This is not a big urban center. This is our home. This is where our kids go to school. This is where we go to the park, go swimming, and have festivals to celebrate our diversity and the beauty and wonder of our city. It’s where we go for the 4th of July fireworks…and, in days gone by, for the cardboard boat regatta.

Mass shooting. Round Rock. The words just don’t go together. Two dead. Fourteen hospitalized. 

Mass shooting. The words are jarring. 

We don’t know all the details. We don’t even know if the shooter was from Round Rock. 

But now there is a tear in the fabric of our city. It will be mended because, well, this is Round Rock…but there will be a scar. 

So why do I tell you this? Well, it's like a lot of life. Often all it takes is one person to pull things off course, to keep things from working as smoothly as they might. So today let's stop and ask ourselves, “Am I a bent link in a chain?”

The little girl immediately grabbed the duck and said, “My duck!”

As you can imagine, that didn't go over very well with the little boy.

I won't go into the details of the duck being snatched back and forth or the ensuing tears that flowed, but I will say that the little girl kept repeating, “My duck! My duck!”

We all want what we don't have. A part of us will always be crying out, “My duck!”

How often do we act without thinking? How often do we make rapid, uninformed choices, and how often do we react instead of thinking things through? We all react to situations, sometimes without thinking or taking the long view.

Or how often do we assume we have the whole picture when we only have a part?

We all do that though. We all jump to conclusions; we think we have the whole story when we only have part of it…and then, in our minds, we fill in what we think the rest of the story might be.

I told him that we would be feeding the 400 kids at the camp tuna noodle casserole. He assured me that he had it well in hand, but when I returned, each one was like a tuna noodle brick!

Here's what I learned: first don't assume anything. Don't assume that somebody knows what you know unless you check with them beforehand.

Second, communication is key. Unless we listen to each other, ask questions to clarify, or check to see if we have gotten it correct, we can't guarantee that actual communication has taken place.

When I asked him how we could pray for him that day, he said, “Just pray that God hears my thanksgiving and my praises. I don't want anything. I don't need anything. I just want to thank God.”

He went on, “I thank God that I woke up today! I didn’t just wake up; I woke up, and I was not in jail!”

Sometimes it's easy to forget all those things we take for granted, and we all have so much to be thankful for if we only stop and realize it.

It’s a great day to be thankful - for our nation, for those who came before us and led the way, for an incredible history, and most importantly, for an incredible God.

The reason that the sign got my attention is the acronym Y.O.L.O. Yolo stands for “You only live once.”

As people of the way, as followers of Christ, we have a Yolo bypass. We can bypass the idea that you only live once because we know that there's more than the life that we're living here on earth right now.

How about when somebody says you should do something?

There is a real difference between the idea that you can do something and the idea that you should do something.

What should you do as a Christian? We should be kind, loving and sharing. Yet that word “should” can often make it feel like a burden.

What can you do as a Christian? We can be kind, loving and sharing. We can be forgiving. We can help each other.

Do you feel the difference?

That umpire was down!

The other umpires ran to his aid and cared for him before walking him off the field.

I mention this not so much because the umpire got hit, but because the others ran to help him immediately. They were there for him.

You never know what's going to hit you in life, whether it be a baseball to the head or something else, but you do know that you won't be going it alone.

I saw someone at worship, and I knew that we had met, but I couldn’t remember their name. So, I thought, maybe they’ve been a member here for a while, so I started looking through four decades of photo directories.

Looking through 40 years of directories, I noticed how individuals and families came and went over the years. People are in our lives for a season. Some for a long season, some for a short season, but they are all woven together into a beautiful tapestry.

I had found joy in one of the little things of life. This was not earth-shaking or life-changing, but I was excited and so happy—because it's true, you can find joy in the little things of life.

But even before that happens, his disciples ask him, “Rabbi, whose fault is it that this man was born blind? Was it his fault or his parents’ fault?”

Isn't it interesting, that was their first question? We always want to find out whose fault something was.

I know I talked to you last week about not being too focused on the future because we would miss the blessings of the day. Yet, today, I want to remind you not to forget about the future. Just as I had forgotten about the shirts, I missed my opportunity when it came along.

How often do we worry about what might be on the road ahead of us, before we even get there? We get nervous, or excited; we're worried about what might happen in the future, and we miss out on what's happening today. In short, if you spend your life looking through binoculars, you’ll miss out on what’s right in front of you.

The only problem is that we can’t keep it up for long – sooner or later, we will either get found out or get so wrapped up in our own deception that we lose track of who we truly are.

In life, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, and for you and me, that is to remember that our identity is in being a child of God. We don’t have to fake that. And nobody can ever take that away from us.

Now, I've enjoyed owning my fair share of pets over the years, and even though I would love to own a dog again, I never felt that it would be fair to have a dog, given my crazy hours and my occasional trips to conferences that would last several days. But I recently found out about a program allowing you to foster a dog for a day.

You see, God may not give us everything we want, but He usually gives us all we need. And, in this case, having a dog for a day was just the ticket.

Different people have different ideas and ways of solving problems, and sometimes we get all bent out of shape when somebody comes up with a different solution to a problem than the one that we are used to, and we just shut them down.

We are all still working on being good citizens and faithful people, and not only is it ok if we come from different angles, but it’s also actually a good thing.

So many things happened during Holy Week. It's hard to take it all in. But I think the biggest thing to know is that just as Jesus forgave the soldiers who put him on the cross and the crowds shouting “crucify him,” he forgives you and me today.

