PROJECT: Smile!

January 21, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

  • Michael Hagerman is an Assembly of God pastor in Muskegon, MI.
  • He is married to Amy and they have three daughters.
  • Their youngest daughter, Bethany, is 3 years old.
  • At the end of March 2008, the Hagerman family found out Bethany had cancer.

Michael gives some background to this story –

Bethany’s battle with cancer continues to be very difficult. The Christmas season was very hard. Her bone marrow is not functioning properly and so we had to take her in for blood transfusions every two days. She was extremely sick for awhile, but is starting to feel a little better. We have been able to regulate her pain medicine to help ease her pain. Now our main concern is trying to find a treatment that will do damage to the cancer. We are hoping to get her on a brand new clinical trial in February. The doctors have a few treatment ideas, but we are limited because of her age and size. We have not given up hope even though things are just not looking good. She truly needs a huge miracle. We continue to believe God for complete healing, peace, comfort, wisdom and strength. Thank you so much everyone for your continual prayers!!

Amy, Bethany’s Mom, has a sobering update –

We got some pretty difficult news from Bethany’s doctors this week. We have never been given a timeframe on Bethany’s life expectancy before, but this week the doctors gave us one. The chemo that she has been having has not been working. If this continues and nothing we try does damage to the cancer, than she may only have 2-4 months left. We have been waiting to get on a brand new clinical trial. If that one works, that may add another 2-4 months.

 Our family’s heart has been so overwhelmed with sadness these last few days. It is only by the grace of God and His mercies that we have peace.

We have to now focus on the happiness of Bethany. We do not want these next few months to be miserable on her. It breaks our heart to see her feeling sick and we want to do everything we can to brighten her spirit. So, I really feel the Lord placed an idea on my heart. Here it is:

PROJECT: Smile!

We would like to brighten Bethany’s day with mail from those who have been praying for her. So many people have asked me if there is anything they can do for her or our family and this would be a great idea. Help bring a smile on Bethany’s face and not only her face, but her sisters’ and family member’s faces. She loves getting mail!! It doesn’t have to be anything special. If you need an idea, she loves animals and in particular puppies. We really aren’t asking for anything special, just a simple hello will do.  

  • Bethany is now 3 years old.
  • Her older sister Kathryn (Katy) is 7 years old.
  • And Audrey is 4 years old.

Our Impact youth group has signed on to PROJECT: Smile! We’ll be meeting at my house this Friday evening, January 22, at 7:00 PM to make stacks and stacks of cards for Bethany, Katy, and Audrey, and for Michael and Amy too.

If you want to join us at my house, or if you just want the Hagermans address to send your own PROJECT: Smile! cards, please comment here or send me an email.

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Insert Your Name Here

January 20, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I don’t think anyone would mind having his or her name inserted in any of the following compliments:

  • ___________ is a righteous person.
  • ___________ is blameless before God.
  • God looks favorably on ___________.
  • ___________ walks with God.

Pretty nice pedigree, huh?

This is the description of Noah in the Bible. I especially love the phrase “walks with God.” It’s only used of two people in the Bible: Noah and Enoch. But it’s even more encouraging to me when I read it about Noah’s life.

Noah is the first in Adam’s family line to be born after Adam died. That’s significant because all of his ancestors (including Enoch) would have been able to get a first-hand account from Adam himself about what it was like to be in the Garden of Eden. All of Noah’s ancestors could have heard right from Adam’s mouth what it was like to visit with God personally each evening, to talk to Him face-to-face. And they could have heard firsthand how devastatingly painful it was to lose that intimate fellowship because of sin.

Since Noah was the first person in this family tree to hear about this secondhand, he’s the first person to walk with God by faith. Which is the exact same way we walk with God today:

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).

You too can insert your name in this blank: “___________ walks with God.”

How do you do this? Pray this:

“God, I want to walk with You. I know it’s impossible to please You except by faith. I want to get closer to You. So I believe that You exist and that You care enough to respond to me when I seek You and love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Let’s enourage one another to walk in this way every single day.

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Convoy Of Hope

January 19, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m a big fan of Convoy of Hope. They provide timely humanitarian need in time of disaster, giving people a tangible picture of the compassion of Jesus.

A couple of huge miracles…

  1. Convoy Of Hope had just restocked their warehouse in Haiti just before the earthquake hit.
  2. The COH warehouse wasn’t damaged during the earthquake.
  3. A couple of missionaries in the Dominican Republic had just secured passes to travel back-and-forth from the D.R. to Haiti. This made them a great resource to be able to take supplies and workers into Haiti.

You can see a video update from COH president Hal Donaldson. You can also donate to COH here.

Our church took a special offering for Convoy of Hope on Sunday. I’m glad we can help in this way.

