Let’s Not Waste This Life

I usually don’t write as frank as I’m about to write.  For some reason, I just feel compelled to write this tonight.  I have 1000 other things I should be doing (like getting some sleep), but I’m going to write anyway…

As you read this, please don’t think I’m touting my way of life.  I don’t have it all figured out, and I mess up plenty.  At times I feel like I’ve taken on too much and have my priorities out of whack.  At other times, I remember the verse, “Never tire of doing good…”  I want to make as much of an impact as I can while I’m on this Earth, and I don’t want to waste any time.  At the same time, I feel like I need a little more balance.  So, know that I’m writing this with awareness of my own faults.

When I took the Servant’s By Design assessment for Men’s Fraternity 3, I learned that I have about 8% energy in the “Energizer” category, which means I’m really not energized by doing things just for fun.  I have 100% energy in the “Harmonizer” category.  So, basically, I’m the type of person that people call when they need someone to talk to or when they are in a crisis, not when they are having a party… I don’t spend a lot of time doing things that don’t have some kind of purpose.  At the same time, I nearly always drop what I am doing to listen or help when someone needs it.

So, I say all that to preface what I’m about to say…  Let’s not waste this precious life that God has given us!  I am alarmed by the number of fantasy-related games there are out there.  I hate to see how much time people are spending on things that have no meaning.  We are being entertained to death!  I’m sorry, but I have completely no understanding for spending hours playing games on Facebook (or other fantasy games or watching tv, etc…).  I just found where I had been invited to Farmville, Zooville, Petville, Fishville, Cafeville, and heavens knows how many other ‘villes and causes.  I just want to politely decline, and ask how in the world people have that kind of time on their hands to play stuff that has no meaning for now or especially for eternity.  I know I’m stepping on a lot of toes right now, but maybe some people will thank me when they stop and think about all the good they could do with the time they are spending on these things.  I doubt anyone on their death bed will be asking for their laptop or Crackberry so they can feed their cows on the “farm” or whatever they do.

Our world has gotten so fantasy-oriented.  Just think how popular fantasy football and baseball are, along with all of those games on Facebook, video games, and internet games.  Not to mention all of the television watching, such as the not-so-reality shows… well, I think you get the picture.  We have traded in the real adventure for fantasy, and I don’t think that is what God intended for our lives.  The heroes of the Bible stepped out in faith and took God-sized and directed risks.  They were the real deal.  They took that first step into the Jordan, and God took them into the Promised Land.

Maybe this is why I have such a desire to be a counselor and life coach.  I hate to see people waste their gifts and talents on things that don’t matter.  My wife has pointed out, and I do realize that I need to have more fun in my life.  So, again, I want to say that my way of life is not perfect.  On the other hand, when I stand before Jesus, I want to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  How about you?

Let’s encourage one another to step out in faith, and do something for the Kingdom.  Let’s put God first and see what He will do with that.  Let’s get away from the fantasy and live out the real adventures.  Let’s walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before us… those who took the land and took the high ground, like Caleb (yes that comes from Men’s Fraternity 3).

So, if you have ever invited me to one of the ‘villes, please don’t be offended when I don’t accept – I have no desire or time.  If you have ever sent me a gift on Facebook for one of these games, I answer the same.  Also, I don’t see any point or benefit in joining causes on FB.  If anyone can tell me some good that happens other than it shows up on my profile, I might reconsider.  I have a lot of causes that I’m acually fighting for in real life – such as the one against fatherlessness.

I am only on Facebook to see how people are doing and try to keep up with what matters in their lives.  I have, for the most part, given up, because I have to muddle through so much nonsense to get to the stuff that matters on FB.  I don’t have time to spend hours on the computer, and I am still being stubborn and won’t get a cell phone…  So, if you want me to know how you’re doing or if you have a prayer request, please send it directly or use the old fashioned way and call on the home phone.

