Rick Nier...Woo!

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a...

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his ...

The leadership had discussed, deliberated and decided. There had certainly been debate. People felt strongly on both sides.  ‘If we allow this to happen, everything we stand for will mean nothing.’ Honestly, both sides were saying it and both felt it was a matter of salvation. ‘Agree with me or I don’t know how you could possibly be a Christian.’ After all, all the facts support my view. If you choose to believe otherwise, it is only because of  your preconceived or ill-conceived view of matters. I cannot possibly be judged for considering you to be less intelligent, less caring, or less than Christ-like if you oppose my view.  That’s what everyone, on both sides of the argument, was saying. The issue at hand was, of course, circumcision. I’m sorry, did you assume I was talking about something else?   The Council in Jerusalem had just met. It’s recorded in Acts 15 if you’d like to review it. Everyone who was anyone was there and they made certain their voice was hear...

If I told you that you needed to trust in God, you might assume that you already do. After all, you've went to church, or at least you did before a global pandemic hit our planet. Now you watch church and you're doing your best to balance the realities of our new normal with the lessons on trust you remember from your past. After all, God never said you shouldn't go see a doctor, and I'm not advocating that you only practice home healthcare.  But considering all the many amenities available to us, even during a worldwide crisis, it's fair to ask ourselves if we're living lives of trust or simply living with enough less to differentiate ourselves from those gluttonous monsters who never acknowledge God.  Do We Really Want to Compare? If comparisons are your game, let's play this game we can't possibly hope to win. Would you spend 100 years of your life building a boat in preparation for a worldwide flood? Never mind that Noah had previously never heard of...

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...

So I have joined the non-envious group of those who have caught their personal share of the pandemic. That’s right, I joined Club COVID.  Now, don’t worry. I’m not here to discuss whether or not we should wear masks, social distance, or isolate forever. I think you know better than to come to this blog for such weighty matters.  Per usual, I’m here to share my thoughts, perhaps some feelings, and just maybe highlight something of importance.  ALL BY MYSELF First of all, from first symptoms to end of isolation, I’ve been in my room, alone, for roughly 482 days straight. The wife has slid some medicine underneath the door from time to time. The kids have adjusted to a one-parent household just a little too nicely.  I can hear their laughter across the house, no doubt as they discuss how to divide my belongings. The joke’s on them. I am still in the process of applying a recent sermon from my pastor, so I have a lot of excess they’ll need to clean through.  But the...

The other day I was talking with my neighbor, and we were discussing all the raking we had been doing. (Needless to say, I have done more, but that’s not the point.)  I wondered aloud what it would be like if God had designed all the leaves to fall off the trees at the same time. The thought of being under a tree when all of its leaves came down in one big lump amused me. Can you imagine the trauma it might cause kids who are playing outside? The thought amused me even more.  My neighbor, who takes care of his yard to a degree that most of us can only aspire to (and then some) commented that we’d all have dead grass. Thanks, Johnny Raincloud. He might be right. Seeing a pile of leaves waist-deep would be very discouraging and might keep more of us from all the raking that we do. After all, we still rake all the leaves, but the work has been spread out over weeks.  Yes, I’m getting tired of my rake now, but a pile consisting of every leaf my trees ever held would feel insu...

I think you’re going to be glad you read my blog today. I think I’ve stumbled upon a great new idea that will revolutionize all your relationships. Which is to say, I’m going to attempt to tell you in a new way the old truth that has always been intended to be a part of healthy relationships.  So let’s clearly define the problem.  (Takes deep breath and attempts informercial announcer voice) Do you find yourself struggling with people? Have you been up late at night wondering what’s going on in their heads? Does the thought of living in this mysterious middle ground of not knowing their thoughts yet not being able to help others leave you feeling distressed? Is there anything that can be done? Yes, there is! From the Maker of relationships comes this revolutionary new product called Discourse. Yessss, Discourse has been found to remedy confusion, misunderstanding, breakdowns in communication, hurt feelings, lack of emotional connection, and so much more.  Here’s the best ...

The goal of encouraging has nothing to do with the consequences to ourselves. Two of my kids run cross country. Before I had kids run cross country I assumed it was even less exciting to watch than it sounds. Seriously, I’m running for two reasons; if someone is chasing me or if there’s still some dessert left. As a parent I now drive hours on a school night so I can watch my kids run for about fifteen minutes. The upside is we get takeout after. At least one of us has earned it. Middle school cross country is basically watching people run, wondering if they will one day be faster. I also wonder which of the of the middle schoolers did something really awful that caused their parents to force them to run. The Benefit of Cross Country Here's what cross country has a greater amount than any other sport; encouragement. By everyone. For everyone. My kid. Your kid. First place. Last place. The real last place when you didn’t realize some kid was still running the race. There’s no yellin...

