Rush to Judgment

I remember, in Argentina, our church normally held a "business" meeting the last Sunday of the month. Usually, we planned to have it at a member’s house.

One month, I wasn't sure who was to host our monthly meeting. The Sunday before we were to meet, we were in a worship service. At the end of the service, I was making the announcements.

I reminded people that we were to meet the following Sunday. I asked if we had decided where we were to meet. (I knew we needed to decide.)

A teammate of mine raised his hand and said that we would decide next Sunday. I thought that sounded strange. Perhaps he didn't understand, so I said, "But we're holding our meeting next Sunday."

He replied, "I know, and we'll decide next Sunday."

Now, I was irritated. His attitude put me off. All afternoon, I thought about calling him and saying, "Look buster, just who do you think you are. Do you want to run things?"

Fortunately, before I called him, he called me to explain what happened. He said, "I was concerned you might have thought what happened this morning sounded weird, so I wanted to explain."

Come to find out, it had been agreed upon the previous month that we would meet in the house of a poorer couple, because the wife had offered their home. The husband had been so embarrassed—since they did not have enough chairs to seat everyone--he didn't want to host the meeting.

My teammate was simply trying to stall for time so we could solve the problem behind the scenes without embarrassing the couple. His explanation made perfect sense.

It was a noble thing my teammate did. I had thought he was being so “horsy”, but he was simply trying to protect someone else.

Things aren't always what they seem. That's why we need to be careful to rush to judgment.

This is one application of what Jesus said in Matt. 7:1-2:

1 "Don't judge others, or you will be judged. 2 You will be judged in the same way that you judge others, and the amount you give to others will be given to you….”

Herding Books

How did I spend my vacation? Well, among other things, doing what Larry McMurtry calls herding books.

Our son, Timothy, was quarantined for a couple of days due to strep. I recently purchased the software for organizing one’s possessions called DELICIOUS LIBRARY. Don’t let the name fool you. It organizes CDs, DVDs, closets—and books.

Anyway, my OC kicked in. Rather than totally relaxing, I spent a lot of time reorganizing my library and cataloguing books. 

I know I am Obsessive/ Compulsive because my adrenaline was running so fast, I woke up some mornings at 4:30 or 5. One night, I even dreamed of ways of categorizing the books in my library. I’m not kidding.

That dream did help me overcome a software quirk of DELICIOUS LIBRARY. You cannot force your books to go in the order you want, if it is contrary to the built in guidelines. I wanted my presidential books shelved in the order of their place in history: Washington, first, then John Adams… It wasn’t going to happen with DL. Because of my dream, I figured out that I could list each president in NUMERICAL order, followed by the name. For example: 1. Washington, 2. Adams...

Voila! Problem solved.

I hope this solution makes the Google Alerts feature, a bunch of DL people read it, and DL pays me a consultation fee.

Wait, that’s my next dream.

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

1. I wrote the following at 5:30 PM, yesterday, during the Cowboy-Eagles game, “There is still a lot of talk that there may be an NFL players stoppage in 2011. Funny, I think the Cowboys got a year’s head start. Their players stopped playing a long time ago.”

Boy, was I funny.

I’ve got to take back my words. Sure, the Eagles were playing with more reserves than the Cowboys. Still, I saw the highlights. Winning in the last minute in Philly shows guts. The Cowboys have played hard under Jason Garrett. They may not be as talented as other teams, but I look for Garrett to return next year (if there is a next year!) and for the Cowboys to make the playoffs.

2. The latest KIPLINGER LETTER is on Generation Y. A lot of good data there; maybe the two most interesting items are these:

            (1) Only 24% read the newspapers.

            (2) 25% send more than 50 text messages a day.

3. I wanted to see TRUE GRIT during my vacation. That did not work out. I hear it is good, though.

4. My family and I did see TUCK EVERLASTING. Profound movie. The story takes your imagination and helps you contemplate whether or not life would be good—lived forever on this earth. Hmmm. Maybe God knows what he is doing.

5. I loved watching TCU defeat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. My understanding is the ratings were through the roof. And what good press TCU got! Between baseball and football, TCU is hot.