I don’t know… maybe it’s the fact that we’re burying a dear friend tomorrow, so not wasting my life away is more on my mind.  My friend lived life to the fullest, and even in his declining health was such an encourager.  We often said that we were members of the mutual admiration society.  He was 80 years old, and called me his adopted grandson.  God gave me the beautiful gift of sitting with him just hours before He went to be with Jesus.  He had really rallied and was sitting up in bed when I got there.  Of all things, we watched Olympic curling together.  I still can’t figure that sport out.  However, I’m sure I’ll always think of him when I see that sport being played. Not knowing this was our last time together, we parted with the words that we always parted with, which were “I love you.”  Thank you, Lord, for Leo.  I hope he is playing some heavenly golf right now. LOL

I hope this didn’t come across too harshly.  But, we don’t know how much time we have left on this Earth.  In fact, I hope Jesus comes back before I finish this post!  We need to take every opportunity to do good, whether it be for our families, friends, or total strangers.  We need to be glorifying God in all we do, and not hiding our talents.  Yes, let’s have some fun, but let’s not entertain ourselves to death.  I find work and serving others in the Bible a whole lot more than I find fun.  Even their celebrations had a purpose – to bring praise and worship to God.

Okay.  I was going to go to bed early tonight because tomorrow is going to be a long and tough day…  Goodnight and God Bless!

Nehemiah 2 – God at Work

In continuing my study of Nehemiah, I just want to share briefly what I learned in Chapter 2.

After praying and fasting for 3-4 months, Nehemiah could no longer hide his sadness (burden) from the king.  This could have cost him his life because everyone was supposed to be cheerful in the presence of the king.  However, the king noted that this was sadness of the heart and asked Nehemiah what was wrong.  In fear, Nehemiah stated the problem, and the king responded with the question, “What is it you want?”

At that point, I’m guessing Nehemiah’s heart skipped a few beats.  All of his prayer, fasting, and mental planning and preparing had come down to this moment.  What does he do?  He sends up a flare prayer (you know… one of those, “Oh, Lord be with me” kind of prayers when you’re right in the middle of a situation) and then answers the king.  He had already been praying about it, and obviously he had a plan in his mind prepared for the day the door opened.  So, he told the king exactly what he wanted to do, and not only did the king give him the ”time off”, he made sure he would have safe passage along the way and building materials once he got there.  Then, Nehemiah gave God the credit in the last part of vs. 8: “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”

Once in Jerusalem, Nehemiah and a few men went by night to inspect the damages.  As a true leader, he didn’t just send someone else to do it, he made the assessment himself.  With a job of this magnitude, he couldn’t rely on second-hand information.  He had to see the damage himself.

Then, he cast the vision to the people of Jerusalem by saying, ”You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.  Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  He presented a problem that was affecting them, then a solution, and lastly told them about the benefit it would be to them to have the problem solved.  Then, he backed it up by telling them all that God had already been doing to lead them to this point (giving a little history for those who were clueless how he had come to the point of knowing this was what God wanted them to do).  In the true spirit of Henry Blackaby’s book, Experiencing God, they saw what God was doing and they joined Him in His work because at the end of vs. 18, they said, “Let us start rebuilding.”  And so they did.

At the end of Chapter 2, I love how Nehemiah answers the opposition, those who were ridiculing and mocking them: “The God of heaven will give us success.  We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”  He knew what God wanted him to do, and he was not swayed by their words.  That’s what happens when we stay close to God  – we know beyond a shadow of a doubt what He wants us to do and we won’t let anything stop us. 

Do we want to know God’s will?  It comes from first knowing God and abiding in Him.  As we are spending time with Him and / or doing His work, He will often lay something on our hearts.  The first reaction is to begin to act on it.  However, if we really want supernatural results, we better spend some time praying and waiting for God’s timing.  During this praying and waiting time, a vision will probably begin to form in our minds and we’ll probably write down what God is teaching us.  Then, when the time is right, He will make things happen beyond our wildest imaginations, and we’ll know it’s from Him because there is no way we could pull off “something like that.”  We’ll cast the vision, share what God has been doing, and people will get onboard!  And through it all, we’ll be in total awe, giving God all the glory.

Like I said yesterday, I’m in the praying mode regarding several things on my heart, including our ministry to single parent families, but not limited to it.  Waiting is not easy, but it is worth it.  I don’t want to step out ahead of God, like I’ve done before.

May you abide in God and build intimacy with Him first and foremost!

Thirty-seven

Something hit me on May 2 when I turned 37.  It’s not usually a number that one would focus on.  It’s not one of the so-called “milestone” years.  However, something deep inside me says that 37  is going to be a significant year.  God has already been teaching me a great deal.  He has reminded me in gentle but firm ways that I need to be pursuing intimacy with Him first and foremost.  I have missed very few early morning hours with God over the past several years.  However, my journaling while spending time with God has dwindled to a few times a week.  Without my journal right there with me, my mind tends to wander, I tend to forget things that I really need to be praying about, and I don’t listen nearly as well.  In addition, I don’t have a way of going back to review what God has been teaching me.  When I use the journaling method that Dean Trune taught me, I am able to stay focused and my time with God is much richer and more meaningful.  Now, please don’t get me wrong.  I know I can pursue God and spend time with him any time of the day, no matter where I am, and whether I journal or not.  However, in order for me to really be focused and listening, I need to spend early morning, uninterrupted time with Him, and have my journal right there with me.  So far, I have journaled all 20 days of my 37th year, and I’m excited about what God is doing in my heart.

