I was watching an episode of my favorite TV show American Pickers and I saw an exchange that got me thinking. A lady opened a storage area that she had not been in for years. Her, Mike and Frank were looking through all the piles of stuff inside and they found a picture of her great-grandfather. She said she had never seen a picture of him before and was greatly pleased at the finding. They held the picture up for the camera and it was a picture of him sitting at the head of the table in a board room of his business. She made a comment about it being the only picture she knew existed of her great-grandfather.

I couple this experience with a comment my wife made last night. We were lying together in our living room and she asked the boys to take a picture of us since so few pictures of us together exist. She was right, if you flip through our photo album there are very few pictures of either of us and especially together. The pictures of me usually include a large fish or one of the animals I have hunted down and shot through the years.

These two experiences have me thinking about a single question, “What pictures would I want my great-grandchildren to find of me in the future?” If only a couple of pictures of me are in existence, what would I want future generations to learn about me through those pictures. I have come up with a short list of pictures I want to be found in:

1. A picture of me serving the Lord. I would like my great-grandchildren to see that I was a preacher. I would especially like them to see me serving outside of the pulpit. Maybe that is leading a small group, visiting a member, or just helping clean up. I want future generations to know that I served the Lord to the best of my ability. This was the biggest defining characteristic in my life.

2. A picture of me with my wife. I want future generations to know that I was married and I loved the woman I married. They need to know that it was not easy for either of us to stay together but we stuck it out and fell more in love through the years.

3. A picture of me with my children. I hope my relatives know that I loved my family. While I was a preacher I did not neglect my family but loved them the best I could love them. Maybe this would be a picture of me playing with them or standing with them after a game or just sitting on the couch together.

4. A picture of me with my parents. My parents have been the single biggest influence in my life and I want other people to know that they were the ones who molded and shaped me. I love them and hope their quiet influence is not lost with the years.

5. A picture of me genuinely smiling. My life has been greatly blessed in every way. I have a great Church, incredible parents, a beautiful wife and wonderful children. I have activities I enjoy and have no real reason to complain. I want others to know that I have had a great life and God was the source of all that I have been given.

This is a short list but I am happy with it. If I die and only these 5 pictures of my life existed, that would be enough. It would communicate who I am and what my life is all about.

What pictures do you have of yourself? What pictures do you want of yourself?

Maybe today could be the day to take a new picture of what really matters to you.

I was sitting here thinking about what to write. My kids are home because of the snow day and I am working at my house. The power of the internet makes it possible for me to work almost anywhere. With the snow outside here in Adrian travel has been limited four times in the last two weeks and my family is getting a little cabin fever. So I thought for today I would share a few little ways me (and my family) use a snow day.

1. Internet, internet, internet. I have been reading blogs, writing blogs, catching up on all my emails and doing research on future Church stuff. I enjoy taking the time to research every idea about every possible thing.

2. Read. I have a pile of magazines that I am slowly working through. I have everything from Christian leadership magazines to hunting and fishing to the Christian Standard. I also have several books that I need to catch up on. I started one on manhood that looks to be enlightening.

3. Family Time. I really enjoy spending time with my wife and my boys. I have had the opportunity to eat with them, talk with them, and watch movies with them.

4. Paperwork. It’s tax season. I am buying a house. I have dozens of other pieces of paperwork that have been piling up. I hate it, I hate it – but it has to get done.

5. Relax. I think sometimes God allows snow days to remind us to slow down. Taking a day off every now and then is important for both your physical and spiritual health. I am thankful for everyday, especially snow days.

I am sure none of this is news to you. This is just how I am spending my snow days. Hopefully this will be the last for a while as I am ready to get back into my routine. I am sure you are too.

I have read several more good blogs lately. I want to share them with you and I hope you enjoy reading

1. Here is the original blog post about “Aging with Zeal.” This is about J.I. Packer’s latest book that I used this as an illustration for my “Up” sermon.

