Grateful

Kicking off the season vs. App. State with Walker & Tanner

I'm so grateful.  I'm so grateful we got to experience this ride.  I mean it.  I guess I'm sad today.  I certainly am, but I'm mostly grateful.  I don't feel a lot of pain and heartache, because I don't think this was a one-off.  You never know, though.  There are no guarantees we'll ever make it back, but it didn't feel like our only shot.  It felt like the beginning.  And we'll likely play those guys in 11 months back in the same building with the SEC on the line.

I'm grateful to be a Dawg.  I mean this sincerely.  I'm biased, but, man, we've got a great fan base.  And, this is just the honest truth, we appreciated this year more than most.  I'm not sure FSU fans in the '90s, USC fans in the early 2000's or Bama Fans in the 2010's really appreciate the winning.  But we're just grateful.  What a ride and what a run.  There are a lot of teams - a lot - who have no idea what a run like this feels like. The run was immensely fun, and it gave me was a lifetime of memories. 

With Morgan at Notre Dame

This season gave me an excuse to take a trip to Chicago with my 13 year old.  We saw the city, I got to hear one of my heroes preach (Bill Hybels) and we beat Notre Dame, kick-starting a season for the ages.

All of us in Jacksonville!

We took the whole family to Jacksonville for us to all see us (finally) beat Florida.  We played on the beach and ate seafood in late October. 

With Brooks watching Nick and Sony's last game in Sanford Stadium

We traveled all across the Southeast.  I took each of my four sons to at least one road game.  We had long drives in the car together, meals by ourselves and new adventures as father and son.  We hugged after Touchdowns and Interceptions.  They dressed up as their favorite players and ate cotton candy. 

Tanner and I took the only long drive home from the Plains, knowing we'd get our shot at redemption against someone in Atlanta.  We did, against those same guys.

With Walk-man at Tech

After Thanksgiving, it was magical enough.  11-1 and we beat most of our rivals...badly.  We had eaten a lot of good food and shared a lot of good laughs.  It was just beginning.

Me & my friend, Chase, at the SEC Championship Game in his hat that has never lost to Auburn

We vanquished our only loss of the season and earned a trip to the playoff.  12-1 and SEC champs.  I had been to every game but Tennessee.  Would there be one or two more? 

My boys at Christmas with their Clemson cousins, Parker & Mason

Christmas at my parent's house was like never before.  My brother's family is all Clemson Tigers.  We were both in the playoffs.  Would we meet in the natty?  There was a lot of ribbing and trash talking. But we were all happy to be along for the ride. 

Emily & I with our good friends, Jana & Buck, after the Rose Bowl

L.A.  Tinsel Town.  Hollywood.  Beverly Hills.  Venice Beach.  Malibu.  Santa Monica.  And a little Vegas.  Emily and I did it all.  It was the first time she and I had been away together for that long in a decade.  We'll never forget it.  When Sony scored we hugged and yelled and cried.  I'm certain it was one of the top 10 happiest moments of my life.

Morgan & I with some of our crew, Heather, Ben & Mark...with the trophy we were oh so close to getting.

My son, Morgan, saved all his Christmas money from family to help buy his ticket to the National Championship Game.  We spent all day together.  We hugged and cheered screamed our guts out.  We lost on the last play of the college football season to the best program (maybe ever) in the last 15 years.  How can I be sad?

Saturdays (and a couple of Mondays) afforded me time with family that nothing else comes close to.  We have little control over the outcome, despite our best efforts at loud screaming and wearing lucky hats.  I wore a tie yesterday because it was an important occasion, but mostly because it was my Daddy's Bulldog tie.  It's probably older than me.  Because my daddy was there with me.

Some people will wallow in misery over this.  They will say this was the most Atlanta thing ever or the most Georgia thing ever.  Some will say they'll never get over it.  I don't get that.  What's to wallow in?  It's so, so, so very difficult to get here.  Enjoy it.  And if you care for a little football perspective -- we've got a fantastic young coach and more talent coming in than we've ever had.  This won't be the last time.  Trust me, depressing is driving home from the Liberty Bowl after losing to UCF to finish 6-7.  This wasn't depressing.

Others will wonder what's the big deal.  The big deal is that we did this together.  I saw friends from college in Chicago and Los Angeles.  I took a trip with my wife.  I spent Saturdays with my boys.  I was part of something bigger than myself.  It connected me with something deep in my soul.

Sistee, my brother, Courtney, Jim, me, Mama & Daddy

Georgia Football, has been a family thing for me for a long time.  Jim & Sistee Williams got us hooked.  I cheered for Tim Worley & Rodney Hampton the way my boys have for Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb & Sony Michel.  We are linked by generations of silver britches.

Don't be sad, Bulldog Nation.  Be grateful. 

And Dawgs...Keep Chopping.  That tree is coming down one day soon.

Next Season

There is a tendency to miss the season you're in because you're looking to the next.  The next season always looks better, but there's so much in this season we shouldn't miss.

Whenever I go to an empty-nester's house (whether it be our parents or friends), I'm always amazed at how immaculate their houses are.  My house looks like an F5 tornado made it's way through the den and hallways.  There is always a basketball and bike in the yard.  There are paper airplanes everywhere.  There are cups and water bottles from school lunches all over the counter.  There are legos and nerf gun bullets in the strangest places.  It's because I have four boys 12 and under living in this house.  This is just the way it is.  It's easy to look at those clean houses and think, "Man, that'd be nice."  But those houses don't have little boys (or girls) living in them any more.  And I'll miss these days once they come.

The seasons pass so fast, and we shouldn't be so hurried to get through them to the next one.  The next one will be fine and good, but it will have its own shortcomings, and you'll miss the things about this season you never thought you would.

• Middle schoolers can't wait to get to high school, but find out that high school isn't as care free as it seems.
• High schoolers can't wait to get to college or get a 'real job' but find out college professors and bosses aren't as forgiving as their high school Social Studies teacher was.
• Young adults can't wait to have a baby, but they learn that babies are a lot of work.
• Young parents can't wait for their babies to be able to walk and play, but it doesn't take long to realize they make a lot more messes.
• Parents with kids can't wait for their kids to get a little more responsibility as teenagers, but, you know, then you have teenagers.
• Parents can't wait for their kids to get on their own, but the house seems eerily quiet.
• We can't wait to retire but find that we lose a little purpose sometimes in retirement.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."  If we are always bemoaning the season we are in, we'll miss the beauty of it.  If we are always looking at what's next, we might miss what's now.  

