Freddy Fender is still around?

I went to get my haircut on Thursday. My barber is a great guy named Louis. He’s part of a lost art, a true barber. He still uses mostly scissors, is incredibly fast, and still shaves around the trimmed areas with a straight edge. He really is a throwback to a bygone era. He’s been in our area for almost 30 years. Every time I come in he tells me about some man who came in who had gotten his haircut from Louis when he was a little kid, and now he has kids the same age. A great guy with a great sense of humor, kind, considerate, and very good at what he does.

The last time I went in, though, he played this music that I really could have done without. One of my great fears is that Freddy Fender will make a comeback (ok, maybe not a great fear, but a fear nonetheless). He’s one of those stars that needs to stay in the past (and honestly, I'm not sure why he was ever a star in the first place). Never heard of him? You’re not missing much, in fact, count it a true blessing from God. His one great hit was “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”, and yes, that was the first song played on the immortal CD Louis had. Ah, but it gets worse. The next song was Freddy’s rendition of B. B. King’s, “The Thrill is Gone.” Suffice it to say if Freddy had cut that song first, no one would have heard of it. Then I was privileged to hear Freddy’s version of the “Wichita Linemen”, an old Glen Campbell song. Yes, I was on the verge of tears, but they were not tears of joy, or tears due to an incredibly moving song. It was incredibly moving, I wanted to move right on out of there. After that, I tried with all I had to block out any other songs. It worked. I guess growing up with three sisters and learning to block them out has paid off. "God uses all things together for good to those who love Him. . . " Yep, it's true.

This is the Year

This is what I wrote to my congregation, some of the material is from a sermon I preached on Jan. 6.

This is the Year. . .

That’s what came to me as I was praying about the sermon for January 6. This is the year. Not to sound overly spiritual, but I could feel the presence of God as I began to dwell on that phrase. I believe God really wants this to be the year for every one of us. Why? Because God wants the best for us. He believes in us and knows our potential far better than anyone. He also knows the dreams within us, since He was the one who placed them there! He has the best for us, we often refuse to embrace His purpose due to our fears.

Mark Batterson, in his book, “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” says this about fear:
What’s interesting is that psychiatrists posit that we’re born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. That means that every other fear is learned. And more importantly, that means that every other fear must be unlearned.

This is the year that God sets us free from those fears that have paralyzed us. Stop letting life pass you by as you continue to only “hang on”, or as you continue to wait for the “perfect time” to do something, i.e. “when things slow down”, “when I get things together”, or “when this or when that happens”. Stop it, stop with the excuses. No one ever excused their way to success. And as long as we’re on the subject, stop whining, too. Everyone has road blocks, trials, and things to overcome. Those who have been successful could list off their roadblocks too, they just refused to let those things defeat them. We are not made to “hang on”. When we became Christians God began His own rewiring process to set us free from the shackles of our excuses and fears.

Start by getting rid of the neigh-sayers, the excuse laden, critical, judgmental, negative-filled people from your life who continue to perpetuate your situation. Their purpose is to keep you down, not build you up. Find the “I believe in you” people and surround yourself with them. Find them, spend time with them; let them speak into your life. And dwell on the power of God’s Word. Let the Word of Life soak into your life, too. Be transformed by God’s word (Romans 12:1-2). God’s word can change even the most fearful, excuse-filled person.

Isaiah 8:11-14a: The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms: “Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe.”

Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joys (plural, meaning continual); in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

This is the Year. Just do it.