What do you do when words are no good?

I don't understand suicide. I haven't been that desparate. I hope I never am. The pain that is left behind is unbearable. Second guesses. Guilt. What ifs. Memories of finding the body forever etched into the brain of the one who discovers the body.

I have a hard time seeing the side of the person who commits suicide. I haven't experienced that much pain in my life. I hope I never do.

It is hard not to judge. It is hard not to be angry at a person who took what many consider a "selfish" way out.

I can explain what I understand. I don't understand suicide. Words are no good to a family experiencing it. Words are empty to professionals who didn't see it coming because there were no overt warning signs.

What do you do when words are no good? I prayed. Why don't I do that more often? Just be quiet and pray.

I can't go into detail about what happened tonight but as you can see I have been closely impacted by the choice of a person to take their own life. I ask for your prayers for all of those impacted.

Back in Birmingham

I am in Birmingham for a few days to do some training. It feels comfortable to be back here. Last night I at some ribs at Dreamland (it's not the original but it is still good). For lunch to day I had a slaw dog from Sneaky Pete's and an enjoyable supper at The Fish Market. What a delightful culinary trip so far.

Last night, I called John Hill, who agreed to meet me at the drop of a hat at IHOP where we talked, laughed, conspired, and shared our hearts for a few hours. John and I met when at FHU together, worked at Homewood together as interns, shared some time in Tuscaloosa together and then landed back at Homewood where we taught classes together for several years. I am feeling the effects of that late evening now but my spirit was refreshed to be with him. Tomorrow, I plan to refresh my spirit with meals with my brother and another old friend.

I plan to return to Tennessee Wednesday with a full spirit (and a full belly - thank goodness there is an exercise room at the hotel).

Bible Bowl is a concept I struggle with. I like the idea of making learning scripture fun. I want them to do more than memorize, I want them to digest scripture. I haven't figured out how to do that and memorization is a first step in that digestion so I have come to peace with that. Hey, I still remember some sections of scripture I was required to learn during my two years at Freed. Which is also why I tend to quote from the NKJV.

Our little church took 12 kids to bible bowl in Cookeville, sponsored by the Sycamore Chruch of Christ. This event takes place in the basketball arena on the campus of Tennessee Tech. There were close to 400 teams registered. The book of the Bible for this year was Matthew.

James did very well for being a non-reader. The morning of the event I asked him if he had a goal. He said 65. Last year he had gotten 51/100 over 2nd Kings as a 4 year old. I felt his goal was realistic. He made his father sweat but he got a 67. This qualified him for a young achiever (those 1st grade and under) finalist award.

Grace did her usual good job of remembering almost every detail of what she has read. She scored over 90 for the second year in a row. Her 92 rated her 3rd award in 3 years. This years was for scoring between 90 & 94.

As you can see, I am proud of my children. I am equally proud of the other children from our group, some of who joined us at the last minute. I hope every one of them grew in their knowledge of scripture and through that grew closer to Jesus.

Quick link

I wanted to share the link to the Tammany Oaks Church of Christ disaster relief web log. This church is being used by God in great ways. Please add the to your prayer list. Tod Vogt is the pulpit minister and we got to know he and his family well during his years of ministry in Birmingham. A frequent visitor to this blog, Dee is a member there.

I have not posted in a while. I have been very busy and haven't been able to really think out things I have wanted to say. Many times I have said, I need to blog about that but have never found the time to do it. Maybe soon. Thanks for those who have called, emailed, or commented to check on us.