Tag / Observations

by Greg

The Story My Bookshelf Tells

Stack of BooksAs I sat in my reading chair, enjoying a quiet moment to read one of the dozen or so books in which I currently have a bookmark (reminding me again that I really wish I would find more occasion to enjoy sitting down to read…) I noticed the interesting tale that my book choices tell.

Looking at me from the front covers of their two books are the faces of Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly, and the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson. Now, you might not think those two well-known men should be on the same shelf—let alone right next to each other!—but this is what I’m trying to say… they tell my story.

I am of course a big fan of the Buffalo Bills. From 1988 to the present I have cheered heartily and without wavering for the team from western New York state. Sometimes are more fun than others to do so “heartily”, nonetheless it is no surprise to find a book by a Buffalo Bill sitting on my Current Reads shelf.

(Of note regarding Mr. Kelly’s book: 1 – he signed it, 2 – it came as a gift from Jim’s wife (via a contest at her website) along with a signed copy of her book, 3 – and that book—Jill’s—is waiting to be read because it was already read and recommended by my wife. Did you follow all that? I think I did…)

The Jefferson book is just great because it follows on the heels of another book I recently finished by David Barton called The Jefferson Lies, which I just loved. (Well, while I loved it, I also found it infuriating. The book covers seven popular beliefs regarding Jefferson, and then logically and with a great deal of original source documentation eliminates nearly all plausibility in “what we’ve always known” about TJ. Very good read!)

We also got to visit Monticello just over a month ago. It is so interesting to experience history as close to the source as possible!

Also on my shelf are a few more autobiographies: Mark Twain (volume 1), Tim Tebow, and a work by Martin Luther King, Jr, which serves a bit as an autobiography. I really enjoy reading history in the first person.

Add to those a book on current government/political issues by Ron Paul, recommended to me by a friend who is also interested in such things, another book about American government that Jen and Ian and I are all reading copies of simultaneously. (The 5,000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen, which I really feel should be “required reading” for every American citizen.)

I also just finished (this week!) the Eye Of Darkness by my friend Michael (Mike) J. Scott. Written in the fantasy genre, not usually something I’d read, but I definitely enjoy Mike’s books, and this one was no exception.

Funny that I say I don’t enjoy the fantasy genre, because also on my shelf is a lovely copy of The Two Towers by Tolkien. The oldest two boys and I are making our way through The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Just about halfway through!)

Rounding out the collection I call my “current reads” are an assortment of styles and genres: a Brad Thor thriller (The Athena Project), a book on “spiritual warfare” (The Adversary), a book about current events (The Singularity is Near), and a couple biographies, both inspired by the two historical homes we just visited: Sacred Fire (George Washington) and The Fool of God (Alexander Campbell).

(Note: The interesting thing is, the last book there is one from my Bible college days, that I would be interested to read again. My interest was piqued again as it seems the Restoration Movement (in which Campbell played a major role) also apparently had a major impact on Thomas Jefferson… there’s the tie-in to our recent historical homes visits!)

So, it’s quite an assortment, I think. One thing that means more to me than to anyone of you who might be reading this is that many of the books were recommended by a friend here and there, so as I see and/or read the book, I am reminded of my friendship with that person. Bonus!

I hope your reading shelf is well-stocked currently. Take a moment and notice the story that it tells of you and the life you’ve lived so far. It really is quite interesting!

(PS, you can see many of the covers of these titles rotating in the right sidebar… for the full list of books I’m reading, planning to read, and have recently finished, stop by my library page.)

by Greg

You Have Value

Note: The following thoughts are not really well-formed, nor necessarily “going anywhere”. I am mostly working them out as I type.

In the season of life I am currently in, it’s been quite obvious to me that we, people, are flawed. Even the best of us. There’s a deep-rooted—at the core of us—tendency… but more than a tendency… to (at best) choose selfishly, if not actually intending harm for others around us. (Or, the malice can be aimed at one specially chosen person, rather than randomly.)

But the other side of the coin is that there are often great examples of sacrificial love for others. Jesus said there’s no greater love than to lay down your life for someone else. I’ve seen it. I don’t mean necessarily giving up your physical, living-and-breathing life. There are other ways to “lay down your life”. And some (many?) people do that, too.

In a brief conversation recently with someone whom I perceived to be another Jesus follower (a person that I do not know, just interacted with briefly) I took note of the care which he showed for me. (And, I was extending him the same care.) That seems so rare… (sorry for the unintended rhyming) 🙂 I do think that most people are good at caring about or for friends, for the most part. And I also think that a lot of Christians (with the best intentions) do “care” about other people, but often it is more out of obligation to “be Christian” than actually placing value on the person being cared about (or for).

And that’s it right there.

