What Makes Thanksgiving thanksgiving?

The house was completely full. All eight of us - three daughters and their spouses or significant others for four days with the last of them having left just a few hours ago. It was the first time that our house in Brecksville has been completely full since we moved here a little over two years ago. Many people have repeated that scenario this Thanksgiving.

What makes Thanksgiving, thanksgiving? Is it circumstances? Or is it treasured relationships? I really believe it is the latter. There is no doubt that we should be thankful for things like health, peace, possessions. But those things are fleeting. I relished in the treasure of family and my relationship with my daughters and extended family. There were a number of times where I just sat there and took in just being together. We ate together, laughed together, recreated together, talked together, and entertained together. There were times when we separated during the four days (people do need a break from people every so often). There were times also where I am sure we got on each others nerves. People do that.

But the prevailing attitude is thanksgiving. Being thankful is a choice. I can choose to be thankful or I can choose to be not thankful. There are many hidden choices in attitudes of the heart. Consider the words of Paul - "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil... addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ". (Ephesians 5:15-16, 18-21)

The book of Acts recorded the attitude of the people when it says "And day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people." (Acts 2:46-47)

Glad and generous hearts kind of sums it up. My heart is full (along with my belly).

Trusting the Camera

A few weeks ago, Deb and I were in Florida to visit her mom and for me to play in a baseball tournament (for those of us who can't give up the game). We rented a car and this one had a backup camera; like most cars these days it is standard equipment. Since I don't have a backup camera, my routine is to twist my back completely around and look behind me while backing up. Sometimes on occasion I will use my side mirrors to help navigate me while backing up, but that is rare.

Even with the backup camera in the rental car, I routinely would still twist my body around. Initially that was because I didn't realize the camera was there quite yet. But later in the week, I did realize that the camera was there but I hadn't learned to trust it completely yet. Kind of like when my dad asked me "does that lady really know where you are going?" referring to the GPS. The camera was proven technology (or at least I think it was), but I still relied on my imperfect vision with its accompany blind spots to look behind me. The camera could see easily what I could not, but I could not trust it.

Spiritually, I have a heavenly Father that knows me intimately and has perfect vision to see my life in its panorama and its complete perspective. He is proven technology that is reliable. Yet my first inclination is to; a) not trust it, and b) trust myself more. I have many blind spots that God knows and sees and he can see perfectly clear if I am about to backup over something. The backup camera might provide an audible warning if danger is approaching. God provides the Holy Spirit who provides these little "consciousness pricks" that distinctly warn me that I am approaching problem areas.

I have to be careful that I don't run roughshod ahead and do things anyway. Most of us pray that God will bless our efforts but that is completely wrong. I pray that God will articulate the path He wants me to go and that I will not go down the path that He doesn't want me to go. I have many times in my life ignored the warnings and gone anyway.

"Lord close the door to false paths and illuminate the path you want me to go. Help me to trust you as the perfect backup camera to my life and not my own ways."

All Lives Matter

This week brought the horrific news that 129 (as of now) people lost their lives in the Paris attacks. This same week, we had the demonstrations and strikes at University of Missouri. Both brought front page news in this country and so it should.

Back on April 2, 147 people were killed in an attack at a college in Kenya and got scant news. The gunman targeted specifically Christians and systematically gunned them down. Not anywhere near the amount of outrage here. See this interesting comparison of the press. I find it interesting that there is a whole Black Lives Matter movement, but apparently not African black lives.

I have had the privilege of going to Rwanda twice and hearing the history of 1 million people massacred while the west turned a blind eye. It is still amazing to me because had the west done the bare minimum, most of those lives would have been spared. Today, we still hear little about what happens in Africa.

We just recognized at our church Persecution Sunday which we do every year. As demonstration of the systematic killing of Christians every 5 minutes a candle is blown out. This is an increase from last year where it was every 7 minutes. Christians we know in latter days will experience an increase in persecution. It is only a matter of time before it happens in America. 

