Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The List Blog


I had to keep (babysit) a class the other day, so I grabbed a few magazines from the library to peruse while I was sitting. One of the mags was Time, and it was the "list issue." Of course, my brain began to assemble some of my own lists and I thought .............I feel a BLOG!!!
These lists are for the last month and I reserve the right to change my mind. These lists are strictly the opinion of the author (Kevin Weaver) and do not reflect the opinion of any other person. No animals were harmed while writing this blog. Opps, I lied, I just kicked the cat off of my legs!

Top 5 Things Beside The Road While Running
1) Bungees (broken & not)
2) Bottles and cans
3) Cigarette butts
4) Diapers (yuck!)
5) License plates

Top 5 Books I Read Recently
1) They Like Jesus But Not The Church Dan Kimball
2) Scarpetta Patricia Cornwell
3) The Jesus of Suburbia Mike Erre
4) Lance Armstrong's War Daniel Coyle
5) About Myeloma Asad Bashley, MD,PhD

Top 5 Songs On My IPOD
1) I Will Rise Chris Tomlin
2) Caves Jack's Mannequin
3) Thankful Johnny Lang
4) Better Together Jack Johnson
5) Curbside Prophet Jason Mraz
Top 5 Foods Eaten In Our Kitchen Recently
1) Milkshake (Blue Bell- Moo-llenium Crunch & Non-Fat Milk!)
2) Oatmeal Cookies (Chris, I love you!)
3) Cilantro Crusted Tilapia
4) Mandarin Orange Spinach Salad
5) Chris' Meat Loaf
Top 5 Noises You Hear In The Morning At Our House
1) Coffee Pot Perking (It doesn't really percolate?!?)
2) Alarm clocks going off (Some for a long time!)
3) The shower upstairs.
4) Music upstairs, three different players in 3 rooms, all playing different music!!)
5) Shouts of "You have ___ minutes before it's time to leave!"
Top 5 TV Shows that are Weaver Tivoed
1) Lost
2) Fringe
3) 24
4) Grey's Anatomy
5) Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives
Top 5 Unused Biblical Names
1) Dodo (II Samuel 23:24-No matter how smart, the boy will never live down that name!)
2)Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah 8:3 - Boy would have to go by a nickname!)
3)Bukki (I Chronicles 6:51-Might be used if boy has large incisors!)
4)Hoglah (Joshua 17:3 - Only should be used if girl is a feeder of swine!)
5)Jezebel (I King 19:2 - No explanation necessary.)
To Be Continued.................................................................................

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Comfort Zone


Chris and I would like you to meet our new grandson, Rance D Weaver. He is the son of Ryan and Amanda, & the brother of Ryland Von. His middle name is D, with no period and no ee's. Even though he is in Maryland, you might notice that he is dreaming about Texas and the time he will spend with Pops and Lolly.

So what about his name? What is the big deal with names? By the way, the name Rance means "shield and defender." Names symbolize who we are and what we represent. There is nothing more special, nothing that will stop you more quickly in your tracks, than hearing someone say YOUR name. During our lives, we become comfortable, or get used to, hearing our names.

So, who are you?
We spend most of our lives answering this question. Our name represents who we are, but it is another journey entirely, to get comfortable and secure with who we really are.
At the end of Romans there is one verse that is simple, but profound.

22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. Romans 16:22 (NKJV)

I am astonished by this short, simple verse. Tetrius was the scribe for Paul in writing the book of Romans and he sends a "shout out" to other believers. This one verse is all we know of this man, but I sense that he is very secure in himself, as he sends out a short greeting to the church to which Paul was writing. So what prevents us from having this security?

I think that the biggest obstacle we have to overcome is "others." We worry about what others think of us and what we look like in the eyes of others. This concern can infiltrate all areas of our lives - our occupations, our vehicles, our houses, our clothes, and even our religion. We should focus on ourselves, who we are on the inside and who we believe ourselves to be, rather than being preoccupied with others' notions of us. There is another Bible story that helps us realize this truth. Jesus is with His disciples, after the resurrection, and he reveals to Peter how the twilight years of his life will be. Instead of standing there, amazed at what Jesus has just told him about his own future, he is immediately concerned about John's years ahead. Why?

21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" 22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." John 21:21-22(NKJV)

Jesus is saying, don't worry about others. Don't look around you! Be comfortable with yourself, secure in who you are and the life God has prepared for you. I wonder how many seconds, minutes, days, months, or even years I have wasted by worrying about others, what they think of me, or what their lives hold for them?


This day I choose, just to follow, with my eyes on Him!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

There's An Elephant in the Room (Shorty's Sermon)


If you have read my blogs at all, I am sure you realize that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. You might not know, that I am not only the son of a Southern Baptist minister, but my grandfather was a minister, and now my oldest son, Ryan, is an ordained minister. It breaks my heart to tell you some troubling news. The church, as I know the church, is suffering and quite possibly dying. I do not want to bore you with the statistics, I want to ask you, if you attended a church growing up, to describe that church now. How many people between the ages of 21 and 35 attended this church? Use one word to describe the church of your childhood.
I love Jesus. I love the church. Change must happen if we want to connect to culture around us. I am reading an informative book, They Like Jesus, But Not The Church, by Dan Kimball. This man is a pastor, and one of the things he did was to get out of the church office. Now you must understand that his church allowed him to do this, but would you? He began to get his hair cut in a different area of town, prepare his sermons at the local coffee shop, and began to get out of the Christian bubble. As he talked to people, he found out that they respect and like Jesus, but they don't like the church.

So why am I calling this Shorty's sermon? We have an aerobic septic system and have a maintenance agreement. This last summer Shorty came out to work on our system. Chris and I visited with him and he shared how he was attending a cowboy church. We had a great conversation. Little did we know what the next few months would hold for either of us.

