Rick Nier...Woo!

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...

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...

Who do you call on when the wife and mother are sick and the family still needs to eat? Normally I'd say my good friend Papa John. But we'd already called him. The illness lingered on and the children demanded to be fed more than once in a week's time. (Remind me to write about this demanding entitled generation, wanting to eat every single day.) So anyway, back to the original question. Who do you call when the wife is sick and stuff still needs to be done? That's right! You call the dad! So I decided to go grocery shopping. I could have made the list myself, but my wife thought I might not always make the best decisions. I'm not sure what she's talking about. Keebler is a quality product, am I right? List in hand, I trudged alone into the aisled wilderness. And I wandered. And wandered... Recognizing products that were often found in my kitchen, I threw them into my cart. Was there backtracking due to a poorly organized list? Maybe. But don't...

God died for me. Say that to yourself a few times. Perhaps highlight each word in your mind...or allow me. God died for me. God died  for me. God died for  me. God died for me . I struggle to allow other people to get the check at a shared meal. Well, at least let me get the tip.  I refuse small gifts all the time, either from some false sense of deprivation or some feeling of not wanting to put the other person to any trouble. Normal gifts; a cup of water, help with a small project, time spent listening to my problems. Normal amounts: nothing life changing like a kidney transplant or buying me a home. Normal people: with apologies to people who want to feel extraordinary every single day, I'm talking about people who are basically just like me. They're not better or worse...just people. Yet I struggle to accept their gifts. So what makes me so readily willing to accept this gift of God? God, not like me in any way. Better in every way. Inconceivably mor...

If you’re reading this in August of 2013, it means I am still catching up on sleep lost while at Camp Chenaniah in July. If you’re reading it at any time later than August, I’m still catching up on sleep. I’m just doing so for some other reason. The main reason I lost so much sleep, besides the normal camp reasons, is that I was counseling in the senior high cabin. This meant, of course, that most of the campers were taller than me. If they were in any sport, they probably outweighed me as well. So, unlike my partner counselors who were 6-foot or taller, respect for my leadership would not be coming because of my imposing physique. When I overheard some of the campers comment that they had not heard any rules about pranks from the director at the opening session, I knew I would need to sleep with one eye open all week. This was a good thing, because there was at least one camper that liked to sit and stare. I’m pretty sure he was plotting. What kept me awake was my lack of knowing ...

Sometimes the real thank you comes years later. This is because it sometimes takes years before we truly understand the cost of the gift. It's not that we aren't appreciative at the time, but our gratitude multiplies as our understanding grows. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours putting together a rather large toy. To be specific, it was the U.S.S. Flag, a G.I. Joe aircraft carrier that I had received as a boy. G.I. Joe was an obsession for me as a kid, so when it came time for me to put childish things away, I chose to pack up my extensive collection, in the hopes that I might someday have a boy of my own who would appreciate such a collection. Some 5-30 years later, that day has arrived. My boy's collection is now complete, with this: Having now built it myself, I can give a truly heartfelt thank you to my mom. As I put this 7-foot ship together, I recalled that my mom would stay up late on Christmas Eve, putting together all of the G.I. Joe toys, like mo...

Except for the grace of God, I would have been a single father. I'm not trying to be melodramatic about this, but upon this realization, I had to stop and praise God. Then I instantly felt the need to share this story with any who would listen. My wife went to a conference last Thursday. She took 4 co-workers along with her. From point A to point B was a bit over two hours. No more than thirty minutes from home, they heard a thump, thump, thump. Being somewhat near a guy they knew could help check for things, they made an unscheduled stop. The guy, a dad of one of the co-workers, checked it out. They checked the tires. It wasn't a flat. He took the truck out for a spin and couldn't hear anything. Perhaps it was just 5 ladies hearing things. (Just kidding, ladies!) With the thumping gone, they continued on. As they continued on, the thumping came back. On Saturday, the thumping grew worse. Thinking it was engine trouble, they decided to trek on home and figure it out t...

