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...

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...

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...

Here we are. It's 2020! Of course you know what that means, right? It's time for YMCA's, gyms, and other workout facilities to offer deals for everyone who resolved to get in better shape. This is the Black Friday for those places because we've all spent the last month over-indulging and telling ourselves we'd get back to a disciplined lifestyle after the holidays.  The holidays are over and do you want to know how many official resolutions I have made?  None. Zero. Zilch. Just like the amount of cookies I am going to let you smack out of my hand, I am not making any new resolutions. Why? Because resolutions are for those who aren't already awesome. Listen, I'm not saying I don't have things to work on, like humility .  Really, no resolutions? via GIPHY I told my kids that instead of making resolutions for myself this year, I would be making resolutions for them. They were super excited to hear that.  I should confess this id...

Do you know what a whipping boy is? I looked it up. It's  a person who is blamed or punished for the faults or incompetence of others.  The problem with a whipping boy is that he is whipped so often people begin to assume he deserves it. Or the boy just accepts his fate and acts into the very nature of who people believe he is.  But who is defending the whipping boy? Who is taking a second look and asking if the boy really deserves all of the ire he is receiving? Today, it’s me.    via GIPHY Social Media is the Whipping Boy  Social media is just entering its adolescent years, and like many adolescents, it is acting in some strange and unconventional ways that make people question what is going on.  Many words have been written about the dangers of social media, none the least of which would be the supposed separation from real life interactions. But it doesn’t take a highly educated look to put some things together and no...

In the beginning there was an idea. It wasn't our idea. The idea stemmed from the Creator of all things. Being relational, God let His idea come to fruition. This idea, to create people who would love their Creator, was a good idea. It is a good idea. But it was not the only idea.  Some may have assumed the idea's next part. Because we were made in the image of One who loves, we were also intended to love one another. This idea was also good . And it makes sense. If we love our Creator and understand that He meets all our needs, we are then set loose to freely give of the love born in us.  via GIPHY In theory, these ideas can work together seamlessly, with the creation crying out to the Creator. This alone should fill us up. At the same time, we can express unique qualities given to us by a very imaginative Creator. After all, we are better off when each part of the body does as intended. "This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members car...

Have you ever come across someone who was really bold, but not necessarily in the good way? It's the person you agreed to give a ride to, and along the way they ask you if they can make a second stop. It's someone asking for money and then you watch them spend it on something they didn't need. It could be the child who comes to the dinner table and announces why they don't like what you cooked. Maybe it is the people who refuse to help, yet criticize the work being done.  The nerve of some people, right? It's the guy being crucified next to God. This guy being crucified for being a thief. Yeah, the guy who, according to Roman rule, deserved to be there. We're given no indication that this guy, this thief, had anyone there who was about to miss him. That guy. He turns to Jesus and asks if he can get into Heaven.  Can you believe that? via GIPHY The only thing more incredible than his request is the answer he receives from Jesus.  Yes. Ye...

I’m almost an adult.  I’m sure I’m not the first parent in history who is sick of hearing that phrase. For those who may not have experienced such a thrill, it happens when your child is seventeen and decides the rules and limitations you have placed on them should no longer apply.  Because, after all, they are almost an adult. What’s So Special About Eighteen? Ah, eighteen, that magical age when you suddenly become capable of making every decision for yourself. Why? Because the government, that institution we trust with so many important decisions, declares you to be an adult. After all, you’re able to die for your country. You’re qualified to help decide the next leader of our nation. And you can smoke.  Welcome to the club! You’re an adult! Woohoo! You’re now free and independent, with no authority left to rule over you and give you any restrictions. No authority except for landlords, bosses, police officers, and the aforementioned government o...

Here is how some conversations with myself go.  Me: I should post a new article on my blog a couple of times each week. Also me: You haven’t posted an article in over a month! Me: This time could be different. I could be more focused. Sarcastic me: Yep, because that’s how life works.  Really Sarcastic Me: Please hurry because dozens of people are waiting on pins and needles to hear your thoughts.  The really sarcastic me can often be quite mean. And, to be honest, some conversations with myself are way worse than this one.  The truth is, I have no promises to myself, nor guarantees to you, on how often I am going to post. An honest review of my posts reveals too many that start with “Wow, it’s been a while since I posted...remember when I said I wanted to write?”  Here is what I am telling myself, while pushing the mean and sarcastic voices down. I have something to say. I have something to offer. Encouragement, hope, insight. S...