Some coaches have fueled the flames of controversy by defying the law and the court. One Tennessee High School coach is pushing the envelope when he stated to the Tennessean, “Every day when we finish practice, we take a knee, bow our heads and say the Lord’s Prayer at practice …” and before each game I tell them to pray for themselves and their teammates.

Defying the courts is an unwise decision and there is a price in doing so by coaches or anyone. Such religious practices have been ruled out of bounds by the courts. A football coach job description doesn’t include religious activities. Coaches in high schools are not exempt from the law; ignoring court rulings is hazardous to a coaching career. The courts’ interpretation and application of this ruling only applies to public schools and does not extend to parochial schools.

It’s patriotic, and American, to call such violations to the attention of school administrators and seek redress in such situations.  The court ruling acknowledges that.  There is a proper time and place for religious activities. As I understand it, a football coach can observe the rules by simply announcing there will be a moment of silence by the team and not making any faith-based comments.

On the morning following Black Friday, I read a devotional that benefited and motivated me. I share these reflective comments in their entirety from The Upper Room (12.1.08)., as written by William David Willis of Australia.

Impressions (John 1:14-18)

The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people – John 1:4 (TIV)

Have you ever visited the lost and found office of a bus or railway station? To do so is to be amazed at the quantity, size and variety of items left behind by travelers. You might be tempted to ask, “How could someone possibly have forgotten that?”

Have you ever left something behind? I well-remember leaving a camera behind on a bus in London and being joyfully  reunited with it two days later!

Every day we leave behind us attitudes and feelings that have a powerful effect on those who “find” them. Perhaps we leave happiness, positive ideas and thoughts, kindness and love. Or maybe we leave behind us bitterness, jealousy, unhappiness, hatred, and conflict.

Our Lord left behind a wonderful legacy — the gift of God’s Grace that brings joy to our lives and purpose to our days on earth.  John 1:16 reminds us that we have all benefited from such rich blessings Jesus brought by his teachings, by his death, and by his resurrection.

Our challenge is to continue Christ’s work by leaving behind evidence of his presence in our lives. When we do, we enrich the lives of those around us.

Prayers: Grant us understanding, O God, of our influence for good and ill in our living. May your loving light shine through our lives to light the way for others. Amen.

Thought for the Day: What do others know of Christ because of knowing me?

~~William David Willis, New South Wales, Australia

Prayer Focus: For deeper intimacy with God

Prayer: Thank you God for the lights in our journey of faith. help us in turn to be lights for others.”

Thought: Leave a light on for those who will follow.”

The Upper Room devotional is available at  United Methodist Churches in your community.

One Friday morning during my solitary time in fellowship with God, I read a passage of Scripture that spoke to me from Acts 4: 32-37. Verse 34 summarizes the result of corporate and united action taken by the disciples: “There was not a needy person among them.” The context sheds light on the meaning of the verse. The disciples shared their time, skills and talents as in response to God’s call. They sold their houses and land and shared everything.

In analyzing this verse we see first a direct giving spirit. Their graciousness and personal sacrifice is a principle incorporated into our faith. All major faith groups expose this idea of sharing and giving to others. How can we practice this concept and integrate it into our own lives? As a spiritual people, we recognize the benefits of giving.

There are ways for us to emulate the example of these men and women of early church. First, a sensitive look at our own community will challenge us. Our very own Salvation Army, Roxy Regional Theatre, Animal Control, Precious Friends, and Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, to name a few, provide opportunities to do good for others by sharing even though we have personal needs.

Loaves and Fishes is always in need of donated food to feed the poor and in serving the disenfranchised of our city. Daily, over 150 meals are served and sent out to the needy. Gifts of canned food are appreciated and will be used to meet the needs of unfortunate citizens. Also, Loaves and Fishes is always in need of workers to pick up food, and properly prepare and serve a warm healthy meal. We who serve offer our smiles and greetings as though Jesus was standing before us.

Secondly, this is a constant need for supplies, food and volunteers for our organization dedicated to serving pets who, for one reason or another, need a home. Cats ‘r Us and Precious Friends offer protective care for abandoned pets. Their resources are provided only by residents of the community; they receive no tax dollars for their work of mercy.

