That Warm Afterglow

Well, here it is, the day after Christmas. Johnny Mathis is still singing about "chestnuts roasting on an open fire"; the kids have settled into playing with their favorite toys; the world's throttled back a bit (even if the stores are humming with "returns"); and we're feeling pretty good about the year now almost gone.

Lutheran Hour Ministries has had a wonderful year of growth in the ministry resources and tools it offers congregations, Bible study groups, and individuals (both inside and outside the church). We've heard so many stories from people impacted in a positive way by the Gospel through our Project Connect and kids' booklets; the Men's NetWork WORK DAY; THRED, our new digital initiative; sermons and reflections from The Lutheran Hour; LHM Learn, our new FREE online courses; the work being done overseas in ministry centers around the world -- (our LHM-SAT-7 media partnership in Egypt, being just one example); and so many other great things.

In all this, we thank the Heavenly Father for the gift -- the inexpressible gift -- of His dearly beloved Son Jesus on Christmas morn some 2,000 years ago. It's because of Him we do what we do, and it's the reason you bless us as you do with your supporting gifts and prayers. We hope your Christmas season has been a time of joy and refreshment with your family and friends. We look forward to more connections with you throughout 2018, which will be here in a few short days.

From all of us at Lutheran Hour Ministries, may God's richest blessings be yours, and may the love and peace of the holiday season reign in your hearts throughout the coming year.

Cheers for the New Year and God bless!

Did anything extraordinary happen in your life this Christmas? You can tell us by clicking here!

A Place for Jesus

This year's Advent devotions once again tell of the timeless story when God came to us, came down to us, fully, in human form, and joined us in this world of pain and sorrow. His birth was magnificent in its simplicity and, in keeping with Christ's humble status, was not the stuff of fanfare or spectacle. Still, His arrival has universal application and for us ~ it changes everything. Here, if you don't already receive them as a daily email or read them online, is this year's Advent devotion for Christmas Day.

TEXT: "And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).

New parents spend pretty much every waking moment thinking about the place where the baby is. Is he safe? Who's holding him right now? Could he roll off that bed if I look away for a moment? Is the temperature too hot in this room? And who hasn't had the nightmare about accidentally leaving a baby at the grocery store!

We want babies to be in a safe place-all babies, our own or someone else's. But Jesus had none of that. He didn't even have a room in the inn with the other travelers (who no doubt would have been disturbed by His wails).

What He did have was an attentive mother who loved Him. She put Him in the manger to sleep-safely off the ground where He might take a chill or an animal might step on Him. No doubt she and Joseph spent the night as close as possible to that manger, guarding it with their bodies. That was Jesus' safe place.

When Jesus grew to manhood, He returned the favor-not just for Mary and Joseph, but for the entire human race. The night before His death, Jesus said to those who followed Him, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:1-3).

Jesus is our safe place. He is the One who laid down His life for us and took it up again, that He might be our Savior and our Refuge forever. He will never let go of us or forsake us, and He promises that everyone who believes in Him will be with Him forever.

That being the case, isn't this a great time to make room for Jesus in your own heart?

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, stay with me and never leave me. Keep me always with You, now and in eternity. Amen.

Do you have any special holiday traditions you do with family or friends that are centered on the Christmas story?

If so, please send them our way by clicking here and sharing your thoughts.

Merry Christmas!

Approaching a Little Town in Judea

Recently, I passed a church with an interesting Nativity set-up. In the front yard just beyond the sidewalk were figures: Joseph was guiding a donkey, and Mary was riding on its back. A few hundred feet down the road stood the little town of Bethlehem. I thought how unique that is.

Normally, when manger scenes are set out, all the characters are in place from the start. Mary kneels at the foot of the manger, and Joseph stands behind it. The Christ Child rests on the hay. The shepherds are there, leaning on their staffs, with sheep at their feet and lambs across their shoulders. Included also are the wise men, standing or kneeling with their gifts. Camels are present with other animals too, and an angel hovers above them all. This kind of Nativity is more like a picture postcard: static, unmoving. The figures stay in position until Christmas is over, and the set is put back in storage.

But the scene I passed that morning is dynamic, breathing the very life of that first Christmas. It carries us back to a living, vibrant moment in time, the most pivotal period in all of human history. Mary and Joseph traveled down from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and Jesus traveled along with them, as He grows in Mary's womb.

The distance between Joseph and Mary and their Bethlehem destination makes me wonder what that congregation will do in the coming weeks. Will they move Mary and Joseph a little closer each day or week? Will Mary and Joseph reach the city on the 24th? Will baby Jesus be in the manger that night? Will a bright star appear over the streets of Bethlehem? Will the shepherds show up a few hours later? Will the wise men begin their travels along the sidewalk, following that guiding star?

Once again my thoughts remind me that Jesus came into this world in a definite time and place. But He didn't come to stay in that manger. He grew up and moved on -- the same way each of us passes from childhood to adulthood. And in that growing the Savior experienced first-hand what our lives are all about.

Of course, He didn't need to become human to know what it is like to live as a human on earth. As the almighty Son of God on His throne in heaven, He knew human life better than any of us. But the fact that He actually came and lived out that life changes the picture dramatically. I often find myself doing things that seem insignificant or unimportant: the endless chores, the trivial tasks to be done at work or at home. But Jesus did the same kinds of things in His life. His life gives those moments in our lives honor, dignity, and great significance.

But Jesus did one thing we can never do: He lived His life perfectly as our Substitute. And He suffered the punishment we deserve for all our failings and sins when He died in our place on the cross. The human passage of His birth, childhood, life, suffering, death, and resurrection transformed all our paths, opening for us the opportunity to live forever with our God in His glory.

Like Mary and Joseph, each of us is on a journey through life. We may be walking that path with a few close friends, or all alone. But we're never really alone; Jesus Christ travels that road with each of us.

The Christmas story is one that changes everything for each of us. What do you think about when you consider the way God entered our world, our lives, and our hearts? You can tell us by clicking here!

A Little Good Can Go a Long Way

I was filling up my gas tank recently when a college student approached me and asked if I had any spare cash. I immediately reached into my pockets and discovered that I really didn't have any cash. He then thanked me for looking and proceeded to the next person pumping gas.

I didn't think much more of the incident until I went to put the hose back into the pump and heard someone say, "Mom, I did ask the people here. No one has any money for me."

I looked around the pump and saw the college student who had asked me for cash; he was leaning on his car trunk talking on the phone to his mom. I waited until he hung up and approached him.

"I was wondering what's up."

"My mother called and said she needed me to come home, but I don't have enough gas there. I don't have any money. I called her and she said I should ask the people here if they could give me a few bucks to get home, but no one can help."

I told him to put the hose in his tank. I then swiped my credit card at the pump and had him fill it up.

His eyes got big and he asked, "You're sure?"

"You bet," I replied. "I was a poor college student once."

Every time I remember that day I feel good.

That is what acts of kindness do for us. They give us a helper's high. It's a rush of euphoria, which is followed by a longer period of calm, after performing a kind act. This high comes from the physical sensations and the release of the body's natural painkillers: endorphins. This initial rush then produces a longer-lasting period of improved, emotional well-being. It's all good.

Research also found that acts of kindness reduce stress, give us a sense of joy, and deaden pain.

