Mom Taught me to be a Missionary!

Another lesson from Mom's recent home going.



She taught me how to be a missionary. For many years she served as the Superintendant of Vacation Bible School at the Panama Baptist Church in our community. About Thursday evening before VBS week, she would say to my Dad, brother, and me that it was time to get the pick up truck cleaned up and put the side boards on for VBS. We would clean the truck to within an inch of its life. He had a saying that we should clean so as to be able to eat off of it. Now we hauled cattle on that truck on many occasions. So scub it we did! Then we would haul twenty-five to thirty children to VBS on that truck. Now I know that she would have been locked up if that had been today. But I shared this story recently when I was privileged to speak during revival services at Macedonia Baptist church in Battleground, Cullman County, AL. A gentleman walked up and told me his name was Neal Buckelew and he had ridden that pick up truck and had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior as a result of one of those VBS's. I shared this story at Mom's home going celebration to her honor and to Jesus' glory!



She may have never preached in one of America's great pulpits, but whether she was shelling peas under one of the big oak trees in the yard or pushing our blue jeans through the old ringer type washing machine, she always preached and lived Jesus!

Bullets Unfired!

Lesson #4 from downsizing.

While emptying out our Pittsburgh house I found some interesting items that carried me back over the past forty years of marriage and ministry. None were so sobering as the envelope containing six 22 caliber bullets unfired. As a young pastor, I grew quite frustrated with the fact that many people would call me to salve their consciences, when in reality they had already made the decision that they were going to do something that they knew to violate God's Word. For instance, couples would call me after they had already scheduled their appointment with the divorce lawyer. They were less than enthusiastic about pursuing the solution to their marital problems, but wanted to be able to say that they had tried talking with the pastor.

Having voiced my frustration on this matter, I was soon faced with and opportunity that was quite unexpected. A man who attended our church called to say he'd like for me to take a ride with him. I reluctantly agreed as it was not a convenient time for me. We rode for about twenty minutes hardly saying a word between us, but I could see that he was agitated about something. Then he began to share that his daughter had been sexually violated by someone connected to one of our church softball teams. We talked through it and had many more hours of talking even after this ride. However, at one point in this ride, he placed in my hand six 22 caliber bullets and said he did not think he would need them now. Dealing with people at the level of their need can be messy, but on occasion you may save a life as well as see folk come to know the Savior.

Unemployed Score Board Operator!

Lesson #3 from downsizing.

During the Moving Sale at our Pittsburgh house we met a number of very interesting people. An older couple stopped by accompanied by their son and his wife. We had several minutes of interesting conversation. Then I discovered that the younger gentleman had moved to Pittsburgh from Ohio a few months earlier and had now lost his job. It was at this time that I discovered the amazing fact that he had come to the 'Burgh as the scoreboard operator for the Pirates and the Steelers. Now he was laid off from that job. If you follow sports at all, you can see why the Pirates may not need a scoreboard operator, since they hardly ever score. But the Steelers? Are they getting ready for a dismal season? I'm certainly not making light of this man's plight and I do pray he will find work soon. But I could not help but see the humor in this encounter.

There is a lesson here for us all. Only two things can happen when we compare our score in life to others. 1. We discover we are ahead of others and get prideful. 2. We discover we are behind where others are and we get depressed. Both are detrimental to our development. Perhaps we should fire the scoreboard operator as well!

Inside Out!

Lesson #2 from downsizing.

After hauling numerous trash bags to the street for pick up from our house in Pittsburgh and having sold all that we could at the gigantic moving sale, we had some large items that we knew we would most likely have to pay someone to move for us. Therefore we called a person who gave us a price and a time when we were to do this thing. Then we sold even more stuff. Therefore I called the man to re-negotiate the price. He got irate with me and refused to come at all. Not knowing what we would do, I walked into another part of the house where Dolly showed me an email from someone who saw our ad on Craig's List and said they were starting a non-profit to give appliances, etc. to needy families. This seemed like a perfect fit so we made contact. However, we soon discovered that they had only an SUV and a great idea but no way to make it happen. As this was sinking in immediately after worship on a Sunday, I looked out the window to see a well-dressed lady looking through our trash by the street. It turns out that she was just returning from church also. I walked out to meet her and she indicated that she had a tenant who did not even have a laundry basket. I gave her two and we continued to talk. She went home and got her truck and hauled off two large loads for her tenant and the local Goodwill Thrift Store. Mission accomplished in a way we had no idea about when the day began. How God does provide!

