Camping Trips & Crazy Stories

To my readers,

Have you ever realized what stories you remember?

If you look back on the stories you share with friends and family, most of the time we will find that we only partly remember events, leaving details out. The story isn't always fresh anymore in our minds.

However there is a story that we remember.
We remember the story where everything goes wrong.
We remember the times when the metaphorical bomb explodes on our plans.  

A great example is a camping trip I go on with my best friends/old roommates (The Surfdom).  We go to Enchanted Rock every year over New Years for the first trip that brought us together as close friends.  However, it never fails that every trip we go on, something terrible ends up happening.  

The last trip was no exception.

Weather wasn't supposed to drop below 50.  We had ways of making a small contained fire to cook our food. We had tents.  We also had climbing gear.  We were prepared this trip.  

...or so we thought. 

A Cold front surprised us, bringing 15 degree weather with ice cold rain and eventually snow.  All the wood we had brought was too wet to start a fire.  We nearly slid off the rock as we took the most fastest and dangerous route down the forbidden area of Enchanted Rock.  We nearly fell off a small mountain while rock climbing.  I did slip down a cliff and fell into an entire patch of cactus.  My entire set of clothes for the trip were wet.  My water bottle froze.  One of our tents ended up leaking during the first snow storm and flooded the tent out.  We got stuck in the cave and had some interesting prayerful moments with God.  

Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did.  

But this is the story we remember. We remember the horrible, terrible, crazy, chaotic stories because we endure, overcome, and grow.  Its moments like these that test our faith and allow for us to deepen our relationship with Jesus.

Its these true tough stories that change us. 

Paul shares this story in a letter in the New Testament,

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:6-8, NLT.

The most sad and terrible story ever told is how the only perfect person died so that we who deserve death could have the price paid for our sins.  The greatest love story ever told is a story for a father and his children and how nothing can separate them from his love.  

Don't let this be just another story. This story forever changed everything for me.  If we truly let the Gospel into our lives, the greatest loves story, the world would change.  If you hear anything from this, let the story of Jesus be the story that changes your life.  

Who will you tell this story to?

Simple,

Tex G.M. Rule
"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:6-8, NLT.

Poems & Cubicles

To my readers,

Above my cubicle you'll find one of my favorite poems.  

To be honest with you, I also have it above my bed and have it printed on a small page I stick inside my Bible.  

I guess you could say I enjoy this poem.  

Really enjoy this poem.

Rudyard Kipling's "If" 

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! 

Strangely enough I believe James put it similar:

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" James 1:2-4, NLT.

If I can say one thing to you. You can only endure because of your relationship with Jesus.  Pour deep into him and He will pour deep into you.  Don't give up.  There is something more out there, his name is Jesus.  

Find the things that help remind you to endure for His name sake.  Find verses, poems, that help you hold tighter to his embrace and put them where you see them everyday.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" James 1:2-4, NLT.

Alumni & Tailgating Friends

T0 my readers,

"A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." Proverb 17:17, NLT.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule 

5K's & Tailgating Adventures

To my readers,

Being an intern has its never-ending share of funny stories.  Recently, I've shared stories of tailgating for the first season of UTSA football. We are blessed to have an entire group of men at CBC called the Godly Grillers that through our Men's Ministry does some amazing bbq-ing on three massive grills.  

I had reserved the smallest one. Let me explain that when I say smallest, the grill is on a trailer and easily larger than my entire pickup truck.  For being the smallest its still rather massive.

The trick is that the games are at 1PM, meaning tailgaters arrive at 7AM. Yes, 7AM, which means, yes you guessed it.  I must pick the grill at 6:30A.M., meaning I must leave the south-side of San Antonio at 6A.M.  

No I'm not complaining, I just want to explain for a college student, on a Saturday morning 5 A.M. alarms are tough.  

6:31 I pull into the gates of CBC to see the grill being towed out by another pickup truck! What was happening?

I quickly pulled into the parking lot to attempt to turn around except that the entire parking lot had been marked off for a 5K run that was happening later that morning.  My plan to turn around and flash my lights in order to stop them failed miserably. I was now currently driving the entire 5K while the entire event staff watch me while I did so.  

I'm sure I looked crazy.

Now what was I to do? I had no grill, its currently 6:45 A.M. with no number to call, on everyone's day off and the only thing I had accomplished was driving an entire 5K. 

You never want to call your boss on his time off- especially at 6:45 A.M. Who could I call?

Luckily, a friend answered when I called him.  He was able to get me in touch with the Pastor overseeing our Men's Ministry.  Turns out, it was our Men's pastor that took the grill- the whole situation was misunderstanding of time. They thought I needed it at 6PM rather than 6AM.

