The Christmas Story

I saw this little video yesterday at church. I don't know who the author of it is, but it is such a neat presentation of the story of Christmas I wanted to share it with you.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King.

Confessions Of Dad

Harry Chapin wrote a song back in the 70's called "Cat's In The Cradle".  It always got me choked up, but now looking back on my years as a father it pulls on my heart's strings even more.  Take a look at the lyrics to this song:

My child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way

But there were planes to catch and bills to pay

He learned to walk while I was away

And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew

He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad

You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home dad?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day

He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play

Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today

I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"

And he walked away but his smile never dimmed

And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah

You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day

So much like a man I just had to say

"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"

He shook his head and said with a smile

"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys

See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"

He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time

You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu

But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad

It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me

He'd grown up just like me

My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man on the moon

When you comin' home son?

I don't know when, but we'll get together then son

You know we'll have a good time then.

I'm not disappointed with my years as a father, I feel as if I have done a fairly good job instructing my kids and being there for them, supporting and providing for their needs.  And yet at times I still wonder if I'm doing alright by them.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not coming from a place of sadness or regret, just asking myself those hard questions that help a person to grow.

I told a man just last night that the best advice I could give him on being a good father is to repent often when  you make a mistake, and own up to your mistakes with your kids.  I've often been amazed at how many men think their children are just stupid by trying to cover up their mistakes instead of just asking their children to forgive them when they happen, (and they do happen more often than I would like to admit).  I may not have always done everything right with my kids, but this one thing I did, and I feel it has made my kids better because of it.

As Christmas season comes at us full bore, it can be easy to take things out on your kids, try to not let that happen, but when it does (and it will) be quick to repent and to forgive, and show your kids the way a real man handles the stress.  You can do this, there is greatness in you just waiting to come forth.  For the Kingdom and the King!

Me And My Merry Band Of Misfits

This is one of my favorite images from The Lord of the Rings movies.  I love it because it is a picture of my life so to speak.  An interesting group of different individuals traveling a path together towards a common goal.

Several years ago, I began to put together a group of men who I felt could help me in my journey with the Lord, and in return I could offer my strength to their lives as well.  The invitation went out to ten men, asking them to join, and six accepted.  Since then, we've added one more to our merry band of misfits as we've continued on our lives together.

One of the things that I so love about this picture is the fact that each one these characters who are pictured are not all the same.  There is a wizard, two men, a dwarf, an elf and four hobbits.  Each one bringing a different something to the table through their personalities, viewpoints, appetites, etc.  And that is what I looked for when inviting men into my life.  A good friend of mine has said numerous times, "If two of you are just alike, then one of you is not needed."  How true, that is what we need in our lives, others who perhaps think differently than ourselves and will tell us the truth.

Every man needs a group of friends to hold him accountable, tell him the truth (even when he doesn't want to hear it) and to be there for him in times of trouble.  I was thinking about Jesus, even He had a group surrounding Him while He was here on the earth.  And before you go all spiritual on me, yes He was making disciples out of those men, but I believe that He also needed men around Him for companionship and camaraderie too.  Even the best can't do this alone.

I want to share a short glimpse into my life from a dark day where I was glad to have my band of brothers with me.  The day of my youngest son's funeral, at the grave-site, I had drank too much water and really had to pee.  The only problem was there were no facilities anywhere close and wouldn't be for close to thirty minutes.  Unfortunately my bladder was not going to wait, so spotting a mound of dirt a couple of hundred feet from the grave I motioned for my buddies to come to me.  Explaining the situation, I asked them to form a shield around me so that I could relieve myself.

With their backs to me, I let nature take its course and after what seemed to be at least five minutes was able to return to the group of people standing around.  Everyone there thought that I had called my buddies to console me, none of them knowing what the real purpose was until later.  Each of those guys told me afterwards that they hadn't signed up to do that, and to expect their letters of resignation from the group.  And I look back on that with a grin now.

Seriously, each of those men were there for me in my family's time of need, and I love each one of them.  Do we all like the same things?  No, but we are there for each other when needed, and I would not want to walk this path alone.  It's awesome to have men like this in my life, and it is something that we all need, we just have to go out and develop it,because it won't come on its own no matter how bad we want it to.

If you are walking alone right now, let me suggest that you find men around you that you would like to get to know, pray and ask Jesus to show you these men and then invite them to lunch and get to know them.  Then take a little time, invest in their lives and watch what happens.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King.

Oh, and if you'd like more information, email me: godsfirstknight@yahoo.com

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...Is It Really?

With less than one week til Christmas, I've been thinking about the state of things in the world, and have come to the conclusion that if this is in fact the most wonderful time of the year, then why are so many people stressed?   It must be all the hype to make this the best Christmas ever.  Like Clark Griswold in the movie Christmas Vacation, people across the United States are setting themselves up for failure this Christmas.  What I mean is that instead of taking things the way they come  and enjoying them, we build up in our minds how we think Christmas should be, and in doing so make it impossible to achieve.

I know that for myself there have been many, many times when I tried for the "perfect Christmas" too.  I just mucked it up and by the end of the season seemed to be more upset with those around me than I should have been.  I'm sure we've all done that too.

What we should be doing I think is enjoying what time we have with friends and family, not focusing on gifts and how much money we spent.  Which unfortunately seems to be the gauge by which people view whether or not their Christmas is a good one or not.

What happened to the meaning of Christmas?  You know the birth of the Savior of mankind?  That little manger scene that we all had somewhere in our homes years ago during Christmas time which depicted the birth of Jesus?  Yeah, I know that it is not a true representation of what happened, but it is a simple image for us to help remember what happened all those years ago.

I don't want to come across as a Scrooge or anything, but it seems that in the pursuit of having that "perfect" Christmas if we are not careful we could miss the entire meaning of the season.

Remember the reason that Jesus came was so that we could come back into relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Relationship was the goal, and still is.  God wants to have a relationship with us more than anything, and that should be our goal this holiday season too.  To rekindle those relationships with the ones we love.  To make time to enjoy each other and not stress over whether or not the sweater is the right size or color.  It's about people with God and we need to make that our priority as well.

So as you're celebrating this Christmas season, remember to think about why we celebrate Christmas, and then enjoy your time with family and friends regardless of how crazy they might be.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Father Knows Best

I like Facebook.  There I've said it, I've admitted it for all to see.  I enjoy the social networking it provides, and I have re-connected with many, many people I had lost touch with over the years.  Plus it is a good way to know what my children are up to, and where they are.  And that is what brings me to my thought today.  As I was perusing Facebook this morning, I happened upon a picture posted by a young lady who I have known since she was born, and what I saw actually shocked me a bit.

Lately I have noticed something which causes me concern, and it's the amount of skin which young ladies (seemingly younger and younger each day too) show in pictures of themselves.  It's as if they are trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame or something, and believe that in order for that to happen they need to flash a little skin.  Now I will admit that I am an old fashioned kind of man, who thinks that a woman's body should only be seen by her husband, and not the entire world.  We used to have a name for girls who did that when I was in school, and it wasn't a nice one.

As the father of a beautiful daughter, I am constantly aware of the way in which she handles herself around others, and the way that she dresses too.  I am a blessed man because she chooses to not dress provocatively, and really is a very modest young lady when it comes to the clothes she chooses.  But many, many girls are not this way and I often wonder why.

A while back I had the opportunity to meet a great young couple named Matt and Alyssa Shull, who wanted to interview my son Micah for their television show Skunks TV.  Afterwards we became friends on Facebook, and every so often I would read something that one or both of them would post there.  Alyssa wrote an article called "Cleavage, Bikinis & Facebook", which is something I believe that every young woman should read.  Alyssa really hits the nail on the head with this one.  Take a minute and read it please.

I have spent the better portion of the last ten years finding out what it means to be a true and authentic Godly man.  One of the things that I have learned, is that men are very visual when it comes to their sexuality.  In other words, seeing the naked or nearly naked body of a woman causes a man's physicality to react in the way that God intended it to.  This is not wrong, it is the way men were created, which is not an excuse for men to be pigs, we are after all not animals and have the ability to control ourselves...if we will.

What I have learned from my own experiences is that I have to work a lot harder to control myself when women dress in a way that reveals more of them, rather than less.  And please understand me, I am not saying that women should wear a burka or completely cover themselves in the presence of men.  I do wish however that as a society we didn't place such an emphasis on showing skin as a way of feeling better about ourselves.

As I said before, I really think that the only man who should see a woman's body is her husband.  I love the way that my bride looks, and am very thankful that I am the only man who gets to see her body without clothing.  That is the way that God intended it to be, and that is the way that it should be.  I'm reminded of the old phrase, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"  Of course again, I'm not calling you ladies cows, I'm just saying stop giving men's eyes something to look at, and if you are not yet married, save that for your husband.  He will be glad you did, and so will you.

Pop psychology states that most girls reveal a lot of skin because they are looking for love from their fathers. I know this is not always the case, but it does have some truth to it.  Maybe your dad didn't show you the love that he should have.  Maybe he was abusive, or just not there for you.  Let me step in for just a moment and tell you as a dad:
"One day your prince will come.  He will be the man that will treat you like the princess you truly are, and you should wait for him, no matter how long it takes.  Don't buy into society's ideas of what a girl should do to get attention.  While you wait for him, prepare yourself to be the helper that he will need you to be, get close to God and stay there.  Remember, you are a beauty which God created, a masterpiece who is unlike anyone else ever created, and so worth the wait.  And your daddy loves you!"

Some Days Fighting Orcs Would Be Easier

Life can be challenging most days, at least for me it can be.  There are times when I feel it would be easier to face down a horde of angry Orcs rather than enter into what the day holds for me.  If you know me, then you know that I love fantasy and science fiction.  Really what I love is a good story, I always have. I'm a very visual person too, that's actually how I learn .  When I can see something in a story that I can apply to my life, then it helps me to learn and grow.

There is a scene in the Lord of the Rings which takes place as Frodo decides he must leave the fellowship and take the ring into Mordor by himself.  As Frodo is talking to Aragorn and asking him to watch over his friends, a number of Orcs arrive on the scene.

Telling Frodo to run, Aragorn turns to face what for most men would be certain death, yet there is a smile which creeps onto his face as he draws his sword gripping it ever so tightly, then charging straight towards them.  And there is a part of me that thinks that would actually be easier to deal with too.

I think the reason I feel this way, is that at least if you are fighting 100 Orcs, you know what you are up against, there is a tangibility by which I can judge where I am.  Yet the day to day life for me can at times become so mundane.  It's hard to know what God is up to in my life some days because of the normal daily grind; I'm up early, drink my coffee, do my Bible reading, go to work then come home and clean up, rest for a few hours then go to bed so that I can get up and repeat the cycle the next day.  It's like rinse, lather, rinse, and repeat.


The thing is that I know God is working in my life even when I can't see it, it's just that at times I sure wish I could see what was going on behind the scenes.  Have you ever felt like that?  Some days a little bit of clarity would be nice, although I have never found where God promised that we would have clarity, instead He says that we just need to trust Him.  Take a look at Proverbs 3:5 - 6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight."

So while I may never face down a horde of angry Orcs, and my days may at times all look the same day after day, I will continue to trust the Lord with all of my heart, knowing that He is at work in the background making my paths straight.  And that my friends does my heart a world of good for sure.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

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What Were You Created To Do?

Isaiah 6:1-3 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:  


“Holy, holy , holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”


A few days ago, I was having a conversation with a young man and we were talking about our place in the world and what God wanted us to do with our lives.  During the course of our talking together the passage in Isaiah came up.  He asked me, "Don't you think that those creatures ever get tired of doing what they're doing and want to do something different?"


As I thought about his question, I found myself saying to him, "Not at all.  You see they were created for just that one thing.  And when you are doing what you are created to do, then you never get bored with it, or want to change and do something else.  Because you are doing exactly what you were created to do."


The conversation ended, and we went our separate ways, but I continued to think about what I had said to him.  It was one of those moments when the Holy Spirit had revealed something to my heart, and I had spoken about one of the mysteries of the Kingdom by revelation, and not from my own knowledge.  And the truth of what was revealed to me that day is astounding.


There are all kinds of people who are in the world doing all kinds of things with their lives. There are those kids who finish high school and go to college seeking an education so that they can go out and make lots of money, and become someone in this world.  And don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything bad about getting an education.  What I find is contradictory about education is when young people go after it in order to chase the dream of what they think will make them happy.  And the truth of what will make you happy and satisfied in this life is if you are doing what you have been created to do.


I have told my kids since they were old enough to understand me that I didn't care what they did with their lives, as long as they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and did what God created them to do.  I have not pushed my agenda for what I think they should be doing with their lives, instead their mother and I have encouraged them to find out from the Lord what they are supposed to be doing and go and do just that.  And praise God that is what they are doing.


Because the truth of the matter is, no matter what God has created you to do, if you are doing it you will be satisfied, have the supply which you need to make it and never once be unhappy with your life.  And there are so many unhappy people in this world, mostly because they are chasing the dream of what they think will make them happy, instead of finding that thing which God created them to be and doing that.  And we can never truly be happy, satisfied and blessed unless we are doing what we have been created to do.


You might ask then how do I find out what I have been created to do?  First I would suggest that you talk with God about it.  Just ask Him.  The Bible is very clear that if we lack wisdom we should ask God and He will give it to us.  (James 1:5)  The second thing that I have often encouraged men to do is to get alone somewhere and think about what it is that makes you come alive on the inside.  You know, that thing that if money were no object you would make every effort to go and do.  That is a clue to what you were created to do, and sometimes it has been hidden by years of doing things you were not created to do.


Of course we have to weigh these things out and compare them to Scripture and make sure they are not contradictory to what God's Word says either.  I have known people who have taken this out of context, left their jobs and run to do what God created them to do and in the process have lost everything.  We have to use a little wisdom here too.  Talk to God about what you should be doing, get a plan to work towards that goal.


For instance, what makes me come alive, and the thing that God has created me to do is to write and help people discover the things of God.  So for some time now I have been moving in that direction with my life.  But, I have not quit my job and stayed home to write a best selling novel, no I get up every morning and go to work.  You see, I have responsibilities which I have to meet in order to continue eating and living in my home and providing for my family.  But I do work towards my goal of following what the Lord has created me for every day, looking for opportunities to achieve this little by little.  Remember our life is run like a marathon, not a sprint.  


So do that, ask the Lord what He created you to do, find those things that make you come alive and then begin to follow after them.  And what you will see is that one day you will be doing that thing that you were created to do, and you will be very content in your life.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!