An Evangelism Book to Challenge You

I recently received a copy of a book, Speaking of Jesus by Carl Medearis, from Missions Frontiers in exchange for a honest book review. I was challenged so much by this book I decided to put the review on my blog too. (and maybe it will get me blogging again- I've just been too busy to blog lately.) Here is that review:

Speaking of Jesus: the ART of not-evangelism

By Carl Medearis

Reading this book by Carl Medearis is like sitting around with one of the wise and experienced veterans of ministry. As they talk you realize that you wish you had pen and paper with you so you can write some of this down. They have wisdom and they have great stories that illustrate that wisdom. So much connects and helps you understand things you’ve been thinking about or brings clarity to things you’ve been struggling with. And sometimes they say things that make you think, “Um, that seems a little too far of a stretch.” Parts of the book made me say “Yes! Thank you.” Other parts, far fewer, made me say “huh?” But the good parts are so worth it – jewels.

There are so many people I know I wish would read this book. I often get frustrated at what people consider “doing evangelism”. Often it’s more about methods and even trickery rather than about the Gospel or Jesus. Carl Medearis wants to challenge us about what we are sharing and wants to get us back to the main message.

For Carl that main message is Jesus. Not Christianity, a religion, but Jesus, the person. He wants to get Jesus followers out of our “holy Huddles” (“rabbit holes” – John White) and out into the world where we will be comfortable being in any circle of people and being willing to talk about this Jesus that we have given our lives to (see chapter 12 for where he likes to prepare his sermons! Talk about getting out of the Saltshaker!). It’s a great message.

For me he gives a great illustration that gets us to the point in chapter 4. He compares Christians as a bunch of people standing inside a circle, the circle of Christianity, and we are calling out to those on the outside, trying to get them to listen to us. Most walk away, they just don’t know us or care to know us. Some listen and maybe even respond to the message of Jesus. But then, for those few who respond, we start giving them the rules of “being a Christian” and they lose interest. We preach our religion as much as about the person of Jesus. The religion can turn people off, the person of Jesus is interesting and exciting. So preach Jesus.

There is so much more in this book. It is thought stimulating and I think so many of us will be better witnesses if we read this book, talk about this book, and start sharing Jesus.


A life of Faith, A life best lived

“The puzzle is why so many people live so badly. Not so wickedly but so inanely. Not so cruelly, but so stupidly. There is little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture. We have celebrities but not saints. Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs. Infamous criminals act out the aggressions of timid conformists. Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators. People, aimless and bored, amuse themselves with trivia and trash. Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of righteousness gets headlines.”

Concerning the fascination with evil acts and people:

“The mass media report their words and display their actions. Writers vie with one another in analyzing their motives and providing psychological profiles on them. No other culture has been as eager to reward either nonsense or wickedness.

If, on the other hand, we look around for what it means to be a mature, whole, blessed person, we don’t find much. These people are around, maybe as many of them as ever, but they aren’t easy to pick out. No journalist interviews them. No talk show features them. They are not admired. They are not looked up to. They do not set trends. There is no cash value in them. No Oscars are given for integrity. At year’s end no one compiles a list of the ten best-lived lives.”

This is from the book “Run with the Horses” by Eugene Peterson. I read this book in 1983 when I was first entering a life of ministry. And it still confronts and challenges me. His comments are still right on.

The book is about Jeremiah the prophet. He writes of Jeremiah:

“ In Jeremiah it is clear that the excellence comes from a life of faith, from being more interested in God than in self, and has almost nothing to do with comfort or esteem or achievement.”

It’s a great book to challenge us to live a life of faith – a live best lived.

Prayer Challenge 1:9-11

Prayer Challenge 1:9-11

Last night at our ISCA Bible study we studied the first part of Philippians Chapter 1. After we read verses 1:9-11, Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, one of our members said “I’d like to have this prayer said for me!”. Here is that prayer:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

One question we asked was what would happen if we all prayed this prayer for our fellowships and friends every day? What would be the impact on the world? On us? We all agreed that it would be amazing. Amazing!

So here is the challenge we agreed on: Every day this summer we are going to pray this very prayer for each other. It’s very simple. Say the prayer inserting your friends name in the prayer for all the “you and yours”.

Will you join us in this challenge?

What do you think will happen?

Heroes All

Heroes All.

‘There are heroes around us all the time” – Barack Obama in Joplin

Today is memorial day, a day to remember the soldiers who have given their lives for this country. Barack Obama’s quote above reminded me of a song from the TV show Cop Rock. I think I might be the only person in America that liked this show. This 1990 show last only 11 shows but I think it did a great job using music to illustrate important issues.