Kindness is also contagious. Someone seeing you do an act of kindness prompts them to do one, which prompts another person, etc.

I have also been on the receiving end of acts of kindness as when a Good Samaritan shoveled the snow from my walk and driveway. That was very much appreciated.

Kindness can lead to social connections, too. If you do a favor for your neighbor, he just might want to do one for you, and pretty soon you are sharing stories, grilling recipes, and making new friends.

Doing good deeds makes us feel good, and it's not a bad deal for the other person either.

Isn't it funny how going out of our way to help somebody else (even in the slightest way sometimes) can truly change our outlook, our mood, our sense of well-being? When we do these unexpected good things, we'll probably wonder why we don't do them more. And, of course, there's no good answer to that other than we should do them more.

Got any good-deed stories you want to share -- either something you've done or something done for you? If so, you can pass them along by clicking here and sharing your thoughts.

Yah! (Yes!)

(Jesus said) "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

A good many years ago, I was in Alaska for a Reformation Day rally.

Totally by accident, a tour which was being hosted by my brilliant Lutheran Hour predecessor and octogenarian, Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, happened to be in Anchorage at the same time. Hearing that Ossie was going to be making a presentation in the afternoon, Pam and I decided to attend.

Before Ossie took center stage, another fellow was there talking about the Reformation.

During the course of the man's rather dry remarks, I thought Ossie had fallen asleep. I was wrong. When the speaker asked, "Does anyone know what Luther's last words were?" without opening his eyes, Ossie said, "Yah." Ignoring Dr. Hoffmann, the speaker asked again, "Does anyone know what Luther's last words were?" A second time, Ossie responded, "Yah."

Appearing somewhat put out by what he considered to be an interruption, the speaker turned to Ossie and asked, "Okay, Dr. Hoffmann, just what were Luther's last words?"

For the first time Ossie opened his eyes and said, "Luther's last word was "Ja"-"Yes."

I looked it up and found Dr. Hoffmann was right. Martin Luther, the great reformer, was born in the small German town of Eisleben. Sixty-three years later, Luther returned to that town to preach. While he was there he was struck down by an illness. In great pain he called out, "O God, how I suffer!" Then he lapsed into semi-consciousness. While Luther was in that condition, a friend came to him and whispered, "Reverend Father, do you still hold to Christ and the doctrine you have preached?"

With great effort, Luther responded, "Yes!" After that, Luther went home to be with God.

In the course of his life, Luther had written more than 60,000 pages. In those pages, he had, once again, placed the Bible into the hands of the people; he had reemphasized the scriptural truth that we are saved by God's grace rather than by our actions, and he had let the world know that our just God had done everything necessary so lost souls could be saved through the sacrifice of His Son.

Today, much of Christianity celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Reformation which began the day Luther nailed his 95 debating points on the church door in Wittenberg. We give thanks to the Lord for using the writings of a humble German friar to bless us.

But as we do, we also must say that of all of his words in all the books, pamphlets, sermons, and letters Luther said and wrote, no word was more important than his last, simple, "Yah."

With that single word, Luther declined to recant that which he had so powerfully preached and proclaimed. With that word, Luther showed that when everything else is gone and there are no more tomorrows, we are saved by God-given faith in the crucified and risen Redeemer.

Is this something you also believe? I pray that you, like Luther, can say, "Yah!"

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, we give thanks for the heroes of faith whom You have raised up. We rejoice that You took sinners and used them to accomplish Your purposes. Today I ask that the Holy Spirit touch lost hearts and let them join with Luther in his last confession of faith: "Yah. I am saved by faith alone, as shown in Scripture alone, by God's grace alone." In Jesus' Name. Amen.

On this Reformation Day, a half-millennium distant from Luther and his bold action in Wittenberg, what does this moment in history mean to you? You can share your thoughts by clicking here!

To hear today's Daily Devotion from Rev. Klaus, click here.

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"Build Me a Son, O Lord"

Life is often described as a long walk. To reach your ultimate goal, you need to stay on the main path. But all along the road there are enticing little trails that lead off to the wilds, and we get curious where they go. Before you know it, you can waste days, weeks, months, years -- even decades of your life -- in a winding, dead-end trail. The last thing we want to do is get to the end of our lives and realize all our work, our efforts, our life have been in vain.

During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific. Early in the war, the Japanese crippled the American Navy in their daring attack on Pearl Harbor. That enabled the Japanese to run freely through the Pacific. The American military was overrun, and MacArthur was driven from the Philippines. As he left, he made his famous promise: "I will return."

But before he could keep that momentous promise, he had to relocate his headquarters in Australia and wait for America to rebuild its Pacific Navy. That is where he wrote the following prayer for his only son, Arthur.

"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

"Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee -- and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

"Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

"Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

"And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the weakness of true strength.

"Then I, his father will dare to whisper, 'I have not lived in vain.'"

This last line really stopped me dead in my tracks. General MacArthur is famous for keeping his promise, for leading the Marines to victory in the Philippines and across the Pacific Theater. But look at his priorities: for him raising a mature, godly son was more important than making a name for himself by his military exploits.

How do MacArthur's words ring?

Guiding and caring for another human being is a colossal task. Steering a son or daughter in ways that are good and healthy and beneficial is a full-time job with plenty of overtime. With our children, we can sometimes find -- even when we think we're being proactive in their lives -- that time just gets away from us, leaving us to feel helpless as our kids grow up right before our eyes.

We all have regrets. At the end of the day, what core idea, philosophy, belief, etc. would you like to impart to your son or daughter as they live their lives as adults?

You can share your thoughts by clicking here!

Eyes on the Prize

It was the bottom half of a seven-inning game with the score tied at 14. In steps the number-four clean-up hitter, with the bases empty and one out. Standing at 6'4" and weighing near 250 pounds, he was tops in the league in homeruns this year, with one already in this game. But we could play in a clutch, too, when necessary. In fact, we had miraculously just scored eight runs in the top half of the inning to tie the game.

This was game two in the best of five series for the Texas-based Seagoville Federal Prison softball championship. We had won all three regular season games against this opponent. But they had taken game one, 10-9, in dramatic fashion. With a loss in this game, our backs would surely be up against the wall with a do-or-die game three.

I was playing deep in left field where this power-hitter loved to pull the ball. I was a few steps away from the warning track. He was not known to hit little bloopers over the shortstop or third baseman's head, so playing him deep was a safe bet.

Pitch one was a ball. Pitch two was a perfectly lobbed ball over the center of the plate. The behemoth of a batter swung mightily. At first crack, I thought to myself, game over, a walk-off homerun. Then I saw the ball launching high in the air, and I knew it was not going to be a homerun, not even close. I needed to start running, and not just running, but sprinting, as I was playing him extremely deep, and the ball was going to land in no man's land between the shortstop and me. So I took off after the ball. My first thought was there is no way I'm going to get there. But the ball was hit so high, and I kept getting closer and closer to the ball with each stride. My shortstop was sprinting right at me, and I at him. If someone doesn't call it, I thought to myself, there could be a nasty collision. With me having the right of way, I decided to call him off, not yet knowing if I could even get to the ball.

