Thirty-five years ago today (July 17th) my beautiful bride to be “pledged her troth” to me. To a recovering hayseed that sounded mildly naughty but I learned it meant that she promised her fidelity to our relationship. She meant it. Today we celebrate well over three decades together. Hard to believe. Just for grins I went back and took a look at some of the top music in the year we got married. There were some hits that did not make the cut for the solo at our modest wedding. For example, Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” was axed. Go figure. Joni rejected The Captain and Tenille’s moving rendition of “Muskrat Love” without allowing debate. I felt like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” would be a great crowd warmup. Rejected. “Shake Your Booty” by KC and The Sunshine Band was summarily dismissed. But one song from 1976 that was not wedding solo worthy still describes how I feel about the lovely Mrs.Burchett. Orleans
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(Published earlier at Worldmag.com) OK, I admit it. I like country music. I also like rock, Motown, jazz, pop, folk, gospel, and classical music. But I once tried to distance myself from country in an ill-fated attempt to be sophisticated. To quote an old family idiom, that effort was like putting earrings on a hog. I am a small town boy and my roots are in the hills of Kentucky. So I no longer deny that I have a few banjos and some fine squirrel recipes in my genetic pool. In addition to my chromosomal predisposition toward Nashville, I am developing a deep appreciation for the honesty of country music. It is one of the few safe places to discuss God and country and marriage and old-fashioned values without fear of politically correct busybodies getting their undergarments twisted. We all laugh at a few outrageously titled country tunes, but there are many songs that reflect exactly who I am: a
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My bride and I will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary in a few days. I wish I could say it has been 33 years of wine and roses. Or, for my legalistic friends, 30 years of Welch’s and practical cut flowers. But it has not always been easy. Neither one of us came into this little nuptial adventure with any idea of what we were doing. So I was a little disturbed to find an article that would have told me everything that women wished that men knew. How helpful that little bit of intel would have been in 1976 instead of 2009. But I decided to proceed to see if I had figured anything out by trial and consitent error. The survey was a joint effort of Woman’s Day Magazine and AOL. The title of the article is “What we wish men knew”. Here are some of the findings with my totally objective self-evaluation of my beginning marriage grade and current grade.
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(Posted earlier this week at Worldmag.com) I spent some time thinking about the sad story of Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. He has been a vocal advocate of family values and faith. He boldly proclaimed his faith in Christ and his responsibility as a Christian public servant. Now his very public affair has damaged and perhaps ruined his marriage, career, and legacy. I used to be among the first to jump on the dogpile of condemnation for fallen Christian leaders. Now when I read about men like Mark Sanford, Ted Haggard, and John Ensign I am mainly sad. I am sad for their families and friends—and sad for those who were damaged by their sin. I wondered how these men got to such a low point in their journey. Perhaps a bit of insight came from a recent Texas storm. Strong winds toppled a 50-foot-tall tree in a friend’s backyard. But strong winds are a part of every spring
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I love the morning walks with dog friend Hannah and the iPod devotionals along the way. The most recent song that hit a heart chord was a song called “Just As I Am”. I am not talking about the go to song for altar calls that gave you a small sample of eternity at my hometown church. “One more verse…I know there is someone out there….still waiting….one more verse…” My response was to a song of the same name by Andrew Peterson . Peterson is one of my favorite song writers and singers. Regular readers of the humble ramblings know that I have been on a journey of exploring grace and my identity in Christ. It has been such an invigorating and freeing season of my life. I ache for others to experience this joy. But instead I see so much sadness and tiredness in the church. I think that this song gave me some insight into why I was finally ready to quit striving so hard to please God
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Every dad leaves a legacy. I have learned a few things through trial and many errors about being a dad who is trying to leave a positive legacy. Previous installments detailed two ways to leave a good legacy. Love Your Wife Affirm Your Kids Today we will examine two more ways to establish a positive legacy. And we are adding a very dangerous twist today. I polled my three sons about my strengths and (gasp) shortcomings as their father. Those knee-buckling results were both sobering and encouraging. First, the third way to leave a positive legacy as a dad. 3. Enjoy every mile of the journey The best description I have heard about being a parent is this bit of wisdom: “Parenting…the days are long and the years are short.” In his book, Being a Good Dad When You Didn’t Have One, Tim Wesemann gives his readers a two-word piece of advice: “Lighten up!” He says that adults laugh an average of 15 times a day while
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The most recent post began a brief series on leaving a legacy as an earthly father. Every dad leaves a legacy. The only question is what kind. The first step to leaving a positive legacy is to love your wife. For some readers that already has not worked out. That does not mean that you cannot leave a good legacy. There are many ways to redeem the father/child relationship. The second part of leaving a legacy that endures is to be an encouragement to your kids. Paul wrote this simple instruction to the church at Colossae. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. The Message translates this verse like this…. Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits. I cannot remember hearing a lot of teaching on that verse over the years. It is really easy in this success mad culture to discourage your children. Nearly every dad wants his child to be successful.
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