The day every father waits for

Today was a huge day that marks a new era in the Buckley family. Faith was finally ready to take over the yard mowing responsibilities! After mowing grass for the last 35 years, I am more than ready to let someone else have the blessing. She not only mowed like a pro but she didn't even mow over any fences or run into the house! The good news is I can watch her mow from the shade of the porch...the bad news is that her allowance is about to go up. The priceless part had to have been the smile on her face and grass in her hair. Maybe by the end of the summer she will be ready for weed eating and edging!


Faith's first mowing experience from Richard Buckley on Vimeo.

Another adoption!

This past Christmas as part of a ministry event called The Advent Conspiracy we willingly chose to do four things to focus on Jesus at Christmas. We worshipped more fully, spent less on ourselves, gave more to others, and loved the people God has placed in our path more fully. One exciting thing we did was allow each of our daughters to sponsor a girl from their native country (2 from China and 1 from Korea).

Joi's child was named Mi So and she was sponsored through Holt International. Joi has fervently prayed for Mi So. Every meal time and every bedtime prayer have included a special mention of her name asking God to watch over her. If I forgot to pray for Mi So, Joi made me "do it over" or she added her own "PS" to God after the prayer. The amazing thing is that Mi So has the very same foster parents as Joi did!!!! How cool is that. It's tempting to say "it's a small world after all" but it's much better to say "What an awesome and huge God we have!"

Joi is a new Christian and I love to see God affirm new believers as they grow in Him. This past week we got a letter from Holt International noting that Mi So has been adopted and has a forever home in the United States. You should have seen Joi's face when it sunk in! Amy and I had the honor of telling Joi the Lord not only heard her prayers but He has acted on them and placed this special child in a family where she will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and understand unconditional love.

As we read the letter at the dinner table, we came to a paragraph noting that we had been assigned another Korean baby girl to sponsor and pray for. Let me introduce you to Mit-eum Song. She is the latest addition to our sponsorship family. Please pray for her to have a forever family soon...and remember, if you don't, Joi will be there to remind you!

Spiritual Retreats

Every month or so I like to get out in the middle of nowhere and have a spiritual retreat. For me there is nothing more refreshing than getting in the mountains or at least somewhere in the wilderness where the only sounds are crickets and flowing streams. Solitude and lack of the daily distractions ushers me right into the presence of the Lord. I have found this practice to be essential when I am in the process of making major decisions.

I am grateful for a wife and daughters who encourage me to go on these retreats. They know I come back a better husband and dad as God speaks to me about family and ministry matters.

I find it refreshing to sit up late into the night under the stars by a crackling fire seeking God through prayer and His Word. I always come back changed. I may not have all the answers I want by the time I leave but it is enough to know that I have been pleasing to my Father by practicing Ps. 46:10.

I am currently planning my next retreat. I've done Monte Sano and Sypsey Wilderness and but I'm currently looking for something a little more remote. Here's a video from one of my favorite retreats at Sypsey.

An Amazing Easter

We were sitting at the dinner table a few nights ago and I started a debate by asking "do people prepare their hearts more for Christmas or Easter?" Faith loves a good theological debate as is becoming quite the apologetics expert. My point was to show that most people spend the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas thanking the Lord for the celebration of the incarnation but don't spend as much time preparing their heart for the celebration of the resurrection. We have tried to be extremely intentional with our family by doing some special events such as:

• celebrating a Messianic passover so the kids can see how Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is clearly prophesied in the Old Testament.
• Pulling out the Resurrection eggs and taking turns opening the eggs telling the story of Passion Week.
• Preparing a tomb cake (a bunt cake chopped in half and laid on it's side with a cookie that represents the stone that was rolled away). While we make the cake we are talking about different aspects of Christ's sacrifice for us.
• making resurrection buns on Sunday morning (biscuits with a marshmallow inside)...once you bake it the marshmallow expands and it looks like an open tomb).
• We also have tons of books we read with the girls (especially for Joi since she is a new Christian). We are currently going through her "Now that I'm a Christian" book and she is really looking forward to being baptized soon!

On Easter Sunday we attended our new home church of Capshaw Baptist Church. It was a great worship service where the Holy Spirit moved in a powerful way as we worshipped our hearts out and received an inspired message that was mightily used of the Lord.

Amy and I hope to live our faith out in such a way that our girls are inspired to do the same thing.

How was your Easter? Do you have any special family traditions that help you prepare your hearts for Easter?

No more sting!

Yesterday as we were eating lunch I saw a red wasp buzzing around the window right behind Joi. I knew if she saw the wasp she would go full throttle into drama queen mode. Our girls are extremely fearful of anything that stings...probably because they saw the effects of my encounter with a swarm of African bees in the D.C. area...just imagine my face swollen to three times it's normal size...very freakish!

So as not to alarm her, I nonchalantly got up to get my trusty wasp killer. I slipped in behind her and swatted the life out of the wasp. Of course this got the girl's attention. I showed them the dead wasp and told them they didn't have to fear it's sting anymore. You would have thought I had slayed a ferocious lion. They were extremely grateful...daddy to the rescue! The biggest impact was that they knew I had come to their rescue while they had no idea how close they came to a painful sting.

