Category: family

“My Daddy fell down this morning and a firetruck came to my driveway. The doctor came in the house and a fireman put stickers all over Daddy’s tummy.” This was the story four-year-old Wilkes told his teacher a few weeks ago.

Susan and I were at Emory getting tests done when Emma called. She had called 911 when Taylor passed out after complaining of a racing heart. The paramedics said his heart was out of rhythm and that he needed to see a doctor. The doctor sent them to the emergency room and for a while things were crazy. Helpers rushed to his room and nurses tore off Taylor’s clothes. The doctor said, “Mr. Davis, we think you’re having a heart attack.” In the hall, a person asked Emma if her husband had a will.

I made it to the emergency room shortly after they determined Taylor was in atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats irregularly and too fast. Susan drove to Taylor’s house and took care of Wilkes and Macy. Of course Emma was shaken up. The doctor released them around 10:00 that night with instructions to meet with a cardiologist and find the cause.

So for the past few weeks, Taylor has been meeting with doctors and undergoing various tests. An echocardiogram revealed he has an atrial septal defect (ASD) – basically, a hole in the heart. He has had it since birth and his heart has simply compensated for the abnormality. Doctors said it was good that the problem came to light now, because patients five to ten years older than Taylor typically experience far more dangerous problems.

Soon a date will be scheduled to patch the hole by going through a vein in Taylor’s leg. The doctor is confident he will be fine. Thanks for praying for him and Emma and all of us.

It is a terrible feeling to see your son, only in his early thirties, face a life threatening situation. This week, the world remembers another Son who in His early thirties willingly went to the location where His life would be taken. A perfect Father allowed the injustice, the suffering, and the death to take place for you and for me.

But God did not allow His only Son to remain in the ground. The blood of Jesus brings us forgiveness. His death brings us reconciliation. His resurrection brings us life. “Thank you, Lord.”

Happy Easter!

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6-11

“We died to sin; how shall we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:2-11

“Mommy woke me up super early. It is really super dark outside. We are going to have a super day!”

With Emma sitting between them, three-year-old Wilkes and one-year-old Macy were wide-eyed in the backseat of Taylor’s truck as we drove to the airport at 4:00 Saturday morning. They were on the way to visit Kinsey, Jordan, Owen, Keightley, and Susu in Colorado. Somehow I got left out of this trip.

After a great adventure to Golden, Colorado that afternoon, the kids went to bed early Saturday night, but with the two hour time difference, Wilkes and Macy were up at 4:30 Sunday morning. So they drove to Red Rocks Park, just outside of Denver, witnessed a beautiful sunrise and made it back home for church.

With four kids under four, everyone is having a great adventure. I’m looking forward to hearing Wilkes talk about a “super trip to Wed Wocks Colowado!”

We have a Winter Break next week so I won’t write…

“Just think – you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God Himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure shares with us the life of His Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.”
I Corinthians 1:7-9 (The Message)

Four friends lost parents during the holidays. Steve Wolf, who has managed this website and helped with these writings, and his wife Julie were with his dad when he passed away in his sleep on December 27. I met Mr. Wolf but mainly know him through Steve. A Civil War buff, he would often take his son to battlefields and teach lessons of history. Steve will miss his father and friend.

Tim Ball’s mother also passed away on December 27. All the years I have known Tim, I’ve noticed how he honors his parents. My good friend will miss his mother but knows she is in a better place.

Then Tim’s wife Pam lost her mom on January 1. Please pray for the Ball family during this difficult time.

One of my old basketball players’ father also died on December 27. Now 6’6”, Tommy Tormohlen was a small, skinny seventh grader in my first coaching job. His dad Gene often sat in the corner of the gym and watched practice. He was a six foot nine inch former NBA player and worked as a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers. Never did Gene say a negative word to Tommy’s young coach. Instead, he encouraged me and taught me the way to be a supportive parent. My heart goes out to these families.

