Deacon's Diary

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Do not fear what they fear.

On a recent trip through Missouri and other places I checked into a hotel to shut down for the night. The road had been unusually long  that day. I was feeling a little down. Some sense of worry had set in.

It wasn't really hard to figure out why. As a news junkie I had been listening to the radio all day. The stories about the flooding in the midwest, the reports on the soaring prices of the fuel that I so much depend on, all the political commentary about how bad it's going get if this candidate or that candidate gets elected in November, these and some other things had all combined together and got to me a little.

I would imagine that this happens to most all of us at times. This world and this life we live can become overwhelming at times. The people that report the news to us seem to always focus on the negative, and I guess they probably always will. It's a wonder we don't get down more often than we do.

In that hotel room, thanks to the Gideons, was a copy of the best selling book of all times. There on the night stand beside the bed I found the Bible. Today I needed it more than maybe on other days. As it always seems to happen, I opened the book in the right place, and began reading from Isaiah, chapter eight. It didn't take long at all to find the exact words that I needed.

God was instructing the prophet Isaiah during a time of great peril. Verses twelve and thirteen, though given to Isaiah a long time ago,  now had provided the appropriate comfort that I needed in 2008.

Isaiah 8:12 and 13

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Because He Said so.

We've all heard it growing up. "Because I said so." I know I heard it. Loud and clear. And then that was that. End of the discussion. Period.

 I am talking about how dad would some time settle things around the house. His final word, although lacking any detail, was never lacking any of the authority behind it. "Because I said so", had meaning.

It wasn't that Dad was being blunt and abrupt just because he could. When he used that phrase it had meaning because all of us kids knew that he had already spoken on the issue at hand. "Because I said so" was just a reminder. It was his way of saying that we should already know where he stood. It was his way of making us think about it.

I can remember that even back then I would find some comfort in those four simple words. "Because I said so' meant that what ever the disagreement or struggle was about, it was now settled. The rules were defined and there would be no more speculation. No more wondering. There is a good deal of comfort to be gained when doubt is removed. I'm thankful for my Dad for many things. But maybe mostly for that.

The same can be said about our Heavenly Father. No matter what problems might come along in our lives, God has the right answer. He has already spoken on the issue at hand no matter what it might be. For the most part, we already know where He stands. We just forget.

 God isn't in the habit of sending  us a booming voice from above with a loud "Because I said so". But He has given us the Bible. In times of disagreement or struggle, reading the Bible can settle it. All doubt can be removed. Be thankful to God for all things. Maybe mostly for that.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Handy prayer guide.

The following, called the Five Finger prayer guide, was sent to me via e-mail by Meg Lyon. I felt it was worth sharing. Thanks Meg!

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, our "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. It reminds us to pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes our teachers, our doctors, and our ministers. They need God's support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It should remind us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These are the people that shape our nation and effectively guide public opinion. They surely need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher or piano player will readily testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, or sick, or in trouble, or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be humbled enough to be able to pray for yourself more effectively.              --Author Unknown

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Souler powered.

If you have read any of my writings in the past, you probably already know that I spend a lot of time out on the road. Almost every week will find me out there somewhere away from home at least two nights a week. It comes with the job I 've got. It's just the way it works.

On every trip I take my cell phone with me. I need it to stay in contact with every one back home. With Kay and/or the boys. I need it to stay in contact with the office too, just in case they need to dispatch me in a different direction. The shipper might need to contact me also, just to make changes.
You get the point. That cell phone is an important tool when I get out there on the road. But one day last week I left out with no way to charge it up. I had the phone, but the battery was low and getting lower. It started blinking and beeping at first, and when it got low enough it shut itself down. Leaving me with no communication to any one back home, or in the office, or anywhere.

I looked at the phone after it died and thought how worthless it was without any power. Just a shell made of plastic and silicone and whatever else they put into those kind of things. With out a source of power it wasn't worth the cost of the materials it was made out of. Not much more than a paper weight.

To make it even worse, I thought about all the electrical power right there around me in the cab of that truck. That truck has three big batteries in it. But without the proper charger I had no way of tapping into them.  In the distance ahead of me I saw lightning and thought of all that electrical power. All this power around me I thought, but with no way at all to connect to it. 

