Changing Seasons

"For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven..."

- Ecclesiastes 3:1

When I was a kid, my favorite season was Summer, because that meant we were out on vacation from school. I know many of my classmates were thrilled in the Winter when we would have snow days. As I've gotten older, I've found more pleasure in the flowers and new life visible in the Springtime. Meanwhile, my wife always loves the changing colors of leaves in the Autumn.

There is beauty in every season

Whether you prefer to look forward to the holidays that come in the Winter or the warmer temperatures that come once it's past, there's really something to love about every season - different as each one might be from the rest!

The same thing might be said for the seasons of our lives.

Praying for Peace

Over the past few weeks, the war in Syria has stepped into the spotlight after reports that the government used chemical weapons to wipe out hundreds of people. Immediately, there were cries demanding justice, which led to UN inspections and heightened rhetoric from nations around the world. Whether or not the United States will send troops into the area is still up in the air, and it's sparked a huge controversy. On one hand, there are those who say we cannot allow a government to get away with war crimes against its own people, and something must be done - whether by military force or some other means. But on the other hand, I've heard a lot of people saying it's none of our business - that the US needs to focus on its own problems and stay out of Syria at any cost.

I have to admit I don't know all the details, but what I do know is that it's a complicated situation. I don't want to see us rush headlong into another war, but at the same time, we can't just sit idly by and watch injustice continue. If you see a crime taking place and you do nothing to stop it, then you may as well be participating in the crime yourself (Proverbs 29:24).

So what are we to do?

Right now, I think one of the most important things we can do is to pray for our leaders. Pray for them to have wisdom to know the right thing to do and courage to carry it out. We should be praying for the people of Syria, too, that this war for them will end soon, that lives will be spared, and that peace will come in their hearts and their lives.

"Look With Your Special Eyes!"

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

- Matthew 5:8

A couple years ago, they came out with a commercial for 1-800-CONTACTS that really cracked me up! It's done in the overly-dramatic style of a soap opera, sort of. It begins with a woman telling her husband that she ordered his contact lenses, and the package has arrived.

"They can't have my brand," he says. "I have special eyes."
She opens the package and shows him... "Look! Look with your special eyes!"
And when he looks, he is overcome with emotion, "My brand!"

Maybe it's just because I'm legally blind, but for whatever reason, that has been one of my favorite commercials from the first time I saw it. I even shared it on my Facebook page a while back!

Well, if there's one thing I've tried to do throughout this blog, it's to let you have a glimpse at the world as I see it, and to encourage you to then look at the world through your own special eyes - or "holy eyes", as I termed it in my post about seeing Unexpected Crosses. There, I challenged you to look for God in the midst of mundane things, so I was thrilled when one of my co-workers recently came to me with this example - courtesy of 1-800-CONTACTS.*

Lofty Mountain Grandeur

This past week, Amber and I went to visit her family in the state of Delaware (Dela-where?), and then on Friday, we drove down to Virginia for a wedding ceremony for one of Amber's cousins.

Amber and I have made the trip to Delaware and back several times in the six years since we moved back to Kentucky, but because of the wedding in Virginia, we had to take a different route home than we're used to this time, and I have to say, I'm so glad we had to go the way we did!

I've lived in the foothills of Eastern Kentucky for most of my life, and I've always been fascinated by the beauty of nature, so whenever we travel, I'm often looking out my window at the mountains and valleys we go past. But our new route this time took us through the rolling hills of Virginia and the great mountains of Southern West Virginia, and it was an absolutely breath-taking ride! At one point, Amber had to ask if I was alright, because my eyes were glued as wide open as they could get, and I was just staring out the window! I was just mesmerized by what I was seeing!!

Thankfully, as we were driving up the West Virginia Turnpike, I finally had the good sense to take out my phone and snap a few pictures of the amazing scenery...

Middletown, Mayberry and Memories

It's funny what things stick with you and what things don't.

Every year, about this time, my mind takes me back to a simpler time.

"Oh, criminy!"
This is my Granny Bickham

I was very blessed, when I was little, to know all 4 of my grandparents, plus my great-grandmother - or "Granny", as I always called her. I have specific memories of each of them that stand out. Thankfully, I still have one left! (Love you, Grandma!) But I wish I could remember more...

One of my favorite memories was when we used to go up to visit Granny in Middletown, IN, every few summers. We kids would run and play in the yard a lot of the time, but when it was too hot out, Granny would go down in the basement and find a toy or a game for us.

One day, she introduced us to Rummikub. I remember begging her to play game after game for hours! Maybe part of the fun was that she let us win from time to time. I can still hear her, once in a while, saying...

Unity of Believers

Sometimes it can be discouraging to be at a small church. You wonder why it doesn't grow. You wonder if what you're doing is making a difference. Maybe you even begin to feel isolated, like you're the only ones left serving the Lord - much like the prophet Elijah felt in 1 Kings 19. The truth, though, is that you cannot measure the impact of your work - especially when you work together with others - and you are definitely not alone. Just as God reminded Elijah that there were thousands of others who had not bowed to false gods, so we know there are others around the globe who also serve our God, and this can be a great comfort to us at times.

One of the great blessings of the Church, I think, is the knowledge that there are so many different kinds of people all around the world - folks from various races, cultures and nations - and yet we can be joined together through our common faith in the Almighty.

This is something beautiful God has really highlighted for me over the past few years, as Amber and I have had opportunities to occasionally worship and work with believers from other churches and cultures. I've been reminded of it when we've visited other churches while on vacation, or when people who normally attend other churches have come to visit ours. And it's been on my mind a lot this week, as Amber and I just came home from the Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

May Flowers

This life is filled with many seasons, but I don't just mean Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I mean there are seasons where everything seems especially good and there are seasons where everything seems especially bad. There are seasons of happiness and seasons of grieving. Seasons when everything falls into place and seasons where everything falls to pieces.

Beauties in bloom
on the back of our barn

A few months ago, I talked about seasons on my other blog, and I pointed out the importance of remembering that God is with you, no matter what season you happen to be going through. Today I found myself thinking about seasons again.

Personally, I've been going through a season of being extremely busy. Between work at the radio station, work at church and another project I'm working on, I've felt for the last couple months like I just run from one thing to another, without hardly a break! And when I do sit down, sometimes all I can do is think about how much I need to get up and get busy again if I ever want to get things done!

I haven't even had time to blog for over a month!