The Sunday after Christmas, all the kids and grandkids gathered at my parents’ house in Chattanooga. I never want to take this home for granted. My dad is 85 and my mom is 84 and their love currently touches four generations.

My father is a child magnet. He scoops up the babies when they enter his home and holds them for hours. And when they are big enough to walk, he takes them into the fields to experience cows, horses, gardens, and the great outdoors. My dad is patient and gentle and kind… that must be why kids love to be around him.

There is no better cook or expert in hospitality than my mother. She mixes love in every meal and records memories with her disposable instamatic cameras. When she can wrestle the babies away from my dad, she will sing songs to them just like she sang to me. The lives she has touched go far beyond what she can even imagine.

Watching Taylor, Emma, Kinsey, and Jordan raise their children, I recognize some of the reasons God tells us to honor our parents. Parents work hard! May our memories, thoughts, and actions be full of thanksgiving for those who brought us into the world.

“Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise – “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3

Aunt Karlyn loved holding baby Keightley as much as any of us. Enjoying family during the holiday season is my favorite part.

After flying home from Denver the day after Thanksgiving, Susan and I enjoyed seeing John Turner, who was in town. John moved with his mom to Foley, Alabama, this school year. We miss him terribly, but he loves it there and we pray he thrives in high school, in wrestling, and in ROTC — which he really enjoys.

I don’t think Jesus intended to belittle His earthly family, but He redefined His relatives in an interesting way: “While Jesus was talking to the crowd, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak with You.’ He replied to him, ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ Pointing to His disciples, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’” (Matthew 12:46-50)

What is the ‘will of the Father’? What caused Jesus to call these disciples His family? I think they had come to a simple conclusion: “This Man is no ordinary teacher. He is the Chosen One, our Messiah that the prophets of old predicted would come to redeem God’s children. I am going to follow Him all my life. I am going to listen to Him and do exactly what He says because He is the Son of God.”

Jesus embraced such individuals as ‘mother’ and ‘brother’ and ‘sister’… and He still does. “My Father is your Father; My God is your God. You are part of My family.”

“Then they asked Him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.’” John 6:28-29

“To the Jews who believed in Him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” John 8:31-32

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

With the Red Sox playing the Dodgers in the World Series this year, I am reminded of a special gift to our family in 2007.

On June 9, 2018, Jon Albert was named a CNN Hero for ‘making extraordinary contributions that make a difference in our world.’  Jon’s wife died of breast cancer in 2006.  Witnessing the impact the struggle against cancer had on their two children and experiencing the trial as a husband and caretaker, Jon started The Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation to help families dealing with life-threatening cancer. Literally hundreds of families have been blessed by this generous organization.

In the summer of 2007, my family was chosen by the Foundation to visit Boston and attend a Red Sox game in Fenway Park. We were invited to go onto the field during batting practice, and Taylor hoped to get an autograph from David Ortiz (‘Big Papi’) or Manny Ramirez, the only two players he was familiar with on the American League team.

Kinsey stood near the Red Sox dugout and heard two fans yell, “Hey Mikey!” They knew the player and walked over and gave hugs and talked. Kinsey was standing an arm’s length away. She motioned me over and said, “Tell Taylor I can get this player’s autograph; I am standing right next to him.” I delivered the message and Taylor asked, “Who is he?” I answered, “I don’t know… some guy named Mikey.” Taylor said, “I don’t want his autograph if we don’t even know who he is.” So the invitation was declined.

In the first inning, a batter was introduced: “Third baseman, Mike Lowell!” The home crowd roared. Kinsey said, “That’s Mikey!”

Mike hit a home run. Taylor moaned. Karlyn laughed. The Red Sox ended up winning the World Series later that year. Guess who was named Most Valuable Player? Mike Lowell, third baseman for the Boston Red Sox…

Jesus did not say to the woman at the well: “If you knew who I was, you would ask Me for an autograph.” He did say: “If you knew the gift of God and Who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you Living Water.” (John 4:10)

We know who He is…

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of Living Water will flow from within him.’ By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” John 7:37-39