This past fall, I was diagnosed with cancer. During the same season, God called Shorty to start a church outside of Sulphur Springs. He started this church with 2 families. They now have 70-80 in attendance each Sunday. They have purchased an abandoned Methodist church building and he said that each Sunday he waits to see who will attend and what they will be wearing. He said he's even attended dressed in overalls to let the people know it's not what's on the outside that's important. His last sermon series was on refusing to judge the world around us, just to LOVE. I truly believe his heart matches Jesus' heart. People are drawn to Jesus.

As Shorty shared his story, Chris and I were captivated. I can't share everything he told us, but this part tells enough. According to Shorty, one Saturday night he was invited to a cookout and country singing. Of course, he said that most of the group was getting drunk, but he said he stayed anyway. He realized that some of the group didn't have tables at which to eat, so he said if someone would help him, he would get tables from his church. One of the men volunteered to go with him. Shorty said the man asked how he had keys to a church, to which Shorty replied, "I am the pastor." The man remarked, "If I ever went to a church, the ceiling would cave in!" When Shorty and his new friend arrived at the church, and the man got out with beer in hand. Shorty said that he turned around because the man had paused outside the door. He asked Shorty, "Aren't you going to tell me to leave this longneck outside?" Pastor Shorty replied, "That's between you and God." Needless to say, the man left his drink on the steps. This man and his family are the most recent new members at Cross Timber Cowboy Church. Shorty finished this account by adding, "His wife and kids are believers and strong, but God's Spirit will fix the man soon."


We must learn the lesson of allowing the Holy Spirit to convict. Our job is simply to love. We must reach out to the world around us, not hiding behind a tract or telling them to meet our pastor. Get to know people, connect to them and love them! Be to others what Jesus has been to you. On Sunday, we should gather and worship Jesus together as His body of believers. On Monday, we should head back to the world ready to love without judgement.

And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." John 8:11 (NKJV)

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' Matt 9:11-13

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Look! Up in the sky!


Yesterday as I was driving to chemotherapy, I heard a news report that really got me to thinking. The report said that three more major newspapers have closed their doors just in the last week. I can't remember all of the numbers and statistics, but the business of printing and selling newspapers is in a precarious state. Will our children even ever buy a newspaper at a newsstand? Will the newsstand be headed to extinction to join the phone booth?




So when was the last time that you went into a phone booth to make a call? When is the last time that you even saw a phone booth or a public phone? I think we have survived very well without the phone booth on every corner, but didn't you worry where Superman would change into his suit, as these public utilities began to disappear?




I don't want to be a dinosaur. I want to accept change and to also embrace change, as I use technology in the classroom and in my everyday life. I like this quote that I had on my board at school.


"Disconnecting from change does not recapture the past. It loses the future."
Kathleen Norris


I have to admit that I was a little sad as I listened to this news report and I realized that newspapers are on the way out. I am the first to admit that I now go online each morning and peruse at least three newspapers. Many of our young people have rarely, if ever, read a newspaper in the print form. But wait, there are things that an online newspaper cannot provide! I feel these things will be missed:
  • What will we use to start our fires? Newspapers have provided country boys with free kindling for years. E-news does not provide this dual use.

  • The crinkle of the pages of the newspaper being turned at the Saturday breakfast table. Will our children have memories of the the computer booting up?

  • Memories of fighting over the "funnies." You can't separate sections of the electronic news.

  • The newspaper that is left at the coffee shop or restaurant for others to read. You won't leave your laptop to share the news with others.
  • Rolling up the newspaper, placing it strategically in your back pocket, and going to the bathroom. Much of the news has been read by Kevin Weaver while sitting alone on the porcelain throne. I can honestly say that I have never taken my laptop to the toilet.

  • Holidays at G-G's house (my mom) as my two brother-in-law coaches and I fought over the sports page. To the winner would go the spoils, and to the loser, the sale ads. Guess those fights will soon be over.
  • The all-important paper-boys (speaking as a former paper deliverer) have all but vanished. Not quite the same "zing" in a double click as in hearing that paper bundle hit your front porch (or roof top - whoops!).
Evolution is defined as "a process of change in a certain direction." I might not always like the direction, but if I want to be a valid, functioning part of this ever changing world, I must embrace and connect to it.


Sunday, March 1, 2009

Energizers

My wife, Chris, used to jokingly call me the "Energizer Bunny," because before I was diagnosed with cancer, I could hardly sit still. From vaccuming the carpet to washing the laundry to mowing the lawn, she would say that I made her tired and she could never seem to keep up with me. It think it's just my personality to constantly be busy - but an energizer?


A study from of the University of Virginia found that "someone who is energizing elevates the performance of other people around them." So exactly what does it mean to be an energizer? I don't think you can "google" it, but I know the traits of the people I have known that have elevated my performance.


First, it might help us to understand what an energizer is not:


  1. It is not a person who is a cheerleader, full of false enthusiasm.

  2. An energizer is not a wild-eyed optimist.
  3. Any particular personality type.
So what is an energizer? An energizer is a person who brings out the best in others by investing in them. How? By making sure the person that they are with feels that he or she is the most important person in the world. For example, if you are an energizer and a person comes to talk to you, then you devote your undivided attention to that person with eye contact and a conversation filled with questions and interaction.




An energizer can be a shy person, but he or she focuses on possibilities, not restraints. Negative comments and put-downs are not a part of the energizer's vocabulary. When you walk away from an energizer, you are glad you had time with them and in some way, he or she makes you proud of who you are and what you do. An energizer genuinely cares for others.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, Col 3:23 (NKJV)


I am learning that I have a long way to go. I need to improve - first at home, and then at school & church!