Cheesy G

I hate to say it, but I was seduced by clever marketing...

If you haven't tried one yet...go to Taco Bell and get the Cheesy Gordita Crunch! Excellent with Po' Boy Lemonade!

Po' Boy Lemonade

I was reminded of this when I ordered water with lemon at lunch today...

My first job out of college was traveling full time with a musical group called the Spurrlows. It wasn't very glamorous, but I was living as a full time musician and traveling all over the country. Every week they paid me $150 in cash. (Actually it was $128 after they took taxes out.) We were provided housing (usually a crummy motel room that I shared with 3 other guys), but were responsible for our own food. As you can imagine, $128 can go pretty quick if you eat out every meal. At the time I was also dating my future wife, Anne, and needed to save money for an engagement ring. So, I decided to take $75 every week and save it, and then live on the rest. I had to come up with some creative ways to save money. In my bunk on the bus, I had a small shelf. I would keep some small groceries there and eat one meal a day on the bus. That usually consisted of crackers with tuna, or crackers with goober grape peanut butter/jelly, or soup heated up in a electric mug thing. Then one meal a day I would eat out. But I realized that if I paid for dinner and a drink then my money didn't go as far. So, I got into the habit of ordering water with lemon. When it was served, I would drop a bag of equal in it, stir it up and call it Po' boy lemonade! The funny thing is, I still make Po' boy lemonade! Sometimes I actually prefer it to soda. Through the years, Anne and I have come to an, ahem, agreement. She is ALWAYS able to order soda at dinner. If I want to remember my Po' boy roots, I have to do that on my own. :)

Back in Time

It's been great having my parents in town for the last few days. Yesterday, we took a little trip down memory lane and drove about an hour south of Frisco to Waxahatchie to visit my dad's old stomping ground, Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Of course, it's changed quite a bit in the 50 years since my dad attended. But some things haven't changed...I was surprised to learn that the dorm my dad lived in is still there and being used. I mentioned it to John McKinzie this morning, and he told me he lived in the same dorm when he went there! I haven't been out of college as long as either of them, and all of the dorms that I lived in have since been torn down! (I guess I was a little harder on them than they were). I enjoyed meeting one of dad's college buddies, Earl Moore, who has retired and moved back. When they were in school together, Earl's father was the Dean of the school. It was fun hearing stories about how they would "bend" the rules together. Of course, sometimes the rules weren't bent. My dad tells that he went over to Earl's house to hang out one night, and came back to the dorm late. When he was asked where he had been, he said he had been at the Dean's house. His connections didn't matter that time, and he was forced to stay on campus the next day. But my favorite story of the day was when my dad was awakened by the assistant dean telling him, "Get your car out of the women's dorm lobby!" The dorm he was talking about is still in use, but it is no longer a women's dorm. There are stairs leading up to the front door. I guess that a group of guys had decided to pick up his car (it must have been small) and place it in the lobby of the women's dorm. He had to get up, go to the lobby and ease it down all of the stairs. Later in life he found out that the assistant dean was actually in on the prank.

Happy New Year!

I'm a couple of days late, but my new year's resolution is to get back to blogging, working out, and other good things. :)

We had a great Christmas, highlighted by Anne's parents coming in from Tampa. Papa saved Christmas for our family by securing a Wii from a crowded Target store early on a Sunday morning. I'm not sure who loved it more, the kids or the grown ups. Anne's brother Thad and his family came down to spend a couple of days with us...and challenge us to Wii bowling.

Sunday afternoon we drove up to Little Rock to stay at their house for a couple of days. One of the big highlights was driving to Pinnacle mountain state park for a little hiking. We were only going to go part way up the mountain but my daughter Samantha (9) and my nephew Wilson (6) would not stop. They were determined to get to the top. Of course, that made me want to keep going too, so the three of us finished the mile and a half trek together. I don't think Wilson was even breathing hard, which was amazing because the peak of the mountain was literally rock climbing. Coming down was actually a little scarier than going up because there were no guard rails or anything. I told Wilson I had to hold on to him tight or his mom would never forgive me. :) Here's a picture of Sami and Wilson at the top.

The lowlights of the new year included my USF Bulls getting trounced in the Sun Bowl. Thad was bummed that the Razorbacks got routed in the Cotton Bowl. Hopefully the Bucs can lift our spirits this weekend. :)

Now, I'm back to work getting ready for an incredible 2008. Our church is having a prayer emphasis this week, and as I was praying last night, I was reminded how good God is, and how much He has blessed me. I'm glad that I'm able to know Him, and this year I want to share His love with more people and in more ways than ever before.

Here's where I've been...

I know that a lot of you have been wondering where I've been for the last month. Well, Texas has been keeping me busy. At church, we just finished a campaign for an auditorium expansion and new children's building. Over the last month we had ten separate informational meetings, a leadership banquet, and a big service last Sunday outdoors under a tent so the whole church could be together at one time. It's been a great month, but I couldn't find the time or energy to write any posts.