In one episode one of the characters receives an award for being a hero and then the cast breaks out into a song about heroes. The main line from the song is “If one of us is a Hero, then we’re heroes all.”

It’s a good point. Thank you all of you heroes.

Watch the song here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyM3qhWFuKs

Rejoicing at Death

“Will not rejoice at the death of an unrepentant sinner.”

This was posted by a Christian Friend on Facebook today. I think it’s something every Christian should think about.

If you believe in a real and permanent Hell as a place of eternal punishment, there is nothing to rejoice. The dead are facing torment forever and a living human who has been killed will have no more chances at repenting. I can’t imagine someone rejoicing another person being tormented forever. Our response should be more like Jesus in Luke 19:41-42.

If you believe in Annihilation, the belief that after death our soul is judged and then just ceases to exist. I guess you could rejoice that “the bad man is gone”, but still there should be sadness that this person never got to enjoy the eternal relationship with Jesus that Jesus desired for him.

If you believe in universalism, the belief that all people go to heaven, then you have nothing to rejoice in either – Osama made it there before you and he’ll be waiting for you when you die. (Unless you believe that God can’t judge people (and therefore universalism) but you can if people are really bad! In otherwords, universalism unless you really don’t like the person).

A day will come when God will judge the world (see Matthew 25:31-46 for just one example). On that day those who know and are known by Jesus will rejoice. Until then let’s pray like Paul told us to in 1 Timothy 2:1-6.

Some other verses to consider:

Ezekiel 18:21-23

Proverbs 24:17

Morning Prayer: Almighty God we greet You.

Check out this song. It's such a great way to begin the day:

Ultimate Reality, we greet You

In you the whole Universe is held together

Your life fills every nucleus that has ever been created

You dwell in our flesh and bones

Your Great Liberation is to bring us into loving oneness with you,

so full, that we can no longer feel any separation between us

We greet you, O Supreme One, all pervading, and eternal

The song is in Hindi. I love how the songs starts out slow and mysterious and builds up into a full throated praise of Almighty God. I pray I can begin every day becoming this aware of God. It reminds me of Psalm 5, especially verse 3. When I first become a follower of Jesus I began each day reading and singing Psalm 5. Greeting God and His "amazingness", what a way to begin the day.

Watch the video and greet God this morning (Make sure you check out the comments from the video maker about the images in the video):

Aradhna: Namaste Sate'

If you like the music make sure you let me know, I'd like to bring the band to town soon.

Morning Prayer: Almighty God we greet You.

Check out this song. It's such a great way to begin the day:

Ultimate Reality, we greet You
In you the whole Universe is held together
Your life fills every nucleus that has ever been created
You dwell in our flesh and bones
Your Great Liberation is to bring us into loving oneness with you,
so full, that we can no longer feel any separation between us
We greet you, O Supreme One, all pervading, and eternal

The song is in Hindi. I love how the songs starts out slow and mysterious and builds up into a full throated praise of Almighty God. I pray I can begin every day becoming this aware of God. It reminds me of Psalm 5, especially verse 3. When I first become a follower of Jesus I began each day reading and singing Psalm 5. Greeting God and His "amazingness", what a way to begin the day.

Watch the video and greet God this morning (Make sure you check out the comments from the video maker about the images in the video):


If you like the music make sure you let me know, I'd like to bring the band to town soon.

Please Encourage Someone Today!

There is great power in the ministry of Encouragement! Today I opened up Facebook and saw I had a friend request, from a person whose name I didn’t recognize. Here’s the message.

"Kevin!!! I saw your comment on T's note and couldn't wait to contact you! You probably don't remember me but my wife and I were new students at BC the last semester that you were there. I sat in on one of the IV Bible studies that you were teaching and fell in love with the Inductive Bible Study! Thank you so much for your service to the Lord back in those days. Those early lessons laid the foundation for the study methods I use today as I prepare my sermons each week. I don't know where the Lord has lead you in the time since you left BC but I just wanted to thank you for serving Him. Blessings Brother! P.S. If you feel like sending a fresh batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies our way I would be more than happy to provide my mailing address!!!!!"

He’s right, I didn’t remember him very well but I looked up his pictures on Facebook and I remembered him. I did lead a ministry at BC for many years and did love teaching students the Inductive Bible study method (and still do!). And look, he not only learned the things I taught but he uses in to prepare sermons each week. For a person in ministry it is so encouraging to be encouraged. It is so encouraging to be told of the fruit of our ministry. This person and I only knew each other for a short time and our time together led to continued growth in the Lord and he is teaching others also. It’s also cool to think that the people who taught me Inductive Bible Study have a part in this heritage too (Thanks Pat Bultema, Chris Nichols, Barbara Boyd, and Paul Byers!)

The Apostle Paul lists encouragement as one of the gifts from God in Romans 12:8 and says if this is your gift the use it – encourage people. In his final words to the church in Corinth Paul says to “Encourage one another” (2 Corinthians 13.11). One of my favorite passages about encouragement comes in Hebrews 10:24-25:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The point of these passages is that for some it’s a spiritual gift to encourage people and those who have that gift need to fan it into flame (see 2 Timothy 1.6) and use it. But for the rest of us we are commanded to encourage each other too. Encouragement is a ministry!

So the student mentioned above encouraged me today – out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it. But it sure made my day. It’s nice to know I made a difference in somebody’s life. My response to his email was to think of someone that has made a difference in my life and send them a note today. I encourage all of you to do the same.

Participate in the ministry of encouragement today.


Blind Boys of Alabama - Wow


For Christmas my wife bought me tickets to the Blind Boys of Alabama concert at the Walton Arts Center. The concert was this week and all this week we’ve had snow and ice and we wondered if it would happen. But last night we ventured out in the ice (the streets really weren’t that bad) and went to the concert. All I can say is wow – what a wonderful and powerful night of worship!

The night started out great when our good friends John and Jane Ray ran into us as we were entering in. It turns out we both had seats in “row P” so we sat down together. It got better when the staff there told us the place wasn’t full due to weather and we could move down if we wanted. And boy did we move down! 3rd row from the stage! What a view! When singer Jimmy Carter came down into the audience we could reach out and touch him. When the singers urged us to clap our hands if felt like we were sitting right with the band members worshiping together.

If you don’t know the Blind Boys of Alabama you need to check them out. They started out in 1939 at a school for the blind in Alabama. Some of the members have changed over the years but for all these years these men have been singing incredible Gospel music that will make anyone sing out Hallelujah!

A new song for me was "Perfect Peace" (you can here it at their website www.blindboys.com). A great message. I wanted the song to keep going because it’s a message we need so bad in our world. It also fits Fellowships philosophy of Community Groups. Very cool.

They sang their unique and trademark version of "Amazing Grace" that had the audience standing and praising God’s grace.

Another highlight for was when they sang “Spirit in the Sky”. I’ve always felt this song had great overdriven guitars but the singing lack soul to match the guitars. The Blind Boys put that soul in the song! I’ve been humming this song ever since.

Bottom line – we all had a great night of worship in the Walton Arts Center. Thank you Blind Boys!

And thank you Cynthia for such a great Christmas gift!

Blessing - Check out this video

Since December I've been enjoying and have really been moved by some music videos. The DVD is called Sau Guna by the band Aradhna. Aradhna has had a big impact on my life. Through them I've learned about the Yeshu Bhajan - songs of devotion for the devotee of Jesus. These are the songs we sing in our monthly Satsang gatherings. Even though these songs are in Hindi, a language I don't speak but my vocabulary has grown through this music, these songs have become some of my favorite songs of devotion and songs that I so often turn to for worship.

But now Aradhna has come out with a new CD (Which was officially released this week - Namaste Sate) and they have also released a DVD of 6 of their songs from that CD.

The DVD is exceptional! Each song tells a story. The videos, directed by Ben Stamper (http://www.cinesandwonders.com/, are visually spectacular. The views of India, the songs with a message, all lead to a wonderful worship experience.

I should write more about this someday but I wanted to mention this today because Aradhna has put one of their videos from the DVD on YouTube. It's one of my favorite videos partly because it is based on a section of the Sermon on the Mount. The song is mostly in Hindi but it's easy to follow. There is a segment on it where The Lord's Prayer is song in English along with the Hindi part - I am so moved at this point. If you are in my house when I listen to this song you will also see my kids singing along with it. It really is powerful! It's a great message and should change the way we behave each time we see it.

Check out the youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UI25sayXk

Check out Aradhna at: http://aradhnamusic.com/

On their website you can also find out how to order their CD or DVD.

Most importantly, listen to the song, watch the images, and make a difference today!

God Bless,

Kevin

Two Types of Readers

I once heard there are two types of readers in the world.