I recently read a post by a Christian author who was coming out. Because, hey, celebration. (If you're deciding right now whether or not to continue reading, I get it. But the first line is not the crux of my thoughts here today.) His wife, according to his post, was supporting it. They were working on the next steps, which would obviously include happy celebratory events like divorce and a broken home. (Are you still deciding whether or not you'll finish? I get it.) But I'm not going to attempt to defend an institution, marriage, that has long since lost its foundation in the eyes of society. At this point, I hope we can agree marriage seems to have become something people do when they feel like it. (So if I'm not writing to defend my marriage, you might wonder what my purpose is here today. Thanks for asking!) What struck me about this author's post was the end. He said he would block anyone who tried to confront him or had any judgment for him.  Wait, that's ...

Upset. Yeah, that’s one word I have for it. But I have more.  Anger. Frustration. Tired. Over it. Fatigued. Disagreeable. Those are some more words I have. Life’s narrative that we call 2020 has brought on quite a few opinions, but I’m not sure any of us should be surprised. There’s over seven billion people on the planet and if you bring up any topic, ANY TOPIC, you’re going to get about as many opinions.  Corn or flour tortillas? Pepsi or Coke? Is a hot dog a sandwich? Should the words  oatmeal and  raisin ever be used in the same sentence as  cookie . The answer to that last question is yes. As long as the sentence is, please don’t ever put oatmeal and raisin into my cookie.  Lots of opinions, but we haven’t even gotten to the more important questions.  Should I be forced to wear a mask if I’m healthy? Should we send our kids back to school? Are there really only these two options for president? Are some of these officers murderers?  Woah, woah...

So, I haven't posted in a while...again...it's not corona, it's life keeping me busy. But I have something for you today, but it wasn't written by me. It was written by my wife, Jennifer. When she talks, I listen. Be encouraged! Dealing with Disappointment Is anyone else feeling it?  Day 17 of quarantine.  Social distancing.  Stay at home.  Church online.  School canceled.  Events canceled.  Spring Break trips canceled or put on hold.   This spring break my family had a big trip planned, which hasn’t happened for us in a very long time.  It’s our oldest daughter’s senior year of high school and we wanted to make it special and take a trip we’ve never taken before.  Flying to Orlando (which my children don’t remember ever flying as they were ages 6, 4 and 1), and fun in the sun for an entire week.  We booked the trip 8 months ago and have planned, planned and planned u...

You know those posts that talk about Jesus and then attempt to shame us into sharing? They are the ones that talk about how we share jokes every day but when something talks about Jesus, we just scroll on by.  Never mind they might be a repeat of an email we were forwarding to all our friends twenty years ago, the shaming is ridiculous. As if Jesus would only be convinced of our love for Him when we hit share on a social media post. But... There’s something they get right.  via GIPHY What Will We Hate on this Week? I was thinking about this the other day when I had a Nickelback song stuck in my head. (That’s right, I said it.) Everyone loves to hate on Nickelback, saying all their songs sound the same. That might be true. But if you like that one Nickelback song, then you’ll enjoy all of them.  The thing is Nickelback is the band everyone loves to hate...right now. But twenty years ago it was someone else. And isn’t there always a recent boy band...

The last few years have seen people selecting their word for the year. I’ve often wondered if those words should be their word for January.  Much like resolutions, these things tend to fade. via GIPHY But nevertheless, I have led my family these past few years into different streams of thought as we focused in on something that benefitted us by paying it attention.  There was the year of Adventure , a year my family will not soon forget.  There was the year of Extra , when we worked hard at pouring ourselves into the newest places God had placed us.  There was a year of Connection , where new roots were planted, new friendships developed.  So what now?  I almost hesitate because I feel lost in the moment. But what a moment! I have begun classes again, this one focused on prayer and bringing with it 6 books for reading. That’s right. Six books. Eight weeks.   I’m sure it’ll be fine.  The one I’m curre...

Do you know what would make a great name for an epic hero? Nimrod. That’s right. Nimrod. The name you might hear relatives and friends calling someone they find to be stupid. Oh, wait, that doesn’t sound epic, does it? It didn’t to me either. But at one time... “Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ~Genesis 10:8-9 Nimrod was such a warrior that the next few verses detail the cities he built and the kingdom he established. Warrior, hunter, hero. Thy name is Nimrod. Making Your Own Great Name One would assume the name of the first mighty warrior to walk the earth would still be revered. But go ahead and tell someone they remind you of Nimrod and see how that goes over for you.  via GIPHY See, unlike other biblical names which are hard to spell and harder to pronounce, Nimrod now has a negative con...

Buckle up boys and girls. We’re about to go on a wild ride today. When we consider the early chapters of Genesis, there are basically two camps; those who believe God created other people after He created Adam and Eve. And there are those of us who believe the early years were a purer version of Kentucky. You know what I mean, where kissing cousins is encouraged. Don’t come at me Kentucky. I know it’s not everyone down there, but you know where they are. We're going to do some math today. But wait, before you tune me out, we're also going to talk about sex. That's right. You'll be glad you stayed. So what are we talking about? How much coupling could the first couple couple? Math Time! How many kids are we talking about here? So, why all the baby math? I was conversing with friends about whether or not God created other people after He created Adam and Eve. As is normally the case when this conversation comes up, the question bothering people is whether ...