A Foodie's Guide to Life

Anyone who knows me well knows that I enjoy good food.  Anyone who doesn’t know me well, but takes a look at my physique, isn’t surprised.  If you are what you eat, I will have to admit that: (1) I am not always the healthiest choice on the menu; (2) I am, however, tasty and never boring.

I even plan trips and meetings around food.  I have one friend that I would describe as my “ian” friend.  No, his name is not Ian, but when we get together, we like to eat food that ends in “ian”: Indian, Egyptian, Mediterranean (close enough).  Another friend is a steak and/or seafood buddy.  I’ve got a couple of others that will almost always involve Starbucks.

When I am eating a meal that I know my kids would enjoy, I take a picture with my phone and send it to them.  Some people think that is cruel, that I am perhaps torturing them.  That is true less than 25% of the time. (I am not above the occasional harassing food photo).  But, in reality, I am sharing my love of food with them because, at the moment, I can’t share my love of them with my food.  I wouldn’t send a photo to them if I weren’t first thinking of them and wishing we could share this meal.

(My breakfast last Wednesday at the Toasted Yolk Cafe in Conroe, TX)

I share food photos with another friend who has moved several hours away.  We used to have lunch together at least every other week.  Now we are lucky if we manage to get together every other year.  The food photos we send to each other always deliver a message:  “I thought of you when I was eating this and I miss you, my friend.”

I feel like I should interrupt this and say, “Hello.  My name is Gerry and I am a food addict.”  But, I’m not going to.  I am unashamed.  Yes, I need to make healthier choices and I really am trying to do that more often.  But, you will never see me take the approach that food is no more than fuel.  God put these wonderful things in my mouth called taste buds and I intend to enjoy this gift while continuing to learn how to enjoy it in ways—like enjoying smaller portions--that allow me to honor Him with all of my physical being. He does not, after all, intend for me to be controlled by those taste buds.

Our lives also matter enough to Him that He wants us to develop a taste for more than good food. 

Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”   

Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

John 4:34:  "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

Now that’s a meal to be savored!

Question: What is one way you can think of to apply the idea of the verses listed above?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

How to know when you need a Timeout

(photo credit: basketballhow.com)

I watched parts of both NFL conference championship games yesterday.  In a couple of weeks I’ll watch the Super Bowl.  It should be a good game.  At least the advertisers are hoping so. By the way, I read a recent report from the Harvard Business Review that said 80% of Super Bowl ads fail to increase purchases or purchasing intent.  Makes you wonder about those big bucks those advertisers are spending.  But I digress …

One thing that you notice in these big games is the strategic use of the Timeout.  Each team gets three timeouts per half.  There are additional timeouts that may be called by the officials.  I started pondering (my long-time readers know where this is going) about a great question of life:  How do you know you need a Timeout?

• Timeouts are called when you need a few extra moments to think strategically.  The coach may call a timeout to discuss a specific play to run at this moment.  Sometimes, we need to pause long enough to think through our next step.

• Timeouts are called when there is confusion on the field.  The play clock is winding down.  The players are out of position.  A timeout lets you reset and refocus.  Sometimes, we need to pause long enough to calm our minds before continuing.

• Timeouts are called when a play needs to be reviewed.  Things often happen so fast that the officials need to be sure that they made the correct call.  Sometimes, we need to pause long enough to see if a course correction in life is necessary.

• Timeouts are called when there is an injury on the field.  The injured player needs to receive the proper assistance before play resumes.  Sometimes, we need to pause long enough to be sure to care for those who are hurting.

• Timeouts are called when the television network needs to go to commercial.  … I’ve got nothing.

I spent part of this weekend with a group of pastors in a retreat.  In many ways, it was a timeout from their busy schedules.  All those timeout reasons above were partially observed (though that is not the metaphor we used).  Ok, maybe we didn’t deal with commercial breaks.  But I think all the others were included in some way.  All those guys went back to work in their churches yesterday, hopefully more effectively for having taken a timeout.

