Wherever you find yourself

Last night, Gary and I had the privilege to attend a Casting Crowns' concert. What a blessing it was and a challenge. I write this post to challenge any Christian who reads it, but also as a reminder to myself. I know I will come back to this in a couple of months, when I find I need a reminder.

One thing I love about the music of Casting Crowns is that it gives such a clear message of glory to God and hope for a very lost world. The songs are filled with so much Bible. In fact, each CD lists numerous Bible verses that support the message of each song. It is fun to be able to sing what the Bible states to be true.

The lead singer, Mark Hall is a youth pastor in Atlanta. He, like so many Christians, has been a Christian for a long time and often finds himself in a "rut." I love the analogies that he used. He talked straight to Christians: "At church, everything makes sense. We know how to live and what direction to take. Everything is black and white. But once we leave the church doors, so often, life turns gray." He went on to explain that he knows he is a Christian. His heart belongs to the King of kings, but as a Christian, we often have a brain that is lost. We make excuses for not sharing the gospel. We prioritize so many things over God's call on our life. We rationalize our good, but not godly choices. We pursue our career, rather than His calling. We work so hard to have a personal relationship with God, that it never affects anyone outside of our own person. We forget that we have one purpose on this earth and Satan keeps us plenty busy doing everything but that purpose.

The song below is one I have listened to repeatedly today. I know I get caught in the middle often, but I pray God just keeps pulling me closer to Himself.

Life with a cast

With limited mobility, changes and lessons are many for each person in the Beard household.
Here is our current top ten list:

10. Wesley can no longer wait until the last minute to go to the bathroom.
9. Wesley cannot sneak up on me anymore. I can hear him coming from quite a few yards away.
8. I have never been so thankful for a one story house.
7. Their are way too many stairs at most schools!
6. Things no longer get misplaced in pairs. I am constantly finding one sock......or one shoe.
5. If you break your ankle, why does the cast have to go all the way up your leg? (Just so you know, it has something to do with the growth plate.)
4. How many people can you fit in a car if one person takes the whole backseat?
3. I have to help with baths, for the first time in many years.
2. Someone recently told us to go to an amusement park, and we would get access to the front of every line. Good idea!!
1. Who wants a cool colored cast when instead you can get a white one.....that glows in the dark??

The first game of the season......and for one of them.....the last

Today was the first day of the season for Wesley and Andrew and the Ventura Buccaneers. They have been practicing 5-6 days a week for 6 weeks now, and they have had several scrimmages, and we were all quite excited about the big day.

Andrew's game was first. It was a home game, which is at Ventura College---a place I have grown to love. He was very excited and played well. He made the first tackle of the season! Even though the other team scored on their first possession, and I feared it might be a very long day, Andrew's team came back to win 22 to 18.


After Andrew's game, we headed out to Wesley's game, about 1/2 hour away. Wesley was equally excited. Good news first: Wesley's team won their first game also. Bad news: Wesley broke his leg during the second quarter. He was doing a great job "on the line," and we were excited to see some of his moves. However, after one particular play, I couldn't find him. A few minutes later, he came hobbling off the field. He was a true team player and hung around and supported his team as they went on to win. After the game, one of the coaches looked more closely and said we should probably take him to the ER. Five hours later, he came out with a splint. His cast will be placed on Monday. I am glad we got some good pictures of his game. His season lasts just 8 more weeks, and Wesley's doctor said he would be in a cast for 6-8 weeks. I asked him as we pulled out of the hospital, "Did you have fun, Wesley?" He looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, it was alot of fun until I got hurt."

The dismal end of the season for one Ventura Buccaneer!