Tez Brooks's Blog: TezBrooks.com, page 10

Those Flashing Lights

 

 I was nineteen—old enough to know better. My yellow Maverick was a clunker and needed more attention than I was willing to give. In a hurry to get to work, I cranked the engine, threw the car into reverse, checked my mirrors, and backed out into the street. I turned on my favorite Hall and Oates tunes and raced through town. Over the music, I never heard the steady ding ding ding and the red light flashing on the control panel. However, once I got on the highway, I noticed the smoke pouring out from under the hood. By then it was too late. The engine block had cracked. I learned a valuable lesson that day—glance at my dashboard from time to time. Now jump with me 10 years ahead.
 My friend Rick made a similar mistake in his personal life. He overlooked the warning signals of an impending disaster.He whined, “It takes 80 percent of my paycheck for child support. I have to move in with my sister. It’s not right, man. It’s oppressive. I’m already a month behind and my ex is complaining that she can’t afford school supplies for Heather.” Society might call Rick a deadbeat dad, but they didn’t know all the facts. He had been a decent Christian father for years. He brought his daughter up in church, attended her recitals, clothed and fed her well. But when his marriage ended, he found himself paying a mortgage for a house he no longer lived in and paying court-ordered child support far above the standard of living he had provided for his daughter prior to the divorce. Over the following months, I saw him become bitter and resentful toward his ex-wife as well as the courts. When he turned to his church for moral support, he was met with indifference. After a while he stopped going to church. He began drinking more and visiting his daughter less and less. Rick eventually lost his job, was arrested for a DUI, and lost all visitation rights with his daughter. Within five years, he had become exactly what society had labeled him: a deadbeat dad. His trouble wasn’t the lack of income. It wasn’t the fault of Rick’s ex-wife or his church. It wasn’t even his drinking. The root issue was that Rick refused to stop and look at some warning signs. He never checked his dashboard to see that his forgiveness gauge was in the red. Had Rick noticed these issues early on, he might have been able to avoid a disaster. As I went through my own divorce, I often forgot to add the oil of gladness to the squeaks that annoyed me. I forgot, at times, to filter my tongue or take time for something as simple as refueling. Sometimes the engine light was flashing like crazy, but I was too busy staring into my rearview mirror, fixating on past events I could not change. What is your initial response or cycle of thought when things spin out of control? How do you usually react to these “breakdowns” in your life?

 

 

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Beyond the Fence

 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. —1 THESSALONIANS 4:17–18 (NIV) 
THE SIGN READ: Stay Three Feet from Fence. My family and I were west of Denver when we stopped at a rest area. A tall chain-link fence ran along the back of the property. The same warning sign was repeated every twenty feet. What’s the big deal? Then I noticed. Beyond the fence, a herd of wild bison rested in the grass—a sanctuary for these animals. I crept closer, snapping photos on my phone. But every shot was ruined with that stupid fence in the foreground. To get a decent photo, I’d have to ignore the warning sign and touch the fence. I looked around. There was no security guard. A baby bison inched its way closer to the fence. Come on, little one, walk over here. If I could reach my finger through and just touch its fur, I’d be satisfied. But a park ranger walked by, and I didn’t want to get fined. So I controlled myself. How often I have the same urge to touch heaven—to experience something so real yet so unreachable. Like my desire to touch that wild animal through the enclosure, I find myself eager to experience eternity. But there’s this stupid fence called mortal life, a shell that separates me from my true home. I long to be released from this rest area called Earth, to see God face-to-face and experience wonders much more magnificent than this wild bison herd. Talking about eternity stirs up the desire to be there. One day, we will all climb over that fence, and it’s going to be glorious.

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How Can I Trust God Better?

“ I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. ”   Psalm 119:176 (NIV).  

Do you ever find yourself slightly alienated from God wondering how you can trust God better? Our daughter’s pet helped me understand how easy it was to go astray.

“Stop it!” my young daughter scolded. Her parakeet, Frosty, had just bitten her.

“Have you held him this week?” I asked.

“I keep forgetting.”

Jade learned the hard way, that when you ignore a bird, it loses meekness. It can’t help but turn wild. Daily handling keeps the bird docile and domesticated—a pleasure for the owner.

My daughter spent a good portion of the day re-training Frosty. She loved that bird enough to overlook the temporary pain of his rejection to keep him close.

