Here's a birthday thought.

Here's a birthday thought. I've heard it said that one measure of success is not whether you have tough problems to deal with, everyone has those in their life, but whether you are still dealing with the same problems as last year. It's a benchmark to determine if your life is a journey with potholes along the way or more like a rut that you can't seem to get yourself out of.

Mine is a journey. A tough one sometimes, but a journey nonetheless. And while some of the tough problems have seemed surmountable, God has always been faithful to help me overcome or work my way through.

As one author put it, it's not that we overestimate the storms of life. They are scary and dangerous. It's that we underestimate the strength of God. I don't want to live the next 42 years believing in a "wimpy" God. I pray I never underestimate Him or His ability to deliver me to the next part of my journey.

Thanks for the many birthday wishes today. My friends are a huge part of why I consider myself to be such a blessed man.

Okay, here's the verdict.

Okay, here's the verdict. I did the annual physical exam thing yesterday (I do it every year around my birthday to make sure things stay in the best working order that they can). I have arthritis in a big toe and both wrists. My surgically repaired left shoulder is holding out okay but the "good" shoulder has rotator cuff tendinitis from throwing too many batting practice sessions. The right knee is holding but has inflammation from tearing cartilage in football 24 years ago. The blood pressure and cholesterol are both "higher than we would like to see."

So, as I lay in bed this morning, feeling a little bit older than my 41 years and 364 days should, I was pondering several things.

• Was it worth all the fun I had? Throwing yourself at the 300 pound linemen, diving for the baseball over and over and playing football in the backyard with my nephews and son.
• Would I feel like a car wreck if I hadn't been in seven of them already? Is this normal wear and tear or is this the end result of too many "fender benders?"
• What's it going to feel like the next 42 years?
• I'm glad this isn't all there is--I've got a new body with new shoulders and no cholesterol problems waiting for me some day.

I can tell you the answer to number one was an absolute "yes." This life is far too short not to enjoy it. I've loved every practice, every game and every back yard "brawl." I'd do it all over again (but only with an 18 year old body).

As far as the rest of my life, who knows what that holds other than God? I do know this. There is no better place for the balance of my days to be than in His hands. The Bible says He has numbered our days and He knew every one of them before I was born. He is very familiar with creaks my body makes when I crawl out of bed in the morning. He knows the pains I feel. He's numbered every hair that's dropped from my head. He knows me that well!! And...He loves me big!!

So, as long as I have breath and life I will serve Him. As long as the cholesterol doesn't creep too high and the knees hold out, I want to be going where He wants me to go and doing what He wants me to do. My prayer is the same as Paul's--that when my days have run their course, I'll be able to enter into my Father's presence having done two things: fulfilled His purpose for me in this life and left my kids with the best example of what a Christ follower should be. It's been an amazing 42 years. The best may be yet to come (albeit, a little slower than I lived it in the past GRIN).

Are you really listening?

Are you really listening? If you've got kids, you've probably asked that question on more than one occasion. I have. Particularly when it comes to my son, Harrison. We have many conversations that go something like this...

Me: Harrison, I need you to help me out with something. Can you.... (fill in the blank)?
Harrison: Sure, dad. I'll be glad to.
Me: Now, I need you to do it this way and by this certain time. Can you handle that?
Harrison: Yes, sir. I'll do it.
Me: Any questions?
Harrison: (after a slight pause) Wait a minute...when do you want me to do it?
Me: Are you even listening to me?

But I find that I can't get too frustrated with him. My parents had the same conversations with me. And, oddly enough, I think God has those same concerns about my ability to listen. You see, like too many Christ followers, I grew up believing that just hearing the Word (reading it, hearing it on the radio or in messages) was enough to change me. I was, after all, being confronted with God's word regularly. However, I understand now that listening without integrating it is exactly what James was talking about in this passage:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 NIV

Far too many church goers think that being in the presence of a teacher qualifies as putting the Word of God in their heart. It doesn't. Not even close. If it were that easy, we could put in a CD of someone reading the word, play it over a loudspeaker on the back of a ice cream truck and change our culture radically by influencing our kids with God's message. It's not that easy. Hearing the word puts it into our ears but the only way to put it into our hearts is by integrating it's message into our lives. This requires meditation, study, prayer and practice--none of which most church goers do on any regular basis.

This, in my mind, is the number one reason why studies and surveys indicate that Christians and non-Christians have very similar behaviors (divorce, alcoholism, cheating, gossip, etc.). We're just hearing the Word without letting it change us. And the Word, without change, is just like the seed that Jesus talked about (Luke 8:4-15) that withered because it had no root or got choked out because it grew among thorns. God asks, are you really listening but, more than that, are you allowing His Word to change who you are? Without change, His Word has no lasting effect.

I've heard it said that if you want to make God laugh, you should just tell Him your plans.

I've heard it said that if you want to make God laugh, you should just tell Him your plans. To be honest, I wonder sometimes if my plans would make God laugh or make Him cry. I'm in this stage of my life right now where I'm questioning if I'm dreaming big enough. Am I taking enough risks for the Kingdom?

I've come to very few conclusions for me personally, but I can tell you one thing that I'm sure of--God is showing me some fascinating things about my relationship with Him. What I'm finding is there is a gap between what I think it should be and what He thinks it should be. I've discovered that most of us are far too logical with our thinking in our relationship with God when, in reality, faith in God requires less logic and (dare I say it?) more foolishness. Look at most of the stories of Scripture and the heroes of their faith. Very little about what they did and the way they did it is "logical". I think we'd all agree that it takes some foolish thinking to build an ark in the desert where there has been no rain or to get out of a boat in the middle of a storm to go for a walk on the water. Why is it that our 21st century faith is so tame...so calm...so rational? Maybe the answer to that can also help us understand why most of our churches accomplish little for the kingdom and make little impact on our culture.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength....But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:25, 27

I feel sorry for Mechelle

I feel sorry for Mechelle. To be sure, there are many who are hurt by the tragic news of Steve McNair's death over the weekend here in Nashville. Fans, teammates and other family members were caught by surprise with the breaking news this past Saturday. But my heart really goes out to Steve's wife, Mechelle.

And it's for more than the reasons you might expect. Time after time, report after report, I have watched with interest as interviews talked about Steve's life. There is no doubt that he was one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. There is no doubt that he was a wonderful leader and teammate for all of the Tennessee Titans. And you cannot argue that he had a significant impact on many lives through his foundation, his restaurant and other services to the community.

But why does it seem that everyone is avoiding the obvious fact that Steve was in a place where he shouldn't have been with a woman he shouldn't have been with? Why do interviewees want to change the subject when this is mentioned (particularly people here in Tennessee. Media from other locales seem to be more willing to discuss it.)?

Let's be clear. Steve's death is sad. So is the death of the young twenty year old mistress. But Mechelle was at home being a mother to the children as she had been all along. Steve's death happened because Steve was not where he should have been. Steve made some very poor choices...and this wasn't the first time. So, while we definitely should honor the contributions and the life of a man who did much, let's not miss the chance to learn lessons like this: it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. No matter what your contributions may be to this world, good works can never outweigh a pattern of really poor choices.

Now, Mechelle and her children will have to live a life in the shadow of that legacy. Let Steve's life teach us all important lessons.