The Lion of the Senate Meets the Lion of the Tribe of Judah......

I love history plus I am old enough to be part of the "age of Aquarius" and have vivid memories of Camelot. I remember the assassinations of President John Kennedy and then later of presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy.

I've followed the lives of the Kennedy's through the newspapers and various media just like so many others have. It's a family that not only seems to have more than their "fair share" of wealthy but of tragedy and grief as well.

So it was with great fascination that I watched the many events surrounding the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

I was intrigued with the long lines at his viewing at the Kennedy Presidential Library. The spontaneous interviews with "men on the street" describing their feelings towards the late Senator was interesting as were the remarks of the speakers at the Memorial Service and Funeral.

It was obvious that at some point there was a major "turn around" in his life. Many times over I listened how he would be present for important events in the lives of his many nephews or nieces. "Uncle Teddy" was always there for them with a word of encouragement or a word of advice to help them along in their lives.

After listening to all the testimonials you came away with the feeling that this was a very good man, not without faults, but someone who was genuinely trying to do what was right and perhaps trying to make up for his shortcomings, especially later on in his life.

The reminder for me though was that it takes more than being a good uncle, husband, pastor or senator. It takes being right with God, asking Him to come into our life, cleanse us of our sin (not just our shortcomings) and lift us out of the "miry clay" and put our feet on the solid rock, Jesus Christ.

May we never stray from the truth in Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

I hope the meeting went well........

Always in Pursuit!

A Matter of Perspective……

One of the good habits I’ve started during this time of transition is to walk for an hour or two each afternoon. I realize it doesn’t sound like much but for someone who has been pretty sedentary for several years and overweight, it’s a big step. After about five or six weeks of walking three to four miles per day, I can finally tell a difference in how I feel.One park I walk in has a path that is “0.8” miles. Each tenth of a mile is marked in big yellow numbers on the right side of the path starting at “0.0.” But I never found the “0.1” marker. It appeared to me that the path was marked “0.0” then jumped to “0.2.” As I walked, I felt I knew where the “0.1” marker should be but when I walked by, I never saw it. One day though, I got this wild hair of an idea. Instead of walking the path so the numbers ascended, I decided to go the opposite way, starting at “0.8.” (Pretty wild life I lead these days, isn’t it?)So here I am, walking on a side of the path that I never walked on. I usually try to stick to the right side of the path so I don’t get in the way of the joggers and bike riders. Wouldn’t you know it? Right where I thought it should be was the “0.1” marker but it was on the opposite side of the path. I never saw it until I decided to change direction and consequently, my perspective of the path. Now I see it no matter which direction I’m walking. It’s there and always was. It never changed, but I needed to change, in order to see it.Immediately after that happened, I began to wonder how many things I’ve missed in life because of my perspective. How many things from friends or family or worse yet, from God, had I missed because I was going about life the same way I’ve always done. I wonder what I would have heard or seen if my perspective had changed a bit.Lord, help me not to become so controlled by my habits that I miss out on the things you have for me!

Always in Pursuit!