Family

February 5, 2013

Point Your Kids in the Right Direction

The best thing a parent can spend on their child is time, not money. Time with a child is critical for children tend to pursue the goals they see modeled. The reason some parents don’t lead their child in the right direction is because the parents aren’t going that way themselves. Children tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps, even the footsteps thought to be covered up. Do your children mirror you?

Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost. Proverbs 22:6 MSG

Kids want to live up to expectations. If through my life I imply that the aim of adulthood is a big-screen television or an expensive car or an amusing hobby, guess what aim my children are likely to have?

Ask yourself, “I am passing along a goal that my child may pursue with more vigor than the pursuit Christ’s Kingdom?” If we want to raise our families to love and serve God, we have to be clear about our priorities. Like Joshua, we have to face up to those around us and say: “If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, them choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 NIV)

In the first scene of a Nancy comic, Nancy states, “Things will be different when I’m an adult. When I have kids of my own, I’m going to let them do whatever they want, whenever they want.” After a frame to reflect, Nancy completes her thought, “As long as they do it my way.” (John Maxwell, “What Children Owe Their Parents (and Themselves),” Preaching Today, Tape No. 140)

Okay, we can’t force our kids to turn out great! Every child has a free will and individual responsibility. But, as parents, we can shoulder faithfully our God-given responsibility to discipline and instruct our children.

Some years ago, the National Research Bureau, Inc. published a list of Ten Things for Which You as a Parent Will Never Be Sorry (Illustrations Unlimited, 1988, p. 395).

TEN GOOD THINGS:

For doing your level best even when discouraged.

For hearing before judging in family quarrels.

For thinking before speaking when emotionally upset.

For not harboring unkind thoughts of a talebearer.

For being generous to an enemy, perhaps the next door neighbor.

For stopping your ears to gossip over the fence.

For standing by your principles in dealing with your teenagers.

For asking pardon, when in error, even of your child.

For being square in business dealings with the newsboy.

For accepting the stewardship of “another” child.

February 5, 2013

Connect With Kids So Kids Can Safely Connect

Abraham was chosen to be a blessing to the whole earth, but his calling began in a simple way. Abraham was charged by God to lead “by parental authority as well as by personal example” (The Pulpit Commentary: Genesis, p. 246). Abraham was called to teach his own household, who again would hand down the truth to their households. Abraham’s being a blessing to the world depended on his being a blessing to his own home.

“For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” Genesis 18:19 NASB

COMMAND = to “command,” “order,” “direct,” “instruct” his children.

One BIG reason God chose Abraham to bless the whole world was the fact that Abraham would instruct his children. As parents, we can not afford to shirk our duty to train our children. Christian Parenting Today (Jan/Feb 2000) shared a story that made me laugh:

While listening to the song “Train Up a Child,” my daughter Emily asked me what “train up” means. I explained that it means to teach children about God and the difference between right and wrong.

“Are you and Daddy training me up?” she asked.

“We’re trying to,” I said.

Emily turned back to the stereo and muttered, “We’ll see about that.”

One area where adolescents need parental insight is social media. Even if you think your kids know more than you about “all that internet stuff” – you are still called by God to be a PARENT! We must connect with our kids so that our kids can safely connect online.

Two years ago my daughter Kimberlyn agonized over some of the information she encountered via social media. Her concern prompted a research paper for English class and ultimately resulted in an open letter which was published in the January 2011 Ignite magazine. I thought the message needed to be highlighted once again.

An Open Letter to My Parents By Kimberlyn Simon

Mom and Dad, I feel pressure to connect to social networking – most kids my age are active online and I don’t want to be left out. Actually, I really enjoy getting online, reading the posts from friends, and catching up with what’s going on in my world. But, Mom and Dad, some of what’s happening is scary. Most of the discussion happening online is silly or nonsensical or normal. However, I think some of it is unhealthy and some of it is very dangerous.

Without any hesitation and with little thought, millions of teens daily use social networking to greet friends, to get information, and to post status updates. Teens are in jeopardy because they exercise little caution with the precious particulars posted on social networking sites. Vast numbers post personal info without even considering the vulnerability such honesty exposes, and many teens are ignorantly accepting harmful advice.