There are serious people who read. These are people who read books and then they gather together to talk about the books they have read. They seem to have great insights and criticisms of all the latest “best” authors. They know about and have read the great writers of the past and seem to always be able to pull out their names and insert them into any conversation. They are well read and it shows.

But the Serious Reader is the little boy who was sent to bed at 8 PM. He is upstairs in his bedroom with the covers pulled over his head. He has his flashlight out and is reading Robinson Crusoe because he just can’t put it down. It’s just too good.

When it comes to Bible reading many people approach it like serious people who read. They seem to know a lot about where things are in the Bible, what the latest is in Biblical interpretation, who the best authors about the Bible are, and so on. I once worked with a guy named Rocky. His knowledge of the Bible was amazing. His knowledge of the writings of the “Christian Fathers” was beyond anything I could achieve. But he didn’t know Jesus. He just knew writings. He was a Serious Person who reads.

We need a lot more Serious Readers of the Bible. People who read just to experience the stories. People who get caught up in the stories of Jesus. People who get out their flashlights and get under the covers and read their Bibles because they just can’t stop.

Digging for Bible Gold


One of my favorite illustrations about studying the Bible came from Barbara Boyd, a legend in InterVarsity circles:

“Imagine you are out for a walk in the mountains. As you walk along you look down and there on the ground is a gold nugget. This would be very exciting and profitable. You would probably pick it up, run home and tell all your friends about it and maybe even cash it in. It would be a very good day indeed.

But now imagine that instead of running off you got out your shovel and began to dig down deeper in the soil. Eventually, due to your hard labor, you found the “mother lode” of gold. THAT would be a much greater thing and an even better day.”

It’s the same for Bible study. Sometimes it’s great to get that “nugget” from the Bible. Those are great days. But when we take the effort to dig down deep we can find the “mother lode” of truth – and that truly is a greater thing! (Luke 6:47-48)

A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping

As I opened my newspaper this morning I saw there was an “Aldi’s” ad in it. I love Aldi’s ads – you never know what amazing special buys they might have. But when I looked at it I realized I should have known what would be there: it was all exercise equipment and low fat meals. It’s that time of the year again – when we all make new year’s resolutions and one of the most popular is to eat better and exercise. There are many great deals on exercise equipment out there.

Now I don’t want to put these resolutions down – many of us, especially me, need to make these resolutions and do our best to keep them. But when I see these sales I think that there is a resolutions that I think if far more important, a resolution with eternal benefits. A resolution that chooses the better thing – the thing that can’t be taken away (Luke 10:38-42). This is the resolution to sit at the feet of Jesus. A resolution to spend more time knowing Jesus, loving Jesus, and following Jesus. For those of us who seek spiritual matters I think there can be no better thing than to be devoted to Jesus and being devoted to knowing Him more. And devotion takes time and effort, and so many of us struggle in this area. So here are three resolutions to make that many of us need to make:

1. Pray more.

I saw a skit about prayer many years ago. The skit compared praying to breathing. It was funny with segments about people who take a long time to breath, breath in groups and so on. But the ending was powerful for me: If we quit breathing, we die. I believe when we quit praying be begin to die spiritually. Prayer needs to be our spiritual breath. Prayer isn’t about just asking God for things. It is communing with God. Prayer can, and should, include worship, thanksgiving, petition, and even silence. Faithful prayer can change a day. (see Philippians 4:6-7).

One of the problems of trying to pray more is so often we are inspired by a person’s testimony about how they prayed in some amazing way, and then we try to be like them and fail and get discouraged. My story is that when I was a young Christian I heard a Martin Luther quote that goes something like “I have so much to do today I must get up three hours early to pray for the day.” (I’ve heard many variations of this quote since then so I’m not so sure what is the correct quote). I heard this at church when I was in college not long before finals, so I decided to apply the quote and I began rising 3 hours early to pray. At first it went well but then I began finding it a burden. Not that it was a burden to pray, but it was a burden to rise at 2:30 AM every morning. That’s when I realized that it’s not how much I pray, rather it is important that I pray. As often as I can.

So what to do? Take steps you can handle and take time to grow! I once read a booklet titled “7 minutes with God.” If you rarely pray or you only pray before tests and meals, then maybe 7 minutes of prayer in the morning would be a great place to start. My personal experience is the more I pray, the more I want to pray. 7 minutes will soon seem to short of a time. Then it’s time to find more time to pray. Maybe add evening prayers to your morning prayer routine, or find a prayer partner to pray with, or join a weekly prayer meeting, or take 5 minutes out of a lunch break to slip away and pray, or – what are your ideas?

