Restoring Hope in Mankind

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  Philippians 4:8

Times are hard.  Bad news on every corner.  There's always something in the news that makes you say (or think): "Our world is going to hell in a handbasket."  It's so easy to get cynical.  But every so often something happens that makes you smile and restores your hope in mankind.  Sunday afternoon after church we had just finished up with lunch.  We were sitting around relaxing when there were some abrupt, loud knocks on the front door.  What in the world?

No one ever comes to our front door.  Most family and friends come through our side door or back door.  Tricia went to answer it.  I could hear her talking to someone.  She came into the room I was in and said, "Oh, Kyle, you've got to come see this."  I followed her to the foyer and looked out the window.

Two young neighborhood boys had come over, laid their bicycles down in the yard, walked up the sidewalk onto the front porch, and knocked on the door and asked if they could mow our yard or if there were any odd jobs they could do.  You see, they told us they were trying to earn money to buy Christmas gifts for their family.  It melted our hearts.  I told Tricia there's no way I was putting those boys on our lawn mower, but we could figure out something for them to do to earn a little money.

Tricia went and got brooms for them and had them sweeping off the sidewalks all around the house.  These little guys were resourceful and diligent.  They worked hard!  Look at 'em go!

We gathered some money to give them when they were done and Benjamin even kicked in some money for the budding entrepreneurs as well.

When the boys were finished, I walked outside to settle up with the workers.  I asked them their names and gave them a firm handshake.  Then I thanked them and handed them some cash.  I told them that I was proud of them.  I communicated that they were setting themselves apart from the crowd by having good work ethic and not waiting for someone to give them something, but to go work for it.  I let them know that with that type of attitude, they would go far in life and be successful.  They smiled at me and told me thank you and pedaled off down the road.  I watched them ride off and smiled, feeling like I was looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.  Those two little dudes made our day! 

A Few Father’s Day Thoughts

The Fam - Father's Day 2016

Father’s Day was a nice, relaxing day with all my kids coming in to visit and my Dad and Mom driving over as well.  We opened old photo albums from when the kids were young and reminisced.  We sat around and ate ice cream and peaches and bread pudding with rum sauce.  Overall, it was just a really nice day.  I hope that you enjoyed yours.

Saturday (Father’s Day “eve”), I was out in the barn doing a little work and just thinking about things.  The current state of affairs in our world is such that it can be really discouraging if you dwell on the issues facing us for any length of time.  In fact, trying to come up with solutions to our problems is a daunting exercise that often leaves me feeling that we are powerless to change anything.

In the 80’s President Ronald Reagan, in his election-eve address entitled “A Vision for America,” dismissed the fact that our days of greatness were over and that we were in a national malaise.  He was a great communicator.  While not a perfect individual or president, he inspired me and I thought he was a great leader.  Still, when dealing with the large issues we are faced with, I wonder how we as citizens can do anything to change our current course.

Ronald Reagan had another quote in which he said:

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”

I think it goes without saying (or should go without saying) that all great change begins on your knees in prayer to our Great God.  While it seems impossible to grapple with the issues of our culture on an aggregate level, we really don’t need to.  Our foremost ministry and greatest responsibility is for the family that is seated around our supper table.  As Fathers, we are charged to be the spiritual leaders of our homes.

 

When I think about it in those terms, it is easier to get my head wrapped around it.  I find it is a great practice to hold hands and pray at the supper table, thanking the Almighty for his provision and praying for each other.  Then, as the family eats, engage in conversation.  Talk about dreams, plans, and goals.  Reminisce about good times and things that draw us together.  We like to pose questions to each other that spur thoughtful conversation like:

Ø  “If money was not a constraint and you could travel anywhere, where would you go?”

Ø  “Of our family vacations, what was your favorite destination and why?”

Ø  “What is your favorite candy or dessert?”

Ø  “What is your favorite food?”

Ø  “If you could have any super-power, what would it be?”

Ø  “What is your favorite movie?”

You get the picture.  We’ve started a new family tradition that we discussed IN THIS POST

in which we divide up the verses in the chapter by the number of people dining and take turns reading one of the Proverbs each evening at the end of our meal.  Since there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, that means you read the entire book each month.

Things like this will hopefully build family unity, harmony and togetherness in a world that seems so fragmented, divided and antagonistic.  Does that mean that things in the family will always be serene and conflict-free?  Well, I’d like to tell you that these ideas will insulate your family from conflict, but they won’t.  The idea is that we’re trying.  We are very imperfect people that fall down repeatedly and try to get back up again and stay in the fight to reclaim territory that may have been claimed by the Enemy.  We hope to instill a sense of unity, a place of refuge, and a family identity.  We may never know if we’ve been successful, but we must continue trying.  I can’t comprehend as an individual how to have an effect on the national debt, gun violence, illegal immigration, abortion, Social Security, foreign policy, etc. etc.  But I can, as a father, at least try to have some effect on those that sit around the supper table.

I also think that the family is of utmost importance to God, as He created the institution of the Family.  I find that whenever you part from a family member, the last things you say to each other are usually things that are the most important.  Things like: 

“I love you.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“Take care.”

“Please let us know that you’ve arrived safely.”

“Keep in touch.”

"Can't wait to see you again!"

I find it very interesting that the last book of the Old Testament is Malachi.  Between Malachi and the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, there was a span of 400 years.  These were called “The Silent Years.”  The last thing said in Malachi before the 400 silent years was the following:

Malachi 4:5-6 (NASB)

⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. ⁶ He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Our God is in the restoration business and it seems He is very interested in restoring the family – fathers to children and children to fathers.  And that gives me great hope.

A Collective Loss of Hope

Image Credit

Now that is a sobering blog title.  It sounds ominous, somber and depressing.  My intent with this blog has always been to celebrate the agrarian way of life, honoring my God, and reminiscing about ‘antique virtues and values” that seem to be going the way of the dodo bird and the woolly mammoth.  Journaling a collection of my oftentimes rambling and jumbled thoughts has always been therapeutic to me.

I have always striven to avoid the mention of politics in this medium and, although I certainly have opinions, I aim to continue that.  I read an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago that has stuck with me, marinating in my subconsciousness and I’d like to talk about it a little today.  The article, I think, contains a powerful feeling that can be felt by all political stripes, including Democrats, Republicans, Republicrats, Democans, Elephants, Donkeys, and Elephonkeys alike.  The article was written by Peggy Noonan.  I grew up in the 1980’s and remember her as a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan.

The article I’m speaking of is one entitled, “That moment when 2016 hits you” and can be found by clicking this link: The Moment When 2016 Hits You

Here are a few excerpts from the article:

‘I felt a wave of sadness,’ said one friend. This year’s politics have that effect on a lot of Americans.

Another political veteran, my friend John, also had his Moment during the New Hampshire primary. Out door-knocking for Jeb Bush, “I was struck as I walked along a neighborhood using the app that described the voters in each house. So many multigenerational families of odd collections of ages in houses with missing roof shingles or shutters askew or paint peeling. Cars needing repair.”  What was the story inside those houses? Unemployment, he thought, elder care, divorce, custody battles. “It was easy to see a collective loss of hope in a once-thriving town.” He sensed “years of neglect and sadness. Something is brewing.”

Okay, it’s me again.  You see the underlined portion of the verbiage below?  I look around and see the same thing.  Of course there are exceptions to this.  There are plenty of people who have secure jobs, all the trappings of material success, and seem, at least from the outside, to be genuinely happy and optimistic.  But there is a large portion of the populace that feels that their best days are behind them, that the potential of having a better standard of living than the generations before them is out of reach.  Incomes are stagnant if not dropping.  Layoffs have forced people into jobs for which they are overqualified for and underpaid. 

When things break, they don’t get repaired OR people get themselves further into debt.  I researched Americans’ indebtedness and discovered that as of May 2016, the average American household credit card debt is $5,700.  But when you exclude those households that pay their credit cards off in full at the end of each month, the average credit card debt for these households is $16,048!  Here's the supporting link: Americans in Debt

People see no way out.  At Our Maker’s Acres Family Farm, we live in rural America where the major industries are agriculture and the oil patch.  The economic outlook isn’t particularly rosy.  Maybe things are better in your “neck of the woods?”

In a related vein, I read that April 2016 marked the twelfth straight month of record gun sales.  More and more people are taking classes for their concealed handgun license.  I checked Smith & Wesson stock on Google Finance and saw that its stock price has appreciated 556.8% over the past 5 years.  Smith & Wesson Stock Chart

People are scared.  You can feel it.  Fellow citizens medicate themselves to numb their senses to the situations they find themselves in.  We keep ourselves busy as we frenetically rush about at a pace that would rival that of a hummingbird – so busy we don’t pause to think, or enjoy the simple pleasures such as a sunrise or sunset or stars on a crisp fall evening.  We don’t soak in and relish the gentle evening breeze while swinging under the boughs of an oak tree or under the front porch.  Most importantly, we don’t pray to our Creator and request His guidance, His wisdom, His deliverance from our hopelessness, our bondage, or our fears.

Back to Ms. Noonan’s article.  She finished it up like this:

And a sob welled up and I literally put my hands to my face and sobbed, silently, for I suppose a minute.

Because my country is in trouble.

Because I felt anguish at all the estrangements.

Because some things that shouldn’t have changed have changed.

You’ll feel better the next day, I promise, but you won’t be able to tell yourself that this is history as usual anymore. This is big, what we’re living through.

Because too much is being lost.

She is a great writer.  I remember her speech as given by President Ronald Reagan after the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster back in 1986.  I remember watching it while at college.  I remember in it, the President directly spoke to school children and encouraged the nation, despite the loss, to keep moving forward, advancing.  I remember feeling encouraged even in the midst of great sorrow.  Ms. Noonan’s Wall Street Journal article doesn’t leave me with such encouragement about the future.  Nor does it give a roadmap out.

Yes, our country is in trouble.  Yes, a lot has changed and a lot is being lost.  Yes, I am sad about the predicament that our country is in and the trajectory of our future, and I suppose I mourn about it most because I think our wounds are largely self-inflicted.  But, I’ll tell you this.  All is not lost, and I won’t succumb to fear of the future and I certainly will not lose hope.

On the subject of fear, hopelessness, and despair, my God tells me in Joshua 1:9:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  

There is no strong man or strong woman that can save us.  Only God.  We’re not in this alone.  Our hearts should not be troubled.  Families on bended knee, shoulder to shoulder in communities across our land need to repent and humbly fix our eyes upon Him.  It is only then when believers can see healing and restoration.  If we have a “collective loss of hope,” we need to turn to the God of Hope who tells us in Romans 15:13:

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One Lap To Go...

Our son Benjamin is a runner and is a member of the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, a track club in our town. He practiced for months and months, putting in grueling training from September of last year all the way through July of this year.  His events are the 800 meter run, 1500 meter run and the 3000 meter run, with the longer events being his specialty.

Various track meets were held throughout our State as well as Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. We attended each meet and cheered the old boy on.  He is a gifted runner and we are proud of him.

Running the Race

In particularly the longer races, runners may lose track of the number of laps that they have left to go in the race.  It is for that reason that there is a pedestal set up that has an indicator on it that communicates to the runners how many laps are left to go in the race.  An attendant stands by the sign and updates it with each lap. When the lead runner has one lap to go,  the attendant flips the indicator to '1' and vigorously rings the bell attached to the bottom of the sign that you can see below. This lets every runner on the course know that "this is it!"  It is time to dig deep and run with all you've got.  Give it your best kick for the finish line is in sight!!

