One moment... one phone call.... things change and the earth tilts and life will not be the same. Two officers in our community gave their lives in a tragic manner, yet as heroes. One of those officers, Burt Lopez, was a friend and a neighbor and a part of Emmanuel and a buddy who watched our daughters 'perform' many a musical and dance. He was a great man.... greatness defined through His love for His wife and His family and His work and, ultimately, His God. The last couple of days have been surreal and they will continue to be as our neighborhood, his co-workers, our church, and His family wrestles with Burt not walking this planet with us. In a couple of days, we will lay Burt's body to rest. It will be an incredible celebration of a life well-lived. It will be a painful time to say 'goodbye' and to mourn. It will be a prolific time to thank God for God and to thank Him for immersing Burt and immersing us in Christ.

I have had a simple thought, as I have walked through the last couple of days. My life could change in a moment. As I listen to story after story about Burt, I hear of a man who loved his kids exceptionally well.... who loved his wife exceptionally well... who valued and cared deeply for his friends.... and who loved us (all of us in Ok. County) so well that he would lay down his life for us. I am thankful to call him a friend. Perhaps the legacy that I am realizing that Burt leaves me is the challenge to live well. It is to consistently do the small things every day in order that those consistent steps of love and respect accrue and accrue and that I will have lived a life that leaves behind a tremendous legacy in the most important things. I have this consuming desire to glory in and to glorify God in very real, express, and tangible ways on this day.

So, today I am asking God to give me exceptional love for those around me...... to give me a disdain for mediocrity..... to give my life as a sacrifice for others.... and to love God and to love those around me with a love that surpasses understanding. That will bring honor to Burt's life and to his death. That will bring honor to Jesus Christ. Glory to God.

Mark