My oldest nephew is graduating high school in a few weeks.  It was just yesterday I was holding him in the hospital.  Just yesterday it seems.  It goes by fast.  Every season.  So enjoy every season.  The next one will be great, but milk today for all its worth.  You never get it back.

Justin Spieth and the Art of Losing

We had Sunday evening worship, but I had set my DVR.  I was looking forward to watching the final round of the Master's to close out the weekend Sunday night.  As I saw what was happening scroll across my Twitter feed and as I kept updating the leader board, I knew it would be hard to watch.  I'm no huge golf fan, but I appreciate the majors.  It's when all the stars play, and it offers the highest pressure.  You become a legend at the majors.

Justin Spieth, the reigning Master's champion failed under the pressure Sunday.  It was hard to watch, especially knowing what was coming.  He's only 22.  I felt for him.  He's closer to my son's age than he is to mine.  He is already a two-time major champion, but he experienced what will probably be the most painful loss of his career on Sunday.  Very rarely do you have it in hand and lose it so dramatically.  And what we found is that he is also a champion in the Art of Losing.

Don't get me wrong.  I hate losing.  Hate it.  H-A-T-E it.  Not everyone hates losing, but no one really likes it.  When you're three, you learn quickly to not like it when you don't get your way.  This is your introduction to losing.  Most three year-olds don't handle it well.

And this isn't to say that we ought to become good losers who don't care about winning.  It's absurd to think that handling losing with grace and class means you're a good loser and no longer able to compete.  But all of us have to decide if we are going to master the Art of Losing.  Spieth's post-match interview was awe-inspiring.  He was somber but gracious.  He was hurt but already healing.  I'm impressed by a 22 year-old golfer who took a devastating defeat in stride.  Disappointed, yes...but in stride.  Here's why this is so important -- it won't be his last loss.

Life is losing.  You are constantly losing something:

• Every one of us is losing our youth, daily.
• Parents are slowly losing control and influence over their growing children.
• As we age we are losing our ability to be hired or ability to earn income.
• Sometimes we lose jobs.
• We will all lose loved ones to death.
• We lose relationships and routines when moving.

Yes, life is full of beautiful and joyous victories (like sports) and humbling losses (like sports).  If you do it long enough, you can't avoid the losses.  And we all know people that have handled aging, retirement, becoming empty nesters, death of loved ones and change poorly.  That usually means we haven't masters the Art of Losing.  The Art of Losing really is just about maturity.  It's the realization that I don't always get my way and things don't always go how I predicted or wanted them to go.  I just don't always win.

And this matters greatly in our walk with God.  Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:15).  If you can't handling losing, you're going to have a hard time following Jesus.  Something tells me Spieth will do alright aging, retiring and dealing with the losses that come with life.  How will we handle it when God asks us to lose for God's purposes?

What Parenting Has Taught Me About God

I believe there's a reason the chief imagery God uses as his relationship to us is that of a parent.  I'm learning more about God as a parent.  I'm learning what it means to be God's child.

First, if you're not a parent, don't run off thinking this isn't for you.  You are a child of God, your Heavenly Father, so this is most definitely about you.  And, I hope I can give you a little glimpse into the heart of a parent which might give all of us a glimpse into God's heart.

Being a parent is hard.  You have this child and everything they call 'theirs' is because you have either provided it for them or allowed them to have it.  Even the gifts from family are only there because you have allowed them.  They own nothing, but they think they own everything.  They live in your house, and you provide things for them that they don't even think about:  water, heat, A/C, electricity and food.  You understand these things have a cost.  They think they are entitled to them.

You also love them, so this is no big deal.  And you love them all the same, no matter how many kids you have.  And you appreciate they are different.  You love what makes them each unique.  Your heart drops to the most bottom pit of your stomach when you think they are seriously injured, sick or that time you couldn't find them at the grocery story for, like, 90 seconds.  The thought of them being lost or getting hurt or sick or dying are literally like the worst things you can possibly think of.  You just want them to live and be happy.

You think you know what will make them happy.  You do.  You set up rules to protect them from bodily harm, and you set up parameters to guard their hearts and emotions.  You understand they are delicate.  You want to shield them from danger.  You also have rules that will build the right kind of character they'll need later in life.  Some of them are kind of silly, but they'll seem much more important later on when the decisions and relationships get bigger and more important.

But you have a problem:  you can't make them do anything.  In fact, it takes about six months for their own free will to show up and it only gets stronger.  You can't make them be grateful for what they have been given and show that in their actions with gratitude.  You can't make them obey you and do what will ultimately be in their best interest.  You can't make them to anything.  They are free.  And your heart breaks for them when they make bad decisions because you know what's best for them and you can kind of see the future if this decision was about something more important, maybe even life threatening.

You could scare them into listening because you are bigger and louder, but you don't want them to be afraid of you.  You want them to have a healthy, respectful fear of disappointing you, but not be afraid of you.  For you first inclination toward them is love, so you don't want that.  So you just keep trying to interject influence.  That's all you can do -- influence them.  You can surround them with good influences and keep interjecting yourself into their lives. You become ever-present and wait for them to ask you for advice -- finally.  And you always forgive them, because they're your kid.

Every single one of us is that child to God.  He has provided us with things we take for granted (like, you know, air).  He has given us parameters that are in our best interest.  And he could scare us to death if he showed us his face and how hurt he was when we don't obey.  It's not in His nature.  He loves us, and he'll keep seeking to influence us because he can't and won't make us love him.  Have you asked him for advice...finally? Do you know that He'd forgive you?

15 years

March 10, 2001
First Baptist Church - Hamlet, NC

Today, March 10, is our 15th wedding anniversary.  It's hard for me to believe it has gone by so fast.  Just yesterday we were newlyweds without a care in the world.  We came and went as we pleased, took walks and naps.  Now we have children.  Lots of them.  Four rowdy boys.  Going and coming is much more difficult, but the house is a lot livelier.  I'm also keenly aware that 15 years from now on our 30th anniversary there will be no boys in the house, and it'll be quiet again -- just me and Em.  So, for this season, we spend a lot more time being mom and dad than being husband and wife.  But we don't really see it that way.  It's kind of all rolled into one.

