Sometime later God tested Abraham.  He said to him, “Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied.  Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.  He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac…and set out for the place…On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance…

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together [up the mountain]…Isaac…said…“The fire and the wood are here…but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide…”  And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him…

“Abraham!  Abraham!”

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said, “Do not do anything to him.  Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

                                                Genesis 22: 1-12 (NIV)

If what I see outside my window this morning is any indication of what the day will be like—it’s fixing to be a beautiful day.  A bit warm again perhaps, but it’s cool inside, so I’m good.

But then I read this verse and see that God is talking to me again about putting something on the altar.

It’s a great story if we could just leave it there—as a story—about a father and a son—Abraham and Isaac.  But God never seems to do that—he just keeps tapping us on the shoulder until He really gets our attention, until things become discomforting.  Until something seems to stick. 

What will you put on the altar for Me? 

I wonder what we are willing to put on the altar if God asks.  Or maybe He asked and we pretended to be asleep, or busy?  And to be perfectly clear and vulnerable, let me share something with you that all of you who know me already know to be true:  Abraham is a better man than I. 

I don’t know how you do what Abraham did.  I don’t know where that kind of obedience to God exists today.  To sacrifice something that precious—to and at the request of God.  Your son.  Your grandchildren.  Whomever.  I don’t want to sell anyone out there short, but I’m not sure I’ve seen that kind of faith, obedience and sacrifice in a while.

Maybe that’s the problem.  Or maybe I’ve seen it—but have forgotten.  Our servicemen and women come close.  Maybe I need a refresher course, though, in this thing called obedience to God.  Maybe we all do.

That’s why, I suspect, I was led to share most of this story, above, which God shared with us in Genesis.  Maybe the lesson of Abraham’s unwavering faith is something we need to reflect upon again.

But, maybe that’s the problem.  God calls us to complete obedience and sacrifice, and well, sometimes we come part way at least.  Here I sit in my den in comfortable surroundings, looking out the window and reading the story of Abraham’s faith, obedience and sacrifice—and seem to understand the lesson—but I wonder if put to the test I would do what he did.

Don’t make me answer just yet.

Maybe that’s the problem with us as a nation, as churches, as communities, as espoused followers of Christ—we understand the lesson of Abraham in our heads—but when it comes to walking that journey with our hearts and lives—now that’s a different story.

And what about the story of Isaac?  Isaac was a young man who was strong enough to carry the wood that would be stacked on the altar for his funeral fire.  Abraham was an old man, and if Isaac didn’t want to go through with this scheme God hatched, certainly he could run or, at least, he could keep Abraham away from him.  He certainly had the youth and strength to prevent this from happening.

But his heart told him otherwise. He trusted God and he trusted his Dad.  And he allowed his Dad to bind him and place him on the altar.  I’ll bet Isaac climbed upon on the altar himself—that’s the heart of obedience, faith and sacrifice he had for God.

Abraham put his son on the altar in obedience to God.  Isaac put himself on the altar in obedience to God.  What is God calling us to put on the altar—in obedience, faith and sacrifice to Him?  Money, wealth, things, work-a-holism, anger, something someone did to us we need to forgive, comfort, selfishness, doubt, a habit you know God isn’t smiling upon and which is keeping you from becoming all He created you to be, greed, maybe our very lives.

The story of Abraham and Isaac is more than a story about a father and son, about the father of many and the son who trusted him.  It is the reminder of the continual call on our lives to obedience, to faith and to sacrifice.

By the way, the place where Abraham built the altar to sacrifice Isaac—Mount Moriah—later was unearthed and became known as Calvary.

What is God calling you to put on the altar?

Something for us to think about today and every day for the rest of our lives.  

                                                                        In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

            I share these with you again from a few years ago.  Offered as a reminder of things which we need to embrace—for these days.  God bless you.  Scott

********************

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil.”  1 Chronicles 4:10 (NIV)

            It was a big moment for a little girl.  My precious five-month-old Granddaughter, Elise Katherine, had already shrieked, laughed and smiled when she saw me.  Then, in an intimate moment as I leaned close to kiss her, and with her hand stuffed in her mouth, she quietly whispered her very first word:  “Granddaddy.”  I’m almost positive that’s what she said! 

