Investing in Someone's Life

A few years ago, the place where I work hired a kid fresh out of high school. He had no experience in our field, but he had a connection with my supervisor. That foot in the door eventually led to a great friendship between this young man and myself.

During our time working together, we got to take a few work-related road trips. These trips provided some one-on-one time where the two of us were able to share ideas and thoughts.

Our relationship began as a mentor-apprentice one (me as the mentor), but eventually evolved into a relationship where we viewed each other on the same level. We could share thoughts, ideas, and the stuff going on in our lives. We invested in each other.

Today, my friend has moved into a different work environment, and now he is mentoring and investing in people over there.

One of the best ways to leave a positive legacy for ourselves is to invest in someone's life. Parents do this for their kids, and leaders do this for those they lead.

The Bible gives us the best illustration of investing. We find it in the first four books of the New Testament. Jesus had many followers, but chose twelve to invest his time into. And, out of those twelve, there were three that received the most attention.

Jesus provided a great leadership model for us to follow. Investing in people is a great way to help shape them into becoming someone special. It's also establishes a legacy for the investor.

Who are you investing in?

Monday Ten

This Monday Ten is dedicated to people other than myself. Here we go:

1. Two kids from next door recently accepted Jesus into their lives. They were baptized yesterday. My wife and I are so happy for them.

2. My pastor delivered one of the best sermons about the Bible this past weekend. It will be posted here later this week.

3. My wife had a brilliant idea Sunday morning...a Dowden grillfest. Burgers, hotdogs, BBQ chicken were all offered to the smoke and fire of our charcoal grill.

4. My middle son is learning to ride a bicycle without the training wheels. He just started, so he's a little scared.

5. Today will be a somber one. Last week, a good friend and fellow radio veteran passed away suddenly. Today is Ben Birdson's funeral.

6. At KWFC, we relied on Ben's knowledge for a lot of things. He will be missed greatly.

7. Staying in the radio field, a good friend of mine, and my former boss, Dave Hutton won the August Golden Mic award from the Singing News. I worked with Dave at KCMG. He's now at KTTK.

8. One week from today will be KWFC Day at the Ozark Empire Fair. Our concert that night features Signature Sound. That's going to be fun.

9. This week promises to be cooler than the last two. That should allow a friend and I to hit the driving range. I enjoy being able to invest in other people.

10. The city of Branson has been voted the best small town vacation destination in the midwest. Sounds like a vacation spot for us in a few weeks.

Do What You Can With What Little You Have

When I was in my teens and early 20s, I had dreams of making a lot of money and owning a lot of stuff. I reasoned it in my mind that with a lot of money and stuff, I could really help a lot of people through giving to my church or other charitable organizations.

Life didn't turn out like I had planned. That wealth has never materialized the way I had envisioned. In fact, that's pretty common for many folks, especially in foreign countries where poverty is abundant.

In Mark 12, Jesus witnesses a woman giving all that she had as an offering to God. She was surrounded by those who had great wealth, and were also giving to the temple. Jesus makes the distinction that the widow gave more than all the wealthy people, because she gave all that she had, where the rich people gave of their abundance.

This illustration is used in many ways, but one of the best applications I can come up with relates to how those with little to give can still impact the kingdom of God.

I still have a desire to be wealthy (although I'm not consumed by this desire) in order to be able to help those in need. But, because I'm not wealthy, does that mean that I shouldn't try to help those in need? Better yet, because I cannot help all, does that mean I shouldn't try to help one?

I'm not sure how it is in other cultures, but in America, we live in an entitlement society. In other words, many of our young and poor have been convinced that they are entitled to something they have not earned. As a result, when help is delivered, but is limited in scope, there is some chastizement that sometimes comes from those who didn't receive any help.

There is also a sense of helplessness for those who give, because of the reality that no size of gift will cure all the ails of the world.

So, what do we do? Do we give up? Do we forge ahead? How do we handle those that criticize our efforts? How do we make everyone happy?

The widow gives us some insight. She would say, "Just give what you can. Any amount helps."

We don't know how the temple leaders used her gift, but rest assured they did use it. In your church or community, rest assured that those you give to will use it, no matter the size of your gift.

So, the next time you think what you're giving won't make a difference, just remember that in Mark 12, Jesus noticed.

Monday Ten

1. This week's forecast, Sun and 95, 94, 94, 92 & 92. It's going to be miserable outside.

2. We had a great time picnicking with our fellow Kid Point volunteers from North Point Church on Saturday. There are a lot of great people that give of their time to invest in a bunch of kids.

3. Speaking of teaching minds full of mush, teaching 4th and 5th graders is a lot easier than most people realize. It just takes determination to stick with it, and build relationships; enough bluff that they think you might just pin them to the wall; enough caring that you'll never actually do that; and enough vision from God to see that someday these youngsters will be our leaders.