In 15 years, we've learned a lot about life, marriage, and family.  We've learned a lot about ourselves, our faith and our Lord.  And we're still learning.  Can I tell you something, though, about our marriage that has been such a high value for us and so important in our 15 years?  I've never spoken a cross word to Emily.  She's never spoken one to me.  We've never raised our voices at each other, and I'm not kidding you, we've never had an argument.

Now, that's not to say there haven't been difficult times and seasons.  We've had to work through misunderstandings, disappointment and hurt feelings.  It happens in marriage.  But we have always done it with love and kindness.  She's never hurt me on purpose, and I've never hurt her on purpose.  We've never said something to intentionally cut each other down to size.  And it has made all the difference.  She is my teammate, why would I fight with her?  Besides, we're outnumbered in this house.  We've got to stick together.

We have asked instead of commanded.  We've taken a breath instead of reacting.  We've spoken softly instead of getting agitated.  We've forgiven instead of holding a grudge.  We've overlooked flaws instead of being irritated by them.  We've embraced each other's quirks.

But, the secret is that we genuinely try to put each other first.  I try to fix what she needs fixed around the house.  She runs the errands I asked her to run.  We respect each other and honor each other.  We try to think of what each other would want.  We don't push our agenda.  We seek to serve each other.
All the time I say that staying married isn't that hard.  I guess that's not totally true.  It is hard if you're not willing to put your spouse before yourself.  Pretty soon, any of us would get pretty irritated living with a selfish person.  And that's the root of all marriage issues:  selfishness.  That's why perhaps the most important passage for a marriage is Philippians 2:3-4:  "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."  15 years in, and we're still learning how to do this, but I think we're better at it now more than ever, and I think we're getting better at it.  That's our goal, to get better at laying ourselves down for each other.  And that's why marriage is such a powerful metaphor for our relationship with God.  Putting down our own interests for the interest of God is what life in Jesus is, ultimately, all about.

Happy 15 years, my Love.  Can't wait for more!

Losing an Hour

This week is the week every pastor dreads:  Daylight Savings Time.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  I'm delighted about longer days.  It's just that pastors are the major people that have to deal with the stress of Daylight Savings Time.  Will folks oversleep and miss church?  Will volunteers and staff show up on time?  Will everyone be confused?

Why can't we lose and hour in the middle of the workday on Monday?

Life Hack:  Eat a light breakfast and change your clocks when you get up on Saturday morning.  Get your body eating on the new schedule and you'll go to bed at the right time (which is really an hour earlier) and won't feel so tired on Sunday and Monday.

Anyway, I'm more concerned about the hours I lose on my own volition.  I'm more concerned about the hours I'll never get back.  Just yesterday, it seems we were holding our firstborn son.  He'll be 12 this summer, and he has less time at home than the time he's already spent at home.  I can't lose an hour with him or any of my boys.

As they get older, it becomes increasingly apparent that frivolous pursuits that waste time aren't worth it.  I need to savor every moment, because we've only got about seven years left with him, eight with my second born.  The clock is ticking.  It's ticking on the time I have to influence them, mold them, mentor them, shape them, encourage them, discipline them, teach them, do life with them and love them.

They'll go tot college and do life with friends.  They'll get married and do life with their wives and kids.  But we have to teach them how to do life.  For me, it's very important that I teach them what it means to love Jesus.  Time is the most precious commodity of a parent, and the hours of carpooling and sitting through ballgames, practices and recitals can be exhausting.  But don't lose those hours.  Make them count.  You only get so many.  And you never get them back.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (3.5.16)

I hope you're week has gone fantastic.  This Sunday, we're continuing to turn the page in "The Journey" through "The Story of Jesus," and we'll be talking about Jesus the Healer.  If you've got an area in your life that needs healing, I so hope you'll be there.  I believe it's going to be a powerful time, and we're going to have a special time of prayer and healing.

Thought for the Week
"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."  Colossians 1:9-10

Spring is springing all around us, and one of the sure signs for me is the pictures of little ones playing softball and baseball all over my Facebook feed and at at local parks whenever you drive by.  This is our first season in a long, long time without T-Ball.  I love T-Ball because it's bananas.  There's loud cheering, there's kids all over the place, coaches all over the place and it's kind of like watching a baseball game in slow motion.  Of course, early in the season, there's usually a kid or two that runs to the wrong base, or they just run toward the pitcher's circle.  One of the things I love about T-Ball is watching the kids get better as the season progresses.  They learn to run the right way, the learn where to throw the ball, they learn when to stay on their base so they won't get tagged.  They grow.  Their knowledge of the game expands.  That is God's intention for us, but too many times we're still running to the wrong base in life.  Or, we want to get to 2nd or 3rd base before we've really mastered the basics of the faith.  If we're not learning and growing in our knowledge of faithfulness, then we're not on the path God desires.  We're like a kid who never gets the rules as the season progresses.  God wants more for you.  It's okay to make mistakes -- but what are you learning?

In Christ,

Carter

Trust builds relationships

We live in a world where there is an incredible lack of trust.  We don't trust anyone to do anything.  We don't trust that others won't sue us, so we have waivers for nearly every activity under the sun.  We don't trust our community, so we have video surveillance.  We don't trust our kids, or even ourselves, so we have have firewalls on our computers.  Yet, trust is THE currency for relationships, and it builds and strengthens relationships like nothing else.  We just rarely see it anymore.

That's why I was shocked on Monday when I went to eat lunch at a local restaurant.  They don't take cards, only cash, and the server/cashier said, "Don't worry if you don't have any cash, you can just pay us next time you come in."  But I had never been before.  And how did she know I was coming back?  What if I was from out of town?  I had cash, so I paid my bill, but it was still staggering.  But you know what?  It made me want to come back.  The burger I was about to order was now going to taste better because she trusted me.  She believed in me.  She thought there was good in me.  Often, we find what we're looking for.

Trust is believing there is something good in others.  Now, people will disappoint us and hurt us, but we don't do each other, society, and our families any good when we don't trust each other.  Instead, when we trust others, we can often bring out the best in them because, deep down, we humans don't really want to let each other down.

If you want deep relationships, you have to trust.  This is what is so profound about our relationship with God.  He trusts us with so much.  He trusts us with our freedom, the earth, our families.  He trusts us with His Church and His message.  He trusts us with His heart.  And when we don't trust Him, our relationship with God suffers.  Trust is THE currency of relationships.  When we withhold trust from God, we are saying that we aren't sure if there is good in Him.  We are unsure of Him.  We are thinking He might let us down.  He won't.  Think about all He has trusted you with.  It's because He loves you and believes in you.  That ought to inspire us to trust Him.

