Glenn The Lawn Care Guy

Have you ever thought about what it will be like when you're..... let's say 79? I have been at a Bob Evans in Florida before eleven a.m. That is one impression I have of what people do at that age.. they shop for senior meal discounts. I have envisioned sitting in a big recliner and watching endless television shows with five thousand choices from a satellite. Occasionally I think of sitting in a senior center playing bridge or chess with a group of other seniors. None of these options really look too appealing to me.

I know one guy though who has taken an entirely different route. He is 79 and uses his hours and days in a totally different way. He uses his time and abilities for others. This guy takes care of a five acre plot of land on the corner of Columbus Road and 36th street in Quincy, Illinois. Yip - you heard me right, 79 and doing all of the lawn care for the Columbus Road church family.

Since I arrived six years ago, he has faithfully mowed, trimmed, fertilized and manicured our church lawn. For those of you who haven't seen it... it looks great!!! He is amazing with the time and attention he puts into this part of our ministry. Daily he is at work on some aspect of his ministry. He works tirelessly until it is just right...nearly perfect.

He has recently been growing new grass, fixing low spots, trimming, and edging. He even encourages the grass to grow more by fertilizing and cutting it all the time...ha. It is no exaggeration to say that Glenn is one of the most dedicated workers of our entire church family.

So back to the question...what will it be like for you at 79? When I get to be 79, I sure hope that my time and my life are dedicated like Glenn's are. I don't want to be finding ways to save my money or spend my money at that age... Glenn, I wanna be like you when I grow up.

I thought I would share a few photos of my race car and answer some questions about why I race.

When did you get interested in racing ? I was born in Knoxville, Iowa. Anyone who knows anything about racing recognizes that Knoxville is a hub for dirt track racing in the Midwest. My dad would take me to the races.

How did you end up getting into racing here? One name ...Randy Uppinghouse.... We share the same love for the sport. He has been around it all his life and knows how to tune a car. We hooked up at church one Sunday and the rest is history.

Why do you race? I race because it is an outlet. With my calling it is easy to be consumed with the challenges of the ministry. There is no time (not even a second) in a race car to think about anything other than what you are doing. It requires one hundred percent focus because you are making many decisions a second. In the car you have to be able to multi-task and make split-second decisions.


How long do you think you will do it ? I have a personal philosophy that you can't wait to start living until you have time or money. You will never live. There is a time for everything. I have been in the ministry since I was twenty-five, and I have not made the time for lots of hobbies. Randy and I have an agreement to take this racing thing one year at a time.

What is your favorite part? That is a tough question...I love the side by side racing, the speed, the quick decision making and extreme focus that it takes. Let me say this....It's a lot more difficult than it looks.

Bob and Jeanette

So I am blogging this evening about Bob and Jeanette, that is Bob and Jeanette Speckhart. I really don't know where to begin. They are such a blessing to me as a pastor. I wish that every guy that ever pastored would have a "Bob & Jeanette" in his congregation.

I was again reminded of their value and contribution this past week in their absence. Jeanette was on a mission to Carolina.... potty training one of her v.i.p's. As I was talking to Bob just this evening, I shared with him that for us they are like the person who warms up the car so when everyone gets in they are not only comfortable but ready to go. See, Bob and Jeanette are first arrivers at every service. They open the doors, make the coffee, turn on the lights, and have smiles waiting for our starting line up. They are generally here before the pastors, singers, and teachers.... they get us going and it passes through the entire building.

Not only do Bob and Jeanette warm up the car, they make the car go faster. Our church has changed so much and so rapidly in the past few years. Most people want to apply the brakes when a corner is waiting ahead. NOT Bob and Jeanette.... I think they both have a hidden love for speed. They amaze me with their service to the Lord and their willingness to change and move forward for the cause of Christ. I pray that I always move ahead in God's path quickly and without hesitancy (just like them).

Finally, Bob and Jeanette understand that a crucial part of having a great race is taking care of the car-care details. They are constantly aware of overlooked details of ministry and they are more than willing to fill in the gaps no matter how unnoticed it may be. Turning off lights, cleaning up the kitchen, sorting through old files - none of these "maintenance" tasks are too insignificant for the Speckharts. And each of them keeps the ministry running smoothly.