Please, keep on talking to me. I recently did a research paper on the dangers of social networking and I discovered some astonishing facts. Mom and Dad, did you know that forty percent of teens tell almost nothing to their parents about what all they do online? Keep on asking me what I am doing online. Thank you for not just asking but looking to see what I am posting. Thanks for reading what I am posting!

I go to worship services every week, pay attention in youth meetings, and attend a Christian school. Online, I am friends with lots of kids who go to church. I really don’t think that some of their parents are keeping up with what is happening. Some of the profile pictures I see from kids are dark, as if they are crying out for help. Some the status updates I read really shock me because I have never heard my friends use that language in person. I have friends who use cuss words in their status updates. Online teenagers seem to be free to complain, to rebel, to curse, and even to take God’s Name in vain.

I read posts from lots of people. Most are real friends, not just people I have friend-ed on facebook. But there are posts discussing disgusting material. Abuse has twisted social media into something that puts real dangers in the short reach of teenagers like me. You are my parents. I am reassured to think you are pleasing God when you train me. Thanks for doing your job. Guide me. Help me filter out the junk and hold on the good.

Sometimes I struggle to sort out the large amount of information available online. There is lots of healthy advice, but some groups actually encourage destructive behavior like anorexia, cutting, and even suicide. Social networking might be helpful, for some, but discussing suicide via social sites keeps destructive thoughts fresh in the minds of young people. Teens debate reasons for suicide and even exchange information on how to do it.

Insecure teens are especially vulnerable to networking sites that reinforce negative self-image. Some teens struggling with thoughts about the inadequacies of their own body, visit pro-anorexic sites to somehow be accepted and understood, but instead discover how to adopt and to hide this life-killing lifestyle. Some sites display pictures of deathly-skinny girls and extol this unhealthy image as the ideal.

Social networking supplies a lot of helpful communication; but, some groups do not give wise counsel. I learned from my research that social networking also puts me at higher risk for burglary, identity theft, pedophilia, and unhealthy exposure to pornography and gambling. The potential for harm is real.

Mom and Dad, I am so fortunate that you are my parents. Social networking can be a helpful thing but I seriously profit from your honest maturity and practiced wisdom. I want to exercise critical thinking skills but I benefit from your watchful adult supervision. Mom and Dad, I don’t want my friends to be hurt and I don’t want to be in danger. Thanks for talking to me. Thanks for looking at what I am posting. Thanks for praying for me. Thank you for connecting with me so that I can safely connect online.

February 1, 2013

Don’t Mess With Me; My Angel Is Right Here!

During the 1970’s, as my family lived as missionaries in Uganda, East Africa, we experienced God’s supernatural protection. Frequently during three years under the cruel dictatorship of Idi Amin, the Lord supernaturally protected us. The house in to which we moved in Fort Portal was 200 miles away from our nearest American neighbor, but God showed Himself to be very near. I have many great memories from those years in East Africa. Below is a picture of me, my brother Barry with glasses, and Dad standing in front of Toyota Land Rover we used for so many tasks. To the right is Dad with a warthog that would soon become good eating!

One memorable episode from those years, involved my Dad trying to establish a work with a pigmy tribe not too far from where we lived. This particular tribe stayed high on a weed similar to marijuana and had dangerous mood swings. As Dad was learning the language, he became accustomed to leaving before the tribe would become violent. Unfortunately, on one visit Dad and another missionary were unable to leave in time. The tribe demanded an exorbitant payment or else they would kill them. Dad knew he was a goner! The tribe circled around them, not letting them return to their Land Rover. At that moment, a tall very-dark-skinned man dressed in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, and black polished dress shoes stepped out of the jungle and walked over to them. The tall man spoke to Dad in cultured British English, “Sirs, what is your problem?”

Frantically, Dad described that they were about to die because they did not have money to pay. “No problem,” the man said as he turned and began speaking to tribe in a dialect Dad didn’t understand. The tall man turned back and said, “Sirs, you may now go.”

Dad raced for the Land Rover. As they jumped in and started down the trail, the tall black man turned, walked into the jungle and disappeared. Later, Dad realized the man HAD to be an angel. This was the jungle! People do not wear suits in the jungle! Even if they did, shoes would not remain polished. He spoke English and the pigmy dialect fluently. Dad would later say, “I don’t know what the pigmies saw, but it obviously wasn’t the same thing I saw! If so, they would have killed him along with us. I am just thankful that my black angel was with us on that day.”