It was a bit “gurgled”, but I’m sure of it, although she won’t say it again in front of others.  Actually, she isn’t saying anything else at this time.  And so it remains our little secret, and a big moment in her life, at least in the heart and perhaps imaginative ear and eye of this beholder.

            A few moments earlier, after I had picked up my other precious Granddaughter, Hannah, from a long day at school, we were ordering her a snack in the drive-thru lane at a nearby fast-food restaurant.   “Let’s see, Hannah” I summarized, “you would like a small Frosty…a small ½ ‘lemolade’—½ Sprite…and small fries?”  “Yes Granddaddy, except I would like Biggie fries.”  Wow!  Imagine that—Biggie fries.  Nothing small or ordinary about that imagination; and she ate them all. 

Imagine that.

            And Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory…”  Here was a man whose future had been cast for him to be extraordinarily “ordinary.”  His name took care of that, as it meant…“he will cause pain.”  The picture that had been painted for Jabez of a special remarkable future seemed to be blank.  Yet he would not be denied, and he imagined something more for himself.  He had heard about a God Who had performed miracles through the years to help His children.  And that same God of miracles Who had created him, he reasoned, surely would want more than “ordinary” for his life?

            And, of course, he was right.

            So, what do you imagine for the rest of your life?  What big, special and remarkable future do you imagine has been painted for the remainder of your days?  What dreams still flicker within your heart?  What relationship do you want restored?  What child needs their life lifted just enough to see the sunshine just beyond the rainbow? 

Or perhaps you’re seeing the picture that others have painted through the years for you of “ordinary”; no miracle moments like first words at age five-months or Biggie fries for a tiny girl after school.  Perhaps you’ve heard too many times that “you’re not a good test-taker” or “that’s just too big to try” or “you can never do that” or “you probably won’t like that” or the clincher “what if you try, and fail?” 

Perhaps you remind yourself that you’ll never amount to as much as He created you to be, because you’ve failed so many times before. 

Better order the small fries next time. 

Perhaps you’ve been told that you’re an underachiever and probably should be satisfied with that. 

Better just order the small fries next time. 

Perhaps you’re still swimming in your own pity party after losing a loved one whose life was anything but pity parties, yet there you swim “honoring” their legacy in your own self-made swill.

Better just order the small fries next time.

            Here’s the generational tragedy in that kind of thinking.  We pass that same kind of cruddy thinking on to our children.  The same messages we received as a child—the ones which slowly eroded our own confidence in the unlimited possibilities of what He created us for, and who He created us to be—we pass on to our children.  The same defeating messages we have finally resigned ourselves to live—received among the disappointments and defeats along life’s journey—we pass along to our children, either through negligence, resignation, jealousy or spite.  And in the process we white-wash the special future created for them by the God of all creation.

Yet today is the first day of the rest of your life, as well as the first day in the rest of the lives of our “children of ages” around us and upon whom you and I have an influence.  And we need to remember that God’s history is replete with His children who down through the ages have sought to overcome the ordinary expectations of others and imagined something special for their lives…something as big as God. 

“Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory…” 

Imagine that. 

Yes, imagine that, and claim that, and order the Biggie fries.

In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

”I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

He set my feet on a rock and gave me a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust…”                                                                                                  Psalm 40: 1-4 (NIV)

From their view off the fifth-floor balcony, our two Granddaughters had seen it in the distance just the day before.  Their beautiful creation in the sand was still standing despite the odds being against it lasting even to the end of the day on which it was built.

             A day later, Lynda and I left our much-too-few-days at the beach with Hannah and Ellie Kate; but before we did we decided to take one more walk on the beach.  And so after packing the car for the return, checking out, waving goodbye to dear friends—we made our way to the beach for one last moment together.

            And as we entered the beach in the usual area, there it stood—the sandcastle and moat created by our two Granddaughters three days earlier—still a part of the glistening smooth sandy surface of the beach.  It had been eroded just a bit from the ocean breezes that had whipped regularly across those sands during the past few days, but it still clearly stood out as the castle they had created—never having been washed away by the regularly rising-and-falling surf as had happened to other sand creations up and down the stretch of beach.