The point is can you imagine the impact in this world if we all made the resolution to pray more. The Bible is full of verses about prayer (Some of my favorites are Matthew 7:7-11; James 1:5; 1 John 5:14-15) and is full of examples of prayerful people (Nehemiah, Daniel, Jesus, and Acts 4 always come to my mind).

2. Read the Bible more.

“and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17.

This is one of the first Bible verses I memorized. It really says it all:
  • The Bible makes us wise for salvation.
  • The Bible is breathed by God.
  • It is useful for teaching.
  • It is useful for rebuking. (rebuking me!)
  • It is useful for correcting.
  • It is useful for training in righteousness.
The Bible is these things SO THAT God’s people (literally the Man of God) may be thoroughly equipped for EVERY good work.

Need we say anything else? If you want to be thoroughly equipped then read the Bible more!

Yet for so many of us the Bible is only an accessory in our hands for when we go to church. We have the words of life and yet we don’t have the time to read them. It’s like walking around with a See’s California Brittle candy in our hand while wishing we had some chocolate to eat. It doesn’t make sense. (For those not from the West coast – See’s candy is the best chocolate and the California brittle is my personally favorite.)

So, another great resolution is to read our Bibles more often. There are so many books to read that will help us know how to read the Bible, but my favorite way is to just start reading and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us (and then seek friends to help us answer our questions.)
Here’s a simple system:
  1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and help you understand
  2. Pick a whole book of the Bible and commit to read all the way through it over the next few months. If you are new to reading the Bible pick a narrative book, like any of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
  3. Read what feels like one story or section. Don’t worry about the chapters, just read what feels right.
  4. Answer these questions: Who is there? What is happening? Where is it happening? When is it happening? Writing it down helps.
  5. Now ask “What do I learn about Jesus? What do I learn about God? Is there a command I should follow? Is there a promise here for me?”
  6. What are you going to do about what you have learned? Write down what difference this lesson will make in your life. Make sure you include an “Action Step” so you can take action on what you are learning.
  7. Write down any questions you might have. Ask your friends these questions or post it on facebook and see what answers you get (make sure you check with your most experience friends on what you are learning). Later in life you might want to buy some good books to help you do research – like a Bible dictionary (you can also search the web – there are some decent free Bible dictionaries out there.)
  8. Again, you don’t need to feel you must spend a lot of time on this. Enjoy it and let that set the time for it. Maybe start with another 7 minutes. Maybe you’ll have to read the same passage many days in a row to understand it all. I think that is actually a fun read to really dig into the Bible. What are some deeper truths.
One final comment – small groups with friends, official or unofficial, are a great way to dig into the meaning of the Bible – don’t deprive yourself the opportunity to study the Bible with your friends!

3. Serve more. (Matthew 25)

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25:40

Jesus says what we do for others we do for Him! We see Jesus when we help others. Who are the people around you that need your help? Who are the people in your community that would benefit from some time you can give? It can be time. It can be money. But if you have the time and ability to read a blog, you probably have the time and resources to serve others.

How can you help the homeless?

How can you help schools? (did you know they need people to read to kids?)

How about helping the elderly in nursing homes?

There is so much we can do – and in doing it we serve Jesus and grow closer to Him!
If you don’t know what to do, check out the Cobblestone Project: http://www.cobblestoneproject.org/Home.aspx

Those are just three ideas. There are so more. I pray you will enjoy all your New Year’s resolutions and that we all will know Jesus better. (see Eph. 1:17)

Good Eats on Hwy 40

My family and I just finished a Christmas trip from Arkansas to the Central Coast of California, to the bay area, and then back to Arkansas. It was a great visit to California to see both Cynthia’s Family and my family – I think it’s been a long time since we got to see all our relatives in one Christmas season (except my Nephew Tyler, who works for the GOP in a covert operation with the “other government agency” somewhere overseas). At least that is what his brother told me. But I want to talk about Hwy 40.

Hwy 40 is a straight line from Arkansas to California, or at least is seems that way. You get to go through the desert of Oklahoma (at least it looks like a desert), the desert of Texas, the high deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, and end with the desert of California (ending in Barstow, where my Aunt and cousins live). This may sound boring but I actually like much of the trip – esp. New Mexico.