Many years after this incident, Dad maintained an uncommon degree of courage, even in the face of arduous challenges. Sporadically Dad would testify, “Don’t mess with me. My black angel is right here with me!”

Angels still guard today. We can walk and live in peace knowing that God has His angels watching us. Angels, as God’s servants, guard and deliver. The Lord surrounds us with His security force. Scripture reveals God’s care 100% of the time. Protective angels have been charged with our personal care. Are we assigned a personal guardian angel? I believe so!

When Peter was miraculously released from Herod’s jail and stood knocking at Mary’s door, the disciples praying inside did not believe that Peter was knocking – “It must be his angel.” (Acts 12:15 NIV) Apparently, the early disciples accepted that Peter had an angel charged to keep him. Jesus warns His listeners to “not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10 NIV) I think it’s proper to see personal guardian angels in the wording “their angels”. Oral Roberts assures, “Every child has a personal guardian angel. This means a great deal to those of us who have children and grandchildren.” (The Angels that Help Us, 1980, p. 7) My Dad accepted he had a personal angel and drew great courage from that fact.

The angelic protective covering might be more appropriately compared to a zone defense, than to a man-to-man defense. Angel-to-man or zone? Conceivably, two accounts in Acts chapter 5 and 12 suggest a prison-zone defense! Ultimately, I don’t have to know for certain. The way in which God chooses to protect us is up to Him. I’ll trust the Lord’s supervision.

Before the people of Israel entered their promised land, God promised to send His angel to prepare the way. “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I’ve prepared.” (Exodus 23:20 NIV) Two angelic responsibilities are mentioned:

to guard and
to bring to the place that God had prepared.

God assigns angels to do the same thing today. We have proof of God’s angelic protection in the past. The Lord sent an angel to protect Dad, to deliver Peter and Paul, to rescue Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the Lord can do the same today. Believers’ bodyguards are on assignment.

I wonder – did God reassign Dad’s angel to me? I think he might be here in my office with me, so don’t mess with me!

January 29, 2013

ANGEL Secret Service 007

Angels are God’s servants, engaged in special service.

Father God utilizes angels as His supernatural servants within human history. We do not have to be anxious about their angelic jobs and responsibilities because they are under our Father’s orders. Evangelist Billy Graham encapsulates their ambition, “They [angels] are motivated by an inexhaustible love for God and are jealous to see that the will of God in Jesus Christ is fulfilled in us.” (1975, p. 88-89.) Graham appropriately titled his book– Angels: God’s Secret Agents.

Secret agents? I like that imagery. Throughout my life, I have been fascinated by spy stories and clandestine operations. When I sleep, I often dream of being a spy. Actually, the only dreams I ever seem to remember are “spiritual” dreams in which God is trying to speak to me and spy dreams. Perhaps that explains why I enjoyed working as undercover security for a department store before I joined the staff of Valley Fellowship. Maybe it also sheds light on why I value pictures of my daughter as a superhero.

Hebrews 1:14 NIV rhetorically solicits, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” The writer assumes readers will answer: “Yes”!

The word “ministering” is the English translation of the Greek word leitourgikos which carries the idea of being “engaged in special service.” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 591) The Greek word is more closely akin to worship or cultic service, actions of a “liturgy”. Even our English word “liturgy” finds its roots in the Greek roots of this word. Hebrews 9:21 and 10:11 apply a form of this word to the ministry of OT priests. Hebrews 8:2, 6 relates it to Christ’s priesthood. Hebrews 12:22 mentions myriads of angels in festive gathering. I realize the responsibility of angelic worship is important, but the first chapter of Hebrews highlights:

the role of angels in ministering to Jesus Christ (1:7) AND
the ministering spirits’ role specifically for believers (1:14).

Heavenly angels are tasked by our Heaven Father to be “engaged in special service.” I still find myself fixating on that thought – “special service”. When I finish posting, I’m going to youtube Johnny River’s 1966 hit “Secret Agent Man”. Okay, now my mind is flooded with spy movie scenes from 007 flicks, Bourne series, Mission Impossible, Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Cars 2, and more!