 
The budgie eventually adjusted his attitude. He went from biting and squawking, to rubbing his head against Jade’s cheek, whispering chirps of contentment.

My heart too, is prone to wander from my Master. Ephesians 2:1-11 lists benefits received from my relationship with Christ. Like animals, you and I once lived by our instincts—rejecting God to follow natural passions. But in his great love, God brought us near to himself.

Paul’s letter reminds us we had nothing to do with this. It’s a gift.

Sadly, when things don’t go our way we can feel resentful of the Lord’s care. Like Frosty, we might lash out, squawk, and complain. Thankfully, God is slow to anger and keeps reaching for us. He is not impatient, like we are.

We all have this instinct to be free—to fly away when the Master tries to hold us. If only we could learn staying close to the Lord creates trust. It’s that relationship—spending time with Him—that helps us submit to our Father.

When our old nature springs into action, it’s vital to remember how desperately we need God’s daily training. Today, during the busyness of life, may we find ourselves sitting calmly in the Master’s hand.

 Prayer: Dear Lord, by instinct, I’m naturally prone to go feral. Please tame my heart, Master. Clip my wings if you must—anything to help me see you as my Protector and Provider. Amen.

What causes you most to wander? What are some ways you’re able to correct that? Help us by sharing in the comments below.
 

Is It Ok For Christians To Cuss?

“Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children.” Ephesians 5:1 (NKJV)

A couple years ago, I got so mad at my teenager that I cussed. Should Christians cuss?

No. But I did, sadly.

If you know anything about me, I don’t normally swear and would never allow it in my home. I was raised that this is not something an honorable Christian would do. We are a godly family and we try to be imitators of Christ. But on this day, I failed miserably and had to apologize for losing my temper.

I was so sad that I’d not only disappointed my child, but my Lord. I wished I could take it back. Everything within me wants to be a person who uplifts and encourages. A man who speaks grace and love to my family.

But something was in my heart that got revealed and I’m glad it did. I needed that sin to be exposed so I could identify it and run to God for help. Thankfully my family is forgiving and always ready to show grace when I fall.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”  Yet I see believers get online and type words that are not glorifying to God, nor do they represent an example of Christ to the world. So I get confused, especially when they have time to delete it before pressing “send.” 

I pondered, why we can’t be like the lyrebird. In the days when we lived in Australia, I learned about this creature.

The lyrebird gets its name because of the lovely tail of the male bird. When the tail is raised, it looks like an ancient harp called a lyre.

The song of the lyrebird is stunning too. To attract a female, the male sings a unique song of his own chirps and other birdcalls he’s heard. To up his game, he can even mimic sounds that humans bring into the forest—like cars, chainsaws, camera shutters and even children laughing. The more sounds he can add to his repertoire the better his chances at attracting a mate.

The amazing voice of the lyrebird reminds me of how I’m to act as a follower of Jesus. The best way to steer the world to God is to copy Christ. Pointing people to him is one of the things he commanded us to do as his children (Matthew 28:19).

The word Christian means one who follows or acts like Christ, but how often I fail to respond like Jesus would. Whether I accidentally smash my finger with a hammer or yell at my kids for making a mess, it’s never an expletive, but more often than not I choose to let things fly out of my mouth that do not reflect God’s kindness or patience.

Mimicking our God is what attracts people to the gospel. I want to imitate the character of Jesus so my life will be a sweet song to those in the forest of hurt and hopelessness.

What do you think? Why do we see so many younger believers (especially on social media) using the “F” word and other expletives like it’s okay? Is it? I’d love to hear your feedback.  

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Your Future Impact

I come from a very godly heritage on my mother’s side. I have ancestors and living relatives who are missionaries, pastors, and laypeople deeply grounded in the Word who followed hard after God. I’m thankful for that.

Now pause for a minute and picture your own family tree. I’ll bet you thought mostly “up”, didn’t you? You considered your father and mother, your grandparents, and so on.

But consider how many children you have? How many will they have? We normally think of a family tree as the thing we are at the bottom of, instead of the thing we sit atop. 

Consider God’s promise to Abraham. His descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore. My father gave me the following verse from Genesis 12 when I first left home for college:

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Like Abe, this is not just about you or even your descendants who you might see face to face. God is up to something bigger that will affect a whole lot of people down the road…long after you’re dead.

