Then, Paraguay holds off the Red machine of Spain until the very end before going down 1 to 0 with great dignity. They left everything on the field.

All I can say it that I’m glad they give us a couple of days off to catch our breath, think, process, eat, drink, etc. Oh yeah, time for some fireworks here in the USA. The real fireworks start again Tuesday.

What a rich mixture of cultures in the World Cup! And, the multi-cultural setting of South Africa is icing on the cake. Culture fascinates me! Just a few days ago I mentioned our last new member reception with at least half a dozen cultures represented in my living room.

What does the Bible have to say about cultures? What do cultures have to with The Mission? That’s on our agenda tomorrow morning as we celebrate the 4th of July and press on in our study of  The Mission.

Dutch meet Brazil

I’ve tried to be good and refrain from too much commentary on the World Cup. Sorry, but I just have to vent a bit. I’ve been in a state of shock since the Dutch beat the Brazilians today. Don’t get me wrong, the Netherlands plays some great football, but Brazil is always a safe choice to go all the way to the finals. This Cup has had some strange twists. I have some wonderful Brazilian friends and I send all of you my condolences. But, I have to admit a bit of pride. Ik  ben Nederlands op de Zijde van mijn moeder (I’m Dutch on my mother’s side).

Now, here is my dilemma. Of the countries remaining, I love them all. I have close friends in all of them. I would sincerely be thrilled for any of them to win. Can’t they just all win? A good case can be made that they are all winners for having made it this far. Indeed, just to make it to the tournament after two years of elimination rounds is elite status in itself.

I find it hilarious to see some of my Latino friends changing their Facebook profile photo almost daily with the colors or flags of the countries they want to win. I just saw a German flag pop up on a Salvadoran’s page today. That must mean he wants Germany to beat Argentina so that Spain won’t have to face Argentina, or something like that. A German friend’s profile had a German flag painted on her cheek. Today, a new photo showed off the German flag colors as hair extensions. I don’t usually have much time to read the status updates of over 1200 FaceBook friends, but I confess that I’m addicted to seeing the pain, the anguish, the joy and elation of fans in response to their teams.

Look, the USA has the Super Bowl, March Madness, the World Series and all of that. This is the moment for the rest of the world to go crazy.

Here’s one of my greatest World Cup moments of 2010. A friend was in attendance for a Royals vs. Cardinals games here at the K on the same Saturday that the USA played Ghana in the World Cup. When KC plays St. Louis, our stadium overflows with excited fans. That day, my friend reported that he was amazed how many baseball fans were watching the World Cup on their smart phones. Additionally, the Cup game was being broadcast on the TV monitors in the concession areas of the stadium.  When the US scored, he said you could actually hear a small roar in the stadium. No way that would have happened 20 years ago. A faint hope burns in my heart.

My Dad in WWII

I hope you have had a great Father’s Day whoever you are – dad, mom, child, adult child, whoever. Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day connects us in various ways. We had a neat video in church today that did a fine job of listing a host of men who deserve to be honored including men who don’t have children of  their own but mentor kids. I enjoyed being wished happy father’s day by both of my daughters today.

This was the first Father’s Day without my dad. Honestly, it was harder than I thought. I guess I really didn’t know what to expect. We seem to take for granted what we have and don’t gain full appreciation until they are gone.

The last few years with my dad were both challenging and rewarding. As his health failed, the task of dealing with the situation became almost overwhelming at times. But, we also had some memorable times.

Over the past few months I have been learning what has been for me a very significant lesson about the role of grief in our lives. Father’s Day is not the time to go into the role of grief, but come back tomorrow and I’d like to share a few thoughts. For today, it’s enough to say to all of you guys out there, “Happy Father’s Day!”

Thomas, me and the bacon

Every so often something in me screams to do a blog post that has absolutely no significance for life or eternal spiritual value. This is NOT one of those posts. I consider bacon to have great significance. With all due respect to my vegetarian and vegan friends (and to the pigs), bacon is one of those foods that awakens something divine in me. Bacon and eggs, bacon omelet, BLT, or just plain bacon – I like it very much.

I’ve got bacon on the brain because our friend Tina recently sent us a shipment of applewood smoked bacon, one of the highlights of God’s creation. Our oldest grand daughter spent the weekend with us, and we celebrated by having BLT’s after church Sunday.

Yes, I know the health issues, but I don’t eat bacon every day or even every month (well, maybe every month). It’s just one of those foods to celebrate once in a while because it’s so doggone good. You know, like a bacon cheeseburger. Healthy eating most of the time, and then a splurge – a breve, for example (a latte made with half-and-half), or a rich chocolate malt. How about an absolutely, nutritionally worthless hot dog at the K? Yummmm! If you happen to be in Spain, churros and chocolate at least once before you die. Trust me.