We are all flawed, but we possess intrinsic value because God values us.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Eph 1:4-5

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Rom 5:11 (But read verses 6-10 also)

And, of course:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16 (The Tim Tebow verse!)😉

There are so many verses, stories, quotes, etc. from Scripture that clearly show that you and I have value to God who made us. Not because of a special talent, or ability, but simply by our existence. That’s really, really not the “way of the world”.

Scary video time! This video of George Bernard Shaw (below) would be an example of valuing people only for “what they do for you”… (Closed-caption will help.)

Sir, or Madam, would you be kind enough to justify your existence? Most people won’t say those words, but I think our actions might tend to suggest that is how some (most?) people see the others around them.

But with Jesus it’s different. Everyone matters. One of my favorite things about him is how he would stop what he was doing to focus on one person whom the crowd was ignoring. Scripture is clear that each one of us has value to him. Each one.

So when we treat each other like he sees us, life is different. If we see every other person around us as a prized creation of the Creator, doesn’t that affect how you treat them? Do you cut them off in traffic? Do you forgive them when they do that to you (perhaps even accidentally?) Do you fight and claw to get whatever it is you think you need, or do you gladly and willingly consider the person next to you first?

We tried something in our home recently… the girls were not being kind to each other, so I said, “Wait wait wait!! What if your sister was a queen? Would you talk to her that way? Or treat her that way?” The response was a silly, “Nooooo!” Then I continued, “She is a queen! Or, at least, a princess. A daughter of The King, God. Each of you are! So while we’re playing and cleaning up, make sure to see your sister(s) as a Queen, and treat her accordingly.”

They had so much fun with that, and the whole atmosphere in that room changed. There was fun, kindness, respect, laughter, and actually, they got the clean up job done a lot more quickly, too.

You have value. And so does EVERYONE else around you. That value is because we are made by (and valued by) the One who truly has all value, worth, glory, whatever word you might choose. He values us, simply because he made us. We are his prized possession—each one of us—whether we know it or not.

If we could see that, know that, live that… life would definitely be different.

I will continue to intentionally view the world (and you) that way. And teach my kids to do the same. Hope you’ll join me.

by Greg

On Chick-fil-A… and diversity in general

Chick-fil-A Eat Mor ChikinFirst, I am not really a big fan of Chick-fil-A’s food. (But my wife really is, so it’s a special treat when we are in Chick-fil-A territory!) Thus, this post is not really about their food, or their fun kid’s meal toys, or the fact that they play Christian music in their restaurants, nor that they are closed on Sundays.

But you probably already knew that.

If you haven’t heard—and, well, it’s possible that you haven’t?—the Christian-owned, alternative-to-cows restaurant has been in the news for the past month thanks to remarks that company president and COO, Dan Cathy. Here’s what he said:

Re: the “crisis of fatherlessness”

As an employer, first off, just from that perspective, I see it as a real crisis, in the sense that there is a certain amount of emotional DNA—there’s physical DNA obviously that comes from the dad and also from the mom, but beyond that—there’s some essential emotional DNA that God intended for us to give, from a mother and a dad that, we observe over our life as children—in infancy, and then growing up—that we can only get from our dad, and we can only get from a mother. And we’re to get it in a home, dynamic environment where they’re interrelating together, to build the stability and the self-esteem that God wants us to have to get through our teenage years.

Now when we don’t have one side or the other, you know, I just have to tell you, I think we’re just emotionally handicapped. Doesn’t mean we can’t survive and have a happy life, but it means that we’re gonna have some odds stacked against us. Hopefully there can be somebody that intervenes to help make that up for us. But, uh, to have so many people today that are growing up in homes where they don’t have a mom and dad—I’ll tell you, as an employer, it makes it that much more difficult for us, because we sometimes actually have to have a parenting role.

As it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And, I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about.

Wait. Is that all?

Yep.

Where is the controversy? WHERE is the “anti-gay” that peppers every headline on from every “news” organization?

No really. Where is it?

See, so much of what we hear (and react to) is hype. And it’s predetermined. “What? Someone promoted a traditional, Mom-and-Dad-in-the-same-home family?? THEY HATE GAYS! Boycott!! Tell everyone you know!!!” And then the reaction, “What? They’re attacking my favorite Christian restaurant for speaking the truth against legalizing gay marriage??! Get out and support them! Buy ‘mor chikin’! Tell all your friends!!”

Ugh.

First of all, if you have the time, please listen to this clip—the one that started this recent fury… I mean, flurry of activity on the blogs, social media, and news sites. The whole Dan Cathy interview starts around 21:28, and the part quoted above starts at 29:43. Cathy was a guest on the Ken Coleman Show (never heard of it…) on Father’s Day weekend, talking about his Dad, and his own marriage of 40-plus years to his one wife, and the benefits of a Mom-and-Dad, stable family. Listen:

People. Please. PLEASE. Stop the knee-jerk reactions. Your favorite commentarians (that’s not a word) are NOT ALWAYS RIGHT. Probably not usually right. Take a breath… use Google (or other resources… talking to actual people is good, too!) 🙂 and try to find what is actually being said. If the headline says “Anti”-anything, plan on doing some major filtering. Find quotes, but find LONG quotes. Look for the sources of those quotes (like the show above).

