We're #1! We're #1!

According to a news story I heard on my drive home this morning, NC has the boasts the highest average price for a gallon of gasoline. WooHoo! What a great achievement. I wonder what else that will put as in first place for.

Silent Ball Craze

Several years ago, a friend of mine who happened to be a middle school teacher told me about a game called silent ball. Basically, the kids throw a ball around the room. You are "out" if you make any noise or drop the ball. It's a great class (and behavior) management tool. He strongly testified to its effectiveness.

Well, now that I am a middle school teacher, I decided to use this game. When I was buying my classroom supplies, one of the things I purchased was a large foam ball for this very reason. I was shocked when school started and the kids began asking to play silent ball on day 1! Apparently, silent ball is a phenomenon known to every middle school student and teacher in the universe. It even has a wiki entry.

I can't help but liken this to Christianity. At least in part. All over the "civilized" world, people know about Jesus. At least we (and they) think they do. In reality, the only knowledge many people have of Jesus is the use of his name as an exclamation or even a swear. I'd wager the average church going Christian would be surprised how many American born and bred people do not know the basic facts of the traditional children's Christmas play with all the wise men, shepherds, angels, and a stable.

For that matter, many of us who call ourselves "Christian" know less about Jesus than we think. Much of what we know "to be true" about Jesus and following him have more to do with years of traditional interpretation and less about what the Bible actually says about him. Or what the Holy Spirit may even reveal to us. I even had a young Mormon missionary tell me one time that one of the things he liked about the South was that "everybody believed in Jesus". To which I quickly replied, "True, but I don't think we all believe the same thing."

Back to silent ball. Why is it that something as mundane as silent ball can be a universal given in the average middle school classroom but something as important as the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ and what it means to follow him can be so widespread but shallow in depth? How is it that there can actually be people who don't know about him beyond the "that's what this group of people call the God force out there"?

I'm beginning to digress and my thoughts are becoming more dissociated with one another, putting forth a much less coherent article. So, I shall stop for the night and come back later when I am more organized. Until then, answer these questions for yourself. What do you know about Jesus? How will you make sure everybody does know about him?

A Marlboro Weekend

The last two days have been wonderful memory making moments for me. Friday evening I took my youngest son deer hunting. He has been wanting to use his bow to kill a deer for a long time. After work I rushed home and we headed off for the woods until dark. We didn't see any deer, but we came across some fresh tracks on our way out, telling us they somehow ran around behind us. Either way, it was a good time.

Yesterday (Saturday) the whole family attended the Fishing and Hunting Expo put on by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. We sampled some wonderful outdoor cooking, watched "real" mountain men start fire with a stick, did some simulated duck hunting, and tied some flies to hopefully catch some trout on someday. The whole family had a great time.

Yesterday evening, my oldest son and I went dove hunting. We had discovered a secluded field on some public game land that appears to never be used. We've hunted it before with success. The difference in this trip was I brought along a gun as well. When we first arrived, two large flocks flew out of the field. We took positions on either side of the field and walked parallel lines up the field, hoping to flush any stragglers left behind. Right before three birds flushed immediately in front of me, I remember thinking, "This is the stuff great magazine articles are made of."

Allowing the Hallmark-made-for-tv-movie side to show a bit, I really did think how great the weekend had been. Perhaps it is a bit stereotypical, but a dad and his sons out hunting are great memories. It's part of making my boys junior Marlboro men. I was doing something I enjoy. They were doing something they enjoy. We were are enjoying God's creation. And we were doing together.

I also couldn't help but think that sometimes God feels this way. Whenever we are doing some that we really enjoy and we are doing it for his glory, he has to enjoy being part of it. Weekends like this help me appreciate my relationship with my heavenly father. When I think about my relationship with him it also helps me enjoy my relationship with my children even more. It makes me want to do more things with both God and my children.

Just a thought

Caught in the Storm

Old friend and current church planter Matt LeRoy has posted a beautiful thought about being caught in the storm of God's love. I want to be a tree. More importantly I want to know that I am a tree, feeling the effects of the storm every day.

