Deposit

The Story
When we reached the deer stand, Dad once again gave the full debriefing: “Here is what we are looking for, this is where the deer are going to come from, this is the time of day it is going to happen, here is where you shoot the deer, are you listening to me, this is how long you stay in your stand after you shoot, you do not fall asleep or you will die, and if you need some help come and find me.” To a teenage boy, all I heard was we were on a mission to kill!
The truck pulled away and it began. Then it happened! The stars lined up and the one referred to as “The Big Boy” walked out! The checklist began to ring in my mind. I took a deep breath, aimed for the shoulder, made sure he was really that big, let him get broadside, held my breathe…, and squeezed! With the squeeze of a trigger, a “mortal man” became heroic! The beast fell at the hands of the great hunter!
Dad, quickly pulled up on the four wheeler. Like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents with wide eyes, he looked up and whispered, “Did you get him?” I replied, “I think so, and Dad, he is huge!”
This is where it got fun! Deep inside, Dad was and is always hoping that I can take him to the smallest speck of blood, look at him and say, “He ran that way and I am not sure if we will ever find him!” You see, he was born with this tracking gift. He becomes one with the deer. One time, I saw him put his fingers on his head, make horns, and paw at the ground to begin thinking like a deer. Ok, he didn’t do that…but it’s close.
While I was searching a hundred yards away standing on the main blood trail, he exclaimed, “Here he is!” He was more excited than if he would have killed it himself. We hugged, we high-fived, we laughed, broke out the disposable camera, it was great.
But there is a the part of this story that Dad probably never knew meant so much to me. I love to kill deer, but the deer hair can take me down! Trust me, we learned the hard way. I am highly allergic to the hair. I can’t skin the deer. I will swell up like a blowfish and if I am not careful and it can send me to the hospital. In Redneck Land, skinning your own deer is a passage of a boy to man-hood. There were times when I felt like I wasn’t going to be a good father or a good man because, I will not be able to show my children or grandchildren how to skin a deer. Sounds silly I know, but not to a fourteen year old boy!
As many times as Dad could have complained, he didn’t. He never took a cheap shot. He never pointed it out. He never made everyone laugh at my expense. It is not a big deal now, but as a teenage boy, it could have wounded me worse than any deer we ever killed. For years, every time we went to skinning rack, I readied myself for the attack, but he never let it come.
I know now that hunting was never about him. In fact, his life has never been about him. He knows that when one of his sons wants to hunt in the same stand with him, it is because we need some time to talk. If a hunting stand meeting is pursued, he is always there to welcome it. He never turned his back on those moments…He always answered the bell.

The Lesson
As a student pastor, I watch father after father try to find common ground to build moments with their sons. Then I watch as a cheap shot to impress the student pastor or another father takes the breath out of their sons. Oh, the son would never admit that is hurts, but it does.
We live in a world full of insults and tear-downs. A teenage boy goes from one war zone to another all day. Don’t think so...try sitting at the lunch table of jr. high cafeteria one day or drop in on the locker room.
A teenage boy knows his flaws. He knows his failures. Sure there are times to confront problems that can be corrected. However, some of the insults and jokes from childhood have left many men with scars well into manhood.
Seams simple...it is not. It is so much easier to tear down than it is to build up.

The Word
Colossians 3:21
“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will be discouraged.”

The Application
You can’t force times to be encouraging. You have to recognize the opportunities to say something and the opportunities not to say something. Open your eyes. Each day, your son gives you the opportunity to deposit or withdrawal. There will come a time when you need to make a big withdrawal and confront something serious in your son’s life. You have to have enough in the bank to do that. Choose wisely. Sometimes the best deposit is not making a big withdrawal.

Shoes

A couple of weeks ago I challenged our students to step up and take care of some orphans that were in desperate need of new shoes. Can you imagine? I must be an idiot to ask American students to care enough about orphans in another country to actually make a difference. I could tell you what happened...but I will let a letter from my father do the talking.