Adventure with the Clock

Douglas Southall Freeman wrote two Pulitzer Prize winning works on the lives of Robert E. Lee and George Washington. Today, they are still considered the definitive biographies of these extraordinary Americans. Freeman was also the award-winning Editor for several decades of a major newspaper, the RICHMOND (VA) NEWS LEADER. Add to these responsibilities, two daily radio broadcasts, memberships to various boards and civic organizations, as well as, church and other extracurricular activities, and one must ask—how did Freeman do it?

            Part of the answer is found in the biography of Freeman written by his grandson, David E. Johnson. Johnson’s work included the typical daily schedule in Freeman’s later years, as witnessed by a writer from TIME magazine. Johnson called this chapter “Adventure with the Clock.” Here is the schedule:


2:30 A.M. Awake.

2:30-2:44 Dress, shave, devotional.

2:45 Downstairs to kitchen.

2:45-3:08 Prepare and eat breakfast, walk to car.

3:08-3:25 Drive to RICHMOND NEWS LEADER office.

3:25-3:29 Park, walk into building, up to office.

3:30 At desk, Associate Press wires in hand.

3:31-7:58 Read wire dispatches and morning paper, write editorials, mark items for index.

7:58-8:00 Walk to WRNL studio.

8:00-8:15 Broadcast.

8:15-8:17 Walk back to office.

8:17-8:32 Morning staff meeting.

8:32-11:58 Attend to duties of editor. Answer mail, receive visitors, attend meetings, check first edition of paper, block and set editorials. (In his later years, Freeman would, at times, take a brief nap at 11:00 A.M.)

11:58-12:00 Walk to WRNL studio.

12:00-12:15 Broadcast.

12:15-12:17 Walk back to office.

12:17-12:30 Complete last details of day ad prepare for next day. Walk to car.

12:30-12:47 Drive home.

12:48-2:00 Lunch with his wife, Inez, work in the garden, walk the grounds. A less structured time.

2:00-2:30 Nap.

2:30-6:30 Work in study on historical projects.

6:30-8:45 Dinner; evening with family.

8:45 Retire for the evening.


         I have known a number of people who have slept the same amount of hours per night as Freeman, but few have been so focused. Johnson’s book entitled DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN, is a fascinating read of a marvelous historian, as well as, one of this nation’s most influential leaders in the media. Freeman died over fifty years ago, but his influence lives on.

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

1. After what happened to the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorns, and with TCU probably not even receiving a shot at the National Title, I refuse to become emotionally attached to a Texas team this football season. I cannot take the pain.

2. Jerry Jones is a nice George Steinbrenner.

3. At last, it feels like autumn.

4. No one wants to fulfill someone else’s vision.

5. Finally, and most importantly, the older I get, the more I love my wife.

Preparing for Launch

            Last Thursday evening, I took Haleigh on a trip to Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. She and I had never taken a trip together before.

            Her sister, Abby, and I have (one of the few things Abby experienced before Haleigh.) A few years ago, I took Abby to Houston, to NASA, for a workshop for Homeschool kids.

            Haleigh was going primarily to try out for Harding’s volleyball team on Friday afternoon. Haleigh was going to stay with Kelli Mott, one of our Shiloh Road graduates, in one of the girls’ dorms. We arrived so late on Thursday night that Haleigh missed the dorm curfew. She had to stay with me at the local Hampton Inn.

            Friday morning, I dropped Haleigh off at the dorm, and with the exception of taking her to the tryout, saw very little of her. She attended some of Kelli’s classes and met some of Kelli’s friends.

            On the way up, I told Haleigh that one of my parents’ strengths was to never be overbearing. I can only remember them visiting me at college a handful of times, but each time they did, they made sure to give me space and not make me feel I had to entertain them every moment of the weekend. (Franklin Roosevelt’s mom moved into an apartment with him at Harvard. Egad!)  I told Haleigh I want to do the same for my kids.

            Friday, I met with someone from the financial aid office, dropped by and visited my old Argentina teammate, Bill Richardson, and I checked out the Harding campus. (It had been eleven years since I had been there.)

            Friday night, one of Kelli’s roommates managed to scrounge up a ticket for Haleigh to join several of them for a performance of the musical THROROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. I know this will sound sad for some of you, but I arrived at my hotel room Friday evening, at six o’clock, and never left the room. For me, it was actually bliss. Living in a family of six, I cannot remember the last time I had so much time to myself in peace and quiet.