Why no one will mistake me for John Wesley

Here's a list of reasons why no one will mistake me for John Wesley, the 18th century preacher and leader of the Methodist Movement.
1) He was barely five feet tall. I'm 6'2".
2) He rode over 100K miles on horseback. I've never ridden a horse.
3) He died in 1791. I'm still alive, at least I was when I wrote this.
4) He was known in part for preaching to thousands in the open air. I'm not so good at that.

I'll elaborate on that last one. My youngest son plays flag football in a local Upward league. At every practice, there is a devotional time. Children earn stars for Scripture memorization, great game play, and demonstrating Christlikeness. On game day, there is a devotional at halftime of all the games. I was asked earlier in the week to give the devotional at yesterday's game. I'll probably never get asked to do that again.

Let me begin by saying I hate the sound of my own voice. Whenever I preach in a church, I always request that the stage monitors be turned off. There's not a problem whenever I'm speaking in an situation without a sound system because I've learned to ignore my voice. If only I could have done that yesterday. Or had a set of earplugs and earmuffs.

When halftime came, I stood in the middle of the three football fields, using a wireless mike. Because of the location of the speakers and sound board, there was about a one second delay between when I would actually say something and then hear it myself. I began pausing between every word because I kept hearing it twice. Imagine an old 45 record (for those of you born before cassette tapes) played at 33 rpm. Try as I might, I could not ignore the delay and speak in a normal speed.

As I looked around at the crowd, the 200 or so parents all had a forgiving smile on their faces. I know that I sounded quite a bit country fried, even for this part of this country. When I returned to the sideline, my "supportive" wife (please read sarcasm in that description) was doubled over in laughter. In her words, I sounded like "a stroke victim". Trying to put a positive spin on things and save what little dignity I had left, my response to her was, "Well, I'll not be asked to do it again and that will be one less thing I'll have to prepare."

I wonder how John Wesley would have done in that situation.

Growth Spurts

One of the unfortunate things about having children is they always outgrow whatever they own. They outgrow their shoes, their clothes, their beds, their bikes . . . Whenever we replace one of these items we find ourselves trying to calculate how to get the maximum usage out of that item for the lowest price. That's because we know just as soon as we spend $30 on a pair of shoes for one of our kids that two days later he will outgrow them overnight. Yesterday we went boot shopping so they would be prepared for the opening day of dove hunting season and their first offical hunt. As one of the boys was lobbying for a much more expensive pair of boots ($80 - $100), I kindly explained that when he was 18 and the overnight growth spurts were over, providing a better chance to get more than two weeks of wear out of a pair of shoes, we could revisit the issue.

Growth is usually a good thing. Corporations want to see their market shares grow which usually also means a growth in revenue and profit. Incumbent politicians prefer to see growth in the economy, especially in an election year. School officials want to see growth in end of year test scores. Leaders of any organization like to see growth in their membership.

Growth in our faith journeys is a good thing too. We want our relationships with God to grow closer, more intimate. We desire to see our faith grow, enabling us to trust more, handle bigger crises, display greater wisdom. Just like children, this growth will usually come in spurts.

We have learned to recognize the signs of an impending growth spurt in the boys. Their appetites usually double or triple for about a week. They might become a little more moody during that same time. After a week of eating everything in sight, they will usually experience a week or so of increased lethargy. Then suddenly they will be a few inches taller and a few pounds heavier. When you think about the fact that a teenager does nothing but eat and sleep for a couple of years, it's clear why they experience the massive spurts they have.

A spiritual growth spurt may have similar signs. A person may have an increased appetite for studying the Bible or becoming involved in the life of his church. Other signs may not appear so positive. A crisis of some sort may be the signal of a growth spurt. How one handles the crisis will determine his or her faith standing on the other side of the trial. A temptation, knowing that we will not be tempted beyond anything we can bear (1 Cor 10:13) may be the signal of a growth spurt.

What are your thoughts? What are the signs you can recall of your own spiritual growth spurt? Is it possible to "outgrow" your current situation as a result of spiritual growth spurt?

Olympics, Genetics, & Success

It's been a while since I've posted, mainly because I've spent almost every waking moment preparing for the new school year now that I'm teaching again. Plus the Olympics have been on for the last two weeks. They were fun to watch, but honestly, I'm glad they're over.

