ALMOST SHOWED THE DARK SIDE

Travel can be fun and an adventure.  Or it can be a royal pain when plans go awry. 

In the airport in Atlanta I had a pleasant conversation with a lady traveling to Jacksonville, FL, on business.  On the plane, God blessed me with a new friend.  This entertainer, who loves to travel and perform in musicals, had recently lost her daddy. She told me the wonderful story of his love for her, her Mom, and their family.  I am sure I will get to meet him in heaven one day.  And, I hope to catch her performance at the Fox Theater later this spring.  What a blessing to meet her and offer God's comfort over the loss of her Dad.  She loves, respects, and misses him greatly.

Also, I met an old friend on the plane.  I had not seen him for 10 years or more.  Besides a few sentences exchanged on Facebook, we'd lost track of each other.  As I walked down the aisle of the plane - which seem to be narrower than they used to be (either that or I can't drive roll cases as well as before) - I heard him call my name and we exchanged greetings then met at the airport to arrange a meeting while I am in Florida for the conference.  How cool to have made 3 great connections so quickly.

Then came the Jacksonville Airport where I was to wait outside Baggage Claim for my prearranged (or so I thought) shuttle to take me to the hotel.  I waited.....and waited....and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt since our plane had arrived early and I had had no baggage to claim.  I did finally get a call through to the agency to find that my reservation didn't actually "take" when I made it online in Atlanta 3 hours earlier.  So, the lady, with whom I spoke on my 3rd or 4th attempt to call, made a real reservation.  I waited....and waited....and - you get the picture.  Another kind lady at the ground transportation kiosk helped me get the correct number for the shuttle dispatcher.

I was about to get really steamed but the Holy Spirit touched down to say, "You are in no hurry.  Just enjoy the scenery and relax."  I did, but I still was fighting the urge to tell my story as soon as the "big blue van" appeared.  I waited some more and finally a Yellow Cab not a "big blue van"  pulled up nearby (by that time I was about to jump in any public transit and go).  The gentleman (we will call him Paulo for confidentiality's sake) motioned for me and told me he was my ride to the hotel.  Great!

Before we even left the parking lot Paulo was telling me some of his story, apologizing for the wait, explaining the confusion he'd experienced as he waited for his fare (me) in another part of the ground transportation area.  Suddenly, my irritation turned to understanding.  Our conversation continued.

Paulo had recently lost an 18 month-old son to accidental suffocation.  Don't know details but that was enough.  Paulo's remorse and pain was palpable.  He questioned himself and his God.  He didn't understand and neither did I.  But for the next 10-15 minutes sitting in the parking area at the hotel, I listened and comforted (or tried to) and gave him scriptural direction, which he'd requested, then outside the cab in front of onlookers we prayed.  I thank my God for that opportunity and what He taught me about being still, listening, not getting my priorities out of sync with His.

Getting to the hotel was not the issue.  Getting to know the people and loving them in Jesus' name is always the greater issue.

In this case and I pray from now on, I will show Christ and my transformed "new self" to the world not the dark side of my old self.  That unproductive reactions of the old me are a waste of life and precious time when so many need so much from our Abba Father. 
He is always ready with the provision...many times through you and me.

Be blessed, my friends!

Marriage Man, we forgot to pray!

On the way back from Kentucky the weekend of March 2nd, our family was traveling to Atlanta after celebrating my Mom's 100th birthday.  We had a big party at our home church on Saturday, March 2.  I was honored with the privilege of preaching the Sunday morning service at my home church with most of my family attending.  I spoke on the importance of marriage to our culture.  It was a blast!  You need to know that in attendance in the worship service, where I preached, was only one of my grandchildren, 6-year old Evan.

After the Sunday festivities in Kentucky we drove back in a convoy, "of sorts", with my daughter's family in their van and Jeanne, Carol, and I in the rental car.  When we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner, all 5 adults and 3 children were settling in with the usual flurry of activity - getting boosters, high chair, deciding who was going to sit by Aunt Jeanne, opening packs of coloring crayons, and finishing drink orders.

As things calmed down, our food was delivered and we were about to eat when Evan (the 6 year old) leaned across the table, looked me right in the eye and said, "Hey, Marriage Man, we forgot to pray!"

Needless to say prayer did happen but only after we all regained composure!