            I had stuck into the Suburban a couple of sacks of books I picked up at the Doctors’ wives’ book sale on Thursday. I spent the entire evening working through the sacks. I had so much fun—I never turned the TV on. I went to sleep about eleven and got me a good night’s sleep.

            We left for home on Saturday morning. On the way back, we stopped in Little Rock at the Bill Clinton Presidential Museum.

            In Friday’s tryout, Haleigh had sprained her ankle during a volleyball game with other high school students and the Harding volleyball team, but she did not tell anyone until she told me on Saturday morning. I asked her if she would rather drive on home, but she said she would rather tour the museums. This is the first president Haleigh can remember, so she wanted to see the exhibits. She put on her boots and toughed it out.

            (That night, Judy about pinched my ears off when she saw Haleigh’s ankle; it had swollen to the size of an orange. Don’t tell her basketball coach about this.)

            While in Little Rock, Haleigh and I had lunch at a classy restaurant. Then it was back on the road.

            Haleigh and I had a total of twelve hours in the Suburban together. We talked a lot, listened to a lot of music, she slept some, and we listened to Drew Brees' new book on CD. (Her choice—I had brought it to listen to when she was asleep.)

            I felt interesting emotions Friday on the Harding campus. Even though it has been thirty years since I was an undergraduate, I can still remember those days clearly. Now I am watching my oldest preparing to launch the second phase of her life. This seems real, and this seems right.

            Driving home, a voice in my mind put words to my feelings. For a long time, I have been thinking about Haleigh launching into a new phase of her life. Saturday evening, that voice told me I was launching into a new phase as well.

The Luckiest Man on Earth

            Incidentally, on the aforementioned Friday evening, I had a chance to read from my recently purchased copy of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig. I had always heard about the famous speech Gehrig made as a dying man, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this Earth…” I had never read the extensive context to that story.

            Gehrig began the 1939 season playing horribly. Everyone noticed this in spring training. Gehrig himself thought he would play himself out of it. Instead, he grew worse.

            A few games into the season, Gehrig made a routine play at first to make the third out of an inning. When he arrived at the bench, several players congratulated him for his play.

            That night, Gehrig grew more and more disturbed. Had it come to this? Had his quality of play fallen so low that his teammates felt compelled to compliment him so profusely for a normal play?

            The next morning, Gehrig approached his manager, Joe McCartney, and asked to remain on the bench, “for the good of the team.”

            That afternoon, Lou Gehrig missed his first ballgame since 1925. The story was national news.

            Of course, as you know, Gehrig traveled a few days later to the Mayo Clinic, where he was diagnosed with the disease that would later bear his name. The New York Yankees organized a special day honoring him. The ceremony took place between games of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators.

            The Yankees brought in old teammates including Babe Ruth. Gifts were showered upon Gehrig, including one from the archrival, New York Giants.

            Finally, all the speeches were made and the throng that filled Yankee stadium began calling upon Gehrig to speak. But he was too overcome. Overwhelmed by kindness, Gehrig stood to the side, weeping.

            After it became obvious Gehrig was unable to respond, workers began to dismantle the microphones at home plate. Then Joe McCarthy walked over to Gehrig. Whispering in his ear, the manager gently coaxed him to say a few words.

            That was when Gehrig strode to the microphones, and, head down, uttered these words, “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” What I did not realize was that he went on to offer a brief, gracious speech, thanking various groups and individuals, before saying his final words, “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

            I’ve got to tell you, I was crying reading this account. You talk about feeling silly. Here I am, in a hotel room, reading about something that occurred over seventy years ago, and I am crying like it is happening in real time! (Who knows, maybe my emotion was a “Freudian” response to Haleigh’s visit at Harding.)

            Good stuff from Jonathon Eig.

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

1. Here’s what I want for Christmas: a TCU vs. Oregon matchup for the National Championship—an awesome defense versus an incredible offense.

2. I am happy with the Ranger season, but I can’t get out of my mind what happened to the Mavs. They came so close to defeating the Heat. They’ve never been back to the Finals again.

3. Haleigh and I have listened to almost four CDs of Drew Brees’ new book, COMING BACK STRONGER. So far, we have both been struck by Brees’ faith in God. Neither of us knew his faith was as extensive as it is. Tyndale House, which published the book, is a religious publishing company. This is a religious book.

            It is also inspiring. He has faced much adversity. I was glad Haleigh got to listen to it before she arrived to her tryout. I think it put her in a good and realistic frame of mind.