For those of you living under a rock the last two weeks, the American swimmer Michael Phelps was the big story of this year's Olympics. He won EIGHT gold medals this year alone. That gives him a career total of 14. If my memory serves me correctly, six of this year's eight medals involved new world records.

Michael Phelps has sparked a bevy of thoughts. The one I'd like to share tonight deals with genetics. Much was said about Phelps having the perfect body shape for swimming. Apparently he is cursed with a disproportionately long torso for his height, just like me. Plus his inseam is too short for his height. However, the similarities between Phelps and me end there. He had other genetic factors going for him, aiding in his success as a swimmer.

Dara Torres, the 41 year old woman who was also captain of the swim team (and medal winner!) referenced her own genetics in explaining her success as such an "old" age. Like Phelps, she has more fast twitch muscle fibers.

All this discussion about genetics during the Olympics helped to put a damper on my dreams. I can see where it would easily dampen other dreams as people began to examine their own genetic make up. No longer can you get there from hard work. You must have the proper genes. What if you were able to determine exactly what your particular gene would enable you to be successful at and you weren't interested in such a pusruit? Just because I have the perfect genetic combination to be the world's best one handed egg juggler does not mean that's how I want to make my mark on the world.

It's just a matter of time before spiritual matters become boiled down to genetic factors. Or at least some scientific study which claim such. Do some of us have a better chance at being "more successful" on their faith journey's than others? Is that fair? What do the people with "weak genes" do? What about those with "good genes" who do not pursue a relationship with God?

I think some people do have more of a proclivity toward spiritual matters than others. I do not know if genetics have anything to do with it. I also believe that everyone can experience "success" in their faith journeys. That success depends on one's ability to trust in the faith given by the Holy Spirit.

I hope these thoughts inspire some of your own. How about sharing them if so. In the meantime, I've got to start training for the 2012 400m IM.

Move over Barney, kids wanna Rock

For those of you needing a little humor while exercising your rock'n'roll mojo, here's a clip for you. Enjoy!

I want one of those!

I've been away from my blog for a while 'cause I've been working a real job as well as filling in an empty pulpit for a while. For those of you who have really missed my weekly updates, I'm sorry your life has deteriorated to that. Anyhow, I saw the coolest thing I've seen in a long time today and I want one! A coworker was showing off her iPhone today. She then admitted to being a Star Wars geek, which proves that I only hang out with good people. After her confession, she showed me her phone saber. The video that the link takes you to does not do justice to how absolutely kewl that app is. I was very impressed with the realistic sounds the app produced. If I had closed my eyes, I would have sworn that Obi Wan was battling the forces of evil in the room there with me.

The iPhone has been out for a while. It's a neat little gadget and I would love to have one. Two things keep me from buying one - the price and it's only compatible with one wireless carrier, one I am not subscribed to. I figure I already have an iPod and a phone and I really don't need a lot of the cool features an iPhone boasts. That is until today. After seeing the phone saber, I surfed the internet for almost 45 minutes, researching prices on iPhones and I also began seriously contemplating switching my wireless carrier just so I could own a phone saber. I came home and excitedly told my family about it.

I was almost converted. When the day was done, I did not buy an iPhone nor did I switch carriers. I probably won't anytime soon. I did think a lot about how my desires and opinions were almost changed by a simple app on a little techno gadget. I thought about the night I decided to change my desires and opinions and desires on how I would live my life. That was the night I decided to follow Jesus on my faith journey. A lot of little things built up, mainly watching the lives of my friends around me, that led me to my "Christian conversion".

Most of us think we need to develop winning debates and convincing arguments so that we sway people into making such conversions on their own. For me, and for many others I talk to, it was something about just how cool other people's lives were compared to their own that led them to "convert". I don't own a phone saber (yet), but I have THE kewlest app ever developed in my heart. That's one I don't want to fail to share with everyone around me.

New Job!

I'm very excited because I'm going back to school. I've been working the last three weeks as a temp for the Raleigh CDSA, a state agency that provides early intervention services for children aged birth to three years. Next week I begin my job as a 7th grade math teacher at Clayton Middle School. I'm really pumped about the opportunity to work at the number 1 ranked middle school in the Johnston County School system. Soon I hope to post some of the cool things that have already happened since getting the job. For now, just celebrate with me.

Rooting for the bad guy

The other day a friend and I were reminiscing about the good ol' days when we were younger and saw Star Wars for the first time. I'll never forget sitting on the first row of the theater as a third grader when "A long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . ." flashed across the screen. I remember that my friends and I all looked at each other and said, "Is this a true story?" I relived the same excitement and adrenaline rush when Lucas began to make the prequels of epsiodes 1, 2, and 3. When my wife and I went to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at a midweek matinee, I got chill bumps of excitement. I experienced the same excitement when I introduced my boys to this greatest set of movies ever made. But enough about my geekness.

As my friend and I relived our magical childhood, the subject of Darth Vader came up. Growing up, before we knew how Darth Vader became so evil, everyone hated him. No one wanted to be Darth Vader. You may have bought the Darth Vader figure and his tie fighter, but only so someone else could pretend to be him while you saved the day. That's not the case today. Kids like to be Darth Vader today all because they know he used to be Anakin Skywalker, who until he finally crossed the line to join the dark side, was a pretty good guy. I must admit, even I look differently at Darth Vader now, although I don't find myself necessarily liking him.

Is this a dangerous trend, excusing evil, even looking up to it, on the basis of the good that may have been done in the past or the knowledge that the evil doer will turn from his wicked ways? Or is it a lesson in grace, seeing the good in people? After all, Luke Skywalker says of his father repeatedly, "There's still good in him, I know." What do you think?

What is wrong with me?!!!

Pardon me while I engage in self-loathing and general American culture criticism, but we are so stupid! Because I have never smoked pot, drunk more than a sip or two of alcohol (only once voluntarily), or done anything other than prescription drugs, I do not have a very long resume of brain cell killing activities beyond normal childhood falls on the head. In order to meet the prerequisite quota of mind-numbing activities mandated by the Council of US Cultural Standards Enforcment Board, I watch television. Tonight I watched a few minutes of the Baby Borrowers and then the first sixty seconds of Celebrity Circus. When I stop to think that I have at least three blue million other similar options by which I can fulfill my duties, it makes me want to stand up and sing like Lee Greenwood, belting out "I'm Proud to Be an American." I'd probably change the next line to "where at least my brain is numb".

Thank you, and goodnight.

P.S. Despite looking like rather obvious product placement ads, none of the above links will net me any money.

Being Shaped in the Smithy

In case you're wondering, a smithy is another name for a forge or a blacksmith's shop. I made what many may think to be a mistake a few weeks ago. I gave my boys the idea that they could actually be blacksmiths. Now. In their back yard. It started out as an innocent experiment to see if we could heat some thin scrap metal up enough that we could shape it into arrowheads so that we could further engage in another dangerous activity, making and shooting our own homemade arrows. So, we arranged some concrete blocks to create a small forge, collected some firewood, and proceeded to experiment with our self-taught blacksmith skills.

It did not work quite as I had hoped. You can't really get hot enough coals with ordinary wood. Still, I received a pretty painful burn. Luckily I was the only one. That has not deterred my boys. Ever since that first attempt, I am constantly bombarded with requests to light up the old smithy again so they can play blacksmith. I have declined 95% of those requests on the basis of it's too hot to stand over a fire, it doesn't really work, I can't stand outside and just watch you for safety's sake right now, and at least one I don't feel like right now.

This past Saturday, I relented and gave them permission. I even took a chance and left them unsupervised with fire and hot metal implements. After a few minutes of watching their actions, I felt fairly confident they would not do anything foolish. Nevertheless, I prayed fervently for their safety before returning to the cooler interior portion of my house.

During those minutes of watching these two young blacksmiths at work in their forge, a profound lesson about parenting, coaching, and mentoring occurred to me. I had, foolishly I thought, made them believe they could actually be blacksmiths. And as far as they were concerned, they were actually succeeding. Isn't that part of what I am supposed to be doing as a father, instilling dreams in my children and helping them fulfill their dreams?

