Urgent prayer request


I just got a call from my best friend and roommate Matt.
His father passed away sometime tonight.
I don’t have any details, Matt didn’t know anything when he called, other than that Tom (his dad) was found in his truck sometime this evening, already gone to glory.
As you may recall, Matt’s fiance, my sister passed away March 21, last year. So this is a huge blow to his family and mine.
Tom leaves behind his wife Sue.
As well as sons Paul of Dallas, Tim and wife Amber of Rowlett, Aaron and wife Keri of Cedar Hill and Matt of Waxahachie. He also leaves behind six grandchildren and one grandson.
Please pray urgently for the Lehmann family and our family.

Home Free – Wayne Watson
I’m trying hard not to think you unkind
But Heavenly Father If you know my heart
Surely you can read my mind
Good people underneath the sea of grief
Some get up and walk away
Some will find ultimate relief

Home Free, eventually
At the ultimate healing we will be
Home Free Home Free, oh I’ve got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be Home Free

Out in the corridors we pray for life
A mother for her baby, A husband for his wife
Sometimes the good die young
It’s sad but true
And while we pray for one more heartbeat
The real comfort is with you

You know pain has little mercy
And suffering’s no respecter of age, of race or position
I know every prayer gets answered
But the hardest one to pray is slow to come
Oh Lord, not mine, but Your will be done

Beautiful Road – Wayne Watson
If I had my way, I must admit
If I called every play of the game
I’d pray for good times, blue ky and sunshine
And I’d avoid with a passion any pain
But with every blow from an engry wind

And with every dark shadow that falls
There’s a better view up around the bend
Where this puzzle makes some sense after all

Mistakes and misfortunes will come and go
For you to try and still fail is no disgrace
Sometimes a rough and rocky road
Is gonna take you to a beautiful place

Is there anyone out there looking back through you rfaith
That can deny that your Father knows what’s best
Oh but at the time and place for the life of you
You saw no reason, no good for the test
But now remembering as you watched His hand
Put the color to your black and white dreams
Maybe one more time past what you can see
Oh the trouble of the moment ain’t as bad as it seems

Sometimes the unspoiled beauty of the wisdom of God
Is lying there in the wilderness
Up there beyond the easy reach
Where the journey takes a little more,
just a little more faith I guess

Coffee Talk

I’m interested to see what some of my readers think about this. Specifically some of the comments made in the story.
From the WDL:

By JONATHAN BLUNDELL Daily Light staff writer
Thursday, March 23, 2006 1:05 PM CST