We invited Judy to join us for lunch between loads and as we sat on the floor (our furniture had already been picked up for the move to Syracuse), she noticed the shirt Dolly was wearing was from Iron City Church. This is the church that our son started in the North Hills of the 'Burgh about three years ago. She said that some of her tenants had attended and that she had, in fact, attended at least once. We later found out that she was a nurse and worked in recovery at a local hospital. That is when I began to put together where I had heard that voice. She was the nurse when I had a colonoscopy a few years ago. After working together for the afternoon, I commented that she now knows me inside and out! God provides and it's fun!

Blackberry Witnessing

Lesson #1 from downsizing.

My dear wife and I are in the process of downsizing from a four bedroom house to a two bedroom, 800 square foot apartment. The next several blogs will deal with some lessons we are learning in this process.

We recently spent about ten days in Pittsburgh doing three things:

1. Packing and planning for the remaining furniture to be moved to our current home in Syracuse

2. Removing the residuals of forty years of marriage that we could not move into our apartment

3. Beginning to prepare our house to be on the real estate market as soon as possible.

In the process of accomplishing phase #2, we had a moving sale over two days. We did pretty well with it actually. Our marketing plan was very well thought out. We simply put the sale on Craig's List and purchased two bright orange poster boards. We already had the markers, so the budget for this enterprise was 99 cents. Remarkably, we netted almost $600 from the sale.(excluding the exorbitant marketing costs)

A young father came by with his five year old son, Matthew. I was intrigued by the patient way this Dad taught his son about the tools I had for sale, etc. In an attempt to break the ice on a more serious note, I shared with Matthew that I knew of a book by his same name. Then I pulled out my newly acquired Blackberry and opened up the Bible to the book of Matthew. We began to talk about the book and how it had the same name as he did. The Dad then said to his son, "You know about that book from church. Right?" We had a delightful conversation and they left with an armoire that has been in our family for many years. But more importantly, I learned that every opportunity is a witnessing opportunity if you look closely for the way to approach it and are sensitive the Holy Spirit!

No Regrets!

Lessons from my Mom's recent home-going.

My family ( Dolly, our two children and their families including all six of our grandchildren) spent 3-4 days with my Mom between Christmas and New Years this past year where Mom presented all six of our grandchildren with homemade quilts she had made for them. Then I made the extra effort to visit her on Mother's Day this year. The first weekend of June I flew down for another visit as she was not doing really well. On Monday before she passed away on Tuesday morning, I spoke with her by phone. She was in great spirits and seemed very happy and up-beat. In short, I have no regrets that she knew that she was loved by her oldest son. I may not have done as much as others in the family and I may have done more than others. However, when I lay my head on the pillow at night, I really only have one person to please, the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows I have no regrets!

As a matter of fact, a life of "no regrets" describes Mom pretty well. Since Dad passed five years ago, she has fought being alone and recently had told the family on several occasion that she was ready to go home. At eighty-three years of age, she had no regrets.

Paul said to young Timothy, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. II Timothy 4:6-8

These were some of the last words Paul ever wrote and could be titled, "No Regrets!"

How could you and I live a life with no regrets?

1. Be certain of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord. I John 5:11-13

2. Share that relationship at every opportunity in life. Matthew 4:19

3. Understand the Scriptures to be obeyed rather than just learned. James 1:22

4. Risk everything for the cause of Christ! Acts 15:26

Weight Loss

Lessons From My Weight Loss

It is no secret that I have lost 112 pounds in the past twelve months. During the course of this year, I have learned several life lessons:

1. You will need a plan. For me, that plan has been http://slimwithtim.com/default.aspx

2. More important than a plan is the commitment to work the plan. Rev. Q. T. Curtis, with whom I was privileged to serve early in my ministry, was often heard saying, “All plans look good on paper, but make an impact only if implemented!”

3. Why you do what you do is more important than what you do. Since I started my weight loss on April 15, 2009, many have conjectured that I just had a very bad tax day. In reality, the reason I am doing this is the conviction that I might not live long enough to do all that the Lord wants me to do if I don’t get into better physical shape.

4. Life requires celebrating along the way. Dr. Stan Smith, with whom I worked in PA has taught me to celebrate along the journey as we progress. Don’t wait until you reach the destination, but do so all along.

5. Celebrate without food being a part of the rewards system. I have discovered that when I am sad, I eat; when I am glad, I eat; when I am tired, I eat; when I am relaxed, I eat; when I am disappointed, I eat; when I celebrate…..guess what? I eat. I am learning that other rewards are more appropriate than unhealthy foods.

Still learning life lessons as I go!