2. Here is a great post about Fallen Pastors and the lessons they teach all of us.

3. If you don’t read Mark Merrill’s blog you are missing out on some great family material. Here are two examples:
– 10 Ways to Push Your Spouse Away
– How to Respond to Hurtful Words in Front of your Kids

4. This is a long story but you have to read about David Murray’s Worst Honeymoon Ever.

5. Here is a great little reminder that God Doesn’t Do Hollywood Endings

6. Chris Elrod is a pastor at an inner city Church in Florida. This story entitled “Then I Noticed Her Shoes” is about some girls and is touching but also an important reminder of the needs of others.

This is my final week as a youth basketball coach. I coached a 7th grade “B” team in Alaska for 3 years and now I have coached a 6th grade “B” team for 1 year in Missouri. With this year, my youngest son will move into Jr. High and then High School and I see no need for coaches in these areas in our school. So most likely this is my final week of coaching ever. I can honestly say that I am not overly sad about the prospect of becoming a parent who only watches without coaching, but it has me reflecting on the experience. Through the years the kids have taught me about life, made me smile, made me angry, made me laugh and overall it has been a good experience.

Here are just a couple of simple lessons the kids have taught me through the years.

1. Sports are fun. I am not sure when sports became about wins and losses, about scholarships and trophies, but I wish it hadn’t happened. When you coach a “B” team most of the kids are just happy to be on a team. Man invented sports to do something enjoyable in their spare time. Dads – loosen up and enjoy yourself and let your kids enjoy it. (I am preaching to myself too.) Sports should be a fun experience for everyone.

2. Celebrate the small things. This year we lost a game 52-6. I was angry at the decisions of the other coach who I think has some issues, but that is his problem. Anyway, when my boys scored each basket they celebrated like they had just won the game. I find myself so happy just to see a good pass or a nice rebound or even a simple act of sportsmanship. I think this should be true in every arena of life.

3. Kids are sponges. Young people learn from how we coach, how we talk, what makes us angry, and how we do everything. I notice teams take on the personality of their coaches. It is scary … at least to me. I would say that young boys are especially impressionable. Many of the boys I coach have no father figure and a coach is an important part of their life. Honestly, all men in their life have influence. We should never take this lightly.

4. Remember the good, forget the bad. After each game the boys come up and talk to me about that one play or that one shot they made. They forget the turnovers, mistakes and misses. They remember the good and easily forget the bad. I wish several adults could learn that lesson.

5. You can learn anything, if you want to. Many of the boys I have coached through the years have never played basketball before that year. If they listen and try they will get better. I am amazed at how much some of the boys pick up throughout the course of a season. The improvement can be dramatic. I think this applies to any of us, even in our faith, that if we make a regular effort to learn we can grow in any area.

Those are just a few life lessons my teams have taught me. If you have ever worked with kids I am sure you have your list. This is mine and this week as I close the book on my coaching I thank God for all the kids have taught me.

I sit here looking out my office window at the 5 or 6 inches of snow we received in Adrian Missouri over the weekend. It stopped us from having our regular Church meeting yesterday and caused the cancellation of almost every event my family had planned for the weekend. It reminded me of the story about the snow flake that said, “Alone I can do nothing, but if we all stick together we can accomplish anything.” Well, these little flakes stuck together and stopped our town cold.

But as I look out my window at a sea of white I am reminded of something else. While living in Alaska my primary source of heat was wood. I had to cut, split and stack piles and piles of wood. The side yard at my house was an ugly pile of wood to be cut, bark and sticks where it had been split and a pile of wood ready to burn. It was always a mess to look at from the big picture windows of my home. Then it would snow. It would immediately be transformed into this beautiful pile of white and brown that made a tapestry of winter landscape. I tried to take pictures to capture it (like above) but I am not a very good photographer. I can tell you that I loved how my ugly side yard would instantly become beautiful when the white of snow was added.

That reminds me of a line in Isaiah chapter 1. There is a prediction that the people of God are going to turn away from Him, but if they turn back, something beautiful will happen.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18 (NIV)

When people turn to God and accept forgiveness through Jesus, the ugly mess of their lives will become as white as snow. I love that image … even though I hate this snow.