They take mission trips a couple of times a year. He is a greeter at our church, works on the mission team, serves a our comp controller on a volunteer basis, and does hospital visitation. Jeanette is an active member of CWA, mission team member, key board player on the praise team, and runs our hospitality center in common grounds on Sundays.

Oh, did I happen to mention that Bob is 72 and Jeanette is 69.

We are blessed to have these partners in ministry at Columbus Road. Don't quit the race! Keep doing your part! You may be blessing your pastor.

No "Clean Gene" There

This picture is hilarious to me!!! Anyone who has hung with me at all knows that there is no way that this could be a room occupied by a Cowman child. I have my hangers color coordinated and all my shirts hang in the same direction. As a recovering perfectionist with a tendency to be a tad compulsive, one wonders just how people are born with such diverse personalities and traits.

I have two children who must have received from me the "clean gene". I have two other children who must have not received the "clean gene". These particular children are great. They are very social, fun loving and kind. Of the four of my children they would be least attached to personal belongings. They are not very sentimental when it comes to things.

For the better part of ten years, I have been trying to convince, plead, beg, demand and manipulate someone to clean their room. When asked she willingly complies. She regularly and conveniently closes her door, with the hope that I will just walk on by and forget to look.

This morning she forgot to shut the door.

As I walked by her room I smiled and actually chuckled a little bit. A tornado had hit again but as for this girl she was living large - she was on to more important things. I will go home tonight and ask her to clean her room. She will jump right up and do it with a good attitude but this one thing I know.... She will not be cleaning anything anytime soon because she chooses to.

The take away.... celebrating what makes a person unique versus trying to make them comform to your image is alot less painful for both individuals. Next time you find yourself wanting someone to change for your benefit, take a moment to appreciate what makes them so unique and special to your life.

Just thought you might want to see the closet!!

Tangled

I had not been inspired to blog this past week. Lots of things going on - activities and to-do lists. But coming into the church this week, I came across an interesting sight that quickly turned my thoughts to how life goes sometimes..... Tangled

I came down from my office to find a young lady who had tangled her hair so bad that she could not get the brush out of her hair. Her mother came in looking for assistance from Carol, our church receptionist.... she can do anything. They began the long process of pulling the hair out of the brush and away from the other hair.

This seemed to be a very delicate process that took time, attention, and even involved a little pain. This particular tangle was so difficult that even "Carol the Great" could not get the tangle out. So the family packed up and off to the mall they went seeking back up. The local hair salon was ready to help. They put a half a bottle of conditioner in the young ladies hair plus cut off the tips of the bristles on the hairbrush. Finally the job was done and her hair was untangled.

Life can be like tangled hair. People start out with good intentions, (brushing your hair is a good thing!!) but out of nowhere everything gets so messed up. One bad move, a poor decision, moving too quickly and everything is tangled in a mess.

Getting untangled in life is also much like untangling hair. Sometimes the tangle comes out with just a little bit of force and effort. Other times it is a slow methodical step by step process which requires time and attention. The worst tangles in life require help. Help from ourside, beyond your capacity, above what one person can do.

The take away from tangled hair.... What area of your life has become tangled? Do you need help from someone else to get untangled? Do you know who can help? What are you waiting for?

Clutter

I cleaned out a closet at the church yesterday. I was in one of those moods. The kind of mood that screams, "no more clutter". It is a closet that is next to one of the main entrances of the church. It is amazing what a person can find in a catch all - "we might use that someday"- kind of place.

We are all so similar...we manage the things that should not be managed, hold onto things that have no worth, and make room for more. Columbus Road is no exception to the rule. In fact, churches can be the worst. Who has the authority to throw out a twenty year old donated chair with a rip in it? Ha!

Back to the closet...we kept a 1990 Chysler car radio from a van we no longer own, a broken piece of glass, a window that no longer exists at our church, parking lot sealer that had gone bad five years ago, an electric room heater that was broken, and my favorite - a vinyl church sign that was over ten years old.