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Unintended Consequences

January 19, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Sometimes even with the best of intentions, our actions can create a series of events that we never anticipated. What’s worse, like a row of neatly arranged dominos, once the first one has been knocked over, it’s hard to stop the tumble of the other dominos.

Case in point: Abram (or Abraham, as he would come to be known later).

He followed God’s call to leave his homeland of Ur and travel to Canaan—the Promised Land. He came to Canaan as a fairly wealthy man, having built quite a portfolio in his home country. After he arrived, he built a couple of altars to God and things appeared to be going well.

Until the famine. [you can read the story for yourself here]

Then without asking God, Abram left Canaan and traveled to Egypt. This was the first domino to be knocked down. The rest that fell were the unintended consequences of this single decision.

Abram lied to the Egyptians about his wife, telling them that she was his sister. As a result, she was taken into Pharaoh’s harem. Did Pharaoh sleep with her? The Bible doesn’t say for sure. Was Sarai mad at Abram? The Bible doesn’t answer this one either, but I think we all know the answer to this question!

Abram got richer. Because Pharaoh was so happy with Sarai, Pharaoh gave him sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and servants.

But this newly acquired wealth caused yet another domino to fall.

Abram and his nephew Lot began to have arguments about their large herds of animals. To settle their dispute, they split up.

Another domino fell.

Lot, without Abram’s mentorship, moved near Sodom. He got caught up in its sinful lifestyle and lost everything he owned. All he had left were two daughters, who were wicked, manipulative young ladies.

And yet another domino.

Abram and Sarai couldn’t have children. So Sarai suggested that Abram sleep with Hagar, their Egyptian maid. Would Sarai have suggested this if Abram hadn’t abandoned her to Pharaoh? If they hadn’t gone to Egypt, Hagar wouldn’t even have been there!

And the final domino.

Hagar did get pregnant. But her son Ishmael became the father of the Arabic people. A race of people that is openly hostile to the Jewish people to this day.

So many unintended consequences. So many dominos knocked down because of just one decision.

I’m grateful that God made something good out of this, but what incredible pain and hardship exist to this day because of one decision 4000 years ago.

My takeaway: I need to lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all my heart and mind and do not rely on my own insight or understanding.

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What A Dream!

January 18, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I have just been listening to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s incredible I Have A Dream speech. If ever there was a man who could cast a compelling vision, it was Dr. King. Look at his pattern—

  • He had a noble cause.
  • He stated the problem first: “One hundred years later” there is still racial injustice.
  • He articulated the righteousness of the pursuit of justice and equality.
  • He set the criteria: “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters.”
  • He encouraged his audience to press on.
  • He brought his vision to a dramatic conclusion with the portable and memorable rally cry: “I HAVE A DREAM!“

Powerful! Watch it again for yourself…

https://youtu.be/_yOBncaiito

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Don’t Fight It

January 18, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some unique insights I gathered from taking a trip with my wife’s TomTom GPS unit. Well, I was taking another trip with TomTom the other day, and I got really annoyed!

I was running late. I grabbed my laptop and my cell phone, fired up the TomTom and hit the road. I got about a mile down the road and realized I forgot something for my meeting. So I turned my car around and quickly headed back home. All of a sudden a voice was reminding me…

  • “At the first possible place, make a legal u-turn.”
  • “Turn right at the next road and turnaround.”
  • “To return to your entered route, make a legal u-turn.”

This voice was still just as sweet and even-keeled as before, but it was really getting on my nerves. I knew I was heading in the wrong direction, but I wanted to get this taken care of quickly, but the voice kept reminding me. I tried to tune the voice out—tried to ignore it—but it didn’t work.

I turned the voice off.

When I wrote about TomTom earlier, I equated it to the moral GPS of the Holy Spirit. And that analogy still stands:

The Holy Spirit does convict us. He warns if we’re on the wrong path, and He lovingly and persistently keeps reminding us to do a u-turn. Those who listen and respond are fully restored. Those who don’t listen—those who switch off their moral GPS—can have their conscience permanently seared.

Are you listening to the Holy Spirit? Do you hear Him encouraging you? Do you hear Him challenging you? Do you hear Him reminding you to turn around? Stay tuned in—He only has the best in mind for you.

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“And Then He Died…”

January 15, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

That’s the end of his life. All those years living and that’s all his obituary says: “and then he died.”

Genesis 5 is the lineage of Adam. A mind-numbing list of names and years scroll by:

  • Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
  • His son Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
  • His son Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
  • His son Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
  • His son Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
  • His son Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
  • And on and on and on….