It is also helping that I’m going to bed earlier, so I can get up closer to 5:00 and have some time of exercise, too.  I feel so much more energetic when I have my time with God and some good exercise.  This morning, after my quiet time, I spent 15 minutes on the treadmill while watching a John Maxwell leadership video.  I have to do something while treadmilling or I can’t hardly stand it.   Today is the last day of school, so I can get part of my exercise by riding my bike to the office at least a few times a week.  So far, with the exception of the day I found water coming into our basement, I have stayed on course with my exercise plan since turning 37.  That’s huge for me.

Another thing that will make this a significant year is the fact that God is really teaching me some leadership skills right now.  Much of it is coming straight from the book of Nehemiah.  I’m planning to focus on a chapter of Nehemiah each day for the next thirteen days.  I’ll try to share what God is teaching me.  Today, I’ll talk about Chapter 1.

I am so impressed with what an incredible leader Nehemiah was!  I don’t know why I haven’t focused on him before.  He learns of a need that burdens his heart to the point of weeping.  Instead of going out on his own power to find a solution, he spends three or four months in prayer and fasting to God.  Take note:  prayer was his first action, not his last resort.  Oh, what power we would see as leaders if we would learn this.  His recorded prayer is so meaningful and powerful, complete with worship, confession (his sins and those of Israel), and petition, and it came straight from his heart.  One of my favorite parts is where he says “O Lord, let your ears be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.”  What would it look like for us to come together in prayer because we delight in revering God’s name?  Wow!

Another thing that has been brought to my attention is the fact that Nehemiah was very close to the king.  In fact, according to Dr. Howard Hendricks, a Bible professor specializing in Christian leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary, the cupbearer was second-in-command, kind of like the Prime Minister.  He was the only one who had direct access to the king and his own expense account.  In other words, he was living the good life in the palace.  In the world’s eyes, it would have been so easy to ignore the need in Jerusalem in order to continue living in comfort, but servant-leaders don’t do that.  Servant leaders seek God and put the needs of others before their own.

When I read and study the Bible, I always ask the question:  What is God teaching me through this?  How can this be applied in my life?  Well, I, too, have had a burden placed on my heart by God.  It’s not a physical wall that is broken down, but can be compared to that.  It’s the state of marriage and family.  I think the state of many marriages and families are much like the state of Jerusalem:  “in great trouble and disgrace because the walls are broken down and the gates have been burned with fire.”  Success rises and falls on the leadership, and that includes leadership in the family.  I believe that we, as men, are supposed to be spiritual leaders in the home.  We are supposed to be the gatekeepers, providing protection and security by staying close to God.  This includes praying for our families and fighting the spiritual battles through prayer and God’s Word.  I’m not saying that women can’t do this because they can and are usually very capable, but it should be done in addition to what their husbands are doing.  Too often, women find themselves as the spiritual leader because their husbands don’t step up.  I really believe it’s because they aren’t equipped.  Often, without the spiritual leadership of the husband, marriages fall apart, and families find themselves in a place of insecurity because the protective walls are broken down. 

As most of you know, I have a heart for ministry to single parent families.   I have a real burden for helping rebuild the walls, and standing in the gap that has been left most often by the father.  At the same time, I have a heart for counseling families and helping men become better leaders in their homes.  In these ways, maybe we can repair the walls before they disintegrate.  I want to continue to develop my skills in these areas.  My animal science degrees did not prepare me for this, although my mentor in college taught me skills that went far beyond the degree.  Through Nehemiah’s example, I plan to take time this summer in prayer and fasting for God to give me a vision for how best to do this.  I’m afraid I have tried for too long to do this in my own power and without the proper leadership skills being developed.  I’m finally on track. 

This will also be a good preparation for my first overseas mission trip to Thailand to minister to Karen refugees, including a village of mostly single moms and widows.  Yep, 37 is going to be a significant year in the Lord!