I just can’t believe the agenda that nearly everyone has, one way or another. Truth does not appear to be as important as being first to post, or furthering one’s own worldview—whether or not the item being discussed actually supports or even has anything to do with said agenda.

I will keep pounding this drum till the cows come home. Listen to each other. Go to the source. Believe in each other.

We have to stop using the word “anti” unless it’s really true. Pro-traditional family is not anti-anything! (Except anti-non-traditional-family? But it’s still not anti if it’s FOR something.) Aren’t people who want women to have the choice to end a pregnancy nearly always referred to as “Pro-Choice”? But the opposite side of that argument—those who are actually against abortion—are called anti-abortion-ers. (Though, that side prefers Pro-Life, I believe.) That seems to be a case where words are used correctly.

But what Dan Cathy said, and those who think traditional, one man, one woman, married for life family is a better option (or, the best option), can not be labeled “anti-gay”—or anti-anything—when they are promoting, not protesting.

He is welcome to believe and even promote what he believe (unless it actually injures someone else, or keeps them from doing the same), and everyone else can listen (or not) and then respond (or not) as they see fit. But, as I said above, the response should follow really listening. Not just a knee-jerk (“pre-programmed”) response to a second-to-forty-fourth-hand report about what “someone said”.

There are many more articles to read. Please browse at your leisure.

And be nice.

by Greg

Lessons From Our Garden

At this point, I’d have to say we are successful gardeners.

It’s kinda funny, because the last time we gave this a serious run, we were really pretty unsuccessful. We had many tomato plants that produced seven tomatoes. Total. All summer. And they were very tiny. (It really was sad.)

Then most everything else turned out even worse.

We discovered the likely cause of our pathetic “crop” was the presence (read: abundance) of walnut trees in our yard. The walnut tree roots make the soil too acidic for many plants? Something like that. Anyway, it definitely put a damper on our green thumbs.

But, several years later (I guess it was eight) we were determined to see a different outcome!

A potted tomato plant experiment (using the same soil from our yard, just removed from the walnut tree roots) produced a much healthier crop of cherry tomatoes. Delicious! (And beefsteak tomatoes as well, I believe.) So that was a good clue that the soil wasn’t really the issue.

Add to that decent soil our years of composting, and we had a pretty good place for some edible plants to grow.

And boy have they!

We’ve got tons of tomatoes, we have peppers, we have lettuce, we have carrots, we even have watermelon! AND, that squash you see is the first harvest of the season! The squash plants look great.

My favorite part are the four or five bonus tomato plants. We did not plant them, but they are growing very strong and look like they’re going to produce many tomatoes of their own. Fun!

As we’ve been watching the literal fruits of our labor growing, I’ve been noticing again that there are tons of great spiritual lessons one can glean from a garden. The one that has most often come to mind is what I wrote in this post from 2004. It’s really, really weird to me how the weeds mimic the good plants that they grow near. It’s happening again with this garden. Crazy.

Successes are fun. These successes are tasty. It really was a good amount of work getting to this point, but it’s also just astounding how much of it is not us. We just make sure it has a good place to grow and the programming takes over. God made it to grow in to a big health plant that yields much fruit, and it’s doing it! A lot! We’ve got lots of examples of his amazing design in our little 24 x 6 tilled plot of land in our back yard.

Definitely a fun thing to watch. We’re already looking forward to next year’s garden!

by Greg

And Life Moves On

Yesterday was full. I had a ton of work to do, I had bills to manage (and even more I needed to figure out how to manage), I had plans to attend to, people to meet up with, and even books I was trying to read.

My list of things to do was long, and the crossing off of some items seemed unequally balanced with the adding of others.

There wasn’t really a frantic pace to the day, just classic multi-tasking. A little of this, a little of that. Spinning several plates at once.

Around noon I decided to take a brisk walk to the bank—just around the corner from our house—to make a deposit to our account. I quickly put on my shoes and coat and headed out the door.

The flashing lights were the first thing I saw.

At the end of the road, at the main intersection in town, I saw the familiar red and blue cycling lights of a police car. As I studied the scene I noted that the car was “parked” at a 45º angle in the center of the intersection, but there did not appear to be any other vehicles out of place; just a line east and west, and a line to the south. Odd… I thought, and continued to assess the situation as my steady stride brought me closer.

Then I saw that a line of cars from the north were all turning to the east. Included in this stream of vehicles were a few more police cars with their lights also flashing. (But no sirens to be heard.)

A funeral… I realized, And apparently for someone in some sort of service due to the number of police cars involved.