I am very grateful that God puts a high premium on every life. He knows every hair on our head, He knows every breath we take. He cared enough to stand in our place in Christ in repayment of a death penalty that each of us deserves. Lives matter to God whether they are in Africa, Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, or anywhere else.

Missing My Friend Max

Last week we put our dog Max down. It was heart wrenching to lose my friend of 13+ years. Max has been a reference point of mine on many blog posts. He was a unique animal. He actually had a vocabulary. Note in the video below - bath is not one of his favorite words.

He hated sports. He could not distinguish between good yelling and bad yelling. To him, it was all yelling. He could even tell a game was on (did not matter whether it was basketball, baseball, or football) by people movement on the screen even without any yelling.

Max had strong herding instincts. We believe one of his breeds was some kind of herding dog, maybe a border collie. He understood garbage or mail duty meant it was his job to make sure we got to the curb ok. He made sure there were no threats from some unforeseen source.

Max was never bothered by other dogs. He was a very social dog with a low key demeanor. When confronted by another dog, it was almost like he was saying "whatever".  His eyes seemed to go right through you to your soul.

Max was not perfect - he liked getting into the garbage and licking the floor. But as Deb says, he was self-judging. You would know immediately he had done something he was not supposed to be doing.  You almost felt bad yelling at him about it.

I really learned a lot from my dog Max. But what Max really modeled was complete unconditional love. Max was my friend regardless and he loved Deb and I (Deb was the alpha of the pack, I was just beta) completely. Death sucks as Deb says.

Will pets be in heaven? I won't be dogmatic about it, but I think so. Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" has a chapter on this topic. It is clear there will be animals in the kingdom and there will be joy like no other. It is not at all hard to fathom that our pet friends will be there too. The Eden like existence prior to the fall pictures animals in a pure state of harmony. I believe I will be reunited with my friend and maybe even we can get the mail together.

Is the Shooting Problem External or Internal?

It seems like every day we hear about murders. A few weeks ago was Umpqua Community College. Then this week, there has been the rash of shootings at Texas Southern and the shooting at Northern Arizona University. We in Cleveland have recently seen a rash of shootings involving innocent children in the cross-fire.

Everyone is wringing their hands over this and so they should. This is tragic when a human being loses their life at the hands of another human being. It is even more tragic when it is an innocent like a five month old baby in the back seat of a car. But the response has been focused on issues like gun control and better education. These are externals and externals can never solve the problem of the wicked human heart. The human heart is the source of this type of rage that results in a human taking another life.

The Bible makes this perfectly clear. Jesus never addressed the type of problem we are seeing by regulation or laws. He went straight to the problem of the human heart. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, he says that a person who calls another person "fool" or "empty head" or in our vernacular S___head is guilty of fiery hell. James says that we lust and we do not have so we commit murder. Murder is nothing more than an outgrowth of an unsettled heart. It knots and festers in the heart and eventually it comes out. Why do we act out? Because we have a heart problem.

For example, I have a rage deep inside of me that only those closest to me have seen. It is a rage that resulted in a series of fights when I was in college. I was one of our fraternity's designated fighters when the fraternity across the street messed with us. I remember taking a guy who was taunting us and literally whaling on him in the head. Scary! While my anger has been overshadowed by God's presence inside of me, it always sits within me and without supernatural intervention, could still come out at any time.

The problem of the human heart can only be solved through the deep love we have from knowing God personally through Jesus Christ and feeling that love from our family and friends. The is transformative love that can change a person from the inside out. That is the only way to truly break this cycle of violence.

Dear Old Valpo

Just got back from being at my alma mater, Valparaiso University for a few days. I am on the National Council for the business school which meets twice a year, once being around Homecoming. This is the first year in a while that I have actually stayed for some of the Homecoming festivities. The theme was "Proud to Come Home". I think that was an excellent theme because I am truly proud to have a heritage with Valpo. While each year that passes brings separation from my years, there is still definitely a sense of community and pride I feel when I come back. It still feels like home.