            The reason—our girls had built the sandcastle and moat just outside the highest mark of the highest tide of the day.  They had carefully gauged, and then constructed, their sand creations, just beyond the farthest reaches of the crashing foam, waves and surge of the sea.  And as a result, all that they had built had remained safe and secure on the steadier and more predictably solid sand beyond the highest-tide marks of the shoreline.

            What would you have done?  I’m not sure I would have paid attention to the high-tide line as I started to build the sandcastle and moat.  I wonder if that’s not a bit like some of the days of my life—turning my head from the safety and security of a more solid foundation while taking off in one direction after another.  A bit like many days of some of your lives perhaps—when we go off on our own without an appreciation as to what we face, or what might be the best course for us to take—making mighty good time, but not exactly sure where we’re headed, or why we were headed that way. 

And even more poignantly and importantly, we head off on our own without waiting upon or seeking the direction of the Lord for our lives.  And—not at all like what our two Granddaughters did a few days ago—we instead, too often build our days, start our journeys, and plant our feet in the shifting sands and the low-tide pools of problems and uncertainties without first patiently seeking His guidance and direction. 

And so we often find ourselves in the midst of the onrush of a surging sea, crashing waves and blowing winds, when all the while He stood ready, waiting patiently, to place our feet upon higher ground, upon a solid rock, and above the high-tide water mark of the oncoming problems, uncertainties and obstacles that often await our next steps. 

And yet, even as He watches us head off in our own directions—as the psalmist wrote in the Psalm set out above—He is there to lift us out of the surging sea, crashing surf and howling winds, and put our feet back on solid ground, above the high-tide water marks of life.

Pretty neat Guy—our God!

Pretty neat sandcastle builder too—I suspect! 

                                                            In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

            “When I was a child, I could see the wind in the trees,

                        And I heard a song in the breeze,

                                    It was there, singing out my name.”  

(“Who I Was Born to Be”—Susan Boyle)

It was what I told my son when he called one day in May a few years ago to share with me that he believed God had laid on his heart for him to write—and in particular as he began—a book with his friend, Tony Dungy.  As I listened, I fought back my first and more practical response—because I knew that Nathan had already figured out what he would need to do to take care of his family while following this call on his life.

Instead, I told Nathan what I have had the chance to tell countless others—young and old, male and female—through the years: 

“Minimize the moments in life where you will look back and say…

 ‘I wish I had done that.’”

With the blessing and support of his bride and daughters, he stepped out onto the path he felt God was calling him to, and the journey has led to the writing of five books and more in the planning stages.  By the way, that original book “Quiet Strength” became the all-time best-selling sports autobiography.

Somebody must have told Susan Boyle the same thing—her Mother, I suspect—which finally led her to stand, rather plain and unassuming in appearance, on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent on January 21, 2009 and announce to a mildly mocking audience and three less-than-impressed judges, that she wanted to be a singer like England’s great Elaine Paige.  And then Susan Boyle sang, and her notoriety and career took wing and shortly thereafter she released her first album which sold 4½ million copies in two weeks.

“And though I may not know the answers,

I can finally say I am free,

And if the questions led me here,

Then I am who I was born to be.”

            And in the process of being who he was born to be, the books which Nathan has co-authored have blessed the lives of millions.  In the process of following her dream, which others initially mocked, Susan Boyle has blessed millions with her voice.  They both have inspired others to step out to do the same. 

No doubt the temptation to get caught up in the secular things of “success” is tempting and ever-present for them, like best-seller lists, album sales, and rubbing elbows with celebrities as “new friends,” and other similar enticing “things” of the world.  Those things seem to provide a narcotic sense of “self-worth”—but I think they both realize it isn’t real or lasting. Good friends and caring family will remind them of that.  Instead, all of those secular things are transient, and when viewed for those purposes alone—are empty, meaningless and unfulfilling.

            In their better and best moments—Nathan and his bride understand the bigger and best picture God is trying to paint with Nathan’s talents and her support.  I suspect Susan Boyle has the same perspective.    

            And it was what caused me to start Impact for Living a few years ago—through a dream laid upon my heart late one night.  It was a dream to inspire and allow God to transform people and recognize that God has created them in this one-time-around-world to have an impact that no one else can have but them—an eternal impact.

