Just wanted to throw in a little shameless promotion. This Monday and Tuesday, I will have the opportunity to join the medical community in talking about patient safety and the medical communities efforts to make our hospitals a safer environment. All of this is a result of working with the hospital in Savannah after Josh's untimely death due to a medication error. It's one of many doors that God is opening for me to go into varying venues (that's a cool phrase) and share a message of hope, grace and forgiveness. This week it's Charlotte, NC (the Concord area). In May, it will be Jekyll Island, GA.

To the right, you'll see a new link added regarding Ridley Barron Ministries (don't worry, I'm not about to become a televangelist). It's an organization set up to facilitate the scheduling and carrying out of this ministry. If you or someone you know would be interested in me sharing my family's story and, more importantly, God's greater story of grace, feel free to follow the link to get more information. It's a bare bones site for now but will continue to grow.

Also a new addition to the blog is the subscription option to the right. By doing this, you will receive an e-mail update notifying you when this blog has been updated. It keeps you from coming back to this site unnecessarily. I promise there are no hidden agendas, you won't get "spammed," and it's simply a way to let you know when some thought has spurred me to write again. You will note that this is happening with more frequency and I hope that will continue.

Finally, I appreciate your prayers for me as I share next week in NC. Pray for my words to be His, for my safe travel and for my amazing kids as I leave them for two days. I promise guys, I'll be home in time for your game on Tuesday H and in time to say your prayers A. Love all of you and appreciate your continued support.

"The death of one child brings the end to a universe of possibilities." Unknown

I heard this quote the other day. Actually, it was the other night, three o'clock in the morning. I couldn't sleep so I flipped on the TV and began to watch the coverage of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. As they wrapped up another half hour of interviews, the anchor segued into the commercial with this quote. And it caused me to think. First of all, I thought about my son. How true this statement is. Will I ever know what "universe of possibilities" could have been attained if Josh had lived? How would his life changed others, blessed others, or made other lives different? Would he have cured some disease, taught some world leader or fathered one of our future presidents?

Then my mind flashed back to the 32 lives that were ended (33 counting the gun man). How would our lives been different if just one of them had lived to fulfill their purpose or to realize God's promise for their life? Greater still, how has our culture been touched by the deaths of over 4,000 babies a day due to abortion in our country since the Roe v. Wade decision? What price do we pay for the "luxury" of terminating unwanted lives? What larger price will we pay for a mad man's decisions this past week in Virginia?

As those thoughts rumbled around in my sleepy head, one huge thought came to the forefront. My mind was drawn to the two children upstairs, the blessing and responsibility I have been given in training and loving these children. I have prayed for years now that those two kids would grow up to change the world. It's still my prayer. More than I ever I want to love them so that there are never any doubts about that. I want to assure them that no mistake or failure would ever change that. I want them to know that God loves them. That he is crazy about both of them and desires the very best for them. I want them to comprehend His plan and to know that He has a purpose for their existence. More than anything, I don't want them to get to the end of their lives and feel like they have missed one thing that God had for them to do. Maybe, just maybe, if someone had prayed those same prayers for Cho Heung-Sui, there would have been some different headlines this week. And we would have been different people as a result of all those "universes" opening to their possibilities.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV

I tend to be a little bit of a news junkie. I really have to watch myself some times because I will get caught up in a particular story or event and will spend great amounts of time following the story. Quite often, it's regarding some cultural event. I guess one of the newest ideas is to have these blogs connected to articles in the paper so that the readers can respond to the writer's thoughts. I must admit, I can lose my cool reading some of the things that are written in these blogs. I haven't really decided if they just attract some strange characters or if Americans have really lost every bit of common sense. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is not a new thing. Paul said that foolishness abounds, even when it comes to the Gospel. For centuries, mankind has managed to take the simplicity of the Gospel and turn it into leatherbound fetters for the hearts of men. Rather than offering liberty to the soul, we confuse its meaning and turn it into a cumbersome institution of rituals, "dos" and "don'ts", and legalistic trappings. How sweet it will be on that day when the blind are given sight and the chains are loosed. Jesus said that the faith of a child could receive the Gospel, yet the minds of grown men somehow miss it. I desire so much for the people of our community to taste the greatness of God. But I do not want His grace tarnished by our foolish representations of it. I want my church to be a place for all who will come and ask questions and seek answers. This is not "anything goes" mentality; rather, it is more of a "God can heal any pain" simplicity. I often wonder how the world's opinion of Christ would be changed if we would live the Gospel just as God intended it without our additions or editions. I pray that, today, you would experience the love of Christ and the grace of our Father unecumbered--just as He intended it. Then and only then will you and I fully know the power of God.