He informed me he was on his way to Bastrop to feed the community and firemen fighting the wildfires. 

Boy did I feel guilty.  What a great reason to take the grill! I literally had no right to be upset.

We made arrangements for me to try to tow one of the other larger grills that are stored away from CBC.  I made my way out to this property to find my keys for these locks didn't work.  

Long story short, we ended up cooking 10 lbs of hamburger, 40 some odd hot dogs, & sausage on my baby grill-

This is it.

That grill has always come to my rescue when I needed it.  Don't hate on the baby grill because today it earned its keep and showed its skill by completing the task of feeding over 25 different college students.  

I later told my boss this wonderful story to which he responded, "This will make the blog, wont it?"

"Probably."

"Oh, Tex."

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

Braveheart & Freedom

To my readers,

I don't know a man that doesn't love the movie Braveheart.

To men, this movie speaks deep to their heart.  It touches on all three parts of a man as Jon Eldredge discusses in his book, Wild At Heart.  He speaks that every man's heart wants an adventure to take, a battle to fight, and a beauty to save.  The narrative of William Wallace is filled with these truths.

If you have never seen this movie, I would highly recommend it.  However, there is one word that William Wallace constantly speaks about.  

Freedom

He speaks of this word over and over again.  It is what drives him to do what he does.  The chance to finally be free from England's tyrannous rule. The chance to be more than they ever were, free.

During his journey to bring Scotland freedom, William Wallace gives a speech to his men.  Its word move their hearts from wanting to run away to defeating the English in one of the biggest military defeats of its time.

"Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our Freedom!" William Wallace

Freedom. 

Freedom is a powerful thing.  

The scriptures read about Freedom this way:

"So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law." Galatians 5:1, NLT. 

Jesus has bought us Freedom through his own death.  We are free.  But we mustn't let ourselves be taken back into slavery by sin or the even the rules of Christianity. Either extremes weight us down and hold us into a deeper amount of either shame or pride.  

We are free. You are free.

At the moment we start to follow Christ, we have a chance for freedom.  As William Wallace proved, freedom didn't come without a cost.  It cost him his life.  However, because of it, Scotland won its freedom.  

We must fight for ours.  When the enemy tempts you, stand firm and lean deep into Christ.  When your pride tells you that you're more righteous than someone, let the grace of Christ humble and overwhelm you to love them deeper. We must be willing to lose everything we held dear, for the sake of knowing Christ in this freedom. 

Essentially, our freedom was never about us.  It's about Jesus who freed us with his own life and returned to life to prove his love was greater than death.  

What will you do with this freedom? 

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
"So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law." Galatians 5:1, NLT.

Anniversaries & 8th Grade Memories

To my readers,

Tomorrow will mark ten years since the world changed forever.

I'll forget when it happened. I was in 8th grade sitting inside our library before school started. On the news I saw the first chaos of the first tower smoking and eventually watched the second plane crash into the second tower. 

America was attacked.  

Violently upsetting the citizens of the United States of America, terrorist sent a message to everyone watching.  Be afraid.

The American people sent a message right back.  We won't be defeated.  We will overcome. 

Here we are ten years later to remember the brave men and women who lost their lives because of this tragedy.  America overcame, we weren't defeated.  We united together as one people.

Around two thousand years ago, the New Testament tells us about Jesus coming to this world in order to free us from sin, to bring us back into a place where we can have a deep and passionate relationship with himself.  Before he is beaten and dies a terrible criminals death in order to pay our debt, he has a conversation with his disciples telling them of these terrible events that were to come.  That he would be die, they would desert him, and people would want to murder them too.  He closes this with saying,

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33, NLT.  

He warns them that the world would try to strike fear in their hearts.  He tells them that they would be fearful and would run away.  Fear would strike deep in their hearts but that they can find peace in him because he has overcome.  

Three days after his death, Jesus overcame death and sin.  Their dominion is over.  Not only has the debt we owed been paid, but the debt system is finished.  His love for us is greater than the debt we owed.

Jesus paid it in full.  

While all the powers of hell send the message of fear and destruction into our lives. They scream that we owe a price for the sin we've committed. We are guilty. Their message is sent while Jesus, my King, also sends a message.  

It says, "I have overcome because I love you. My love is greater than death. My love is greater than destruction. My love is greater than the sin that binds you. It's been paid in full."

As we take a moment to remember the tragedy that happened ten years ago, let us also daily remember what Jesus did for us.  Let us remember that his love overcame death.  There is freedom because of Jesus.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33, NLT.  

Doing Nothing & Being Still

To my readers,

Labor Day was this past Monday.

