August 28th.

What is the importance of August 28th you may be asking yourself. Well, to most people probably nothing, but to me and my family it is my mom's birthday. She would have been 77 this year. She passed away last December, a little more than 3 months after her 76th birthday.

This year is her first birthday without her being here, and it is hard. Hard not to pick up the phone to call and wish her a happy birthday. Hard not to go and visit her, hug her and give her a kiss. Let's just face it. The last almost 9 months since she passed have been hard. Still can't believe she is gone.

But, I have my LORD & Savior to lean on during difficult times thinking about her.

Philippians 4:7 New Living Translation

⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

 

I'm so grateful for His peace!

 

I felt more of that peace when I found out that she accepted Jesus as her Lord & Savior the night before a surgery she was about to have. She wanted to know what she had to do to make sure that if she did not survive the surgery that she would go to heaven. A visiting pastor friend explained to her what she had to do and she did it. The difference from the night before the surgery to the day of the surgery was amazing. From being super anxious to being super calm. She had called on the name of Jesus and He gave her His peace.

 

Acts 2:21 Amplified Bible

²¹ ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord Jesus] shall be saved (rescued spiritually).

 

Fast forward to that fateful night in December. I got the call around 1:30ish A.M. I was told that she thought that she was not going to make it much longer. So I head to the hospital, praying that isn't true. I thought that we have plenty of time left with her. Turns out, it was only a few hours. As I was sitting next to her bed holding her hand, I heard The Lord speak to me. "Do you trust me if I take her?" I'm like "of course I trust You." "She has been my mom for 52 years, but she has been Your daughter for 76 years." "She is Yours, she was only on loan to me and my brothers."

 

So The Lord took her home to be with Him for eternity and we were left with memories.

 

Matthew 5:4 New Living Translation

⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.

 

Wow. How The Lord really blessed me and comforted me since that day. How you may ask? He blessed me with an abundance of family time with my Aunts, Cousin and brother that we wouldn't have normally had. We spent so much time together from the day that she passed until her funeral. It was definitely a blessing. Mom had a way of bringing family together.

 

I miss you Mom, today on your birthday and everyday in between. But I know that I/we will get to see you again someday!

 

Love your son, Keven

A Game, A Broadcaster and a Homophobic Remark.

By now, probably most people have heard of what a broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team said live on air. He made an anti gay remark after coming back from a commercial break and didn't realize that his microphone was live. He was promptly removed from the broadcast booth and subsequently suspended by the Reds. This broadcaster also calls games for the NFL for Fox Sports. He has since been removed from their broadcasting lineup for this year.

I understand the backlash against this guy. What he said was definitely inappropriate and wrong, but let's remember, he is not perfect. In fact, none of us are. There isn't a person who walks this earth that is perfect in everything that they do. No matter what it is. Speech, actions, lifestyle, etc. etc. We all fall short.

Romans 3:23 New Living Translation

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

 

This verse says that "all" fall short. Not just this guy who did this or that guy who said that. We all fall short. Let's be honest. If we all had a 'hot' mic in our cars or in our houses, how many of us would get fired for things that we said that weren't appropriate? More than likely, most of us. Everyone is quick to point out his sin, but how many of us have done the same thing?

 

Matthew 7:3-5 The Message

7 ^1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

 

To be transparent here. I used to be the king of that kind of talk. I've said things to people and about people that I am not proud of. That was in my BC (before Christ) days. When I accepted Jesus, one of the first things that He worked on was my corrupt speech and bad language. Not going to lie here. When I get heated I may still utter a curse word or two. I still get angry and irritated, but I'm also still a work in progress.

 

Colossians 3:8 The Message

^5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

 

So maybe we cut this broadcaster a little slack. Let him serve his punishment and face what he has done, but give him a second chance. The God that I serve is a God of second chances. Look what happened to Peter after he denied even knowing Jesus three times. God used him to build His church upon. That's quite the second chance in my book. Then take a look at our own lives. God pulled us out of the muck and the mire that we were living in and set us on firm foundation, which is Christ.

 

Ephesians 4:32 New International Version

³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

Amen!

 

 

 

Water Bottle!

The water bottle pictured was a gift from a woman as a thank you for serving her and her family every week. She comes through a food distribution site once a week to get groceries for her family. We have team of 5 people that serve her (and many others) every week. I am humbled and honored to be a part of this team. I am trying to show Jesus to her and her family.

 

Matthew 25:35 New Living Translation

³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink.

 

Matthew 25:40 New Living Translation

⁴⁰“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

 

Now, I'm not saying that she is the least of anything. She is just in a difficult season right now and needs a little help, which we are happy to provide.

 

God calls us to serve, so that is what we are doing for our community.

 

Hebrews 13:16 The Message

¹⁶ Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.

 

 

 





 

 

Now back to the gift. The water bottle. To you it may seem like a simple water bottle, but to me it means so much more. You see, our friend thought enough to seek out our names. Not only did she learn my name, she even spelled it correctly. Then on top of that, she even did it in my favorite color. How she knew, I do not know. Let's not forget that she only comes in once a week and we see her for maybe about 5-10  minutes. 

 

So you see, it's more than just a water bottle. It is a gift of appreciation for taking the time to be kind, love on someone and their family. To let them know that someone cares about them. Talk with her, have some fun with her kids.

 

John 13:34-35 The Message

^34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

 

Amen! Go out and love on someone and serve someone!



The National Anthem. Stand? Kneel?

To stand or kneel for our national anthem seems to be the hot button topic for both the NBA and MLB  (I'm not sure about the NHL). With the death of George Floyd on May 25th, a lot of the players from these professional teams have decided to kneel during the national anthem at the start of a game. They are kneeling to protest police brutality and the social injustice that has been happening to people of color. What I don't understand is, why? Why the national anthem? The anthem isn't just for police departments and it's officers. It's for every American. It's for the American Flag whom so many have fought for and died for, so these people could even play a sport. So to me, by taking a knee during the anthem is disrespecting the flag, our country and the men and women who have bravely fought for it.

 Of course the NFL has already had kneeling going on for a few years now. Tim Tebow started it with kneeling to honor and thank God, for something good that had happened during the game. Then Colin Kapernick started kneeling to protest police brutality and social injustices towards African Americans.

In my personal opinion, both of these players were run out of the league because they both took a stance and kneeled for something that they believed in. Tebow for his belief in God and Kapernick for his belief of injustices against African Americans.

 So opening day of baseball, there was a game between the  L.A. Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Both teams knelt during the national anthem. Except for one player. Pitcher Sam Coonrod. The reason that Sam did not kneel is because he is a Christian. He feels the only time to bow or kneel is before God.

 Joshua 23:16 Amplified Bible

16 When you transgress (violate) the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you [to follow], and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

 This whole scenario reminds me of the story in the book of Daniel. Daniel and two of his friends were told to bow down to a golden statue that the king had made of himself. They refused to do that and that made the king very angry. You can read the entire story in Daniel, chapter 3.

 Daniel 3:16-18 New Living Translation

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

 So Sam did not kneel during the anthem, because that meant that he would be kneeling for something other than God. He made a bold statement about his faith and belief in God that day. May we all be so bold.

 Matthew 10:33 The Message

32-33 “Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?

 There might not have been a fiery furnace that Sam was going to get thrown into for not kneeling during the anthem, but there is the court of public opinion. And you can get roasted pretty good there. If I remember correctly, he took some heat for his stance (literally) during the anthem.

 I don't know where y'all stand on this issue, but for me I am going to stand for the flag! I'm going to stand for the anthem! I'm going to kneel at the feet of Jesus!