Dear Rock Creek Students,

I just wanted to say thank you for your overwhelming gift of $1,500 to purchase shoes and clothing for our orphans in Kenya. These kids seldom get anything new. When they do, it comes from God through people like you.
I wish you could see the faces of these kids when they discover that they are getting new shoes. There is no way to describe their joy and grattitude to God for how he meets their needs. For some...a few months ago they were sleeping in the ditch by the roadside. Tonight they are warm, well-fed, and loved...because of God.
I will take some pictures and send them to Jason so can share them with you. Pray for Teresa and i as we carry the love of God to people who feel they have been forgotten.

By Grace, Your Brother,
Mike Curry
Ephesians 6:19-20

Rescue

THE STORY
I can’t remember the year, but I know that I was very young. It was a hot summer day, and I was learning the thrills of water skiing. I had improved to the point that I could push myself and the limits of my skinny little body. I am sure that it must have been fun for him to watch a mad man flying across the wake, grinning from ear to ear, screaming watch this dad!
I pushed, pushed harder, and pushed as far as my limits could take me. I guess that is something I got from him. I can hear the echoes of Mom exclaiming, “You had to push it to the max!” As usual, something went wrong. I looked down to see my ski disappear into the wake and it was all over. I went down hard but I was up quickly. That was a lesson I learned early on…you don’t stay down! When I came up for air, my eyes were closed, but the ski that had fallen off was coming for me. I never saw it, and it sliced across my eye-lid leaving a scar that remains today.
That is not what I remember best about the story. My father was always safe around boats, but I will never forget the sight of him jumping in, fully clothed, while the boat was still moving, to make sure his boy was safe.I took my little arms and wrapped them around his big neck and knew that everything was going to be fine.

THE LESSON
I can’t imagine a love any different from that. From that point forward, even to this day, he has always been there when I called for help.
That story gave me a clear picture of how Father God loves to rescue us. I would need it nearly 15 years later as I faced on of the greatest battles of my life. I was heading into my senior year at Mississippi College. I had just finished a junior campaign in which I finished hitting .420 and leading the team in almost every offensive category. I was voted to the first team All-West All-American Team and even bigger for my, the teams Most Valuable Player. I had worked very hard to get where I was and began each day by running. I loved to run. I would get up early each morning in college and run three to six miles. I love the feeling that I was working harder than ever one else.
One morning, about three miles in to my run, my legs began to hurt in a way that they had never hurt before. When I finally stopped and looked at my legs, the sight was frightening. The sides of my lower legs between the shin and calf was severely swollen and expanded. As I took off my shoe, I noticed that both of my feet were purple. A friend noticed my condition and drove me to the training room. On the third table from the right on a beautiful fall morning, I was told that I had developed “Exercise Induced Compartment Syndrome.” The cold hard fact was that there was no surgery to repair it at that time and I would never be able to run long distance again and I was going to gradually get slower and slower.
My dream was shattered. It was a long shot, but I had a chance at playing ball after college if I could put up some big numbers and display leadoff speed.
I will never forget laying there on that training room table in tears. My world had been torn apart. I laid there for a couple of hours until the story of dad jumping into the water came to my mind.
God quietly said…I am here for you…just like that day. The peace and comfort that came in that moment are indescribable. I just remember thinking that everything was going to be fine and God would take care of me.
There are so many students who can not grasp the rescuing father as a description of God. How could they? When has their earthly father been there? When has he rescued them? It was not hard for me…I new what it felt like to be rescued.
The truth is, we all need to be rescued. We can’t make it through this life without it.

THE WORD
Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord you God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
I think there should be an exclamation point at the end of that last sentence. God is with us. Through the ups and downs of our life…he is always there. He is definitely the God that rescues.

THE APPLICATION
There is going to be a time in your son’s life when he need to know that Dad will come to his rescue. He has got to know that Dad is in his corner. That doesn’t mean that you bail your son out of every problem. What it means is when your boy needs the big hitter to come in and knock a grand-slam, you will be there!

