Significant times in our lives sometimes come out of nowhere, often at the most unexpected of times. Other times, opportunity is sought out – romance and employment are occasion that come to mind. Sometimes, the two seem to merge as if brought together by a Force greater than ourselves.

This past August an opportunity that checks the boxes in a couple of the above categories came along for me.

Two and a half years ago I was a burned-out educator. I’d just finished my fourteenth year as an elementary principal, and was running on fumes professionally and emotionally. I was so sure that the education bug had run its course with me that I bragged to my friends that I was d-o-n-e. I felt a huge relief and looked forward to doing something different. Time, and that force mentioned above (the Lord God) spoke unmistakably to my spirit and let me know without question that I was not done in the school business.

Last May, attending an end-of-year ceremony at the small Christian school on who’s Board I serve, I just knew I had to go back. Two hours of wiggling in my seat passed and I had such a desire to participate in the ceremony (uninvited) that it was all I could do to remain (kind-of) in my seat. My prayers are always that God needs to hit me over the head with His desire for me so that I will not miss out on what He has for me to do. That evening, out of nowhere, I experienced what conviction feels like and left with a spiritual pop knot on my head. I had work to do. Time to update that resume!

The goal of my summer was to find a school where I was needed and where I could use my experience and skills to make a difference by procuring a teaching position. In no way did I desire to return as an administrator, but to return to my roots – my initial calling as a classroom teacher. For now, at least.

The first of August I began Gifted and Talented training to kick off three weeks of workshops leading up to the beginning of school as a Middle School Social Studies teacher at the local school district.

I am convinced this is an opportunity with two particular facets: I hope to be able to help improve the culture of the school in some small way, and I want to be attuned to be a help to those kids, coworkers, or parents that need somebody to encourage them. I guess there is a third facet; you know, teaching the students – I have found that there is an expectation of that, too.

We have completed just over a third of the school year, and I have no doubt that I am where I should be at this time. There is a lot of work to be done, but I know that I am supposed to be in the classroom. I’ve already turned down a potential administration role – I know I could do the job, but I don’t feel that I am meant to be in that role right now.

There is such peace in knowing that I am living within God’s purpose for my life. Every time I get outside that purpose, things tend to go poorly. I must say here, that I believe that the Lord gave me a season outside of education because He knew that was what I needed at that time. In that interim period my professional, spiritual, and emotional batteries fully recharged, and I know that I am now back at home with my people – students, teachers. Educators.

Thank you, Lord, for opportunity.

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I see no way around it. Our country is headed for the crapper if our best choices for leadership are The Donald or The Pantsuit. We look to these as the “best” our country has to offer, while hoping one will deliver us from the other.

I used to be a Democrat in the mold my parents set for me growing up. Then I started leaning more Republican, voting that way for a while. Now I am merely disenchanted I am tired of being manipulated and lied to. I am tired of trying to overlook one person’s misconduct enough to justify voting for him/her. I am close to the point of writing in the name of the only man that can truly save our country. Jesus Christ.

But as I think about that possibility, I wonder why He would not just let us self-destruct in our own sin like so many countries before us. At one time, we were the greatest country the earth had ever seen. Then we took prayer out of schools. We argued about the point at which a baby was an actual human. We freely encourage personal behaviors that are specifically spelled out as being against the will of God, all in the name of diversity. We allow citizens to decide daily what gender they identify with, what bathroom they feel comfortable using. Those in authority over us feel only the need to look after their voting constituency instead of all of us. Laws are ignored, and even the lawbreakers that are convicted get more sympathy than their victims. The leadership of our country pits race against race, showing favoritism to some at the expense of others to make things “even.”

Our churches are more empty than full most Sundays, as we just assume that there will always be a next Sunday. While our churches are in decline, the underground church in China is flourishing because they have a thirst to attain what we take for granted. They have a faith while we have an obligation.

My question, then, is why should we be any different than the dozens of prosperous countries before us that have come and gone? What makes us special?