For each man we hear the name of one of his sons and how long he lived, but nothing more. Like a modern-day tombstone:

Birth Date─Death Date

The dash between the dates covers childhood, schooling, marriage, inventions, parenthood, and so many other things. But years later, more and more of the details are forgotten and only the dash remains to represent the sum total of the deceased’s life.

And then comes Enoch.

All of the same details are there. Well, except for the “and then he died” epitaph. But actually, there’s so much more. Instead of a death, there’s a phrase that appears only for him: “Enoch walked with God.” The phrase literally means “to be continually conversant.”

Because Enoch lived this way, he didn’t really die. Instead, “He was no more.” He wasn’t here any longer because he is still walking with God. What an incredible blessing to his future generations! He was a blessing while he was alive, and he continues to be a blessing after he is no more.

Enoch’s tombstone reads differently from everyone else. The birth date is there, the dash is there, but instead of “and then he died” we read “he was no more.”

It’s the way I would want my tombstone to read:

Craig T. Owens

1966─He walked with God─He was no more (because he is still walking with God)

In The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggests living my life today consistent with what I would like said at my own funeral. It starts with a decision: “Today I will be continually conversant with God.” Then at my funeral, they can say of me, like the Bible says of Enoch: “He didn’t die. He’s just not here any longer. He is walking with God in heaven, just like he walked with Him here on earth.”

What do you want said about your dash?

Do you want your life to simply end with “and then he died”? Do you want something more?

Make your dash a continual conversation, a daily walk with God, and all of your future generations won’t see just a dash, they’ll remember “He is no more. He walked with God, and he is still walking with God!”

Start walking today!

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Samaritans & Haitians & Pat Robertson

January 14, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

How in the world am I going to link these three thoughts? I think I can do it, but first, a little historical background…

Have you ever noticed in the Bible how much the Jews disliked the Samaritans? In fact, it was said that if a Jew had to even say the word Samaritan he would immediately spit to get that vile word out of his mouth. Where did this come from?

After King Solomon’s death, the nation of Israel was split in two. Judah and Benjamin in the southern half of the country went by the name “Judah” and had their capital in Jerusalem. The northern ten tribes went by the name “Israel” and had Samaria as their capital. The northern kingdom—the Samaritans—became more and more godless, turning to false idol worship.

The Samaritans would make deals and alliances with any surrounding country and their false deities to save their necks from other invaders. In effect, they made a deal with the devil.

Pat Robertson made a foolish comment that the earthquake in Haiti was because the Haitian people had “made a deal with the devil” to kick the French out of their country.

Did the Haitians make such a deal? Did the Samaritans? It’s very likely.

Yet when Jesus was asked to explain what it meant to love one’s neighbor, whom did He use as an example? A Samaritan!

Demonic deal or not, God desperately loves the Haitian people. Jesus died to bring Haitians into a personal relationship with Himself. God grieves over the devastation in that country.

Mr. Robertson, now is not the time for judgmental statements. You are not the one who should be making such statements. Now is the time for compassion. Can you imagine Jesus saying to the woman at the well, “Since you live in a country where your ancestors made a deal with the devil, you’re disqualified. I have living water to give, but you’re not getting any of it because you are under a curse”? I can’t imagine that.

If you’d like to show compassion to these precious people, can I recommend making a donation to a wonderful organization called Convoy of Hope? Please keep praying for the Haitians.

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The Power Of -Ing

January 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard someone say something like:

  • “Wow, look at her. She arrived in style!”
  • “I think I’ve finally arrived.”

This is weird because arriving implies stopping. When I’m driving to the store and I arrive at the store, I don’t keep on driving; I stop at the store. That’s the whole reason I left my house in the first place.

So when we talk about people arriving, do we really mean that they are supposed to stop and park? Correct me on this, but I think the only time we stop in life is when life stops. In other words: We’re dead!

We don’t really want to arrive, do we? We want to hit goals and then keep on going. We want to keep on “ing”ing. Here’s how I’m trying to leverage the power of ing:

I love the words of Abraham Lincoln, who knew the power of ing:

“I do the very best I know how—the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.”

Don’t arrive. Don’t stop. Keep on “ing”ing the right things—God’s things—and see how God will bless your efforts. There is an incredible power in ing!

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Focus On Kids

January 12, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I love kids! I love their enthusiasm, their curiosity, their hunger to learn, their ability to learn, their energy, and their laughter!

We’re launching a brand new ministry called KidZone. This is church just for kids, and it will meet every Sunday afternoon at Calvary Assembly of God from 5-6 PM.

And for Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, we have something for you too. While the kids are having their service, I’ll be sharing some biblically-based instruction on how we can be better (grand)parents to the precious children God has placed in our care.

So bring your kids ages 4-12 every Sunday at 5 PM, and then join me for some coffee and conversation. It’s going to be a blast!

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