It is a dream, now turned into reality, through God’s grace, guidance and the belief and support of so many others.  A reality that is helping people—and with the current national ministry emphasis on men—to understand that the bigger picture of our lives is painted by the God who has created each one of us uniquely to leave a legacy that only we can leave, day-by-day.  To embrace a journey of incredible impact that changes not only our own life but the lives of others around us, and in the process forever expands His Kingdom.

                        “And so here am I, open arms and ready to stand,

                                    I’ve got the world in my hands,

                                                And it feels like my turn to fly.”

            So, what is it that God has laid on your heart and is calling you to do?  Sing?  Write?  Start a ministry?  Mentor a child?  Be a better husband or wife?  Spend more time with your children?  Be a friend to someone who has none?

            When you draw your last breath—who will be at your side?  What will the lasting impact of your life be?  What eternal and Godly imprint on the lives of others will you have left on them?  What will you have used the resources of your life for—your time, talent and treasures?  What legacy will you have left behind?  What will be the words others will speak about you while eulogizing the memory of your life?

            When you draw that last breath—how long will the list be of those things that you wish you had done?

            Just something for us all to think about today and for the rest of our lives.

                                                                        In His Name—Scott

P.s.  Remember (for Gainesville area folks) “The Mentor Leader” book signing with Coach/Author Tony Dungy and Co-author Nathan Whitaker—Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 7—9 PM, Books-a-Million on Newberry Road, Gainesville, FL (near Stein Mart and Oaks Mall).

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.     

“We have this treasure (Jesus Christ) in jars of clay (those who believe in Christ) to show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are handicapped on every side, but we’re never frustrated; we’re puzzled, but never in despair; we’re persecuted, but never stand alone;

We may be knocked down, but we’re never knocked out.”  

2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (The Living Bible)

“Look Gran, they gave me a blanket and pillow and a bottle of water!” 

My younger Granddaughter, Ellie Kate’s, amazed voice painted the picture of what she found neatly placed in her seat as we boarded the plane the other day to spend a few days in the mountains with her Mimi.  Moments later she received her first Sprite while waiting to take off.  Not too long after those experiences, she would discover the tray table in the arm of her seat, and when airborne, cover it with an array of snacks and drinks as she looked with wonder at the clouds billowing just below us.

Then as we drove up the mountain, there was a required stop for the long-awaited introduction of her Granddaddy to “Goats on the Roof.”  It really was a joy to watch Ellie Kate pedal a stationary bike which sent a quarter’s worth of pellets in a tin cup along a pulley system to four well-fed goats waiting on the top of one of the roof-tops of this “must-stop” roadside attraction.

 And then, as she came out of the bedroom last night to say goodnight one more time to “Gran,” we talked about what we would do tomorrow (today).  “Well,” I responsibly began, “I first have to do my ‘…early morning thoughts…’ in the morning, and then I have some other things I need to work on.”  “But Gran, you’re supposed to be on vacation—and we need to go to our ‘Secret Place’ (sliding rocks in a nearby creek) again.”

She had a point.  And I had a change of attitude.

We have wars going on around the world and in our lives.  The economy is—for the moment—in the tank, and more and more folks are losing jobs.  As a nation and world we are in the midst of cultural and spiritual battles for the soul and future of our nation—and even our world. We’ve got so much on our plate that we get to the end of our days exhausted and unsatisfied. 

We get caught up in an attitude of trying to keep up with our neighbors and the value of “more is better” our society touts as the path to happiness.  Stuff still happens to us; things change and people come and go, in and out of our lives.  Things get confusing, people misunderstand us and relationships become strained.  Fear may grip us and we become resigned to an imprisonment within the walls of our lives, stand ready to throw our hands in the air, walk away, or just sit and do nothing.  We’ve been whacked too often with disappointments, heartaches and tragedies that have brought us to the point of despair.

But as that great scripture verse above from the Apostle Paul reminds us:

“We have this treasure (Jesus Christ) in jars of clay (those who believe in Christ) to

show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

And then, of course, there’s that great philosopher, Kermit the frog, and his words of wisdom about our approach and attitude toward all we face in life, when he proclaimed:

“Who said that every wish would be heard and answered,

when wished on the morning star?

Somebody thought of that and someone believed it;

and look what it’s done so far.

What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing,

and what do we think we might see?

Someday we’ll find it, the Rainbow Connection;

the lovers, the dreamers, and me.”