Just about then I saw the sun setting down behind me. A great source of power. But since the phone isn't solar powered, that doesn't work either.

All this thinking about that stupid phone got me to thinking about another kind of battery. The spiritual batteries we all have as Christians. Like that phone, we too need charging. Like that phone we have a way of connecting to that Power Source that is greater than all of those mentioned above combined and then multiplied. It's called prayer. Made possible by the Son. Delivered to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. May you never leave home without it.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Peaceful sleep.

When I sat down at the computer this morning and turned the monitor on there was a notice waiting for me on the screen. It was not a new kind of notice. I've seen it before. As a matter of fact I see that same notice on a fairly regular basis. I usually think nothing of it. But today it made me think.

The notice that I'm talking about was from the Norton program we have installed in the computer. You know Norton, the anti-virus soft ware. The notice said that it completed its scheduled scan and that everything is good.  It said that 283,654 items were examined and any problems that were discovered were either fixed or eliminated. My computer remains safe.

All this scaning took place while I slept. Norton was on patrol looking for problems that I didn't even know I had. Quietly and without any action on my part, that program went about its work to keep the computer running smooth.  Confronting any and all things that might seek to disrupt the computers operation. Ready, willing, and able to do what is necessary to stop them.

Like I said, I usually don't think much about that notice from Norton. If the truth be told, sometimes I even consider the whole thing somewhat of a nuisance. I just press 'ok' and soon forget all about it. Like it never happened. But this morning, while the notice was still up on screen, I gave a salute to Norton, and thanked him for his work and for keeping me safe while I slept.

One might think my behavior is a little odd. Saluting to the computer at six o'clock Sunday morning. Sounds kind of strange, I know. But it wasn't Norton that I was really saluting. It was what the notice from Norton reminded me of.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. The day we have set aside to honor those who have died to keep us safe. Those brave men and women that sacrificed all confronting any and all adversaries that might seek to disrupt the smooth operation of our nation. Those who went into battle ready, willing, and able to do what ever was necessary to stop any threats from doing us harm, and they have done exactly that. Threats that we may or may not have even known about. Many times while we here at home slept is peace. We salute all you good soldiers. Thanks for keeping us safe. May you now sleep in peace.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

The Mother of all Bulletins

We've all seen it a million times. The athlete that finally gets to put his face in front of the camera for a few seconds. They could say anything. They could give a shout out to anyone in the world. But when that moment arrives it almost always results in the same response no matter who it is. "Hi Mom!"

If you do a google search using the three words 'mother of all', you'll get about 33,300,000 different results. On the first page of the many millions of pages, it advertises four different books that actually use 'mother of all' in their titles. "The Mother of all Trades", "The Mother of all Crimes", "The Mother of all Churches", and finally,  "The Mother of all Pregnancy Books".

Writers of all kinds use the term 'mother of all' to make the point that what ever it is that they are talking about is big. Perhaps the biggest. Or the best. Or the most significant. They use the term to describe an object or an event that, as of the present time anyway, tops anything that has come before it.

Let us also note the many other ways that the word 'mother' is used to signify greatness. Mother nature comes to my mind. There is nothing in this world more powerful, and displays more force before our eyes than mother nature.

The same happens in the world of fiction, too. Look at our wonderful collection of nursery rhymes from Mother Goose. And we all know that there has never been a science fiction movie about an invasion from outer space worth its salt that didn't feature the 'Mother Ship'.  It just wouldn't be the same without it.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. We can learn a lot about what people think of certain words by observing how it is used in the language. When it comes to describing the biggest, the best, the most significant, or the most influential things around us, then I guess that 'mother' would have to be the 'mother of all words'. That's because Mother is really special to all of us.

My mom has been gone for a long time. She went to be with the Lord some 16 years ago. I don't really believe that there are televisions in heaven. At least I hope not. But if I ever get the opportunity to have one those moments in front of a camera I know what I'll do. I'll just smile and say, "Hi Mom!"  Just in case.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist of Avalon, Texas.

Needing weeding.