We will deepen our spiritual life through Holy Communion, fellowship, prayer, reading the Bible and other spiritual books, and last but not least, by sharing and giving. Recently, the spirit focused me on making a contribution to help a financially struggling  APSU student. “What would the disciples do?”

A few words about uplifting literature: In my spiritual pilgrimage I am discovering my faith rekindled through reading newspapers, magazines, books (fiction and non-fiction), and The Upper Room, a daily devotional guide published by the United Methodist Church.

Today, through prayer and thought the conclusion of the Upper Room devotional energized and encouraged my faith in our Lord.

The prayer is as follows:

“All caring God, we rejoice in being your children. Help us to feel your comfort, your love, your joy, your peace, and above all, your presence.  Amen.”

The thought for the day, inspired by Psalm 139:1-12, is: “God’s presence is a glorious and comforting gift.”

These spiritual nuggets were written by a Tennessee resident.

Our reading is one source for making ourselves sensitive to the spiritual resources available to us daily. Share with fellow believers a devotional that inspired you during the past week. send it to .

Here is the text of Psalm 139:1-12:

1. O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4. Before a word is on my tongue; you know it completely, O LORD.
5. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10. Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12. even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

In its new five-year contract, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has opted to ditch the familiar paid holiday in favor of a change that will please the plants 700 Muslim workers: Eid-al-Fitr, which occurs at the end of Ramadan. The contract contains the same number of paid holidays as before; the holidays have simply changed. Eid al-Fitr, which this year happens on Oct. 1, ends the Muslim faith’s month of fasting.

Ramadan or Ramadhan is the holiest month in Islam, when it is believed the Holy Quran “was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, a declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation”. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

The Union in a press statement said the plant employs 700 Muslims, many of them Somalis, and called the decision a “contractual agreement” rather than a “religious accommodation,” adding that it was a majority rule decision. The Tyson Plant in Shelbyville is also the only Tyson facility that has a Muslim Prayer Room for the convenience of its workers. According to reports, the new holiday applies only to Union workers; other employees will retain their usual Labor Day holiday.

The subject of prayer and meditation was brought to my consciousness through a devotional in The Upper Room, and an article in Newsweek Magazine (1/9/08). In the latter, reference was made to James 5:1, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months and he prayed again and the heaven gave him rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

These verses surface some questions about the nature of man, prayer and even God. A study of this passage merits discussion as to its relevancy for us.

In reading Newsweek, I begin with the table of contents to familiarize myself with the nyriad articles in the current issue. Is that issue, the one that caught my attention and my brain and said “read this first” was “Obama’s Telephone Prayer Team.”

This prayer team is an ecumenical fellowship of spiritual leaders of various religious faiths and beliefs who sponsor a weekly prayer time for this political leader. These dedicated children of God have a unique method for their prayers of safety for the African-American Democratic candidate for the presidency; they have a telephone prayer meeting.

Rev. K. Caldwell, a mega-church pastor, is one of the participants in the prayer team. In commenting on the contents of their prayers, he says:

“Typically, whoever is praying always prays for the senator and his wife, for his safety and surety, soundness of mind, clarity of thought.”

The Obama Prayer Team prays every Friday morning as a group, and throughout the week. There are separate weekly prayer and strategy calls for the campaign’s Roman Catholic, Jewish, Evangelical and African-American faith groups. The Obama team also immerses their activities in prayer, especially at important events.

The Prayer Team believes in the healing power of prayer and the controversial issues to prayer. Recently, the prayer team “lifted up” the Democratic rules committee, the body designated with the responsibility of apportioning the Michigan and Florida delegates. The prayer cluster with a maturity of faith and judgement vin their prayers asked that there “be sound judegment and fairness.”

I am a dedicated supporter and worker for Sen. Obama; now I will be a prayer warrior for him. On Fridays at noonI’ll center a time of meditation for this presidential candidate. I invite you to join me. As a prayer fellowship we can pray for wisdom as Obama discovers the challneges and stress of a life in active mode.

For those interested in forming an Obama Prayer Team, write to me at

As many of you know, I have in the past written articles strongly disagreeing with the Iraq war. I still oppose it and will continue to protest until it is finally ended, and the last American soldier has safely returned home. Now that we have made that clear, I must make something else clear.