Grace

THE STORY
“What is she doing? How could it take so long to get our drinks?” I sat and griped as I looked for our waitress to return with even the first sign of salsa. Now, I am pretty patient, but this time was different. It took her ten minutes to get our drink orders, another ten to bring them, and now we were waiting on the chips and salsa.
My scaled eyes could not see past the circumstances and quite frankly, I didn’t care what was going on in her life. All I knew is I needed some food. Typical teenager response. I could not see anything past by own hunger. Dad, he saw an opportunity.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times that Dad’s frustration with a waitress ended our stay at an establishment early. He had become notorious for getting up early from a meal and leaving. But this day, he had another lesson on his mind.
The entire family watched the older man behind us begin to give the waitress an earful of disapproval and rage! I saw Dad’s eyes change and he looked at her with compasstion. We sat and ate, and she continued to mess up our order and all the tables around us! But what happened at the end could have never been predicted.
As she apologized for the one-hundreth time, she left the ticket glaring on the table. I told him not to leave her a dime. Then, he reached into his wallet, pulled out a fifty dollar bill, and asked my mom for a pen. He then wrote a simple word on it…GRACE! I couldn’t believe it! I was amazed! I actually thought about grabbing it but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We didn’t stay to see her reaction, and he didn’t say something to her so he could be applauded. He simply walked out, and we drove away.

THE LESSON
Looking back, it is amazing the life lesson I learned that afternoon. I believe that we treat others the way we believe God treats us. What a picture! I mean, who wouldn’t want a dad like that? Yes…you messed up! Yes…you didn’t get the job done! Yes…you didn’t do what was required! But, here is something you don’t deserve or expect. I am so thankful that when I read scriptures about God being a father, I don’t have to imagine what that love looks like…I have seen it!


THE WORD
For by Grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it if the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8

THE APPLICATION
Take advantage of an opportunity to show someone Grace. At the moment when it is least expected and not earned, show someone uncontrollable grace. If your son reacts the way I did, you will know that it worked. When your son begins to be the one teaching the lession, you will know that it changed him!

Value

I am in the process of writing a book. For the next few days, I am going to put a couple of the chapters on this blog. I would love some feedback, especially from parents. The book is intended to give parents a view a parenting from a student's perspective...Enjoy.



“Bottom of the Ninth”

THE STORY

The stage was set, bottom of the ninth, two outs, man on first, and down two runs. It was the regional tournament in my senior year at Mississippi College. On the line was the game, the season, my career, and a trip to the college world series. The situation was simple, and there was no one else I wanted in the box but me. Just as I stepped in the box, the manager for the other team called time and began his long walk to the mound. He reached for his right arm to signal for the closer. I knew what he was bringing, ninety-three m.p.h. with a little adrenaline on the side. As I stepped out of the box and walked back to the on-deck circle, I caught a glimpse of my dad!
My mind drifted very quickly over a lifetime of baseball. The one thought that stood out was how far I had come and how much he believed in me. During ninth grade tryouts, I barely had the arm to make the timed throw from center field to the backstop. A “rip” from my bat wouldn’t even reach the outfield grass. I think coach let me stay on the team as a developmental player, most likely because my older brother was a star. No one knew what that did to me! It was embarrassing and very depressing. Only one thing mattered in my high school--your average. To not even make the team was tough.
I came home one day after a tough day of practice, and I really wanted to quit! I remember the stern words he spoke to me: “Son, you are not a quitter and you are one of the best hitters I have ever seen!” Could he really believe that? And then he issued the Curry battle cry, “Son, the cream always rises to the top!”
My mind focused back to the game. No longer was I the young boy that just wanted a chance to get on the field. I was the seasoned veteran whose body had caught up with my baseball mind.
The time had come and 15 years of baseball had come to one defining moment. Everything was in slow motion as I began to walk to the plate. Coming out of the bull-pen…I knew that the pitcher would try to get ahead early and I was waiting on the fastball.
Life does not offer this opportunity very often. There are many roles to be cast for this epic, but I had the role of hero on my agenda! I gripped my weapon and the words echoed in my head, “The cream always rises to the top.”
I stepped in the box, and the showdown was now in its final stages. The crowd began to rise as the confrontation elevated to the highest drama in baseball. Your best against our best. He rocked back and began to deliver the pitch. Sure enough, here comes the inside fastball. My body moved in the obedient way that it had been instructed for many years. I turned, pivoted, and then let my hands fly. As I made contact, I could hear the ball, but I could not feel it hit my bat. If you have ever hit a homerun, you know that when you hit it well, you do not feel it and it is almost as if you swing straight through it.
The ball rose and disappeared through the heavy mist that had engulfed the field that late May night in Mississippi. I could hear the crowd erupt and see the runner in front of me leaping with joy.
The left fielder sprinted with his back to the field and I realized…..I just won the game and we are going to the college world series.
Suddenly, I looked up to see the ball falling down from the mist, and I saw the left fielder standing on the warning track. I watched as he reached up, caught the ball, and my dream. The game, the season, my career, and a trip to the college world series-- lost.
I bowed my head for just a moment and then one last time, I ran off the field with my head up. The other team celebrated as I wept in the dugout. It was more than a game to me. It was the relationships that would be lost. It was the dream that had suddenly come to a halt. I walked out of the dugout and the television cameras caught me in a moment for the good stuff that people wanted to see. I pulled it together for a moment.
I gathered my gear and began to walk out of the dugout, and into a new era of my life. I walked off the field, and I was avoided by every person at the park. It seemed that no one had any words to say. To be honest, I’m not sure if there were any words I wanted to hear…and then I saw Dad.
He didn’t avoid the situation; he rarely did. My mom and little brother looked understandably upset, but his eyes were not sad. I could barely cry the words, “I almost did it Dad, as I burried my head into is chest.
With his Mississippi College hat held high, he looked past my eyes and into my heart, “Almost? Son, you just did what every athlete dreams of.” I didn’t understand and he paused for just a moment. Then he finished, “Whether they loved you or hated you, cheered for your team or the other, or don’t understand the game of baseball…for one final moment you did what every athlete dreams of…you made everyone in the ballpark stand-up and gasp for air one last time. You could have folded under the pressure, but you didn’t! There’s not another player I have ever seen that I would want to hit in that situation.”

THE LESSON

A man can do anything in life if he knows that his dad is proud of him. A son is always asking the question, are you proud of me? Do I measure up? Do you think I am the wild warrior?
I have seen so many Dad’s strikeout in this situation. It takes a Dad who understands that there is more on the line than the game to win in this situation. That is the difference between a minor league dad and a major league dad.
He could have rushed out of the ballpark and got in his car, but he didn’t. He didn’t hang his head in shame. He had to choose which role he would walk out of the park playing that night. He chose to play the hero.
As a student pastor I deal with so many parents that love their kids with “if’s and when’s” attached to it. Not my Dad, not his love. Love, that is true love, never has “if or when attached to it.” It is hard for many of my students to understand that Abba’s love is not conditional. That God loves us for free. There is nothing I can do to make God love me anymore and there is nothing I can do to make him love me any less, he just loves me!
I wonder sometimes what would have happened if that ball would have cleared the left field fence. Maybe some things would have changed, most likely my ego and pride.
I realized the other day that in the big picture, it was not me that was really at bat. I was the one that everyone saw, but it was my Dad who had one of the biggest “at-bats” of his and my life. I gave it all I had that night, but I just didn’t get all of the ball. Dad…his is still going!

THE WORD

While He (Jesus) was speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Matthew 17:5

If the Jesus needed the encouragement and affirmation of love from God, his father, how much more do your son’s need that same affirmation?


THE APPLICATION

Step up to the plate! Begin to understand that things are not as they always seem. Take advantage of some of the greatest failures in your son’s life to display your unconditional love.
Warning...if your value comes from your son’s success or failure, you will never have the vision to see this kind of opportunity. You will be too consumed with the temporary to see the eternal value.
You can do this! If you will see that value in this lession...the ball you hit will never land! Remember, a son that knows his father is proud of him, can do anything in life.