Likewise as a person on a Christian faith journey and as a pastor, part of what I am supposed to be doing is helping understand and strive for the dream of a better life that is marked by the grace of God as it is being reshaped into what he initially created it to be. It's not an impossible dream. I do not have to live a life marked by the effects of sin.

Saturday, I was one in the fire, being shaped and molded by my junior blacksmiths. And I'm glad I was.

Microwave Thoughts

We recently bought a gently and seldom used microwave to replace the one we had. Our old microwave just wasn't performing well. It cooked unevenly, if it cooked at all. You never knew what kind of noise it was going to make. Sometimes it would come on all by itself. Fearing for our safety, we consulted Craig's List to find a new one.

Because it's used, we don't have a manual. I need to search for one on the internet. One button has me really intrigued. As a male, I'm excited to see it in action. The caption on the button reads, "Inverter Turbo Defrost". I'm not exactly sure what type of high octane engine powers this function, but I can't wait to see it in action. It has to be WAY better than regular old defrost like on our old microwave.

This new microwave is a lot more powerful. Popcorn used to take forever and then a lot of kernels remained unpopped. This baby will pop a bag in less than two minutes and you can count on one hand the number of unpopped kernels. In fact, several times there were NO unpopped kernels. Which leads me to a second question - how do you get the smell of burnt popcorn out of the microwave? We left it open on the front porch overnight. That was a week ago. When we use it now, there is still the faint odor of Orville Redenbacher transforming into charcoal briquets. I would seriously like any suggestions on that one.

I don't like everything about this new microwave. Take the door. Our old microwave had a button you pushed to open the door. You have to manually open this one. Which isn't a big deal, but it doesn't openly easily. The kids have a hard time opening it. By the time I get it open sometimes, it has been dragged six feet across the counter.

The clock is hard to read on this one as well. Our old display was so much brighter, clearer, and easier to read. Certainly the engineers had enough wiggle room in their budget to put a nicer display on the unit.

Despite these two shortcomings, I really like the new microwave. My goal in life is to be as content with the rest of my life as I am with the microwave. It's so easy to find fault with everything and everyone around you. Even clouds with silver linings cast shadows. It all depends on what you choose to see, what you choose to emphasize.

Contentment can be very elusive when it comes to money. We live in a very materialistic society. And just because the bug of materialism may not have bitten you does not mean you necessarily live a life of contentment. Paul tells young Timothy that "godliness with contentment is great gain". That statement has caused me to wonder which comes first - the godliness or the contentment.

Contentment is easier for some than others. In God's infinite wisdom, he allows some of us (me) to struggle with it more than others. But I'm trying. And to think that a microwave is leading me there.

Family Size

An unusual thought crept into my mind early this morning (as if I have any other kind of thoughts). Growing up, I only knew two kids who were only children. One girl's parents had divorced when she was very young. She and her mom lived with her grandmother until we were in high school. The other girl was simply an only child, at least as far as the knowledge we had. That girl was always a little strange and thinking back, I probably assumed it was because of her only child status.

I can recall that this only child phenomenon was an unusual one to me. I am the oldest of five children, four surviving. It has never occurred to me to ponder what life would have been like if I had been an only child. My siblings have probably wondered whether their life would have been better in my nonexistence. Being an only child just always seemed to be an oddity to me. I had several friends who were sort of only children because they had older siblings that were much older than they. But they had siblings so they were not complete oddities.

In the days when our country was mostly rural, couples had lots of children because the farm needed workers and Mr. and Mrs. Jones were going to need someone to take care of them when they were older. I don't know what the motivation to have larger families (i.e. four or more children) was in more recent times. I know that today, most couples have two children, many times for the simple reason that the children will have playmates built into the family, freeing up the parents attention. As ludicrous as it sounds, examine your own thoughts about that . . .

Personally, my wife and I would love to have three or four children. . . ideally that is. For lots of reasons we've stopped at two. But just as I could not imagine life as an only child growing up, I cannot imagine life with only one child. That's not a judgment, it's just a statement on how I'm wired.