The ball hung up, and I realized I was going to get there. I took one last glance at my shortstop to see if he had heard me calling him off, to see if he was slowing up. With that one glance, I made a critical error: I took my eyes off the ball. I needed to trust my shortstop that he would get out of the way, but I didn't. And with that split-second hesitation, the ball came barreling down on me too fast, hit the top of my glove, and bounced to the ground. Error E-7! I was humiliated and embarrassed. I don't remember the last time I missed a fly ball, especially in a championship game. There was no excuse. I had failed myself and my team.

As the story goes, the batter reached second base on the error. The next batter went for it and was forced out at second by the following batter. Two outs. Then there was another walk to load the bases, which was followed by a game-winning single. Game over. We lost 15-14 and were down two games to zero.

Unfortunately, we lost a nail-biter game three as well; we finished in second place for the season.

How many of you have ever had an experience like mine or had a child experience something like that? How many of you have ever seen professional athletes commit errors by taking their eyes off the ball? If you are a St. Louis Cardinals fan like me, you've witnessed a lot of errors this year, including missed pop flies. But it happens. No one is perfect. Committing an error does add excitement and drama to the game, however, especially in later innings. Keeping their eyes on the ball is important to both batter and fielder. It can make the difference sometimes in getting an out, making a hit, or winning or losing a game.

But there's a larger lesson here, a much larger lesson.

Keeping your eyes on Jesus is critical. He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. To live effectively we must keep our eyes on Him. Look away from Him and we will stumble. Keep our eyes off Him for too long, and there's no telling what might happen. We should be running for Christ, not ourselves, and we must always keep Him in sight. When we face hardship and discouragement, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. But we're not alone. There is help. Many have already made it through life, enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity, and it has a way of developing patience for ourselves and with others.

By keeping our eyes on Jesus, it makes our final victory sweet!

How's your line of sight to Jesus been lately? Anything getting in the way? What you're dealing with might be a help to others. You can share your thoughts by clicking here and dropping us a line.

Thanks to Craig Perino for sharing his thoughts.

You can find Craig's blog by clicking here.

The Wisdom of Retrospect

I came across an article by Rev. Bob Deffinbaugh. In it he discusses Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden as presented in Genesis chapter 3. He wrote,

"There is an important principle to be seen here: God desires from us the obedience of faith. Such obedience is not based upon our understanding of why we are to act as God requires, but simply because it is God who requires it.

"The obedience of faith is based on our faith in God, not on our understanding of why God calls one thing good and another evil. Parents teach their children to obey on the same basis. You cannot explain to a young child why an electrical outlet is dangerous. You can only forbid them to touch it, because you said so, and because they trust your word."

This got me thinking of my attitude toward my dad when I was growing up. As a young child I thought dad could do no wrong. I never would have dreamed of questioning his word or his advice. But that all changed when I became a teenager. Suddenly, I was so much wiser. I didn't need an old, out-of-touch man with salt-and-pepper hair telling me how to live my life. How could he possibly remember the desires racing through a young man's heart and mind? What could he possibly know about life and love in the 1970s?

Looking at my relationship to my teenage son today I realize how stupid I was back then. Back when I was his age, my dad was younger than I am right now. Yet even now with my more salt than pepper hair, I can vividly remember those same desires my son faces. I can see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, and feel them deep in my gut. They may be wrapped differently today, but they're still the same temptations young guys have faced since Cain and Abel hit their teens. I know how dangerous those innocent-looking little temptations really are -- and so did my dad.

Then I think of our Heavenly Father. I'm still acting like a teenager toward Him. I tell myself I'm so much older and wiser than I was as a teenager. But I'm still dumb enough to think I can play with those temptations God forbids and come out all right. (Was that mom or dad who said, "If you play with fire, you're going to get burned"?) I'll obey Him, but only after He explains to me why I should.

My dad wasn't perfect, of course, and I'm sure he got a few things wrong. But I can't say the same for our Heavenly Father. His knowledge and His love are perfect. He knows the soul, mind, heart, and body He created for each of us, and He knows better than anyone what is harmful and what is beneficial for us.

It's not for me to question God, to challenge Him for reasons and explanations. Mine is simply to recognize my small mind and my tiny world of experience and bow down to His all-seeing eye, to His all-knowing mind. Mine is to recognize my ignorance and over-confidence, to repent and fall before Him in shame. Mine is to recognize His fatherly love in His beloved Son Jesus Christ, to receive His open-armed forgiveness and peace. Mine is to humbly and quietly obey His Word with simple, childlike adoration and trust.

It amazes me how I make it all so much more complicated than it needs to be.

Any thoughts on this whole thing of serving God and not getting in our own way?

You can comment by clicking here.

School's Back in Session

And for the students in your household, now come all the variables a new school year brings: making friends, learning teacher expectations, finding one's place in the social matrix, doing homework, the opposite sex and, of course, parental discipline.

Parental discipline is vital for our kids unless we are to doom them to learning everything the hard way. We've had plenty of time and experience to gain perspective. We know the heartbreak of losing that first love, the urge to satisfy our dissatisfaction with an impulsive purchase, the pressure of conforming to peers who (it turned out) didn't have a clue.

We can be sympathetic to our children because we remember, often quite vividly, the lessons we learned the hard way after refusing to listen to our parents. We also remember the stubborn streaks and the rebellion that made us butt heads with our folks, especially as we struggled through that rough transition from childhood to adulthood.

With all that hard-earned perspective, we now turn to discipline. Some learn fast; others not so much. Since each child is different and every situation unique, it's important to remember all the different tools you have to use. Sure, you have corporal punishment, but there's no need to use a hammer if a sander will do. There's always time-tested grounding, withholding of privileges, etc. I'm sure you have your own faves.

Again, remember your end goal. You want to emerge from your child's adolescence with an intact relationship. You don't get there by being their friend and not their parent. But that certainly doesn't mean you can't have good, frank discussions. When you share your own adolescent experiences with them -- your failures as well as your successes -- you help them recognize consequences and dangers they may not clearly see in the present moment.

It is also important to give your children a voice in setting house rules and punishments. Sitting together and establishing these rules will give you some insight into how they think. It will give them the invaluable experience of working through things they encounter at school, at work, on the internet, or your own neighborhood.

And we shouldn't exempt ourselves from those rules as parents either. When our actions don't match our words, the old adage rings true: "Actions speak louder than words." When we consistently live by the same rules we insist on our kids following, our words take on more meaning, more authority.

And one last thought about seeing the end goal of parental discipline: we all want our children to enjoy successful lives on earth. But far more important is their eternal destiny. Above all else, show your child what it is to live as God's child. Make worship and Bible class a priority for you as well as them. Studies have shown that a father's involvement (or lack thereof) in worship influences the worship attendance of their children even more than mom's.

Make your parenting count. The influence you have on another human being is probably never greater (or more significant) than what you can achieve in the life of your son or daughter.

What are your hard-earned insights on being a father?

You can pass them along by clicking here!

The Best Job You'll Ever Have

Remember those jobs as a youngster when you first started to make some real money, earning a bona fide paycheck? For some of us, it was cleaning out the grease pit at a convenience store "kitchen," specializing in chicken wings, low-grade burgers, and French fries. For others, it might have been washing dishes at some local dive. For those of you loving the great outdoors, there was carrying stacks of roofing shingles up a ladder or hauling hay for some area farmer, who just might have been your dad or grandpa.