The other significant thing about this trip is you drive through very few big cities. It’s mostly small town after small town (Hwy 40 sort of bypasses Route 66 so there is lots of connection between the two. One year the kids and I drove from California to Arkansas following much of Route 66 looking for locations and things from the movie “Cars”, which is about Route 66. We actually found the town Radiator Springs was modeled after (we received a tip on where this was), we found “Mater” in Arizona, and the Gas station in Shamrock Texas.)

One of the challenges of a long road trip is finding places to eat. There is fast food all along the route but we try to avoid that on long trips. Our favorite “system” is to eat a nice sit down lunch after about 3 hours of driving, then get back on the road and drive until dark and eat something quick near our hotel, preferable in our hotel room so we can kick back. You would think good food might be scarce in all these deserts but actually there are three places we have found that have become favorites that we actually look forward to!

First there is Del’s in Tucumcari New Mexico. Del’s is actually one of my favorite restaurants in the world! I discovered Del’s many years ago on a solo trip to California. I arrived in town after a long day of driving and checked into my hotel. I asked the clerk who had the best food in Tucumcari and she said locals argue between Del’s and some other place. Del’s was right next door so I went there. It was one of the most memorable meals in my life! I was so tired when I went in, I was rejuvenated when I left! I had a carne asada steak, cooked perfectly, and various toppings including some great hot peppers. I then asked if they had desserts and she said they had one piece of Chocolate pie left over. I got it and was in heaven. My family has stopped at Del’s every trip since, and they haven’t had any Chocolate pie left over on any subsequent visits, but they make a great Lemon Meringue too! Even my brother stopped there a trip out to visit us and he agreed it was good. Del’s makes a great stop.

Our second favorite spot is also in New Mexico – Grant’s New Mexico. It’s called Surf Shack Pizza. Grants is a great stopping point for us because it gives a short day’s drive the next day to the Grand Canyon, where we often stop for a day or two for a break. The first time we discovered Surf Shack was after a long day. We arrived at the hotel and crashed. We saw ad in our hotel room for Surf Shack pizza and we thought we’re too tired to go find food so let’s try it. It was such a treat. They make a fine pizza and we’ve eaten there many times since. However, they let us down this year! We were driving home and we were in a hurry. WE actually had hoped to drive further that day but icy conditions was slowing us down. When we decided to go ahead and stop at Grants we were excited because that meant Surf Shack on New Year’s eve! We checked into our room and called right away, only to find out they were closed. What pizza place closes on New Year’s Eve? How can we party in Grants without Surf Shack pizza. Despondent my wife and I went back out into the icy roads (it was minus 7 outside) and drove around looking for something other than fast food. We ended up eating at someplace with golden arches, what a letdown! (however I did order some sort of flatbread meal that was actually decent. I don’t know if that’s just for New Mexico or if it’s everywhere but it was better than eating some grey meat inside a bun). So it’s been over two years since we ate at Surf Shack so I don’t remember WHY I like the pizza, I just remember I do. Hopefully on a future trip we’ll eat there again and remember why it’s so good.

Our last place was the surprise of this year’s trip – and Surf Shack being closed probably led to this discovery. My wife doesn’t love pizza, but as we approached Shamrock Texas, our stop on the way home after Grants, my wife turned to me and said “I want pizza tonight since we didn’t get any last night.” As a pizza lover this is one of the best things my wife can say to me! That’s when we discovered Cicero's Green Frog Pizza in Shamrock Texas. Wow. They actually have Calzone also so my daughter and I ordered Calzones, my son had a pizza, and my wife for some reason got spaghetti and salad, after saying she wanted pizza. The calzones were great. The dough had character and the sauce had just a little spice to it. Everyone else enjoyed their food too.

So now we have a great beginning to our almost annual trip: 6 hours to Shamrock Texas and eat at Green Frog Pizza. Next day leave Shamrock at 9 AM and arrive at Del’s in Tucumcari New Mexico for lunch. Drive the rest of the day and stay in Grant’s and have Surf Shack deliver pizza (My son and I will enjoy pizza two nights in a row, but not so sure my wife will, I might have to figure a way to make this work). Someday I need to find a great New Mexico cuisine location other than pizza, and we need to find something great in Arizona, probably in Flagstaff or in Kingman, but at least we have good eats at the beginning of our trip (and on the end of the return trip).

(By the way, we didn’t eat there but my Aunt in Barstow says that the California Mexican Chain “Del Taco” started in Barstow California and that the Barstow locations taste different because they don’t actually belong to the chain of Del Tacos. We didn’t eat there but we hope to in the future and find out why Barstow Del Tacos are the best.)