I immediately thought of what Paul said in 1 Co. 15 about the victory we have as Christians. So we had an impromptu discussion family devotion. I described that there was a time when we were completely unaware of what our adversary was doing to bring damage and destruction in our lives. But there came a day when each of us realized how messed up our lives where due to sin and Satan and we cried out to Jesus to rescue and save us. He took the sting of death away and has given us a new life free from fear. Tomorrow we celebrate that truth on Resurrection Sunday at Capshaw Baptist Church. I am grateful for the timing this wasp encounter for it reminds me of what Paul was led to write in the following verses.

54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:54-57 (NIV)

What consumes me this Good Friday

See you at Capshaw Baptist Church this Sunday to celebrate His Resurrection!

A glimpse into the future

Somehow Joi sweet talked me into taking her on the "Speedway" track at Disney World. I remember doing this for the first time with my dad at Astroworld in Houston, TX. There's nothing like that feeling of actually driving a car for the first time. Granted we were only going about 5 miles an hour, it was still a thrill. As Joi drove I was REALLY grateful for that metal strip that kept her from getting off-track. That three inch strip was a the only thing between us and a scary off-road experience. Yet I know that someday the safety guards will be removed and she will be driving on her own in the real world...an even scarier thought!

In the meantime, our zig-zagging driving adventure reminded me that I have the awesome responsibility of keeping her on the straight and narrow spiritually so she takes the path God has marked out for her ( Pr. 22:6). What a ride it's been so far. To know that she loves Jesus and is growing in Him daily means the world to me. It is truly humbling to know that God has entrusted Amy and I with raising up three incredible daughters. I pray daily that they see Christ in us and that they see us continue to grow in Him as well.

Oh yeah, the ride also reminded me that my car insurance is going to go through the roof one day soon! Better start saving up...

Are you teachable?

While we were on Spring Break we did a "behind the scenes" tour of SeaWorld's dolphin training area. I was blown away by the relationships between the trainers and the dolphins. At one point we were ushered into an observation area where we were introduced to 7 dolphin trainers. Each trainer had 3 dolphins they were responsible for. The trainer we worked with knew each of his dolphins by name and could identify them from the other 18 dolphins. It was amazing how these animals responded to his call and how they recognized his face. They also took great pleasure in showing how well trained they were. Check out this video and see if you don't see some spiritual correlations.

Here's what this video reminds me of:

1. In John 10 Jesus said "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- John 10:14 (NIV) As I admired the relationship between the trainer and the dolphins, I couldn't help but be amazed that out of the billions of people on the planet, God not only recognizes me but knows me intimately, He cares for me by meeting my needs in ways that are amazing, and He is always training me as I am conformed to His image.

2. Jesus also said "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 (NIV) Although we don't hear His audible voice, His Word is clearly heard as the Spirit gives us understanding of the Scriptures. His commands are clear and compelling and a joy to carry out. I was reminded of this truth as our dolphin trainer gave a series of commands. If he waved the dolphins would wave back with their flippers. If he twirled his finger, they turned in circles. If he patted the wall, the jumped up on top of the wall so we could pet them. My personal favorite was the gesture that made these graceful animals do a back flip that drenched us all. Amazing, all those responses with a simple hand motion with no words.

3. We were only given 30 minutes to give commands and feed the dolphins. We were warned that sometimes the dominant male dolphin would interrupt the show just to show his dominance. Sure enough, he did everything he could to disrupt our time together with these amazing creatures. It reminded me of how many times the devil tries to disrupt our time with the Lord. He has all kinds of tricks to get us distracted. I asked the trainer how he dealt with the constant interruptions from "bully dolphin". I thought his answer was very Scriptural. He said, "We are aware of what he is doing and why and we stay focused on our most important relationships". It reminded me of what the author of Hebrews said: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Heb 12:2-3 (NIV)

4. One other amazing thing. Each of these dolphins was rescued by SeaWorld. These animals would have died without intervention, constant care, and ongoing nurturing. The same is true of us. Paul put it this way: "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Col 1:13-14 (NIV)

For me this 30 minute encounter was a great reminder to stay focused on Jesus, be hungry to learn/grow from Him, and never forget what He did for us. If a dolphin would do so much for the reward of a couple of cold, dead fish, how much more should we be willing to become for the One who gave His all so we could be redeemed!

Hang on Baby!

While we were on Spring Break our family really enjoyed Orlando. Of course we did Disney but we also spent a day at SeaWorld because it's Amy's favorite place in the world. We had a blast feeding dolphins and even took the behind the scenes tour where we got to work with the dolphins and their trainers. Very cool! One unexpected thrill at SeaWorld was a roller coaster called Kraken. Everyone knows I am a roller coaster junkie. Faith wanted to test the waters to see if she had what it took to ride shotgun. I told her my goal was to break my personal record of riding 6 coasters in a row (accomplished at Hershey Park in PA).

