I found out over Thanksgiving turkey that several loyal readers here intentionally bypass all writing regarding sports. So, I'll make it quick on this Football Friday.
LSU squeaks by Arkansas by 3; Boise romps Fresno State by 21; and Clovis East and Bullard win to advance to the Valley Championship Game next weekend.
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Like many of you, I was stunned by the sudden passing of Prentice Meador. Prentice and I had been exchanging emails in an effort to secure a date for him to present his "Weekend of Champions" seminar for the men of the Central Valley. As a prior resident of California, Prentice seemed genuinely enthusiastic about coming and we were near finalizing a date in 2009 for him to be in Fresno.
I had the privilege of hearing Prentice present the Weekend of Champions Seminar at the Westover Hills church in Austin, Texas three years ago. To this day, I lean on the lessons he taught at that seminar. His call to integrity, to brotherhood, and to purity were penetrating and practical. The handouts still serve as a rich resource in my own preaching and personal growth.
The most striking impression I will forever carry of Prentice, however, is from a lecture he presented at the Tahoe Family Encampment about four years ago. Prentice had been invited by Paul Methvin to deliver a lecture on Baptism he'd presented at the ACU Lectureship. Before he delivered his lecture on baptism, he opened by sharing news of the then-recent leukemia diagnosis of his granddaughter, Palmer. What is burned into my memory is how Prentice told of calling his entire family together and stating that, as the father of the family, he would be out-front spiritually and emotionally for the well-being of his family through the crisis.
I've never forgotten that and I never will. It struck me as rare, though it shouldn't, a father/grandfather leading his family through a crisis in such a Christ-like fashion.
In an era when the whole idea of the family patriarch is devalued, Prentice Meador taught me what it means to be a man, a responsible father, and a spiritual leader for a family.
Today, I am thankful for the life of Prentice Meador and his impact, even if from a distance, on my own life as a husband, father and minister.
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This week has been a great blessing to my life. Sharing a week of thanksgiving with you has refocused me and given me a greater appreciation for the grace I've already received. If you're like me, too often our prayers are saturated with pleas for future expressions of grace from God. It's times of Thanksgiving when we remember with gratitude all the gracious blessings we've already received.
I'm renewed. I'm refocused. I'm re-energized...thanks to a week of thanksgiving. I think we should make thanksgiving a regular part of our routine, don't you?
