Friday, December 4, 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
A Timely Message From Dr. Tom Moucka (Samson House Executive Director)
TODAY Is Giving Tuesday!
This year's Giving Tuesday is special due to a Matching Gift of $50,000.00 - every dollar given will be matched with another dollar up to $50,000.00! That doubles your contribution.
As of today, we have received 88 contributions totalling $11,570.00. That is good news, but even better news is our Matching Gift contributor has extended the Match period to December 31, 2020 in order to include year-end givers and tax-advantaged stock gifts.
To double your contribution, simply click HERE. Of course, recurring monthly contributions are appreciated. If you'd like to gift stock, click HERE (note "gift of stock/securities" in the body of the email).
We continue to rescue families by helping over 10,000 men in 33 countries live in the freedom of authenticity. Thank you, one and all, for paying your recovery forward and supporting the mission of Samson Society.
Tom Moucka, president
Samson House
Why Does This Blog Exist?
Samson Society is awesome. Stupendous. Wonderful. Life-changing. Intense. Unique. It's also free. Supplemental. Non-mandatory. Charitable. Voluntary.
It's a men's ministry that's built on Christian men giving of their time and hearts within organized weekly meetings and one-on-one friendships.
Therefore, this is (mainly) my way of (hopefully) paying homage to all of that which Samson Society is.
I tell people that Samson Society found me, and when it did, I was ready to be found, having sunk into such deep personal despair relative to the prior trauma that I'd endured.
For those of you who read this blog, thank you. I'm always glad to see days when the numbers are up. Also, if any of you wish to post here, I welcome you to reach out to me today. The only caveat to writing within this venue is that the work should in some way harken back to the core principles of the Samson Society itself (which is pretty much summarized within the second sentence of this post).
Monday, November 30, 2020
A Young Man's Vulnerability To Cruelty, Finding Strength By Being Contrary Whilst Realizing You're Not Really Ever Alone
Angie and I rented apartments 'till we'd saved +/-20% of what we'd budgeted to mortgage a home. Plus, we eradicated our debt at the same time. Therefore, apartment life was our mainstay for +/-5 years early on in our marriage, and we loved it. For the most part. Except the last of the two units we rented. It was during those final 10 months prior to signing our lives away to the mortgage lender in late 2000 that we endured "the crappy apartment".
"Canton Square" apartments as it was officially called (when we lived there) had been constructed when Angie and I were children. In fact, one of our youth pastors and his wife had lived there during the '80s. Unfortunately, the construction quality was noticeably shoddy, even at the outset of our tenure there. Nonetheless, it was cheap rent, and cheap is what we desired in order to accelerate our plans to acquire a mortgage. Therefore, we swallowed hard and signed a month-to-month lease.
What I resented most about this place was how the cold, bitter winter wind would whip through our flat as if someone had intentionally left all of the many aluminum windows cracked (I used to check them regularly). I vividly recall that early winter 2020 was the one where George Bush and Al Gore were legally wrestling over chads in Florida. I'd watch the morning news shows every day during breakfast (wrapped up in a blanket) in order to hopefully see who'd finally been declared a winner. It dragged on for forever.
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Tommy Awesome was a classmate of mine for the majority of my high school years. He was everything I wanted to be, yet I could tell that he was just as sensitive to both man's cruelty and witnessing man's cruelty as I was. And that's what drew me to him versus some of my peers who either pretended they were invulnerable or were too distracted by life's pleasures to care.
It's that soft underbelly that's such the identifier of youth, and it simply comes with the territory, therefore, I would argue, you must come to grips with a strategy to deal with it - if you have the guts to acknowledge it firstly. Tommy did. I could see it, and that garnered my respect from the getgo. It just wasn't the same strategy that afforded me.
My strategy consisted of embracing the notion of being a contrarian regarding much (but not all) of my choices versus buying into the notion of me simply being a freak (as my peers and setting would have me believe).
Tommy's approach was to play along as if the cruelty he was witnessing wasn't necessarily all that bad to either acknowledge or witness unapologetically. And this was a coalescence with his popularity and respect as a fine specimen of young manness. Initially, I resented him for taking this approach until I realized the trap he'd found himself within no thanks to his perceived awesomeness.
Me, on the other hand, backed away. I had none of the goods Tommy had, therefore I simply could not play along on any level. I was not the athlete nor the ladies' man. Neither the brain nor an overly creative specimen. Just your strangely effeminate yet overall average B- Mississippi boy.
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Fast forward to Rob being a young husband attempting to set up a permanent household.
Living in "Canton Square" apartments for those 10 months was testimony to me (& my now wife) finally beginning to embrace my true contrarian self versus hiding / pretending to be someone else. And it was that stand that helped me embrace the notion of being labeled at times as a freak - circumstances being what they were - within the now "young married & childless" world Angie and I lived within.