Around the corner, heading the same direction as the train of vehicles before me, I spotted an enormous flag flying directly over the center of Main St. It was suspended over the road by four ladder trucks. Four trucks… from four different towns… Who was this guy?

I proceeded to my destination, and completed my transaction using the automated teller machine. Knowing that we live in a small town, I guessed that the tellers inside would know what was going on this day, so I entered the bank to find out.

“The funeral for Mike Murphy,” I was told. “Mike Murphy?” I asked, not sure why they said his name as though I should have known him.

“Murphy’s funeral home?” one teller clarified, “He was only 41 years old…”

We all took a moment then to reflect on the obvious sadness of this day for those that knew him. I’m not sure if any of the three ladies in the bank knew him personally, or his family, but regardless, we all knew it was indeed a sad day.

It struck me as I walked back past the fire trucks, now lowering their ladders and removing the flag that had honored the premature passing of this man only a few years older than I am, that this day was going so differently for them than it was for me. I thought of his family. I thought of my family. I thought of me.

I thought of what I’d been doing this day, and how important it seemed—maybe you can even still say that it is important, on some level—and how irrelevant such things are to his family and close friends today.

It fascinated me how life just moves on.

While they hurt, and grieve, and wonder, and ache, and just process the events of the past week… others—like me—are nearly oblivious, dutifully carrying on with the mundane tasks of daily life.

Life just moves on.

It’s surprising to me the flippancy and depth that those words carry simultaneously. On one hand, it seems as though there is little thought given to the untimely death of a fellow human being; a neighbor. On the other hand, the reality of the relentless procession of time is incredibly obvious as the world continues its endless motion around these people who are mourning.

Oblivious. Ignorant. Uncaring. Unaware.

The questions of the hurting, unheard by the rest who are likely dealing with their own individual hurts, or at best, enjoying a momentary respite from the cruelty of this broken world.

If that were the end—a brief, insignificant, mostly unnoticed moment to recognize a life created in God’s image… that would be pretty sad. Meaningless.

The amazing truth is, we are not unnoticed. (At least, not by the circles of people God has placed us within.) We have great impact upon the people we walk next to—not necessarily measuring by the standards of this world. Our family, our close friends, even mere acquaintances. Even if we only have one passing interaction with someone. We can have an impact.

Mike even touched my life today—though I never knew him. A moment I only noticed by coincidental timing caused me to reflect on the daily doings of my life; our lives.

We are not insignificant. Quite the opposite. Our lives have purpose, meaning.

And we are not without hope. Though each of us has a terminal disease from birth, we can live each day we get to its fullest when we recognize and find our life in Life’s Creator. I don’t know if Mr. Murphy lived that way or not, since I never met him. But you and I can.

And I hope you do.

That… is not insignificant.

by Greg

Always Be Thankful

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.“

I have recently been reminded of the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I read the first half or so, and then it got buried under many other reads over the past months, nearing a year.

Jen loves her blog, and last year (maybe even more than a year?) purchased Ann’s book and connected deeply with the themes developed within its pages. She quoted much of the book to me in small snippets as she read it. Then she suggested I read it—or, maybe I even just wanted to on my own, both on her somewhat “unspoken” recommendation and because since Jen so identified with it, I knew I’d find some more of my wife’s heart in those pages.

And I did. And the book was saying what we needed to hear—probably what we all always need to hear.

Be thankful. Always.

The scripture quoted above is from Colossians 3:15. Definitely one of the books of the Bible that most resonates with me. I quote often from it. I have several songs that are based on truths Paul shared in his letter to the Colossian Christians. So much great truth found in those few pages.

These couple of verses have been meaningful recently as we have really needed peace. And he has given it. Deep peace. But it’s meaningful beyond the more difficult times of life, even in the ordinary. Especially for a large family with many youngsters like ours. “You are called to live in peace.” Yes, children… you are. And sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. But the source of peace—inner and outer—is obvious from the first sentence. It’s Jesus. When his peace rules in our hearts, then it overflows to the people in our family—whether by blood or by spiritual family connection.

But one of the shortest sentences from the whole letter might be most meaningful to our lives.

And always be thankful.

Sounds like an afterthought. “Oh yeah… don’t forget…” But it’s somehow the foundation of our joy, our happiness, our Life. So much junk in life: our own, our family members’, junk from other people around us, and just the junk that is beyond anyone’s control. But somehow—when we can transcend the hurt, often by a simple trust in the person most worthy of trust—we can even be grateful for the junk.

Jen read a story for us recently from another book she just finished (The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom) which was also about “always be[ing] thankful”. In summary, while detained by German soldiers in a flea-infested and otherwise nearly uninhabitable room, Corrie’s sister discovered the key to the Life God wanted for them was to be thankful—for everything. That meant even the fleas. Corrie reluctantly agreed to be thankful for all things, even the ones that seemed to have absolutely no value at all.