One of my favorite young couples has a precious two-year-old named Selah.  "Selah” is a Biblical term used 74 times in the Old Testament (71 in Psalms and 3 in Habakkuk).  It is likely a musical term that refers to a pause or rest.  The Amplified Bible translates it “Selah (pause and think of that)”.

Sometimes, we just need to pause and reflect.  Reflect on the reality that our lives matter to God. Reflect on what He is teaching us through the circumstances of our lives.

Do you need a Selah today?

Question: Which of the above "timeout" reasons is most important to you today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear from you.

I’m not sure if This is a New Chapter or a New Book

(photo credit: mstaires.com)

I am a reader and I come from a family of readers.  There is nothing like getting so caught up in a story that you can’t wait to turn the page.  Until you get to the final page.  Then, there is nothing like a new book.  That new book brings new possibilities.  What am I going to learn?  How is the author going to challenge me?  Make me laugh? Make me cry?

I’m not sure right now whether I have started a new chapter or a new book.  But one thing is for sure: the page has turned.

It is January, a new semester is beginning, and, in my house, it is irrelevant.

I started kindergarten in 1966 and remained constantly in school until the completion of my Master’s degree in 1988.  So, I was well-accustomed to school schedules from the student perspective. 

Overlapping that time period, my Sweetie became my Mrs and her job as a school teacher/counselor continued from 1984 until her retirement in May, 2013.  So, I was well-accustomed to school schedules from the spouse perspective.

Overlapping that, we became parents.  Favorite daughter started to kindergarten in August, 1993 and we have had one of our kids in school until favorite son graduated from college just about a month ago.  So, for 20 years, I have been accustomed to school schedules (and payments) from the parent perspective.

So, what I am saying is that for the first time in 47 years, no one in my house is going to school!  Ahhhhhh!  What am I going to do? 

Turn the page.

Sometimes when I am reading in bed at night, I start to get sleepy.  I’ll get stuck on one paragraph and read the same thing over and over until I just give up, close the book, and go to sleep.  Sometimes life is that way.  We get stuck.  We get tired.  We do the same things over and over, making no progress.  What’s the solution?  Pause, rest, and turn the page.

Sometimes it seems we have come to the end of something significant (like something that has ended after 47 years) and there is not another page to turn in this story.  What’s the solution?  Pick up the next book.

I have been accused of having a philosophy that “he who dies with the most books wins”.  That’s not true, but I do have a lot of books and I keep buying more.  I sometimes get asked, “Have you read all the books on your shelves?”  No, but I plan to.  I plan to keep reading because I can’t wait to see what I will learn next.  And I plan to keep living out the story God is writing in my life because I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Our lives matter so much to God that He keeps writing new chapters (and even new books).  

Question: What’s keeping you from turning the page?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What Would You Do With $31,536,000?

(Photo credit: elephantjournal.com)

In this first Life Matters of 2014 let’s pretend that a generous benefactor has given each of us $31,536,000.  Say that number aloud like a game show announcer: “Thirty-one million, five hundred thirty-six THOUSAND DOLLARS!”  Sounds even bigger, doesn’t it?

Now, we’ve been told that there is no such thing as a free lunch (or 3 million of them), so of course this gift comes with some stipulations.

1. The money is not yours; you are only managing it. 

2. You are, however, completely in charge of how it is spent.  

3. The benefactor has unlimited access to your records and knows how you spend every penny.

4. There are no refunds; once it is spent, you cannot get it back.  

5. The benefactor can call for the unused portion at any time.  

6. At some point, a full accounting will be required.

If that scenario happened, what would you do with the money?

There is a story in the Bible (found in Matthew 25) about a man who went on a long trip.  Before he left, he called his three servants together and entrusted his property to them, giving different amounts of money to each one to manage, based on their abilities.  When he returned from his trip, he called the servants back together to settle up accounts.  Two of the three had wisely invested the money, putting it to work, and had doubled the original amount.  The master congratulated them for their faithfulness and invited them to share in the profits. The third servant was afraid of what might happen if he somehow lost the money, so he had hidden the original amount for safekeeping and returned it to his master.  The master was angry that the servant had not, at least, deposited the money in an account that would have earned a little interest.  He punished the servant and gave his money to the others.

Jesus told this story to illustrate a great truth: You and I are responsible for how we invest the resources with which God has entrusted us.  We are not responsible for how the market performs.

Now, going back to our original game …it actually isn’t pretend.  At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, our Benefactor gave us 31,536,00 seconds to manage in 2014.  Those seconds are not ours, but we are in charge of how they are spent.  Our Benefactor knows how we spend every one of them.  Since time only moves forward, once we spend them, we can’t get them back.  Our Benefactor can call for the unused portion at any time; it is likely that someone who is reading this will not be with us this time next year. We will all one day give an accounting for the way we managed the seconds He gave us, and all of them matter to Him.

At the time I am writing this, we have already spent over 353,000.  How are you spending yours?

QUESTION: In what ways do you want to adjust the way you are investing God's resources this year?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

New Year’s Resolutions Results Guaranteed … Or Your Money Back!

(Photo credit: the producersperspective.com)

Do I have your attention? Now if I could only figure out how to get you to send me ONLY $19.99 for this amazing secret, I could accomplish my resolution of becoming independently wealthy.

Most New Year’s resolutions are broken by January 6.  Are we really that bad?  Lazy? Incompetent? Weak? 

I think it is more an issue of focus.  It is not that we cannot focus, but that we focus on the wrong things.  So what I am offering here are two focus-shifters and four strategies that I am absolutely convinced will bring us positive results in 2014.

First, the focus-shifters ...

1. Instead of focusing on the “what”, or even the “how”, focus on the “why”.  Focusing on the “what” would be something like, “I am going to lose weight.”  Focusing on the “how” might be, “I am going to limit my calorie intake to 2000 per day and exercise for 30 minutes at least 3 days a week.” Those are great “how’s” to support the “what”. But why?  Here’s where we stumble.  Focusing on the “why” could be, “I am going to develop a healthier lifestyle so that I can be more healthy and effective in everything I do.”

2. Instead of focusing on personal benefits, focus on benefits to others.  That good “why” of being more healthy and effective becomes a great “why” when I am more healthy and effective so that I can be a greater blessing to my family and my world.  Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God completely and the second is to love others. (Matthew 22:37-40).  He even commanded us to love others like He loves. (John 15:12)

So, now that our focus is adjusted, we need some strategies.

1. Accountability: Enlist a trusted partner to be your “alarm clock” for your “what, how, and why”. It works even better if the accountability is mutual, encouraging each other.

2. Deadlines:  Always keeping your “why” at the forefront, develop some short-term markers along the way. “By March 1, I will have lost 8 pounds … or paid of $500 in debt … or written 3 chapters of my book.” The best thing that ever happened to my writing was having a weekly deadline for the newspaper.

3. Grace: Don’t let failure be your final answer. If you don’t reach a goal by the deadline, don’t give up.  Set a new goal, renegotiate your accountability, and start again.  Consider it a brief layover on the journey.

4. Prayer: Never underestimate the value of your most powerful accountability partner.  Some of the most important “why’s” are too hard to keep in focus when life happens.  Each day is a new chance to begin focusing on the reality that your life—with all the “what’s, how’s, and why’s”—matters to God.

I can’t guarantee that you will keep your resolutions, but I can guarantee that you will see God at work.  

And that’s worth way more than $19.99.

QUESTION:  What are some other focus-shifters or strategies you might add to this list?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

My Dogs Wish You a Merry Christmas

Note: I composed this post a few days early for newspaper deadline, but then forgot to upload to the blog.  I hope you find it still worth reading.

(Photo credit: blog.missourinet.com)

Have you heard on the radio, or seen on YouTube, dogs and cats singing Christmas songs? They are kind of cute the first time!  After that … not so much.  I know that some people are convinced that their animals can talk to them.  Maybe I’m just not a good dog whisperer, but I don’t get what they are saying most of the time.  And I don’t spend a lot of time speculating.

There is a little Christmas song that does some speculating on what some animals might have said if they were present at the birth of Jesus.  The Friendly Beasts (also known as The Gifts of the Animals, among other titles) has been recorded by such notables as Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, and Garth Brooks.  The song is thought to originate in Twelfth Century France.  It was originally written in Latin as a part of The Donkey’s Festival which celebrated the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt during Herod’s persecution (see Matthew 2:13-15).  The modern words were written in the 1920’s and attached to this ancient tune.

In this fourth in our Life Matters “ADVENTageous” series during December, let’s speculate on what animals might have been present when Jesus was born (the Bible doesn’t mention any), and let’s pretend that we can understand their account of this most significant of all births.  Approach it with childlike wonder.

Jesus our brother, kind and good was humbly born in a stable rude. And the friendly beasts around Him stood, Jesus our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown, “I carried His mother up hill and down; I carried her safely to Bethlehem town. I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown.

 "I," said the cow all white and red, "I gave Him my manger for His bed; I gave him my hay to pillow his head. I," said the cow all white and red.

"I," said the sheep with curly horn, “I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm; He wore my coat on Christmas morn. I," said the sheep with curly horn.

"I," said the dove from the rafters high, "I cooed Him to sleep so He would not cry; we cooed him to sleep, my mate and I. I," said the dove from the rafters high.

Thus every beast by some good spell, in the stable dark was glad to tell of the gift he gave Immanuel, the gift he gave Immanuel.

This song speculates that the animals gave to Jesus what they could.  What will you give this Christmas to the One who came for you because your life matters to Him? Will you offer Him yourself?  Will you make room in your family gathering for Him to be the center of attention?

By the way, if you hear my dogs barking during the night, I’m sure they are wishing you a Merry Christmas.  

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Hey! Everybody Come Check This Out!

(Photo credits: theimpactnews.com  & crazyfrankenstein.com)

As a blogger and newspaper columnist in Texas in 2013, I am pretty much free to write what I want and to do so with little risk.  About the worst thing that could happen if I offend people is that (1) They would stop reading what I write and (2) The newspapers would stop running the columns of this guy that is causing them such grief.  Since I try not to be the source of offense or grief, probably my greatest risk is that readers or newspapers will just get tired of me and send me on my bloggity way.

Not that there is anything wrong with some occasional controversy, you understand.  There’s just not a lot of risk in my context.  Not so for James Montgomery (1771-1854), an English poet and newspaper editor. Twice imprisoned for sedition as a result of his controversial editorials, he championed the causes of the poor and downtrodden, especially focusing on the abolition of slavery and the exploitation of child chimney sweeps. 

However, one of his poems, Angels from the Realms of Glory, met little controversy when it was first published on Christmas Eve, 1816.

This is the third in our Life Matters “ADVENTageous” series during December.  As you read these words, I invite you to imagine a traditional nativity scene.  

Each guest at the scene receives the same invitation: Come and worship, Come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Angels from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o'er all the earth; Ye who sang creation's story, Now proclaim Messiah's birth.

Shepherds, in the fields abiding, Watching o'er your flocks by night, God with man is now residing, Yonder shines the infant Light;

Sages, leave your contemplations, Brighter visions beam afar; Seek the great desire of nations, Ye have seen His natal star;

For the final stanza, we move from the ancient nativity to present day worshipers anticipating the Second Coming of Christ.

Saints before the altar bending, Watching long in hope and fear, Suddenly the Lord, descending, In His temple shall appear: Come and worship, Come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Our lives matter so much to God that He came … And will come again.  This is the message of Advent: The Coming of the King!  As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, I invite you to a sense of wonder.  Neither the size of your gathering, the extravagance of your decorations, nor the abundance of your food or gifts (or any lack thereof) is what truly matters.

Luke 2:10-12: But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Merry Christmas.