Tail spin

If you do a google search of the words “tail spin” (the title for today’s blog), it is humorous to me that what pops up is a description of the 1990 cartoon that is actually titled “Tale Spin” – at least it did so for me twice; maybe google knows of my affinity for late 80’s/ early 90’s cartoon shows.  While I admit there are random lines from that TV show that are still stuck in my head after all of these years, I was trying to get a definition of a tail spin.   I finally found it from The Oxford English Dictionary’s website (oed.com).  First of all, “A steep, uncontrolled spinning descent of an aircraft, following an engine stall.”  Secondly, a rapid and severe downturn or decline; a state of rapidly worsening chaos, panic, or loss of control.” 

Back to “Tale Spin” for a moment: one of the lines from an episode of that show is when Baloo the Bear – a pilot in this incarnation – is flying his plane, the Sea Duck.  Unfortunately, he and his passengers endure a tail spin.  Rebecca Cunningham (voiced by Sally Struthers), Baloo’s boss, instructs him to pull up, and the bear says, “Which way is up?”  They managed to get out of this danger, but I bring this up because this is how I have felt lately.  

Last time, I mentioned that I was in a painful situation.  Today I want to give more context.  You see, that day, March 7, was the first day that one of my loved ones was in the hospital.  As I stated, that was a day of stress, pain, and uncertainty.  From early Friday morning, the 7th, all the way to Monday night, the 10th, this person remained in the hospital – interestingly, it was the very same hospital that I was admitted to back in 2023.  That’s why I say it feels like I’ve been in a complete tail spin, unable to tell which way is up.  Or, as the second half of that Oxford English dictionary defined it, “a state of rapidly worsening chaos, panic, or loss of control.” 

While, thankfully, the immediate crisis is over – my loved one is out of the hospital – this saga is still not completely over yet even now.  So I’m hesitant to share more about it until the dust has fully settled.  However, only now does it feel like my equilibrium is normalized enough to feel like bringing this up at all.

In this midst of this, I found myself resonating with the words of Peter in John 6.  Jesus had given hard, blunt truth in that chapter and the text says many of His followers stopped following Him (John 6:66).  And Jesus asks His twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”  Now don’t get the idea that Jesus is being insecure here.  He is asking this to give them a springboard, an opportunity to vocalize their faith in Him.  Peter does so; He replies, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  In other words, “Where else are we going to go, Lord?” 

That’s a legitimate response.  Where else are we going to go?  Drink ourselves to oblivion with alcohol?  No.  How about endless days on the couch, completely addicted to playing video games?  Gorge ourselves with food?  Participate in illegitimate sexual encounters, and pay the inevitable consequences?  Like Peter, I’ve walked with Jesus long enough to know there really aren’t any other viable options out there.  I’ve discovered that life with Jesus is bumpy, but life without Jesus is an existence devoid of any hope, peace, or fulfillment.  

Let me conclude with this citation from Paul Asay.  In his book on Batman that he titled “God on the streets of Gotham” - a book I quoted from last time, in fact - Asay writes,

“Our faith doesn’t keep us from suffering.  It doesn’t save us from the anguish of losing a parent or child, the pain of losing a job or failing a class.  It doesn’t keep us from the real horrors that life can inflict on us…But faith can save us from the mortal blow, the fire that would otherwise consume us.  Our faith protects us when no one and nothing else can.”  Amen!  My faith in God has been my oxygen through all of this.  A little later on in that same chapter, Asay quotes this statement from an unknown source: “Finding God does not mean building a house in a land of no storms, but building a house that no storm can destroy.” 

God bless,

Kevin

Four decades later

I recently had the glorious opportunity to listen to several important life moments from when I was just a little boy – thanks to the fact that they were recorded.  One episode was when I was dedicated to the Lord as child; this happened in January of 1985.  The pastor prayed an eloquent prayer over me.  He stated, from this day on, God had the final say in what transpires in the life of Kevin Bauer.  As I say, what a joy to have this momentous scene preserved so that I can listen to it again and again!

The reason I bring this up now is because this year marks the 40-year anniversary of this event.  Today, looking back at the peaks and valleys these decades later, I’m realizing there are so many noteworthy episodes that could be cited.  In fact, I’m not even sure if I should be limiting this to one singular blog, but I’m going to attempt to do so.  First off, it must be noted that only a few short years later, back in 1987, my life changed forever.  The Lord used the words of Billy Graham to speak to me as a small boy and inspire me to forever change my eternal destiny; as a pastor who was also saved as a young boy so eloquently put it: God saved me not only from who I was, but He also saved me from who I would have become!  Thank God for His mercy, grace, and forgiveness to me!  