I certainly wanted to trust Casey's in downtown Winder with my business again because they trusted me.  BTW, the Bacon Pimento Cheese Burger with Sweet Potato Fries is spot on.

Why it matters and why it doesn't

A few months ago, during the long dog days of summer in which college football fans like me wait for the season to begin while munching on every morsel of football news emanating from their beloved program, I caught a replay of the movie Fever Pitch on TV.  I'd seen it a couple of times.  I relate to it because my passion for college football mirrors the passion for the Red Sox portrayed in the movie.  In a pivotal scene, Ben is trying to explain why this is so important to him.  He has been attending Red Sox games since he first went with his uncle twenty-three years ago at the age of seven.  The crowd he sits around has become his family.  His friends jockey for the games they get to go to.  She's been to a few games, but she still doesn't get it.  He asks Lindsey a question:  "Do you still care about anything you cared about 23 years ago?"

One question explains the power of sports.  I suppose for others this could be movies or music (both of which I love as well), but for me, that passion has been college football.  I am enthralled by the atmosphere and nostalgia of it.  In high school you play for your school because you are zoned for it.  In the NFL you play for the team that picks you and chooses to employ you.  A college roster is filled with 100 guys who chose the school, and the stands are filled with alumni who also chose the school and local fans who grew up cheering for the hometown team.  They are still kids, but they are remarkably gifted athletically.

Each school has a fight and strange traditions.  In the SEC, most of the uniforms even still look the same as they did in the '60's and '70's.  This is why I love going to the games.  The bands, the colors, the pageantry, the tailgating...the electricity in the air.  And every time I walk into a stadium, I am flooded with memories of yesteryear.  I am reminded of the drive down Hwy. 106 from Carnesville to Athens coming from South Carolina.  I'm reminded of sitting with my parents and hugging strangers after a big win.  I'm reminded of my hand in my Daddy's back pocket walking through the crowd, so I wouldn't get lost.  I'm reminded of pre-game battles of touch football.  I'm reminded of eating BBQ chicken and 'talking football' with men 40 years older than me.  In the pregame, we were equal.  There is no age when you are worried about how healthy your tailback is or if the D can stop that passing offense they've got.  You are simply fans together.  And I hold these memories with my boys now.  I'm the dad, still caring about something I cared about 33 years ago when I saw Herschel Walker play live and in person.  My boys draw pictures of their favorite players like I drew mine.  And we celebrate with football friends that are like family and see the same faces around our seats, each of them amazed as they've watched my boys grow up with every passing September.  That's why it matters, because so few things in life matter beyond a few years.  We change jobs and houses.  We lose touch with friends and find new friends.  But we never change teams, and we share the same memories with our children that our parents shared with us.  It matters because it has always mattered, and besides our faith and our family, few things always matter in our lives.

But it doesn't matter THAT much.  I recently read an article about Greg McGarity's first five years as Athletics Director at the University of Georgia.  They asked him what was the most difficult moment in those five years.  I thought, "It had to be that Liberty Bowl loss to Central Florida, or the devastating loss to Alabama in the 2012 SEC Championship Game.  Or maybe it was when a string of players go arrested."  His answer was surprising, telling and humbling.  It was when Jonathan Taylor, an outfielder for the UGA baseball team, was paralyzed during a collision in which he and a teammate both dove for a ball.  Because that's the kind of stuff that matters.  These are just games.  They are supposed to be fun.  They should be fun.  They should be disappointing when you lose.  But they don't matter THAT much.  An athlete who can't walk ever again after giving his all while competing...THAT matters.

As another college football season draws near, let us remember (especially here in the Deep South), that the reason this matters so much really isn't about wins and losses.  It's the traditions, camaraderie and glory of it all that makes it matter each and every year, whether our team is champions or chumps that season.  And winning is fun, but it won't last.  There will still be bills to pay and life to live the next Monday.  It's a burst of joy, a few months of relief, but it's not life and death.  We'd trade a thousand wins for a kid to walk again.  Football and sports are about people and relationships.  They are about learning to compete and overcome adversity.  For those that are people of faith, this ought to be crystal clear, but when we are looking glasses tinted with our teams favorite color, sometimes it's easy to forget.

Enjoy the season!

First Try

This past weekend we had a first around the McInnis house -- my 11 year-old son helped cut the grass.  Well, sort of.  He did the weed-eating.  It certainly saved me some time.  It was not the prettiest weed-eating job you'll ever see.  The aesthetics left a little to be desired.  It was a little choppy and a little scalped in various places.  But it was his.  He was proud.  It was a landmark moment that Dad believed in him.

But it was also a landmark moment because he came out while I was working in the yard and said he wanted to help.  He wanted to do the work his father was doing, and because of that, I wanted to give him more responsibility.  I wanted to give him more freedom.  I believed in him more because he was about my work.

Does God have to poke and prod you to be about his work, or do you go outside and ask if you can do what your Heavenly Father is doing?  When we ask to be a part of what God is doing, our Father is happy to give us more responsibility and freedom.  He begins to believe in us even more.

We spend a great deal of time talking and thinking about our belief in God, but one our biggest hurdles in life is coming to the understanding that God believes in us.  He trusts us with earth.  He trusts us with our lives.  He believes in us, especially when we demonstrate that we get it.  When we ask to be a part of what He is doing instead of staying inside and doing our own thing, God believes in us even more.  I'll bet God looks at our work and it's a little choppy.  I'll bet he'd describe it as not the prettiest job in the world.  But he's proud.  And (get this), He's able to concentrate on doing the things that only He can do.  Riding the big lawn mower is too big a job for my son right now.  Only I can do that, but he can handle the trimmer.  There are things that only God can do in our world.  But, the bigger question is what are we NOT doing simply because we won't join in God's work.  He believes in you.  He trusts you.  He wants you to be involved in what He is doing.  Go ask him how you can help.  It's okay if it's not the prettiest result in the world.  Your Father will be proud.

Leadership & Life Lessons from My First (and Probably Only) Season of Coaching T-Ball

The Fightin' Super Tigers -- Champs!

