Sweet Sixteen

The day finally arrived last Monday, June 29, 2009. Alyssa, my youngest child and only daughter, turned 16 years of age. We celebrated all week long. We went to dinner on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and lunch on Saturday all to celebrate her birthday. She left for Jamaica on Sunday morning or I'm sure we would still be celebrating this week.

In some ways I couldn't wait for her to turn 16. For the last couple of years it seems that Tami and I have spent an increasing number of hours taking her places and picking her up. When her brother left for college last Fall it seemed to multiply. So from that point of view I'm glad she can now get in the car herself and drive to her destination and back home. On the other hand I'm sad that my little girl is no longer a little girl. Tami and I know from experience that once they get their drivers liscense everything changes. With more freedom and opportunity they need us less and less. As I said in my last blog I will miss taking her to school this coming Fall. I will even miss taking her to events and other things all across town. I will miss our conversations in the car and her "need" of me.

But while I will miss those things I'm thrilled at the young lady she is becoming. Tami and I are very proud that she is spending part of her Summer on a mission trip to Jamaica. She left last Sunday morning and was thrilled that she was "leaving the country without either of us," something even her big brother has never done! I know that she will love on the children there and be a great asset to the team.

When she gets back she will take her first "college class" this Summer. Hard to believe they can earn college credit before they even begin their Junior year in high school! This Fall she will be on the sidelines with the VARSITY Ryan Raiders cheerleaders! They told me it all happens too fast, I believe it now!

Happy birthday Alyssa. I love you and am proud of the Godly young lady you are becoming!

The Little Transitions of Life

For some 15 years now I have been doing the same thing every day of the school year. My job has always been to take my kids to school. It's been an event that I have thoroughly enjoyed for the last decade and a half. In the early years it was a time to talk and find out what they were anticipating for the day. As they grew older and became teenagers it was more a time of silence or listening to the radio. Neither of my kids are really "morning people" so the past few years they haven't been real big on conversation at 8:00 in the morning!

I can still remember the first time I dropped Ryan off at day care in China Spring, Texas. He was about three years old and up to that point in his life Tami had been a stay at home Mom, but I was going back to school to get my doctorate and she needed to work for "tuition" money. I cried all the way to the church that day! After I finished the degree Alyssa was born and Tami was again a stay at home Mom.

When Ryan began preschool in Pleasanton I took him to school. When he went to Kindergarten and First Grade in Pleasanton I took him to school. When we moved to Denton and he started second grade I took him to school. You get the point! Alyssa joined our trips when Ryan was in third grade and for a few years I took them together. Then Ryan moved on to Middle School and the trips were separate again. I took Ryan to Ryan High school for the last time in September of 2005 when he got his driver's license. But I have still been taking Alyssa since then.

For the past couple of years Alyssa and I would listen to WBAP on the way to school. She got to know the personalities on that station and we had some fun with that. But she sort of "grew out of that" last year and it has been KSCS or The Wolf since then. But one thing has never changed in 15 years at least for Alyssa. When we arrived at the school before she would get out of the car she would lean over to my side of the car for a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Even at 15 she still did it!

I have known it was coming all year long. The last time I would take one of my kids to school. The last time we would ride together in silence or me asking questions and getting really short answers. The last time to listen to a favorite song together on the way. The last time for her to lean over for a quick hug and a kiss. I knew it was coming and this week it did. I took a kid to school for the last time! Alyssa will get her driver's license at the end of June and when school starts back in August she will drive herself to school.

In some ways I'm really sad. Its the end of an era, one of those little transitions in life that we all experience. I'm certainly excited to see my kids grow up and begin new things but I have to admit I'm going to miss those morning rides to school, the conversations, the songs on the radio, and most of all I'm going to miss the hugs and the kisses. But at least we still have her at home for two more years before the next little transition!

What would you do if you knew you had one month to live?

That is the question the people of First Baptist Church Denton are asking themselves every day for the next 30 days. If some how you knew that you only had one month to live how would you live your life? It's a very clarifying question and a question that most of us cannot answer on the spur of the moment. It takes some time to think through it and really come up with an answer that reflects how we feel and what is most important to us.