I attended a building dedication. A sense of pride came upon me. Valpo has more new buildings I think in the past 34 years than old buildings. And the quality is stellar. But the cornerstone of the Valparaiso campus is the Chapel of the Resurrection, the tallest collegiate chapel in North America. It is still a testament to the fact that this university is a faith based university. I learned that Valpo was ranked number one by Washington Monthly as the best university of the county in giving to the public good. There is definitely a sense that Valpo students and faculty make a difference.

I chatted with Cornell Boggs, one of my fraternity brothers who was named one of the 100 most influential black leaders in corporate America. We long to identify with a team that is effective. 

I stopped by and watched the women's softball game. A man came up to me and started talking about the team. I immediately recognized him as Rod Moore, the head athletic trainer. I know this because Rod was the head trainer when I wrestled at Valpo from 78-80. What was even more amazing is Rod said he remembered me. Rod is one of those Dick Clark guys who never seems to look older than when you knew him. Anyway, I chatted with Rod for a while and my conversation reinforced a sense of belonging.

I walked down by a series of exhibits where my fraternity had an exhibit. I recognized a young man's face. The president of the university is the son of my former roommate who lives in the Cleveland area. The next generation is now represented on campus. Again, a sense of pride welled up within me.

As human beings we long for community. We long to be a part of something special. We long to feel that sense of pride and accomplishment. It is how we are wired. We are not to be human islands. My trek to Valpo was much more than a stroll down memory lane. It served to reinforce my longing for purpose, for community.

The Written Word is Better

When we were at this wedding a few weeks ago, included in the invitation were written directions to the reception which was about 10-15 minutes away. The reception was on CoolSprings Church Road. My opinion at the time - written directions are stupid in an age of technology.

Easy enough - rather than follow the written directions, I will use technology. I plotted it on my GPS and we merrily go on our way following the GPS lady's directions. Until we get fairly far enough out of town and Deb says - "Where are you going?" I said CoolSprings Church Road and she says something like "this doesn't look right".  I look at my GPS and I had fat-fingered CoolSprings Road as Cook Springs Church Road. Now we are in the middle of nowhere and somehow the GPS is trying to direct me to this place called Cook Springs Road which I don't think exists.

No harm, no foul. I put the correct directions in the GPS and we get back on track. Until we see a sign that tells us that we are at the intersection of CoolSprings Church Road and, uh, CoolSprings Church Road (see the picture). I guess you just don't have enough CoolSprings Church Roads in this part of Pennsylvania. Again, we ignore the written direction and turn right and at least follow the signs. Besides, two different cars ahead of us also turn right. It became quickly apparent this was wrong as we are in the middle of somebody's farm.So we go back to the intersection and notice a sign that says "Hulisz Wedding Straight Ahead 3 miles". Again, printed directions for our benefit. Finally, after numerous detours, we arrive at the reception.


This little adventure reminds me of how we neglect the written, printed word of God. I am referring to the Bible. 2 Tim. 3:16 tells us it is literally God breathed. Somehow we rationalize that it is out of date and we live in an enlightened age. Or we may tell ourselves that it isn't for this particular situation, that it doesn't apply. The written word is for our own good - not because God hates us but because God loves us. The world sends confusing signals (like our confusing sign) and we follow them like lemmings to the sea. My default mode was my own way. The GPS is better because it is cool technology and I basically tell it where to go and it sends me (I can hear the voice of my 85 year old dad telling me the GPS is not to be trusted).

The Bible is timeless in its application. Yes, it was written in a specific time and space and in a particular culture. But it is every bit as relevant to us today as it was then. And it won't steer me wrong. It shows me myself and it shows me my Savior. It shows me how to live and who to live for. It can be trusted.