            We cannot wait to finish the book.

4. I think it is naïve to believe we will ever have bipartisanship in our Federal government. And this may be a good thing.

5. I tried something called Ethiopian coffee last Saturday. I found it to have a decent taste with no coffee bitterness. Not bad.

How To Pray

Matthew 6:9-13 is often called “The Lord’s Prayer.” Actually, as many in Christian history have noted, “The Lord’s Prayer” is probably the prayer Jesus prays in John 17. We can think of the prayer on the Sermon on the Mount as “The Disciples’ Prayer.”

This prayer has assisted me in my prayer life on and off for over 30 years. There are many nuggets here, rich in spiritual content, which give us insight into God and into people.

I like acronyms. I know there a lot of acronyms out there for assisting people in their prayer lives. Let me give you another based upon “The Disciples’ Prayer.” It's longer than most, I know, but my hope is you will find this a help.

So, without further a due, here is how to pray:

9You should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your name.10Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven. 11Give us our food for today. 12Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others. 13Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil. CEV

Deference… to God

Invite… God into the world

Sovereign… may God be Supreme Ruler on earth as in heaven

Comply… with the will of God

Implore… God to meet my needs

Pardon… others as God has pardoned me

Lead… me from temptation

Extract… me from evil

Defer. God is holy; he is sanctified; he is set apart. He is the One who, when Isaiah caught just a glimpse of His glory, was moved to proclaim that he was a man of unclean lips. When you pray, you begin by giving God glory.

Invite. This world would be a better world if God were more fully involved in it. God will not force himself into person’s life. He allows us the freedom to invite Him in.

Sovereign. God reigns in heaven. In heaven, there is no doubt who is king. May those of us on earth offer the same recognition to God that all of the beings in heaven do.

Comply. We are called to submit to the will of God. Again, in heaven, no doubt exists as to whose will, will be done. There is only one “will” in heaven. On Earth, there are roughly 6.8 billion “wills”—and counting. We pray that only one will exist on earth–God’s.

Implore. It is hard to pray for God to meet our needs when we have a pantry full of food. Yet, we should remember the biblical reminder that God traditionally taught his people to look to him, each day, for sustenance. That was all they could count on. Tomorrow would take care of itself.

Lead. We so often desire to be tempted. We often enjoy the titillation. Jesus encourages us to pray to God that He will lead us away from temptation. Our will should assert in prayer that we wish to not even get close to sin.

Extract. When Jesus led his disciples in prayer, he modeled for us a prayer that asks God to deliver us from evil. If we desire to be like Jesus, we pray to God that he will lead us away from temptation and deliver us from the impact of the work of the devil. In doing so, we become more like Jesus, which helps us fulfill our humanity.

I think it is not a coincidence that the root of the word “discipline” is the word disciple. Disciples are followers. We are certainly followers of Jesus. We desire to discipline ourselves to be what He would have us to be. Part of this discipline is the discipline of prayer. May we pray faithfully, and may God bless us as we pray.

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

1. If you find many errors today, don’t blame my usual editor, Sherry Bobbitt. She is out today due to an injury and hopes to return tomorrow. I REALLY hope she returns tomorrow.

2. We had something happen in our AM worship service yesterday that I am sure gratified Chuck Munoz, our worship leader. He led us in the singing of “There’s a Stirring,” which is definitely a stirring song. I was watching the audience; beginning at the back and moving to the front, people were so moved they began to stand as we sang the words “rise up.” Definitely a beautiful moment.  

3. Jerry Jones is a true visionary when it comes to the business side of football. And, as an owner, I have only one criticism: he needs to fire his general manager. Over the years, his general manager has made terrible personnel decisions and, occasionally, poor coaching hires. The day Jerry Jones fires his general manager—Jerry Jones—and turns the reins over to his son, Stephen, will be a better day for the franchise. Stephen may prove to be a poor choice, but he will be better than his dad.

4. The BCS is un-American. It is the weak attempt of university presidents and football coaches to be like old Europe—to advance, you’ve got to have the right blood. Sorry, Boise State and TCU, merit has nothing to do with your chances to succeed.

5. Who do I like tonight in Game 5 of the World Series? Loyalty motivates me to select Cliff Lee and Texas. However, I really wish I had the religious acumen to perform an exorcism on the Ranger bats.