Alaska Fishing

Coach Hillsy helping me hold up my 37-pound King Salmon.

I said I'd be gone a week. I lied! The week with my son in Kentucky (a great time) was followed by a few days of getting ready for a trip, after which I just returned.

Just got back from a lifetime experience – King Salmon fishing in Alaska. I was blown away by sixteen men in Nampa who provided the gift of the trip for me. The beautiful scenery – mountains, rivers, bald eagles, diamond willow; wrestling with a 37-pound king salmon (man, are they strong); the kindness and thoughtfulness of the men as they helped me maneuver the rocky shoreline; nine men with a common goal, doing a "wild at heart" life experience – what a great week.

A thought for you to consider taken from Coach Dungy’s book “Quiet Strength”: “Success is uncommon and not to be enjoyed by the comman man. I’m looking for uncommon people because we want to be successful, not average. Some are uncommon because of God-given natural abilities – Yao Ming’s height, the vertical jump of Michael Jordan. Others have to work to become uncommon. Steve Kerr formerly with the Chicago Bulls, shot 500 free throws a day to make himself uncommon.”

A question to ask ourselves: am I expending the effort to make my walk with God "uncommon?"

Could my walk with people, marked by a selfless love, be called "uncommon?"

Good to be back.

Treasures in Darkness

Our back yard depicting the crucifixion of the "old man."

We’ve all experienced “the dark night of the soul,” where it seemed that nothing was going right. Nothing made sense. Dreams were seemingly lost. An unexpected disease. A financial crisis. A confusing time indeed.

Our first reaction to the dark night is usually: “get me out of here” or “turn on the light.” Darkness is uncomfortable. It is a time of insecurity.

However, whether we were the cause for the darkness or whether it was just life, there is value in darkness. To those whose trust is in the Lord and have yielded their lives to Him, I can resolutely say: “God is in the process of doing a great work in your life. You might not see the evidence of it yet.”

From my own life experience and in the observation of others, it seems that God does His deepest work in maturing us during those periods of darkness. Isaiah 45:3 challenges us with: “And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches.I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name
And Job reminds us in 12:22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;he brings light to the deepest gloom.
And the Israelites experienced God’s work in Exodus 14:21: All that night the Lord drove the sea back.

God is working in your darkness right now “driving the sea back”. One of my darkest nights was after I had sold my ranch and given up my counseling practice in Birmingham to teach and coach at a christian college in Tennessee. My wife died unexpectedly. I was unjustly fired and couldn’t find any other work utilizing my experience. That has been nine years ago. What seemed like an unfair forced retirement has been a time of purging, breaking and stripping.

The treasures that have come out of that darkness was a stripping of pride, self sufficiency, performance oriented idolatry. Replaced by an ever deepening trust in the Lord, peace of mind, contentment and fulfillment. The proces was painful. The product – worth it all.

“All that night the Lord worked. He uncovered mysteries and gave me rich treasures of a maturing life in Him.” Praise the Lord.

Are you going through a dark valley? Hang on. Don’t ask “why?” Ask “how?” How do you want to use this tough time in my life? What treasures of darkness are you providing for me through this experience?

Going to Kentucky to be with my son. Be back in a week.

Glory of Sunset

Gretchen and son Dominick

Enjoying the past week with my daughter Gretchen and her family brought back to mind the influence of my first wife Ann. Gretchen is developing great characteristics modeled by her mother before Ann’s death. One of the most significant being her ability to make people feel appreciated and cared for.

It brings to mind Henry Ward Beecher’s comments:
“When the sun finally drops below the horizon in the early evening, evidence of its work remains for some time. The skies continue to glow for a full hour after its departure.

“In the same way, when a good or a great person’s life comes to it final sunset, the skies of this world are illuminated until long after she is out of view. Such a person does not die from this world, for when she departs she leaves much of herself behind and being dead, she still speaks.”

Gretchen is experiencing the glow of Ann’s sunset. Next week, I get to be with my son in Kentucky and I’ll observe the glow of his mother’s sunset there also.

I am a blessed man - two great wives! The former providing the glow of her sunset. The present, Theresa, the glory of her sunshine.

Simultaneity

Simultaneity – a word used by Thomas Kelly describing a growing awareness of the presence of God. Genesis 5:24 tells us that “Enoch walked with God." I so desire that growing awareness of His presence.

Oz Hillman gives some suggestions to accomplish the quest. He refers to the monk, Brother Lawrence, who was a dishwasher in his monastery in the 1600’s, who said: "For me the time of activity does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling together calling for as many different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as when upon my knees at the blessed Sacrament."

What does it mean to practice the presence of God daily? It means we are constantly talking to our Heavenly Father about the issues in our day. It means praying about things as they come up. It means stopping at a red light and praying for the person God brings to mind. It means singing a song in your car while you are sitting in traffic. That is practicing the presence of God.

The true test of a person's spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the daily grind of everyday life when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening.

The dishwashing monk found that in the common task he met the same God to love and worship as he did in the stillness of his quiet time.

Enoch was also a man that practiced the presence of God. "He walked with God." -- 300 years!

How is you simultaneity with God?

Divine Mentor

Had a great week in Orlando with daughter Gretchen and family.

Continuing excerpts from "The Divine Mentor."

Why is knowing God so important? Why does He want us to love Him with ever increasing devotion? For creative affinity – we become increasingly more like that which we love the most. We take on the characteristis of whom or what we cherish most deeply.

It has been said in other places, "we become like the books we read and the people with whom we associate." As we spend time communicating with God, allowing Him to work growth in us we become like HIm. Those close to me say, "yea, Burwick, go for it. You need it!!!

On the other hand, Reading the Bible will tell us about history and render facts. Entering the Bible will be like shadowing Christ. We will hear Him speak. Our faith will grow.

When the Word is just in your head, it makes you pharisaical.
When it is in your heart, it makes you a fanatic.
When it bleeds out your toes, it makes you authentic.

The world won’t be changed by those who take a weekly class (church). It will be changed by men and women who sit daily at the feet of Jesus, listening to His words. These people will be recognized by the world because of the tone of the Father’s words.

Question: are we going to be spoon-fed once a week or will we enter the University of the Holy Spirit where He can personally mentor us daily?

By the way, the author is pastor of a 12 year-old church with 12,000 members. He has planted nearly 100 churches averaging 600 members each. He claims it is all based and begins with life groups. Groups meet in public places, like coffee shops, for far-reaching impact. Format for life groups: 20/20/20. 20 minutes in the Word. 20 minutes journaling and 20 minutes sharing what you’ve journaled. Learn from each other. (Why journal? Writing makes us more precise thinkers. Writing internalizes the truth more efficiently.) Size of group? Any! For a large group, the last 20 minutes split up in groups of 3 or 4.

The highest form of prayer is not me talking to God.
It is Him talking to me through Scripture.