I was going to help coach.  You know, be an assistant.  I had two boys that would be playing together.  One 4 and one 6, at the time.  But, I had two other sons playing flag football, and it was a busy season at church.  Then I got the call:  "We need one more head coach.  Would you be willing to coach?"  I love my community, so I begrudgingly agreed.  I really, really didn't have time for this.  And I'm a football guy.  I quit baseball after the 8th grade and most of my glory on the diamond happened in church softball leagues.  But I know enough to coach Kindergartners.  And I know a lot about kids.  So I did it.  We had a blast, gave ourselves a cool name (Fightin' Super Tigers), made a lot of new friends and good memories and won the league championship, with a 14-0 record.  I was so proud of our boys, and I learned a good deal about life, parenting, leadership and even a little about church.

• You can't change the past, so why rehash it.  Point to a better future.  T-ballers make mistakes all the time.  They throw it when they should hold it, hold it when they should throw it.  They run the wrong direction and tag the wrong runner.  After a mistake and play has stopped, if you yell at a T-baller, they're just going to cry.  The only thing you can do is point to them to the next opportunity.  "Hey, next time throw it here."  "Next time get your glove down."  "Next time, run to this base."  People are the same.  They don't need our judgment, but they do need people who care about the them to point toward a better future.  The church could learn something from this.  We need to stop yelling at the world for the mistakes it's made and point toward a better future with Jesus.  People need hope, not condemnation. 
• There are often a lot of voices telling us what to do.  Be sure and listen to the right ones.  People are screaming like crazy in the stands when a fielder has the ball in T-ball, telling them what to do with it.  About half of those are right.  Kids have to learn to trust their coach, which says a lot about authority but also listening to the right voices in life.  All of us have voices telling us a lot of things.  Not all of them are telling us to throw it in the right direction.  Who are the influences you're listening to?
• Every organization needs team members to play their role well.  My youngest wasn't crazy about playing right field and batting last, but he was very inexperienced and the smallest guy on the team.  There is only one circle (pitcher position) and only one kid can play it.  You have to have others do their part.  I heard one comment after we won the championship game that our outfield won the game because they got the ball in to the infield after every ball hit to them.  This is an accomplishment in T-ball.  But the 'role players' made the difference in the championship.
• Listen to experts and learn from them.  Like I said, I don't know much about baseball, but last year, we played on a T-Ball team that went 15-0 with one of the best coaches my boys have ever had.  He knew baseball and I came home after the 1st practice and said, "We're going to be pretty good."  I modeled our practices and gameday routine after him.
• Winning is fun and creates organizational momentum.  The bottom line is that winning is fun.  We went 14-0.  People say the kids don't care about winning, but after every game they were shouting "We won, we won, we won!"  They came up with this on their own.  We had fun anyway, and I've been a part of teams that had a lot of fun, kids got better and we didn't win a lot of games.  Winning isn't everything, especially at this age.  But, winning creates organizational momentum.  When staffs, businesses, teams, churches, or organizations don't ever feel like they are winning, it's hard to create momentum.  So, is your organization winning?
• People don't mind working hard if they they believe in the vision.  Our last week of the season, after a 2 1/2 month season, we had games on Monday, Thursday and Saturday in the end of year tournament.  I scheduled a practice on Friday night.  Nearly all the team showed up and I think it made the difference in the championship game.  We didn't play great that Thursday, and we needed to work to play better.  The vision was not to win.  The vision was to make sure we play our best.  That's all we can control.  We needed to practice to be our best.  Parents bought into the vision of excellence.
• Sometimes others have to step up.  We had games where kids were sick, injured our out of town and kids had to switch positions.  They did great.  Families, churches, businesses, and teams all have times others have to unexpectedly step up.  Nearly every game a kid who wasn't one of our biggest hitters got a key hit and got on base we needed to avoid an out.  If your organization has a mantra of "That's not my job," that's dangerous territory.  People have to step up and share responsibilities if an organization is going to be successful.
• People skills matter.  I don't know baseball, but I know how to motivate young people to be the best they can be.  I truly believe that in our culture today, you have to have people skills.  I am concerned about a generation that spends most of its time with a face in front of a screen.  Will they have the capacity to communicate with people in 10, 20, 30 years?  I hope so.  I believe people skills are the most important.  Love people, communicate with people, encourage people.  And people respond.
• There will be days you are not at your best.  Can you still compete on those days?  No one feels like a million bucks every day.  We had days when we didn't play our best, but we had to pick ourselves up and play as hard as we could.  Life has seasons we're not at our best.  Sometimes it's as simple as putting one step in front of the other.  You have to keep going.
• Running from third base to home is a dangerous trek.  As the pitcher to my team, I ran over two kids running home as I exited the field while looking down the first base line.  One of them was my older son on the team.  Both kids lived to tell about it.  
• My youngest led the league in hat and glove throwing while in the outfield.  I mean, he was a champion at glove throwing.  Best I've ever seen.  He had a blast this season.  And I'm pretty sure he would have had just as much fun if we'd have been 0-14.  Because he was coached by his dad and got to play ball.

                                               

                                                                Brooks, my youngest, the team clown.

It was a fun spring.  Sports teach us a lot of lessons.  And I've learned one more.  I think I'm going to retire from coaching and go out on top!

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (5.7.15)

I hope you've had a great week.  This series "Why are Christians so..." has challenged me.  It's difficult work for Christ followers to dig deep into what others think of us, especially if it's uncomfortable.  It's so easy to just say, "Well, God knows the truth."  Over and over again in the Bible, we see people like Noah and Job who grew not only in their faith, but in their stature and reputation among others around them.  This week, we're going to continue the hard work of looking within and ask what others are asking:  "Why are Christians so self-righteous?"

Thought for the Week
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."  Luke 13:34

That's a quote from Jesus many don't know.  He looks over Jerusalem and sees them with a mother's eyes.  God is often described as our loving Father, and rightfully so.  He is the Father that waits expectantly for the prodigals to come home.  But Jesus takes a different angle.  He sees those that are hurting and scattered through the lens of a mother's love.  This Sunday is Mother's Day and a time all of us reflect back on the love of our mother, whether or not she is still with us.  Of course, we're also reminded of the many other women who mothered us through the years.  A grandmother, step-mom, aunt or even Sunday School teacher.  There is something about the nurturing spirit of motherly love.  Do you know that this is how Christ sees you?  He wants to nurture you and guide you back on the path.  He wants to gather you up and put band-aids on all your old wounds.  He wants to sit around the table and nourish you.  He wants to bring you home, with him, to love you and dote on you.  Let us not be among those that scatter and run away from this Eternal Parent that wants us back in the fold.  Let us not be fearful of a Big Judge in the sky.  That is not the image Jesus intends here.  No, the message is clear.  As a mother hen sees her precious little chicks, so I see you.  You are vulnerable, but you are mine.  Come home where it is safe.  No matter how far you've wandered...you can always come home to Jesus.

