3 Birthday Gifts from God

Yesterday I went for a long birthday run on the beach. 54 and 4 miles in the sand feels good. It was a perfect day...sun on my shoulders, breeze at my back, and smile on my face. The cool water bathed my bare feet. It was as if the love of God was being set in front of me like 3 birthday presents.

The first were 3 perfect shells...my trinity of shells...full of color and mystery and wonder and beauty. I could carry them in my pocket but their story was far beyond and blended with the power of the mighty Pacific Ocean from whence they came.

The second were 2 beautiful dolphins about 200 feet off the beach. They were swimming gracefully, rhythmically rising and falling. They were keeping pace with me as I jogged. They were my companions for a few minutes. I marveled at the effortless movement by which they traveled. I was sweating, panting, and grunting my way over the sand and they were floating through the water. I long to move that way through life, in perfect alignment with the way I was designed.

The third was Joe Hoe. I haven't had a conversation with him yet. But we have smiled and waved and said, "Have a great day" to each other a few times as I have been running on the beach. He wears a floppy hat, a big grin, and balances a hoe over his shoulder. I know that hoe. I have never seen it in action but I have seen its aftereffects. It leaves its mark.

You see our beach has mile long park above it called Bluff Park. You can walk on the sidewalk along the Bluff and look down over the sandy beach. The beach sand is a perfect canvas for Joe Hoe's artistic masterpieces. They are nothing special as to the design but the messages that Joe carves in the sand are truly blessed. Joe will write "God Loves You" in 40 foot long letters. Anyone looking down from above can't miss Joe's message.

He's got others. "You are loved", "Jesus saves", "God Cares", "Turn to God", etc. Always hopeful, always caring, always big...really big. Joe simply does his work and goes on his way grinning. Sure people come along and mess up his artwork. Sometimes they turn it into something confusing or sad. But Joe Hoe just goes on day after day writing his sandy love notes from God to the world.

Seeing Joe Hoe on my birthday run was a gift from God to remind me, I need to keep writing God's love in large letters for the world to see. Keep writing with my life, my words, my actions, my leadership...even if my mark  on time is going to be short lived or even if others misunderstand and attack...I am going to write as large as I can: "God loves you!" because I have experienced God's love for me! 

A Birthday Poem on November 6

I am nothing and you call me beloved,
You are everything and I call you my life.

I am weak and have need of everything,
You are strong and have need of nothing.

I am foolish and make stupid mistakes,
You are wise and perfect in all you do.

I am a coward and quiver in front of small challenges,
You are courage and fear nothing now or forever.

I am earth bound and locked into a calendar,
You stand over the universe in a timeless realm called eternity.

I am selfish and egotistical,
You are LOVE and give to all who will receive.

I am easily duped and led astray,
You are discernment and divide light and darkness.

I lie and exaggerate,
You are truth and there is nothing but honesty in you

I lust  and crave for that which pleases for a moment,
You desire only what is truly beauty and enduring.

I am often lost and confused,
You are the way and the path.

I am sometimes lonely and abandoned,
You are the unity of the trinity for eternity.

I am the clay and the canvas,
You are the potter and the painter.

I am the page and the stone,
You are the author and the sculptor.

I am the piano and the stage,
You are the composer and the playwright.

I am nothing but have great potential,
You are everything and have great compassion.

Write my life, paint my life, sculpt my life,
Until it is a masterpiece of your making,
A triumph in your honor!

Vision 360

Stolen from my buddy Mike Goldsworthy's blog...but just as true on mine! This is exciting stuff that God is up to in our city and Mike and I are part of the team leading the charge:

We have just a few spots left for this lunch event with Rick Warren and Miles McPherson. The details and the link to register are below. If you want to come and hear more about what we’re doing, I’d love to see you there.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 25^th, from 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM

COST: $25 - Includes lunch

WHERE: The Reef, 880 Harbor Scenic Drive, Long Beach

REGISTER: www.vision360lb.eventbrite.com

QUESTIONS: eric.marsh@vision360.org

GUEST SPEAKERS: Rick Warren, Pastor, Author

Miles McPherson, Pastor, Author

MORE ON VISON360

We are local pastors and business leaders who love Long Beach and the surrounding area. Like others who live and work in Long Beach, we want our city to flourish. We believe that a key part of a flourishing city is healthy churches. Our collaboration will help strengthen local congregations and start new churches that will bless the neighborhoods and people of Long Beach.