Angels surround us in a generally unseen spiritual realm; that’s cloak-and-dagger stuff. Undercover activity by humans isn’t always good. Thugs covertly employed liars to accuse full-of-God’s-grace-and-power Stephen in Acts chapter 6. Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament says the verb “secretly induced” (Acts 6:11 NASB) includes the idea “to employ a secret agent in one’s place.” While fallen angels, demons, also may secretly plot like Stephen’s opponents, Heavenly angels are under our Heavenly Father’s orders to work for God’s interests, our best interests! We should not be fearful; God’s secret service is on assignment for Him.

The mention of personal angelic assistance by the writer of Hebrews (1:14) must have brought encouragement and comfort to those early believers who were facing severe persecution. Doesn’t the thought of an angelic secret service encourage you?

January 25, 2013

“THE CLAW!” I Have Been Chosen

“I have been chosen!” The three-eyed green aliens in Toy Story wanted so badly to be chosen. If you saw Toy Story, you certainly remember The Claw! Our family enjoyed all of the Toy Story franchise. We laughed and cheered the dramatic rescue by The Claw and the aliens in Toy Story 3.

“To be chosen” is a great feeling. Do you remember how you felt as an elementary student when you were picked as teams were divided? Do you recall the sensation of knowing someone liked you as a teenager? How about the excitement of being picked for that first real job? All of those events evaporate in the significance of being chosen by God.

We have been chosen – chosen to be adopted by God, chosen to be co-laborers with God, chosen to be blessed by God, chosen to declare His praise and give Him glory.

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. (Colossians 3:12a CEV)
But you are a chosen people. (1 Peter 2:9a NIV)
We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. (1 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT)
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT)
God also decided ahead of time to choose us through Christ according to his plan, which makes everything work the way he intends. He planned all of this so that we who had already focused our hope on Christ would praise him and give him glory. (Ephesians 1:11-12 GWT)

A scene near the end of the original Toy Story shows crestfallen Buzz Lightyear pessimistically confessing, “I’m just a toy. A stupid little insignificant toy.”

Woody earnestly disagrees, “Whoa, hey, wait a minute. Being a toy is a lot better than being a Space Ranger.” Buzz sardonically challenges him, but Woody continues, “No, it is. Look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it’s not because you’re a Space Ranger, pal, it’s because you’re a toy! You are his toy.”

We have been chosen! Not by fat or by chance or by The Claw, but we were chosen by God. We are much more than just a toy to our Heavenly Father. We enjoyed the full benefits of adoption into heaven’s family. That makes us special. We are His!

January 23, 2013

What My Mother Taught Me

My mom celebrated her 70th birthday at the end of last year. I am so honored to have been her son and for Patti and me to have been able to work alongside of her for so many years.

Someone emailed me “What My Mother Taught Me”in early 2000. I don’t know who originally wrote it, but I find myself laughing at it.

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside – I just finished cleaning!”

My mother taught me INTERCESSION: “You better pray that this stain comes out of the carpet.”

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

My mother taught me LOGIC: “Because I said so, that’s why.”

My mother taught me FORESIGHT: “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

My mother taught me IRONY: “Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

My mother taught me about GOODWILL: “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who wish they have what you do!”
My mother taught me about OSMOSIS: “Shut your mouth and eat your supper!”

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: “Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck?!?”

My mother taught me about STAMINA: “You’ll sit there until all those peas are finished.”

My mother taught me about WEATHER: “It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.”

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS: “If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen then?”

My mother taught me about EXAGGERATION: “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times!”

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: “Stop acting like Jerry!” (my dad)

January 21, 2013

What Is Your Greatest Achievement?

What do you want people to say about you when you are no longer on earth?

Today, many folks will gather at Spry Funeral Home in Huntsville to remember Margaret Frances Frederick. I had the privilege of being her pastor for about nine years. Miss Margaret was an extremely-positive lover of people. She openly showed concern for her family, church, friends, and privately demonstrated compassion with prayer, cards, and gifts. Few knew of her creation, involvement and leadership with Valley’s “Sunshine Girls” (a anonymous group that focused on acts of kindness). Over the past several days, I have heard hundreds of stories about Miss Margaret that honored her memory. I expect that I will hear many more.

