Heroes Then and Now

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., Day we are reminded that heroes come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Dr. King fought for the very rights endowed by God upon every human. He gave his life fighting for others. 76-year old, Dory Stoddard gave his life protecting others in the Arizona shooting last weekend.

The retired construction worker used his body to protect his wife, Mavy from the gunfire of a madman in the mass shooting that took place outside a Tuscon grocery store. His pastor remembered his life during a memorial service today:

"Dory Stoddard … didn't die a hero, he lived a hero," his pastor Mike Nowak told several hundred mourners gathered for a memorial service at the Calvary Chapel in northeast Tucson.

"He completed his heroic act of kindness one final time with his wife, Mavy," Nowak added.

Mavy was among the 13 victims who survived the shooting that claimed six lives. Dory Stoddard didn't plan on being a human shield. However, like all heroes, he simply put others ahead of himself and acted with all the maternal instincts of a lioness putting her life on the line for her cubs. He did exactly what the Apostle Paul admonished all husbands to do in Ephesians5. And that is to live sacrificial lives that puts our wives ahead of us as Jesus did the church. Dory Stoddard gave his life so others could live. Rest in Jesus Mr. Stoddard, rest in Jesus!

Stay With the Herd

Stay with this entire video! See what happens when this baby water buffalo faces lions and crocodiles! 21 men from our church are gathered at a state park this weekend for their annual winter retreat. Last night after viewing this video we were reminded by retreat leader, Pastor Ken Forester the importance of staying with the herd! The herd provides encouragement, accountability, help, and strength for facing the Enemy. Who's in your herd? Are you trying to go it alone? Scripture says the Enemy prowls like a lion waiting to devour Christ followers. Don't be fooled, there's no Long Ranger's in Jesus' model for His followers. We need the herd.

Winter Storm

Yep that's nearly 6" of snow in my front yard and some places near us are reporting up to 9"!

Life and "routine" will be disrupted this week and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are things within our control and things beyond. Weather is beyond and reminds us we aren't in charge. Time to renew, refresh, read, relax, write and refocus.

Talk, Argue, Second-guess & Debate Later!

(Picture of mourners gathered in AZ holding hands after the fatal shooting)

Before we start jumping to conclusions based on rumor, supposition, innuendo and a lot of misinformation about the Arizona shooting tragedy let's focus on what we know. Let's pull the soapboxes out from under the political media pundits (from both major parties) and agree to discuss and debate vitriolic political rhetoric, access to handguns, unstable people and the rest of it at a later date. None of that matters right now. Right now we need to pray. We need to pray for:

• The victims of the Arizona shooting who are battling for their lives.
  
• The families of those who were killed at the hands of an unstable person.
  
• First responders, leaders and citizens of Pima County, Arizona.
  
• All of our elected officials (local, state and national) and their families.
  
• The alleged shooter who is obviously deeply troubled and his family.
• Leaders to lead with wisdom and discernment and that reason will prevail.
  

A friend shared a recent post from Pastor Mark Batterson's blog that contained a blessing (based on Deuteronomy 33) for the new year from a pastor (Joel Schmidgall) at his church. I think its worth repeating. After praying for the above concerns maybe those of us who follow Christ might consider this blessing as a covenant for 2011:

May you be full of life and good health. May you be surrounded by authentic friends. May you find strength in the Lord when others tear you down. May you live by the covenant God has given and hold his Word dear to your heart. May God bless the talent He has given to you, that it would be realized in full potential for His purposes. May you find rest and peace in the midst of God’s presence. May this be a year of abundant provision for your every need. May God give you resolve and persistence to overcome for His good purposes. May you live in thankfulness and lead others into righteousness. May God give you the courage to speak grace and truth. May you grow into the place of leadership God has destined for you. May the favor of the Lord drench the fullness of your life. May you trust the living God to guide & protect you. May you continue to live with the knowledge of your salvation. God is your protector and helper in all times. May you experience the fullness of God’s destined blessing this coming year. Amen.

Getting A Degree, Now There's a Concept!

Kudos to Stanford's big time quarterback Andrew Luck who has decided to remain in college for his redshirt junior year and finish his degree. "I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012," Luck said in a statement released by the California school.

Luck's father, Oliver Luck is a former NFL quarterback and the AD at West Virginia. He noted that his son did not postpone entering the draft because of the current contract negotiations with the NFLPA and the NFL:

"This is a win-win for him. He gets to spend another year at Stanford, be part of team that will be highly ranked again next year, finish his degree and enjoy Palo Alto.....It's not like the NFL is going anywhere, it's one of the best run leagues in the world. It will still be there when he graduates."

It may be old fashioned in this day and age of one and done college b-ball players and football players who simply use college ball for a couple of years just to increase their NFL draft prospects and signing bonus, but it's certainly refreshing. You gotta love his father's take on his son: "Call him old school," Oliver Luck said. "He comes from a faction of people who believe you go to college to pursue your degree."

Going to college to get your degree, now there's a concept! I know a lot of kids leave early to provide for their families and avoid a career ending injury. I get that. But for those of us who really do believe that NCAA commercial line: "There are over 380,000 NCAA student athletes, and most of us will go pro in something other than sports" it's refreshing.

Good luck Mr. Luck and since I don't have a dog in the PAC-10 dogfight I'm going to cheer for you in 2011 as long as you aren't playing and SEC team, or Clemson.

50 Is BIG Business

Just before Thanksgiving I hit the big 49. I've never made a big deal about age. In fact, I've always been pretty content with my age, except for childhood when we all wanted to "grow up".

I was doing just fine in the early part of my 49th year until two, separate, but strangely connected things happened. The first was opening the cabinet where we keep our pills and vitamins to discover a bottle of "Centrum Silver". I thought it was one left by my parents when they were visiting, but later learned that my wife had actually bought it for us because she got a good deal on it. Good deal????? I just wasn't prepared to find a bottle of Centrum Silver vitamins waiting for my personal consumption at age 49. It clearly states on the bottle that it is a vitamin for people 50+! I am not 50, yet! Taking it at 50 and above is just fine, but not BEFORE 50! This really tore me up. This from a guy who never gets upset when people older than my youngest child refer to me as "sir", "mister", or "that older guy". Yet, this silver bottle pushed me into a world where I wasn't chronologically cleared to fly yet. I refer to this day as "Centrum Silver Day".

The same day (Centrum Silver Day) I came home and started combing through the mail. I was expecting a letter. However, I wasn't expecting a letter of welcome with a membership card and dues invoice from AARP! Convinced it was a conspiracy to plague and oppress 49-year old's, I promptly sent the entire envelope and its contents to the shredder. Imagine trying to register someone for a retirement organization well before they are even in the decade of legal retirement? Yes, I know they started lowering their membership eligibility age years ago in an effort to include more people and increase their bottomline. Translation? More cash on hand for AARP. The card/letter even stated that I could begin using the membership card upon turning 50. Ha, ha, bet they wouldn't sit on the payment until my 50th birthday!

I thought the matter was settled until last week when yet another AARP kit arrived. Are you kidding me? I have no doubt that 10,000 Boomers turning 65 every day for the next 19 years is just too much to wait for at AARP headquarters when the eligibility age for membership is now down to 50. Think about all those dues. If you take half the Boomer population (35m) and multiply it by the $16 AARP annual dues that's more than $560 million! Pretty soon they will be offering them to everyone who has a child in grade school, or a silver car, or people who still use snail mail. 50 is indeed BIG business. For more insight into the affects of Boomer retirement see Ellen Goodman's recent article on the subject.

Wonder how long it's going to take AARP to send me another kit since I shredded the second one?

Happy at 49 and looking forward to 50, if God is willing!

2010 Religion Stories of the Year

Click the link below to review and see the top 10 religious news stories of the year according to the RNA (Religious Newswriters Association)

2010 Religion Stories of the Year]