Any Regrets? Yes - Final Thoughts

Regrets - My own children.
I won't spend much time here because we have addressed most, if not all the regrets, I had concerning my relationships with our children.  After Carol and I realized how inadequately we'd been trained and mentored to love, we began to invest in each other more wisely and our love grew...still grows.  Soon after this process began we went to our kids to ask forgiveness for not meeting heart needs, for being so focused on self that I had too little time to focus on them.  They forgave me then and continued to show grace to me  along the way, as I messed up.   I have wonderful kids and grandkids who deserve to be loved by a Dad/Grand-dad, who gets it and shows the love of Jesus clearly.

Regrets - Carol Lewis
This would take a book to write, and if I thought it would help others-I'd write it.  Let me simply say that the first half of our marriage was really good, a few years in the middle were starting to show signs of wear and tear on me, but the last 18 years have been a steady growth process for us.  We now love each other more as Jesus loves us.  Today, we are better friends than ever.  Tomorrow holds great hope for us because Jesus Christ is real and really at work to change each of us into His image. 

The Regret?  I wish I knew 42 years ago, when we met at Murray State University, what I learned 18 years ago through the Intimate Encounters material and the Galatians 6:6 Retreat in Memphis.  The more I experience love from her and give love to her, the more excited I am about the next years together...to the glory of God.  He started all this by loving us first.  Sound biblical?  It is.

Finally - I regret not spending more time with God in prayer, in His Word, and in quiet listening.  Oh, of course, I do pray and do listen, but I want to live in His presence without having to stay in a fixed location.  I want God to have my thoughts, my emotions, my choices, and my actions so that He controls all that comes from my life.  As He controls more of me, certainly I will have fewer regrets in the future than in my past. 


I know I could add other regrets, but for now....it is about lunch time and I am hungry. 

All these regrets give a fellow an appetite!

Any Regrets? Where was my Patriotism? Where is Greg Roberson?

Regrets - About My Patriotism
I truly wish that I had been engaged in not only enjoying freedom but also investing my life in preserving freedom for my progeny.  I have sacrificed very little to preserve my country's heritage of liberty and free enterprise.

I am now speaking out, paying up, and supporting those who are attempting to take us back to the foundational principles of the constitution.  My prayer is that I am not too late.  Oh, God, please help me not be too late to join those who are awakening and attempting to stop the flow of freedom being bled from the body of the USA. 

Regardless of the economy's status in the world, no one or nothing should be able to stop the USA from being one of the main sending stations of the Good News of Jesus and of the love of God revealed in strong families and gracious giving to meet the needs of the world.

When Carol, Jeanne, and I started The Basic Idea Ministries, Inc. in September, 2010, I truly believe that God gave and is giving us a chance to help reclaim our country for His purposes.  By helping pastors, leaders, and churches we are seeing God reclaim families and communities.  Our country must experience God 's love clearly displayed in the Gospel of Jesus and authentically experienced in our homes as the way to reclaim the next generations.  Without this powerful, clear display of the love of Jesus Christ, we are just making noise...see I Corinthians 13: 1-3.


Regrets - About Greg Roberson or Robinson
There is a young man, well I guess he isn't quite so young now, to whom I would like to offer an apology.  When he was a student at Briarcrest High School around 1974 - 1978-ish, he and I had some great discussions.  Greg was a good guy, godly young man, and as kind-hearted a person as you'd find.  The regret I have is that I judged him concerning his music choices.  I had much to learn from him but was too steeped in legalism to figure it out.  I wish I could tell him how much he taught me....though it took a while to sink in. 

There were other students in my youth groups in Memphis and Little Rock to whom I would also offer an apology and explanation to let them know that they were much more "right" than I was about the music and the musicians. Many of those contemporary artists understood God's heart much more deeply than I.  I have realized that it isn't the style or the volume that matters, it is the heart of the artist and whether or not he/she is clearly communicating the message of Jesus' love and truth.

Next Post:   My own children.

Any Regret? Yes, outside my family!

Regret- Outside My Family
Thinking about the way I dated fueled by my own insecurity and inaccurate view of what it means to be a "real man", I regret that I missed opportunities to get to know some wonderful young ladies.  I didn't date that much,  but in high school and college did date some wonderful ladies. 

I eventually met and married another wonderful lady named Carol, who is my wife of almost 40 years.  The regret I have is that I could have developed friendships with each of these ladies but didn't and, honestly, didn't know how.