Much later, looking back on everything, they realized (or learned?) that the guards had left them almost entirely to themselves because of the fleas! They were able to pray, have and read from their Bible, and have many freedoms they might not have otherwise had… because of the fleas. And they lived life a bit more fully because they were thankful for something that seemed only awful, even without knowing how it could be used for good.

Now several days later, at bedtime, after a day with some hard things in it, I decided to ask the girls to share some things they liked about the day, and some things that were hard or sad from the day. They came up with both fairly easily, with only slightly more thought put into choosing the one thing they found most difficult from the day just lived. Once we all had shared our favorite and maybe least favorite moments from the day I said, “OK, now let’s tell God how we are thankful for those things.”

I started out with the good, and then repeated back the things that each of us had highlighted as our difficult or bad thing from the day. When I got to Julia’s she was surprised that I strung together “thank you” and her bad part of the day. I smiled at her and asked if she remembered the flea story that Mom told earlier. A light of recognition flashed in her eyes and she said, “Oh yeah! Like the fleas! They were bad, but then they kept the soldiers away so they could pray!”

Yes! Like the fleas!

And so we continued, thankful even for the harder parts of the day. And sleep came quickly, and peacefully.

They are not magic words, that somehow make us cheery and unnaturally full of joy despite current circumstances. But it is a somewhat magic truth. When we can implement them, like the Ten Booms, we can know peace. And even joy.

And thankfulness.

Ann Voskamp uses the refrain Eucharisteo in her book. The Greek “give thanks”. The words, the idea–but even more, the action—have power. A power to give us life, from the One who is Life.

It comes from our perspective. Thankfulness gets the focus off of us, and onto him. He is the source of our Life, and hope, and every good thing. (Even when we can’t yet see goodness.)

That’s not to say there isn’t still junk. Or that some junk is just plain bad.

But always be thankful. That’s the succinct afterthought from Paul’s email to new believers that can still bring us much more of the life Jesus wants for us to live. One where we see goodness in the craziest places. Even where it doesn’t seem good, or isn’t good. We have hope, and we trust his goodness.

And we can always be thankful.

by Greg

The Illusion of Control

For some reason, though everything tells us otherwise, we all seem to have this illusion that we are in control of our lives and our surroundings.

I may be speaking a good deal from my American perspective, but I do feel like it’s more of a human thing than a cultural thing. (We Americans just have more resources to fool us into the illusion that we have control.)

Think about it. We can basically do anything we want, any time we want. We can eat any food we’d like, no matter what the season. We can wear any clothes we like (for the most part) because we have our climate perfectly controlled. We can operate on any schedule, since we have lights to replace the sun.

Our current technology takes it a step further. We can access practically any information we want from any place at any time. That’s astounding. To those of you too young to remember a time when with “the internets” that might sound less amazing, but it is truly remarkable. Then add all the other ubiquitous means of communication (cell phones, email, you name it) and we can even be somewhat omnipresent: doing our job or living our lives through a virtual presence.

We can get anywhere we need to in a very short amount of time. Medicine can prolong our lives far beyond what was possible in centuries past. We can have as many or as few children as we want for our family to have. (And there is even the potential to change the life growing inside the womb before it is born through our knowledge of genetics, no?)

All of this stuff (and so much more) makes us think that we are in control… until something happens.

It can be minor, like a kink in your schedule for the day. Maybe an accident sidetracks your plans for the day and the immediate future. Maybe an appointment goes long. Maybe illness causes a long-planned event to be rescheduled or missed entirely. Maybe something as simple as the weather changes your plans (or worse).

Or, it can be a much more rude awakening.

Not one of us is immune to death. We are all mortal. That is the one truth that I’d say even trumps “taxes”. We don’t know when it is coming, but we do know it’s coming. For us, and the ones we love. Our parents, our spouse, our kids. Everyone.

But we go through life assuming that we have tomorrow. It’s because we think we have some amount of control over what happens around us. (And I’d say we do have some, but much less than we think.) It’s just an illusion. A mind game that we have played on ourselves, really.

Do not take for granted the time that you have with the people you love. There is nothing more important than them. We have a friend who lost her Dad not too long ago, and I know she wishes she could have more time with him, even the smallest amount. And I think that’s probably a universally true sentiment.

“You don’t know what you have till it’s gone.”

But it’s not just about the ultimate, guaranteed loss that we will all experience. Most of us multiple times over. There are other ways we live the illusion.

We are sometimes fooled into thinking our money guarantees us some amount of control. We have all sorts of (wise) plans to save and invest and manage our money… but the reality is that could all be gone in an instant. Whether a technological catastrophe that could deny us access to whatever funds we have, or a rapid and complete crash of the value of whatever currency you use, or (more likely) something less global, but equally personally devastating. You just never know. Whatever our current amount of wealth, it is definitely not a constant or a given.

Beyond these things, we even have this notion that we are in control of other people.

Perhaps we parents exhibit this the most. We tell our kids what to do, give them specific instructions, and witness the power of our words and influence in their obedient actions much of the time. Our kids are, for the most part, the compliant sort. We know we can trust them. But they’re normal kids. They’re people. All of us have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

Indeed.

We can’t even control ourselves.

We—you and me—are not in control. Bad things will happen. Accidents will happen. Mistakes will happen. Evil and malice will happen.

The other constant—the other thing we can be sure of—is that God is good. He is love. And he loves us. That is so foundational to a life fully lived. If we know that he is good, and we live knowing that despite all of our flaws, quirks, idiosyncrasies, he is fully committed to us—loves us, is for us—then as the verse says, “nothing can be against us”.

That’s how we are able to break free from the illusion.

When we can admit that we do not have control—that all this stuff we think we can count on (including fellow Image Bearers) is at some point guaranteed to fail us—then we are free to really live. Our freedom comes from the trust we have in the One who is in control. Because we know he’s on our side, he’s for us.

It still hurts. Life can really beat you up sometimes. Often, even. But we know that we’ll make it to the other side. (Eventually to the other side, if not before.) And we know that God’s not just waiting for us on the other side, we know that he’s with us every painful, broken, seemingly-chaotic step of the way.

While everything else may be an illusion, our Father is most certainly not.

by Greg

The Bills Win! The Bills Win!!

What if the Bills won the Super Bowl??Since today is Super Bowl Sunday, I thought it might be an appropriate day to “talk football”.

Mind you, I am still quite loyally a Bills fan. (In truth, I’m really only a Bills fan, not actually a fan of football or the NFL in general. I know… weird, right?)

So, if you’re a Bills fan, too, or a general football/NFL fan, you’ll likely enjoy this post. If you’re not (and likely there are many of you) … I’d recommend drilling down through all the related links and category tabs here for something else to read today.

But really, how can you escape football on the first Sunday in February? It’s really quite crazy how much this day has become one of the major US—and even global?—holidays. Everyone has a party they are hosting or attending. Big food plans… friends, family, and even lots of non-football fans. (I’m the one at the Super Bowl parties enjoying the food and conversation.)

Today is football day.

So, in light of that reality: WHAT is the deal with the Buffalo Bills?!

The Big Story

Folks are tempted to say that the Bills are just either horribly managed, or under-whelmingly under-talented. (Or would that be overwhelmingly?) And a quick look at their draft pick success rate over the now twelve seasons in which they have failed to qualify for the post season would lead most astute fans of the game to that easy conclusion.

But the Great Collapse of 2011 was actually a result of more than just a lack of talent, or a poorly managed organization.

Throughout the season, the Bills were “playing hurt”. Whether their guys were actually on the sidelines (or not even in the stadium) or if they were in the game but not fully healthy, the Bills were one of the teams hardest hit by injuries this year.

You might say, “But every team has injuries! Man up!” And, actually, most of the players said that throughout the season. It was frustrating me a great deal to not hear the coaches, the GM, or the players saying anything about the insane amount of injuries that this team was having to deal with.

In 2007, the Bills had 17 players on IR. That was just ridiculous. That was the year that Kevin Everett suffered a spinal injury in the very first game of the year. (A game we were privileged to attend.) In 2011, the Bills ended the year with 15 players on IR. Interestingly, an article near the end of the season similarly pointed out what I was seeing and saying… losing key players matters! I have sadly lost my reference to that article, but the gist was that the worst teams had the most injuries and the best had the fewest. Seems obvious, but it’s often overlooked, or downplayed as an “excuse”.

These weren’t just a bunch of players. They were the core. Kyle Williams went down early in the year. Most people say he’s our best player on defense, and he’s definitely a leader on the team in his play and “in the locker room” as they say. Then we lost Fred Jackson, likely our best player on offense. (Oh, and don’t forget that the offensive line lost Eric Wood, it’s best player—and leader—fairly early in the season, and really never fielded the same five guys. A few games featured third and fourth options at center, playing a position they’d never played before!)

And it doesn’t stop there. Just yesterday the Bills published news that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played the last ten games of the season with cracked ribs. This is something that can affect your throwing accuracy. And a ton of guys never were injured “enough” to be put on IR, but they were less of the players they could be each week… it was just a mess.

Starters were out for many games, or most or even all of the season. Promising rookies were injured for games or the season. Even the kicker was hit with a season-ending injury!

There’s more that could be said here, and it’s certainly not the only reason the Bills finished with such a horrible record after such a promising start. But I contend unequivocally that it was the major reason.

But… Who Are Their Players?

A fine question if you’re not an avid Bills fans. Even casual Bills fans would likely have a hard time naming anyone on this current roster.

That was one of their strengths out of the gate in 2011. They were a team of “cast-offs” and otherwise overlooked players. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Ivy League perennial backup QB was right at the top of the QB stats while the Bills soared to a 5-2 start. Undrafted-free-agent-from-Division-III-Coe-College RB Fred Jackson was on a torrid pace to perhaps rival Thurman Thomas’ best seasons as a Bill, leading the league in rushing and overall yards from scrimmage on several occasions. Seventh-round pick Stevie Johnson finished the year with over 1,000 yards receiving, becoming the only Buffalo Bill ever to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. (Yes, really!) And no-name TE Scott Chandler took the league by surprise with his “unstoppable” production in the red zone, leading the league in TDs by a tight end when the Bills had their early success.

Add to that some equally unknown, but pretty talented young players from the Nix/Gailey regime’s first two drafts and this team felt they had something to prove. And they were doing it.

(Until the injuries caught up with them… see “The Big Story” above…)

One thing many of the players have said, looking back at last season, is that they were not ready to handle success. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it has some ring of truth to it. They are all young. They have very little experience in meaningful games (and even less as the division leaders that they were at week eight). It could be that. And if so, that’s something they’re going to have to figure out this offseason. Because, if they’re not injured… there’s not much reason this team of “nobodies” can’t get out to the same great start they had last season.

Looking Ahead

One thing that could really hold the 2012 Buffalo Bills back is the amount of potential turnover this team faces. Stevie Johnson leads a long list of fairly “high-profile” players (for the Bills, at least… again, see above re: how there really are no high-profile players in Buffalo) who might be free agents come March 13th. The Bills and he both say they are attempting to negotiate a contract, but no agreement has been reached just yet.

If the Bills let a lot of players go, and bring in a lot of new players via the draft and free agency, that will be at least a moderate challenge. They are already going to be working with a new defensive coordinator as Dave Wanndstedt took over that role right after the close of the 2011 season. There has been a little bit of shuffling in the coaching staff as a whole as some guys were let go, some left, and new coaches have been hired.

There are still some needs on this team (and no, it’s not starting quarterback…) that will definitely be addressed. Here’s a short list:

  • DEPTH. That’s easy. Hardly any team could have withstood the freakish injury list Buffalo dealt with last season, but they clearly need to have talented and/or experienced depth at many positions going into next season, maybe especially offensive line.

  • SECOND WIDEOUT (AND FIRST??) If Stevie stays, then we need a second wideout. If he goes, we’ll need two. Three of the guys Buffalo was counting on this year were out for most or all of the year (Donald Jones, Marcus Easley, and Roscoe Parrish). There’s no guarantee any of those guys are even the player they want anyway. The Bills will almost definitely go after a free agent WR, or address that position in the draft.

  • PASS RUSH. With Shawne Merriman still a BIG question mark, the Bills need to figure something out re: their putrid pass rush. When you take away their 10-sack game against the Redskins—which turned out to be a bit of a mirage, I suppose—they really produced almost no pressure at all on the opposing QBs. Marcell Dareus looks to be a good player, and we know Kyle Williams is, but they need more here (DL, LBs) so this spot will likely be addressed, too.

  • BACKUP QB. With the revelation this week that Fitzpatrick played the last ten games with cracked ribs, you have to think that was at least partially because the coached didn’t/don’t trust their backups. Tyler Thigpen and Brad Smith (whom they were forced to use as a WR for much of the last half of the season, again, due to injuries) are not the answer. Plus, a little competition never hurts. Expect the Bills to add at least one quality QB option. (But again, NOT to start.)

What the Bills most need to do is figure out why they can’t stay healthy! If it’s not a curse, I really don’t know what it is! 🙂

Early Predictions

Yeah… right!

With so many options in front of them, there’s really no way to predict what will happen with the Bills in 2012. But I will say this… they are not as far away as some think. Really.

Of course, most will say, “Ahhh, he’s just a Bills fan! AND an optimist! Don’t listen to a word he says!” But, if you say that, it’s rather odd that you’re ~1,600 words into something you shouldn’t listen to…

That aside, I must say the core of the young guys on this team really do show signs of life (and longevity?) that the Bills haven’t had for a while. The amount of free agents to sign seems a foreboding task, and certainly some of these guys are still hoping to fully recover from some devastating injuries in 2011. But still… the Bills are at least going in the right direction.

Poor Mr. Wilson (who is rapidly nearing his turn at joining the centenarian club) must be so tired of hearing that phrase though. He needs them to “go” a bit more quickly in the “right direction”.

Better still, he needs them to reach the right destination.

Could 2013 be the February we hear or read the words, “The Bills Win! The Bills Win!!! Buffalo has WON the SUPER BOWL!!!”

Probably not. But this Bills fan can dream …

by Greg

[From The Archive] I Want To Be God

Highlighting Articles from the GregsHead.net Archives!Posting an often lengthy entry per day here at GregsHead.net has been an enjoyable task, but also in ways a daunting one. I really have enjoyed it and the exercise has been good for my mental as well as emotional/spiritual health. I have enjoyed reconnecting with you, the reader. (But I’m sure my extra twenty-five thousand words per month are a good chunk for you to add to your reading list, too.)