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It's okay to reflexively go in the opposite direction. Especially when it involves moving into territory that's likely not slated to become one's permanent home. You may find that being a contrarian suits you despite the strange circumstances you may just find yourself in as a result. Remember too, it's easier to swallow challenging circumstances when you refuse to play by everyone else's rules / consider them with a grain of salt.
Do know though that eventually, that soft underbelly firms up no matter what end of the spectrum you fall - between Tommy and Rob. From there, you'll likely look back and shake your head in disbelief regarding what you endured. This is one of the true gifts of middle age.
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In closing, Tommy is thriving in middle Tennessee. He's definitely one of those guys that I'd love to have the opportunity to explain just how multifacetedly important he once was to me - from a safe distance. High school was not easy for Rob (is it for anyone?), but it was then that I at least knew, through guys like Tommy, that I was not altogether alone - with my feelings - within that cruel climate. Therefore that subtle empathizing with this model of youthful awesomeness served me firstly just as so many other men would down the road (mostly via Samson Society). It was a stepping stone for sure.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Commit To Pray For the "P"s
Politicians and pastors both run headlong everyday in and through the shadow of their predecessors. Their presence in our lives is not extemporaneous for they serve pivotal roles within our culture, and as such, our God should hear from us often on their behalf.
Politicians make policies which guide our every day lives and pastors serve most all of us during those critical moments when we need them the most (death, birth, marriage, and so forth).
Each of us harbor a concept of these two individuals. It can be heavily based on previous exposure to others in their steed or simply our beliefs relative to what each represents to us.
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Our senior pastor this AM admitted to the redundancy he's up against during this Xmas season relative to his sermons. Plus, he's simply a textbook extravert, and therefore is sick and tired of all this pandemic safeguarding. He and his fam have been at our church for +/-4 years now which means he's definitely "hit his stride". Plus, he's sitting right square in the throes of middle-age with kidlets who're anticipating flying the coop. He's the kind of guy who, like almost every other pastor I've known, loves to be heard, with no mouth fatigue in sight.
I really found my respect for pastors well before I became involved in Samson Society. Namely for their flexibility and resourcefulness. Not to mention the constant demands they're under to serve whomever shows up on their doorstep.
I'm convicted during this Xmas season and beyond to pray for both of these. Their roles are huge, and there's no doubt they'll be blessed knowing my prayers (as with all prayers) will be heard on their behalf.
Saturday, November 28, 2020
[REPRINT] - 2020 Lakeside Presbyterian Church Advent Book Excerpt
Growing Faith
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
What a year 2020 has been! I don't think I could have imagined a national shutdown, a pandemic, or the possibility of having a stroke if someone told me last year that those things were coming. As far as I was concerned last November, life in the Turner home was rocking and rolling along just fine with kids, church, work, school, and extracurricular activities. During the spring quarantine, our family enjoyed spending time together outdoors, playing board games, watching movies, and being still & quiet amidst the pandemic. Now that I look back on those two months, I am eternally grateful for them. Even though we didn't know it then, God was preparing us for a life-changing event.
One the morning of May 29, I had a stroke that affected the left side of my body. From the moment it started, God's presence was real. He worked out every detail in his perfect timing. I have struggled with anxiety for a long time, especially anxiety related to my health. But for the first time, I was not anxious that day - even riding in an ambulance down Lakeland Drive! It was amazing & surreal! God covered me with a blanket of peace and told me that he would never leave me. I knew without a doubt that He was there. I didn't know what the outcome would be, but God did. He reminded me moment by moment to rest in Him because He already had it all figured out. He also assured me that He would be glorified through this situation. I was just along for the ride. His peace was all I needed. When my human nature wandered from those truths, He gently showed me that He hadn't left me. Exodus 14:4 became one of my favorite verses: "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." There have been good days and hard days since May 29 as well as lots of hard work at therapy. God continues to teach me to rest in him and trust His perfect plan. And now, almost 5 months later, I can go to a doctor's appointment (& there are many!) without getting anxious even when there aren't clear answers for what's happened. Never in a million years would I have thought that possible! I look forward with anticipation to watching God's plan continue to unfold.
This advent season, I challenge you to focus on God's continued presence and work in your life, despite what is going on in the world around us. Immanuel - God is with us. That is a truth that never changes. He is worthy of our thanksgiving and our praise. He allows suffering to come into our lives to ultimately bring us more contentment in Him and be less reliant on ourselves and the things of this world. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have chosen to have a stroke and possibly have a physical handicap for the rest of my days on earth. But far greater than that, I am so very thankful to God for walking this road with us and using this suffering to grow my family's faith. We serve an awesome God! To Him be the glory forever & ever, amen!
Angie Turner
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