Today, Monday, January 21, is also a national holiday in the United States in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. He grappled with answering the question “what do you want people to say about you when you are no longer on earth?” Not too long before he was killed, King shared at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. (William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, p. 53)

My dad once commented, “When I die, I hope that someone will say, ‘He made a difference’.” Following his death, many people testified to that fact. My mom honored Dad by putting a footplate on his grave – “J.G.S. He Made A Difference”.

About a thousand years after King David’s death, Paul uses David’s achievement as a sermon illustration to people in in Pisidian Antioch: “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” (Acts 13:36a NIV) What do you want people to say about you when you are no longer on earth?

January 6, 2013

WWJD – Live as Jesus Did

My daughters usually read for themselves now, but when they were younger they begged for Patti and I to read to them. One book that Rozy and Kimberlyn particularly enjoyed was a children’s version of Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps. The story of Clarie and Bill’s adventures set in the days of the old west captured Rozy and Kimberlyn’s imagination. Page after page, my daughters pondered, “What would Jesus do?” and the book opened the door for lots of good discussions about living for Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the model for EVERY aspect of life. Consider a few passages that highlight the example of Jesus Christ.

“Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6 NIV
“Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” Romans 15:7 NLT
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25 NIV
“Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.” Colossians 3:13 CEV
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21 NLT

How does “live as Jesus did” live out in the real world? What does it mean for me to live like Jesus? How do I “bear the stamp of Christ” (1 John 2:6 PHILLIPS) in every aspect of life?

What would Jesus do? WWJD armbands were hugely popular in the 90’s. That is not a bad question to ask, but author Dallas Willard suggests we add, “WWJD . . . if He were me?” How do I model Christ behavior as a husband, a dad, a pastor? How do I live like Jesus in my office, my entertainment, my attitudes, my relationships, my ministry?

I think the Apostle Paul’s mission statement for life is: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NASB). Paul lifts up Jesus as the model and urges, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB). My standard of comparison should never be people. I must judge myself not by other peoples’ lives, but by Jesus Christ’s life. Wayne Grudem unveils the purpose for this imitation of Christ:

“Our imitation of Christ should not be thought of as a mere mimicking of Jesus’ actions, however. The far deeper purpose is that in imitating him we are becoming more and more like him: when we act like Christ we become like Christ. We grow up to maturity in Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15) as we are ‘being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another’ (2 Cor. 3:18). The final result is that we shall become perfectly like Christ, for God has predestined us ‘to be conformed to the image of his Son’ (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49), and ‘when he appears, we shall be like him’ (1 John 3:2). When this happens, Christ will be fully glorified in us (2 Thess. 1:10–12; John 17:10).” (Systematic Theology, p. 846.)

January 2, 2013

Patti’s Christmas Letter 2012

My wife Patti wrote a Christmas letter that I thought pretty well summarized our2012 year. Here it is:

Dear Family and Friends,

We experienced a 2012 filled with God’s goodness, answered prayer, some tension and lots of rejoicing. Greg and I celebrated 25 wonderful years of marriage and 24 years of ministry at Valley Fellowship Church (VFC). I love Greg’s preaching and you can listen to many of his passionate sermons at valleyfellowship.com. Greg has moved into the techno-world; follow Greg’s twitter @GregLovesPatti. I greatly enjoyed teaching Bible studies for ladies and mentoring high school student leaders. I serve as VFC missions pastor, Valley Fellowship Christian Academy (VFCA) administrator, and as an ICAA/SACS representative, spurring academic and spiritual improvement in Christian schools through the accreditation process.

Rozy, an Oral Roberts University junior, is only one semester from student teaching. She joyfully serves as a student chaplain and directs an ORU student prayer movement team. Kimberlyn is a high school junior at VFCA. She plays basketball, heads the youth worship band, prays as a student leader with the Children’s Prayer Network, and spends countless hours playing guitar – her passion.

Our family experienced God’s healing power in multiple ways. On July 7^th, God spared Kimberlyn from serious injury when she crashed a four-wheeler off an Idaho mountain trail. The emergency room visit uncovered a bone tumor on her right shoulder blade. After months of uncertainty, countless tests, multiple trips to St. Jude’s in Memphis, and successful surgery in September, we greatly rejoice the tumor was benign. I felt the flood of God’s grace resulting from the prayers of so many people. Prayer and God’s promises carried us through. Praise the Lord!

In November, Kimberlyn and I enjoyed a tremendous Guatemalan mission trip, and our whole family is preparing eagerly for a 2013 summer mission trip to Tanzania. We anticipate God’s move in 2013 in our family, our ministry, and our nation. Our world appears in turmoil, but He’s got the whole world in His hands, hands able to hold all of us together too. We pray that you and your family will be blessed, healed, and filled with expectancy for God’s presence.

Expecting Miracles in Your Life,

Patti Simon and the Simon Family

January 1, 2013

I Was In Over My Head

My mom cooked; I ate and sometimes cleaned up. That was the extent of my expertise. But Gilbert High, the small rural public school in northeast Louisiana from which I graduated (and which no longer exists), required every male senior to take a session of Home Economics before graduation. I was in deep. It wasn’t the first time, wasn’t the last, but it’s one imprinted in my memory.

Right now, I don’t recall the name of that teacher, and I’m not sure Mrs. HomeEc expected much from us as we stepped into her kitchen classroom, but her southern drawl made it clear – we WERE going to learn to make biscuits. I’m not sure she enjoyed our company, but she figured even a male should know how to make biscuits for breakfast. I don’t recall how many days she spent reviewing the process, helping us mix ingredients, lighting up the ovens, and examining our results, but I do remember she wanted us to know how to make biscuits. And with each day, I gained a sense of confidence as I ate biscuits that I had a hand in making.

My “attempts” included a lot of her hands in the job. She never just watched from the side. She corrected my measuring, my stirring, my rolling, even my stance. She could have done the job much more quickly. She could have made much better biscuits, but she involved me in the process. I did become more comfortable in the kitchen – maybe that’s what she intended.

Today, I can make biscuits without an instructor grabbing the rolling pin from my hands, but I cannot make life work without connection to God. To have a great 2013, I need God’s hands in my life everyday. Many years ago, mathematician and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal suggested Heavenly Father allows His child to cooperate with Him in Kingdom work to give us the dignity of causality, the feeling of being the cause that produces effect.

Jesus Christ made it clear I cannot accomplish anything apart from Him (John 15:5). I am mistaken every time I attempt something while letting God just watch. In Deepening Your Conversation with God, author and pastor Ben Patterson highlights this faulty omission with a story from a baseball legend:

Great baseball catcher Yogi Berra played a game in which the score was tied with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The batter from the opposing team stepped into the batting box and made the sign of the cross on home plate with his bat. Berra was a Catholic, too, but he wiped out the plate with his glove and said to the pious batter, “Why don’t we let God just watch this game?”

That is good theology when applied to the outcome of a baseball game. It’s terrible theology when applied to the way we live our lives and carry out the work of the church . . . But too often that is precisely the outlook we bring to our vocation as Christian elders, deacons, and pastors. God attends the game, but only as an honored spectator. Our prayers are merely ceremonial functions, like asking the President of the United States to throw out the first baseball at the beginning of baseball season, they are tips of the hat, verbal recognition over the loudspeaker between innings. He may even be in the dugout, but he rarely, if ever, gets on the playing field.

Heavenly Father isn’t content with a good seat in the stands; He wants His hands touching every work of our lives. Through the years, I have given up on biscuits from scratch (store-prepared taste great), but I remember that strong sense of satisfaction from eating biscuits I made by hand. Somehow I learned to make breakfast. I can whip up a good omelet and have my own secret ingredient (pulled from Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking). This morning, I prepared pancakes, bacon, eggs, and even made Patti some pretty good cream of wheat! But every time I start to cook, I feel in over my head.

I was certainly deeply in over my head when I became a pastor. I was a very young 27 when I stepped into role of senior pastor. As a young pastor, I said and did more than a few things I wish I hadn’t. I was in over my head, but God’s grace kept me. I am still walking the path, and I am expecting God for growth. Actually, as a 46-year-old pastor, I am still in over my head. Apart from Jesus, I will accomplish nothing. That’s a lesson I should never forget.