Given the fact that my schedule has been a bit busier than normal, my blog and article reading has taken a dive, similar to my exercise schedule when close to the holidays. Serious. Nose. Dive. This is not to say I haven't been reading. It's just been limited to books. So check out the blog on Mondays for all the recent reads. As for who to Woo!, this one goes out to all of you. It's quite difficult to go through a 6-week sermon series on thankfulness (including the one I praught) and not find gratitude for others. So, if you are connected to me somehow, I Woo! you. (Yeah, that feels a little awkward saying it like that. Oh well.) To the people who hold my heart, like family, thank you. To the people who share secrets and likes and dislikes, like close friends, thank you. To the people who work and worship and serve alongside me, like my church family, thank you. And yes, even to those who are sometimes a pain in my side, thanks for letting me work on patience and ...

It’s November. And November is synonymous with inducing a coma caused by the tryptophan in turkey (the food, not the country). Or, as we in America call it, Thanksgiving. Ahh, that beautiful holiday when we gather together with family, eat too much, sleep through a Detroit Lions game and then go home. You know about the ride home, right? That is when you share with your spouse how her family bothers you. I have to confess I feel a tad guilty being snarky about Thanksgiving. After all, it is a legit American holiday. Thankfulness is something that is encouraged in the Bible. It’s even the topic of our theme at our church this month (and 90% of other churches as well). Shouldn’t I just write out my list of things I’m thankful for and then move on to writing some devotional for next month’s church newsletter, something along the lines of a great gift of shoes I once gave my mom? Everybody knows that when you're writing about Christmas, you have to include lyrics to at least one inspir...

My kids love speaking Spanish. They only know 6 or 7 words, but for some reason it brings them great joy to speak Spanish. When Luke, my 7-year old, was first learning it, he insisted I have conversations with him in Spanish. Here’s how it would go; Luke: Hola! Me: Hola! Como esta? Luke: Y tu? When translated, it looks like this. Luke: Hi! Me: Hi. How are you? Luke: And you? I never said my kids were very good at speaking Spanish. When I pointed out where he went wrong, this only caused him to laugh uncontrollably and do it repeatedly. My children are quite stellar at repeating things, especially when those things are my bad habits. I got to thinking about this because we are on the verge of repeating another round of holidays; Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year. And while I am not a bah-hum-bug, I don't exactly go running up and down the streets like Jimmy Stewart shouting 'Season's Greetings' to anyone and everyone. Just ask my wife how I react when sh...

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. ~2 Chronicles 7:13-16 Revival! The very word breeds energy. It gets the juices flowing. And nothing speaks of revival more than this interchange between God and Solomon. This happens just after Solomon finishes the Temple of God, although I imagine, as king, Solomon did not actually get his hands dirty. But whatever... I'm also quite sure that this little conversation happens long before Solomon writes Ecclesaistes, when everything is meanin...

My kids love speaking Spanish. They only know 6 or 7 words, but for some reason it brings them great joy to speak Spanish. When Luke, my 7-year old, was first learning it, he insisted I have conversations with him in Spanish. Here’s how it would go; Luke: Hola! Me: Hola! Como esta? Luke: Y tu? When translated, it looks like this. Luke: Hi! Me: Hi. How are you? Luke: And you? I never said my kids were very good at speaking Spanish. When I pointed out where he went wrong, this only caused him to laugh uncontrollably and do it repeatedly. My children are quite stellar at repeating things, especially when those things are my bad habits. I got to thinking about this because we are on the verge of repeating another round of holidays; Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year. And while I am not a bah-hum-bug, I don't exactly go running up and down the streets like Jimmy Stewart shouting 'Season's Greetings' to anyone and everyone. Just ask my wife how I react when sh...

It’s November. And November is synonymous with inducing a coma caused by the tryptophan in turkey (the food, not the country). Or, as we in America call it, Thanksgiving. Ahh, that beautiful holiday when we gather together with family, eat too much, sleep through a Detroit Lions game and then go home. You know about the ride home, right? That is when you share with your spouse how her family bothers you. I have to confess I feel a tad guilty being snarky about Thanksgiving. After all, it is a legit American holiday. Thankfulness is something that is encouraged in the Bible. It’s even the topic of our theme at our church this month (and 90% of other churches as well). Shouldn’t I just write out my list of things I’m thankful for and then move on to writing some devotional for next month’s church newsletter, something along the lines of a great gift of shoes I once gave my mom? Everybody knows that when you're writing about Christmas, you have to include lyrics to at least one inspir...