In Christ,

Carter McInnis
Lead Pastor

Tragedy

Yesterday, the state of Georgia was rocked with the news of five young Georgia Southern students who were killed in a multi-car wreck on I-16.  The five young women were nursing students on the way to a clinical in Savannah.  From the pictures I've seen of them on social media, they were full of life and enthusiasm.  Sometimes you can see it in a smile.  I thought of a few of my dearest friends who have daughters at GSU.  It could have been them.  They're about the same age.  It hits close to home.

Simply, there is not real answer for tragedy.  Shame us when we try to find one.  God did NOT need five more angels.  God's got plenty of angels, and we humans don't become angels anyway.  It wasn't 'their time to go.'  No one has a time.  It wasn't God's will.  My God is not in the business of killing young, vibrant college students.  Everything does NOT happen for a reason.  Sometimes there are no reasons.  Sometimes there is simply tragedy that interrupts life.

We live in a broken world where sin, death, and tragedy are a reality.  There was a plan in which it was not like this.  It was called Eden.  But the brokenness of humanity knocked this world off it's axis, and we've seen heartache and tragedy ever since.  It was not God's original design that we would ever see death.

To believe that God wills our deaths and controls events is a tragic and unfortunate kind of thinking.  It doesn't reveal the true heart of God and the greatest promises of Scripture.  Tragedy simply happens.  Our broken world rears its ugly head sometimes.  Life derails just because it does.  There are no reasons, no greater plan, and no answers.

But there are promises.  God's promise is that He is with us, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  He comforts us.  He does not and will not abandon us, no matter how bleak it seems.  My hope and prayer for those families of those precious girls is that they would know the abiding presence of God in these days and the days to come.

And there is another promise.  We weren't supposed to taste death, but we did.  The fall of humanity in Genesis carved a path that each of us have followed.  Since the beginning, we have had a death problem.  God fixed that.  That's why Easter matters to us.  Those of us who follow Christ are still in the 'Easter Season' in which we are celebrating Christ's resurrection from the grave.  We believe Jesus defeated death.  And the hope of the Christian is that, in Christ, we will, too.  Not only in eternal life, but in the resurrection to come.  We really believe that.  We believe that God is with us in the valley, and that one day we will rise again, stare death in the face and say, "Where, o death, is your victory; where is your sting?"  

In the face of tragedy, let us not say the trite things that end up being hurtful more than helpful.  There is no reason for these things.  God is as heartbroken as us.  He weeps at our broken world.  He weeps at our death.  But He is with us, and he has been devising a plan to win back His people over death since the beginning.  May those who face tragedy rests in His presence, and may we all hope in His promises.

Forgiveness & Paint

I was in Home Depot last week with my 4 year old.  We were picking out some colors of paint for his big brother's room.  It was kind of slow in there, not like a busy Saturday morning.  There was no one else in the paint section but me.  Two employees were talking behind the paint counter.  It was clear one was some kind of manager, and they were having a spirited conversation about sales and comparisons to other stores in the area.  The manager was coaching up the other one on how to increase sales.  Pretty soon, it got a little salty.  One of the said that "S" word.  You guessed it:  $#!t.  My son didn't hear it as he was in his own world, and I ignored it as I went about choosing colors.

As we approached the counter, their conversation continued (instead of focusing on the customer) and I heard it again.  They finally stopped the conversation and asked if they could help me.  I told them, "Guys, I appreciate that you're having an intense conversation here, but do you think you could watch your language in front of my four year old?"  They apologized.  I'm not really a prude.  My boys hear plenty of language at SEC football games.  It's expected there.  I just don't expect it at Home Depot picking out paint.

I ordered my paint, went to pick out a few other things and came back to pick it up after it was mixed.  The manager pulled me aside and apologized again.  He was very genuine.  I told him it was no problem, I understood and I appreciated it.  He said, "Again, I apologize."  I responded, kind of out of the blue, "You're forgiven."  And he was.  I didn't have time to be mad that afternoon or time to discuss it.  I was over it because my schedule dictated it.  There were more important things to do in the day than judge his mistake or worry more about it.  Right there next to the brushes, I forgave him.  He had done a wrong, and he was officially absolved.

And I thought, "Why do we have time for unforgiveness anyway?"  What if time was part of our forgiveness equation?  Holding grudges takes so much effort, energy and time.  It was so easy to say "You're forgiven" and be done with it.  If I saw him again we'd probably laugh about it.  I've got bigger things to worry about than NOT forgiving him.  And, in the grand scheme of things, that's nothing.  It was a little mistake.

Part of the preparation for Easter is taking time to focus on the crucifixion of Jesus, where forgiveness was on full display.  It proves God's love for us.  Do you know God doesn't have time to NOT forgive you.  He's got so many other big things to worry about, and, frankly, he's got gigantic plans for your life so He'd rather forgive you and be done with it.  In fact, when Jesus died on the cross, he went ahead and took care of it.  Also, your mistake is kind of puny in light of his gigantic grace, so I really wouldn't sweat it.  It's over.  It's done.  It is finished.  You're forgiven.  Be on to bigger and better things.  And be thankful for the cross.

Right here, Daddy!

I am coaching T-ball this year.  My two youngest sons, 4 and 6, are on the team.  My six-year old is a pretty good ball player and can swing the bat pretty good.  My little one, Brooks, is a little fella and one of the youngest on the team.  He swings as hard as he can, which isn't very hard, but he hits it off the tee alright.

I pitch each player three pitches before they get two swings off the tee.  A couple of games ago, I hit Brooks.  He was none too happy.  The next game up, he was obsessed with me pitching it perfect -- right down the middle.  He basically stuck his bat out and said, "Pitch it right here."  It became more of a game of me trying to hit the bat rather than him trying to hit the ball.  I told him that he had to actually swing the bat himself and do some work.  He pointed and said, "Right here."