Click here to learn more about Vision360.

• Mike Goldsworthy, Parkcrest Christian Church 
• Larry Walkemeyer, Light and Life Christian Fellowship
• Wayne Chaney, Antioch Church
• John Teter, Fountain of Life Covenant Church
• Darren Rouanzoin, The Garden
• Josh Chavez, Parkcrest Christian Church, 7th Street
• Eric Marsh, Grace Long Beach Church, Vision360 Long Beach City Catalyst
• Blake Christian, Vision360 Business Catalyst, Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP
• Chris Lagerlof, Regional Catalyst, Vision360

Vision 360 of Long Beach from Ryan Prouty on Vimeo.

I AM DEVOTED (a spoken word)

I AM DEVOTED by Larry Walkemeyer

I am devoted.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have but one life to live and I give it unreservedly to Him.

I am not merely a fan, but I am a follower…

Not a fair weather consumer but a fully consumed believer in Jesus.

He is not my hobby, He is my life.

I have taken my stand, planted my flag, and determined my course.

I am devoted to one God, one Lord, one Master, one Savior.

My devotion is decisive because Jesus alone defeated death.

Therefore, I refuse to veer from the life-giving path of Jesus.

Questions can baffle me, barrage me, and befuddle me

But I will boldly broadcast this basic truth -

Jesus is the Redeemer, the Risen One, The Returning One!

Others can berate me, belittle me, and battle me,

But I will not back down, back up, or back slide!

My devotion is not determined by my emotion, nor by my blessings,

Not by popular opinion, convenience, nor personal happiness.

My devotion is based on unchanging truth, not fickle feelings.

So when the winds of the majority culture howl

And when the storms of adversity attack

And when the siren of sensuality sings to my sinful side

And when the media mocks me with its mischaracterizations

And when the courts mistake my morals as hateful -   

I will not relinquish my resolution,

I will not bow down to the empire of error and arrogance,

I will not patsy to the politics of the power brokers,

I will not shutter my good deeds of love nor silence my voice of hope!

I choose not the tyranny of my feelings but the liberty of my Father;

I choose not the pleasures for a season but the treasures of His promise;

I choose not the softness of retirement, but the investment of my energy;

I will follow where He leads, give what He asks, do what he commands,

Counting as nothing the honor of risking it all to obey His call!

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have decided.

I am devoted -

Till death us do…

Place in each other's presence forever!

And all God's true church said, Amen. 

A Good-Bye Letter to MOM

(A much longer post than usual)

A Good-bye Letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

I just wanted to write you a letter to say thank you for all that you were to me.
You were amazing and I miss you so much already, even though only 2 months have passed.

Your life gave me life. I was an infant conceived in your womb, carried lovingly by you for 9 months and brought into the world with great pain and joy by you.
You cuddled me, nursed me, changed me, rocked me to sleep.
You cooed with me and gently encouraged me to take my first steps.
You sang over me, prayed over me and laughed over me.
Your love was the strong foundation that my life was launched upon.
Thank you for your love and your tender care.

You loved me in the midst of your own pain and suffering as you watched the love of your life slowly die in front of your eyes. My first two years of starting life were being celebrated even as you were living the last two years of daddy’s life. You were a strong woman for sure.

I couldn’t conceive of what it meant to lose my daddy but you carried me through what I did not know I was living through. You held me over the casket and I blew on daddy’s face in an effort to awaken him. Yet, he did not get up...but you had to get up the next day and the next and the next to care for a young toddler who was learning to trust, learning to speak, learning to live.

