This little piggy part 2

Today we continue what we started last week. Stewardship. Today we will look at the topic of time.

Everyday we are given 86,400 seconds that can never be replaced nor be reused. We only have one chance to use today, then its gone.

I saw a survey that few people would pay much attention to. It was taken of people 95 years and older.

They were asked one question. It was an open-ended question. They could answer however they wished. There was no religious connection to it, no anticipated response; all they had to do was answer this one question.

The question was: “If you could live life over again, what would you do differently?”
Here are the three most frequent responses.

1. I would reflect more
2. I would risk more
3. I would do more things that would live on after I’m gone.

Did you notice it was not…“I would work more”, or “I would make more money”, or “I would have a bigger house”. Instead, after looking back over the years they had lived, they wished they had spent more of their time doing something that was worthwhile, something with more meaning.

Studies show that in the average American lifetime…we sleep 23 years, work 16 years, watch TV 8 years, eat 6 years, travel 6 years, relax 4.5 years, are sick 4 years, and spend 2 years getting dressed.

Researchers say that by the time a person reaches 20 they will have watched 20,000 hours of TV, and then will watch 10,000 hours every decade after that.

Did you know that in 5,000 hours you could earn a bachelors degree? In 10,000 hours you could become an engineer. In 10,000 hours you could walk around the world if you wanted to and still have time left over to write a book about the adventure.

Do you want to know what I think is the best use of our time? I can actually think of several that are important…family, education or career. But the best use of our time is developing our relationship with God.

If we would just spend 5-10 minutes a day reading our Bibles, we could read through the entire Bible in the next year. If we would allow what we read to penetrate our lives, Iola (or wherever you live) would be a much better place to live and to raise a family.
Spending time with God and doing what he wants is the best way to use our time wisely. It doesn’t matter if you are a pig farmer, teacher, businessman or even a preacher.

My wife and my life

The other day I was thinking how my life is so much different because my wife Jenn is part of it. So I sat down one morning and wrote her this note. By the way, I have her permission to publish this.

"Before I do anything else I thought I would send you a note just to let you know how much you mean to me.

I was thinking about how my life is so much different since you became part of it. Not just how I now brush my teeth and hair every day. Or that my clothes actually match most of the time. Yes, you have have improved my hygiene and my style. Of course because of you the house is livable, clothes get washed, and I eat well.

You have made my life better simply by being the mother of our girls. Without you they would not exist. I don't think I have ever thanked you for that. There are also those times when you "fill in" for me in raising them. I appreciate you spending time teaching and training them.

But then there is also how you have made me a better person. I contribute my living for God to you. Without you in my life I would be heading down a completely different path. You make me complete in my ministry. Encouraging me to better myself and try harder. You reach out to people I could never reach. You help those I would not even know where to start to help. You bring a great sense of peace to my life, your presence gives me the strength to push on when it seems life is stacked against me.

So I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for all you have added to my life. I love you."

This little pig...

I once was the proud owner of a pig. Every year my high school ag class would buy 4 pigs for our annual pig race. Usually after the event was over, the four pigs would be turned into BBQ for the annual FFA meeting. My senior year, the ag instructor, Mr. Brooks, decided it was time for our class to start a gilt ring.

Now for you that aren’t familiar with a gilt ring, two “lucky” students would receive a gilt. A gilt is a female pig that has not had a baby yet. Those two students would then raise their gilt until it was old enough to breed. After the piglets were born, they were to raise them until weaning time. After the piglets were weaned, the student would return a gilt back to the class, keeping the other piglets and sow to do with what they wanted…sell it, keep it or eat it.

Some how, I’m not really sure how it happened, but I was selected to raise one of the gilts. So I took it home. My grandpa had room for it in one of his barns. We found someone who had a boar, got my pig bred then waited for my little dollar signs to be born…I mean piglets. On a Sunday evening in July during the week of high school VBS, four little pigs were born, two boys and two girls.

The first one out was a girl. She was a runt. The whole next week I spent working 24 hours a day trying to keep her alive. I bottle-fed her every hour. I kept her in my room under a heat lamp. Took her with me where ever I had to go. Unfortunately, she went on to a better place in hog heaven.

Next came Mutt and Jeff, named after a couple of guys I worked with. Though Mutt was a girl. They were two of the hardest headed, dumbest, obnoxious animals I had ever been around. Any time anyone came close to the pen, those two piglets would go squealing across it and hide. They were always into stuff.

The fourth piglet that came out we named Scrawny Williams. He had a pretty hard life from the beginning. He was born blind. He was smaller then the other two. They wouldn’t let him eat. I ended up having to bottle-feed him to keep him alive.

The days and months rolled by and I finally fulfilled my obligation. At weaning time I returned my only gilt back to the class. I decided it was time for me to get out of the pig business so I sold out.

I have always wanted to write a book or make a movie of my experience. Maybe you remember the book “Lord of the flies”, well. I did not write it, but that would have made a good title for that chapter of my life. Since it is already taken, I thought of another better title…“The ward of the sty.”

Believe me there is a point to all this.

The English language is a funny language. There are words that we use at times that we really don’t know where they came from. Take for instance the word “steward.” It actually means keeper of pigs.

It is made up of two words, first being “sty” or “pig sty” and “ward” meaning to keep or to watch over. A sty ward or steward as we pronounce it now, was a person who took care of someone else’s pigs. They did not own the pigs, but were hired to watch them and take care of them as if they were their own.

Today when we talk of someone being a steward, we aren’t talking about someone who watches someone else’s pigs. Instead, we think of someone who manages someone else’s money, property or business. They do not own the property but manage it as if it were their own.

When the Bible speaks of being a steward, we know it means a person who manages what God has entrusted to them.

There are three areas in our lives that God has given to us that we should be good and wise stewards…our time, our treasure and our talent. So over the next three weeks we will look in detail at these three areas.

To get ready for this, I would encourage you to read Matthew 25:14-30.

I wish...

There are many times that I think I have really dropped the ball when it comes to being a good parent. I feel like the lessons I try to teach my kids just seem to bounce off them and drop to the ground. Then there are the days they surprise me.

Several weeks ago we were sitting down to dinner. While we eat we make it a point to ask the girls how their day went. They usually tell us about whom they played with, what they did in music, how they did on a test or who got in trouble and who was sent to the office.

Well on this one night, I asked, “What did you do today? And Rachel said, “I told Lizzy about Jesus.” “That’s good,” I said, “what did you tell her?” Rachel replied, “I told her Jesus died on the cross and when you are baptized he takes your sin away.”

I am not sure what I did or said after that, maybe I passed out, or my jaw hit the ground, I am sure my eyes were the size of basketballs. That was the last thing I expected her to say. I thought maybe something like, Jesus loves all the little children. Or Jesus lives in my heart. But to share the basic message of the Gospel, never would I have thought she would say that. I sure am proud of her.

Of course that makes me think about myself. Why am I not more active about telling those around me, “Jesus died on the cross and when you are baptized he takes your sin away”? It’s not like I don’t have the opportunity. I take time out of every week to visit guests to our church. Most of them do have questions about it. I have a list of people that I pray for who I know need to make that decision. So why aren’t I more active in sharing the Good news?

I think it boils down to two reasons. The first one being fear. I am afraid I will be rejected. I am afraid I won’t know the right answers. I am afraid they may look at me as a weirdo. I am afraid they may think I am pushy or afraid it may damage a fragile friendship.

The second reason is, I believe the lie I have plenty of time. This one gets me more than the first I put off for tomorrow what I could do today. I have every intention of telling others but I seem to wait until I have “more” time or when they aren’t so “busy”. I can’t do it today but I am sure I’ll get the time next week.

As I think about this, Rachel didn’t tell Lizzy about Jesus because she had all the answers or because she knew her reputation was safe or that she wasn’t sure how much more time she would have with her. She told Lizzy about Jesus simply because Rachel cares deeply for Lizzy. They are friends. Rachel wanted to share the most important thing in her life with the most important friend in her life.

I wish I could be more like my five-year-old daughter.

Bet you didn't know this.

My wife thought it would be funny on her blog to do a little top 10 list of things no one knows about her. I decided to do one as well. So here goes. Top 10 things you probably don't know about me.

10. I've never had a Starbucks Coffee, I plan on taking care of that tomorrow.

9. I manage a "pretend" football player in an online football game. He is a middle linebacker, his name is Ti Tanium.

8. There is a road in New Zealand called "Bycroft Lane.' It is named for a distant relative.

7. I was in a Pepsi commercial drinking out of a Pepsi cup. It was Gatorade.

6. I wanted to be a smoke jumper. Turns out that you can be physically prepared but if you don't have perfect eyesight they won't let you in.

5. I was part of a band (not rock but high school marching) that set a Guinness World Record.

4. I got lost twice in the Colorado Mountains in grade school. By the way, they found me.

3. I bloodied my own nose boxing in Jr. High. Don't ask.

2. I had the 3rd highest score on the Microbiology final in the history of the college level class.

1. My birthmark is on my left hand. Most people when the see it think it is a burn.

Interesting isn't it?

On the road again...

This summer has been one of travel for our family. A month ago we went to Florida for vacation. Last week we traveled to Ohio. I had to attend a meeting the last morning of the North American Christian Convention. We decided to use that travel time to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in a while.

Our first stop was at the church we served at in Illinois. We took some time to visit with friends we hadn’t seen in several years. We kind of keep up with them through Christmas cards, email and phone calls. It was good to be able to sit down and just visit with them. Of course seeing how their kids have grown up made Jenn and I feel old. We even visited with a young man who was part of the youth group at the church when we were there. Now he is married and has a 16-month-old baby.

We stopped at Jenn’s parents house in Brazil, In. Of course that meant a family get together. Which was nice. We only see her brothers and their families a couple times a year. We went to Bloomington, In to see her grandpa and had a short visit with him.

We left the girls with Larry and Pat and climbed back into the car on Thursday to go to the convention. As we walked through the hallways, we would visit with people we went to school with or ministers we have both met through the years. There is one funny thing that happened. I look enough like my dad did 20-25 years ago that some of the older preachers who know my dad would look at me and you can tell by the look on their face…”I should know that guy, he looks so familiar.”

I went to my meeting Friday morning and saw guys I hadn’t seen in year. It is hard to catch up when you only have an hour. After the meeting was over. I went back to our hotel room. Jenn was getting ready. The final service of the convention was to start at 9:30. I looked forward to that more than anything else that went on.

Ben Merold was to preach the concluding service of the convention. I have known Ben for many years. He visited our church and preached revivals when I was growing up. He has stayed in our house on many occasions. I interned under Ben several years ago. Jenn and I were just dating at the time. He and his wife adopted us. Had us over for dinner, included us in things their family was doing. Jenn would stay with them when she came to visit me.

Before Ben got up to preach, the president of the NACC introduced him. He has preached revivals in 48 states. He has grown 2 churches from attendance of 200 to over 3000. The church he currently is serving is running over 3500. He has taught church growth principles all over the world. Did I mention he is 82 years old? He still sings at the top of his lungs during worship, still runs up on the stage, still preaches with passion and conviction, and still reaches the lost. This past month he officially “retired.” Though if you ask him about it he will say, “I am not retiring from anything.” He is just looking forward to the next adventure in his life.

Jenn and I had a few minutes Thursday evening to talk to Ben and Pat. While we were visiting with them, another couple came up to say “hi”. The man said, “Well, Ben, what do you plan on doing now?” Ben looked at him and said; “I guess I’ll just find something small.” With that everyone laughed. Everyone who knows Ben knows it won’t stay small.

I realize this isn’t much of a devotional thought. I guess it is more of a glimpse into my life. But as I talked to Ben, two verses came into my mind. The first one comes from Hebrews 12:1-2

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Second verse is found in 2 Timothy 4:7-8

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

To me Ben is a hero of our faith. God has used him greatly throughout his life. Ben just keeps serving God whole heartedly even though he is “past” the age when most would consider him a valuable asset. Ben is an inspiration to me to keep on plugging along…to fight the good fight…to finish the race.

I thank God for the many examples He puts before me. Men like Ben who do not seek their reward here on this earth or who do not seek comfort in the latter years but wait patiently and work diligently for the coming of our Savior.

hi jenn i love you