They’re Democrats, but they’re not DrinkingLiberally – unless you’re referring to their morning coffee.
For a group of 10-12 local Democrats, Friday morning is their choice for meeting over doughnuts and coffee to discuss local, state and national politics.
“We’re the guys who can’t drink liberally anymore,” Larry Wilson said, referring to The Thursday night gatherings at the College Street Pub.
The group began meeting about five months ago at the Ellis County Democratic Headquarters on Main Street.
It’s an informal gathering, where people come and go freely and Democratic candidates stop in on occasion.
“We just sit and drink coffee,” Larry Harris said. “There’s no (written) agenda and we just come and go as our schedule allows us.”
Members of the group said everyone is welcome, but not everyone may be in agreement with their politics.
The topics vary week to week, but group members joked that at least a little Bush-bashing will come up most weeks.
“Strategizing might be a strong word for what we do,” Bud Brannon said. “We just sit around and talk about the news and politics.”
And while Republicans outnumber Democrats 3 to 1 in Ellis County, the group says they expect to see more and more voters changing sides in the next few years.
“The Democrats used to be the majority party in Ellis County and I think we’ll see the tide start to turn,” Harry Grier said. “I think people are disgusted with both sides.”
“Nationally there’s no clear cut leader for the Democrats,” Brannon said. “There’s no one ready to take advantage of all the administrations foul-ups.”
“It’s hard to step out when no one else will back you,” Mike Hollenback said. “Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) stood up and called for censure against the president, but no one would back him.”
Several names were dropped as possible leaders for the Democrats, but there was no general consensus among the group.
“They don’t necessarily have to be someone in the House or the Senate,” Hollenback said. “We just need someone to step forward and lead.”
“No one heard of Bill Clinton before he declared he was going to run,” Harris said.
Brannon said that President George H. Bush had a high approval rating before Clinton announced his candidacy.
“President Bush had the highest approval ratings ever after Desert Storm,” Brannon said. “Then Clinton took a role leading the party and won the presidency.”
Grier said he believed the political tide could change quickly both locally and nationally.
“It wouldn’t take much to lead a turn of the tide, locally or nationally,” Grier said. “I think people are getting frustrated. People want a change. I really think Chuck Beatty (Democratic candidate for county judge) will do real well.”
“But we’re also looking at a lot of statewide candidates who aren’t properly funded for their campaigns,” Joe Gatlin said. “It’s hard to win campaigns without proper funding.”
Several in the group said they felt Democrats have let the Republican Party paint the Democrats as anti-religious and anti-morality.
“There are a lot of church-based people who still hold to the idea that the Democrats are only about gay marriage and abortion,” Brannon said. “But I think people are starting to realize there are other issues out there besides those two. There are issues such as school funding, the price of gas, medical care, health insurance and other areas that involve taking care of people.”
“How can any person in their right mind claim to be a Christian and vote for Bush?” Grier asked. “It doesn’t matter to them that he started a war where thousands of people are getting killed.”
“The GOP has done a good job of grouping us together as baby killers and anti-morality,” Harris said. “And we’ve just let them do it.”
“They’ve let them define us and that’s our mistake,” Brannon said.
Harris said there are a number of misconceptions about Democrats that the party needs to overcome.
“Morality is the biggest misconception,” Harris said. “People also think we’re the big spenders and for big government. We’re the party for the people and for helping people, and we’re for government that works.”
Wilson pointed out that despite the notion that Republicans are for smaller government and less spending, the Bush administration has approved raising the cap on the national deficit four times during his term in office.
“It’s a big deal that Congress is voting to approve increasing the national debt,” Wilson said. “They say ‘We’re going to control spending’ and then they turn around and make huge budget amendments, sending us further into debt.”
The Friday coffee club meets at 9 a.m. each Friday at the Ellis County Democratic Headquarters, 215 E. Main St. in Waxahachie.
The group says everyone is welcome to attend, regardless of their political affiliation.

Coat of many colors

Eric had a great post on Joseph the dreamer.
He brings out many interesting thoughts and ideas I’ve never considered when looking at the Old Testament narrative.
I’ve always enjoyed the story of Joseph because it reminds me of God’s faithfulness to His promises.
I’ve spoken with friends on this several times, but I always feel like I should be doing something more for God and “the kingdom.” But as Eric points out:

My father is a graphic designer, and sees Joseph as a businessman and as an outsider relating to the world. As a freelancer, my father’s work places him both deep within companies and at their margins. He supplies ideas, consultations and overhauled images, but he is always an independent contractor. The power of Joseph for him is the power of being second in command, a returning concept in Jewish history from Maimonides, to Albert Einstein, to Joseph Lieberman.
Read this way, the Joseph story is a very conservative one — that through smarts and personality, anyone can get themselves from the pit to the tower. There is a flip side, though. The consultant is always accepted and treated with skepticism at the same time. Ultimately, Joseph’s success in Egypt creates the foundation for the Jews to become enslaved under a new Pharaoh. In other words, the consultant can often make greater changes than those in power, but the ground is always less stable and the future is harder to see (even with prophetic dreams).

It’s not always easy being second in command, but many times that is what God calls us to be.
I also remember an e-mail my dad sent me back in July.

1. Abraham was 99 years old before he received God’s promise of a legitimate heir.
2. Joseph was enslaved, imprisoned, and an outcast from his brothers for 13 years before God used him to fulfill his mission in his family’s life (as this devotional mentions.)
3. Moses spent 40 years in the back side of the desert before God could use him to lead the Israelites to the promised land.
4. Joshua, who was told how to continually be successful, watched Moses for most of 40 years while Joshua’s contemporaries died, before God used Joshua to lead Israel to overcome the inhabitants of their promised land.
5. Gideon “fleeced the Lord” twice before he was convinced God would use him to drive the Midianites out. God even gave him a special spy trip to get the inside scoop on the thinking of the Midianites on the the night of the attack, as I remember.
6. David (as recounted in this devotional) was hounded and harassed by Saul for years before God fulfilled His promise to make him King of Israel.
7. Jesus was born a baby, raised to adulthood, and thirty years old before He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and began His public ministry.
…in His time…God makes all things possible in His time.

How good it is to know that God is faithful to guide us and lead us to where He has called us.