Had I the opportunity to rewind and re-date, I would spend the time getting to know these special ladies without introducing the typical, cultural, "romantic" elements so often practiced and so inadequate at showing true love, respect, and friendship.

By the time I met Carol, I had finally come to healthier conclusions about the relationship I hoped to build, and we "dated better".  Each of these ladies was principled and gracious.  I simply regret not knowing them on a heart level as I could have and should have.

Having friends and being a real friend mean more to me now than I can describe.  I am so grateful to God for allowing me to be in a relationship with my wife Carol that includes a growing friendship, true fellowship as believers in Jesus, and the blessing of a romantic love that continues to bloom over the years.

Next post:   Regrets - About My Patriotism

Any Regrets? Yes, inside my family of origin.

For the past few weeks this theme of "regrets" has come to my mind often.  I am not sure why, but have felt I should write about it...so here goes...


Regret - Inside My Family of Origin
Without making this blog post of epic proportion, let me state simply that I regret not truly, deeply knowing any of my siblings, or my Dad, or my Mom in the era prior to launching into marriage at 22 years of age.

I don't think we knew how to go deep with each other, to listen, ask good questions and respond with tenderness and truth in balance.  By God's grace my Mom, age 99, is still doing well and living on her own with the wonderful help of two brothers, a sister, and their servant-hearted spouses.
Mom and I have become friends and actually have an "adult to adult" relationship.  I love her and know she loves me.

How I wish to God I could have known my Dad better and somehow developed the kind of relationship with him that I believe he'd have enjoyed and that I know I would have.  He was a great man: kind, hard working, funny, hard working, consistent, hard working...did I mention he was "hard working"?  My deepest regret is that I didn't see his eyes much, listen well when he spoke, engage him in long conversations just listening to him,  or ask him questions about, well, about him.  There was so much under that wonderful man's exterior that I wish I could have explored and known.  I think I would also have enjoyed his knowing me more deeply too.

My time at home with 6 brothers and a sister was spent too much in separation and not enough actually showing love and care for each other.  I would truly like to get a re-do on my sibling relationships.  Once again, I would like to have known them much more deeply than I did.  We are working on loving each other better and knowing each other more deeply.  For that I am grateful.  Each of them and their spouses are wonderful, awesome people with many gifts, talents, and admirable qualities.  They are fun to be with.  Just wish I had appreciated them much earlier in life and invested better in a relationship with each of them.

  Next post :  Regret- Outside My Family

Top Ten Relational Needs

Ten Relational Needs*

(Addressed by Jesus)

Acceptance – deliberate and ready reception with a favorable positive response, even after failure (Rom. 15:7). (Jesus accepted Peter ever after Peter’s failure.  John 21:17)

Affection – to communicate care and closeness through physical touch and words (Rom. 16:16). (Jesus loved his disciples.  John 13:1 - Jesus touched and healed the leper. Matt. 8:3)

Appreciation – to communicate with words and feelings a personal gratefulness for another (1 Cor. 11:2).  (Jesus welcomed children, was not bothered by them. Mark 10:14)

Approval – expressed commendation; to think and speak well of (Rom. 14:18). (Jesus commended the Roman centurion for his faith. Luke 7:9)

Attention – to take thought of another and convey appropriate interest and support; to enter into another’s “world” (1 Cor. 12:25).  (Jesus left the Father to enter our world. Phil. 2:6-8)

Comfort (Empathy) – to come alongside with word, feeling, and touch; to give consolation with tenderness (Rom. 12:15).  (Jesus wept with friends. John 11:35)

Encouragement – to urge forward and positively persuade toward a goal (1 Thess. 5:11, Heb. 10:24).  (Jesus sent his disciples out to do kingdom work.  John 14:12)

Respect – to value and regard highly; to convey great worth (Rom. 12:10).  (Jesus valued the adulterous woman brought for judgment.  John 8:10-11)

Security – confidence of harmony in relationships; free from harm (Rom. 12:16a).  (Jesus promises to be with us “even to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:20)

Support – come alongside and gently help carry a load (Gal. 6:2).  (Jesus was with his disciples through celebration and challenging times, and left His Spirit.  John 14:18)

*List was adapted from Intimate Encounters Workbook, page 12; Relationship Press, PO Box 201808, Austin, Texas.