For me one of the hardest jobs I ever had was performing the exhausting repetitiveness of assembly line work, trying to keep up with the flow of experienced workers while staying focused on the task at hand.

Each of us keeps a memory tucked into the corner of our mind of the hardest jobs we ever had to do. It's good to pull that memory out once in awhile, so we can put our current job in perspective.

For example, a veteran sitting all day long in an air-conditioned office, attending boring meetings can seem like an endless grind, but it's absolutely delightful next to being yelled at by drill sergeants and endless hours of physical training.

When it comes down to it, hard jobs aren't always defined by soaring temperatures, blitzed muscles, or intolerable bosses; they can also be measured by the amount of stress produced, anxiety raised, or nightmares unleashed.

I'm good with doing most anything physical or mental; the hardest job for me involves relationships. For instance, being a husband is a daily challenge, as my role and responsibilities often change with each sunrise. And the transition from husband to father creates numerous opportunities for other hard jobs as well: changing diapers, giving baths, helping with homework, encouraging broken hearts, teaching teens to drive, and being a worthwhile role model.

In truth, my job as husband and dad rival any of the stresses I might experience in the workplace, but the payoff is by far better, and it's a role I wouldn't trade for all the air-conditioned corner offices and six-figure salaries in the world.

One reason for this are the fantastic fringe benefits that come with this "job" -- like watching my son pitch his first game, seeing my daughter nail a half gainer off the high dive, or sitting around a campfire with both of them and my wife, savoring the last few days of summer vacation before the kids head back to school in a couple of weeks.

You had hard jobs, and you've had satisfying ones as well. Drop us a line and tell us what worked for you and what didn't when it came to those early jobs. Let us know, too, how things are today.

You can do this by clicking here and dropping us a note.

Fun with the Fam

The other day I was sitting on the couch, happily engaged in watching Jordan Spieth's fourth-round fumble and blitz to win the Open, when I was interrupted by my wife, taking a seat next to me. I glanced over and knew I was in trouble; she was holding a pen and calendar. Experience has long taught me what soon follows is a detailed presentation of things I need to do around the house. This wasn't the case however. Instead, it was time to plan our family vacation.

Vacations usually mean we pack up the family's must-haves into the car and hit the road. Now, lest some of you think less of me, I am not opposed to vacations per say. What frustrates me is driving with three children buckled into car seats, holding me hostage for hours as I try to concentrate on the road, all the while buffeted by the sounds of "music" coming from behind me. I know children need to exercise their lungs, but the piercing tones of their playful little voices are sometimes more than I can handle.

But I digress. So my wife and I started going through our vaca-list. It contains all the options we consider when planning vacations. This year near the top was "visiting family," with number two being "an educational experience for the kids."

I started to perk up. What could be more educational than a road trip to visit some of the major baseball parks in North America? It was a perfect no-brainer. The season's in full swing. There would be geography and history all rolled into one. And if we were really lucky, we might even catch a game or two.

Ever astute, my wife zeroed in on my thoughts, delivering a preemptive strike: "I was thinking we could visit some museums and then take the kids to see the largest shopping mall in North America."

I started wishing work would call, telling me all unused vacation time has been cancelled indefinitely.

Then I thought about it just a wee bit more.

Vacations are not about the destination. Taking a vacation is about recharging one's internal battery, renewing one's broader perspective and, hopefully, reconnecting in a positive way with your mate -- and the kids in the backseat.

No matter how tempted you are to choose work over vacation, it's better to take some time away from the job. Just think back a minute. When you were a kid, would you ever opt for staying at home rather than going on vacation? (If you answer yes on that one, maybe this blog's not for you.)

For example, there was the time my parents took us to the beach. My brothers and I were fighting over a beach ball in the back seat, when lo and behold the ball jumped out the open car window. We still don't remember how the ball ended up on the highway, but we'll never forget dad's reaction as he watched it bounce off cars and sail into the air. Rather than earning us his ire and a disciplinary action, he gave a shrug and a chuckle, musing how lucky some kid will soon be as the owner of a new beach ball. Dad may have wanted to say something more, but he didn't want to kill the fun we were having.

And why would he? After all, we were on vacation.

Where's the road taking you and your family this year?

Vacations can be fun, but they can be tricky sometimes, too. Drop us a line and let us know where you're going this summer. (By the way, be sure to take along your Men's NetWork cap or shirt and get in the picture for our WEAR in the World feature!) You can keep us posted by clicking here and cluing us in.

Have fun and be safe!

Three Things You Don't Want to Forget

There are many ways to share the Gospel with others, but let's face it, actually speaking the Good News is pretty intimidating for most of us. The mere prospect of rejection -- or worse -- is often enough to stop us dead in our tracks.

One way to push through the reluctance we feel is to remember the sharing part comes last.

Prayer is first.

What could be easier than praying for someone in your life who needs to know God's love the way you do. Normally, you might think of people at work, school, or your next-door neighbors. But what if you have absolutely nothing in common with them? If that's the case, then your hobbies and interests -- things you really have a passion for -- can be your guide.

Whatever passion you have, that is a natural door to starting a conversation.

Next, is caring.

Caring is the investment that increases the value of the faith you share. Even more, when people see the difference that faith, trust, and peace brings to your life -- especially in the rough stretches of your life - they will likely want to know more. Getting to that level of friendship takes some time -- time spent together -- a personal investment of hours.

And then, finally, there's sharing.

Sharing sounds intimidating, doesn't it? It usually means pushing through a boundary you haven't crossed with that friend before, which is tough if you don't know what's on the other side. What if your friend disagrees? Well, if he or she does, that's perfectly fine. People disagree all the time, especially where God and religion are concerned. Relax. Realize you'd probably have questions, too, if the situation was turned around. Pray for God to open your eyes to chances to share what Jesus means to you and how He's helped you through life's rough patches.

That leads you right back to prayer and care again. Bring to God the new things you learned about your friend in the time you spent together. Pray about their concerns, their struggles, and their worries. Think about similar situations in your life, and how your faith helped -- or how it would have helped if you hadn't tried to carry the matter by yourself.

Pray. Care. Share: three simple things to remember when we're talking to people about Jesus.

Talking to others about Jesus can be a challenge. Then again, we probably make it tougher than it is by thinking it's all about our quick wit and personality. It's really not about us. He will lead. He will empower, if only we will listen.

What do you think about sharing your faith?

Tell us by clicking here and letting us know.

Purpose. What's Yours - And How Do You Know?

My son Adam has a friend I'll call Ben. The two of them met online in a web-based training program for professional animators. Ben lives in Alaska; he is a very quiet guy; and he and his family have absolutely no connection of any kind with church or the Christian faith.

Now, since making connections in the animation industry is tough from Alaska, Adam invited Ben to come live with our family in Missouri. We invited Ben to church often; we invited him to join us in prayer; Adam invited him to the Bible study he was involved in; we had our natural family conversations about faith around him; when my wife was in the last days of her battle with cancer, we included him in our prayer times and times of devotional singing. In short, I know Ben saw a lot of the whole range of experience that we would call the Christian life.