My dear friends, that “rainbow connection” is here for each of us today, and that connection—Jesus Christ—leads to God and to the presence of His all-surpassing power and amazing love.

            Look, I care what you’ve been through in life.  I care about the pains and heartaches that have been forever etched into the memories of your life.  I care what burdens you carry today that often bring you to the end of your day exhausted and despairing, mixed with a seemingly never-ending presence of anxiety toward tomorrow.

But, honestly friends, in the face of my younger Granddaughter’s outlook on what is important, and those reminders by the Apostle Paul and Kermit the Frog—of the treasure of Jesus Christ within us providing us with His all-surpassing power and amazing love—why do you, why do we, worry?  Why do we worry when we can boldly claim that:

“We are handicapped on every side, but we’re never frustrated;

            We’re puzzled, but never in despair; we’re persecuted, but never stand alone;    

                        We may be knocked down, but we’re never knocked out.”

Airplane rides, Goats on the Roof, Secret Places, other stuff—and Jesus Christ.

And Ellie Kate is just now waking up with today’s “…early morning thoughts…” already done. 

Why worry?  Indeed. 

                                                            In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.     

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”  1 John 5: 21 (NIV)

Wow!  How about those headlines!

There it was, on the front page of the A-section of the Sunday edition of The Gainesville Sun newspaper.  The headline of the article, set just below-the-fold, read:

“Poll:  Tebow 3^rd most influential athlete in U.S.”

Such a result is admirable and remarkable. 

But it’s not admirable and remarkable because of his finish close behind the likes of Lance Armstrong and LeBron James.  Instead, it’s because in the world of professional football, where Tim is headed shortly as the twenty-fifth pick by the Denver Broncos in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, Tim Tebow hasn’t played a down.  Tim Tebow hasn’t gathered a huddle together in the NFL, called a play, thrown a pass or run over a linebacker for a first down.  He hasn’t even showcased his classic fake-the-run-jump-pass-for-a-touchdown yet.

So from where does his influence come—landing him in third place among the most influential athletes in the nation?  What is it that causes those polled to call his name up so often?  What is it that causes young girls to propose offers of marriage—even sight-unseen? 

Is it the eye-black we remember pasted under his eyes, before every college game he played, with the scripture verse John 3:16 or some other scripture of choice for that day?  Maybe.  Was it stating in public that he was a virgin?  Maybe.  Praying before, during and after games by himself and with his teammates and coaches?  Maybe.  Unashamedly expressing his faith in Jesus Christ?  Maybe?  Missionary work overseas?  Maybe.  Answering every question asked of him—even though it was the tenth-time?  Maybe.  Hugging his Mother in public?  No doubt about it!

In our world of sports with idols and platforms and winning and money, it’s refreshing to see something different.  In a world of sports centered around me instead of we, and more money is better, yearly expectancies of championships, building luxury boxes on the sides of stadiums until they blot out the sun, expanding trophy cases with championship hardware, and other idols which our society looks up to and aspires to be a part of—it is refreshing to see something different.  Much different.  Even if he didn’t make number one on the list, no doubt, because of the remarkable qualities of those on the list ranked ahead of him. 

But it’s refreshing to see someone we can look up to still cry on the sidelines, hug his mother, unashamedly pray with teammates, share scripture for ninety-million to read, and spend time in the poorest parts of the world with some precious children the world may have forgotten, but whom God—and Tim—hasn’t forgotten.

Third most influential.  Tim wouldn’t say anything—but why so low?

                                                            In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

“Special and rare are those who can see the potential in the child standing before them without having to see its fulfillment—but those who do see the potential are the builders of the promise of the next generation.”                      Anonymous

            It’s been my experience that moments similar to those of this past weekend usually come to an end.  And this weekend was no exception.  And so the last three days in the mountains with my Bride and our younger Granddaughter Ellie Kate ended yesterday with hugs, kisses, prayers of thanksgiving, and for safe travel and protection, and for other prayer concerns for family and friends. 

Or at least I thought that’s how our time would end as I got ready to return home leaving Lynda and Ellie Kate in that rarified air.  But as I opened the door to the car to leave I heard a tiny voice calling from the porch:

“Wait Gran!”

As I turned, I watched to see my precious five-year-old bounding down the stairs from the porch.  And then I watched as she ran across a stretch of our driveway to jump into my arms and nestle her head on my shoulder and hug me goodbye as if to never let me go.  Or so I wished it were the case. 

Just another moment along the journey of her life and the promise of a generation.

********************

Somewhere on the highway during the rest of yesterday afternoon and shortly after that moment, as I was headed down the mountain, I knew that my elder Granddaughter Hannah was passing me on her way up to the mountain house with her Mom and Dad.   She turned eleven a week or so ago, and it was beginning to look as if she was going to continue to get older with each passing day.  I would miss her on this trip—but cling to the hope that tradition would continue as she and her Mimi and I had never missed a year together in the mountains.

As I drove on my thoughts drifted to that day eleven years ago when Hannah was first introduced to us and the rest of the world.

I’m not sure why I felt the urging at that particular moment that morning she was born to take the elevator down two floors to the labor and delivery area of the hospital—it may have has something to do with my energy level.  But leaving the sterile and boring environment of the waiting-room area, minutes later I found myself standing outside the electric doors which prevented admittance to the delivery rooms by anyone other than medical personnel or parents. 

Unbelievably, Grandparents waiting to meet their first grandchild were not on the list of those who were welcome in that area.  Unless, that is, someone just happened along, entering or leaving, and causing the doors to miraculously open and allow someone like me—as a new Grandparent—to step through into the sacred sanctum of the of the labor and delivery hallway—just a few rooms down from where my Granddaughter, Hannah, was making her way into the world—eleven years ago. 

            I had left the waiting room to be closer to where she was to be born and to pray specifically for her, and for her mom and dad—so pray I did.  Maybe proximity helped the divine connection.  And as it turned out, I was praying in that off-limits hallway at the very moment our precious Hannah was being delivered.  The time was 12:33 pm on July 9, 1999, and it was the beginning of an era of untold blessings for Lynda and me and so many others with eyes to see and ears to hear. 

As I held her in my arms for the first time later that day, eleven years ago, I realized that her precious life was another beginning of the promise of a generation.

********************

            You have them in your life—children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, those children of family and friends.  As you see them standing, running or jumping before you, or hear their voice at play or calling from the porch—what do you see and what do you hear? 

Are you one of those special and rare souls who sees and hears all the potential within them?  Do you see the promise of a generation in each life before you?  Do you hear the voice of someone whom God has created to make a difference in this world?

“Special and rare are those who can see the potential in the child standing before them without having to see its fulfillment—but those who do see the potential are the builders of the promise of the next generation.”           

            The world needs—the children of the world need—those who will hold them in their arms and pray for the fulfillment of all their potential—for the fulfillment of the promise of a generation.  The world needs—and the children of the world need—parents, grandparents and others who care, who will use God’s wisdom—rather than the wisdom of the world or popular culture—to make decisions for their lives.   

When I hold my two precious Granddaughters in my arms and embrace them in my heart I pray that God’s plan for their lives will be fulfilled as He planned it to be.  I pray that God will continue to grow them into all He created them to be.  I pray that all the promise of a generation will be fulfilled in their lives.

Together that is what you and I need to do for our children—everywhere.

                                                            In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.     

            In a departure from tradition, today’s “…early morning thoughts…” come from a “guest contributor”, my son, Nathan. 

Nathan has co-authored with Coach Tony Dungy three New York Times Bestsellers; but the real reason I am proud to share his offering today with all of you is because he is our son, and a man of faith, character, compassion and sensitivity to all, and a Godly example of a husband, father, son and friend.

*************************

My senior year of high school, I was coerced into a date.  It seems that the batgirl for our high school baseball team liked me, for some reason.  Our head coach corralled me after practice one day and explained to me, with surprising clarity, that I would be taking her out.  I started to protest, and he made his message even more clear, explaining that I must not fully appreciate the nature of his “request:” I would be taking her out.  I don’t know why I was resistant - it’s not like I was such a charming conversationalist that anyone else was knocking down my door to go out with me.*  

*As it is, I keep waiting for the day when my wife finally admits that she’s only with me because she lost a bet at some point.  It’ll be sixteen years of marriage next month, but I’m still waiting.