Don't run straight to Easter through this week. This Holy Week, listen to the incredible witness of God's love for you.

We are so busy with business that we often forget to take time to enjoy creation, to breathe in the breath of God, and to care for our bodies and minds and our spirit.

Maybe plan some quiet time with God and maybe then we don’t have to let busyness become our daily business.

Because we all get to choose our attitude. It doesn’t depend on circumstances – no matter what happens, you get to choose your attitude for the day.

How often do we hide the spots in our lives? We try to put up a good front; we don't want anybody to know about the silly or stupid, or wrong things we have done. We try to cover them up so that no one will know.

It turns out that there will always be people who are better off than you. On the other hand, there will always be people who are worse off than you.

Sometimes things are not what they seem. I had thought that it was raining, only to find out it was an extended family of mice.

How often have we thought that things were one way, and they turned out to be another?

Happy Valentine's Day.

It turns out that there will always be people who are better off than you. On the other hand, there will always be people who are worse off than you.

Temptation is like that. It can look so good, so tempting, so wonderful but it can also be treacherous.

Face it, we wouldn't call it temptation if it wasn't tempting.

So the next time you are attempted to do something, when you're tempted to cut corners, when you're tempted to do things the easy way instead of the hard way, when you're tempted to push the edge of the envelope just a little, thinking everybody else does it, or that you'll never get caught, just stop and weigh the consequences of your actions.

So I turned on the wall unit, set it on heat, and some air came out of it that was not entirely cold, but a least it was warmer, and gradually the cabin reached a livable temperature.

I’m telling you this, because sometimes things, like brisket or prayer, take a while. But God always listens. God always answers our prayers, it's just going to take a little while.

Happy Valentine's Day.

It turns out that there will always be people who are better off than you. On the other hand, there will always be people who are worse off than you.

Fortunately, God has written us an incredible love letter, the Bible. You can start with whichever gospel you like and when you think about it, God has loved you, through actions, your whole life.

So regardless of whether or not you have a Valentine today, the one thing you have that is most important of all is God's love. It's not going to come and go like a feeling, but it's here to stay, no matter what. God is committed to you, and nothing will ever change that.

Happy Valentine's Day.

It turns out that there will always be people who are better off than you. On the other hand, there will always be people who are worse off than you.

I was having a really bad day, and it wasn’t even 9:00 in the morning yet. I thought, “Why should these other people have all the fun while I had to fight with my chain and get grease and prickers in my hands?”

It turns out that there will always be people who are better off than you. On the other hand, there will always be people who are worse off than you.

Well after a while I realized he must have been talking to somebody else. He must have called me by accident while he was in the conversation with this other person.

He probably had no idea that I was listening in on his conversation, thinking that it was meant for me.

But imagine if you could listen in on people's lives. Imagine if you could hear what they're thinking about. Imagine if you could hear what they're thinking about you. Would you want to know?

Can you imagine going into the second half not only behind by 27 points but with 0 points on the board for yourself? It must have felt hopeless. But it wasn't hopeless.

Yes, there will be times in our lives when we're tempted to quit. They'll be times when we're ready to give up, when we're at the end of the rope and we cannot even imagine climbing back up, but we're here to tell you that it's not over.

It’s not that she was forgetful at all – she just let go of the hurt and the pain. She remembered all the good times and all the blessings. But she intentionally forgot the rough times.

You see, when you look ahead, you can't see what's behind you. And of course, the opposite is true too. When you look behind you, you can't see where you are going.

I mention this today because the beginning of the year is a good time for us to take stock, to check in with ourselves, check in with God, and seek out our calling in life.

We all have different callings and we each have gifts that God has given us to use. Though as my friend Willie says, “Too many of us get sidetracked by shiny things.” All too often, we are distracted by shiny things, we are dazzled by the gold when maybe our gift is frankincense or myrrh.

Well let me tell you about something that happened and Christmas Day last year. I had given my wife a bracelet that I bought in Georgetown, but wouldn't you know it, the day after Christmas she couldn't find it. It was nowhere to be found. Then this year Andrea went into the garage to get some extension cords, and when she did that, she found her bracelet!

The bracelet had been with us all year long, even though we didn't realize it.

Sometimes we can get so excited about the time with family and friends, the big dinner, the gifts, the excitement, and fun of Christmas, that we can miss Jesus in it all. It’s not that we “throw Him away,” it’s just that sometimes He gets lost in the wrapping paper.

Don’t let that happen this year. Jesus is the center of Christmas, not merely another gift. He really is the reason for the season.

They wished me a happy birthday, and took the cake out of the box and written on the cake in bold letters were the words, “Good luck, Bob!”

It turns out that life doesn't always go exactly the way we had planned. There's an old saying, “We make plans, and God laughs."

God has filled our lives with blessings – some of which we asked for; most of which we didn’t even have a clue about beforehand. And some are just wild surprises.

It’s a little bit like the times we are shaken up in life – except for one thing: the wonder of life shake-ups is that we get to help decide how the pieces of our life are going to come back together.

In short, we can use those times to either become bitter or become better. The choice is up to us.

The Bible says nothing about halos being on angels.

So, one can only wonder, how did we end up with paintings, movies, and costumes of angels and saints with halos around or above their heads?

Some of that has changed over the years; some of it has stayed the same.

But underneath it all, one thing remains the same.  It is good to give thanks to the Lord.

Things are not always what we expect; they are not always what they seem. What assumptions do we make that keep us from seeing people as they really are? How do our attitudes affect our perceptions?