Okay, so I'm confident the Holy Spirit was at work the whole time; I won't deny Him that. But as far as I could tell, our witness didn't have an impact on Ben's resistance.

I don't know for sure if it would have made a difference, but there is something that came to me later, after he had returned to Alaska (why does it so often seem to happen that way?). I know that Ben would at least have to have put in some thought if I had asked him one question: BEN, WHAT'S YOUR PURPOSE?

Visionary Gabe Lyons beautifully articulates purpose as Christians understand it in his book The Next Christians: "The next Christians believe that Christ's death and resurrection were not only meant to save people from something. He wanted to save Christians to something. God longs to restore his image in them, and let them loose, freeing them to pursue his original dreams for the entire world. Here, now, today, tomorrow."

Yes! As the one thing in all creation that God made in His own image, humans were made to work alongside Him in caring for everything else He had made; and in a fallen universe, God still calls us to work alongside Him -- to help Him restore everything to Himself again -- starting with other humans.

But if you don't believe in God -- if you're convinced, for example, that we're all here by way of a process of random mutations and other happenstances -- how do you discover your purpose? How can you even intuit that you have one? And if you do discover something you believe to be your purpose, where'd it come from? No, really -- where'd it come from?

The thing is, faith or no faith, people want to know their purpose; they search for it daily. Google it for yourself: just type in "What is my purpose in life?" What you'll find is that folks from Focus on the Family to Forbes to Psychology Today -- and on and on -- have advice for you. More often than not, if the adviser does not have God to point to, then he or she will try to persuade you that your purpose comes from within you.

But in a worldview without God -- in a universe where you and I might be random results of random occurrences -- that explanation doesn't satisfy. "What's your purpose?" becomes a question without an answer. In a worldview with God ... well, it's really not a mystery.

Your turn. What's your purpose? What would you have to share with a guy like Ben?

You can share your comments by clicking here.

Some Weren't Sent ... But They Went

Shavuot was one of the three major pilgrimage festivals for which devout first-century Jews traveled to Jerusalem annually. It was also known as the Feast of Weeks, because you counted seven weeks, or 49 days, from Passover, and then held Shavuot on the fiftieth day. Most people know Shavuot by the Greek word for "fiftieth day": Pentecost.

Shavuot commemorated the giving of the Torah to Israel by God at Mount Sinai. So historically it was linked to the exodus-and probably the reason they held it so soon after Passover. The fact that Jewish males were expected, no matter where they lived, to come to Jerusalem for both Passover and Shavuot no doubt posed challenges for some people. If you lived in faraway Syria or Egypt or Mesopotamia (Iraq) or Parthia (Iran), you had to travel a long way and a long time to get to and from these events. No wonder not many folks made every pilgrimage every year.

Some indeed came from all those places, though; Acts 2 says so. Remember? The disciples suddenly turn up speaking the native languages of all these diaspora Jews, and the pilgrims say to each other, "We are Parthians, Medes, Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judah, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome; Jews by birth and proselytes; Jews from Crete and from Arabia...! How is it that we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done?"

Christians around the world celebrated the modern feast of Pentecost a little more than a week ago. What might the pilgrims who attended that world-shaking first Pentecost of the Christian era likely have been doing a little more than a week after the event? Probably traveling the road home. And there's something that intrigues me about that.

You see, right after His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples (John 20:21), "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you." But they didn't go right away.

Next Jesus took the disciples to a mountain in Galilee and sent them (Matthew 28), saying "Make disciples of all nations." But then He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait -- so they didn't go right away.

And on the Mount of Olives Jesus told the disciples that they would be His witnesses to the remotest places on earth (Acts 1), but again, He told them to wait in Jerusalem -- so they didn't go right away.

Then in Acts 2 we read about the pouring-out of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem and the church being born when 3,000 people believed and were baptized. Still, we don't get a report of one of the disciples who had been sent by Jesus actually going anywhere until Acts 8, when Philip, followed by Peter and John, went to evangelize up the road in Samaria.

Yet in the very next chapter of Acts, we get the story of Saul traveling to Damascus, in Syria, to round up a whole group of believers. If by this point Jesus' disciples were only just beginning to move outside Jerusalem, where did these believers 1,800 miles away in Damascus come from? Well, how about from among those 3,000 diaspora Jews who had been in Jerusalem for Shavuot?

There's no question that Jesus sent His disciples -- but the first believers who actually went -- and shared the Gospel -- were probably those festival pilgrims.
Can this have meaning for us today?

Yes. Here's just one example. Close to two million people living in the United States are non-immigrant internationals -- many of them students. Most are here for a short time; most intend to return to their home countries. Often, when they discover that Christianity is not just a western religion, not just a religion for people of European descent, many want to know more -- and some come to faith in Jesus. And when they return to their countries, they carry the Gospel back with them.

It's like an international mission field right here under our noses.

Can you and I respond to this opportunity right now? Again, yes! Here are some things we can do:

* Be faithful to the Lord who sends all of us -- and to His message of salvation.
* Praise God for changing the hearts of many Shavuot pilgrims 2,000 years ago and then sending them back home carrying the Good News about Jesus.
* Watch and listen for when and where the Spirit might call us and send us.
* Trust God's promise that His Word will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it.
* Pray. A lot.

Let the church's recent celebration of Pentecost remind you that each of us is sent -- some of us across oceans and continents, and some of us across the street or across town. Regardless where, there are people there who are hungry for the Good News we have to share.

"Then (Jesus) said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest'" (Matthew 9:37-38).

Funny how things work out and how the Lord achieves His purposes -- sometimes in some very interesting ways.

You can share your comments by clicking here.

Change Is Good

The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a season and a time for everything. We live our lives as a testimony to the truth of these words as we move from one season of life to another, from one activity to another. Each season and activity prepare us for the next.

When we were young we longed for the day we could attend school. School days brought a desire to graduate to the "real world" of marriage, children, work, and responsibility. Those in the real world may wish to move on to an empty nest, and so it goes. Each season of life brought new challenges, more opportunities to fail, and expanded our ability to reach beyond ourselves and influence the world.

The same is true for our activities. When we were young we longed for the day we'd be employed and we rejoiced in our first job. But then our horizons expanded, and we moved to a different endeavor that provided more income, challenges, and growth. Each new occupation moved us closer to the day we'd retire and enjoy the fruit of our labors. Each time we began a new activity we had more opportunities to influence those around us for the LORD.

Lutheran Hour Ministries has a history of providing outreach seminars for congregations. Beginning in 1997 LHM offered Parish Media Teams (PMT) training. This provided congregations with opportunities to expand their outreach into the community.

In 2004 PMT training evolved into Equipping to Share (EtS) seminars. These offered in-depth instruction in personal outreach. This then morphed into MISSION U (MU) School of Outreach education in 2010.

I've been privileged to lead PMT, EtS, and MU classes over the years. I've been in front of thousands of people and humbled to hear reports from class members as they shared their faith, and I've watched the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of others. I know the Kingdom has expanded because of these trainings, and I give all glory to God.

Earlier this month on May 6, I led the last MU workshop. Outreach training and support at LHM is entering a new season with a brand-new online course program rolling out this summer. Now, topical material will be easily accessible for individual and group study, targeting the needs and concerns of engaging in outreach in a 21st-century world.