As a person of faith who is concerned about other people knowing about the God I serve, I cannot fathom being an only child of faith either. I don't want to serve this God alone - I want to do it in a faith community with others on the same faith journey. I'm not content with keeping my family size in its current state. I want to bring other people into this family also, people who are not yet part of a faith journey. It's one of those important things Jesus told us to do when he ascended back into heaven. It's also one of those things that we will naturally want to do aif we don't overthink it.

How big is your family?

You gotta see this . . .

Baseball is my favorite sport. I would actually watch all 162 games a season if I had the time (and cable!). A friend sent me this clip. Enjoy.

June Bug correction

The annoying pest I've been trying to eliminate is not the fun to chase June bug, but in fact the Japanese beetle. My wife bought a Japanese beetle trap today and within minutes of hanging, it had collected five beetles. The linked article quotes a University of Kentucky study that says traps do more harm than good because they attract more beetles. We'll see. Either way, my thoughts in the previous post remain true, regardless of what type of bug it is!

Chasing June Bugs

Chasing June bugs has not turned out to be as much fun as I had hoped it would. For the last two weeks I have been trying to save my garden from a constant attack of these leaf hungry varmints. For some reason, June bugs really like eggplant leaves. Their second favorite seem to be either cucumber or zucchini. But even then, they prefer the eggplant 10 to 1.

Where are they all coming from?! In one day, I easily picked fifty bugs off my plants. Each day I pick at least another twenty to twenty-five minimal. I've been saving each and every one. I'm collecting them to make June bug soup. I'll spray the solution on the plants and it is supposed to keep away any future June bugs. No one wants to hang around their dead counterparts.

This is all part of my ever increasing learning curve of trying to be self-sufficient in the gardening arena. One day I'd really like to have a small farm and grow as many vegetables as possible. As I was picking off all the little buggers, I tried to imagine what this would be like on a large scale. I'm sure that explains the need for a big tractor with all kinds of cool attachments that will plow, till, harvest, and even spray things like pesticides. It also makes it sound a lot like work instead of some idealistic dream of scratching your Green Acres itch.

I guess it's all part of the list of never-ending metaphors that come along to help us understand what life is supposed to be like, even life on a faith journey. There will be the normal bug infestations that must be dealt with. Real life, and real faith, requires work. But even though it's work does not mean it can't be enjoyable and fulfilling. Life on this side of death will never be absolutely perfect, though I believe it becomes closer to being so each day, as do we.

Maybe they aren't metaphors at all. Maybe we are seeing the real thing, real life itself. Maybe the utopian ideal is right before us if we will just live in contentment, dealing with each circumstance as it comes along and not perceiving everything as a hindrance or test. Maybe this IS what chasing June bugs is supposed to be like. Just a thought.

I (almost) did it!

Today I did the hardest thing I've ever done since becoming a pencil pushing desk jockey after graduating from college. I took the Physical Agility Test as part of the application process to become a firefighter for the city of Raleigh. I've been kinda training for this test over the last couple of months. I went in today not really believing I would pass. But, I almost did it. The obstacle course did me in. After the second lap, I was spent and had nothing left to give. Insufficient upper body strength left my arms a pair of wet noodles after exiting the tunnel on the second lap.

But I am not ashamed. Despite being disappointed at not passing the test, I know I gave my best and tried my hardest. Even though I was intimidated by all the former football players, younger men and women, and others in much better shape than I, I was greatly encouraged by everyone there. Everyone cheered for everyone else. One guy in particular was going around congratulating everyone. When I came out the tunnel and had to stop, he even offered to go thru the course with me to get me through one last time.

Honestly, I do not think I would have done as well as I did on the rest of the test if not for the feeling of instant community that was present. I met guys who were taking this test for the fifth time! Being a firefighter was a dream they were not ready to give up. And they provided some of the best encouragement. Each one told me to give it another shot in January.

This is what it should be like on a faith journey. It is one of perseverance. It should be one of community. It should be one of a persevering, encouraging community. So many times the faith community is guilty of shooting the wounded in the name of discipleship. Consequences are necessary but so are restoring functions. After the community has handed down the consequences, it should whatever possible to help that person be restored to whatever level he has fallen from. As I left the training center today, the Chief only spoke words of encouragement.