While we were standing in line Faith remembered that she needed to do a research paper when she returned from Spring Break. I asked her what it was about and she said it was on "Living out your faith". She asked if I would give her a couple of bullet points for her outline. I told her that after the ride she would have all the points she needed!

She jumped in the front car with me and I took my video camera out to film the whole thing. Then I realized that there was a very good chance I might drop the camera and Amy would pretty much kill me on the spot. Then I thought "surely someone else has attempted to video this coaster". Sure enough, I found a video online with no innappriate language and some great shots.

Check out this video. I think I could be really good friends with the adventurous guy that shot this amazing ride!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQ6kRkzU50

After the ride, I asked Faith if she had enough material to write the paper and she cracked up and said "more than enough". At the risk of sounding like Forrest Gump, living out our faith is really like riding a high flying roller coast in that:

1. You sometimes wonder if God will keep you safe when life seems to be plummeting straight down and it feels like you are about to crash and burn. Yet God is faithful...He is our ever present protector and provider.
2. Even though you don't know where the next turn will take you and it seems like your life is turned totally upside down, God already has the perfect path prepared for you.
3. True faith is trusting God to the point where we let go, raise our hands in praise and enjoy every twist and turn along the way! What a ride and what an adventure it is to have a front row seat to what God is doing!

"Whatever You're Doing"

This song by Sanctus Real has some amazing lyrics that really define what we all go through as we seek God's face in making decisions that honor Him. These words have driven me to The Word to surrender to whatever it is God desires...even when it seems chaotic and isn't "what I signed up for".

Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, once said "The only thing that matters in life is that you are pleasing to God". That statement and my life verse (Phil. 1:27) are crucial to me when taking that next step in my spiritual journey.

The amazing this is that God is ALWAYS doing something in our lives as believers. The transformation process continues and His next chapter is always more amazing than we could ever imagine!

Check out these lyrics or click on the link above to listen to this song.

It's time for healing, time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out




YouTube - Sanctus Real - Whatever You're Doing Music Video

Shadow in the snow

It hardly ever snows in North Alabama, but we got maybe a half inch on the morning of March 1st. Since we lived in Maryland for 3 1/2 years our kids were not impressed. They were used to getting a good 6 inches and hitting the parsonage hill for amazing sledding. This year was our dog Shadow's first snow and she loved it. Here's a funny clip of her trying to run around with a piece of rope in her mouth trying to persuade Faith to come join her in the snow. Shadow is hours of entertainment and definitely part of the family. Enjoy!




Shadow in the snow from Richard Buckley on Vimeo.

What if all Christians lived like this?

No more Blogger's Block!

I haven't blogged since December 10th for one simple reason. Amy and I took a part time job working for a Big 3 auto maker auditing area dealerships. With the economy being what it is, it soon became necessary for us to spend more and more time with certain dealerships. I warned Amy when we started that any job title that has the word "auditor" in it always finishes dead last in the "Congeniality Contest". Let's face it...no one likes the auditors at first. Eventually we were asked to carry out some very tough orders and our popularity plummeted into the negatives bigtime! One day when I asked a sales manager for keys to get into a building one day, he tossed me his car and home keys and said "here, just take everything I've got...you've taken everything else!" He wasn't smiling then but we have since become friends which is a really good thing because he is a pretty big dude.

Long story short, we are still auditing and as time has passed, people have seen "the real" Amy and Richard. Actually what they see is Christ shining through an ordinary couple. In the midst of carrying out some pretty unpleasant tasks, we have treated people with dignity and respect. We have shown that we cared and we were willing to take the time to listen.

I have had many opportunities to share my faith of lots of different ways. Most of the opportunities came with little or no warning. Good thing I memorized 1 Peter 3:15 ("But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. ALWAYS be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.")

The people God put us in contact with come from all walks of life. Some are believers and some are not. They all share one thing in common...a very uncertain future. The crazy economy, the uncertainty of the job market, the consequences of living over one's head have all been topics of discussion that have seamlessly ended up in opportunities to share our faith. Every day people let us into their lives just a little more. Walls are going down and real questions are being asked about real dilemnas these people face. I don't know the "when's or how's" of the outcome but I sure do look forward to what God does next.

Today was a classic example. As Amy and I have traded places in this shared ministry...I mean job...no, it's really a ministry...our giggling girls have graced the hallways of this establishment. It's pretty easy to tell they are adopted unless you are totally blind. I never cease to be amazed at how people keep asking how Faith, Grace, and Joi came to be part of our family. Seriously, I get called into people's offices all the time and my first thought is always, "Oh, no...who is ticked at whatever auditor decision I had to make today?" Then they smile and ask me to sit and tell me the whole story of how the girls came to live with us. Today was no exception. The owner dropped by and I got to tell him our story and how it reflects the ultimate Adoption story of God adopting us into His family through the precious sacrifice of His son Jesus. What a great opportunity! Funny thing is that he had intertwined two conversations and thought we were adopting another child over the week end! Amy and I have been pretty busy lately...maybe we should have a talk when I get home just to make sure we're all on the same page:)