In the end we do know that regardless of the method of training it's about the words of Christ as recorded in Acts: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Men, our task is clear: be His witnesses. In support of this, LHM will continue to produce and distribute relevant materials to help you get the job done even as He blesses your efforts to tell others of the wonderful grace He offers each of us, through His Son Jesus Christ.

As we all know, guys usually don't ask for help or advice, but the stakes are too high in this not to. So let me put three questions to you:

* What topics can LHM research and develop to help you in your outreach efforts?

* What areas of Gospel outreach would you like to see addressed?

* What can we do to help you communicate the Good News to someone else: a son or daughter, a friend, your wife?

Do you have other outreach concerns you'd like to see us take on?

If so, tells us about them by clicking here and sharing your thoughts.

Something Worth Remembering

As we close in on the Memorial Day weekend in a few short days, it's a good time to pause and recall how this special day has a somber edge to it. While it's often seen as a transition point between spring and early summer, the day is one of extreme significance in the history of our nation.

While Memorial Day may not have a personal connection to you due to self or family serving in the military, the fact that people do serve makes the military something that impacts all of us. All one needs to do is consider how important it is that men and women are willing to answer the call to protect our country. In so doing they sacrifice their time, their strength, and sometimes their very lives to defend us, which is something that affects us all right here and now.

It would be nice if it didn't have to be that way. It would be great if men and women didn't have to leave their families to go to war, to suffer physical, emotional, and mental trauma that can sometimes last a lifetime. It would be wonderful if no one had to give the ultimate sacrifice and never come home. But the evil of armed conflict is real, and chances are wars and rumors of wars will be with us for the foreseeable future.

That's why this coming Memorial Day we need to remember and honor those who made great sacrifices so we can live free. To honor them we need to make our lives count; we need to make sure their sacrifices weren't in vain.

And as we remember these valiant souls, it naturally reminds of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. The deaths of the men and women we will honor this coming Monday protected our earthly freedom, but Jesus laid down His life to protect our eternal liberty, to pay the price for our sins, to guarantee us eternal life in a perfect world where sin, crime and the ravages of death will be no more.

What's Memorial Day mean to you?

Are there those you know who've paid a heavy price for their military service?

Are you one of them?

On Monday, May 29, Memorial Day, our nation honors the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. May God bless them richly.

Take a moment and let us know what Memorial Day and military service mean to you. You can do so by clicking here and commenting on the Men's NetWork blog.

Dismantling Our Defenses

Eight days. Eight long, maddening days. Over and over, the 10 apostles told their story: "We saw Jesus! He's alive!" Still no matter what they said, fellow apostle and consummate doubter Thomas refused to believe. Nothing was good enough to dispel his cynicism. For instance, here are a few of the indicators that pointed to Jesus' resurrection: left-behind grave cloths, angel words, detailed stories from women who went to the tomb, Peter's own personal visit from Jesus that Sunday afternoon, the excited comments of two trusted followers walking with Christ to Emmaus, and the admission of 10 of the 12 gathered in the upper room, where Jesus appeared to them.

Nothing.

In fact, it seems the more details they shared, the more Thomas dug in his heels. Toward the end Thomas was to the point of embarrassing himself. Perhaps it was anger, hurt and pride, but he clung to his skepticism: "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe" (see John 20: 24-29).

Now that's someone who's determined to hang on to his unbelief.

Do you have a "Thomas" in your life? Is there a husband or wife - or girlfriend or boyfriend -- who doesn't believe? Is there a child who has wandered from the faith? Do you have a brother or sister whose mind is made up? How about someone at work or a close friend? Are they locking you out? How do you reach someone who refuses to be reached? What do you do with a doubting Thomas?

Thank God for Thomas' unbelief -- no, not the unbelief itself -- but for what that unbelief teaches us about sharing the Good News with others.

Have you ever shared your faith, only to see that doing so seemed to make that person even more resistant to Jesus' message? Did you feel like a failure? Did you ever wonder on occasion if sharing your faith was a mistake?

The other disciples teach us not to give up. They kept sharing. Perhaps, they even reminded Thomas of all the experiences they had shared together in Jesus' presence as well as all the miracles they had seen. There were all the blind who received their sight, the lame who walked, the deaf who heard, the lepers who were cleansed. Together they had seen Jesus multiply bread and fish. They could remind him of that fearful time on the Sea of Galilee when they thought the boat would sink and they would all drown, only to have Jesus wake up and speak a word, stopping the winds, stilling the sea, and bringing calm to the storm. They could remind Thomas of Jesus walking on the water to them.

Who could forget that?

They might have said, "What about those times we watched Jesus square off against death and defeat it? There was that young daughter of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. She had just died when Jesus raised her. Then when we entered the town of Nain and met the funeral procession carrying the widow's son out to burial -- and Jesus raised him hours after his death. And how can we forget Lazarus, dead and buried four days, and yet Jesus was able to overcome death (and stench) and restore him to life? Is it really that big a stretch to think Jesus Himself could rise from the dead?"

When our friends reject the faith we share, we don't reject them. We keep strengthening the bonds of our friendship, watching and praying for the best time to share our faith again.

I always wondered why Jesus waited a whole week: eight long days to show Himself. Maybe it was to teach us it is not our job to convince or persuade someone to believe. After all, if it was in the apostles' power to make someone believe, shouldn't eight days have been enough for Thomas? Luther had it right: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him." And we cannot by our own reason or strength lead someone else to believe in Him.

All the disciples could do was faithfully share what they knew. All we can do is faithfully share what we know. Be patient, kind, and gentle. Build up that relationship and shake off frustration. Also, don't badger them as if it was up to us and our efforts to bring them to faith.

It was in God the Father's good time that Jesus finally came back to that upper room on the eighth day. No disciple could bring Thomas to believe. It was Jesus' visit and the power of the Holy Spirit that finally shattered his unbelief. "Thomas, put your finger in My hand, stretch out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting -- no, stop refusing to believe -- and believe!" (See John 20:27.)

Finally, the truth sunk in. "My Lord and my God!"

It was Jesus' visit that worked faith in Thomas, and it is His visit to our friends, coworkers, family and loved ones through the Gospel we share that the Holy Spirit works saving faith, even among those who seem most resistant.

Thank God for Thomas' unbelief -- but far more for his repentant belief.

Are there people in your life who flat out will have nothing to do with God's love -- or His promise of a better life through His Son Jesus Christ?

If you've had such an experience talking to people about Jesus, your faith, and the bigger picture, just click here and share your story.

The Power of Our Good Deeds

It seems only right as this will be the last e-news blog before the Men's NetWork WORK DAY on Saturday, April 29, that a few words be offered on the event and the guys who have participated in it.

As you already know, 2017 is the fifth year for this gig. Originally, the Men's NetWork kicked off the WORK DAY as a way for guys to get their men's groups focused on work activities that would help others. While individuals of all kinds have benefited from WORK DAY projects, the event's thrust was to reach and connect with people who are outside the church.

To that end, the Men's NetWork WORK DAY has been an admirable success. Individuals and families have been blessed through numerous projects and the love of Christ has been shared in deed and word. This year as your men's group gets together to work on April 29, remember that those brush strokes you apply, those nails you drive, those mulch beds you rake, and those gutters you clean are expressions of God's love through your hands and feet.