My wife Kay has been laughing at me lately. She laughs every time I go on one of my 'weed hunts'. That's when I take a walk around the front yard looking for weeds to pull up. Thistles. Clover. Anything that does not look like grass.   When I find them I try and get rid of them. Sometimes they come up root and all, and sometimes they break off at the surface. The ones that break of at the surface usually grow back, so later on, I'll have to pull them out again.

But that is not why Kay finds my weed hunting so amusing. She laughs because of the changes I've made since moving to Arlington from out there in the country where I am from. I didn't used to care much about all the weeds. I used to just mow right over them. "Weeds are green too," I used to say. When I lived out there I had a whole acre to keep up with.  I would have killed my myself trying to pull all the weeds out of that yard. But the yard here in Arlington is not that big.  It is of a manageable size and easier to keep up with. So, I stay on the hunt.

There's another thing that I do here in this smaller yard that I never used to try with the bigger one. I water the thin spots so that the good grass has incentive to grow more stronger there. That, too, is something that would have been right near impossible to pull off when dealing with an entire acre.

Though it's a stretch, yesterday I was thinking how my attitude towards my yard keeping changed with a simple change of scenery and how it compares to my life before and after I started coming to church. I thought of how sin is much like the weeds in the yard. Before I met all the good people at my church, I didn't think much of them. And no matter how many times I tried to just mow them over, they were still there. Those sins, like weeds in the yard, stole away the nutrients from the ground and prevented the good stuff from growing. Before church I never worried much about watering the thin spots either. The thin spots representing the places in my life that were lacking. And the water, of course, is Jesus!

Finding the church and finding Jesus Christ didn't make my sins just go away. I still got 'em. I still got weeds. But with His grace and forgiveness, they have become much more manageable. Some of which are easier to pull out than others. Some of them just break off at the surface. But with His help, and His grace, I'll keep on hunting.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

A winner every time.

A couple of weeks ago I entered a writing contest. I found this place on the computer one day while 'surfing' the net. It's called 'Faithwriters.com'. The purpose of the site is help rookie writers of the world, like me, get their articles read. Then maybe, just maybe, get some of them published too. If they're good enough.

Here is how it works. They give you a subject matter to write about, and then they limit the word count to 750 words. You must title your article with something other than the simple subject matter word or words. And finally, you must not put your name on your submission. Your work will then be 'judged'. These judges will not only pick the winners of each weeks entries, they will also critique all of the entries.

My entry did not win the contest. It did get read. It did get judged. And yes, I did get some constructive criticism. It seems that they think that I need to put more space between my different thoughts, and I need to make use of more paragraphs.

Okay. I can do that. No problem at all. And doing that does make it easier to read.

Other than that, the judges seem to like my work just fine. I think I'll enter the contest again. I will try to take any criticism to heart and make some changes. The judges are just trying to help. That is their purpose. I will listen to them.

There was a day and time when I was not so willing to listen to any criticism.  I can remember times when my reaction to such criticism was, let's just say, less than what it should have been. It is not necessarily in our nature as human beings to receive constructive criticism well. One's knee-jerk reaction might be to repel from it and become defensive. As I have gotten older, however, I have learned that when I make those kind of knee-jerk reactions two things usually happen. I wind up with a sore knee, and looking like a jerk.

As for the writing contest, like I said before, my entry did not get picked as the winner. But if I take their instructions to heart to improve and hone my writing skills I will have won any way. If I take their advice maybe these bulletin will improve in quality. That means that you good people of my church family will have won as well. That's makes for one of those coveted win-win situations for everyone involved.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

A family in reverse.

I'll never forget the time that my Uncle Dale came by our little house in a great big Greyhound bus. All of us kids were pretty young at the time. You can just imagine how much it thrilled all of us to see that giant thing coming down our old gravel road. We all stood and watched as it approached, wondering why in the world it was traveling in these parts. When it stopped right in front of our house we became even more interested. Then those air brakes hissed out a cloud of dust. The door slowly opened. And our surprise was finally made complete when down the steps and out came a man we all knew and loved.