It is one of my favorite holidays. This isn’t because I get a day off from work.  This isn’t because I get out of class for the day.  This isn’t because I have a three day weekend.  It isn’t because I can barbeque steaks and ribs in my backyard.

It’s one of my favorite holidays because I can take a day to do absolutely nothing.

If I want to catch up on homework, I can.  If I want to go for a hike, I can. Or I can sit at home and accomplish nothing for the entire day.

That was my plans this past Monday.  Nothing.  Get some well-needed R&R and possibly get ahead on homework.

The day went as planned.  The strange part of the day is that I felt even more restless than when the day had started. I was exhausted, drained, and emotionally empty. I felt as though I needed a holiday from this holiday.

I was so confused.  What could I have done wrong?

I started to talk out loud to myself saying, “What’s up with this? Here I am doing nothing and just enjoying the day when all I want is the rest that comes from being still!”

I caught myself.  I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized this sooner.

There is a song in the Old Testament that reads,

“Be still, and know that I am God! 
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10, NLT.

I think we can agree that there is a massive difference between doing nothing andbeing still.

Doing nothing accomplishes exactly that: nothing.

Being still is completely different.  Being still is being calm when you want to scream. Being still means listening to the still quiet voice instead of the noise of the world.Being still means not fighting the desires that tear you away from Jesus.  Being still means giving up your selfish desires in order to listen to Jesus, who loves you and always has your best interest at heart.

This isn’t easy.

If it were, we all would be doing this.  But it’s a spiritual discipline therefore it requires times and constant diligence, initiative, and perseverance.

Even though you may believe you are giving up so much in order to better this discipline, you will gain something so much more valuable than anything this world has to offer.

A deeper relationship with Jesus.

What is keeping you from changing from doing nothing to being still?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
“Be still, and know that I am God! 
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10, NLT.

Texas Fires & Powerful Prayer

To my reader,

Texas is on fire.

I wish I meant this in a deep metaphorical spiritual sense, but I don't.  I literally mean Texas is on fire.  Brush fires are sweeping across the state leaving the affected areas in desperate need of rain and extra firefighters.

Despite this I've see some powerful things start to take place.

Its amazing watching communities come together and pray and help one another in these times.  Through social media, texting, and suppling material goods I have seen friends and many others rise to the challenge of the needs in these communities.

The most amazing thing I've seen is the amount of prayer taking place.  Churches, schools, and friends are literally coming together to take time to pray. They are praying for the families and the brave firefighters that are trying to protect our communities.  They are praying that these fires would stop and that rain would downpour onto the land.

We believe that our God is bigger than any raging fire and we will continue to pray.

God spoke to Israel in the Old Testament.  He said,

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT.

Please join us as we pray for the families affected and those fighting the fires in Texas.
Please pray that we would put God first in our lives
Please pray that rain would come heal our land.
And finally please pray that when the rain comes and all this is over, we would continue to put God first in San Antonio, TX.

here is a small clip of the fires.  Please be praying 

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT.

Chick-fil-a & Happy Roommates

To my readers,

Recently, Two42 went and helped at an event hosted by Chick-fil-a. When everything was said and done, Chick-fil-a sent us home with a ton of food. Two42 had four boxes given to us, I took one and this was the take. 

For my eight (yes, eight)  roommates, heaven had come to Earth. Here is why-102 Chicken Sandwiches.

"A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate." Proverbs 15:17, NLT.

It isn't brocoli, but there sure is a lot of love going around.  The best part, they finished them all in three days. These guys are bottomless pits of awesome roommates.  

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate." Proverbs 15:17, NLT.

Mighty Men & Amazing Friends

To my readers,

Recently Two42 had the opportunity to take part in some incredible events.

In each of these events, Two42 was able to have some great victories. Between tailgating at the first UTSA football game or the Football Kickoff sponsored by Chick-fil-a, Two42 was able to show up and knock the event out of the ballpark.

My boss sent me a text telling me I had done a great job this weekend.  I can't tell you how exciting it was that I received this text message.  I felt validated and accomplished, however I knew that something was wrong.

I couldn't take credit for this in any way.

In the Scriptures, there is a man considered to be the greatest king Israel has ever seen, King David.  His name echoes throughout the scriptures as a mighty warrior and he had many great victories, but even despite his accomplishments, King David had a team he relied on of the toughest and mightiest men.  He gives them a special acknowledgment in the second book of Samuel.  David shares this story of how while he surrounded in a stronghold that he was thirsty. He continues to say,

"So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three." 2 Samuel 23:16-17, NLT.

 This is only a small section of the many stories of King David's Mighty Men.  However, David praised and gave the victory to his mighty warriors because it was because of them that he was able to succeed.

Without them, he wasn't a leader.
Without them, he was just a man taking a walk.