Despite "failing" I feel good. Despite being unemployed STILL, I feel good. On second thought, maybe I did do it.

Fish Envy

Saturday was our last day at the beach. I wanted to get one more day of fishing in, if at all possible, without taking away from spending time with the boys. So, I got up at 6:00 am and went on down to the pier. While buying my fishing pass, I decided to buy a couple of new rigs and try something different than plain ol' bottom fishing. I even bought a bucket of minnows.

Things started off great. On my second cast, I had hooked something. Just as I had him reeled above the surface of the water, he shook himself off. This isn't a "the one that got away" story, but it was a nice size bluefish that would have been good eating. I was encouraged. Today I would catch some fish.

I baited another minnow and threw out my line. As the guy standing five yards to my left landed another blue, I felt a tug on my line. I went to set the hook and could tell there was nothing. I waited for the fish to make a second try, and sure enough he did. The tug was harder, but the hook did not set. I waited some more. After waiting long enough to realize I better check my bait, I reeled in my hook to find nothing but the head of the minnow left. I'm guessing a hungry blue took the rest.

But I'm still encouraged. Baiting another minnow, I try again. Nothing. More nothing. I changed rigs and go to a more traditional setup, like the guy to my left. He's pulling in fish every few minutes. I use the same rig, the same bait, cast into basically the same spot. He's catching fish. I'm not. At 9:30 I call it quits to go body boarding with the boys and get some breakfast.

In the course of those few days I was on the pier, I watched several people, all using the same lure, pull in bluefish almost at will. At a minimum, I watched people cast out and retrieve this plug with a 25% success rate. In other words, every fourth cast yielded a fish. After my wife saw it in action, she gave me permission to go buy one from the pier tackle shop and give it try.

I excitedly attached the plug to my line. I anxiously cast out and began retrieving the lure. After about ten tries - nothing. Meanwhile, a guy down the pier using the exact same lure is landing a fish every fourth cast. I watched what he was doing to see what I could do differently. For starters, he was able to cast out about twice as far me. Secondly, he had perfected the little jerking motion you are supposed to use while retrieving the lure. I surmised the problem was I was not quite reaching the fish. When I asked him how he was able to cast so much farther than I, his answer was, "This is a $350 rod and reel. You probably aren't going to get it out that far."

I accepted that answer. I had inferior equipment. He then added that I was using too heavy a line. He recommended I not use more than 12 lb. line. I tried for about ten more minutes. I figured bluefish were not in my immediate future. I gathered up my stuff and called it a day.

Knowing Sunday was Fathers Day, I went back to the camper and dropped hints for a $350 rod and reel. However, as I analyzed this man's answer, it did not make sense, at least in terms of pricey reels. He was using a spinning reel, same style as me. The reel has nothing to do with the casting in that setup. Maybe he was just plain better and didn't know it. Maybe he liked to brag about his expensive equipment. Maybe he didn't really know and was giving his best guess. I'm guessing the experience and skills had more to do with it than anything. Luckily, I can develop those much quicker than I can buy a $350 rod and reel.

Besides crying about not catching any fish, why do I write this? We all encounter things in our lives that we enjoy doing, feel called to do, or just want to try. We don't always encounter success in those things. We watch the people around us doing the same things and they have lots of success. We are faced with a bunch of different options - quit, keep trying, get help or training, find satisfaction with our current performance, or live in a state of frustration.

You might call this a stretch, but I think the only option for someone on a faith journey is to keep trying and do it for the glory of God - even fishing. We are told to do everything we do for the glory of God. That's going to require a lot of prayer. You're going to want to quit. You're going to wonder if you should keep doing it. You're going to wonder if this is a real calling or just a pipe dream.

Of course not everything carries the same importance as catching a cooler full of bluefish, but those things that do should be continued. At some point, you are going to be called to do something and you will feel like you have no success. Just because it's a calling doesn't mean you will have great results. You will see friends, colleagues, and others doing the same thing with a lot better results. Success can only be measured by your faithfulness to the task. As long as you are faithful, you are successful. If you are using any other definition, you are using the wrong one. Everything else leads to fish envy.

Just a thought . . .