Unfortunately most people don't get that one month "warning" before they die. Instead death comes unexpectedly or suddenly to most. However the reason we are asking that question every day for 30 days is not because we expect to be dead in one month, quite the opposite we expect to live many more years on this earth. The reason we ask that question is we want to be "fully alive" for however many more days God gives us here on this earth.

If you think about it we don't really get to choose many things. We didn't get to choose who our parents are, we didn't' get to choose when we were born or where we were born. We certainly don't get to choose when we die. Most tombstones have two dates and a dash. The date of the person's birth and the date of their death, the dash in between represents the time they were alive here on this earth. The one thing we do have a say in is what we do with our dash. We get to decide how we will spend the time we have here on this earth. We can choose to waste our dash or we can choose to live it with passion and purpose. That is why we are asking that question for 30 days. Because if we begin to live like we were dying then we will really learn how to live.

If you knew you only had one month to live I bet you would want to spend time with family and friends. You would probably want to restore any relationships that were not what you wanted them to be. If you are a believer in Christ you would probably want to tell some of your closest friends how they can know Him as well. If you had one month to live you would probably want to do those things and more. So the question we need to answer is this: why don't we go ahead and do those things now? Why don't we live our lives like we only had one month left to live.

That's what we are going to be exploring for the next six weeks or so at First Baptist Church Denton. Go to www.fbcd.net to find out more about the One Month to Live challenge and how you can get involved and how you can begin to live life to the fullest with no regrets!

Everyone Loves an Underdog

Whether it be in sports or politics or just about anything, everybody loves an underdog. That is why I have had several phone calls and e-mails this afternoon. My "underdog" Baylor Bears men's basketball team "upset" the number one team in the Big 12 tournament - the Kansas Jayhawks. Although its not the first time Baylor has beaten Kansas it is the first time in a long time and certainly on the biggest stage.

Baylor's men's team started the season with great expectations. After making their first trip to the NCAA tournament in "forever" last year they were expected to finish in the top half of the Big 12. Instead they finished in 9th place losing their final regular season game to Nebraska of all people. In Nebraska Basketball is just something to do to stay warm until Spring football starts! But when the tournament started on Wednesday the Bears got a second shot at the Cornhuskers and put it on them winning by 16. Next up the mighty Jayhawks. Safe to say no one in the country with even a little knowledge of college basketball gave my Bears a chance. Yours truely included!

But the underdogs got after Kansas from the start. I'm eating lunch at On the Border and a friends says Baylor is up by about 10 in the first half. My thought - it's early, lets see if it continues. To be honest I then forgot about the game, went back to the office and about an hour later Drew Null comes into my office and asks if I heard about my Bears! They won! they blew a 17 point lead but they hung on to win! It's not exactly the second coming of the Miracle on the Brazos, but the Longhorns just won so we will see what happens on Friday night!

I'm not making any reservations for the big dance yet, but it is fun to see the underdog come through on ocassion, especially when its your team. I guess that's what March madness is all about! Wish we could get some of that madness in Waco in the Fall!

SNOW DAY!

It is Tuesday afternoon January 27th. If you are reading this on that day or soon after you know that most of Denton is shut down because of an "expected" ice storm! I can remember as a kid hoping that every day in January and February would be a snow day because that meant NO SCHOOL! Now as an adult I really don't like Snow Days, but I will admit, as a pastor, I like them a whole lot more during the week than on weekends! If they don't' interrupt Sunday worship and other activities I can tolerate them a whole lot easier! I am amazed at how quickly bad weather can shut things down in North Texas and how quick we are to cancel everything that's happening. I'm convinced my staff at First Baptist Church is still like I was as a kid, they hope for a snow day, and since I'm the only one in the office today I guess the proof is in the pudding!

On days like this where schedules are interrupted, things don't get done like we hoped and everything comes to a halt we at least have the opportunity to catch up on some things. I spoke to a mother of three in our church this afternoon and she said they were using today to catch up on homework at their house. Great idea! My wife and daughter went to the mall instead! Regardless of what you do with a day like today it is a reminder that everything doesn't always go as planned. The older I get the more I realize that's OK. It's OK to have a day that doesn't go as planned or a day where everything is turned upside down. After all God is still in control and you will most likely have tomorrow to get the things done that you had hoped to do today.

