1993

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Dana

When you have one child, it is hard to imagine the capacity to love another, but God richly supplies. When you have two children, it is hard to imagine the capacity to love still another, but God richly supplies. His love is infinite, so we need not worry. In 1993 our third child was born. Susan and I joke that you find out what kind of parent you really are when you’re outnumbered. Karlyn is now a senior in high school and we love her so much. Over the past two years she has matured into a God-seeker. We pray as parents: “Lord, let our children know you and follow you and be filled with your Spirit,” but is this a safe prayer?

What if God says: “This child is mine; I have chosen your son/daughter for a great purpose…”? Would this bring joy to our hearts… or fear? When we consider some of the chosen in Scripture (Abraham, or Moses, or Joseph, or David, or Esther, or Mary, or John the Baptist, or Peter, or Paul) and then think of our own child being chosen by God, would we be tempted to say: “That’s OK Lord, you can choose someone else if you don’t mind…”?

The question may truly be: “Can we trust God with our children?” We believe deep down the answer is “yes”, but we also know that those listed above and many, many others endured difficult times. Jesus told Ananias regarding Paul: “This is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)  Paul told us throughout his life: “It is worth any price to know Christ! Yes, you can trust God! Of course there will be difficulty as the kingdom of light shines against the kingdom of darkness, but suffering leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to character, and character leads to hope!”

We as parents must trust the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Hannah promised God that if he would just give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. God answered her prayer. He spoke to Samuel when he was a little boy and Samuel became the prophet who anointed kings of Israel and boldly delivered God’s word to his people. Hannah knew for a fact that her son was a gift from God and she trusted the Giver with the gift. Surely we can do the same.

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” I Samuel 1:27-28

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1989

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Dana

I danced with my oldest daughter a couple of weekends ago. She flew in for the wedding of a close friend and it was so good to see her. The last time I danced with Kinsey was at her own wedding this past July. Father and daughter danced to “Butterfly Kisses” and there were many tears of joy. Sitting on my bedroom floor early in 1989 with a tiny dark haired baby girl asleep in my arms, I did not imagine the day I would walk her down the aisle. “Precious memories… how they linger… how they ever flood my soul…”

Throughout history, as God has watched people-group fight against people-group and tribe war against tribe, I wonder if He’s thought: “It might have been better if we would have created just one race of humans.” But aren’t we thankful for differences? Parents with more than one child have probably considered: “Things would be a lot more peaceful and less stressful if we just had one.” But aren’t the struggles worth the rewards?

Taylor and Kinsey argued constantly growing up. From the time Kinsey could walk and talk, her big brother taught her to compete. Playing baseball in the front yard, Kinsey took off her shirt just like all the boys in the neighborhood (this is when she was little, of course). Whatever brother did, little sister wanted to do. Taylor was bigger and stronger, but I’m afraid Kinsey was a little smarter, so the conflicts were often intense. A memorable ‘discipline’ memory occurred one summer day after I told the kids we were going to a Braves’ baseball game.  This was a total spur-of-the-moment treat so when I came to the car and saw Taylor and Kinsey fighting and arguing about sitting in the front seat, I said: “OK, that’s it. Because you guys can’t get along we’re not going to the game.” There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but nothing would change the father’s mind. “Angry words… O let them never… from the tongue unbridled slip…”

So what’s the reward? No greater joy comes to a mother or father as when their children love one another. It may have taken hours of lectures and years of consequences, but I think I can say with all honesty that all our children really do love one another. A good friend gave Kinsey two buddy passes to take a trip after her high school graduation. I was confident my beautiful graduate would take her father on a little vacation, but who did she invite? Her older brother! As Taylor and Kinsey traipsed through Italy and France as best friends, Susan and I trusted our son and daughter to protect one another and we thanked God for children.

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” II John 4-6

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1986

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Dana

Last week a good friend reminded me that his oldest child was born in 1982. The highlight of the year for parents is the birth of a child. Maybe huge world events took place in 1986; maybe important people died; maybe key elections were held… but in 1986 our son, Taylor, was born. Because his lungs were not fully developed, Taylor spent thirteen days in the intensive care unit. Susan and I felt so helpless as he was hooked up to a respirator. We prayed and cried as we rode the roller coaster of good reports and bad reports, but finally Taylor was proclaimed healthy enough to come home… and life has never been the same.

How many lessons does God teach us through our children? I’m sure I knew something about love before kids, but such familiar verses as John 3:16 exploded with new meaning after Taylor was born. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What kind of love motivates a Father to sacrifice his only Son for people who don’t deserve it? Familiar stories like the one of Abraham and Isaac forced me to consider what faith in God really means. What kind of trust and obedience leads a father to put his only son on an altar?

For a little more than twenty-five years we’ve watched a little boy grow up. I’ve tried to teach him the things a father should. I’ve let him learn from my mistakes and I’ve encouraged him through some of his own. I’ve often marveled at the faith of our children and I’ve marveled even more at the numerous times God has revealed himself to them. He loves our children more than we do, so in a way, we as parents are simply participating with God as He molds our kids. Now with a great wife and a wonderful job, Taylor is asking what it means to ‘seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.’

I’m trying to learn one more lesson. As parents, we know what it means to delight in our children. Does God the Father delight in us in similar ways? I think He does. “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it — we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are.” (I John 3:1 from The Message)

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zeph 3:17

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1982

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Dana

Two of the hippies who became Christians in California during the Jesus Movement of the 1960′s and 70′s were Keith and Melody Green. Keith was a talented musician who started writing songs and playing the piano at a very young age. Both he and Melody were young people searching for truth when Jesus revealed himself as their Savior and Lord in 1975. “We felt we had been shot out of a cannon into another universe,” Melody said. “We knew this was the truth we had been looking for and we wondered how we could share it with others. Keith would bring out his guitar and sing on the street or beach and a crowd would gather and then he’d tell them about Jesus. Not coming from any church background, we were looking at Christianity with very fresh eyes.”

On July 28,1982, Keith and his two oldest children died in a plane crash behind their home near Tyler, Texas. Melody was left with their youngest daughter and was pregnant with their fourth child. Keith Green was twenty-eight years old when he died.

Of course no one knows exactly why such things happen to people, especially young Christians who are on fire for God. Keith was a voice for Jesus in his generation and he spoke boldly to all who would listen. Bob Dylan played harmonica on one of his albums, but Keith had no desire to be a celebrity… he just wanted people to know Jesus. He once said, “If you follow the Jesus who was crucified, the Jesus who called sinners to repentance, the Jesus who requires denial of self as requirement to follow Him, then you can kiss popularity with the world good-bye.”

In 2001, Melody published some of her late husband’s journal writings and concert messages in “Make My Life a Prayer” (published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon). She wrote, “Today, Keith’s words are just as relevant as the day he spoke them – and they will bless, inspire, and challenge you on your journey of getting closer to Jesus. I know how Keith would be amazed at how God has continued to use his few years of ministry and multiply them into this new millennium and into the hearts of a whole new generation. When Keith went to be with Jesus just seven years after meeting Him, the Lord gave me John 12:24 – about a grain of wheat needing to die before it could bear much fruit. I understood it to mean that God was going to take what He had put in Keith’s heart and, like seed, spread it across the land into the hearts of many. I pray that these concert messages will inspire you to rise up and cry out to God for grace and growth in your own life — and for the lost, the poor, and the hurting.”

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:24-26

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1977

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Dana

I asked my wife, Susan, what happened in 1977 besides us both graduating from high school. She answered, “Elvis Presley died.” I was working construction for Susan’s brother that hot August day when we heard the news. We all stopped work and lamented the fact that the King of Rock and Roll was dead at the age of 42. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, was 50 years old when he died. This past weekend Whitney Houston died at the age of 48. Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones (of the Rolling Stones), and Amy Winehouse were all 27 years old when they died. The devil loves bad endings.

Another young king from ancient years started off well and ended poorly. His path of decline, as for most, began while yielding to Satan’s most common temptation: “Don’t worry about what God says; DO WHAT YOU WANT.” King Saul made excuses and justified his decisions with various explanations, but it did not matter. Saul even argued that he had followed the Lord’s instructions, but Samuel communicated God’s thoughts. “‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said. ‘I went on the mission the Lord assigned me…’ But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’” (I Samuel 15:20-23)

If one rejects God, where does he turn for wisdom and power? King Saul (and some of the artists above) turned to the occult. In disguise, Saul went to the witch of Endor where his future was predicted. He died in battle the next day. (see I Samuel 28)

God cries out with every tragic ending: “Choose my path… don’t choose your own way! Walk in the light… don’t dwell in darkness! Come to Me for answers… don’t seek the world’s wisdom! Come to Jesus for life… He is the King that never fails!” Surely Jesus was tempted to choose his own path, but he trusted and obeyed his Father. He prayed three times that the cup of suffering be avoided, but there in the Garden he taught us all how to finish well: “Nevertheless Lord, not my will, but yours be done.”

“God is light; in him is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:5-7

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