Eleven days to go. It's an exciting time of the year for us at Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Men's NetWork. We look forward to seeing your pictures and reading your brief stories in the days ahead as you recap your WORK DAY efforts for us. Believe it or not, there is still time to get on board with a project this April 29. If you have something in mind but that specific Saturday doesn't work for your group, you can schedule some other day in the future. Other groups have done this in the past, and it works equally well.

For those who have joined in on past WORK DAYs, what are some of the personal benefits you took away as a participant? Was there anything that surprised you? Was there anything you would do next time to increase your experience? How did the people you helped feel about your efforts?

To share your thoughts, click here!

Shutting Things Out

Loneliness is a big problem for many people. Perhaps you struggle with it, too. When I was growing up and trying to understand what it was to be a man, I looked to my father who was very stoic and guarded about his feelings. To my young, impressionable mind, that was what it was like to be a man. When kids at school made fun of me, mom reminded me to say, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

When I first heard the Simon and Garfunkel song "I Am a Rock," it really resonated with me. I think I can safely say it shaped the way I looked at other people for decades to come. Whenever I was hurting because of what someone did to me or said to me, I would put on that record, slip on my headphones, and sing -- almost shout,

"I've built walls, a fortress deep and mighty, that none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving I disdain. I am a rock, I am an island! ... Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island."

That is one kind of loneliness -- being hurt to the core by some people. It's being so afraid of re-experiencing that kind of pain we shut everyone out to make sure we never have to go through it again.

That's what I did.

But then Lent came around, year after year. Each time I saw Jesus acting differently than I was acting. He knew the unbearable emotional pain that was coming: the mocking from Roman soldiers and Jewish leaders, the abandonment of His chosen disciples, Peter's vehement denial, and Judas' cold-hearted betrayal. Putting myself in Jesus' shoes -- and knowing what He knew -- I know I would have locked my heart against them.

We can go through life fearing heartbreak and doing everything in our power to shield ourselves from emotional pain. But that's not really living, is it? Instead, we can let Jesus' love transform us. Then we can live daring lives with hearts wide open to love and embrace all the people around us. We can be confident that Jesus will always be present; His Spirit will comfort us in our sorrows, and when we reach the end of our road, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (see Revelation 7:17).

Many are the things that can shut us down inside: a hurtful and jilting relationship, a sharp critique from someone we respect, the bitter chastisement of a loved one. Experience one or two of these and it's easy to retreat where no one can find us. But at the end of the day, the old cliché rings true: "This too shall pass." Hanging on to that truth, however, can be very difficult sometimes.

What's your advice to someone who's been stung hard by someone else? You can share your thoughts by clicking here and commenting.

A Rare Bird

My family works with immigrants and refugees -- that's the kind of service God gave us to do. But occasionally that service takes a funny turn. I never thought pet re-homing would be part of our ministry, but that's how we got our "rare Vietnamese jungle fowl."

It was late spring, and I had been trying to find a parrot for my husband Chau's upcoming birthday. He'd been talking about getting one for years, and I thought I'd surprise him. But we were on a budget, and parrots are expensive. I hadn't found anything yet when the phone rang.

"Hello?" It was a church member on the other end, very upset. "Our landlord says we can't keep pets in our apartment. But we don't know what to do with our bird. We love him so much; we don't want him to die."

"A bird? What kind of bird?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a red bird, good-sized. A rare Vietnamese jungle fowl."

I called into the living room. "Sweetheart? Have you ever heard of a rare Vietnamese jungle fowl?"

No, my husband hadn't. But he was willing to have a look.

Twenty minutes later five people came through our door, dabbing at their eyes and blessing us for saving their darling pet. They were holding an ominous brown box with a rope leading into it.

I bit my lip. This was not going to end well.

"So let's see the rare Vietnamese jungle fowl," my husband said. Mr. B opened up the lid and out stepped ... an American rooster. Cock-a-doodle-doo!

"Thank you, thank you, for saving our pet," they all said at once. "We know you'll find the perfect home for him. And absolutely you won't let anyone eat him, will you? Oh, thank you, Pastor, thank you, Kari ...." We couldn't get a word in edgewise. At last the family left, still blessing us, and we got the rooster settled downstairs in the laundry room, leashed to an old wooden chair.

Upstairs my husband and I eyed each other. "So what are we going to do with him?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Beats me. We can't make chicken pot pie out of him, we promised. And who wants a rooster?"

A crow came from under the floor.

"Right," Chau said. "No eggs. Just noise."

Another crow. The bird was laughing at us.

"Well, at least it's Holy Week," I said. "If our neighbors hear him, they'll just think he's a prop for the Passion play."

Chau groaned.

Over the next four days I called everybody I could think of, trying to find a home for the rooster. The rotten bird had no sense of time. We had happy crowing morning, noon, and night -- clearly audible three stories up, even in the attic. It was driving us nuts. Sooner or later, one of the neighbors was going to call the police.

Then our vet called me back. "I think I may have a home for your rooster," he said. Apparently someone raising chickens out in the county would take him and promise not to eat him. Thank God! I got the bird out of the basement and into the car faster than he could crow again. An hour later, he was on his way to a new life, and our house was wonderfully quiet.

God has a funny sense of humor. What kinds of odd turns has your own Christian service taken? Share your stories by clicking here.

Actions Overcome Hate

In the middle of the dark night vandals broke into Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, a Jewish graveyard in St. Louis, Missouri. Their objective was a small-minded one: spread a message of hate by toppling headstones and desecrating graves. As daylight dawned on the 170 headstones that were pushed or knocked over, the question on everyone's mind was "Why?"

The answer to this question would have to wait as those who committed this act of ignorance remained at large. As the search went on, others spoke again those words heard all too frequently in these kinds of situations: "prejudice," "hate crime," and "anti-Semitism."

Two days after the devastation, Eric Greitens, Governor of Missouri, called for volunteers to join him at the cemetery with the message, "Whoever did this slipped into a cemetery in secret to break things. We will stand together in the open to rebuild them, stronger."

Rich Cohrs, former LHM employee, contacted Don Hugo, a member of Zion Lutheran Church, with the invitation to join in with the community in an act of love. They donned their Men's NetWork caps and headed to the scene.

They were not prepared for what they witnessed. Hundreds of people responded to the call. Police were forced to block off streets and local businesses gladly relinquished their parking lots to accommodate the crowd. Vice-President Mike Pence and Governor Greitens addressed the group and then rolled up their sleeves and started raking the area clean.

Rich and Don joined the throng, waited in line to be searched by the Secret Service and finally entered into the cemetery to their assigned task of cleaning and polishing headstones. The Men's NetWork hats gave them a talking point with some they met. They spoke to Muslims, Jews, Christians, and some non-Christians as they labored side by side.

As they were leaving, Don had the opportunity to greet the Governor. This was a special moment for Don; he was Greitens' high school principal.

Men, it doesn't require an invitation from a governor to do acts of service and compassion in your community. Opportunities abound in the wake of tornadoes, storms, fires and, sadly, even stupid acts of vandalism and bigotry.

