A Teenage Abolitionist

Don McLaughlin has been on campus a couple of days, and last night as we were sitting in IHOP, he told me an AMAZING story about a 15 year-old young man by the name of Zach Hunter. Inspired by the movie "Amazing Grace", Zach has made it his goal to completely end slavery.........ALL OVER THE WORLD! If you Google his name, you will find a bunch of articles on Zach, but here is one that you can go to:

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/interview.zach.hunter.the.teenage.abolitionist/9640.htm


I hope you are as inspired as I am by reading about Zach.

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I received a wonderful email from Jim Woodroof telling me that he now has a web site where we can go to and hear lessons that Jim has taught over the years. If you want your life impacted TREMENDOUSLY, go and listen to these talks by Jim. Here is the link:


http://jimwoodroof.com


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Last night as Donnie was speaking to the UPLIFT crowd about the parable of the Prodigal Son (or is it "Reprodigal" as I used to sing in church?) he made an observation that I had heard before, but I needed to hear again. The younger brother got to the point where he "LONGED" for the pods the pigs were eating. Satan had been influential enough to get him THAT far from the truth......that far from the wonderful feast he could have been enjoying. What pig pod are you longing for now that is SO VERY FAR from the real blessing God intended for you to have? Satan hasn't changed his tactics.........he still lies to us in 2007 to convince us the pig pod is better than the steak. I remember Jim Woodroof saying "Jesus came to change our wants". Filter your wants thru Jesus, and the pig pod won't make it thru. Neither will a lot of other garbage.

Have a great week!

Father's Day and Hitting the Road

I hope all you dad's out there had as good a "Father's Day" as I did! Luke and Juliana came over and spent the night with us.....as a married couple, which was weird.....and we had a great visit. Matt and Liz are coming next weekend, Lord willing. Jan and I got to have lunch with her mom and dad on Sunday, along with Jimmy and Andee. It was kinda retro.........like when Jimmy and I were dating the sisters many years ago. No comments on the "many" aspect of that sentence. The only downer was I didn't get to see my dad. Speaking of dad, please keep him in your prayers as he was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Nothing major, but anytime you are in the hospital, it's stressful. GET WELL and GET HOME, Dad! We LOVE you! I know "Father's Day" is not a good day for everybody, and I'm sorry.
But for me, it's for sure one of the best days of the year! I get to reflect on what a great dad I had, and I get to be reminded how lucky I am to be the father of two wonderful sons.

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I am posting this from the road..........Tulsa to be exact. Or should I say Seattle?
Tulsa has had more rain in the past month than any other month in recorded history, so I am told. It has rained off and on since I have been here, and everything is SO green. And muggy. YUCK! Summer is here for sure.

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I am presently reading John Ortberg's "If You Want to Walk on Water, You Gotta Get Out of the Boat". It's my first Ortberg book to read, but it won't be the last. If you haven't read it, pick it up! Matt gave me another McManus book for Father's Day, and I am excited to get into it next.

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Last night, I went to Steve Smith's house and watched 3 Nooma video's by Rob Bell.
Is that guy something else or what? The 3 we watched were titled "Luggage", "Dust", and "You". Some of the material was directly from "Velvet Elvis", but it was good to hear him tell it instead of reading it.
If you haven't ever seen any of Rob's videos, I urge you to order some.
I would love to hear him in person. Maybe we can get him at Harding. :)

Have a great rest of the week!

Heart Warming

Take about 2 minutes and watch this heart warming video. If it turns out to be an urban legend, keep it to yourself! :) I have no doubt somebody somewhere has done this or something VERY similar.

http://www.stservicemovie.com

We Are All Witnesses

I would guess you have seen the new Nike commercial centered around LeBron James, with the slogan "We Are All Witnesses". I have become a LeBron fan. I'm not pulling for the Cavs to win it as I have to stick with Robert Horry and my Spurs, but I have grown to appreciate the way LeBron plays the game of basketball. He's a team player first, and he respects the game. I think the baton will be safe with him as the future face of the NBA. No doubt he is the next MJ or Doctor J. Well, no.......there will NEVER be another Dr. J.

But I want to focus on the slogan about being "witnesses". The very first blog post I ever wrote had to do with a saying of Bear Bryant's that went something like this: "There are three kinds of people. Those that make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened."
I suppose we all have been each of those three people at one time or another in our lives. In my journey, I find myself many times just being the one who ends up witnessing what some other person is doing in regards to good works. Do you ever feel that way? I want to do better, and I know I need to be intentional about it.

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Matt and Liz's wedding was really beautiful, and we are very happy for the two of them! I am truly a blessed man. If you hear about a gold Camry tearing up the road between Searcy and Memphis over the next few years, you'll know who it is. :)
I was saddened again by the fact that my dad wasn't up to coming and being a part of the celebration. I know he would have loved it too. We missed you dad!

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I told Jan that is seems like all we do on the weekends anymore is go to weddings or funerals. For those of you who were at HU about the same time I was, you probably remember Steve and David Tucker. Their mom, Mae Anne, died this past week. Some of you may have known her as Lott Tucker's wife. During our Harding days, she worked in the book store. Mrs. Tucker was someone I loved very much, and our community lost a wonderful Christian servant. I have no doubt that she has already sprouted some wings, and will be flying around Rhodes field house to watch Kinsey play her senior year for the Bisons.

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Last but not least, "Sgt. Pepper" was released 40 years ago the first of June. Can you believe it? It's not my favorite Beatles album, but it's a good one and I can remember very clear that summer of 67 when it came out, and what all was going on.
It's eerily similar in some ways to what's going on in the world right now. Just like back then, there are a lot of people calling for peace these days. There was a lot of racial unrest back then, as there is now with all the immigration discussions going on. There was an ugly election that took place in 68, and my guess is the one in 08 is going to be equally as ugly. Like I said, eerily similar. When John Lennon was asked about making this album, he said the following:
"We're fed up with making soft music for soft people."

Hmm........there has to be a spiritual analogy in that statement somewhere....right?

Wedding Bells................Again!!

It's time for the second wedding and the second celebration! Matt and Liz Lee are getting married Saturday afternoon in Memphis. I can't believe how blessed I am to be able to welcome two new daughters into our family within a month! Matt and Liz have been dating for several years now, and we love her very much. I can't imagine having two daughters-in-law more precious than Liz and Juliana. I am looking forward to being with family and friends again as we celebrate this wedding and these sweet children. Matt and Liz will continue to live in Memphis, as she is in Pharmacy School and he loves coaching at Harding Academy. They will actually be living 2 1/2 miles from Luke and Juliana! I consider them being able to live so close to each other as another blessing........one of many.

So, keep the Lee family and the Underwood clan in your prayers this weekend! I will let you know how it went Monday when I get back.

CONGRATS MATT AND LIZ!!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!