I love the way the Apostle Paul always took time to express his deep gratitude for the blessing of fellowship.  Paul clearly understood how interconnected we are and he frequently used the powerful analogy of our physical bodies to describe our interconnectedness.  Notice how in Ephesians 4:1-6, he describes the deep bonds of unity we share in the Father through the Spirit provided by the sacrifice of our savior.   

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

This year, I have been reminded over and over of how connected I am with all of you.  We truly are members of one body each of us blessed with special talents designed by God for the roles we play in life.  Many of you are members of my church family.  Many of you are members of my work family at PFSweb.  Some of you are members of my physical family.  Most of you share my faith in Jesus Christ but I know there are some who come to Intersections from other faith backgrounds.  For those of you from other faiths, we share a common desire to seek out the reason for life beyond the mere material existence we all experience.  For all of you, I am grateful for your fellowship and your commitment to participate in my walk of faith by reading Intersections and contributing your comments from time-to-time.  Your fellowship strengthens me and enables me to continue working hard to complete the work God has begun in me.

This week as we all focus on being thankful for the blessings we enjoy, I can’t help but be exceedingly thankful for each one of you and the blessing you are in my life.  Since Paul was such as great example of living a life of gratitude, I choose to let his words from Philippians 1:3-6 speak for me today.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!

Previous Intersections Articles

Here am I…	You have the power!	No Authority Except from God!

My family enjoys a rich heritage of story-telling passed down at least from my Grandparents’ generation.  I have no doubt that the tradition of relating the lore of my family actually extends back generations before.  Much of my connectedness to my family comes from the countless stories that my grandparents on both sides of my family told me when I was young.  My Grandpa Willoughby, my Grandpa Craig and my Grandpa Yeager (yes, three Grandpas – I am blessed) were expert story-tellers and through their well-crafted family tales, I was exposed to a tapestry of American frontier history, farm and ranch ethic and family victories and defeats.  Most importantly, they exposed me to a vibrant faith – not the kind of faith that is like a family crest over the mantle – but the kind of faith that colors your existence and permeates your identity.  I am a product of that rich heritage.

Story-telling has always been part of God’s plan for passing heritage and faith from one generation to the next.  The prophet Joel writes in Joel 1:3, 

Hear this, you elders;
   give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
   or in the days of your fathers?
Tell your children of it,
   and let your children tell their children,
   and their children to another generation.

The elders in my family were serious about this responsibility to make sure the children knew about praise-worthy deeds of the Lord that had impacted their lives and the lives of their fathers.  That responsibility passed down to my parents who have upheld the tradition by re-telling the stories to my children along with the new stories of praise-worthy and not so praise-worthy deeds of their father and uncle.  As with my grandparents, my parents relate the stories of the “good ole days” when they were raising their family and the various deeds and misdeeds of their children packaged with the inevitable “moral of the story.”  This most frequently happens around the dinner table during family gatherings in what my friend Richard Beasley calls “teachable moments.”  Teachable moments are those everyday occurrences where you can catch your kids off-guard and teach them a lesson when they’re not expecting it.  I’m sure my kids aren’t expecting a lesson in respect for authority or the consequences of sin when they hear the story when their Nano almost killed her oldest son for sneaking off to the Seven-Eleven against direct orders.  However, amidst the funny story of kid torture, the moral lesson is present.  I think this is what Moses had in mind when he wrote these instructions in Deuteronomy 6:4-9,

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

My kids probably cringe at the thought, but even now Kristal and I are preparing to receive the story-telling baton from our parents and we relish the thought of passing our active faith on to the next generation.  Just think how much fun our grandkids will have as they learn about honesty while hearing the “Dr. Pepper on the carpet story” or the “BB gun and the tractor window story” from their Grandfather.  They will learn about God’s providential care when they hear the “Dr. Phil and the mustang story” and they will learn about perseverance through trial when they hear about the “JV junior year story” from their Grandmother.  When we walk, when we talk, when we lie down – that is our commitment to the next generation.

Join me in making that commitment.  You have stories to tell!

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!

Still Spitting into the Wind	Celebrating a New Work Ethic	My Word is My Bond

I wrote in my last article that I’m not a big fan of the “those were the good ole days” reminiscing which we seem to do as we age.  Sometimes that kind of thinking shows up as an older generation bashes the younger generation.  I think each generation has its own unique challenges and opportunities that combine to create the “personality” of the generation. 

The current crop of millennials (generally defined as kids born from 1976 through 2001) certainly has its challenges including the oft-lamented influence of post-modern thinking.  However, this newest generation also has some tremendous things to offer that distinguish them from previous generations.  In my opinion, the greatest strength of the millennial generation is found in the compassionate hearts of so many of these young men and women.

As I have observed many of these millennials graduating from high-school and college and entering the work force, they have a heart for service and missions that is remarkable and distinctive.  All of us boomers and gen-Xers can learn a lesson or two from these compassionate up-and-comers.  I offer as one example Blake Mycoskie, the founder and “Chief Shoe Giver” at TOMS Shoes.  At the age of 33, Blake is on the leading edge of the millennial generation, but his heart clearly belongs to this mission-minded bunch.

From Blake’s bio:

While vacationing in 2006, Blake befriended children in Argentina who had no shoes to protect them during long walks to food, water, and school. Upset that such a simple need was going unmet, he created TOMS Shoes. With every pair purchased, TOMS gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.

Blake returned and began selling the original TOMS from his Venice, California apartment. Later that year, TOMS returned to Argentina to hand-deliver 10,000 pairs of shoes.

Since its beginning in May 2006, TOMS has given over 400,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the purchases of caring customers, and the One for One movement continues to gain followers around the world.

On September 13^th and 14^th, Blake will be a guest on the ACU campus sharing his story and his mission with the millennial students.  I think I may have to figure out how to be on campus on that Monday.  I encourage you to visit the TOMS Shoe web site (www.toms.com) to learn more about Blake and his inspirational story.  While there, you might want to buy some shoes and help some barefoot children in the process!

So, what does Blake’s pioneering business model have to do with work ethic and genuine faith?  Think about work ethic from a little different perspective while you read James 2:14-17:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Blake saw little brothers and sisters without clothes and he did something about it both personally and through his business.  I think that is a new work ethic that is worth celebrating.

Way to go, millennials!

As I wrapped up this article, a song by Brandon Heath popped up on my shuffled iTunes playlist.  Brandon Heath is another millennial with a heart for missions.  Coincidence?  I leave you with the lyrics from the chorus of Give Me Your Eyes.

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the one’s forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing

 Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!