God wants us to be aware of the dozens or hundreds or thousands of people “downstream” from us who will need to know about our godly heritage. So what are we doing about this, now? 

Do we parents realize that our actions might affect not just our kids…but this entire planet for 100 years or more? Even if we are forgotten, What will our efforts yield? Godly shade, spiritual protection, nourishment? 

We can either see this assignment as a burden or a privilege…an opportunity. Let us rejoice that the Lord can make us a strong link in a generational chain that serves and honors him. Make your heritage a positive thing in the spiritual formation of generations to come  

(adapted from the YouVersion devotional “Being a Battle Ready Father” Manhood Journey)

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Contentment

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

As a young boy, I owned a pet hermit crab named Crusty. His cage contained several spare shells that I painted (blue, red, purple) so that as he grew, he could move into larger homes at his leisure. I wanted Crusty to choose one particularly large shell, so I decorated it to make the armor more appealing to him. 

After applying glow-in-the-dark paint on the outside, I bedazzled the shell with jewels and glitter, even gluing a small race car to the top. What crab wouldn’t want to live in this masterpiece? 

Crusty lived for quite a while, growing and trading shells to fit. But he never chose the one I wanted him to have. Although beautiful, it was just too big for him. 

As an adult I wasn’t quite as wise as Crusty. Before learning better, I embraced the mindset that a bigger home was better. Each time I moved, I upgraded, but still hankered for other houses that were larger, prettier, or sporting better enhancements. 

Rather than being grateful, how easy it is for us to want just a little more than what we already have. I want to be like Crusty, satisfied to have only what is necessary. To pursue contentment in all things, that is my heart’s desire. 

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New Anthology Featuring Tez Brooks

I’m excited to announce my third anthology with Guideposts “All God’s Creatures: Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers 2021” is now available.

Order your copy today https://www.shopguideposts.org/all-god-s-creatures-2021.html

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FaithTalk LIVE Interview with Tez

August 26th 2020–Rick and Dan, with guest Tez Brooks talking about his Book of the Decade award.

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The Little Things

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

From my porch I saw it fly right into someone’s windshield. I walked toward the pile of feathers. A juvenile red-tailed hawk lie on his back, stunned.

Wings could be broke… or might just need to rest and recover.

As a former wildlife rescue volunteer, I acted. I threw a towel over the hawk and gingerly scooped him up. He began to shriek, while overhead, two adult red-tails screamed at me. 

At this hour the vet was closed, so I carried him home. A cage would cause undue stress. But our secluded, fenced yard would protect him overnight.

Morning found the little bird of prey hopping around. He should have flown off by now. Must be a broken wing. Wearing thick gloves, I ventured out to catch the hawk and take him to the vet. 

As I approached, he flapped and glided into a nearby tree. Surprised, but glad he seemed better, I watched him reunite with his family. 

How little I did to help this raptor recover yet what a difference it made. Had he been left by the side of the road all night, he’d surely have wandered into traffic, been attacked by a cat, or died of stress.

Often, the small things we do to care for people make a world of difference we may never hear about. A smile, holding a door open, a warm cup of tea—opportunities present themselves every day.  

We don’t have to go out of our way to show kindness. One of the easiest ways to be Jesus to others is to do something simple but meaningful. What will you do today?

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Serious Writer Announces Author, Tez Brooks for BOOK OF THE DECADE

NASHVILLE– August 20, 2020



Serious Writer chose The Single Dad Detour (Kregel, 2015) by Tez Brooks as “Book of the Decade” Thursday evening.



Usually held in New York City, the annual dinner and ceremony were moved to Nashville due to COVID restrictions, with Serious Writer adding Book of the Decade as a new category this year, along with the usual categories of Book of the Year and Writer of the Year.



Competition was stiff this year as judges read over 100 entries, narrowing it down to four winners, nationwide.



This is the second recognition The Single Dad Detour received. In 2016 it won Florida Writers Association’s Royal Palm Literary Award for “Best Inspirational Non-Fiction.”



Serious Writer is dedicated to providing a place where writers can learn best practices for their craft, develop marketing and PR skills to grow their platforms, and network with agents, editors, and other writers. They teach at conferences around the country and provide classes through Serious Writer Academy. For more details on this year’s winners and future events, check out Serious Writer

Cyle Young and Bethany Jett of Serious Writer, present Tez with award.

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