Lap number sign along with Bell

At the particular race that Benjamin was running in on this day, the attendant charged with updating the Laps to Go sign got distracted.  He didn't flip the sign and he didn't ring the bell to let the runners know that they were on the last lap. Only parents who were monitoring their athlete's times, coaches, and/or very attentive runners knew that they were on the final lap.  Many of the runners didn't give it their best because they were unaware that there was only 1 lap to go and as a result, they didn't finish strong.  What a tragedy!

There is a very valuable lesson to be learned here in a spiritual sense, and as I thought about it, it made me think of some verses from the New Testament that are important to me:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Now obviously, if we are competing in a race, we're going to run it with endurance, wanting to finish strong, but here's the thing, like the runners in Benjamin's race - in our race of life, we don't know exactly when our race is going to end!  Our 'race' could end tonight or tomorrow or if the Good Lord tarries, we could die a ripe, old age.

Or if not in death, our race could come to an end in another way.  My Bible teaches me that the Lord will return one day for His Believers.  The Gospel of Mark states the following:

32 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. 34 It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”  Mark 13:32-37

You see, although there is no one to physically ring the bell to alert you to the end of the race, if you read the Bible, there are plenty of signs to tell you emphatically of His imminent return.  There's one lap to go!  Are you ready?  Are your family and loved ones ready?  If you aren't sure, there is HOPE HERE.

The race is almost over...  Finish Strong!!

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.  Luke 21:28

Maranatha!

A Family Legacy

Do you ever stop and think about what type of legacy you'll leave behind?  About what your kids will remember you by once you're gone?  About making memories and a creating a family identity that sets you apart and makes you different?  About what work ethic, values, integrity, and character traits that you've deposited in your children that will hopefully be passed down to theirs.  I think about this stuff a lot.


Benjamin fishing by the bridge at (Cub Scout) Camp Edgewood in Gillis, Louisiana  (One of my favorite pictures!)

I always wonder what steps I can take to instill in my kids timeless virtues and therefore, leave behind something of value that will carry forward those things our family cherishes.  Many of us are standing on the shoulders of our fathers.  Our lives today are shaped greatly by what our fathers gave us - and theirs by their fathers, and so on and so forth.  Our identity, in many cases, was largely determined generations ago.  Likewise, our kids' future is largely dependent on us and what we do.  That's a sobering thought.  It only takes one broken link in the chain and the work of generations of men and women can be brought to a screeching halt.

I'm not saying that it is all up to you, because it's not.  A child, and then a young man or young woman, has free will.  Once they are out from under your roof, they can make their own decisions - good or bad.  Sometimes things go awry despite our best intentions.


Foggy morning fishing

Faith, Hope, and Love.

First off, I want to pass along my Christian faith to my kids, fully aware that I can't make the decision to follow Christ for them.  That decision is theirs alone, but I have a great responsibility in conveying the message.  Just as Moses gave the commandments to the Israelites, we should teach (AND LIVE) the Gospel of Jesus Christ continually.

Deuteronomy 6:6-10
⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Secondly, as dark as this fallen world is, there is always hope and we should never give up.  There is hope in Christ.  There is hope in our fellow man.  There is hope in justice and that goodness and virtue and honor will prevail over evil.  I want my kids' eyes to be open to the evil that is in the world, but to never give up, never be complacent, never be pessimistic and never be apathetic.

Finally, there is love.  I want my kids to experience the love of Christ and to radiate that love to others in their path.  I want them to be considerate, thoughtful people that genuinely love other people and treat them as they expect to be treated.  Love never dies.

As a post script, I want them to share my love of the land, the smell of dirt, the enjoyment of watching things grow, the challenge of tending for God's creation and experiencing the joys (and sometimes sorrows) of that relationship with the land.  I want them to know how to work with their hands, grow healthy food, and enjoy a standard of living not measured by dollars, possessions, or other luxuries, but measured in love, peace and satisfaction that while they are living out lives of purpose on this earth, their real citizenship is in Heaven.

Our Maker's Acres Dirt!

  What kind of legacy will we leave and what can we do TODAY to shape that legacy?