For you single moms who read my blog, remember:  Even though the walls may be knocked down, and  you may feel discouraged at times, take courage in Psalm 68:5 – “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.”  The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is your protector and shield.

May God bless you as you spend time seeking Him and His vision for you!

Catching Up

I apologize that it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a blog.  Life has been pretty crazy.  I have been preparing for a leadership workshop that six of us put together for this past Saturday, and it has consumed much of my time.  I felt really good about how it went, and commend my partners for a job well done!!

Two of us were given the assignment of teaching on the topic of inspiring others.  As it happens so often, I think God taught me more than I was able to teach others.  I have gone through quite a time of self-evaluation, especially focusing on where I can improve as a leader.  I’ll try to write more on this as time goes on…

For today, I just want to leave you with this verse:

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

May God bless you!

Heart of a Warrior

The other night, I laid down with my three-year old son to read him a couple of tractor books, tell him a few “dad-made” stories that included him, a “giant”, and a few of his friends, and to just have our time together before he drifted into dreamland.  Well, he was wound up tight that night and had a hard time going to sleep.  He commenced to tell me about his day.  I swelled with pride as he told me how he had kept one of his sisters “safe” from the neighborhood boys.  There were a couple of boys visiting their grandparents for Spring Break.  Let’s just say that I had to tell my kids that they can’t play with these boys.  They have filthy mouths and attitudes that I don’t want my kids to pick up on.  Anyway, it was cool to see the “warrior spirit” come out in my son.  God has engrained it into men to be providers and protectors, and it was being manifested in my three year old son, as he talked about keeping his sister safe.

Yesterday morning in chapel I talked to the kids about Benaiah, who was in charge of King David’s bodyguard.  He is described as being a man who killed a couple of Moab’s best men (the NKJV describes them as being “lion-like” heroes), killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and killed an impressive Egyptian soldier with the soldier’s own spear.  We are told that he had a name as well as the three mighty men of David and was honored among the thirty.  For David to have him in charge of his own bodyguard, he must have been one tough dude AND trustworthy.  David must have had the utmost trust for him because there weren’t too many who were as close to the king on a daily basis as his bodyguard.  Later, we see that David trusted him not only with his own life, but also that of his son, Solomon.  Benaiah did not take that lightly, and honored his commitment.  He was rewarded for his faithfulness and trustworthiness by later being put in charge of the army.

As I have learned from guys like John Eldredge, Robert Lewis and Emerson Eggerichs, God created us to provide and protect.  Actually, they just put words to what I already knew deep inside me.  We will die for our families, no questions asked.  We will work long hours and even multiple jobs to make sure our families are cared for.  It’s who we are.  As I read stories like this one about Benaiah or as I watch movies like Braveheart, something stirs inside me.  Something in me wants to be a part of a bigger, more adventurous story.   God created us to be strong, courageous, and trustworthy, and that is what America needs right now.  That is what the world needs right now.  We don’t need soft men who are selfish, and who waver, but men of integrity and true grit who are willing to do what it takes.

This country was built on faith, hardwork, sacrifice, and just plain ol’ John Wayne-style grit.  There was a time when  the country and the government were formed through personal sacrifice.  In fact, many gave their whole life savings and died broke in order to build America.  Now, we are heading down the slippery slope of entitlement, laziness, and greed.  Just like a caged lion, if we aren’t careful, we will lose our will and incentive to fight and work for everything because it is handed to us.  We will lose the warrior heart, and will begin to take handouts (aka welfare and government bailouts).  No longer will sacrifice be part of our vocabulary.  At that point, we will lose our identity.

Courageous, trustworthy and wise men seek God wholeheartedly.  I think of men like Joshua and King David who sought God and found their strength and wisdom in Him.  I’ll leave you with these two passages:

Exodus 15:2-3 (NASB) – “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him.  The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.”

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NASB) – “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We need God’s healing for our land.  Our government is not the answer, Wall Street is not the answer.  The answer still lies, as it always has, in the strength of our God.  When Jesus returns, will He find us faithful and trustworthy?

May we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways today!!

To Be Continued…

The rest of our staff and I have just returned from the Ozark Christian College Preaching and Teaching conference, and my cup is full.  I attended 13 sermons and seminars over the past three days, and have brought back a wealth of information that I’m still processing.  With all of that and the Love and Respect class I’m facilitating, I have so many things I want to write that I can’t quite decide where to start.