4. The weekend of "fun" ended early for us. We got a call during church that my mother-in-law was being brought to the ER. Fortunately, it was nothing too serious. She went home Sunday.

5. I have golf fever. Anyone who has played golf, even if just two or three times a year, gets golf fever.

6. This longing for the links is being fueled by a scramble round at Branson Creek last week for the Cardinals Care pro-am. We didn't get close to winning, but had a lot of fun. I probably lost a dozen balls, but its all good.

7. I followed that up the next day by hitting the driving range. Hopefully, I can trim down those lost balls.

8. I didn't look to see how much it costs to play Branson Creek until after the pro-am. I nearly passed out at the $90 charge. I enjoy golf, but it can be an expensive sport.

9. We're two weeks away from KWFC's day at the Ozark Empire Fair. I'm interested to see our grandstand show with Signature Sound. I have never seen them live before.

10. It's going to be a busy work week. Let's get to it.

Monday Ten

1. Sleep. My wife and I have been deprived of it. Primarily due to the kiddos.

2. Rest. That's what we tried to do this weekend...with marginal success.

3. Mow. I downed the forest growing in my yard. Worst weed-eating job I've ever had to do. Not because the growth was that bad, but my gas tank ran dry on the machine, and I had to fill the thread twice. I have never had to do either of those before. EVER.

4. Sleep. I tried to do that Sunday afternoon, but there are three things that set little kids' radars off: someone trying to nap, someone on the phone, and their parents trying to have some "quiet time." I got beat up trying to nap.

5. Movies. North Point Church is doing the God At The Movies sermon series again. This year doesn't contain the controversial films that last year's series did. This past weekend was "Avatar," and dealt with the parable Jesus told about the Pharisee who thanked God that he wasn't like the nasty tax collector; while the tax collector begged God for forgiveness.

6. Perceptions. Just like the Pharisee in that story, many times we can develop unfounded prejudices toward people not like us. But, we may be way off base in our assumptions. We must get to know people before we try to pass judgement on them.

7. Baseball. Two years ago I promised my oldest son that we would go to a Springfield Cardinals game. But, my wife and our other two kids were in a bad wreck the night before, and our plans were scrapped. Now, barring a rain out, we should get our outing tomorrow night. Should be fun.

8. Golf. On Wednesday, I get to participate in the Cardinals Care Pro-Am in Branson. It's part of the charity work for the upcoming Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Nationwide golf tour. I'll be golfing with a member of the Cardinals, two co-workers, and the Baptist Bible College president. Should be fun.

9. Leader. I'm looking forward to hanging with the college president. He's a very good leader. Maybe he'll share some leadership gems while we play golf.

10. Men. I've been reminded recently about how important it is for kids to have strong father figures in their lives...boys especially. It's driving me to be a better father to my own kids. Manhood has been watered down in our culture. It's time for the men to discover themselves again.

My Son Tells About Getting Baptized

My middle son, Jonas, got baptized Saturday with his older brother, Jeremiah. He writes on my wife's blog today.

Check it out here.

Tuesday Ten

1. A three-day holiday weekend can only be beaten in likability by taking the whole week off. That's what I should've done.

2. Had a great Independence Day weekend. Three straight days full of stuff. Now, it's back to work to recover.

3. Saturday was extra special. My two oldest boys were baptized at church. Visit my wife's blog to learn more.

4. My folks visited North Point Church for the first time Saturday. It was loud, explosive and a lot of fun. And, that was just guest speaker Herbert Cooper. I'm glad my folks got earplugs.

5. There is a home in a nearby subdivision that, for the last three years, has held their own fireworks display. The 20-30 minute show is always fun to watch, and it's a secret to most of Springfield.

6. "I Love America" was a huge success again this year. Over 100,000 people sat in a field on the east side of Springfield to enjoy the fireworks and entertainment. Around 250 people also gave their lives to Jesus. That makes ILA more than worth the cost.

7. ILA was nearly upstaged by a fireworks display in a nearby subdivision. That thing went on for nearly 45 minutes, and was non-stop, high-quality fireworks.

8. I ran into the morning guy from The Wind at ILA. We had been golfing together at Highland Springs a few weeks ago. Aaron's a nice guy.

9. My wife, kids and I set off the last of our explosives last night. We still have a ton of sparklers, though. This was the first year we've done any fireworks other than the little snap-pops. The boys loved it all.

10. But, they loved the snap-pops the best.

Birthday Boy

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you have probably picked up that I have three boys. Today is our middle son's 7th birthday. Jonas keeps us on our toes all of the time. Happy Birthday, son.