The other major event that happened this month, is that the Lunsford family grew! We added a new puppy to our family! Gracie is a 2 and a half pound Yorkie-Poo that was born on August 24, 2007. We drove four hours to meet the breeder from Fredonia, Texas and pick her up. She is very cute, but we haven't decided if she's smart or not. :) It's taken her a couple of weeks to respond to her name, and she's not even close to being potty trained. Ugh! But, she's a lot of fun and she's making me get up early to let her out and take her for walks. Which is causing me to fall asleep earlier than normal. For those of you who know me, you may be surprised that we even got a puppy. But, our daughter Samantha has always been a dog lover. She has begged us for years to get one. I always told her that our house in Tampa was too small, and until we had a bigger house, having a puppy was not an option. Well, when we moved to Frisco, we were able to get a bigger house. Funny how she didn't forget our conversation. :) Anne and I decided this would be a good time to go ahead and get a dog, so we began our search. Anne found this one online and we fell in love with her. The girls love her and she's fitting right in.

Tomorrow, we are loading up the Honda and traveling back to Tampa for the Thanksgiving holiday. Pray for us because we'll be traveling overnight on Friday. I haven't pulled an allnighter in a long time. We are excited to get back and see our family and friends. For those of you from Grace Family, we are planning to be there for service this Sunday morning. Make sure that you look for us!

Naomi

I recently read the book of Ruth and saw an aspect of the story that I had never paid much attention to before. I guess since the main character in the story is Ruth, I have always focused on her part in the story. But as I read it this time, there was something new that stuck out to me. One thing I love about reading the bible, is that no matter how many times I have read it before, God always has more to say to me when I read it again. The story begins with Naomi. Naomi has two sons who marry girls in Moab where they are living. After some time, Naomi's life encounters some tragic events. Not only does she lose her husband, but her two sons die as well. She is left alone with her two daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah. Naomi decides that she is going to return to her homeland and urges her two daughters-in-law to return to their own homes because she doesn't figures they will be better off with their own families. Ruth, however, vows to Naomi that she will stay with her. She says (1:16-17), "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." Now in this exchange Ruth is showing an intense love and affection for Naomi. I think we can assume that Naomi was a loving mother-in-law who probably comforted Ruth when her husband died. I think that Naomi was truly looking out for Ruth's best interest, when she urged her to return to her family. I think that she valued Ruth more than she cared about her own happiness. So they returned to Bethlehem together. But it's there that Naomi tells her friends, (1:20)"Don't call me Naomi (which means pleasant), but call me Mara (which means bitter), because the Almighty has made my life very bitter." Now, she has many reasons to feel this way. She has lost her husband and two sons. Really, who could blame her. But as I read this story again, God showed me something. He had provided Ruth, whose undying devotion and loyalty was evident. Ruth could have left her and gone back to her family, but she chose to stay with Naomi and help her through this. Naomi was focusing on the wrong thing and it was causing her to be bitter. I can relate to Naomi. Not because I've experienced the same tragedy, but because I can easily take my eyes off of God's blessings and focus on what I don't have or things that I wish were different. Sometimes the very thing we're longing for is closer than we realize. At the end of the story, the women say to Naomi who is holding her new grandson, "your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth" (4:15). Sometimes we can't really see the blessing until it slaps us in the face. These ladies help Naomi to see how God used Ruth, the loyal daughter-in-law and friend, to bring more happiness to Naomi's life than she ever dreamed. This has got me thinking, what blessings am I taking for granted today?

Disappointment

Being a pastor comes with a number of responsibilities. Because of my position, a lot of people come to me to help them figure things out. In a lot cases, it's energizing. There are many problems that have a solution. When I'm able to help someone think through the details of what they're trying to accomplish, it's fulfilling because I feel like I'm helping them become successful. A few years ago there was a commercial by BASF that said, "We don't make a lot of the products you use every day, we make the products you use everyday BETTER!" I could really relate to that statement because that's what I feel God has called me to do in the church. I love it when I can bring an idea or a new perspective to ministry that helps us to be more effective in our mission. That's when I feel I am accomplishing what God has asked me to do. But I've found that there are many problems that don't come with a simple solution. Especially when dealing with people's family issues, marriages, money problems, illnesses, etc. There have been a couple of times where I've been approached by a church member telling me about tough situations in a friend or family member's life and then asked, "So what can 'the church' do about it?" I know what they're asking. They want me to tell them, "No problem, I'll call the 'church hotline' and all of your needs will be taken care of." But many times there is no "hotline" set up to meet that particular need. Or a family may have financial problems that go far beyond what our church's benevolence budget can meet. Many times the person who is asking for help walks away disappointed, or frustrated that the church couldn't help them in their time of need. I'm not saying that help wasn't offered, but sometimes the help that is offered doesn't meet the level of expectation of the person, and is seen as no help at all. When that happens, nobody is more disappointed than me. I became a pastor to help people in their time of need. I truly believe that God is the answer, and that He can make provision in people's lives when they are struggling. Unfortunately, some of the people who ask the church for help don't have the proper perspective. They expect "the church" to solve all of their problems, when many times they are reaping the results of bad decisions that they have made in the past. When situations happen like this, it can make me feel like it's pointless even to try. Is what I'm doing making a difference at all? As I was praying about this situation, God reminded me of Galatians 6:9 which says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Sometimes it would seem easier to give up, but I know that is not God's plan. I'm going to continue to ask Him for the wisdom to meet every challenge, and hopefully, even if I disappoint some people along the way, I won't be a disappointment to Him.