As a very amateur carpenter, there have been many occasions working on projects that I just scrap it all and start again. Jesus, as the Master Carpenter, could also do that if He chose. All this sounds depressing, yet I have a chance to take hope. All it takes from me is to look in the right place.

Neither DJT nor HRC are the right place. I believe our country is about to enter a time of purification, and it will be a painful time. To this point, I quote from the Book of Mark:

And he (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. – Mark 8:31-33 (emphasis added)

What I believe I have been missing is this: I have been praying selfishly about this election. I want God to show me who to vote for so I can keep our country close to what it is now, because I like it this way. Perhaps that is not the thing of God.

In the passage above, Jesus foretold about a series of unsettling events that His followers could not comprehend. As these events unfolded, His people were scattered, in disarray, and panicked. They could not understand how all these events could possibly have a positive outcome. But they did. Maybe this is where we are in our country. Maybe it is our time to go through panic, disarray, and confusion. We seem to be well on our way, wouldn’t you agree?

My assurance now, as always, is that God is in control. No less today than yesterday, no less tomorrow than today. My struggle is to continue to remember that in the midst of all the noise. His purposes will come to pass, with or without my faith.

I may be missing something, as I am not a politician, and I am not a theologian. But I intend to keep the faith, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to the best of my ability. I am a simple man with a simple faith. Lord, keep me strong and focused on You, Your will be done.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

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The summer of 2016 has been one of upheaval. Racially-motivated killings, distrust in authority, the selective advancement of political agendas, and presidential primaries that seem to bring out the worst in everyone involved. It is a summer of uneasiness and in some cases, fear for many of us. We wonder where God is in all of this, and question why He is allowing our country to become such a mess.

We wonder if our country is under judgment because our government and our society seems to be working overtime to mock and forcibly remove all semblances of the Lord God from the lives of all Americans. We see leaders that claim the time for old and traditional values (read: traditional Christian values) is past, and that now is a time for new and innovative, inclusive standards.

In short, many of us, or at least I, feel like our country and our world is in disarray. We know that God is in control when life is good, but find it more difficult to rest in that assurance when events go south. I want to encourage you today that He is still in charge.

From a void, He created. He created the heavens and the Earth. From that earth, He created man. From man, He created woman. And from the two of them, He eventually created you and me. He was in control of things then, and is in control of them now. From disarray, this.

From the chaotic time right after September 11, 2001, He brought a country that had been divided along political lines together for a season of unity and cooperation. From disarray, this.

Imagine the feelings experienced by Jesus’ disciples when they saw him beaten and crucified. They’d seen Him walk on water, feed the masses with a few fish and loaves of bread. They’d seen him heal the sick and bring the dead back to life. You think they were in crisis? That they had doubts about what was happening? Absolutely. It took time, but eventually they saw what came from the chaos – He rose from the grave, just as He said he would. From disarray, this.

None of us knows what specifically lies ahead for our country, but God’s Word says:

“Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.” – Romans 13:1*

Not much wiggle room in that statement is there? Pretty straightforward language, if you ask me. He who was in control in the beginning is still in control now, and will be forever.

This season will pass, and there will be consequences from it moving forward, both good and bad. How we react to this season will also carry consequences, will it not? Now, as in all seasons of life, we have a choice on how to react. Will we be peacemakers or dividers? Reactionaries or unifiers? Or will we just sit on the sidelines like a knot on a log and do nothing but judge?

The disarray we seem to be experiencing requires some type of response. Not because the Lord need us to do his job for Him, but because we need to become more like Him as we learn and grow during this time.

I would encourage us to spend a significant amount of time talking to, and more importantly listening to, the One that is in control. He will calm our fears and lead us if we are willing to be led. There is nothing beyond His control. He is God, after all.

