He made it through the seventh grade before he had to drop out of school to help support his family in rural Arkansas. Born in 1901, J. Ray Smith plowed his fields and learned to build barns. He married his wife of 60 years, Ola, in 1922. He began working as a laborer for a lumber yard, learning the intricacies of home building. He once told me that the hardest thing he ever did was sell his team of mules and move to Tulsa. He formed the Commercial Lumber Company at 12^th and South Lewis and began supplying lumber in the prewar years of Tulsa’s expansion. They joined our church in 1941 where he served as a deacon.  Following the war, J. Ray and Ola organized a young adult Sunday School class that drew the young men from Spartan School of Aeronautics and the young ladies from all around. At that time he invested in the little community of Owasso, seeing the growth potential for low-cost housing to support the working families near the airport and American Airlines. He became a director of the First Bank of Owasso, and eventually opened the Owasso Lumber Company to meet the housing demands of the 1970’s. 

In 1972 the Smiths offered 60 acres of his Owasso land for the site of a new Baptist Children’s Home. A few years later they donated 60 more acres for the addition of the Baptist Retirement Village. Ground was broken for the White City Cottage in 1973 and our church hosted the dedication and reception on June 2, 1974. Ola Smith organized and taught our Lighted Candles class for special needs children. J. Ray was a founder of the Tulsa Baptist Laymens Corporation, which secured Tulakogee Conference Center and the Baptist Student Union building at the University of Tulsa. He served as a director of the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma and as a Trustee of Oklahoma Baptist University. He told me that he never imagined that he would be part of leading a university. At the time of their excitement with the unfolding of the children’s home, J. Ray suffered a stroke. He bounced back quickly but took up walking with a cane.  He was always sharp and used the knowledge that he appeared to be disabled to his advantage, surprising many with how savvy he really was. He succumbed to a massive stroke in 1983. Ola passed away in 1996. Although J. Ray and Ola Smith never had children of their own, their legacy has grown and flourished through these last fifty years. This September 7, a “Super Cottage” will be dedicated. It is built like a duplex; one side will be for boys and the other for girls.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Serve faithfully. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

I have never been too keen on climbing mountains as sport or personal recreation. My thinking is if God had intended us to hike up a mountain, God would not have created asphalt roads and motorized vehicles. Although I have been known to walk to the top of a mountain ridge or peak for the view, I enjoy the journey down more. I like the brooks and streams and the shade of large old trees. Yet here I was at the end of July, on a day-long tour of the ruins of Pompeii which included climbing to the top of Mount Vesuvius. My first question was how long has it been since the last eruption? (March 17, 1944)  My next question was how high do we have to climb? (1,000 meters) That did not help at all. Fortunately, the tour bus did take the winding, tiny two-lane asphalt road slowly upward to the passenger drop-off point (which needs a better name).

We were handed little paper tickets, told to look for the tour bus in about 90 minutes, and by the way, restrooms were not available. We smiled grimly. Mountain climbing is not straight up. That 1,000 meters up was a zig-zag path of crushed lava and dust. The temperature was a cloudless 96ᴼ. I pressed on. I started up the quiet volcano with my traveling adventurers Bryan and Deacon Enos. By the time we reached the first switchback rest area, I was feeling weary from the long flight, busy morning, and the altitude. I knew it would be best to go back down and find some shade. On the way down I noticed that an ambulance had quietly pulled up and parked beside the trail. Nice touch. Fortunately no one seemed to need the ambulance while we were there. Bryan and Deacon pressed on near the peak. The top of a volcano looks like a rock-strewn mountain with an edge. We reconnected and headed for the air-conditioned bus. We may have dozed off.

More than two million people, counting on an extensive evacuation plan, live in the shadow of Vesuvius today. I took advantage of my time up there to take in the view of mountains and towns in the valley down to the sea. I thought about mountaintop experiences good and bad, of beautiful times and tragedies mixed all together. It is good to know what mountain you are climbing.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Know your challenges. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

This Reflections was originally written in July 2015.

The little tongue-twisting ditty was a mainstay in high school speech class. It was an exercise in agility and concentration. It warmed the vocal cords and tuned the diction. It prepared us to face the most fear-inducing moment of anyone’s life—giving a speech in front of an audience. Recurring dreams and nightmares are made from speech class. Picture standing in front of a group of your peers, being handed the little card about Betty Bauder and having to read it out loud in front of all of those snickerers.