When considering my life, I would be negligent if I didn’t bring up how every April I talk about how God healed from a disease.  This disease should have either killed me or left me a vegetable.  But things that are impossible are possible with God!  Time and time and time again I’ve seen God perform jaw-dropping miracles, and He healed me completely from that horrible malady!  Furthermore, I’m going to just hit and run on this point, but I have a new lease on life today; in 2023, I endured a health challenge that easily could have taken my life.  In short, these are visceral reminders that every day is a gift to be cherished, even if the day is like the one I had today, filled with pain, stress, and uncertainty (more on that in a minute).

The Bible never shies away from the fact that there will be deep painful valleys for the believer in Christ Jesus.  Jesus Himself said to His disciples in John 16: “In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  Paul Asay, in his book on Batman titled “God on the streets of Gotham” writes,

“Most of us have experienced pain, from the death of a loved one to an out-of-the-blue betrayal to the unexpected loss of a lifelong dream.  It’s not like we’re expected to deal with these trails with a forced smile or stoic resolve.  We grieve.”  I could write a blog on each of the items Asay cites in that quote, things that I have personally experienced.  As a matter of fact, I am dealing with a lingering painful situation even right now.  I haven’t gotten into it here because I’m really not ready to write about it, but the Lord is always faithful, no matter what.  Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of all their troubles.”

Furthermore, it’s been almost 10 years ago since my father had his unexpected home-going to Heaven.  That kind of experience changes a person forever, and it certainly did me.  Yet it has been the reality and hope of Heaven that has been an anchor for my soul.  In his classic work “It is well with my soul” Horatio Spafford, in deep mourning over losing his 4 daughters, wrote in the 1800’s, “When peace like a river attends my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, You have taught me to say ‘it is well, it is well with my soul’.”

In conclusion, through it all, God has been good, faithful, strong, and kind.  That pastor, 40 years ago, stated that God had the final say in what transpires in my life; it is as true now as it was then.  As Passion and Meladie Malone put it in their song, “I’ve witnessed it”: “In every high and every low, You never left me without hope; You were good and You’re good right now.  I’ve witnessed Your faithfulness.  I’ve seen You breathe life within, so I’ll pour out my praise again.  You’re worthy God, You’re worthy of all of it.  Your promises never fail.  I’ve got stories I’ll live to tell, so I’ll pour out my praise again.  You’re worthy God, You’re worthy of all of it.”  Amen!  All the glory, honor and praise goes to Him alone!

God bless,

Kevin

Tying up loose ends (Part 2)

Every December at Christmastime we quote from Isaiah 9 that states that Jesus is not only “mighty God”, but also “wonderful counselor” (verse 6).  I can attest to you that this is absolutely true.  You see, for many years, Valentine’s Day was a difficult day for me.  Understand that there have been exceptions to this; for example, things shifted when my dad passed away – almost 10 years ago now – I took it upon myself to use Valentine’s Day to show my dear mother that she is loved.  Isn’t that what we celebrate on Valentine’s Day?  But even still, I developed the habit of focusing on the (seemingly) happy couples, jealous of what they had.  This wasn’t even something I even knew that I was doing; it was God the “wonderful counselor” who recently illuminated it to me.

This Valentine’s Day was such a delight for me!  Rather than bathe in envy and jealousy, I chose gratitude that the couples around me found each other.  Rather than mentally compare myself to others (a surefire recipe to make yourself completely miserable), I can know that everyone’s story is a little different.  Incidentally, while I’m on this subject, one of the verses that the Lord used in my life is 2 Corinthians 10:12; which says, “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves by themselves, they are not wise.”  Did you know that was in the Bible?  What a joy to know that it is the Lord who directs the steps (Psalm 37:23)!  He has put me where I am today for a purpose.  I am to run my own race, or as an author I read somewhere put it: “stay in your own lane.”

I want to publicly state how I thank and praise God for showing me this important life lesson.  Romans 11:36 sums it up: “For from him and through him and for him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen.”  All of this seems obvious now, but I couldn’t see it.  Make no mistake: the reason I’m presenting this content today isn’t because I’m so clever I figured it out.  No, it’s because the “wonderful counselor” Himself communicated it to me.  And I pass this on, hopeful that it helps you as well. 

Let me conclude with this.  I’ve been re-reading a tremendous book by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemoth titled “You can trust God to write your story”.  In the foreword of that book, Joni Eareckson Tada writes: “If God seems to be writing an unusual story in your life, don’t resist His penmanship on the pages of your days.  Don’t balk against the bumps and bruises He writes into your script.  I will be the first to confess that His Providence can, at times, read like a mystery novel, but in the end, His storyline for those who trust Him is always wise, specific, and good.  Good for you and for others.  Best of all, good for the kingdom.”