Here it is again--April 9th. Three years ago today that the accident happened and my wife was taken. As much as I might like to forget that this day exists--strike it from the calendar and just live with the other 364 days--it just keeps coming around. In reality, though, it's no different than any other day when I miss her. No different than my children's birthdays or holidays or Saturdays or any other day when I catch myself wishing she were still here. I'm in the middle of writing an article for a magazine about the accident. It's caused me to think and reflect on what has happened these three years. They seem like forever. I remember looking through the things that were pulled from the crash--golf clubs, suitcases, new clothes we had bought for the kids, books and other items. All of them had been thrown violently around the van as it tumbled down the side of the road. As I thought back on that this week, I was struck by what a vivid picture that has been of our lives. Tossed and turned and thrown violently upside down. Some things are broken and beyond repair. Others carry with them scratches and dents. Some were never seen again after the accident. One book, in particular, carries smudges of blood from someone in the accident. Friction and force will do that to an object. But friction also does something else to an object--it refines it. Like the sandpaper that works against the wood or the file that smooths out the metal, friction can make some things better. And over these last 3 years that has been my choice. Will I allow God to use this to make me better, to smooth out my rough edges? Or would I rather become dented, broken and unusable? That's a choice we all must make. No matter what you go through or what life throws at you, you alone decide what becomes of it. Call it looking for the silver lining, being an optimist or whatever you choose. For me it has literally been the difference between living a life of useless existence filled with bitterness and rage or living a life that points others to my Peace. Without Him I am nothing, with Him I can be something amazing. And, like the book on my shelf, I carry around within me the smudges of His blood--images of another life changed by the reality of Easter!

"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning you are still with me!" Psalm 139:17-18 NLT

I remember the days when I was dating Sarah Ellen. For most of that time, she was in Carollton, Georgia attending college. I was in Fort Worth, Texas--12 hours away--enrolled in seminary. Needless to say, we spent many hours on the telephone trying to make those miles disappear. I would take a lot of good natured joking from the guys when the phone would ring and someone would announce that it was for me. My heart would leap because I knew that someone (not just anyone, but this girl I loved so much) was thinking about me. I think we're all the same.

At my house, every afternoon is mail time. Unfortunately, on most days, the majority of the mail is from someone wanting to sell us something or to collect on a bill. But there are those days when one of the kids will get a birthday invitation or a holiday card. There face will light up and I see in them the same thoughts I had not so long ago--"Someone was thinking of me." I read the verse above this morning and I thought about the Easter holiday as it is approaching. How amazing is it that, when Christ was layed on that cross to give himself up, God was thinking of me? Even more amazing is the fact that He has never stopped. Long before I was conceived, God thought of me. Last week, when I lost my cool and blew up at my kids, God was thinking of me. Next week, when I screw up again, He'll still be thinking of me. And those thoughts are so unimaginable, so innumerable that I could spend the rest of my life thinking of Him and never "outthink" Him. Tonight when I lie down and tomorrow when I get up--He'll still be going. He'll never tire, never get bored. When some new child is born, they won't squeeze me out. My sin won't squelch it and time cannot diminish it--God loves me and He's thinking about me. It makes my face light up to think of it--not just anyone, but someone I love so much can't take His mind off of me. I hope you feel that reality in your life right at this moment. No matter what the condition of your life, God loves you and can't stop thinking of you. Hope it makes you feel all warm inside to know that the Creator longs to be with you.