Isn't that the way we are with God?  Throw it right here, Father, right down broadway.  We don't want to have to swing.  We want God do to things juuuuust right in our lives so that it requires minimal effort on our part.  But we have to swing.  We have to take steps of faith.  We might have to practice.  We might have to swing and miss a few times.  We might even strike out.  God wants to give us opportunities, but we have to swing the bat.

Don't miss out on what God has in store because you're waiting for the perfect pitch.  Swing the bat at the pitch God has given you right now.  It won't be the last pitch.  Faith is swinging when we're not sure if we're going connect.  Faith is swinging after we missed the last time.  Faith is trusting that God will put the right ball in the right spot at the just the right time we need a home run.  You see, God believes in us.  Believes we can hit it.  Believes in who He created us to be.  God doesn't want to do it alone.  God wants to do it with us, in us and through us.  So swing away.  Trust me...God is a much better pitcher than me.

14 years and counting

Today is our wedding anniversary.  On March 10, 2001, Emily and I pledged our lives to one another in her home church in North Carolina.  I whisked her to a honeymoon in the islands during my Spring Break in seminary, then we came home to our new life together in Georgia.  Fourteen years, one church plant (and now one church merger) and four boys later and here we are.

We got married one year and four days after we met.  We were engaged in four months (heck, I bought the ring after about two months).  We joke that we could have gotten married the day after we met.  We just...knew.

Emily and I don't have a perfect marriage.  No one does.  Our house is usually a mess with four boys and lifestyles that are simply too busy.  We eat pizza and fast food a little more than we planned.  We don't have enough of that 'quality' time people talk about because we're seemingly running from one thing to the next.  We don't work out enough.  Our finances haven't always been perfectly in order.  But, can I tell you something:  in fourteen years, we've never had one fight.  In fact, I don't think we've ever even raised our voices at one another.  And I am so grateful for this.  Here's why -- we don't sweat the small stuff.

I don't know if it was conscious or not, but we just kind of decided not to nag and complain and berate each other about stupid little stuff.  I'm sure there are things I do that get on her nerves.  I don't hear about them.  I am so proud of the woman she is, the heart she has, and the commitment to Christ that she displays, what's to complain about?  We talk and communicate.  That's a huge part of it, but I think the biggest part is what we don't say.  Never once has Emily made me feel guilty for having to go to a church meeting.  Instead, she's grateful I have a job and get to fulfill my call to ministry.  I think we've spent the better part of 14 years appreciating each other for what we are and not focusing on what we are not.  I think that's why people fight -- they don't like what they are not.  I didn't marry who Emily wasn't; I married who she was.  And I'm so grateful to still be married to who she has become, an incredible woman, godly wife, fantastic mother, and strong spiritual leader.

There is a proverb that says, "A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense" (Prov. 19:11).  My sweet wife has been patient with me for fourteen years for sure, but I deeply believe one of the most powerful practices in marriage is repeatedly overlooking offenses.  Not fighting does not mean not making mistakes.  In fourteen years, we've both made our fair share of those.  I'm sure I've made more:)  Not fighting means choosing to overlook those mistakes and choosing respect and gentleness.  Because of this, she has made every aspect of my life easier than it was fourteen years ago.  I think that's the way it's supposed to be.  I hope it will be that way with you.  Choose to overlook.  Choose to communicate.  Choose respect and gentleness, and and can be.  And pray for my sweet wife.  God bless her for fourteen years with me.

Together

I've been off the blogosphere for a while, as it's been a little hectic lately.  I'm happy to be back, and wanted to share what we've been up to.

On Sunday, March 1, we had a crazy day.  I got to be a part of something that most pastors never get to be a part of - serving as pastor of a merged congregation on launch Sunday.  In fact, I have been a part of three things most pastors never get to be a part of.  I was blessed with the honor of starting a church 10 years ago, and I have been grateful to see that church launch a 2nd campus in Grayson.  Over the last six months, I have had the privilege to lead that church into a merger with a church that has been around for 166 years for a newly merged permanent campus.  Planting a church and merging churches are both crazy endeavors.

There is so much power in merging congregations.  In many ways, it is much like a marriage.  The first few years of marriage you have to find your way a little.  A church merger includes lots of 'finding your way' in the relationship.  It's incredibly complicated.  Merging finances, getting a new name, and combining leadership are actually the easy part.  The hard part is merging cultures.  Whether it's 10 years or 166 years, churches develop ways of doing things.  Just like a marriage, a merged church has to learn how to do things together.

But merging a church is a beautiful thing if God's Spirit is in it.  I am reminded that I have new friends with which to do ministry.  Many of these new friends are already near and dear to my heart.  I would never have known them had we not walked down this path.  They are beautiful disciples of Jesus.  Like a marriage, a merger is an admission that we need each other to be our best, that life was not better alone.  And it's beautiful when it works.  There is great power and beauty when the Body of Christ unites and says, "We are in this together."

I'll admit it's messy.  There is no easy way.  There are bumps and long hours of prayer.  There are hiccups.  Every marriage has them.  You expect it in marriages.  We should expect it in mergers.  But we keep learning.  We learn to be better spouses.  And we learn to be better brothers and sisters in Christ.

And, like a new marriage, their remains the promise of offspring.  When young parents have children, the realize that through the messiness of the early years and the hiccups and the hard work, there are actual humans that wouldn't be here without them being together.  Their love and commitment to one another allowed a little one to be nurtured.  Young parents have a child or adopt a child and realize they have a bigger purpose.  It wasn't just to be together.  It was for the new life that emerged that they are now raising.

That's a church merger.  It's not just being together.  It's not just that together we can be better, pay the bills sooner or be with one another.  It's that together, we can bring new life into relationships with Jesus that we could not have done apart.  Suddenly, we have a new purpose.  This week, my wife and celebrate 14 years of marriage.  At this point, I can't remember life without her.  There was a time, though, in the early years, that I could.  Time and life and welded us together.  I don't even remember me before her.  I think that's how church mergers are supposed to work.  There will come a time when we can hardly remember life apart.  We'll be raising new kids together, and no one will recall there was a time it wasn't like this.  We'll just embrace the present.

That day will be here before we know it.  But it wouldn't happen without the faithful pioneers at Harmony Grove United Methodist Church and The United Methodist Church of the Way.  Somebody had to go through the dating and courtship, pre-marital counseling and wedding.  Somebody had to go through the early years.  I'm so honored to serve the men and women of God who have done just that.  After one whole week, on a Saturday night before our SECOND Sunday together, I find myself more excited than ever about ministry.  I feel like a newlywed.  If you're around the area, I hope you'll come check out what God is doing at Harmony Grove Church of the Way or Gwinnett Church of the Way.  You can get directions and worship times here.