God bless,

Kevin

Tying up loose ends (Part 1)

Let me begin with an analogy that a pastor once gave.  He likened life with God to being in a 4 X 4 truck.  God is driving, and we are in the passenger seat; He had already announced, “We’re going to have some fun, but make sure you put your seatbelt on.  Things are going to get bumpy.”  I can deeply resonate with that analogy!  There is a lot going on in my life right now, and I have not been able to blog as regularly as I would like to.  So here’s what I’ve decided to do: last time, I mentioned that I was going to give my thoughts on Super Bowl 59 – which I will be doing today.  And in the next blog, another loose end I plan on tying up is some Valentine’s Day thoughts, which was this past Friday already.  So that’s where we are going, at least as far as my plans go, but we’ll see what plans God has.

Not too long ago, I came across a you tube channel by a guy named Tom Grossi.  He gives humorous reactions to NFL developments from the perspective of an NFL fanbase; he is sitting on a couch, wearing the corresponding NFL jerseys to do this.  His recent video titled “Every NFL fan's reaction to Super Bowl 59” has several very funny moments.  A link can be found here if interested.  It begins, for example, with the Eagles reaction: “You may not like it, but we’re the good guys in this scenario.  First, we beat the Patriots, and then the Chiefs.  We are Luke Skywalker!”  The Chiefs reaction was simply, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

What caught my attention was what he offered as the Seattle Seahawks reaction: “A bird team blowing out a team from the West in the Super Bowl; memories!”  Broncos: “No, we are not bringing that up!  This is a happy day.”  This is a reference to Super Bowl 48, and a 43-8 drubbing. I couldn’t help but think of this game.  In the days leading up to that game, everyone seemed to be having trouble predicting a winner.  The Broncos were coming in with a high flying offense (still the best in NFL history, by the way, even all these years later!).  After the dismantling of the Broncos, some NFL pundit responded, “Defense wins championships.  How could I forget?”  Yet it seems to easily be forgotten. 

As I was watching the Philadelphia Eagles steamroll the Kansas City Chiefs, I couldn’t help but think of other various dominant defenses in the Super Bowl in my lifetime.  I was too young to remember the ‘85 Chicago Bears, but I’ve seen clips of how amazing a defense they were; they demolished the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl 20.  I thought of the great defense of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens that beat up on the New York Giants 34-7.  I thought about how the Denver Broncos rebounded from Super Bowl 48’s debacle by coming into Super Bowl 50 with a stellar defense and stunning the Carolina Panthers, and their potent offense, defeating them 24-10.  Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a very good defense, smothered Patrick Mahomes Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, by a score of 31-9.  What is my point?  Defense wins championships.  We’ve seen it time and time again.

Kevin

Super Bowl 59 thoughts

40-22 Eagles.  That was the final score of the big game today.  It’s interesting to consider that, years from now, some historian may look at just the score, and think that it was a relatively close game.  That would be wrong.  I think at one point in the 3rd quarter it was 34-0 Eagles; the Chiefs got some yards and points in garbage time, but make no mistake: this was a complete beatdown by the Philadelphia Eagles.  Congratulations to the Eagles on their second Super Bowl victory, each time over a powerful opponent (they defeated the Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl 52).  And congrats to the Chiefs; they made it to the Super Bowl again and had a chance to win 3 Lombardi trophies in a row, but a buzzsaw of an Eagles defense just dominated.

However, I don’t really want to focus on the game today.  I want to focus on what I was going through leading up to the game – I do intend to give some more of my thoughts on the game next time.  This is a Super Bowl that I will not soon forget, because I was sick all day long.  I woke up with a roaring headache that turned into a bad migraine headache.  Quickly soon after, it morphed into various other unpleasant symptoms, like vomiting.  It felt like I was experiencing flu-like symptoms for several hours.  I essentially spent the whole day sleeping, and having my routine completely disrupted.

Therefore, it was such a huge blessing to finally be at a place physically where I could get out of bed, and watch a much-anticipated Super Bowl game.  What a blessing it was, as I described it, to “be upright” or in a vertical position again!  It was a reminder that health is such a massive blessing not to be taken for granted.  It’s a reminder that every day we wake up and face a day it is a huge gift.  Because life, as I recently heard a character in a movie correctly declare “can turn on a dime.”  It’s so true.  Just as some of the Eagles did on the postgame show, I want to stop and thank God.  I give Him all the glory for who He is, and what He has done in my life.

To be continued!

God bless,

Kevin    

A "new world" in 2025

It was back in 1995 when a creative movie trailer was released.  It began with these words: “It’s a new world.  With new enemies.  And new threats.  But you can still depend, on one man.”  The last phrase “on one man” lingered; a figure walked on, with his gun blazing, he began to blast away bits and pieces to ultimately reveal the phrase “007”.  The man walked up; it was Pierce Brosnan, in all his suave glory, showcasing that there was a new James Bond in town.  “You were expecting someone else?”  He remarked.  And images of the new Bond film “Goldeneye” emerged.  I begin this way as a springboard for what I want to talk about today. 

However, while I’m on the subject, I have to say that Pierce Brosnan’s portrayal of James Bond is very much underrated.  Once upon a time, the Bond franchise was all but dead.  The last movie had been back in 1989, the six-year hiatus was the longest in its franchise.  Many were probably wondering if 007 would ever return.  Enter Pierce Brosnan.  He breathed new life into the series; each of his four Bond films were big blockbuster hits.  His last film “Die Another Day” (2002) is widely criticized, but I recently saw it again on DVD, and I thought it was entertaining.  Is it the best Bond film ever made?  No, it’s not even the best Brosnan Bond film ever made.  But it’s not nearly as bad as people have made it out to be, either.

So what’s my point?  Why begin with a description of a movie trailer (to say nothing of the rabbit trail I proceeded to chase)?  Because this trailer illustrates the transition that has occurred at my work at Chick-fil-A.  It really is a “new world” for me.  You see, January 31st marked the end of an era: The Chick-fil-A store I work at, that had a particular operator since 2015, saw this operator move on to a new Chick-fil-A out of state.  We have a new operator as of 2/1.  I’m optimistic; I think this new operator is doing a good job.  That said, it’s been sad to say goodbye to the old regime. 

It’s been a stressful, world wind for me these last few weeks, I admit it.  Yesterday, as I was getting ready for work, I thought about all the changes, and that “Goldeneye” trailer I started with came to mind; “it’s a new world…but you can still depend on one man.”  It certainly is a whole new world.  However, I don’t depend on a fictional spy; I depend on God.  And, I testify to you that He has been so faithful to me.

This latest episode isn’t the only time it felt like the bottom of my life just dropped out.  What a comfort to know that the same God who has sustained me, no matter what comes my way, will sustain me in the future!  In 2023, Josh Baldwin and Bethel Music released a song called “Time and time again”; in the midst of all of these changes in my life, I recently sang this song to God several times:  

“You’re still the rock that I cling to when everything else falls apart.  You’re still the One I’m building on; the reason my hope’s never lost.  You’re the reason my hope’s never lost.  You come through now like you did back then, time and time and time again.  Almighty fortress, my defense, time and time and time again.  Nothing has ever been wasted, ‘cause there’s nothing that You can’t restore.  As the waters rise, I’ll lift my eyes to where my help’s coming from.  You’re where my help’s coming from.”

God bless,

Kevin                 

Reaction Monday - Championship weekend edition

Sometimes when I want to listen to something frivolous on the radio, I listen to a local sports radio station.  On a Monday after a Denver Bronco game, this station has a segment they call “Reaction Monday”.  While the Broncos are not in the playoffs anymore (though I give them kudos that they did appear in the postseason for the first time since 2015), I’ve borrowed their phrase for today, because the championship games occurred yesterday.  I need to write a few words about these contests.  In my last blog, I called a Bills vs. Commanders Super Bowl “my ideal matchup”.  Well, it turns out the experts who picked the Bills and/or Commanders to win were mistaken.

The Philadelphia Eagles punched their ticket to Super Bowl 59 defeating the Washington Commanders with an impressive 55-23 onslaught.  Congratulations to the Eagles for getting back to the big game.  But make no mistake about it: the game that most people will remember for years to come is the AFC Championship game.  The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29.  As a longtime fan and student of the NFL, I can tell you that three other teams who had won two Super Bowls in a row had advanced to the championship game (The 76’ Steelers, the ’90 49ers, and the ’94 Cowboys).  But yesterday, the Chiefs did what had not been in the Super Bowl era: advance to the Super Bowl for a very real chance to three-peat.

Personally, I thought the pressure was on the Chiefs to three-peat, and this made me think yesterday could be a changing of the guard.  Not so.  As hard as Buffalo played, Kansas City would simply not be denied.  While some fans may not be thrilled with this year’s Super Bowl match-up, I want to take a moment and give the Kansas City Chiefs the credit they are due.  I tip my hat to Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs organization.

Some of you may know that in this blog, I used to annually give my prediction on who I believed was going to win the Super Bowl.  While I don’t do this anymore – NFL football is too unpredictable for me to do so – however, I will submit to you that as formidable and hungry as the Philadelphia Eagles look; and as much as they could give the Champion Chiefs a run for their money, they might actually even pull off the upset.  That said, it doesn’t seem smart to bet against the Chiefs from doing the practically impossible: winning three Super Bowls in a row.  Stay tuned.

Kevin