This April's upcoming Men's NetWork WORK DAY is a great example of a time when you can come together to serve those around you. The mere act of service is a witness of love to the community. Wearing the Men's NetWork cap provides an opportunity to jump start conversations.

Men, when the best of us step up, our community stands a little taller.

Hopefully, your community doesn't have to deal with fools who topple tombstones or cast hurtful slurs against racial or ethnic minorities. Still, your community may have its own set of issues it needs to address.

As you consider a possible service project for your community, remember you can turn a men's group effort into something extra-ordinary for this year's WORK DAY on April 29. Does anything out of the ordinary come to mind when you think of what your group might do this year?

If so, tells us about it by clicking here and sharing your thoughts.

Retro Vision

It seems easier than ever to get lost in the reverie of yesteryear these days. I was looking at some old snapshots (remember those?) going back to the 70s. They were of my uncle Jim standing behind the counter of a neighborhood delicatessen he owned and operated on Chicago's South Side: Jim's Finer Foods. Together with my grandmother, they ran this store for years, living upstairs in a building that ranged from the questionable to the decrepit. One picture I saw had the photographer shooting out the store's front door. The photo was of the gas station across the street and some trees. The station and trees are long gone now. My uncle and grandma are too.

As you can imagine, that Chicago neighborhood has changed a bit over the years. Like my relatives and that streetscape, the store is gone, leveled to make way for two-story apartment buildings that are also showing their age and decay. A half century is a lot of water under the bridge when it comes to the march of civilization. Almost 50 years ago astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were bopping around on the lunar surface. If you're old enough, you remember the grainy black and white TV images of them near the lunar module, planting the U.S. flag, and becoming the first two men to set foot on the moon. And what about 50 years from now? Where will we be then? It's hard to say, but I bet we'll still be pining away (at least at times) for the good ole days of yesteryear.

I suppose that why retro TV is taking off around the country. Television programmers realized there's a huge market of 50-plus folks out there who still love the programs they grew up with and watched as young adults. Now, even without cable, viewers can watch shows like Mayberry R.F.D., Columbo, Perry Mason, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, Mangum P.I. and a few dozen more, on stations wholly dedicated to these golden oldies. With the world in flux around us and times unsure as they are, it's nice to bask in the silly nonsense of Hawkeye and Trapper's latest gag on Frank Burns or tune in while Lt. Columbo outwits and unnerves his suspects in his grinding search for the truth.

Looking back can give us a chance to catch our mental breath during times of turmoil and uncertainty.

Where do you go when you need to step back from it all? Do you have a favorite retreat you retire to? How about a hobby? Is there something you engage in when you want to get away and refresh your perspective?

Have you received any sage advice from a mentor or peer you can pass along? If so, you can share your insights by clicking here.

When the Brain Won't Do

"I can't wrap my mind around that." The first time I heard that phrase I didn't like it. I wondered what was wrong with the good old, tried-and-true admission: "That just doesn't make sense"? But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. It portrays the drive we humans feel to make sense of our lives and our world.

We don't like to pass by unsolved mysteries. Wise Solomon had it right when he wrote, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2). Most people want to know the reason things happen, and the more unclear the matter is, the more annoyed we feel, until we have a rational solution.

So often in life, especially in our relationship with God, that is what we are trying to do. We want to figure out why God has allowed difficulty, sorrow, loss or grief in our lives. We want to wrap our minds around something our minds aren't big enough to get wrapped around. I remember an eighth-grader in confirmation class who was bound and determined to figure out the Trinity. She wasn't satisfied with the glimpse of the three Persons in one God. She tried to shrink God down and fit Him into a nice, little box she could wrap her mind around. The trouble with that is if simple creatures like us can figure out God, He wouldn't be much of a God, would He?

I often hear people try to understand what God is doing in the events in their lives. They ask, "Why is God treating me this way?" or "What is God trying to tell me?" That's a really dangerous game to play, especially when we try to wrap our minds around things that are so complex, and we have such a limited point of view.

God put our mind-wrapping quest in perspective when He said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). There are times when we need to put down the box, stop trying to stretch our minds, and simply trust Him like a child. Let God be God -- and praise Him that He is, and ask Him to remind us that we are not.

Humans are born to ask questions, it seems. From these we learn and navigate our way through life. What are some things you've tried to wrap your mind around? You can give us your comments by clicking here.

The Sweet Sound of ... Service?

With the turn of the year and the prospect of moving toward spring, there's a definite sound of service in the air. You know the sweet strain: the crackle and crunch of raked leaves put into trash bags; the splash of sudsy water tossed onto concrete surfaces to be cleaned; even the wispy sound (evident only to specially trained service ears) of paintbrushes laying down another coat to spruce up that garage or aging fence.

What do you have in mind as you set out in 2017 for service projects -- either for yourself or for your neighbor? The rationale behind the question is twofold: one, we're already amping up for the 2017 Men's NetWork WORK DAY and, two, we'll soon be releasing a new video Bible study focusing explicitly on the service we render as Christians -- and how we can do more of it. The study is called Live the Six: Living Life as an Everyday Missionary. The "six" in this case represents the six days of the week beyond Sunday: most people's standard church day.

From the responses we've received over the years from WORK DAY volunteers and from the interview comments you'll soon be hearing in Live the Six, doing stuff for others is a blessed thing, with plenty of benefits going to the doer as well as the receiver. And isn't that the way it is with God? After utilizing our meager service in the aid of another, He takes what we offer and turns the blessing back our way, filling us with all those wonderful intangibles such service-work brings: deep satisfaction at the wise use of our time; a sense of being vital in the life of another; a pleasant awareness that we're just plain doing the right thing, and an abiding happiness at knowing we're part of the solution to somebody's dilemma.

As 2017 unfolds before you, be sure to take time to help out -- around the house, around your workplace, around your neighborhood. After all, doesn't such real-time service speak the love and care of God to others in way that our words sometimes lack?

What is there about our doing that's so much louder than our speaking? Perhaps it's the tangible work we leave behind. Perhaps it's our willingness to step into people's lives.

You know what we're talking about.

Tell us about your experience(s) helping others and how good it makes feel. Send your comments to us by clicking here and sharing your thoughts.

Big Stage, Big Speech, Big Deal

Before you read the next Men's NetWork blog, there will be the no-small-matter of the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States. On January 20, Donald John Trump -- real estate mogul, television reality star, and come-lately presidential candidate -- will take a solemn oath as our nation's chief executive at the U.S. Capitol Building.

Undoubtedly, Trump will have a few words to say.

Here are a few opening day remarks from days gone by:

"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America" (Barack Obama, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009).

"So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world" (George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address, January 20, 2005).

"Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America" (Bill Clinton, First Inaugural Address, January 21, 1993).

"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man" (John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961).

"This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance" (Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933).

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations" (Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865).

"And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people" (George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789).

Words ... each and every one ... delivered at a time of hopeful anticipation that renews every four years in our nation's history. No matter the person in office, God is in charge. No matter the circumstances of our country or the world we live in, God is in control. Let us remember that as we move forward -- whether the candidate who assumes the Office of the Presidency on January 20 is your man or not.

Well, one thing's for sure. The days of overblown political hyperbole are behind us -- at least for a while. Let us know what you think about this passing of the baton. You can do so by clicking here.