I didn’t have to be told, but Coach Banes made it clear that I would be nice, respectful, and act like the date was my idea.   We went to dinner and saw “Pretty in Pink” in the theater.  I was nice, respectful, and acted like the date was my idea, as I’d been raised (and instructed).  The date was fine, and even though we didn’t have a repeat engagement, things never got awkward.  I had been taught that there are times in life where you don’t always end up in the situation that you had hoped for, but how you handle that situation made all the difference.

Especially when others’ feelings are involved.

To me, that’s what Lebron missed in his decision to leave the Cavs for the Heat.  I don’t care that he left - part of the American Dream is having options.  He worked hard enough, and was good enough, to have options.*  

*If the Cavs truly believed that he “quit” in the playoffs, I doubt they would have offered him $120 million to stay.  Maybe they would have - but I doubt that you make enough money to buy an NBA team by giving employees who “quit” that kind of coin.

I think any of us can appreciate that he left.  I like to imagine a world in which law firms drafted law students as they graduate - or, if they’re brilliant and on law review, they could come out of law school a year early for the Law Firm Draft.  Some who were drafted by their hometown firms would be thrilled, while others that I knew in school wanted to go off and live in other places, and took less in salary to do just that.  I get that - we probably all do.  You work hard enough, you get options.

To me, it’s all about how you do it.  The build-up, the hour-long special, the public interview…  There’s something to be said about giving bad news privately and not embarrassing anyone in the process, in giving them a chance to deal with the news before they have to face the world.  When you do it in public, with a worldwide audience, that moment of grace is gone.*

*Once again for me, “Hoosiers” captures important lessons in life - as George says to Coach Dale when Coach throws him out of the first practice in front of the team in that great flick, “Look, mister, there’s… two kinds of dumb, uh… guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and, uh, guy who does the same thing in my living room. First one don’t matter, the second one you’re kinda forced to deal with.“

Look, my wife and I were in Miami when Lebron made the announcement.  South Beach isn’t exactly my style, but I can see the appeal.  And I can appreciate wanting to play with friends, and so on.  I don’t begrudge him or his decision-making.  

It’s his decision-informing that needs work.

*************************

            Just something for all of us to think about today and every day.

                                                                        In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

The Lord to Solomon:  “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 

II Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

             He couldn’t have known the significance it would have in our Nation’s history.  Yet something within him called for the inscription.

When the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 ordered that a new bell be cast for the State House, he directed that a Bible verse be inscribed on the bell.  The verse he chose was from Leviticus, Chapter 25, verse 10, which read:

“Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.”

            Thereafter, historical tradition suggests, on July 8, 1776 the Liberty Bell, then hanging in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was rung to summon the citizens of Philadelphia to the first public hearing, read by Colonel John Nixon, of the “Declaration of Independence” unanimously declared by the Second Continental Congress, just four days earlier:   

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World…do…solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;…

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Those fifty-six signers of that Declaration of Independence knew that what they were doing could cost them everything, including their families and lives, but they signed it anyway.  The liberty and freedom they sought for themselves, their families and the colonies was at stake.  I wonder if they had any idea of the impact and significance throughout history that moment would have.  They couldn’t possibly have known.

It was a moment in history on the road to independence, to freedom, to liberty.  I wonder if we are at another such moment in our history today.  But if we look back on the history of this great Nation, we will realize that at numerous points and times we have been at a moment of significance and impact in our history.  Moments where we have been called to remember who we are as a Nation, as a people.

We stand at such a moment again. 

A moment in our history where we can shrink before all the problems we face—whether they come from without or within—or a moment to proclaim and embrace anew the ideal upon which this great Country was founded—an ideal of LIBERTY throughout the Land.  A moment of renewal and return to the ideals and values which have guided our steps since the very beginning of our foundations.  A moment where we remember that the direction for our renewal won’t come from the halls of Congress or from the White House—but instead can be found in the same place our founders looked, the same place that the Speaker of that Pennsylvania Assembly looked in 1751, the same place that the Lord was pointing His people as He spoke to Solomon in the passage of scripture above.

            The only place where renewal, and return to who we are, will ever be found—God.  

             The same place that T.S. Eliot reminds us to look when he reminds us that:

            “A culture withers with the growth of secularism, and develops only with a religious framework.”