I've got a lot of similar and fond memories of my Aunt Carolyn too. When we were just little kids, we all used to spend a good bit of our summers at her house. The fun lunches she fixed for us. The great games we played. Her generally laid back and happy nature made it a joy for us to be around her. Even now, after many years have past, Aunt Carolyn still has a special place in my heart. She has become a part of my permanent memory.

I have a lot of other kind memories of Dale and of all my other uncles. Those memories fit right nice along side the memories of Carolyn and all of my other aunts as well. Most people can probably relate to this. Aunts and uncles, for good reason, most always leave favorable marks in the hearts of their nieces and their nephews. On top of all that, they have become part of our history. Branches on the family tree.

We don't get to choose these aunts and uncles. We are born with some of them. Uncle Dale was my mother's brother. Others we acquire through marriage. Aunt Carolyn married my father's baby brother, Clyde. We don't have a say in the matter at all. In a way we just get stuck with them. By birth. Or for better or worse. They are who they are. Nothing we can do will ever change that fact.

Maybe I am just lucky, but the memories I have of my aunts and uncles for the most part are all good. They may have gotten the title of aunt or uncle by birth or by marriage, but it was by their actions that they earned my love and respect.

There is yet another way we can get an aunt or an uncle, however. The way that works kind of in reverse. Aunts and uncles whose family we were not actually born into. Those special people that first earn your love and respect, and then are given the nickname of aunt or uncle. One that comes to my mind is 'Uncle' Kenneth Wilson. He is such a special part of my church family that he is well deserving of his title 'Uncle'. This is a feeling that must be shared with most everyone at our church. All of us call him that. I just hope that he enjoys hearing it half as much as his fellow church members enjoy saying it.

There are countless other examples of this happening. The women in their neighborhoods who all the kids only know as 'Aunt so-in-so'. The men, like Mr. Wilson at my church, who are such solid members in their communities that they earn the love and respect of all those around them. The family friends that, over time, end up with that endearing nickname of aunt or uncle. These 'aunts and uncles in reverse' often end up meaning just as much, if not more,  to the people who know them than the aunts and uncles that they inherited at birth or acquired through different marriages. Through kindness and love they have found their way into the hearts of the people around them. They have carved out their little niches in the memories of others the old fashion way. They earned it.

 May God bless all of the 'reverse' aunts and uncles of the world. We could use a lot more of them today.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

 Let me be the first to say.

We all know that Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Carried up there in the Apollo eleven craft, he set foot on the moon on July 20th, 1969. Russia Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the earth back on April 12th, 1961. Most of us have heard about Sir Edmund Hillary, who on May 29th, 1953, was the first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest. Most of us didn't know that a man from Norway named Erling Kagge was the first man to go to the South Pole all alone in 1911, and most us probably didn't care either. Many of us have probably heard that Ferdinand Magellan and his crew are credited with being the first to sail around the world back in 1522, but did you know that a guy named Joshua Slocum was the first to do it all alone in 1898? Probably not. But because we have become the great record keepers that we are today, all that is now part of our history. All that and much, much more. Some things are not so clear, like whom was the first to fly a mechanical airplane. Was it the Wright brothers, Richard William Pearse of New Zealand, or Otto Lilienthal of Germany? Other things are more clear, but on the trivial side, like the man named Gene Rychlak that became the first man to bench press 1000 pounds. What all this means is that we are, and have always been,  somewhat obsessed with keeping up with 'firsts'. We all know that George Washington was the first man to become our first president. In November, if Hillary Clinton is elected, she will be the first woman to become our president. That would mean Bill would be the first man to become, well, the first man.

All these 'first' are all well and good I suppose. Some of them mark noble and triumphant achievements. Others don't really mean anything at all other than they were just first. Some of these things were shocking because they proved that things that were previously believed to be impossible were not impossible at all.

 While some first, like the one about flying, are still disputed in history, there are a couple of them that are not disputed at all. The first sinner on this planet was also the first man on this planet. And the first man to go through this world without sin was also the first and only Son of God. Because of His sacrifice the impossibility of us as sinners to be reconciled with a Holy God is no longer impossible. Let us all be among the first to say, "Thank you Jesus!"

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