Thank you for the effort you put into me at a time when you felt like you wanted to die yourself.
Many times you probably wanted to just lie down and stay there for a week but little Larry was too active to let you do so. Thanks for getting up and building into my young life.

Your prayers over me and your insistent effort to teach me to pray before every meal and before I went to bed, still have impact upon me today 52 years later. Your prayers changed me in ways I won’t even know of until heaven. Your prayers were always sincere and filled with faith. You were never an exhibitionist in prayer but you prayed simply, earnestly, and perseveringly.

You are probably the reason I fly all over the world and adventure into the remote places to share the gospel of Jesus. Taking me on a trip to Africa when I was only four was a huge undertaking for a young single mom. I might not remember too much of that trip but it planted something in me that not only lived on, but grew and now is bearing fruit in the Philippines, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, India, etc.

You modeled a love for education and love for hard work...when I was only five you left the familiar, the life of comfort and off you went to graduate school in Anderson Indiana to get a teaching credential...that year was a great adventure for our little family of 3. I would see you typing papers late into the night....reading, learning, writing....these became my passion as well and its you that I have to blame for having insatiable appetite to keep learning...now I am thinking of a second doctorate...a Ph.d in Global Leadership. Thank you for passing on this love.

You were the consummate teacher...whether in the fifth grade classroom at school or in the Sunday School classroom or in the youth group or in the Choir...or in VBS...you were always teaching, sharing, helping others develop and you passed that on to me as well. I love to stand in front of a group and share something that will help them reach higher.  

Your love for the church of Jesus is one of the greatest treasures that I imbibed from you. Every time the doors were open to the First Church of God in Hugoton Kansas...we were there. We were front row. We were involved. You were leading something. You were volunteering for something. You were championing some new cause at the church.  You saw the church in both her beauty and brokenness, but you emphasized the beauty of His bride. I love the church largely because you loved the church.

When you married my step-dad you took a big step that I didn’t fully understand at age almost 11. I liked dad, but I had been your only man and it was an adjustment for me. I had no idea about the joy or the pain that that relationship would bring to your life. I rejoiced that you had a companion...and was happy to have a dad in my life...even though he was stumbling forward in that role.

I watched you live and love out of a commitment to your marriage vows. There were some tough times in that relationship but you were like a bulldog who refused to let go of that which you were devoted to. In the last years of your life it was a great joy to see the way in which dad cared for you in the midst of your cancer. I learned that even the best intentioned relationship, even with Christians, can face uphill times, and that the climb is always worth the effort. I believe my marriage is better and stronger because of what I saw in you.

You were always my cheerleader, my number one fan, the one who believed I could do great things. You weren’t the kind of mom to brag all over town about your kid....but when the other person brought it up, you were happy to say the “Amen!” You never pushed, but always offered to help me try new things...you were there to help me build a car for the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby...I was the only kid who didn’t have a dad helping them...we built a cool car but it was pretty slow! You were there to help me with my first public talk ever...a 4H presentation on “The Care of Your Hare”...a riveting speech about taking care of rabbits (we had 30 of them at the time)....you were there when I decided to do Competitive Swimming and was the slowest guy in my age division...I wanted to quit before the season was over but you wouldn’t let me. You were there when I decided to ride bulls (steers actually) in the Little Britches Rodeo...that lasted only a few seconds.

You were at every game I played in football and basketball and every track meet. You were there cheering me forward, never expecting me to win but always expecting me to do my very very best. And when I started to win and set new track records in the quarter mile...you were beaming with pride while telling me not to get full of pride.

You were my campaign manager when I ran for President of the State Youth Group and we won that campaign with the motto “Walk a Mile for Walkemeyer”. We were big time then.