             The same place that Patrick Henry pointed us toward on March 23, 1775, when he stood to proclaim in the Virginia House of Burgesses:

            “Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a country, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.  We shall not fight alone.  God presides over the destinies of nations, and will raise up friends for us…Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it, almighty God!  I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

            We are at yet another moment in history as a Nation.  And on the occasion of this Independence Day weekend celebration, we again have a choice as Americans to take the road that demonstrates that we remember who we are, Whose we are, and where we come from—or to take another.  We will have that choice long after the barbeque coals have cooled and turned to ash, the fireworks remain only as a sparkle in our eyes, and the choruses of patriotic songs have faded into the recesses of our heart strings.   

            “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

            A moment in history. 

Where will you look?

Where will we look as a Nation to find renewal and a return to who we are?

Happy Fourth of July, and may God continue to bless America!

                                                                        In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.  Mostly what God does is love you.  Keep company with Him and learn a life of love.

Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but extravagant.  He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us.  Love like that.”

                                                            Ephesians 5:1-2 (The Message)

          Dick Enberg, legendary and respected sportscaster, said it well: 

“His greatness was only exceeded by his goodness.”

            John Wooden’s passing on June 4th, just a few short weeks ago, to take his place within that great cloud of witnesses with his Heavenly Father, was quietly and respectfully observed throughout the nation and world.  He left a legacy that will never be matched in both the arena of basketball he so dearly loved, and also in the lives of everyone everywhere his path crossed theirs—lives he so dearly loved.

            Coach Wooden was born October 14, 1910 near Martinsville, Indiana on a farm that didn’t have electricity or indoor plumbing.  From that humble beginning he became a three-time All-American basketball player at Purdue University and a member of the 1932 Purdue Boilermaker National Championship team.  As head coach at UCLA he led his teams to seven consecutive national championships while notching ten in all.  The greatest of the great basketball coaches consider him to be the greatest basketball coach of all-time.

            But not just for his accomplishments on the hard-court.  But it was also for the impact he made in the lives of his family, players, coaches, students, teachers and administrators, fans and all who were touched by this man who taught them that life was so much more than wins, awards and things.  His day-to-day life was a reflection of the words he shared with his players and all who would listen:

·         “People who win at life know God intimately, and they know He only wants a few things from them…to do everything to His glory by being efficient with all He has given us.”

·         “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

·         “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

·         “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”

·         “Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”

·         “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

          Our world has lost a great man of God in Coach John Wooden.  A.W. Tozer once wrote that “when a great man of God dies, nothing of God dies.”  Of course, we all know that to be true.  But we can’t help but wonder—who will stand in the gap to touch and lift lives for God as Coach John Wooden once did?  It’s a question which often crosses our minds when some of the great saints who have walked among us, pass into eternity.

            At the Memorial Service held a few days ago at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA before four thousand who came to honor this man’s life and legacy, one of Coach Wooden’s players, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor) shared this insight: 

“Many people have asked me if Coach Wooden was for real.  They wanted to know if he really didn’t use foul language or really didn’t tell his teams they had to win a specific game.  I’m aware how cynical the world has become. Coach’s value system was from another era, it was developed in an America that has passed on.”

Another player, in a voice choked with tears, shared this about Coach Wooden:  “He believed in hopelessly out-of-date stuff that never did anything but win championships.”

If we look around at our nation we can understand his comment.  In so many places so many of the values which Coach Wooden brought with him from the farmlands of the Midwest to the shores of UCLA—seemed to have “passed on.”  But remember for a moment that they are eternal and Godly values, and as Tozer reminds us “when a great man of God dies, nothing of God dies.”

They are values which we as a people and nation need to find, dust off, reclaim and embrace for every day and every step of the rest of our lives and the lives of those around us. 

Who will do it?   

Who will stand in the gap as Coach Wooden, and so many others like him, have done throughout the years.  Who will restore the values to our lives, and to those around us and our nation?

A husband or a wife?  Maybe a mother or a father of children needing courage, encouragement and an advocate to face peer pressure, secular temptations and lessening societal morals?  Maybe a coach or an athlete who understands that others watch what they do?  Maybe an employer or co-worker?  Maybe a pastor who remembers the sacredness of the pulpit when you share the Word of God?

Maybe it simply starts with you and with me.  

No maybe about it!  It starts with us.

                                                            In His Name—Scott

Copyright 2010.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.