As I’ve been tidying up my blog—adding features, rearranging things—I have also come across some things written a year or two—or seven—ago that have been a joy to rediscover. Whether inspired afresh by a poignant thought, or had a heart made light by a big laugh, reliving the memories and emotions that were present at the time I wrote those words down has been very enjoyable.

I’ve mentioned a time or two that a nifty tool for drilling down through previously published content on this website is the Related Posts section right at the end of every post. What is extra useful about this tool is that the content is similar to what you’ve just finished reading.

And, I’ve also mentioned that one of my intentions for the Facebook page for this blog (facebook.com/gregsheaddotnet) is to publish links to things previously published here: a journey through the archives. I will most likely continue to do that.

But a thought occurred to me today. What if I would have at least one “break” day per week where I post a link to a previously written article or entry that I think might still have some relevance, some value? Might that be a good way for me to have one day of rest from writing, but still have a “fresh” post here to read, not to mention that it’s a great way to dig through things already said that might be worth hearing again?

I think it just might be!

And thus is born a new series. Your first “From The Archive” post comes from August 25th, 2005. The title is I Want To Be God. By far the best part is, I really did find this quite “randomly” (just a few clicks, when I wasn’t even looking for a piece to repost) but it’s something I’ve been thinking about again, from several different angles.

Maybe God is trying to gently remind me of something? Probably. He’s so good at gentle. And reminding.

Maybe thinking to do this (reposting from the archives) is just the right gentle reminder he has in mind for you, too.

Enjoy. And relax.

You’re not God, either.       <-------click the link there to read the article From The Archive!

by Greg

Pacific Time Zone Night Owl

When we were spending our days and nights—mostly nights—making music for people, we kept rather late hours. Especially me, I’d say, but also our family as a whole, kids included.

This followed several years of campus ministry, which involved many late nights as well. (Our weekly meeting started at 9:45pm!)

I always joked that we lived on “west coast time”, though it wasn’t really much of a joke! Bedtime was usually after 1:00am; 9:00am was an early wake-up time!

And, for the most part that does continue today, even several years after our full-time touring days have ceased. Those who know us often have a good laugh about our later-than-most schedule.

You’d think this just means we are all “night people” rather than “morning people”. This might be true, except in the case of our sons Alex and Cameron. Maybe throw Emma in there, too. Those two or three can just pop right out of bed and be at 100% first thing in the morning, no matter how early that may be. The rest of us Campbells would likely fall more into the more-productive-at-night category. (Thus my writing often occurs after the hour of 11pm ET.)

Somehow, when I really want to, I have been able to exist on a morning person’s schedule. This past summer I was up most mornings in the 5 o’clock hour to get out for a 2-3 mile walk before the sun was able to roast me. And often on those days, the early start tricks me into feeling “more productive”—only because I technically am more productive (get more things done) since I worked more hours before lunch time!

So, it can be done… but lately…

I have been a Pacific Time Zone night owl!

Really. Since our family vacation week in October I haven’t gone to bed much before 2:00am. After we got home from our vacation, I stayed up very late most nights working on a home improvement project while Jen was in California—which also gave me a reason to stay up late, so I could talk with her after her days were over. Subsequently, I have a hard time rising much before eight o’clock in the morning!

The good thing is, I have never needed much sleep. I still don’t, even in my advanced age. 😉 But, I do need some sleep, so getting late starts to the day can put some extra pressure on. When I am working with other people (partners/fellow collaborators, or clients), they are often two or three hours into their days when I am just getting started. AND, when I am still in full-swing, they are winding down or completely gone.

My kids, though they sleep late, also sometimes suffer from my ultra-late-nightness. When I am up till 3 or 4am—and they are up at 8 or 9am—there’s a good chunk of time for them to get into mischief! And my then-later working schedule means dinners come a bit later, too, pushing into the evening and into bedtimes—even though our bedtimes are 9 and 10-10:30pm.

So I’ve got to try to adjust to my own time zone! I’m not very confident this is going to happen, but I figured maybe writing about it publicly … gives me a better shot?

I’ll have to find another time to read (at length) and write… maybe earlier mornings? (See, the problem with going with the reverse option—trying to be a “morning person”—is then I am tired on the other end of the day! So what to do?!)

For now, I am feeling like this is not working, so I think I’m going to try and shift to a sensible Pacific time zone schedule. Maybe a 10pm PT bedtime? It’s a start… since right now it’s closer to midnight.

If I could ever get adjusted to a true Eastern time zone schedule … well, that would be impressive! For now, I’m gonna stick to some smaller goals.

Drop the “night owl” part, but stay on the west coast.

So… good night!