It is easy to rip on clutter and closets but as I was cleaning it out this thought went through my mind - if my mind was a closet and someone started to clean it out, how much would be thrown away? I know for sure that thoughts that I have from the past would be cleared out. There is nothing good about trying to manage thoughts that cannot be managed. I bet someone would throw out my thoughts of fear and doubt. Those thoughts take up too much room - room that could be used for courage and hope. Any wrong thought that consumes my time and energy and priority would be tossed out with the 1990 Chrysler radio.

Take away... if minds were closets, we would need a big dumpster...ha!

An Amazing Evening

I was sitting on the couch with my daughter in late October. It was one of those Saturday afternoons where little was going on in the world but college football. We sat quietly together observing all the sights and sounds of the college football experience. I wondered if Madison had ever been to any event remotely close to the live college football experience.


I made a decision that I would make sure that she got to every major sporting venue before her eighteenth birthday. Then I popped the question. "Madison would you like to go to a game like that?" "Sure!" - there was no hesitation. I quickly chimed in, " I would like to take you to all of the major sport venues before you get out of high school. We could go to a hockey game first. "


The normal protocol proceeded..tickets, arrangements, maps, times and dates. I was so excited to share this experience with my daughter. Last week I was walking through the mall when out of nowhere a St Louis Blues' jersey in the front window of Hibbett sports jumped out at me. I had to stop. It was on sale and just the right size for Madison. Yip, you guessed it.... bought and paid for and ready to be worn on our special night.


Sunday afternoon we packed into the car and off we went - father and daughter to her first professional sporting event. It was kinda quiet on the way down. Just sporadic conversation about varying subjects. As we got closer though, the anticipation began. I told her to be looking for restaurants that we might want to eat at afterwards. The traffic got heavier and the city skyline appeared. Madison took it all in. Questions started to come at a rapid pace. St Louis Blues' fans were all streaming to the stadium.


We arrived early, getting fantastic parking that allowed us a fifty step walk into the Scottrade Center. (no lie...it was crazy good) We hustled right in. It was free hat night. Madison thought that was pretty cool and the hat would go well with her jersey. She wanted to find her seat immediately. So off to the seats we went. I loved to give her this experience. She asked me if they were our seats for the whole time. I assured her that they were ours.


At that time we went shopping for "create-a-fry", a mix of bacon, cheese and chili on french fries. We found them and boy did she love them. The pregame started and all the music, lights and fans were in full bloom. Madison was taking it all in. I LOVED watching her observe everything. The game was exciting, back and forth scoring, fights, and the beer man.


St Louis struggled at the end, giving up two late goals in the third period. The game came to an end and we were on the losing end of our first professional hockey game. Madison chose Olive Garden as the place to eat afterward. She began to talk about lots of things on the ride to the restaurant and at the table. We enjoyed the conversation, the appetizer, meal and dessert together.


The night ended with her balled up in the front seat, sleeping away, all the way back to Quincy. Our next professional sport will be baseball this summer, watching the St. Louis Cardinals.

Change

I filled in for our associate pastor last night teaching the "Equip U" class. I was a hair resistant about the whole thing, but I agreed to fill in. The topic of the class has been "How We Change." The entire class has been an uncomfortable and convicting yet very challenging experience for me as I sat and learned. And this time - as is the case many times when we say "yes" to something that we do not want to do but we know is the right thing to do - I was convicted, moved, and challenged. The central message last night was that we change by placing ourselves in a position to receive God's gifts of grace which help us grow. We don't cause the growth. We just "show up" and receive God's gifts of grace.

Five gifts of Grace in the life of a believer that provide growth and change are:

The Bible - When we interact with the Bible, God directs our hearts, minds and actions toward Jesus Christ. His sacrifice motivates and inspires us to change. We desire to please God through change as a way to say "Thank you".

The disciplines - Dicsiplines include fasting, meditating, prayer and worship. These are all delivery systems where humans gain a Godly perspective.

Other Christians - This is a significant way in which God introduces change into our lives. Others (an outside force) help us in areas where we are weak. There strengths are passed along to us via modeling, instruction, and accountability. (Yes, that means that the person that you may find to be just a little annoying may be God's gift to you to bring growth and change in your life.)

The Holy Spirit - The Spirit of God indwells the believer. As we experience life, we are convicted, taught, and directed by him. When we yield (we call this filling) to His voice, major changes transpire. We no longer medicate our hurts with what makes us feel good but rather are comforted by His presence.