So have fun on the SNOW DAYS of life although the worst part about this one is: there is no snow to go out and play in!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Tami, Ryan, Alyssa and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas. This is our 11th Christmas in Denton. Ryan was eight and Alyssa was 4 that first Christmas in 1997. They are now 19 and 15 and Denton is the only home they remember. We have been blessed to live in Denton and to be a part of First Baptist Church these 11 plus years. As a young pastor I did not want to move from church to church and come to the end of my ministry and have a list of a dozen churches that I had pastored. I prayed that God would put me somewhere and leave me and give my kids the opportunity to go to one school and be able to call that place home. God has given me and my family that gift and this Christmas I am grateful for that gift.

As I write this afternoon it's the day before the day before Christmas! As I think about what will take place over the next 48 hours I'm excited about it all. Most all of it revolves around tradition at the Williams' house. We will begin our Christmas celebration by going to the Christmas Eve service tomorrow night. It will be a time of Christmas Carols, the Lord's Supper, Candlelight and most importantly sharing the moment with our church family. We will then go home and have a special time as a family. We will read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and we will read the classic Christmas book "The Night Before Christmas." Ryan and Alyssa will open one present that night before bed, they know what's inside! They always get new pajama's on Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning we will get up and open presents. We are so blessed to be able to give gifts to one another, more than any of us really need. Tami loves buying Christmas and she always goes overboard and I always get on to her, but I'm thankful that God gives us the means to do that. After we open our gifts and our stockings we will eat Sausage balls for breakfast (my favorite part!) We started a new tradition a few years ago of staying home on Christmas day and inviting whoever wants to come for Christmas lunch. My parents, my sister and her family and the Cole and Beth Sciba family are joining us this year. We will eat too much "fried turkey" and everything else and just enjoy being together on such a great day.

We won't get to see Tami's parents until after Christmas this year. Tami's Dad is in the hospital being treated for an infection. We pray that he gets well soon and gets to go home soon after Christmas.

My wish for you this Christmas is that you will enjoy family and friends, that you will get what you want and be able to give what you want as well. I hope you will be as blessed as I am by a church family, friends, and most of all your family as you celebrate Christmas this year!

Merry Christmas!

Elves Shelves

For several years First Baptist Church Denton has helped numerous families at Christmas time. We would hear about families in need of help and different people in the church would "adopt" these families and provide toys for the kids, food and sometimes clothes. Usually we would help a couple of dozen families every year. Last year our Children's Pastor, Christy Butler, came up with the idea of Elves Shelves to try and help even more families.



The idea behind Elves Shelves is that parents come to the church and "shop" for toys for their children for Christmas. They are allowed to choose a certain number of toys for each child and then they give the toys to the children at Christmas. Last year we used a small classroom in the church and gave out toys over several days. We gave away several thousand toys and helped several hundred families. Then at the beginning of 2008 we began to make plans for this Christmas. About two dozen people became a part of the Elves Shelves planning team led by Christy Butler. They worked the entire year to make plans for this year's event. All year long they collected toys and money and signed up volunteers to work at the shopping days. Those days began last night and I can't tell you what an unbelievable expereince is has been already.



I am so proud of the people of First Baptist Church. They have given thousands of toys and thousands of dollars to buy even more toys. This year our entire gymnasium is full of toys for children of all ages. On Wedensday night the first families came to shop. 52 families who are a part of FBCD came to shop for their kids. Today dozens more have already come. We have over 1000 children registered to recieve toys this Christmas. Dozens of people from First Baptist are there greeting the people as they come in, helping them shop, and just showing them the love of Jesus.



The idea of gift giving began on that first Christmas 2000 years ago. We often credit the wise men for being the ones to create gift giving. But in reality they were the second ones to give. The first giver was God Himself. He gave His son Jesus that first Christmas and it is because of that we give today. I am proud to be a part of what is happening at First Baptist Denton this year. Proud of a church that even in tough economic times is willing to help those in need.



As you celebrate Christmas with your family and friends this year I hope you will find a way to follow the example of Jesus and GIVE to someone in need. With all the things happening in our country today, it won't be hard to find someone in need. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Season this year.