Think About It

I promise not to bombard you with five months worth of Texas Rangers stuff, but as we head into the offseason, I did want to make one final observation. On Saturday; September 30, the Rangers secured their place in the playoffs. All they needed to do was win on Sunday and they would be assured as the 2nd seed in the upcoming playoffs and a few days of rest at home. Not only did they not win, they looked pretty inept and were forced to face the Tampa Bay Rays in Florida. Now, if you have followed the MLB post-season you probably realize the Rangers won all their road games and set a record on their way to their first World Series. I remember thinking on that last Sunday of the regular season that it had been fun, but it was about to be over. Fortunately, the team was able to turn things around – and I believe they actually benefitted from having to play so quickly after their rocky last series in Seattle. My point in this reflection is that, sometimes, challenges and even failure...

When the framers of a Constitution for the new United States of America worked on their document, I doubt they realized just how much they would impact history. While what was originally drafted in 1787 was insightful, some of the most compelling work has been done in fine tuning the document through the amendments. One of the first alterations came in 1791 when the American people were expressly given the right to worship as they saw fit. In what has come to be known as the First Amendment, our government assured, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion …”. Many have interpreted this as a call to a freedom from religion, but the true meaning seems to be a freedom of religion. We have the liberty to worship our God in our ways. While this freedom means a lot to the United States, it also follows a very natural understanding of the nature of spiritual matters. Worship – especially God-centered worship – cannot be dictated by government, it begins in t...

How do we see the people in the church? There are a variety of ways to look at other Christians. Sometimes, we see them as too aloof to be approachable. Other times, we might see them as rivals for programs or attention. Some might be perceived as holdovers from past generations that keep us from achieving our leadership roles. We might even devalue some as hypocrites creating issues in the church or giving us a black eye. Now, I realize that each one of our relationships will be different, but the other day I came across a passage of Scripture that can be used as a way to help formulate our relationships. Timothy’s mentor, Paul, reminded him, “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.” (I Timothy 5:1-2). Simply, Paul challenges Timothy to treat Christians as he would a healthy family. It is often tempting to apply some qualities of a dys...

I just want it to stop! I am tired of opening up my news browser and seeing report of two people killed in an act of violence here or dozens killed in a mass shooting there. Multiple explanations abound over why this is happening and who is to blame – but I am tired of the senseless violence. I am frustrated watching my neighbors and fellow citizens suffer. As I got to thinking about why this continues, my mind wandered to what God must be thinking. People who kill senselessly aren’t just violating some local law, they are ignoring His most basic principle – the value of life. Those who are impacted aren’t just names that come across a TV screen or even community members, they are His children. When this happens, He doesn’t have to ask how do we fix it, all He has to do is point to His book and say, “I have given you the answers”. Yet, my most compelling thought was why doesn’t He just end the world and put an end to this violence. We know He has the power – why continue to le...

I was recently asked why I am not a big fan of Halloween. Now, let me go on record that I do like the days following Halloween because the good chocolate goes on mega-sale, but it is true that I am not thrilled with Halloween. To be completely candid with you, I am not so opposed to the day that we prohibited our children from participating, I just don’t really like what it has become. Sure, there is the “spirit world” aspect of it, but I think that thing that troubles me the most is how it has become an excuse for bad behavior. I have seen too many places egged, too many cars with their windows smashed by frozen pumpkins and too many people wandering around incapacitated by an evening of Halloween bar crawls. To top it off, it does concern me to see little children (and even adults) dressed up in cartoonish versions of the devil. (He doesn’t need any help disguising himself as “cute” – he his sneaky enough on his own.) Now, after all this, I am not saying that I will think less ...

In the mid-1960s Monsanto created a product that would eventually be called AstroTurf after its use in the Houston Astrodome. The synthetic product which resembled grass in many ways came to be a replacement for natural grass in many arenas. While it does have some usefulness (especially in climates where green grass isn’t always guaranteed) it has its own issues as well – including the aptly named “turf toe” injury. Through the years and development of other synthetic surfaces the name brand has given way to the more generic term – artificial turf. Now, you might wonder why I am sharing this tidbit with you. Well, the other day I was dealing with an issue that really wasn’t an issue at all. For some reason I had allowed my mind to wander into a state of anxiety. When I came back to my senses, I realized that what I had done was create an artificial anxiety. I wasn’t worried about something real or even rational, my worry was as artificial as Astroturf! For whatever reason, my ...

Throughout my lifetime Theodore Roosevelt seems to have developed a greater following. I don’t really recall hearing much about him as a child, but now, a lot of people seem to hold him in high esteem. So, following the trend, on the 165th anniversary of his birth I thought I would spotlight him – we’ll sort of. You see there are a lot of “Teddyisms” that I like, I recently came across one that caused me to stop and reflect. According to one source, Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best think you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”. I don’t know if there is a connection, but many of us have heard a parallel to this logic, “Don’t just sit there, do something!”. Now, while I think everyone would agree that doing the right thing is the best thing that can be done, but it is on the second point that I seem to object to President Roosevelt’s logic. While I understand that freezing up in a moment...