Time - God does not expect us to change overnight. In fact change is a process - a process through which God demonstrates great patience to us. We are weak, sinful and self-centered beings. These characteristics don't just fall off of us at the time of salvation but rather are torn away through grace. We call this sanctification.

So why is this important? I often find my self falling into the same old hole, walking back to the same old vomit (what a picture in Proverbs 26:11), and failing in the same old ways. When I surround myself with the works of grace in my life, I BEGIN to see some real and measureable change. Last night I placed myself in a position to receive God's grace and today I'm seeing slow (ever so slow) change.

So let the work begin!

Facebook Friends

Facebook is a cool thing! I have reconnected with so many friends from the past. The list of people who are my "facebook friends" extends all the way back to elementary school. There are people from junior high, high school, college, seminary, and people I have ministered to and with. The time I have known these people extends to just under 44 years. (My sister Leigh is now on Facebook and I have known her all my life..ha). As of 1:45 today, I officially have 234 of those friends. I THINK that is a badge for some people.

Some "facebook friends" I barely remember and others were as close as a brother or sister at one point in my life. At one time I rubbed shoulders with these people everyday and now I get a peek into their world. It is interesting to read all the posts. You see people in love and out of love, people who are parenting, people with busy schedules, and people with interesting hobbies or games.

If you take a step back and observe for a minute, you can really see parts of what you saw in someone 5, 10, 20, and 40 years ago. It is amazing to see what people are doing with their lives and how it often mirrors their past interests and passions. Seeing the good parenting skills of some and the success and contribution others are making to God's plan motivates me and makes me so proud to be there friend.

One last comment about Facebook... Rarely do we see the pain, toil, and difficulty that people may be going through. I have discovered on more than one occasion recently total devastation in the life of a facebook friend. Divorce, death, disease are always around us. Be sensitive enough to observe and ask the people from your past the real questions. Life's not all about the latest sports score, weather reports, or activities in a person's life. Don't miss the heart and soul behind that status update - that's where life is lived.

Common Ground

This week I was given the opportunity to teach a class on the topic of Outreach at Baptist Bible Seminary in Northeast Pennsylvania. It was a good week and the classroom dynamic was very favorable. The weather was mild and the scenery was absolutely breath-taking. I met up with old friends, classmates, professors and coaches. It sure was great to see them all but it was not the highlight of my time away.



I was so blessed to meet 7 people from all over the world, with different backgrounds and varied ages. It has been a long time since I have interacted with so many people from such diverse backgrounds in an intimate context. I was reminded over and over again of one primary thing while interacting with these men.



We think that we are so different than other people. The color of their skin, the language they speak, where they come from and how they view the world shape our opinions. I was reminded this week just how similar we all our. I met men from Korea, Camaroon, Jamaica, Russia, Alabama, Pennslyvania, Ohio and Virginia.



These men, young and old alike, shared much more in common then they could ever differ on. I was amazed with the common goals, aspirations, passions, concerns, and dreams. These similarities extended from personal life to vocational life and from ministry to marraige. The problems that we face in the ministry and the challenges to move people in a new direction were similarly echoed by each man.



The point is, finding common ground with most people is not too difficult. When you find that common ground, it will lead to friendship, conversation, partnerships, networking, encouragement, and understanding. So the next time you meet someone new - look for the common ground.

Ignoring God

I am not a quote guy. Rarely do you here me say, "so and so said this or so and so said that." Don't get me wrong quotes are good but probably what we should quote most often is the Bible. Saying all that, here is a quote that has given me much food for thought;

"As Romans 1 teaches us, once we ignore God, we inevitably misuse the goods of creation as we mistakenly make our own rules. So our sin in the vertical direction (ignoring God) inevitably causes disorientation on the horizontal level (as we lose our sense of reference and direction)."

from the book Unfashionable
Tullian Tchividjian

Simply, the question that I have been asking myself lately is, Where am I misusing the goods of creation? How am I making my own rules? Ignoring God is serious business. So many of us have lost our sense of reference and direction. Tullian's quote points us back to the Vertical sin of ignoring God that leads to disorientation.

May we all take some time and ponder how we are ignoring God. Repent and become vertically oriented once again.