 I have nothing but the highest respect for the dedication and the totality of the sacrifices that the soldiers serving our country make. As someone who has served in the military I understand that those who serve in our military are not granted the privilege of being able to cast a moral judgment about the legitimacy of the wars they are ordered to fight, and they share none of the blame so richly deserved by those who intentionally lied us into this conflict.

So on Saturday around dusk I went to Public Square in downtown Clarksville Tennessee in order to conduct what amounted to a one person vigil honoring those lives which have been lost in this unjust and immoral war in Iraq. I said my silent prayers for the souls of those no longer with us, and my continuing prayer for the safe return of those who are still in harms way.

After I was finished, I went for my camera. It is frequently said that a picture speaks a thousand words, so I will let the picture I took speak loud and clear, “Someone has a lot to answer for!” Fuel the flame; honor our soldiers.

As a child, peanut butter mixed with honey was a much anticipated treat. Even now my mouth waters as I think of that delicious treat. Today, peanut butter is found in ice cream and candy, and remains a popular snack.

Our granddaughter, Madeline, invited us to be her guests at a grandparents day rally at her school in Evansville, IN. Our visit included a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a red apple.

In a food basket prepared for some friends in need, I made sure there was an abundant supply of peanut butter; apart from being just plain good, it’s nutritional, economical and healthy. Packets of this “foods of the gods” is even found in the MREs (meals ready to eat) provided to our soldiers.

Peanut butter sandwiches are easy to prepare and assure parent s that their children are receiving a nutritional meal or snack. Charlotte, mother of a 2nd grader, tells of one such experience with her daughter, Sara.

“Every day I make a peanut butter sandwich for my little girl to carry in her lunch box. Fed up with the same food, she asked ‘ why do you give me butter every day?’ My friends have all different kinds of nice food.”

Charlotte replied:

“Always thank God for what you have. Do you know that children in Darfur, Niger, and the democratic republic of the Congo are starving?”

That night on her knees for bedtime prayers, Sara, gave God a suggestion as to her problem with peanut butter and her mommy. She earnestly pleaded:

“Lord Jesus, please tell mommy to send the peanut butter to the children of Darfur and get me something else.”

At Loaves and Fishes, our local soup kitchen, meals are served to both children and adults, and it is surprising how much the little can eat. They often return for second helpings. especially for the pizza. They never leave hungry at Loaves and Fishes, even when the servers prepare stacks of peanut and jelly sandwiches.

Presently there is a dwindling supply of canned vegetables vegetables to serve on the Loaves and Fishes menu, but the soup kitchen will continue to feed the hungry and disadvantaged of our community with your help. You are invited to donate large jars of peanut butter and large cans of vegetables to Loaves and Fishes to help us in feeding the children of God. For more information, call 645-9020.

Today’s Prayer Focus: Those who are hungry.

On such vitamin for me is the devotional book The Upper Room. Over the miles of my spiritual journey it has been a steady companion, strengthening me wherever I went. In Vietnam, Korea, and Germany, stateside in Fort Bliss and Fort Hood, and now here in Clarksville, The Upper Room provided me with the sustenance required to develop and sustain spiritual stamina.

Some of the titles and prayers I favor are listed for September, but favored and appropriate for any time. Each devotional is listed with the following components: date, title, scripture narrative, prayer, thought for the day and “prayer focus.”

Here are my choices by title: Prayer Focus, Giving Freely, Meek or Weak, Golden Days, and Christmas Every Day.

Now for the prayers:

“Thank you for friends. Please use us to help meet the needs of others.”

“God help us to be meek but not weak and to be bold but not arrogant.”

“Lord, fill us with joy each time we give and help us to be wiling to sacrifice.”

“Loving Lord, be patient with us … “

These are a few of the spiritual building blocks, the vitamins and nutrients for the soul, awaiting discovery in The Upper Room.

Include in your busy schedule time for meditation and your spiritual strength will improve.

A copy of this devotional is available at the United Methodist Church or can be ordered from www.upperroom.org/bookstore or by calling 1-800-972-0433.