Okay, after writing that, I’ve decided not to write anything more for now.  After seeing so many “I’s” in the last sentence, I’ve decided to pray about this first and see where God leads.

God Bless!

Be a Blessing

My brain is too tired right now to go into anything real deep.  However, as I have shared before, God seems to teach me in “themes.”  Several of us went to a class Monday night, and I was reminded that we are here not just to be blessed but to be a blessing.  This goes all the way back to Genesis 12 (and repeated 4 other times in the book of Genesis) when God told Abraham that He would bless him, that he (Abraham) would be a blessing, and that all peoples on earth would be blessed in him.  I’ve heard this message before, but this was some deep Bible teaching on the subject and has really made me think.

I have been blessed beyond belief, and there is a great responsibility that comes with that:  I must be a blessing to others.

What would it look like to go about everything I do with the attitude that I want to be a blessing?  I want this to be our family motto:  BE A BLESSING.

May we all be a blessing to others today!

100th Post!!

Wow, this is it…my 100th post!  I never imagined I would have that much to say.  I also never realized how much I would enjoy writing.  I have met some really neat people through blogging.  Since I started tracking the states and countries my visitors are coming from, I have been amazed at the variety.  I have had visitors from 47 of the 50 states.  To my knowledge, I haven’t had a visitor from Vermont, Wyoming, or Idaho.  I do have some that come through as “unknown,” so maybe I have had visitors from these states and don’t know it.  I have had visitors from at least 43 countries, representing all 6 of the inhabited continents.  Of course, roughly 45% of my visitors come from my home state of Kansas.

I appreciate all of you who stop by to read my posts.  As my regular readers have noticed, my blogsite hasn’t changed much since I started back in March.  I tend to find something I like and stick with it.  I don’t see my love for mountains changing anytime soon.   I’m also not too technologically advanced to add a lot of fancy stuff to my blog.  I tried to add a picture of the “kissin’ camels” yesterday and couldn’t make it work.   I just hope that what I write will be of value to my readers and that you will find encouragement along the way.  Thanks for letting me share part of my life with you through writing.  I’m no expert, just a guy who wants to pursue God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and share what I learn along the way with anyone who will listen.

Well, I doubt you’ll hear from me much over the next week.  We’ll be in Texas enjoying time with family, and hopefully getting the front heater fixed in our van.  The mechanic here wanted $1200 to fix it.  I’ll jerry-rig some electric blankets for the front seat or something before I’ll pay that.  It looks like God is going to give us good traveling weather, so that will help.  The further south we go, the warmer it will get.  YEEHAW!!!   It also looks like the temperature is going to be about 70 on Friday – perfect for horse riding, 4-wheeling, and goat-chasing…or whatever else comes along.  Sorry, I’m not trying to rub it in…or maybe I am.

May God give you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Kissin’ Camels

A few weeks ago, our church was given the opportunity to provide “actors” for a live nativity.  One of our members was helping put it together and said they were having problems finding people to play the parts.  It was a warm day when she asked, and I really wasn’t even thinking about the fact that it could be cold when we did it.  I did say I didn’t want to wear sandals, but that was the only thought I gave to it.  Of course, I don’t even wear sandals in the summer.  I was just thinking about it being a fun and meaningful thing to do. 

<Fast Forward Two Weeks>

Yesterday was a drizzly, foggy kind of day, and there was still snow on the ground from earlier in the week.  We kept waiting on the word that our live nativity would be cancelled, but it never came.  Thankfully, the temperature was above freezing for the first time in about a week.  We were seeing single digit temps earlier in the week.  On Sunday during the minister’s open houses, it was a balmy 12F (I had hoped for weather that warranted a fire because it helps set the atmosphere, but that was a bit much).

Anyway, I have to admit, I was dreading standing out in the cold.  I know how to dress warm, but I don’t like being wet and cold.  In my days in the meat industry, I spent many hours in the cold.  I put several layers on under my kingly robe, which I was later glad to have.  When I got there, I found out we would be out in the open.  For some reason, I had in my mind that we would be under a shelter at the park, but that was reserved for something else going on.  Hmmm… no room in the inn… 

Like I said, it was drizzly and fairly cold as we took our positions, standing in the snow.  Several from our church had volunteered to do this and all showed up inspite of the weather.   We even had live animals (yak, donkey, 2 goats, 3 camels, and 4 sheep), which helped keep some of the kids’ minds off the cold.  Our group did wonderful, and the kids were little troopers. 