“The Lord of Hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so it will be; as I have purposed it, so it will happen.” – Isaiah 14:24*

*Holman CSB version

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I don't like rollercoasters. They are too fast, and they make my stomach woozy. People puke while riding them, and if you’re lucky they are sitting behind you instead of in front. The deal-killer for me is that my body type doesn’t really fit comfortably into the space provided, if you catch my drift. The last rollercoaster I rode was at Dollywood with my son when he was in the fourth grade. He is 28 years old now, so it’s been a while. I haven’t missed it at all.

Our participation on those mechanical Rides of Death is at least voluntary. Sometimes, though, we unwillingly receive a figurative seat on the front row of the first car, courtesy of Life. Two weeks ago, that is exactly where I found myself.

The date was June 15, 2016. I was out and about, putting in resumes at local elementary and secondary schools for teaching positions. Approximately 10:15 that morning, I received a phone call from the hospice organization that was taking care of my mother telling me she had just passed away. The news was not unexpected, but the timing is never what you think it will be. Arrangements were made via the phone, and since I only had one more stop to make, I decided to make it.

On the way to the final elementary school, my friend, next-door neighbor, and new principal of one of the local middle schools called and asked me to come back to his school and talk to him. I did, and in the course of the conversation he offered me a teaching position to work with 6th-7th grade students teaching Social Studies. My response to him went something like: let me think about it, my mom just passed away, followed by I’LL TAKE IT.

Can there be any more of a swing of emotion in such a brief time? The opportunity to return to My Purpose of education literally 20 minutes after my mother passed away? What was left of my good mind was sloshing out of my ears.

The only thing I could think of with any clarity is the phrase that I’m sure you are familiar with: God is good, all the time, and All the time God is good.

There come some poignant moments in all of our lives in which we are confronted with this question: Do we really believe what we say we believe? I have had several of those moments, as I know you have. The Lord has been faithful in walking with me through each of those times.

I have quoted this scripture before, and lean on it again now. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Rollercoasters are scary things. Whether we are on one by choice or by circumstance, God’s Word tells us not to fear because if we believe in Him, He is with us.

As I cope with the connection of two life-altering events by a short time span, I remember that I don’t have to have all the answers. All I have to do is to lean on the One that does. I wish I had some deep theological explanation to share, and perhaps one day I will. All I can tell you today, and I can tell it without hesitation, is that the security provided by my faith in Christ is what keeps me going – even when life goes up and down and up and down and around and upside down. Jesus doesn’t stop the rollercoasters, He just keeps us from falling out!

November of 1945 to December of 2008. A total of 63 years. It was the union of a man and a woman raised during the Great Depression. Members of The Greatest Generation. There were many highs and only a few lows during that 6+ decades together. She grieved her loss of her husband for seven and a half years. Until yesterday morning, when my mother, Doris, was reunited with her husband and my dad, James when Mom left her earthly home for her eternal one.

I can see in my mind an image of Jesus extending one hand to welcome her, with the other arm holding my dad back for just a moment. What a moment that must have been. I don’t know if there are tears in Heaven, but if there are, then there were bucket loads of tears of celebration for her Homecoming.

For Mom, her body has been replaced with a new one. Her mind, which had suffered from the damage of at least two strokes, is restored. While we are here mourning her loss, she is dancing on the streets of gold with her life partner and true soul mate, probably wondering why we are sad at her passing.

If we live long enough as children, we will ultimately end up losing our parents. That is a fact that cannot be changed. It is not a pleasant chore that falls to us. And a chore that is not unique to my family. Yet the knowledge that both of my parents are now in the presence of Jesus, and have been reunited at last brings a smile to my face and a joy to my core that might seem contradictory. But we need to see not just the immediate situation; we need to have an awareness of the whole picture. And that whole picture involves both sides of Eternity.

One day that reunion will have me as a participant. I will see my parents, my son, and others that have gone ahead of me. Indeed, we will all face that moment when we cross from this world into the eternal one. The only question is, where will you spend it?

“Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die – ever. Do you believe this?’” – John 11:25-26 (Holman CSB)

There is the question that must ultimately be answered by us all. Is your faith in Jesus or something else? Because of the faith of my parents, I can have great comfort in the knowledge they have been reunited. And because of mine, I know beyond doubt that some day, we will be reunited as well.

The choice is yours to make. Choose wisely.

www.fairlysmart.wordpress.com

You probably haven’t noticed, but I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off to let my brain rest and have some experiences to write about in the future. In the midst of these adventures, I have identified areas at nearly every turn that are causing my mind to explode – figuratively, for now.

What follows, in no particular order, are people, places, or things that make me, Brinn, insane.

1. Everybody running for President. On both sides.

Look, I’m not that smart, and even I know you are both lying about almost everything. I do not believe anyone is going to build a wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico – it didn’t work in Berlin and it won’t work on the border with Mexico. Just use the technology available already and patrol the border that we have. Also, I’m pretty sure nobody is going to take my guns away. The only way anybody will get my guns is barrel-first if you try to hurt me or my loved ones. Give me a break. You both tell people what you think we want to hear, but we know more or less that your agenda is going to mirror that of your major financial backers, of which I am not one. Another thing – quit taking tragic events and making them fit your agenda. Stop spinning the news and solve some problems already. I know you don’t care about me. I don’t need you to care about me. I have Jesus and my family for that. Just try to minimize the damage you do during your time in office. I lived through the Jimmy Carter administration, and I will live through yours.

One other thing – can you stop with the name-calling? If that is all you’ve got, you aren’t smart enough to be president. And it sets a bad example for our children.

2. Everybody reporting on everybody running for President.

All of you. You couldn’t tell us the facts without putting your spin on them if your life depended on it. “Mainstream media” or Fox News or CNN or any newspaper – We The American People don’t trust or believe any of you. You are no different from the political candidates; you all have agendas just like they do. You, like those above, freely take news events and tailor them to fit said agendas. This may shock you, but if you just give me unfiltered information, I’m capable of analyzing it myself and forming my own conclusions. My parents taught me to think for myself, and I have passed that on to my own children. I’m tired of you lying to me and everyone else. You are no longer anything but background noise in the day-to-day of my life. You go away and I will watch Andy Griffith Show reruns.

3. People that don’t do what they say they will.

This is for those people that have not already been chastised in #’s 1 & 2 above. Don’t lie to me. Just man up and tell me the truth. Have some credibility, some integrity and self-respect. This isn’t generational; this is a 2016 thing by people in all age groups. Maybe you don’t care about others – that isn’t a rare characteristic in these days of the ’selfie”. Perhaps you have just given up on life due to being walked on by those in Category 1 above. Whatever. Have a backbone and say what you mean and then do what you say.

4. Stupid drivers.

I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but unless you drive like I do then you probably fall into this category. I say this in honesty to keep me from falling into the category immediately above.

Let me drop some knowledge on you right here as a public service: the left-hand lane is for passing, meaning it is for those drivers amongst us that go faster than the rest. Putting your cruise control on three miles an hour lower than the posted speed limit and staying in the LHL is going to cause you discomfort, courtesy of me, when I run up your tailpipe because you are going too slow!

Also available for your use are the lights that indicate you are turning. Some in the auto industry call them “blinkers”. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not always use my blinkers if I am changing lanes or such. But when I am turning left or right off the road I am on, I use them. Blinkers – live them, love them, use them and you will be a less stupid driver.

5. Other categories that didn’t make the cut because to include them would make this post too long and then nobody would read it:

A. Selfies. This may be a whole post by itself.

B. Any restaurant that prepares a meal for my wife. You always get it wrong.

C. Lawyers. The one working on my mom’s estate charged me $200 for pulling one item off the Internet. I have a feeling there is a connection between this and the reason so many lawyers become politicians.

D. Insurance companies. I’m beginning to feel more sympathetic to The Hammer and The Strongarm.

Hopefully you can identify with one or more of the listings above. If you do then my mission is complete – I have shared my misery with somebody else, and I am thankful for the company. Have a nice day.

Irk: to irk, irritate or annoy. Irksome. Annoying. Irritating. Being an observer of people, this all I feel when discussing the following phenomena I see almost daily on social media. I see so many of each of these, that a couple of you may be offended. I mean no offense, but attempt to offer insight from my perspective in order to serve the public interest. What follows, ladies and gentlemen, are things that irk me. Stay tuned through the end for an unexpected plot twist!

Conditional Compliments

These are usually about a spouse, parent, or child. A long testimonial about how awesome this other person is gets written, and is then tempered by a comment that will be something like, “although we have our ups and downs,” or “it hasn’t always been smooth sailing,” or something like that. Let me go on record as saying that if you want to compliment another person, and I sincerely hope that you do, to offer that compliment untempered. “He/she is great, most of the time,” is like blowing up a balloon and then letting the air back out. All you have left is an empty balloon.

People need to be built up. We all need to know that somebody loves and appreciates us. It’s a tremendous use of your social media platform. Just don’t feel like you need to balance the scales – there are plenty of others out there willing to do that.

Re-Posting of your child(ren)’s accomplishments

Now before you get your feathers ruffled, I really enjoy keeping up with you and your children on social media. That is one of the reasons I read it every day, so that I can stay up to date on you and your family. I want to know when your child graduates high school, and where they are going to college. I want to know how successful they have been at gymnastics and baseball and academically, and how many grandchildren you have. I can stay in touch with my friends this way. This is not what I’m talking about here. Neither do I mean the FB Memories thing that comes up sometimes. What I am specifically addressing is those “special moments” that we celebrated in 2011 that keep coming back around every year. I’m glad your baby played on the 10-year old All Star team, but they are juniors in college now.

All of the above leads me to where I really want to take this post, which is that we don’t need posts and likes and retweets and emojis on social media to validate our identity. I say this as the writer of this blog that determines the successfulness of a post based on the number of hits I get. You and I are more than what other people think of the snippets of our lives that we choose to share online.

The Best Assistance I Can Provide

On Mother’s Day this year, I was fortunate enough to visit my son’s church, Crestview Baptist Church, in Georgetown, Texas. The sermon I heard that day was not a typical Mother’s Day sermon, but specifically targeted social media and the dangers involved when women (remember, it was Mother’s Day) gain their identity by how many likes and shares their posts receive on Facebook. Of course it applies to men, teenagers, any people group.

My prayer for you today is to take a half an hour and listen to this sermon, provided here: http://crestviewbaptist.church/mommies-and-the-trinity/

It changed my perspective, and I’m not even a mommy! Pastor Jordan Cobb does a fantastic job. Remember, you are created in the image of God Almighty, not Facebook!

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Power. Persuasion. Influence. You might even call it independence. Or maybe it’s just an aversion to having to answer to somebody else – someone telling us what to do. We seek, no, we crave control. We, and I certainly include myself at the front of this line, seem to react swiftly and with vengeance to anyone trying to take away our independence or ability to direct our own lives against our will. It is human nature.

The Lord knows I have spent plenty of my own energy trying to do things my way, and I’ve spent more time and effort trying to get others to do things my way than I’d care to admit. I have strong opinions, and I am continually convinced that if other people would just listen, they would see just how “right” those opinions are. Yet no matter how many attempts I make at this, my vision just doesn’t end up looking like I thought it would. Oh, there might be short-term success, but eventually that success fades away.

If I’m honest with myself, those moments or seasons of independence don’t seem to work out all that well. In my work life, I’ve wanted to be a baseball player (nope), a sportscaster (nope), a newspaper/radio salesperson (uh-uh), and a car salesman (it was a weak moment, and I was desperate). Then I wised-up momentarily, and asked the Lord what He wanted me to do. I spent 18 mostly-amazing years in education, with a couple of clunkers thrown in :-). Then I decided I wanted to be a real estate agent (too soon to tell). If I am honest, the happiest and most successful times of my professional life have been when I have submitted to the control of the Lord, and given up my independence to a God that has an eternal view of my life instead of the immediate satisfaction I seek for myself. I suspect an evaluation of the other aspects of my life would yield a similar pattern.

Knowing I can look back on a concrete track record, both good and bad, why do I keep wanting to steer my own course? I have some reasons, but they are kind of weak. First, I am an only child. Shocking, I know. But being The Only One had its perks growing up – like getting what I wanted, when I wanted it. It’s a good thing I’ve outgrown that. Secondly, I live in Texas. Texans are an independent lot, just ask us. We’re the only state that’s been its own country (see Texas Independence Day). We like to be independent, and we like to be right. And usually, we are both. Just sayin’, don’t hate. Legitimate reasons on the outside, but not deep on the inside.

As you struggle today with not wanting to yield to authority, whether that authority comes from God, your employer or your spouse, or somewhere else, just remember that there are others of us that struggle with it, too. Talk to a friend – encourage each other. Also, don’t forget to talk to your other Friend – and ask Him to take over. He’s good at it. Real good.

Trudging? Really? That’s the word that comes to mind while reading through one of the books of God’s Word? 

Yes. Definitely trudging.

Trudging to me brings to mind a deliberate plodding, persevering, and a not-always-fun performance of doing the right thing.

That definition is an accurate portrayal of where I am currently, halfway through my month-long study of Proverbs.

There are several types of reading in my mind. There is recreational reading, reading for information, required (professional?) reading, and then there is the kind in which the words leap off the page and slap me upside my big old head. My adventure in Proverbs fits the last definition the best.

Maybe it’s because I’ve slowed down this time, looking for specific passages that “speak” to me, instead of cherry-picking verses that fit a particular need. Whatever the case, this more deliberate read-through is hitting a lot closer to home. Because of these closer-to-home hits, my motivation for reading has moved categories. I began in the Enthusiastically Drawing Closer To God category, and now I have moved into the Thank You Lord, May I Have Another camp. You see, being humbled and reminded of how I should live is not always a joyful experience. But it is a necessary experience. So the motivation has changed because the message is being more clearly received.

I don’t think the change in motivation is a bad thing, either. In fact, I believe it to be just what I need. This Process in Proverbs in many ways mimics our Christian lives. We begin as new believers feeling all tingly inside, on an emotional high because we have accepted a free gift with eternal consequences and rewards. Then we get more into the nuts & bolts of what it means to follow Christ, which is not always rainbows and sunshine. Being a Christian requires dedication and perseverance. The reality is that there are still highs and lows in life, just as some of the scripture in Proverbs builds us up and other parts break us down.

Anything worth learning well requires hard work. Some days I look back over my notes at the passages that spoke to me in days past, and I am surprised at how plainly the Lord is speaking to me through His Book. I am equally surprised at how difficult it is for me to obey what He is telling me. I think it is because what I should do and what I selfishly want to do doesn’t always match up. Does that ever happen to you? Or am I the only one?

So onward I trudge, trusting that the seed planted from His Word is never in vain, trying to do a little better today than yesterday. I’m not sure where this journey will take me by the month’s end; the one assurance I have is that I will be moved off of where I was before it started. That most assuredly, would be a worthy outcome.

There aren’t many things that scare a guy like me, 

Born in the’50’s in Tennessee. 

There are a few, though, that seem to vex us 

Good ole boys from God’s Country, Texas. 

When the four-wheel drive on your truck won’t engage 

You can’t get it fixed making minimum wage. 

Or your pistol jams as that rattler crawls by 

You just shake your head and stare at the sky. 

Then there’s going to Wal-Mart to get some new jeans 

Cause your best pair of Wranglers have ripped at the seams. 

They have every size but the one that just fits 

What can I do? Today is the pits. 

There is one nightmare, though, that’s the worst of them all 

When the ice cream called Blue Bell gets another recall. 

I awake in a sweat, with a start and a scream 

Blue Bell is fine, it was just a bad dream! 

#prosechallenge22