You would cringe when ever I told you I was off on another grand adventure (camping trip to the draw, backpacking trip to the Rockies, riding my bike 350 miles to Denver, road tripping to Indiana when only 15, off to Explo 72 in Dallas when only an 8th grader, motorcycle-ing to Two Buttes, flying a Cessna to pick up my prom date in Colorado, etc.) but then you would offer advice, warnings, and prayers. You gave me freedom...probably too much freedom, but what a great time I had because of your belief in me.

I was a rambunctious but good kid...your morals were ingrained in me...you taught me not just the rules, but the reasons behind the rules and you pointed out to me the pain in the lives of those who violated them. I never really wanted to be like the crowd even though I wanted to be liked by the crowd. You were always there with a motherly quote to direct my decisions. Thank you for that kind of guidance...being clear without being smothering.

I remember all the times you cared for me in my multitude of injuries. Broken arms, broken collar bones, three knee surgeries, back surgery, and a host of smaller owies... you were there with motherly care, good cooking, and encouragement to get back up..

Thank you for the way you loved my wife...she and three other APU students lived with us for three months of summer as we ministered together. You taught her so many things that summer...like how to cook...and you embraced her even before you knew she would be my bride. Once we were married you were an excellent mother-in-law...supporting without meddling, coaching without coercing. You loved my wife like your own daughter and were proud of each of her accomplishments.

When Deb had a cancer your heart was broken and your hands were moved...once again you dropped everything and came and cared for her and for me with a strength and faith that made the journey much more bearable. Thank you.

When Lindsey came along you stepped into the grandmother role with an infectious enthusiasm. Lindsey felt cherished, cared for, and encouraged by the presence of Grandma in her life. Those summers you kept her so she could learn to ride horses, do chores, pick in the garden, and feed goats are some of her most special memories. Your prayers and wisdom guided her and helped reinforce the path we were leading her down. Today she exhibits much of your pluck, your morals, and your attitude to life. Thank you, Mom.

When we adopted Anjelica, you embraced her as well. Even though she was already 18 you decided that if we were taking her as a daughter, you would love her like a granddaughter. You made her feel accepted when she could have felt so alone and crushed in the world.

TJ was the same way...and it was a miracle that your health rebounded enough for you to be present and a wonderful addition to Lindsey’s and TJ’s wedding. TJ loved you like his own grandmother because you made him feel so special.

Resilient. That’s the word that describes you best. Like the Timex watch ads of long ago, “you took a licken and kept on ticken”. You bounced back from the loss of your first husband, the loss of your farm, bankruptcy, emotionally tough times in your marriage, the loss of your second husband, and in the end you bounced back from your cancer diagnosis. Your resiliency stemmed from your deep faith in the one who bounced back from death. Jesus was your reason and your power to “come back strong” after each blow that life dealt you. Thank you for that model.

Thank you for the way you walked through your last five years...your courage in the face of the cancer that was robbing your body of strength was a testimony to me of your daily reliance upon the power of God. Seven days before you died you insisted that you not miss church on Sunday. It was Sunday and if you weren’t dead you should be in God’s house to worship Him...and you were. It was fitting to me that you went to God’s house forever on a Sunday. It was like you waited until Sunday to die.

Thank you for waiting to die until I arrived. I prayed otherwise. I talked to you on the phone and encouraged you to go home to Jesus before I got there. I didn’t want you to suffer. But you had different plans. They thought you would die on Thursday, then Friday, then Saturday, then Sunday morning...but you hung on till I got there Sunday evening. And then, although you had been unresponsive for 24 hours...when I kissed you on the cheek and told you I loved you, two large tears rolled down your cheek...as if to say, “I love you Larry and will miss you too”. With all three of your kids there, loving you, singing over you, praying for you, blessing you...two hours after I arrived... you went HOME to your reward.

Proverbs 31:25-31 is the only fitting closure that I can bring to this letter to you, Mom.
The last verse Proverbs 31:31 is my prayer for you. Thank you, Mom and I love you, Mom.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
  she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
  and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
  and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
  her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
  but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
  but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
  and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

With All My Love and Until I See You Again,
Your Son,
Larry Joe