I was playing the part of one of the Magi, and they wanted to get our picture with the camels.  Then, the cool part for me happened.  They asked if we just wanted to stand with the camels and hold their leads.  Well, yeah!!  How cool is that?

These were very loving camels.  Their names were Polly, Rosalie, and Amber.  They kept giving kisses and showing affection.  Of course, they could get a little ornery, too, and try to steal my crown.  One of the younger ones kept getting a little restless, but Amber just stood there the whole time.  She was the oldest, at 10.  We were scheduled from 5:30 to 6:00.  The group who came next totally consisted of children.  We Three Kings volunteered to stay and hold the camels during their nativity, as well, which was to last until 6:45.  The next group was short a few people so a couple of us stayed again.  I was actually having way too much fun with the camels and letting people pet them, and I didn’t want to leave.  I was enjoying the giggles and laughs of children who were getting camel kisses.  I stayed until 7:45 when they decided to close things down.  I could have stayed awhile longer.  It was wonderful to be a part of something like that to help bring people back to the real Christmas story.  I can’t wait to do it again next year.

On my way home, an almost familiar kind of smell hit my nostrils…Reminded me of my college days, when I spent a fair amount of time around livestock.  When I got home, I examined things in the light of our garage.  Yep, I had camel hair on my gloves, camel slobber on the sleeves of my coat, and then the ultimate…I had stepped in camel poop.  YES!!!  Not many people can say that.  I know… I’m weird…  I hope the others had half as much fun as I had.

Makes me think of my role as a shepherd.  I need to lovingly lead, as our Good Shepherd does.

May God bring you the true wonder of Christmas in the most unusual ways!

Christmas Light Woes and Wows

It is not particularly fun to get on the house, especially the two story section of our tri-level, to put up Christmas lights.  However, I always do it because my family enjoys them and because we will be having an open house next Sunday where the whole church is invited.  This year, we did it early on a warmer day, so that made it much better.

I have learned in years past to test the strands before putting them up, so we did that.  By the time we got them up, we found that there were two circuits out and one that was blinking.  ARGHHHHHHHH!!!  I went out Friday, thinking, “Okay, I will find a couple of broken or missing bulbs and that will fix the dark circuits.  Then, I’ll find the red tipped bulb and the blinking will stop.  Easy enough, right?   WRONG!  There were no broken or missing bulbs and no red tipped ones, either.

Fortunately, I did an internet search and found some very helpful information written by a man named Terry Ritter.  Here is the website:  http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/LITESHOT.HTM.  I will now call him the man who saved Christmas.  Okay, maybe that’s taking it too far…

I learned that there is something called a shunt that is supposed to keep the circuit going even when a bulb burns out, but it often malfunctions.  I also learned that blinkers are not always red-tipped.  They can be distinguished by a thin strip of metal on the inside of the bulb.  It’s kind of like a brown recluse spider – once you know what it looks like, you can’t miss it.   So, that was the first and easiest problem to fix.

Next, I learned about a tool called the Lightkeeper Pro.   I don’t normally endorse products, but this one actually works!!  You take an empty light socket from the dark circuit and plug it into the Lightkeeper Pro (looks like a pistol and makes a man feel like John Wayne for a minute).  Then, you pull the trigger and it sends a current of electricity into the circuit.  The current then repairs the shunts that aren’t working, kind of like unclogging a pipe and the electricity can then flow through properly again (Here I am talking like some expert, but really I don’t have a clue – I just read this stuff).  It took only one pull of the trigger and both dark circuits came on at the same time.  Of course one of them started blinking after it came on, so I fixed that problem real quick.  I then replaced about six burned out bulbs.  I was amazed -  Finally, a gadget that does what it says it will!!  It saved me gobs of time and frustration, and it will even work on pre-lit Christmas trees.  There’s more to it, but you can read more about it online. 

I came in and blew the end of my Lightkeeper Pro like it was a pistol.  I probably even had a swagger like the Duke himself.  I had a feeling of victory that guys who aren’t so handy like me have when we are finally able to fix something.  My kids were even chanting, “My dad is so awesome, my dad is so awesome…”  Okay, don’t worry, I’m not having a moment of pride here.  We were just having fun, and I wanted to share that.

 I just felt like I needed to post on this for other guys who have ever been discouraged and frustrated by Christmas lights.  You won’t see too many posts like this from me.  I could probably turn this into a devotional, but my brain is too tired today.  :-)

May God bless you as you celebrate His precious Gift to us!