The picture was taken the summer before last when I made my famous Mexican meal for my Swiss/German friends, Thomas and Mechtild Vögelin (founders of CEC based in Córdoba, Argentina) when they visited us here in Kansas City. Thomas is another great bacon fanatic.

When our team went to Argentina this past January for CIMA 2010, all he wanted was for us to bring him some bacon so he could have a good American breakfast. Thomas and I am both smiling in the picture – there’s bacon in the refried beans I’m making. Imagine a Scottish/Dutch guy and a Swiss/German guy speaking Spanish in the kitchen with an occasional “Das hat Speck darin? Gut! Zehr gut!”

So, when the moment comes for that summer craving, what will you be reaching for? I’m bringing home the bacon.

I’m on record as not appreciating the multitude of re-re-re-re forwarded, syrupy or silly messages that float around cyberspace. I just don’t have time or the inclination to wade through them and usually hit “delete” without looking. I know who it is who has the propensity to do this forward of junk. They do it a lot and I blindly hit “delete” a lot. When someone I know sends me something and has no record of forwarding mindless trivial cyber noise, I often look as I did tonight.

Here’s one of the quotes that caught my eye. Most of the 77 great quotes were attributed to a credible source. This one was anonymous.

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.

Of the millions of uploads on YouTube, how many are truly worth watching? Sure, there is some funny stuff there. But, if we’re talking about my life, I don’t want to be remembered for being a joke.

What is it that gives life significance? What is it that would cause a life to stand out as being worth studying, emulating or honoring? Or, if a flash summary of your life came out on a DVD, would anyone besides your mother want to buy it?

Can you think of anything more exciting or fulfilling than to know, really know, why God put you on this earth and to live your life in such a way as to fulfill that purpose? Now, that’s a DVD I’d like to add to my collection.

Psychologist Henry Cloud wrote the following in his great little book The Secret Things of God.

Have you ever wondered why you are here? I mean, really wondered, why are you on the earth? It is a good question, you know. Even when we run into a friend somewhere unexpected, we say, “So, what are you doing here?” There must be a reason, right? So we ask.

And no one ever says, “No reason. I just woke up this morning and was here at the mall. Could you tell me why I am here?” Unless they have amnesia, they know why there are there and what they are doing.

But, and this is amazing, as humans we do have amnesia a lot of times. Think about it. People just find themselves on the earth, wake up, and never ask the question “What am I doing here:” When you really think about it,that’s pretty incredible. We know more about why we are at the mall than why we are alive on the earth and what our purpose is.

This is getting me stoked for the new series that begins Sunday morning – The Mission. Give me at least 8 of 10 Sundays and you will never again wonder why you are here on earth.

Every once in a very great while I can’t go to sleep. Caffeine doesn’t seem to do it. It happens when there is something weighing on my mind. I’ve been dealing with a difficult issue involving one of the mission boards on which I serve, and yesterday was a day that seemed to jump on me as I pondered and prayed about how to work through this particular situation.

How does it work for you when you can’t sleep? With me, it’s like my mind is racing a million miles per hour and I can’t stop it. My shoulders get tense before I know it and I’m just stuck! It could be a conflict, dream or vision of the future, idea, problem or looking back on some confrontation, rehashing every word and thinking, “I should have, could have, would have said … .”

Sometimes I just get up and start putting down my thoughts on the computer. Sometimes I just lay in bed and be miserable. At other times I have diligently put into practice marital arts/Tai Chi type relaxation techniques. I’m not sure that makes me go to sleep any faster; it just gives me something to do while I wait.

Last night I tried something different. I laid in bed and prayed the Lord’s Prayer as I meditated on each word and phrase. I did that I don’t know how many times. Actually, I found it very interesting, inspiring, somewhat relaxing and sometime a bit after 0400 I must have drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours.

So what do you do? Warm milk? Sorry, I don’t like that. Well, excuse me. I think I need to get some sleep tonight.

So, here are a few of life’s great questions in no particular order of importance.

1. Why is there spam? Does anyone really know someone who has actually bought something advertised by spammers? Does all spam really originate from 3 Junior High-aged kids in New Jersey? I mean, no one could be making a profit from spam, could they?
2. Can someone please explain why paperless e-tickets still end up on paper in my hand that I turn in as I board the aircraft? Does anyone have an accurate count of how many trees we’ve saved so far?
3. Who are these guests on The Jerry Springer Show? I have the following theories: a) They are randomly selected from the aisles of Wal-Mart, b) they are professional actors because no one could be that stupid without a great deal of rehearsal, c) they are a lower form of life from a planet in a neighboring galaxy whose spacecraft crashed in the Bronx.
4. Why are the best tasting foods round? Pizza, donuts, cheeseburgers, onion rings, tortillas, Oreo cookies,  pancakes, York Peppermint Patties, crab cakes, creme brulee, etc.
5. I’m really worried about this one: why do they put braille dots on the key pads of drive-up ATM’s?
6. Did Jesus ever laugh or tell a joke?

Finally, as I sign off for tonight, I was thinking about shaving my head. But, I decided not to because I wouldn’t know what hair color to list on my driver’s license. What DO bald guys list for hair color?

I’ll try to be serious tomorrow. No promises.

Today I shared how we need each other and how the safe environment of a small group composed of people sharing unconditional love and support along with the common goal of personal growth can be a powerful tool. We have a number of different types of small group structure in our church and they vary in purpose and scope. Maybe you are in a a group that greatly facilitates your growth. If not, you don’t need anyone to provide this for you. Take charge of your own growth! Form your own group of faithful friends who are committed to help each other grow.

That’s precisely what I determined to do – take charge of my own spiritual growth. After some prayerful consideration, I invited three men (an ideal number would be 3 to 9) to join me in what we call our Life Team. These are guys I have known for years and trust completely. They are men who are able to challenge me and stretch me out of my comfort zone, yet their love and loyalty is unquestioned. We meet weekly at a predetermined place and time. We all travel a good deal, so we meet with whoever is here and don’t wait on those who are not.

Here are some benefits and functions of a good small group.

• Support - providing training and encouragement for each other as we address those tasks we need to accomplish.
• Love - we all need emotional strength that comes from the unconditional love of faithful friends.
• Courage - I’ve heard it said that if already have the courage we need to accomplish what we are attempting, then what we are attempting is too small! To encourage literally means to put courage into someone.
• Feedback - The book of Proverbs says a great deal about the treasure of friends who point out our flaws and weaknesses in the form of loving feedback.
• Wisdom - Proverbs advises us to sell all we have to get wisdom. It also says that there is wisdom in a group of counselors. Psychologist Henry Cloud, who works with high level leaders, says he has never met a leader highly successful over decades who has not had a small group of faithful  advisors in one form or another like my Life Team.
• Values - More than honesty and purity we normally think of, values include things like faith, excellence and patience. It’s far easier to develop these values with the mutual support of a group.
• Accountability - loving friends are a great resource to keep us on track with how we use our time, resources, how we grow, how we are progressing toward our goals, as well as pointing out sin.
• Grace - 1Peter 4:10 teaches us that we are ministers of God’s grace to each other. Boy! Do I need that!

A few months ago I began following Don’s journal on a website called CaringBridge. It’s a wonderful way for them to keep in touch with friends who are praying for them without having to send out individual emails.

On a visit to his brother in Colorado last year, Don took some fascinating photographs. These photos and his accompanying commentaries are currently on display in an exhibition at Hillcrest Church in Dallas. Don’s brother has made this exhibition available to the rest of us via the Internet.

Because of my personal interest in this situation I decided to check out the website. Wow! You will not doubt Don’s artistic eye. The commentary he writes beside each picture about how it illustrates some aspect of what he is learning on his journey is profound and inspiring.

So many of us either struggle with a disease like cancer or know someone close to us who has or is engaged in the struggle. It is for that reason that I thought I would share this unique resource. I think you might find it very encouraging. You can access it here at Pleasure in the Frost. Just click anywhere on the page to get to the pictures and commentary.

I love Kansas City! However, one of my greatest challenges has been to find sources of good, really good Mexican food. I’ve never figured out why this city has such a scarcity of fine Mexican dining. Tex-Mex can be very good if properly prepared, but true Mexican it’s not. There was a wonderful restaurant that opened on the Boulevard a few years back and promptly went out of business. Maybe the problem is that people here are not really accustomed to fine Mexican food.

Anyway, it’s time for an update. The past several months have brought wondrous hope to my hungry soul. My apologies to those of you who don’t live in Kansas City. Check back later, or come and visit. And, for those of you whose idea of Mexican food is a chimichanga or burrito smothered with cheese sauce, you might not want to read any further. I’m not trying to be a food snob, because I can enjoy a decent chimichanga from time to time and even have been known to stop at Taco Bell on the run.

Here’s a brief review of three good places to satisfy a Kansas City craving for Mexican.

El Patrón, 2905 Southwest Boulevard, is a nifty place to get some good chow. Right across the street from Ponak’s, El Patrón occupies a delightful old building where exposed brick walls compliment tasteful decor and a cozy atmosphere. It’s the food, though, that has brought me back to this place several times. You’ll find familiar, comfortable and good items on the menu for those of you who are just beginning to venture beyond Tex-Mex, but there are other great plates from enchiladas covered with mole, tacos de carnitas, and then more substantial meals of all types. If you’re looking for an amazing sandwich, try the Mexican torta. Yummy! Everything I’ve tried here has been well-prepared, fresh and tasty.

What a dope I am! One of our IT guys, Shane, has told me forever about a Raytown joint called Fiesta Azteca in a little strip center next to the Apple Market at 350 Highway and Raytown Road. I have seen so many of these tiny little, can’t-miss, Mexican hole-in-the-walls, and my heart has been broken so many times that I simply couldn’t bear to be disappointed again. Curiosity (and craving) finally got the best of me, and Shane and I made our way to Fiesta Azteca not long ago. I was wrong. It’s the real deal and he’s been there for several years. I’m an idiot!

Fiesta Azteca is all about Andrés the owner, a man immensely proud of his cuisine. He intentionally keeps his operation small, run by himself, his brother and part time help from his wife and kids. If you order crispy tacos or burritos he will do his very best to talk you out of it. He truly wants you to experience genuine Mexican food. The menu is extensive and varied, but this is the type of place you simply say, “What do you recommend fixing for me today?”  See his face light up, and he will spring into action. You never know what he will prepare, and he’s always experimenting with something new. What you get will be very similar to what you would get if you were visiting in the home of a friend’s grandmother in Mexico who happens to be an outstanding cook. That’s the only way I know how to describe it. Cheryl and I were there the other day and Cheryl was loving the plate Andrés  had served her (he served me something different). His brother came by and she asked him what that plate was called. He had no idea. This place is not about  decor, atmosphere, fancy names on menus or numbers of combination plates. This is simply great, honest, Mexican home cooking.

The third place Cheryl and I discovered today. I had read something recently in the paper and heard a couple of friends buzz about it. We were in the neighborhood today, hungry and thought we’d give it a try. The location is 14861 Metcalf and it’s called Frida’s Contemporary Mexican Cuisine. Hidden in the corner of a little strip center, there is nothing on the outside to hint what to expect. Entering, you immediately know this is not going to be just another Mexican place. To begin with, there are actually cloth napkins on the tables. Good sign. This is also a sign that the menu is going to be a bit more pricey than the burrito platter at Pancho’s Mexican Buffet. The decor is simple, clean and contemporary. Very nice. The name of the restaurant is for Frida Kahlo, one of the great Mexican artists of the past century, herself married to artist Diego Rivera, known for his fabulous murals. Selma Hayek played her in the movie about her life that was nominated for several academy awards in 2003. There are some tasteful posters of her self portraits in the restaurant.

Fiesta Azteca = great authentic Mexican home cooking; Frida’s = fine Mexican dining. Fiesta Azteca = great place to frequent on a regular basis whenever you have hunger pangs; Frida’s = great special event destination. Both very different; both very good. Cheryl and I ordered from the lunch menu that is limited to a just a few but very tempting items. We each ordered small taco plates – NOT the type of tacos you’re thinking of. These are like you might find in a  similar restaurant in Mexico, but not like you would find on the street or in a taquería. The presentation on a classy, contemporary rectangular plate was superb. The combination of ingredients and flavors was spectacular. I had pork; she had steak. Wow! The bowl of beans (not refried) that accompanied both plates was good enough to make a grown man cry. Cheryl couldn’t stop talking about them.

Our server was a very sharp, professional-type gentleman from Guadalajara who was invited by the owner, a longtime friend,  to come and help run the operation. He’s only been here a couple of months and was quite relieved to discover we spoke Spanish. He was doing great in English, though. We loved talking with him and hearing about the place and the food. At his suggestion we tried one of their deserts, though I don’t typically do desert in Mexican restaurants.

Promise me this. When you visit Frida’s you will order the corn milk (atole) ice cream. That’s all you need to know. I’d drive all day to eat this desert. I’m serious. This beats anything I’ve ever had. We decided to split one. When it came out on the platter, we looked at each other in shock. It was beautiful.  Then, one bite was all it took to know that this was something incredibly special. Trust me. You’ll thank me for this.

Three restaurants in three different parts of the city- all different and all good Mexican food. I’m a very happy man. I’ve had some amazing meals in great Mexican restaurants in other places, but it’s comforting to know that I can satisfy my craving in my own home town. And, when I’m entertaining a guest and they have a hankering for good Mexican, I’ve got a plan. Thank you, God!