The Culture of Condemnation

A long time ago, Jesus arrived on the scene into a culture of condemnation.  The religious culture was run-a-muck with self-righteous leaders who had the appearance of piety and holiness and handed down judgments of condemnation to those sinners who committed the most heinous and public sins.  Stone the adulterer.  Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.  Cast out the sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes.  Demonize the unclean.  Jesus turned things upside down.  He said that being angry was the equivalent of murder.  He said that adultery starts in the heart, and that lusting after another is just the same as the act.  Wait...what?  Jesus said that there isn't one of us that has it all figured out, even the ones that look like they do.  He went on to say to the religious leaders some pretty harsh words:  "On the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matthew 23:28).

Social media has again ushered us into a Culture of Condemnation.  Our keyboards have simply made it easier to condemn everyone -- athletes, movie stars, politicians, and acquaintances.  Everyone has an opinion, and we now have a forum to share it -- with little consequence.  In fact, we'll probably get a few affirming 'likes' for our tirade.  The situations in the NFL over the last week or so has brought this to light even more.  Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy have shed an ugly light on abuse and violence.  Domestic abuse to anyone, especially to a woman or child, is reprehensible.  We can all agree on that.  Moreover, when laws are broken, society needs people to be held accountable.  However, what I have noticed is how these situations have allowed so many of us to get on our high horse and condemn these men.  "We would never do such a thing."  "They are monsters."  "They deserve the worst."  Maybe all those things are true.  I'd never hit a woman or child.  They certainly need to be punished as anyone else would.

But I keep thinking about what Jesus said.  I keep thinking about how I might not have broken laws on the outside, I'm often "full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  I keep thinking...

• What if my worst moment was caught on camera like Ray Rice?
• What if there was a camera in my soul?
• I'd never hurt or hit someone...but does it count if I've thought about it?
• What about all those times I've been so angry at someone I could scream?
• What about the times I did scream?
• Have I ever crossed the line in disciplining my children?
• Do lies that no one knows about count?
• What about lust?

Don't get me wrong.  We need to discipline law-breakers and educate people on how to be good citizens.  But, Jesus seemed much less concerned about 'just being a good citizen' in the neighborhood.  He said you could look like a good citizen and be dead on the inside.  He said we're all broken.  Jesus challenges us deeper.  This is why I'm so slow to condemn.  I've got so much of my own mess to clean up.  I think we know wrong when we see it.  No one that hears of the pending cases in the NFL could dispute that.  But I know there is stuff that I don't know about everyone that gives me pause to condemn.  And it's what I do know about myself that gives me the most pause.

Create in me clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Sports, Art & Kids

A couple of weeks ago, our church hosted our 2nd Annual KidsGames, a free sports and arts camp for the community.  It was an awesome week, and was reminded at the power of sports and arts in the lives of children.  The cool thing about KidsGames is there are kids out there with no background mixed with kids with a lot experience.  The kids with no experience in organized sports got coaching they'd never gotten, and they were delighted by it.  The kids with a lot of experience were happy to be playing without the pressure to perform or their dad breathing down their necks.  It's fun again.

Art teaches the kids to use their creativity, to be the unique creation that only they can be.  Moreover, they build relationships in art that they never would have in sports.  They find that it's okay to like music and baseball, to like drawing and basketball, to like dancing and softball.  None of us are ONE thing.  We do a disservice to our children when we make them into one thing and nothing else.  Sports and the arts are also incredibly important ways to build relationships with children.  Nothing provides opportunities to mentor quite like sports and art.

Education is extremely important.  We need to educate our kids the very best we can because there truly is power in knowledge, but kids need the influence of sports and arts in their lives.  They need to learn competition.  There is something important about winning and losing.  Life includes winning and losing.  Kids need to experience expressing themselves in art.  God made them unique in His image.  In a world of conformity that says we have to know specific answers on specific tests, art teaches kids that there is an answer within them that has never been given.  Let us not teach the next generation that they are a test score.  Let us help them create things that we never would have dreamed of, and let us teach them to compete, to give it their all.  They'll need those skills in life.  They'll need them MORE in life.  I haven't taken a test in a long time, but life calls me to create and compete daily.

Quiet House

My house is ridiculously quiet this week.  My two oldest boys (8 and 10) are at camp and my two youngest boys (4 and 6) are at their grandparents'.  We are childless for about 4-5 days.  It is weird.  It's hard to describe to people.  According to the 2010 census, only 9% of American families have three or more children under 18 at home.  They don't have a category for 4 or more because there are only 13 of us across the nation :)

Having four children is an absolute blessing to us.  We can't really imagine life any other way.  You hear the McInnis family coming from a mile away, and we leave a restaurant, we leave it well used.  I try to tip well.  That server deserves it.  But it's a crazy life -- and very loud.  With all four of mine being boys, we live with the reality that virtually everything in our home is on the brink of being broken.  It could happen at any minute, really.  If they haven't broken it, it's next on the list.  And they are awesome boys.  They're just, well, boys.

But this week is bizarre.  It's the first stretch we've ever had like this since our youngest was born.  Did I mention it was quiet?  I told my wife that this is what it will be like when Brooks' graduates.  He'll be the last to go, and it'll be quiet every day.  That's only 14 years away.  Fourteen years used to seem like a long time.  It's flying buy now.  I've only got nine years of school left with my oldest.  Nine!  Virtually my entire wardrobe is older than nine years.

I've been reading Numbers recently, one of the first five books of the Bible.  Numbers are important to God.  God tells us to number our days in Psalm 90:12.  I'm starting to count them.  Nine years for Morgan.  Fourteen until they're all gone.  Fourteen.  That's nothing.  I'll only be 52 when they're all gone.  But what I have is these 9 to 14 years ahead to influence them.  When they leave, my influence in their lives will diminish.  They will meet new friends, hear new ideas, and start their own lives.  For now, Emily and I get the chance to pour into their lives, and I want to soak up every second I've got.  Because I can hear the quiet house waiting for me in 14 years.  And it will be too late then.  Parents, how many years do you have left?  It. Will. Fly.  By.  Invest, influence, and teach.  Use every second.