I have to tell the world that its because of the amazing leaders and volunteers at Two42 that we are able to have the amazing victories we have had.  They are the real heroes and mighty-men of Two42. Our victory this weekend belongs not to me, but to y'all.

Without them, I would have looked silly trying to tailgate alone.
Without them, I would be just a guy taking a walk.

I learned something profoundly deep to me this past week through you, that I cannot do it alone. If you take anything away from reading this, take this: you cannot do it alone.  Without Jesus leading and guiding your life, you're just walking in the dark without a flashlight.  Without a community around you to uplift and grow from, you will suffer burn-out and isolation. We cannot make it through life alone.  

I am so thankful to our King that I am blessed with y'all.

Thank you guys our amazing hardworking volunteers and leaders.  Its truly because of your work that we are able to accomplish all the work that God has given us.  You're love and dedication to our Lord has shown in the way you serve and love one another.  I wish I could tell the world all the stories of how amazing you are, but I'd never be able to stop.

Thank you for teaching me more everyday what it means to be more like Jesus. Y'all really are the best team I could ask to work with.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
“The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three." 2 Samuel 23:17, NLT.

Some things are more important

To my readers,

Normally every Monday I write a post entitled "Movie-Quote Monday." However, there are situations when traditions are broken- there are times when something is much more important.

I believe sharing this was more important.

I got on Twitter today to find these tweets:

ANY fire fighters in Central Texas that have fire fighting experience are strongly asked to call 512-978-1187 #txfire #centraltxfires

Stay safe tonight. See statesman.com for updates, @CenTexRedCross has shelter info, @austintexasgov posting evac info. #centraltxfires

Oh, my. Wildfire in Bastrop, TX. My heart is breaking for those fire fighters having to fight this. Please watch & pray. youtube.com/watch?v=wELdKg…

For you who tweet, #centraltxfires is trending.  If you want to get involved in how to help- go watch this trend. Eventually I came across my boss' tweet which read:

“@cadillaczak: video of the fire in bastrop...DRAMATIC: youtu.be/wELdKgk80e8”// unbelievable

This is the video he posted:

Please pray for rain but more so pray for the lives of families near and the brave folks that are fighting these fires.  Pray for safety and that these fires would die.  

If you or anyone have any experience fighting fires and are not far from Central Texas, they could use your help. 

Pray and if you know God is pulling on your hearts to do more- then do it.  

How can our communities help these that are hurting? 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

Vandals & Motel 6

To my reader,

Our campus laundry mat was vandalized. 

Because of this, our laundry mat was shut down. They literally locked it up as I was carrying my clothes over to the mat and told me the news. As you can assume, this may have thrown off my schedule for the week.

You see, I have nothing to wear.  Now, when I say I have no clothes to wear, I literally mean that the clothes that I am wearing are the last set of clean clothes I have. 

I needed clothes for the next day and it was 10 o’clock at night on the south-side of San Antonio.  What was I going to do?

A 24-hour Washeria!

This idea is what began a very long adventure for my roommate and I as we started driving.  We pulled into the first Washeria to find it was open 24 hours however, since it had been broken into recently, was closed.  No big deal.

The next was the same. We continued to drive intent on finding a laundry mat. We drove around aimlessly until hope started to seem lost. Apparently someone has been knocking off washerias with the intent of making my washing schedule impossible.  We decided to go home- until I got a crazy idea.

As we approached the entrance to my apartments, we pulled into a Motel 6.  I ran inside and spoke with the clerk at the counter.  I explained my story and proceeded to ask if there was any possible chance she could let me use their motel’s washer and dryer. 

She let us inside.  I was able to wash my laundry.

Jesus shares this parable of a man who is dire need of food to feed a very important guest at midnight.  He runs to his neighbors house and begins to knock on his door begging for food.  This man continues to knock even though his neighbor has told you him to go away many times. He furthers says,

“But I tell you this- though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”  Luke 11:8, NLT.

How often do we let one closed door stop us?

Why do we give up so easily?

When we face obstacles we cannot look at them once and turn and walk away.  A hurdler must practice continuously. And when (not if) they trip, they must pick themselves up and try again.

Christ was persistent.  He came to heal this broken and lost world.  The scriptures said Jesus set his face like flint towards Jerusalem, and even though he knew what awaited him there, he pressed onward enduring everything to bring us freedom in order that we can have a relationship with him. 

I’m thankful that Jesus never gave up on us.

Don’t give up so easily.  Trust in the one that endured everything, and overcame. When you do this and opposition arises, you can stand firm on what you know he has called you to. 

Keep knocking and don’t give up.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“But I tell you this- though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”  Luke 11:8, NLT.