Betty Bauder bought some butter but she said “The butter’s bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter; but a bit of better butter—that would make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter and the batter was not bitter. So ‘twas better Betty Bauder bought a bit of better butter.

But like most budding orators, I wondered about Betty. Who was Betty Bauder and why was she making batter? What was she making that needed fresh batter—a cake, a pie crust, fried chicken? Who tastes the butter before putting it in the batter to know if it’s bitter? Was she able to trade her bitter butter for some better butter at the store? Is this a true story?  What are the theological implications of a better batter? 

I’ve decided the Betty Bauder Story is a parable of preparation. Betty knew it only takes a little bitterness to spoil the whole thing. It’s all about the quality of the ingredients we are pouring into our minds and hearts. If the batter represents the stuff of life, then being ever vigilant to spot the bitter butter in our attitude will foster grace in all of our relationships. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15  Is today’s batter better?

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Use better butter. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

Every great adventure begins with an invitation. Possibly an improbable or unexpected invitation. The invitation may arrive through a still, small voice or a thunderbolt of realization. The invitation is always appealing, risky and costly, although not necessarily financially expensive. The invitation may awaken a long-hidden dream or be a call to action. The invitation always expects a response. Choose wisely, not every invitation to adventure is appropriate or right for you.

Every great adventure is filled with challenges, delays, and frustration. True adventures include wrong turns, dead ends, and anxiety. Setbacks may include deceitfulness, thievery, and jealousy.  You might get sick or injured. You might get separated from others or lost in the crowd. Know who to call and how to call for assistance. Carry contact information so others may help you. Let others help you when you have a need.

Every great adventure is a team effort. Great adventurers share the journey with someone else. Even if you must journey by yourself, others are vitally involved. Others dream with you, plan with you, equip you, and pray for you. Great adventures have interesting characters, encouragers, and overcomers who show up along the journey. Listen to them. Ask directions. Make new friends along the way. Pack light and save room for mementoes. Wear good shoes and take care of your feet. Eat right and wash your hands. Drink lots of good water and breathe deeply every day. Always carry a hat.

Every great adventure ends. Most great adventures end at home. A truly grand adventure gives you a better perspective of yourself and the world. Share your adventure story with others, in moderation. Invite others to share their adventures with you. Together become encouragers to family, friends and neighbors who are embarking on their great adventures of life.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Open your invitation. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

What a day this has been. At one point I thought tomorrow must be Saturday. Today is still Tuesday. I had planned to do other things. I have so many things on my To Do List, I just need to take the time to do what business leaders call a brain dump. A brain dump is the act of emptying your mind of all the stuff you have in your head. The process encourages you to take a legal pad and write down every little thing that you need to accomplish, covering all personal and professional chores. Every nagging deadline plus all the other things you have committed to do for others. Everything until you can think of nothing else—that is until you take a walk around the block. Then do it some more. I find it a helpful way of seeing what is important. 

I once visited a man who was working in his home workshop in the backyard. I noticed his wall calendar was from 1963. Every few years the calendar matched the exact days of the current year. He said that the old calendar was good enough. He was retired. My life does not seem to work that way. I carry a journal with a handy multi-year calendar where I map out future sermons and reminders. I have a calendar in the car to record my daily mileage and note special trips. I work with the church’s master calendar of scheduled events and building usage. I have three electronic calendars for everyday commitments and appointments. Those calendars do not talk easily with each other. So I’m trying to develop a Master Calendar of Everything, but my low-tech self is still trying to schedule a day to start it.  I am still learning to embrace the interruptions of my perfectly planned days. 

I take my clue from Mark chapter 5 which chronicles one day in Jesus’ ministry. His schedule for the day was to take a boat ride across the lake, visit some of the villages, then head back. It turned out to be one crazy day of interruptions “as He was going.” I am also mindful of the story Jesus told of the religious leaders who were too busy, too clean, or too important to stop and help an injured man on the side of the road. They ignored their interruptions and failed to even acknowledge the presenting need. Jesus valued people above schedules, and relationships above calendars. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Value the interruptions. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage: