Archive - March, 2009

The Power of a Letter

March 31, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

I am deeply moved by the comments posted here, on Facebook and through private emails concerning the letters that I am writing. I am finding that they are speaking to people of all walks of life and in various ways. It’s encouraging to hear of others desirous of doing the same thing. Some are  finding the strength to simply tell others how they feel about them. It’s the power of a letter.

This morning, I strolled into my office to find an envelope on my desk with my name on it. Inside was a two-page, hand-written letter on beautiful stationary. It was left there by a dear friend, who is also a believer in the power of a letter. His first paragraph states,

Please forgive the outdated mode of communication, but I have been thinking lately about some of the simpler pleasures we miss out on in our hectic 21st Century life. For me, a penned, heartfelt letter is an object of beauty, and something far too rare.

I could not agree more. His letter was unquestionably “an object of beauty” in my mind. I feel fortunate to be the recipient of such a gift. It’s something I will forever cherish. Thank you Les! But most of all, thank you for your friendship.

Over the years, letters like Les’s have made a tremendous impact on me. Will Smith, dear friend of mine, too, is skilled in the art of letter writing. His come like Les’s, in handwritten form and on fine paper. He, too, knows the power of a letter.

There may be someone in your life who is hurting; a well-timed letter may be what they need to begin to turn the corner. There may be someone in your life who simply deserves a “thank you” for all they do. Embrace the power of a letter today!

A Letter to John Young (My Dad)

March 30, 2009 in Letters with 0 Comments

Dad playing JengaDear Dad,

I am writing you this letter for a number of different reasons. This is actually the second of a number of different letters that I am writing to family and friends. The first letter was to God the Father. You can read it by clicking here. The most important reason that I am writing these letters is to personally express my thoughts about the people who mean so much to me.

Dad…I love you. I am honestly not certain if I have ever expressed that to you with those express words. I don’t think I have. It’s just not the kind of thing we’d say to each other. I think our handshakes carry with them the suggestive, subliminal undertones of such, but verbal expression along such lines has never been our thing. At least until now.

Dad, you have been amazing in your own unique way over the last several years. What you have done for Julie, in particular, in the midst of her turmoil has been wondrous. We (Julie, Jennie and myself) all see it for what it is. It’s easy to take things for granted. You might not think a lot about the work you have done, but I know I do. I think Julie and Jennie do to. That’s who you are. You have found a way, through what to some might be menial, insignificant chores, to display genuine love. Thank you!

I think I’ve told you before that my kids tend to be my people barometer. All three have the gift that their mother possesses. I think we both know that Tisha cannot be duped. Well neither can my kids, especially Aby.

When we are down there for a visit or when you are up here, I soak in your interaction with them. They don’t see you as much as they see BooBoo, but when they do, they know what they are going to get to do and they are PUMPED about it. Those are memories that I wouldn’t exchange for the world. To see them respond to you in the ways they do tells me that you have a deep sense of love within you that is particular to you. For that I am tremendously grateful.

I think both of us know that the last several years have been special for both of us as well. Your visits, phone calls and the times that we have spent together have been immensely powerful for me. What we’ve done together, whether here, there, or in between (Remember the day at Sea World?) are things I will never forget. The fact that you even went to that madhouse blew me away.

The confidence you’ve shown to have in me in various areas has been monumental in my own personal development. I haven’t always felt this way, but today I don’t need to be validated by anyone. Your confidence in me has done that nonetheless.

I recently heard an author speak about his national, best-seller The Shack. He writes about a man’s struggle with life and God. Disturbed as to why God takes on the persona of Father when so many children struggle with their earthly father figures, he said, “It’s because God knew that fathering would be so much more difficult.” By way of personal experience with my own kids, I think he was right. Looking back, I sense that fathering probably wasn’t the easiest thing for you either. So we do what we can to try to get our father’s approval. Maybe it’s baseball, hunting or whatever, but in the end it should be that unconditional love wins out.

So I close this letter with the same words I mentioned early on. I love you. Unconditionally. Thank you for responding in the ways that you have!

Hope

March 29, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Of “hope” (elpis in the Greek) Barclay contends, “The Christian hope is not simply a trembling, hesitant hope that perhaps the promises  of God may be true. It is the confident expectation that they cannot be anything else but true.”
This goes to show how crucial it is to really know the meaning behind words. Biblical “hope” is much different than the hope of our time. We hope that our favorite team wins the SuperBowl, World Series or National Championship, fulling knowing that they might or might not. The Christian’s hope is more akin to Joe Namath’s guarantee of victory, except our guarantee is from God. This is why we can “wait…with patience” for what we do not see (Romans 8:24-25).
Think about how you use the word “hope” in your everyday vocabulary. Let’s try not to confuse the common usage with the biblical one. The biblical usage is steeped in confidence and expectation; the common usage is nothing more than wanting what may or may not happen.

Movin’ On

March 25, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1bxlDAjGCo]

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It started off with an early morning work-out and visit with a dear friend who’s been devastated by startling revelations in his life. But he’s moving on. I got an upbeat email from a friend who is turning the corner on some life struggles that have devastated her. She, too, seems to be movin’ on. Over lunch, I found myself thinking about an extremely gifted friend of mine who has found a preaching work about which he seems genuinely excited. Good for him! He seems to be movin’ on. My oldest sister, who’s life has been turned upside down in the last two years, called to talk for a while. She, too, is movin’ on and by the appearances is loving being a witness to her world as it turns right-side up. I am simply elated to see that people in my life are movin’ on in so many ways.

Yesterday I also read through the book of Luke. There the “movin’ on” theme continued. I was struck by Jesus at Capernaum. The crowds for whatever reason were captivated by Jesus. They wanted him to stay, but Jesus said that he was movin’ on (Luke 4:42-44). He had a purpose to keep.

I guess the point is, sometimes you just have to move on. Things happen to us in life, both good and bad, that catch us off-guard. When they do, we’ve got to deal with them and then move on. We especially can’t afford to allow the stench of horrible experiences to linger with us. We will suffocate ourselves in the process.

The past is what it is, but we don’t live there.  Each breath we take is one in the present.  The past is simply no place to dwell (Phil. 3:13-14). Reminiscing about “the old days” aren’t going to bring them back. Longfellow wrote, “Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.”

You may be turning the corner yourself. It may be that you are about to graduate high school or maybe even college, closing one chapter in your life and moving on to another. You might be starting a new job, moving into a new house, or hopefully letting go of a painful past. In whatever way you might be movin’ on, may God bless you as you find it within yourself to do so!

Risk (2)

March 24, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Each Monday I will be posting a new letter until I am done with the list of people I have created. For those who might be interested, the next letter will be addressed to my dad, John Young.

This morning, during my personal devotional time, I found myself engulfed in Acts 15. The setting is the Jerusalem conference. Christians had come together to discuss matters that divided Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. In the end, a letter was issued to Gentile brethren in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. The contents of the letter are found in Acts 15:23-29.

What jumped out at me as I reflected upon the text was not what normally would. My thoughts were centered upon verses 24-26. From the ESV, it reads like this: “Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

First, I am encouraged that men were able to come together and hash out crucial issues. Jewish Christians, entrenched in their ways of doing things, were able to see the big picture. There were matters of personal practice that could not be bound on others. The leadership recognized such and when others were distancing themselves from Gentile Christians who refused to conform to Jewish ways of doing things, the leadership sought not to lay an undue burden upon those Gentiles. I would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall in that get together. I would like to know how it went down, but I am left with only the conclusion. That’s good enough for me. Its still encouraging to see the outcome of the Jerusalem conference.

Second, I am enthralled by how the letter speaks of Barnabas and Paul as “men who have risked their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ.” What would I do in their situation? What would you do in their situation?

Opposition is a kind of crossroads. Opposition can cause to go in any number of directions. That Paul and Barnabas went in the way of risk for Christ’s sake, jeopardizing their own lives in the process, is convincing proof that their faith was grounded in Christ.

We really have it good here in the United States. Regardless of where we think the country is going, we cannot begin to equate the kind of peril we might face as people of faith with what the early church got over and over and over again. When we start to think that we’ve got it bad, let’s remember the great risk that our spiritual heritage has left us!

For what will we risk our lives?
Page 1 of 512345»