"Counterfeit Gods" by Tim Keller

We worship at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson and one of the many great ministries that the church offers is the Discipleship Groups that meet on Wednesday nights. (The supper that they offer on Wednesday night's is pretty dang good too!)

Typically, we pick a book to read and study in our Dicipleship Group. The church does a great job of recommending different reading materials and they've never steered us wrong. We've read and studied several Tim Keller books and I'd recommend any and all of them for you to read.

This semester, we started on Keller's "Counterfeit Gods" and it's REALLY compelling! Essentially, he goes over the way that mankind creates idols out of very real and legitimate parts of our lives. Many times, folks think of little golden statues when the subject of idols is discussed. But, really, anything that we love more than God is an idol for us. It becomes a "conterfeit god" and we worship it in many ways -- with time, money, energy, devotion, etc.

I've not finished it yet but what I've read so far has really drilled down into my soul and spoken to me about my own idols. I recognize that, throughout my life, I've had any number of idols stand in the way of my relationship with God. In my youth, it was acceptance by friends, popularity, girls, athletic success, etc. In my young adulthood, it was partying, status, money, women, my work, or my pleasures. In recent years, it's been my wife, my marriage, my children, my job, or my security.

Keller says that things are all "good" and positive until they become more important than my God. As it is so often for us humans, we can turn a good thing into a bad thing with the turn of a head or a heart. We can take a God-created, God-given beauty and make it the center of our universe, thus making it destructive instead of awe-inspiring.

As I read this book, I hope to discover ways to turn my heart away from my own idols and toward God's beauty and joy. I want these wonderful things in my life, but not at the cost of my relationship with my Creator and Savior. I know I can have them and cherish them but only if I see them through the prism of God and his saving, redeeming Grace. I can only imagine how beautiful they will be when I begin to see them fully in His light.

If you want to hear a bit about the book from the author, check out this link: "Counterfeit Gods" on YouTube.

Mississippi Blues Marathon

Tomorrow is the third running of the Mississippi Blues Marathon, an urban full and half marathon through the streets of Jackson and Flowood. It has been my pleasure to lend a hand in this race every year. This year, the start/finish area will be practically on the front steps of our beautiful Old Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson.

I am so proud to play a tiny little part in a really great downtown Jackson event. I want this downtown area to re-emerge and become the vibrant urban place that it should be. It's going to take events like this and visionaries like this team of race organizers to accomplish it. It is such a worthy cause!

Please take the opportunity to find a music spot on the route and enjoy the festivities. Yes, it's going to be cold but good blues music and the act of cheering on dedicated athletes is sure to warm your heart and your body.

Come out and enjoy!

 Mississippi Blues Marathon

My Christmas "feeling"

I love holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. When I was a kid, it was easy to understand why I loved Christmas. I was an only child for nearly 14 years (until my FANTASTIC sister was born). I was the center of attention and Santa loved giving me presents! But Thanksgiving was always just as important to me and I didn't understand why.

I think I'm beginning to understand. It's people! I am really enjoying being around family and friends at this point in my life. I went through a period where I preferred to be alone but I am sensing a change in me and it feels very familiar.

When I was a kid, I loved being in the center of it, whatever it was. I wasn't the ringleader, necessarily, or the main attraction. I was reserved and measured, to be certain, but I didn't want to be left out of anything. That carried over into my teens and I grew up with a group of friends that really did know how to enjoy being in one another's company. I miss you guys and wish we could reconnect more often!

As I became a young adult, though, I felt less of a desire to be involved. After college, I think, I became a solo person. I had one or two people that I worked with that were very important to me, but we rarely if ever did anything outside of work activities. Even after getting married, I really didn't connect with the folks that we socialized with and I didn't have too many friends and even fewer buddies. I didn't realize how much I was missing that until I recently began to "venture out" again.

Everyone needs to have a gang of friends. It's not necessarily the guys that you go out and party with. I know I'm too old for very much of that! It's the friends that you can go out and be REAL with. I'm not downplaying family at all, but you need friends just as much. You need to have folks around you that love you for you and not just because of blood relations. I've had some great times with my friends this year. I look forward to all that we'll experience next year.

Family is important, though, as long as they are genuine relationships. We all need members of the family that you can just sit and talk to, without all the pressure and stress of "family junk" that usually comes along with the holidays. I think I'm lucky in this category. I love spending time with our families and it's one of the main reasons why I'm really enjoying these special times again. We can spend moments of time really experiencing one another and appreciating what we love about each other.

My Christmas wish for anyone reading this is a simple one. I hope you take the time to stop, sit down, relax, and share this time with folks who are special to you. Don't just tell people THAT you love them, tell them WHY you love them. It could be one of the best Christmas gifts you give this year.

It was FOGGY in Jackson today!

This is a picture I took from our parking lot looking toward the Coliseum. I couldn't even see across Jefferson St.!

The Fair Starts Tomorrow!

I think one of the fondest collective memories of my childhood was going to the Mississippi State Fair each year. I can remember coming around the bend of I-55 North and seeing my first glimpse of the Farris Wheel. What a thrill! Neon lights bouncing off the gloriously hideous orange and yellow of the Coliseum. I could practically hear the carnies yelling, "See the world's smallest woman!" or "She speaks, she sings, she crawls on her belly like a reptile! It's Snake Woman!" In mere moments, I'd be going 500 miles per hour in the Matterhorn and the Rock and Roll Express or eating my weight in footlong corndogs and onion rings.

It seems like every trip to the Fair included my best friend, John. When we were little, we would spin ourselves (and my Dad) sick on the rides. When we were 10 or 11, John provided expert advice on which cheap piece of brass jewelry I should get the girl I was "dating" at the time. I want to apologize to the many wonderful young ladies I knew at Carver Elementary and Jr. High School. Each of you meant much more to me than the tarnished trinket I gave you. It was a gift from my heart, though!

In our teen years, John was the best double date pal around. He was nearly a year older so he could drive long before any of our friends. A non-chaperoned ride to the Fair or anywhere else was a big reason I had any dates at all when I was 14! He always had a cool car too. It was either the Chrysler with the sunroof or the Jaguar. Thank goodness his sister's GMC Pacer burned to the ground before John was able to drive. Can you imagine trying to pick up chicks in a fish bowl?!

My daughters are very excited about going to the Fair again this year. They've asked me to drive by the Fairgrounds each morning so they can watch it being built. Every time we make the crest on the Pearl Street bridge, I feel a little twinge of excitement in my stomach. The air seems a little cooler this week and, from my building, I can see the Farris Wheel standing high above the hundreds of workers hurriedly building their city of lights.

It's true what they say. You can't go back and relive your youth. But you can sure enjoy the faint memories from time to time.

"Step right up and test your arm, son! Knock over these bottles and you could win this beautiful charm bracelet for your girl back home. It's only one dollar!"

A Parent's Example

I have encountered one of the members of the staff at our church, Tom Elkin, in several different ways over the last few months. It's been good to get to visit with him in the halls of the church. He also preached on Wednesday nights during the summer and taught our Sunday School class during the same period of time.

Although his topics were varied, I continued to hear a theme throughout the lessons. “Parents, teach you children responsibility by allowing them to understand and experience the consequences of life.” I know it’s not exactly what Tom was saying but it is certainly what my heart was hearing.

In that context, I was struck by a train of thought I had when I read an online devotional today. There were two scriptures that stood out to me:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” – John 13:34

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” – John 15:9

To follow the thought in reverse, Jesus learned to love us by experiencing the love of His Father and Jesus wants us learn to love each another by experiencing and emulating His love for us.

To be blunt, God’s love for Jesus was “tough love” in its highest form. Jesus was sent with the purpose of suffering the consequences of our sin in our place. Despite the fact that He was perfect and Holy and eternally beloved by His Father, He was “allowed” to experience the consequences of His life and purpose.

How painful it must have been for God to see His Son suffer. As a parent, I know that I could not have allowed one of my girls to suffer so much, even knowing the greater good that would result. That is the broken humanity in me. Yet, God’s strength stands as an example of how we should care for our children. We should love and cherish them so much that we are willing to allow them to experience the consequences of life and the results of their actions.

I don’t know that Tom will ever read this. If he does, I want him to know that the message is being heard and I’m reading it in the words of God’s Holy Scripture too. Thanks for the kick start, Tom.

This Weekend is Finally Here!

I am a proud fan of the Ole Miss Rebels. I say that with honesty and integrity and lacking any shame. However, as an Ole Miss fan, it has been a long while since I have looked forward to a college football season.

I guess we were excited about 2003, but there were so many unknowns. Yes, it was Eli's senior year but the cast around him had us wondering and guessing. We had done average the season before and there were some untested players stepping up to fill the voids of graduation. As it turned out, 2003 was a very exciting year, but we proved our hesitancy with losses to Memphis and Texas Tech.

But, in reality, it's been a long time since Ole Miss fans were this excited about a season. Last year's six game run to end the season was magical. The Cotton Bowl victory was as exciting a game as we've had in the last ten seasons. The players lining up to wear the red and blue are talented, confident, prepared, and anxious to go. So are the fans.

Ole Miss starts their season this Sunday against Memphis. The Tigers want the upset. The Rebels want the decisive win to kick off the season. The fans want their high expectations to be realized. We want that illusive trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. We want to be the hunted and still succeed.

I've waited for the return of Ole Miss football since January 3. September 6 has been circled on my calendar for months. It's finally here and I can't wait!