did not have one as part of my gym time. I had a small group. But because of my accent, and the fact that I did not speak Spanish as well as a native, an older guy inserted himself and began teaching. I did not respond well to that. I felt humiliated. I felt patronized. That was nothing compared to what Martin Luther King and others like him faced.

I had someone tell me that in my home church, years ago when I was a boy, a lady in town who was black began attending. The preacher studied with her husband and he was converted and baptized on a Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, one of the members came, drained the baptistery, and “CLEANED it out,” lest someone white had to be baptized after him. God help that woman.

When I preach something someone disagrees with, I don’t have to worry about physical harm. My family for sure does not. Martin Luther King’s home was firebombed because he taught that whites and blacks should be able to sit anywhere on the bus.

Yet, in spite of all of this, you look at King’s words and how they are rooted in scripture, and how he pulled off the single most difficult Christian act of the twentieth century, responding to racial hatred, violence, oppression, and injustice by living out the words of Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, and you see someone who embraced God in times of trial, rather than reject God.

Sunday morning, our church will look at God’s work in his kingdom and two men’s responses to it when they faced trials. Saul rejected God to the point of suicide. David embraced God:

3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God (II Sam. 30:3-6 emphasis mine).

May I, and we, embrace God in our times of trials.


Time is Filled with Swift Transition

Monday morning this week, I went to Tyler Junior College and enrolled my oldest daughter in a dual-credit speech class. My daughter, Haleigh, is a junior now. Next year, she will graduate from high school.

All of this took me back to a day a few years ago, when my two oldest daughters were in elementary school. One morning, inspired by an article I read, I took the jar and set it on my desk. I counted the amount of weekends I would have my girls at home before they left for college. I put one penny in that jar for each weekend I would have the girls at home. The jar was a large jar, but I filled it half full.

Since then, at the end of every weekend, I have removed one penny. The pennies now stack up about an inch and a half high; they probably fill only one-eleventh of the jar.

My plan is to remove a penny a week until Abby leaves home and the jar is empty. Then I will begin the process over again for the final years my two youngest children are home. In a sense, this will be a reprieve, because time is flying by.

I am so glad I have engaged in this little exercise. In its own little way, it has served as a marker. All of these years, it has motivated me to squeeze everything I can out of the time I have with my kids. I truly see how our children are with us for such a short period of time.

10 Careers That Didn't Exist 10 Years Ago

Speaking of the passage of time, I was fascinated to see a list of 10 careers that did not exist in the year 2000. The following is a list of ten jobs that have evolved over the past decade:

1. Bloggers

2. Community managers or content managers

3. Green funeral directors

4. Interior redesigners

5. Patient advocates

6. Senior move management

7. Social media strategists

8. User experience analyst

9. Video journalists

10. Virtual business service providers.

To read more, click on this link: 1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=e89a6cfd2f1f4ce993a8b3504fc4d5c9-316868270-wc-6">http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2126-Job-Info-and-Trends-10-Careers-That-Didnt-Exist-10-Years-Ago/?sc_extcmp=JS_2126_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp42126&ArticleID=2126>1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=e89a6cfd2f1f4ce993a8b3504fc4d5c9-316868270-wc-6


Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I saw where 2 million people were within ten miles of the epicenter of that horrible earthquake in Haiti. This is when I am glad that we pay taxes to help people who are suffering, such as those in Haiti right now. God bless the people of Haiti, and God’s speed to our resources and people arriving.

2. Look out! Texas is number one in college basketball.

3. I have been reading two books recently I have enjoyed: LBJ: ARCHITECT OF AMERICAN AMBITION by Randall Bennett Woods and THE REAGAN DIARIES UNABRIDGED: VOLUME 1 JANUARY 1981-OCTOBER 1985. Woods, in LBJ, has new things to say, which I would not have thought possible. I told you last year I had enjoyed reading THE REAGAN DIARIES. However, the version I read was edited. My current book, although covering only a little more than Reagan’s first term, is unabridged. Moreover, I found this hardback version on BOOKCLOSEOUTS.COM for a bargain price.

4. Still have not seen the movie INVICTUS. Maybe I can before it comes out on DVD.

5. Announcing: I have begun a new blog. It will be in addition to this weekly blog, which you are reading now. Unlike this blog, I will post my new blog every morning, Monday-Friday. I am calling it TELL ME A STORY. If you are willing to become a follower, I will send you a story every day. I hope you will find this blog encouraging, inspirational, helpful—or just plain fun. Here is the link: http://mark-edge-tellmeastory.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend!