EAGLES' REST

He Already Took Up Arms...

2012-02-02T13:13:00.005-06:00

I'd been working on a couple of posts about different topics, but hadn't been able to complete them over the past week or so. Today I figured out why.

Nothing out-of-the ordinary .. I just went back to Dr. Sorrell's office to get the second in a series of three injections in my right knee. My son Brian and I saw the Doctor a week ago and everyone's advice was to try the injections .. they worked early last year .. and see how the knee did, after. If the knee continues as it has been, then we'll probably have Dr. Sorrell replace it. He's the one who replaced my left knee in April of 2006, and it's been fine.

But surgical skills are neither the reason for the post, nor the reason I respect him as I do. That reason is reflected in the picture, of him and his family, up there on the right.

I knew he was a believer before I went to him years ago, although the reason I went was that his skill set made him the best around to replace my knee, according to friends in the medical field. But I never really expected to see the overt evidences of his faith in every room I've ever seen him in!

He has this incredible set of pictures of his kids, he and his wife, or all five of them, in every treatment room! And every one is representative of, and accompanied by, scripture verses.

There were six photos in the room where I met him this morning. So I snapped a picture of the one to my left .. arthritis in my neck makes it painful to look to the right. When he came in, the thought that struck me was my last post was about taking up arms (passive or active), I hadn't been able to replace that post yet, and here Dr. Sorrell did it years ago.

Note that, even though I call this a "passive" witness, there was a lot of work that went into them. The pictures seem professionally done, and the framing and the inclusion of the scriptures, is superb. He's obviously gone out of his way and spent a fair amount of money to get all those pictures done.

I mentioned to him, when he was done, that I was going to put the picture here, as a real-world evidence of an idea I expressed last time. That sparked a discussion about the pictures, and the wide variety of ethnicities and faith groups he treats in his practice. And what some of their reactions were (none of them hostile or mean, by the way). But he doesn't use them as a club to prompt "witnessing" to anybody.

In my mind, that's what makes them so powerful.

The Holy Ghost has the club, you know. Dr. Sorrell, on the other hand, has the medicine and the bandages. Just like you do.

Dr. Sorrell lets them know. We should, too.

Well done, Doc.

Time to Take Up Arms, Brethren

2012-01-25T14:55:00.005-06:00

Walk through your church parking lot some Sunday morning. Look at the cars, front plates (where the State only issues rear tags), bumper stickers, stick-on medallions, etc. I don't know about your church, but at the one I attend, I see a lot of College plates, bumper stickers for some political candidate or other, and stickers announcing their pride in a child or grandchild for attending this school or that one, or taking part in whatever activity.

Stuff about Jesus, not so much.

I've got a Jesus license tag on my own car .. the one that has a front license plate mount .. and a Fish Symbol on the car that doesn't. That's part of my two-fold thoughts about letting the world know Whom I serve.

When I spent a little time in Advertising, I learned there are two general types: Institutional and Promotional. Institutional tells of the existence of our organization and is aimed at building name familiarity ... say, for instance, the brightly lit soft drink machines sitting outside supermarkets. Everybody knows the Pepsi wave and the Coke script, and that's what that's about.

Promotional says "Look at this now .. this is happening".

I think of those two approaches as passive and active.

They say that "Baptism" is our" Identifying with Christ", but I don't buy that. If it is, in fact, that ... well ...it was visible only to the folks that were there. And we sure need to be doing more identifying, with Jesus, than that!

For me, one way to passively identify with Him is to always wear a Jesus collar pin. Something that shows His name or the cross. When I'm out without a collar, I'm usually wearing Witness Wear. Same deal. Identify me, to anyone who sees me, as a follower of Jesus. Yes, our demeanor in public must agree with that, but living a good life of kindness, benevolence, and caring is just a witness to a good life of kindness, benevolence and caring. When those are reflections of what the Holy Spirit has wrought in our life, that's a Spiritual matter, and the lost world cannot receive those for what they are.

1 Corinthians 2:14 says that.

So if you're hiding behind the cross, as it were, and maintaining that your faith is just a "private matter", come out of the closet and start making it plain to all you are in contact with, that you're a follower of Jesus.

It's amazing to me, how fruitful and enjoyable wearing those little pins has been! Just yesterday, at the funeral, the Director came over and spoke to me for awhile ... we've known each other for years ... and he said something nice about my pin. I asked him if the Funeral Home would let him wear a pin like that. He said yes; all they didn't allow was for employees to "push" their religion on clients. So I took the pin off, gave it to him, and he put it on his lapel. The cool part is that I've done that for years, and have no way of assessing what God might have done with the.

And I don't really care to know, unless God really wants to lift the veil and show me something. I'm blessed in just the doing.

As to Promotional, or Active things, that's what the picture up there is about. That's Kiki, our server today at the Fish Market Restaurant in Hoover. Now I must say I had a headache today, fairly bad, and I didn't feel like conversing or praying with anybody, but Peg had told me her order and gone to the restroom to wash her hands, when Kiki came to take our order. So I gave it to her, and then asked if there was anything we could pray for, in her life, when we blessed the food. She immediately brightened up, thought a moment, and laid out an important prayer concern for her. So Peg and I prayed for her as we had our blessing.

And it was a real blessing to us, too. She turned out to be as attentive, pleasant, effective server as I can recall, and the meal was just that much better.

I even forgot about my headache for the rest of the meal.

So ... what's more important in our life; passively identifying with Him, or actively telling people about Him? Try thinking of it this way: How would you describe which wing on your airliner is more important to you?

To coin a corny old phrase: "It ain't either/or, it's both/and".

If we really believe it's the end times, it's never been more important to be about the Kingdom work, than it is right now. Today. And one thing's for sure: there's one less day to serve Him here ... the only place folks can get saved ... than there was yesterday.

Tennn - HUT!

Orderrrrrrrr ARMS!

Maybe It Really Can't Be Done

2012-01-07T20:55:00.004-06:00

There have been suggestions, and indeed motions made at the annual meeting, that the SBC should maintain a database of people convicted, or credibly accused, of sexual abuse or pedophilia .. or anything along those lines. There have been arguments on why they should, and reasons given why they shouldn't, do that.

Up until now, I've been a supporter of the SBC acting as a "clearing house" for such information. But as of this week, owing to a case right here, among people I have met and know, I'm not in favor of the SBC entertaining that idea. Here's why:

A case hit the news media this week, of a retired school teacher who had admitted molesting many children in the course of his teaching career. It's severe enough that I've seen articles in the national media, in newspapers in New York City and San Francisco, and even in a London-based news outlet. It's big news here, I guarantee you, moreso since the alleged (and apparently confessed) perpetrator's father is involved in local politics. And, further, faithful members of a local Southern Baptist Church.

I don't see any need to name names, here, to prove my point.

Here's the catch: back in 1992-1993, he was accused of this same thing. The school board held a "Termination Hearing" about it, looked into the matter, but decided there was not enough evidence to terminate his employment. Hence he was placed back in the classroom.

The local prosecutor presented the matter to a Grand Jury, who heard all the evidence from everywhere they could find it. I understand they were thorough in their job, but in the end, the Grand Jury refused to indict the teacher.

The local newspaper also reports that, in 1992, the accused was also a "30-year old youth minister" at their local Baptist church!

There are many, many details I won't go into, here, about how far-reaching the effects of this are .. and may well grow to be .. but you have the framework of the case: a teacher who was accused of molestation, whom the Grand Jury wouldn't indict and the School Board wouldn't terminate.

THE QUESTION IS: What if the SBC had already compiled a database of people convicted of, or credibly accused of, such predatory actions?

True, he was not primarily a church employee ... but I cannot imagine how a church could have used the information of the accusations to deny a position to him, without huge exposure to the SBC and to the church itself!

People have talked about this for 4 years that I know of, but now that I've bumped into a real life case, involving people I know, I've been forced to face the real issues with no hypothetical curtain behind which to hide.

Somehow, we keep thinking there ought to be a "nice" solution to all sins. Certainly forgiveness is the remedy for sin, and we know how that's attained, but as far as "good answers" for the results here, of our sin, sometimes there just aren't any.

Which further raises the specter that there may such far-reaching consequences of every sin. That every sin we commit is just as ugly, and just as damaging .. somewhere, sometime .. as the actions of the accused in this case. If that's true, then there are no "good answers" for us, either.

No wonder they call it "mercy". We surely don't deserve it.

Unanticipated Consequences

2011-12-22T09:43:00.007-06:00

I'm not a "name it it and claim it", or "word of faith" sort of guy. I just love to be surprised when God shows up and does something we didn't expect, and I am forced to admit that many times when He does that, spectacularly, even in response to prayer, it's a bit of a surprise.

See .. the secret to this thing, to doing Kingdom work down here, lies not in what we do. It's what God does .. things that only He can do .. after we've done what we can do. We don't "bully" God into anything. That can't be done, but God is faithful to manifest Himself in the lives of His servants, sometimes doing things above and beyond what we expect. Or has even entered into our minds.

That's a pillow up there in the picture .. one that was made by Peg's sister Janet. She sent it to Peg for Christmas, and is the only Christmas present that I recall bringing tears to Peg's eyes.

The pillow itself shows a picture that I took, most likely in the summer of 1964, and it shows Peg and her whole family on the patio of our first home in Carmel, Indiana. It might have been my birthday, or perhaps a Memorial Day or the 4th of July, but that's about when it was. Left to right are Helen, Anna Belle, Mildred, Peg's Mom and (step) Dad Mary & George, then Peg and her youngest sister Janet. Anna Belle, Mildred and Peg are hers, and Helen & Janet are theirs (Peg's father having died shortly before she was born).

I took the picture so I could have the picture, but had a couple of unintentional consequences. I'm so glad that I kept all those old slides and that I scanned this one into the computer and shared it with the family!

Janet printed the picture onto cloth and sewed it into the pillow.

The first unanticipated result is that the snapshot sort of became the definitive picture of the family into which I married. I am unaware of any other picture showing all 7 of them together. So I am really, REALLY glad I took the picture.

The other unanticipated consequence is the pillow itself. Little did I know when I sent that to Janet, that one result would be a treasure for my bride.

NOW. Isn't God a lot like that? We do what we do in His name, (in His name, authority or character) and we can see, usually, something happen right then. A hungry person has a meal, a family has a little brighter Christmas, or someone who's discouraged feels a little better about themselves. But what we can't see is the unanticipated consequences which may follow.

What God may do with what we do in His name.

Unless you can think of some limitations on God .. which I can't .. then there's no end to what He can do. And if that pillow has meaning for families which will exceed the length of the Christmas season, how much more can the hand of God accomplish, following what we do for Him, through all eternity?

So listen up, Sunday School teachers, nursery workers, preachers, witnesses, prayer warriors, all those involved in advancing the Kingdom. Take heart. You're doing a lot more than you're doing.

Just like Janet did more than just sew a pillow.

The Use of Subterfuges

2011-12-14T10:42:00.008-06:00

A little over 40 years ago, I was part of a group of 12 men from the Indianapolis area, involved in Spiritual training. Its name was "Shamgar", and it seems to be still going on. We met in a church camp about 85 miles from our homes, and spent one weekend a month there, for four consecutive months.

To say the time spent there was rewarding might just be the biggest understatement I have ever made. But one of the most interesting and impactful things wasn't really part of the training. It was a happy accident involving airlines and luggage.

Doug Snider came up from Texas each month to lead the training. The third month, we were scheduled to go out into the community and witness to folks, and were to use a "Spiritual Opinion Poll", for which Doug had a form prepared. But it was in the luggage that didn't make it to Indy, and we couldn't go back and get it as there wasn't time.

I'll never forget what Doug said...

"I guess God is teaching us something. That we are not to use any subterfuges to witness for Him. We're just going to go out as businessmen from Indianapolis, sharing our faith with people."

And that is precisely what we told people.

Surprise! Surprise! People were quite willing to talk to us about our faith. From professing Christians to unbelievers to Jehovah's Witnesses, they welcomed us into their homes. There were teachers, missionaries, plumbers, insurance salesmen, students, quite a cross section in our group ... and the welcoming attitude of folks surprised everybody there.

Ed Stetzer, in his book LOST AND FOUND.. did a lot of poll-taking. For a legitimate purpose. But I have yet to see where the local church, say in the F.A.I.T.H. program, is taking a legitimate poll while out on a visit. The aim is not to compile results to be used in guiding some future action; no, the aim is to share the gospel with unbelievers. While that's certainly a worthy goal, I doubt that misrepresentation in even the most seemingly innocuous form should be a part of that.

Claiming we're taking a "survey" or a "poll" is, to me, dishonest. And that is surely not worthy of someone out there representing the King of Kings. It borders on being ashamed of the gospel .. ashamed of simply telling people we're out and about, sharing it.

It's just not for me.

Could it be that things like that have led to the "shallowness" of the decisions that have been made over the last few decades, in the SBC? Might it account for the fact that most folks go through the "conversion" thing slick as can be, and then disappear?

I think it plays a big part in it.

The real joy we've found in sharing with servers in restaurants comes partly .. IMO .. from the fact that there's no subterfuge, no misleading, no reluctance to reveal we are believers and want to pray for someone. Other than one single case of seeming indifference, every single person has appreciated that we prayed for them.

And it also reinforces what Ed Stetzer's book revealed .. that folks are generally interested in Spiritual things, even though not interested in church.

And it crosses age barriers, too, as witnessed by the young lady who wrote on our check: "Thank you for bringing some light to my day. have a blessed day!"

Which brings me back to my original question: Is there something we're afraid of? Or worse yet, something we're ashamed of?

May it never be, for me and my house.

First Be A Friend

2011-12-13T20:17:00.008-06:00

I've long been against any sort of subterfuge, salesmanship, or any other inducement to "use" on folks to get them to listen to the gospel, make a decision, or commit to something. I firmly believe that it's the Holy Spirit's job .. expressly so .. to convict people of their sin, and I also believe we bite off a ton of trouble when we try to do that ourselves.

I know of one church that, in a block party sort of setting, offered a particular food treat to folks, if they would first sit through a gospel presentation. Followed by the usual challenge to make a decision. I find that distasteful.

I know of another pastor who works hard on building friendships with people in his community, before confronting anyone with the gospel. He lets God arrange those situations, and I see a lot of positive (and somewhat remarkable) results from what he's been doing.

Picture a mundane, worldly illustration. First case: Someone calls at your door, and says he's noticed the smoke from your chimney, and suggests you need a new furnace. He has all the promises of quietness, increased efficiency, and comfort that only his product can bring. And he has all the challenging questions (known in the sales business as closing techniques) to "help" you make a positive decision.

As opposed to that, let's say your house has been less comfortable than it has been, spotty heating, noisy, fuel bills increasing, etc. One of your best friends is a furnace installer so you ask him how to solve your problem. Your trusted friend offers his advice.

Which do you prefer? Which one do you think will lead to years of satisfaction with the result, without those nagging questions about whether we made the right choice?

Consider this: using the evangelism programs and approaches that SBC'ers have, in the past, has built a church in which somewhere between 60% and 80% of the "deciders" in past years, are now unhappy with their decisions. Judging by the folks we can't find, that is. Church members who joined on our terms and placed themselves under the authority of the local body, and have simply disappeared.

That sounds more like the record of an aluminum siding salesman, than that of a body which has the solution to the biggest problem man ever will have.

This thought came washing over me after lunch, early this afternoon. We'd stopped at a well-known chain eatery .. sit-down variety .. and ordered our food. We asked our server if we could pray for him when we blessed our food; he said "nah .. everything's fine...".

After he'd brought our food, he came back over to refill the glasses and I asked him if he was a career server, or had he done something else before the economy went South. He explained he'd always been in the restaurant business, and named several restaurants in which he'd been in management.

Next trip, we talked some more, and he said his wife had worked on several college degrees, then had kids, got her degrees, and had a really good job now. And that he had been thinking about updating his resume and maybe would look into getting back into management (rather than working two jobs to keep up his income).

Kicker is, a server with whom we prayed last time we were there, came over and said hi, and we talked a bit about how things were going with her. We had a nice chat, and it was really heartwarming to see evidence that the simple act of praying for her .. and her arthritis .. a few weeks ago had meant something real to her. I'm hoping maybe she and the server we talked to today, will compare notes one of these days.

But we will be back for lunch there, sometime soon.

We're not exposed to a lot of "outside" lost folks any more. Most of the folks we see week after week, are church folks. So there's a temptation to smack every stranger with the gospel, but you know, I don't recall that ever doing anything in my Christian life. The last 48 years or so.

But among friends?

I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a little more friend-making in the coming days. It sure has been fun, so far.

This all isn't just feelings in the back of the neck, as it were. From my recollection of reviewing Ed Stetzer's book "LOST AND FOUND ... The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Are Reaching Them", the folks they interviewed were quite amenable to hearing about and discussing Spiritual matters, but not "with a church". And they also desired friendships with folks of the older generation, but not with "the church". Sounds like that plays the same song as what I've been feeling.

No Room

2011-12-08T09:35:00.009-06:00

Our Pastor, last Sunday, made reference to the fact that, when Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem, there was no room at the inn. That, of course, relegated them to sleeping .. and giving birth .. in the stable. And, I'd heard that story for 50 years or so, always in the light of how tragic it was, and how indicative of a world that generally gives Jesus no room in their hearts.

Well, I can't argue about that last part, but I have suddenly come to see that whole stable deal as quite expectable, and not unlike what might have happened today.

I ran into my Pastor in the hall at church last night and asked why that would have been considered a tragedy. He correctly pointed out that it was the King of the world about to be born, and there was no room for him. I then asked whether it might be an expectable thing that, showing up unannounced at an inn, in a city that would have been busy with folks coming in for the big event (the enrollment .. not the birth), one might find all the rooms taken.

I don't think if the average pastor were to drop in at a Holiday Inn, without reservation, that he'd view it as any sort of plot against Christianity, were they out of rooms for the night.

And that got me to thinking ... who did God announce the event to, anyway? To my knowledge, only two groups ... the Magi (or wise men), and the Shepherds. And what was their reaction? They dropped everything and came to see. And quite some distance, in the case of the Magi.

So I am forced to conclude that God wanted those two little groups to know of the miraculous birth, but conversely, God did not want the rest of the world to know that Mary was giving birth to God in the flesh, that evening!

That's not a very helpful thought for a Calvinist who's trying to fit into a Baptist culture! God being select in revelation?

Personally, I think the innkeeper that evening found favor with God. He had an inn full of folks and he was honorable enough not to toss anyone out into the street to make room for Mary & Joseph. Sure, he probably would have, had he known, but how could he have known Who it was that was about to be born?

He couldn't. Unless God revealed it, and God didn't do that.

On purpose.

In fact, the innkeeper did give them a place to stay. A stable, but he really didn't have to do that! He could have just sent them packing....

There's a perfect dichotomy set up in the story of Jesus birth, life and death. Birth in the most humble circumstances imaginable, death in the most humiliating way known, and a life completely invested in others.

Followed by a seat at the right hand of God.

How completely fitting for the Servant King, and all the more reason for me to shun any "honor" man can bestow on earth.

So .. I say "Well done, Innkeeper, well done". I hope you didn't beat yourself up over the whole deal, if you ever came to know what happened that night in your stable. You had a big role in the Greatest Play ever.

Separate. Apart. Different. Worthy Of Mention.

2011-11-23T09:17:00.014-06:00

For more years than I can remember, casual use of the word "God" has always struck a bad chord in my soul. Even before I was in church, in the Bible, trying to follow Jesus, something about jokes that used His name, or the movie with George Burns that used His name, or casual expressions referring to Him have simply seemed wrong. There are lots of completely "clean" jokes around that refer to God (or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit) doing this or that, even some intended to prove a valid spiritual point. But they've still rubbed me the wrong way, even when I didn't know why.

This morning, someone put up a verse on Facebook that rang my bell .. that spoke to me and said "Here's why......":

1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

I looked up the word "sanctify". Strong's Online says "set apart from profane things .. purify .." (among several other things, but let's look at those things).

But first, let's play those thoughts against the third commandment:

Deuteronomy 5:11: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

"Vain" means "emptiness, nothingness, vanity, worthlessness..". When I consider Who God is, what He has done, what He IS doing, and what He is capable of, how dare I use that name unless I am talking about the God Who spoke the universe into existence, set in motion a plan to save mankind from hell when Adam & Eve sinned, sacrificed His own Son for me, gives meaning and purpose to my life that I could never have dreamed in years gone by, and Who holds such promise for the future of even the oldest among us?

I can't.

Back to the verse in 1 Peter. My reluctance to use His name without purpose .. without using His name in accordance with HIS purposes, not mine .. cannot be based on any sort of fear that I'll insult Him, or somehow "get it wrong". My use of His name must come from a heart that's in tune with Him .. a heart that's called according to His purposes. From a heart filled with admiration of my Heavenly Father, not filled with fear of a tyrant.

This rant isn't about talking about God less .. it's about talking about Him for Who He truly is. Oh, that we'd do that all the more.

Maybe it's about being salt and light. Perhaps "salt & light" isn't about how much we're rubbing the world the wrong way. Perhaps it's being the seasoning that enhances the sweet taste of heavenly forgiveness and earthly purpose. That points people to Living Water.

I'm out of the closet. Talking to restaurant servers about things of the Spirit, wishing folks at Walmart a "blessed day" instead of a good one, telling the greeter at Home Depot that any day I have Jesus, I WILL "Have a good day".

And it's been more fun .. more uplifting for me .. than I would ever have imagined.

Thanks, Tony, for posting that verse this morning. You made my day.

Eden. And Consequences

2011-11-05T11:40:00.011-05:00

So, anyway, I was sitting at the kitchen table, helping Peg make some cole slaw. After I'd stirred up the dressing, she brought me the cabbage, so I could finish chopping it.

We've got one of those things that has a handle on it, with a circular cutting blade on the other end, and you just pound on the stuff you want to chop up. Peg had already cut up the cabbage with a knife, so it was (comparatively) easy chopping. After a few minutes' at that, I stopped to rest my shoulder, and let the pain (the right shoulder is "shot" due to arthritis .. well .. that's the technical term my doctor used, anyway...) subside, and Peg noticed. She asked if my wrist hurt and I told her it was my shoulder and she said "Oh .. I forgot", and said the cabbage was OK; that I'd done good.

We finished the slaw, then.

That got me to thinking about the travails that Jesus mentioned, in this life, and that took me back to the Garden of Eden. A couple of thoughts then connected, that hadn't, before this morning.

When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God immediately swooped in and changed everything. He changed the ground rules, He changed some of the rules about how the race would be continued, and how man would feed himself and his family. And nearly everything else that touched them in their lives on earth. Illnesses, sins, persecutions, and all.

First thought .. the one I'd had for some time: God's action was redemptive. If it had been punitive, God would either have simply taken their lives, consigning them immediately to outer darkness, or He wouldn't have done anything at all, simply letting them go to their deaths unredeemed. But God didn't do that; He was consistent with His redemptive purposes, and set in motion a plan for the redemption of mankind, that ended at a Cross and an Empty Tomb.

So the redirection of Eve's interests, the pain in her childbirth, and Adam's assignment to toil & sweat, were the actions of a redemptive God.

The twofold thought that came my way via chopping cabbage was this: first, not only was God's assignment for Adam & Eve redemptive, it was also perfect preparation for eternity. And, if God is at all consistent, then, similarly, the trials, tribulations, and sufferings of this life are God's perfect preparation, in us, for eternity!

I don't know about you, but I do want to be prepared, God's way, for Heaven!

Some time ago, a dear friend had an unexpected problem crop up in education. One which produced no small amount of anguish. I asked "What if this is exactly what God had in mind for you?"

Wow. That thought seemed very meaningful, and certainly ended the outward evidences of disturbance in my friend. Well, maybe that was the tip of the iceberg, in this line of thinking. That everything we experience in this life is perfect preparation for our life in eternity. That there are no extraneous troubles, or whimsy, coming from God's direction.

Of course, I'm not talking about the earthly results of our willful sin, but even then, God is still, always, redemptive.

I happen to think that, once Ananias and Saphira got to Heaven, they would've seen what the results of their sin might have been, and been thankful to God that He took them out of there before more damage could accrue.

We're blessed folks. Enjoying a good retirement, to the thanks and praise of God; we've generally had good health. I've got arthritis which bedevils me every day, but that's just pain. And there was that prostate cancer, which was taken care of .. thus far .. by a gracious God acting through a small army of doctors.

Peg's had breast cancer several times .. she's been clean for years now but still bears the after-effects of a double mastectomy .. and she has plenty of aches and pains, too.

But, in the context of being God's perfect preparation, of us, for eternal life in His presence, with none of these problems there, how could we do anything other than rejoice in our infirmities?

We can't.

Let us know if you think of a way.

GPS Faith?

2011-10-31T20:43:00.006-05:00

Peg and I were visiting with CB & Karen Scott today .. she's in the hospital for some treatment .. and we were discussing various things in our church, his church, the SBC, churches in general, and particularly those which link salvation to an event like an invitation.

My interpretation of those churches, by the way, is that they see the Great Commission as "Go therefore, and make believers of all nations...", without much emphasis on discipleship. Support for that thought comes via the obvious ease with which most folks can join a SBC church: Walk the aisle, say the prayer and take the plunge .. or say you've done that elsewhere .. and you're in. It's added to by the simple fact that 10,000,000 or 12,000,000 people we call "members", who are not even at church on Sunday, probably aren't undergoing much discipleship. Not to mention discipline (for non-attendance).

We were acquainted with that phenomenon from Peg's youth, in fact. When we first walked into FBC Pelham, under a mistaken impression, by the way, she said immediately she didn't want to join a Baptist church. She said she'd been saved at age 13 in FBC of Lebanon, Indiana, and that once she walked the aisle, said the prayer and was baptized, it was almost as if they forgot her. Sort of a "love'em and leave'em" approach. No discipleship, no development, nothing.

I know in our church, whatever someone comes forward to do, it has to be done in 2 or 3 or 4 stanzas of the invitation hymn. It's our custom to "present" those folks to the congregation before the service is over. I know that's customary in our church, and perhaps in most, but I can't for the life of me figure it out.

Perhaps it stems from the same place as the resistance to requiring those wanting to join our church, to attend "New Members Classes" to learn about the Baptist faith, our particular church, what Baptists believe, how they might be gifted, and where they might find a place of service in our fellowship.

The aim of salvation can't be only making it to heaven. That's the place dead believers go. The goal of the church ought to be to direct people to abundant lives, here and now. Jesus Himself said He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. It seems to me it'd take some instructions on how to go about that.

When you buy your spouse or child or grandchild a present, don't you try to find something they want?. I'm sure you do, and similarly I think Jesus wants us to want an abundant life. Helping believers attain one of those seems a major part of discipleship, and not just a "whew .. that's over" acknowledgment of salvation.

My term for those non-attenders, and others who do not grow in the faith via involvement in the local church, was expressed as "GPS Faith". As in navigation systems, like the one above.

I've had a GPS system in one of my cars for a number of years, and when I'm going somewhere I've not been, or am not familiar with, I use it regularly. And what I've noticed is that, when I get to my destination, I know how I got there ... "Turn right ... turn left in 3.5 miles ... take the next left turn...", but I don't know much about the landscape. Can't recall much of the trip. As if I just left that all up to the voice in that little box.

In my Prius, it's a pleasant enough young lady, but in my Tom-Tom unit in my S10, it's something like an angry Jamaican Rasta. And hilarious.

We don't need a shortcut to the finish line. There are things to do all along the way, and we need to be doing them.

I'll use my GPS in the car. But I refuse to use one in my life. After all, the journey is the most important thing in my life.

It doesn't need to be flown on "automatic pilot".

We Couldn't Be Happier....

2011-10-29T15:27:00.006-05:00

...and she couldn't be prettier.

Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to Kami Smith. Earlier today, our grandson Matthew asked Kami to marry him.

She said yes.

They've been seeing each other for about 2 years, and both she and Matthew are faithful members of SBC Pelham. Kami also teaches 4th Grade Girls' Sunday School, and she works full time in a Day Care Center. She's also come to lunch here after church on many, many Sundays .. that's a family tradition with us.

If I have any sensitivity about people at all, she's just as real and genuine as she looks in the picture, and she and Matthew will make a terrific young couple.

And, on another front, we have yet another reason to rejoice. The engagement ring she's wearing was my Mother's. Peg and I are really fond of Kami .. I guess it's OK to say we love her, now .. and will really look forward to having her formally a part of the Cleveland family.

Even though we're a pretty informal bunch.

Congratulations, Matthew. Congratulations, Kami. We're proud of both of you.

(Even if it does give rise to the possibility that, one of these days, Peg will be married to a GREAT-GRANDFATHER.)

Where The Rubber Meets The Road...

2011-10-20T22:15:00.001-05:00

...Or maybe "Where The Steel Meets The Dirt".

The picture over there is my father, probably taken in the late 40's or early 50's, and I'm guessing at the Mesabi Iron Ore Range in Minnesota. I believe I recall him telling me about that.

But first, a word of explanation. Dad attended Depauw University for 2 years, and got what we'd likely call an "Associates' Degree" in Metallurgy. He then got a job as a Stock Records Clerk, at Holiday Steel Warehouse in Indianapolis. Cutting to the chase, he became one of the nation's more respected experts in metallurgy, including teaching Metallurgy at the Purdue University Extension in Hammond, IN, during WWII.

One of the things that set him apart from some of the more "academic" metallurgists, I suppose, was his practical, in-the-field knowledge of metals. That's probably why they'd called him to the field to see the steam shovel bucket pictured here; I imagine there was some problem with it, cracks, excessive wear, or some such, requiring my dad's expertise.

I recall one time a customer of Holiday threatened to return an expensive shipment of steel because of alleged defects. The customer's metallurgist told the owner they couldn't properly heat-treat (harden) the steel to fit the specifications they'd furnished Holiday. Dad went to the site, got the owner, the metallurgist, their best welder, a garden hose, and a piece of the suspect steel and went to the driveway. Dad asked the welder to heat the steel until Dad recognized the proper heat level, and then played the hose stream on it. He then told the metallurgist to go test it for hardness.

The driveway-treated steel exceeded the specifications, and the owner reversed his stand. He also fired the metallurgist.

There was a lot of money involved!

Dad also related several other instances where his kind of "rubber-meets-the-road" expertise got both his employer, and many a customer, out of a real jam.

*********************************************************************************

On quite another front, we've been studying a new course written by Ken Hemphill, about Spiritual Gifts. The course centers around 1 Corinthians, and in chapters 12-13-14 of that book of the Bible, Paul spends considerable time correcting the thinking of the folks in Corinth, about Spiritual Gifts, and what it means to be a Spiritual person. And that's what sparked the idea in my (alleged) mind when I saw the photo up there. I see a lot of correct theology and sound Spiritual knowledge floating around the blogs, and in the SBC meetings I've been in, but a sadly large part of it seems to omit what Paul states is the real mark of the Spiritual man:

Love.

Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians, that whatever He did was little better than pagan worship, if it wasn't done in love. But I see a lot of things around blogdom, and done at conventions, that don't seem to be expressions of one Christian's love for another. And wasn't that what Jesus said would be the "identifier" of His followers? His disciples?

I've been an observer of SBC goings-on for about 6 years now, and unless I'm wrong, far too much of what goes on isn't done in that spirit.

For us mortal humans, that sort of love is reckless behavior. It can cost us. It can make us look like fools. But I don't think that's supposed to be a criterion, is it?

We're going to be around a lot of followers of Jesus, when we're in heaven. It'd really be nice if all the ones we'd known here were ones we'd treated with the kind of love that Jesus referred to in His "new commandment", which He gave His disciples at what we refer to as the "Last Supper":

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another".

"As I have loved you ..". Wow. That's a tall order, but I don't recall His telling us to do anything that He didn't .. and doesn't .. also enable us to do.

I recall my "Aunt Jessie" .. not really my Aunt, by the way .. who was perhaps the most loving lady I've ever met. The dominant picture of her, in my mind, as I think of her is of her, sitting in her overstuffed chair in her bedroom (she was a semi-invalid), reading her Bible and listening to the local Christian radio station in Indianapolis. She had the "Sallman Head" picture of Jesus on the wall, and a picture of one of the DJ's on the Christian station .. to whom she'd written .. on her nightstand. And I never ever heard her say an unkind or unloving word about anyone else.

Fine theology is a good thing, but if it doesn't affect us down where the rubber meets the road .. or where the steel meets the dirt .. then it's nothing more than the resounding gong that Paul so aptly described.

Restaurants Aren't Just About Food

2011-10-07T15:32:00.010-05:00

OR.......

Why wouldn't we, (part zweihunderd)?

At least, it wasn't just about food today. I'd mentioned a couple days ago I was hungry for fish, and as Bonefish Grille is one of Peg's favorites, that's where we found ourselves at lunchtime today.

The hostess mentioned who our server was to be, shortly followed by a young lady who approached us, mentioned the server's name, but said she could take our drink orders. So we gave them, and when she brought the tea & water, I asked what her name was. She told me it was Ambree, and after asking her to spell it for me .. it's a bit unusual, in case you hadn't noticed .. I said we were going to be blessing our food, and was there anything we could pray for, on her behalf?

Her mouth dropped open and she said something like "no WAY!!", and then explained that her pastor had told her, in church, that people were apt to ask her that, now that she worked in a restaurant. She told him "Nobody's EVER done that!" .. and she'd been there a bit over 2 months.

Well, somebody has, now. And, by another stroke of luck (...), someone apparently noticed and she was assigned then as our server.

We had a delightful hour of food (courtesy of Bonefish Grille) and conversation (courtesy of Ambree). We found out she's studying dental hygiene now, with an eye toward eventually becoming a dentist. She also mentioned she's only 19, and that Bonefish Grille does not normally hire 19-year-old servers, but they made an obvious exception for her. She said she was one of five applicants for the job, they only hired two, and she'd really prayed that she'd get the job.

Does the term "God-appointed time" seem obvious here?

It was a great lunch and a great time of fellowship with a young Baptist girl .. she goes to Reno Baptist Church in McCalla, AL. And I just noticed their pastor is Roasco Kornegay; hmm ... wonder if he's related to Barry Kornegay, our FBC Deacon Chairman.

This talking about God and Jesus and prayer and church just keeps getting better and better!

So, if you're not doing something like this, I'll ask it again:

WHY WOULDN'T WE?

But it wasn't just about having a good time, either. The last thing she said as she was walking away with my completed & signed ticket was to thank us and say "You sure turned around my day!"

Wish I'd had the presence of mind to tell her it wasn't me .. it was the One Who sent us there. The same One Who sends you....

I BET YOU DO....

2011-10-04T05:59:00.006-05:00

Do what?

I'll get to that in a minute.

We Americans are prone to accomplish things. We think in terms of cause & effect, and take a certain pride in what we accomplish. Building, going, doing, earning, etc. Sure, we acknowledge that our blessings come from God, when we are reminded of that, but still.....

On the other hand, we tend to ask "Why me?" when something bad happens to us. Or .. you know the old interrogatory mantra .. "Why do bad things happen to good people?". Well, that one's easy to answer: bad things happen to good people because bad things happen to people. And "good people" are still people.

It isn't as if God didn't warn us about that.

The picture up there is a sort of sign I spotted on Facebook, and immediately stole. It brought me up short, and I re-posted it on FB. But this morning, at 5:54 a.m. .. when I couldn't sleep any longer, I knew I had to write about it.

Actually, about something I've noticed for years.

The Bible is pretty clear that every good thing comes from God. That He holds all things together by His powerful Word. Yet, despite that, we ask "Why me?" when trials, illnesses, tribulations, tragedies and the like, come our way. But what we don't usually do is ask "Why me?" when good things happen to us. And that prompts me to ask the question I answered in the title:

"Do you know, or know of, anyone who works harder, is smarter, or is a "better person", than you, who has less .. who's less blessed .. than you?"

I do, and I bet you do, too. And that ought to prompt you to ask "Why ME?"

The answer to that question is that God loves you. And He is gracious. I cannot account for why He is the way He is, but I rejoice in it, every day. And you should, too.

If you have placed your faith in Christ in the manner described in the Gospel.

Coming on the day after I found out my PSA is still zero, and my abdominal CAT scan was normal, I'm aware more than ever: I ask way more than I thank. And I need to fix that.

Now.

Meet Megan

2011-10-03T14:18:00.005-05:00

That's what we did, shortly before noon today.

We had to go out to our favorite home improvement (**cough cough homedepot cougncough**) store just before noon, and Peg suggested we stop at the Golden Rule BBQ here in Pelham. We hadn't been there in a while, so we did.

The young lady in the picture is Megan .. and I acknowledge I may be spelling that wrong, as we're not "with it" on all the current spellings .. who was our server. And she did an excellent job. She also stood in front of .. in the picture at least .. a sign for Joe's Italian Restaurant, our favorite Italian place, at least this side of Italy. Where we've never been anyway.

When she brought the food, I asked her for her name, and she told me. I then said we were going to bless the food and was there anything we could pray about, for her? She brightened up and said yes, she was starting Nursing School tomorrow. So we had a little prayer time, her standing right there, and asked God to bless her becoming a nurse, and some other stuff like that.

We chatted on an off for the rest of the meal, and found out she's got two little children, and goes to church at the Lutheran Church in Riverchase. Well, small world time .. that's the church that we'd arranged to meet in, 25 years ago, when we started the Riverchase Baptist Mission. Nobody came that day, so we re-grouped, started a Sunday School class in our church, for folks in Riverchase, and when the group got big enough, they rented some space in Riverchase .. a planned community .. itself, and off they went.

We had a great time chatting with Megan, and it kept putting that idea back in my head that's been rattling around ever since Dennis Nunn was here. Why wouldn't somebody want to just talk to folks like that?

I didn't, for too long. Thank God that time's over, now.

Seriously. Thank God.

God, a Bus Driver, and Five Pictures

2011-09-29T19:35:00.003-05:00

Anybody who's been looking at my blog in the past year, or anyone who's a Facebook friend, or anybody who lives within shouting distance knows we went on what we called our "Great Alaska & Pacific Northwest Adventure" in June & July of last year. I blogged about that, put photos in an album on FB, and even blogged about Jay Gunsolley, our bus driver/tour guide on the Pacific NW portion of our trip. I even went so far as to put all 4,757 photos into one folder on my computer, so the Screen Saver could just randomly roll through the whole trip; I watch it whenever what's on the TV 3' to my right doesn't hold my attention. But then, something about the photos, and Jay, caught my attention. Let's chase this rabbit for a minute.....

In the first photo, below, we'd just gotten on the bus at the pier in Seattle, after getting off the cruise ship. That's Jay, in front, telling us who he was, what he'd be doing, and where we'd be going. Very interesting, plain spoken, the kind of good communicator that, if you like anybody at all, you immediately like. Whenever we looked in His direction, there he was, doing his job. And he'd been given plenty of information about the route on which he was taking us .. not his usual tour .. and he played a big part in the enjoyment of the trip.

Now, in the next photo, he's doing his job, and he's in plain sight there .. we usually sat in the front row, and he drove along, explaining .. much of the time .. what we were seeing. Whenever we looked at anything in his direction, there he was. And I might add, a most competent driver and worthy of our trust.

In the next couple photos, he's still doing his job. And we can still see him there, although not directly. Even when we couldn't see him directly, we could see his reflection. Sometimes, in the mirror, clearly, and sometimes, reflected off the windshield. Fainter, not as clear, but nonetheless we could see him there, doing his job.

Now, in the last picture, we can't see him at all. In this picture, we're crossing a bridge over a stream in Yellowstone, complete with waterfall, and we're still aware of Jay's presence.

What struck me in these photos, in particular, was that Jay was ever-present, at work, taking care of us, even though the visibility of his presence varied by the circumstances, and also by where we were looking, and whether we were looking for him. And, in the last photo, even though we couldn't see him, we knew he was there.

Why? Because we were there! Had he not been present, we wouldn't have been there at all!

That reminds me of God, in all His Persons. Sometimes openly giving us instructions, sometimes in plain sight, sometimes visible as we are looking at something else. And sometimes not visible at all, even though we know He's here.

Why?

Because we're here, that's why.

So .. What IS In A Name?

2011-09-23T10:24:00.006-05:00

What's in a name? I have no idea, and I really don't care. But, seemingly, the messengers to multiple Annual Meetings have cared.

The issue has apparently arisen before .. appoint a committee to study the name by which the SBC is known, and make recommendations to the Convention as a whole. I understand that's been voted down more than once. IF that's the case...

Messengers were saying "I don't care about the work .. whether the name poses any hindrance in other areas besides the South .. whether the roots in the by-products of the issue of slavery negatively affect the work ... whether "Baptist" has negative baggage which hinders the work everywhere (among non-Baptists)" .. and on this last matter I can speak with some knowledge. Speaking as an ex-Methodist and ex-Presbyterian ... 3 different Presbyterian denominations at that .. I can tell you it does. I don't know a lot of jokes about either of those denominations, but I sure do about Baptists, for instance.

Would a name change further the SBC's role in the Kingdom work? I have no earthly idea.

Would it be expensive? Probably, but as long as we see God as our source of supply, that's surely no problem.

BUT: for the Convention assembled to say "We don't want to know those things .. we value our name more than the downside of any of that" ... just affirms the wisdom of one of my favorite Despair.com posters:

"NONE OF US IS AS DUMB AS ALL OF US"

Sweetness: Heavenly Variety

2011-09-19T13:04:00.011-05:00

The picture over there is what was left of my bowl of Stauffer's Chicken Teriyaki Peg fixed for lunch. At least, as of the time a particular thought struck me.

There's none left now, of course.

The thought that interrupted my train of unthinking eating was this: the first bite of the Chicken Teriyaki, I remarked to Peg how sweet it was (which I really, really like). But when I got to the point at which I took this picture, I'd noticed I couldn't discern the sweetness any more. I'm sure you've noticed .. how great that first bite of steak is... or the first spoonful of banana pudding .. or the first mouthful of whatever your favorite food is .. but then, by the end of the dish, the gustatorial ecstasy has usually faded.

It's like that with other stuff, too. When Peg first was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, we made it a point to go away somewhere, together, just the two of us, during the week between our anniversary (3/13) and her birthday (3/20). Some of the places we went: Cancun, Ocho Rios, Germany, St. Thomas, Costa Rica, St. Martin, and Ste. Maarten (different countries on the same island). But we haven't gone away in several years, now.

Why not?

Well, travel has, frankly, kind of lost its thrill. Yes, we did go to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest a year ago, but that was by way of taking a vacation we'd signed up for 10 years ago, but we had to cancel when Peg had to have some surgery at just the wrong time (vacationally speaking). But this year, we talked & talked about a vacation, and couldn't think of anywhere we really wanted to go.

The "thrill of it all" had faded.

I've noticed the related thrills, of new cars, new houses, new tools, etc, have faded, too.

Now all that's sort of a given in my mind as we were chowing down on the Chicken Teriyaki, but when I got to the Kodak Moment (I wonder if kids today have any idea where that one came from..), the thought that hit me was this: matters of the Spirit haven't lost one iota of their sweetness. In fact, quite the opposite. The old hymn that says "the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows" takes on real meaning when the things of the world have sort of universally lost their "sweetness", particularly if you're really serving Him.

Frankly, when I was just sitting in a pew, that hymn didn't mean much at all. But lately, say the last 20 years, and primarily through the media of teaching and personal ministry, it just keeps getting better and better.

In making sure of the words to the hymn, I happened across (that's a pseudonym God sometimes uses when He doesn't want to sign His own Name, you know....) this video that's worth watching. Check it out .. you're going to love it.

If you're serving Him, that is.

Doing What We Can

2011-09-15T22:28:00.000-05:00

The picture over there was taken June 26th last year, while Peg and I were on the Alaska Cruise. It shows me with Art Metrano, who is a long-time comedian and actor.

If you saw any of the Police Academy films, Art played Lieutenant Mauser. I'd gone to the gym on the ship the second day, to work out a little, and saw him there in a wheelchair, being pushed by an attendant nurse. Our eyes met so I walked over and said "You look familiar"; he said "That's because I am!".

He then told me who he was and a bit of his background, TV appearances, etc. Being the natural social-climbing name-dropping sort that I am, I asked the attendant to take my picture with him. So she did.

On the last night of the cruise, Peg and I had opted to have high tea at the Princess Hotel in Victoria, B.C. We saw Art there again, and I got another picture of him. He seemed like a really nice guy.

Unfortunately, in 1989, he fell off a ladder in his home, injured his spinal cord, and has been in a wheelchair ever since.

I recently read that he's started touring with a new one-man comedy show. He's titled it "Jews Don't Belong On Ladders .. An Accidental Comedy". From what I've read, he's raised substantial dollars for Project Support For Spinal Cord Injuries via his show.

I have to say that, in this time of such abundant publicity for drug-saturated and self-serving "stars", it was really refreshing to meet Art. Whereas he could be holding a pity party in his wheelchair, he's out doing what he can do, and seemingly having a good time doing it.

Not to mention making a difference in the lives of folks .. now or someday .. with spinal cord injuries.

I hope to see him again, some day.

So .. how about us? Are we determined to do what we can? Particularly in the Kingdom work? Do we look at others and think we can't do what they do, so we don't try anything? That thought is, in fact, the subject matter of Ken Hemphill's new Study Course, "You Are Gifted". God has assembled the body of Christ with the folks He wants in it, and with all the analogies to the body and the importance of the various parts to the operation of the whole body, you'd think it's obvious that everyone would want to be involved. But, sadly, they're not.

I have no idea the reason. Maybe it's "easy believism" and the resultant plethora of "believers" dressed in the wrong clothes, so to speak. Maybe it hasn't been made plain from pulpits. Perhaps the message (which I believe originated with Paul Washer) that "Christianity promises 2 things ... Eternal life and a cross to die on." hasn't reached the folks.

I don't know. But I know this: when we do what we can, God intervenes and blesses.

As lousy an example of a "committed Christian" as I am, let me share one little vignette that happened to Peg and me as we had lunch today. The gent on the right is Melvin, who works at Louie's Fine Foods, a cafeteria here in Pelham, where we went for lunch today. Melvin is the guy who takes your tray, takes it to your table, unloads it, arranges things, makes sure you have silverware & napkins, and keeps your glasses full.

I tried to get a better picture of him, but he doesn't stand still enough to do that.

After he unloaded our stuff, we asked if we could include any prayer requests for him when we asked the blessing. He brightened up bigtime .. and he's always really cheerful .. and asked that we pray the God would continue to bless him. He remarked that sometimes we get so busy with trying to get more things that we don't give thanks for the blessings God has already given us.

He then mentioned that he had been told by the doctor that he had congestive heart failure, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from being blessed by God.

It's such a little thing to do .. takes two or three seconds .. asking if you can pray for someone. But, today, it brought us huge blessings.

It'd be easy to feel really good about that, but when I think about all the things I didn't do today, I find I don't have much to be proud of.

All of which speaks to me of a God who loves us so much, and in such a manner, that He is ready to bless our socks off when we just do something we can do in advancing the Kingdom.

Is it just me, or does that seem to be a closely-held secret?

Sometimes Wisdom is Just Seeing and Asking

2011-09-13T16:10:00.003-05:00

You need to go read this.

I have met Guy Muse several times at SBC meetings, and he is indeed the real deal. He's a career IMB Missionary, as you'll see from his blog.

Go check it out.

The 3-In-One, Some People, And The Shack

2011-09-08T12:03:00.008-05:00

That thing-a-ma-jig over there is a Bissell 3-in-1 vacuum. It's actually sort of a dustbuster with an added handle you can affix on the top, and an attachment at the bottom that makes it into sort of a junior grade floor vacuum sweeper. And there's a crevice tool you can put in the same place as that attachment, which you can then use to suck up junk from furniture, auto upholstery, etc.

I bought it not because I could actually do all those things, but because it was only $14 and it was in the tool department at WalMart. And, well, I guess I did want to use it, as the area around my computer desk does get kind of messy with little bits of paper, paper clips and staples (still haven't figured out why that is, by the way...). Peg kind of wondered why I bought it, but I think she figured it out when I actually cleaned up around where I'm sitting right now, the same day I got it.

So .. why on earth am I blogging about this today? Actually, a couple of things.

One, the minor point, is the name. 3-in-1. And that reminded me of the Great Three in One.

Interesting.

But I noticed that after I'd decided to put up the post. The primary reason is what it's not.

It's not a vacuum cleaner, at least not in the normal sense. It's a little dustbuster sort of thing that I can keep by the desk, and take out to the car ... it's got a really long cord on it, by the way ... when I don't want to drag out the shop vac when the car gets about ankle deep in stuff like it does every few weeks (it seems). It'll do what I got it for, and that's good enough. In fact, it has already paid for itself, in my own mind.

And that brings me to The Shack ... Wm. Paul Young's controversial novel. It was written as a work of fiction, as a Christmas present for his children, when he couldn't afford to buy them anything. It is a work of fiction, should be viewed as such, and if there's anything spiritual that can be learned from it, then ... well, fine! But I've heard it excoriated by all manner of folks for inaccurate theology, despite the fact that it's not a theology book.

I wonder if those folks pitched similar hissies about Field of Dreams or It's a Wonderful Life..

I learned quite a bit from reading The Shack; unfortunately most of it was about other people. And it wasn't good, like the ideas about God that the book stirred in my soul.

One of my mentors, a long long time ago, gave me a particularly sage piece of advice. He said "Don't let what someone is not interfere with what they are. With what God may have, in them, for me! And the same thought applies to books and the like, as well.

And to vacuum cleaners, too, despite what some theologians may say.

We Ordered Lunch. He Brought Blessing.

2011-09-02T14:38:00.016-05:00

The young man in the photo over there, standing with his wife and daughter, is one Jeremy Fomby. He was our server today, at the Olive Garden Restaurant at the Riverchase Galleria.

Now, once again I need to mention that I'm really a shy guy, reluctant to speak first to strangers, all that sort of thing. So when Dennis Nunn mentioned asking our servers if there was anything in their life we could pray for, while we were asking God's blessing on our food, it didn't particularly ring my bell. Further, contrary to my nature, I've found it fun to ask servers about themselves, but heretofore not about Spiritual matters. We'd talk about things like is this their profession? Are they students? How long have they worked here? Stuff like that. Even that goes against my shyness, so to speak, so it's kind of a little victory when I go ahead and strike up a conversation.

The whole idea is analogous to my upcoming hernia repair surgery (next Tuesday): not that I'm going to enjoy going and doing it, but I know how much I'll enjoy having done it (in the past tense).

So, when Jeremy took our drink order (water, w/lemon, for both), I asked him if there was anything in his life we could pray about while we were asking God's blessing on the food. He brightened up and said yes, for his completion of college and success in his career. We asked, and made reference to Sports Fitness, personal training, things in that field.

He left but we did go ahead and thank God for Jeremy, asked for success in his field, and then asked His blessing on the food.

The whole meal was a delightful affair. The food was good, but we had a great time chatting with Jeremy, and about his church. Seems he goes to the New Life Evangelical Worship Center, and even mentioned he leads praise & worship there. It was at that point that something else struck me: he looks remarkably like Alphanso Blake, a good friend from Red Hills Baptist Church just outside Kingston, Jamaica. Al's a well-known Caribbean artist, having had art shows all over, and occasionally plays drums and leads worship at Red Hills. His picture is in one of my Facebook Albums, here.

We talked about lots of things, including our travels to Red Hills, and the fact that New Life Church in Bauska, Latvia, is another of my favorites. I did have to explain about the Soviet Union and all, as I'm not sure Jeremy was old enough (or even alive) to remember it.

We ordered lunch and asked one question. What we got was more food than we could eat.

Of both kinds......

High Attendance Sundays

2011-08-23T09:18:00.003-05:00

Every Sunday, we assemble at FBC Pelham in order to stimulate one another to love and good works. Included in that is the efforts by the pastor and teachers, to edify the congregation for the work of service, via preaching and teaching the Word of God. And that's not the best work, in my mind.

That's worshiping the God Who spoke the universe into existence. Adoring our creator and His Son. Letting the Holy Spirit refresh our souls, to prepare us for a closer walk with God.

Loving the brethren. Fellowshipping and showing that love. Making our lives available for others.

But then, churches also have "High Attendance Sunday", in which awards are given for highest percentage attendance, etc. It is that "promotion" in which I will not participate. See, in my alleged mind, the reasons I stated that we assemble on Sundays are all Biblical, and are the highest reasons I can imagine for the assembly. To do anything that indicates that the 3rd Sunday or whatever of such-and-such a month, we'll have a special reason for attending, is demeaning the reasons God sets forth, and in my mind, demeaning to God.

I told the SS class I taught for some years that, if we somehow had so many people show up on a Sunday that we won some sort of award, certificate, or plaque, that one of the members would have to go get it, if they wanted it. I didn't want any part of it.

I don't mind that churches do that. I'm not on the Church Activity Appropriateness Commission. Just don't ask me to be involved, please.

I won't.

Alpha and Omega, Family Style

2011-08-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

The China Cabinet over there is a pretty special piece. When Peg first graduated from High School and got a job as a typist at Wabash Fire & Casualty Insurance Company in Indianapolis, she bought the cabinet for her Mother, for her Mom's birthday a couple months after starting work. Her Mom had a decent collection of china, brought to her by her brother from Japan when he was there in the military shortly after WWII. Her Mom didn't have a good place to keep it, so Peg bought the cabinet for her. The first thing she was able to do for her parents, after she got a job.

When her parents had both died, and it came time to break up the household and distribute the estate, Peg got the china cabinet. Plus a couple of other items, one of which was the old chest of drawers I refinished a bit over a year ago. I blogged about that, here. Plus a Morris Chair which I re-finished and rehabilitated as a Christmas present for Peg, a number of years ago.

The coat rack .. I think some refer to it as a "hall tree", is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It was made by Peg's Daddy .. her stepfather .. George. As he advanced in age, his eyesight grew quite dim, and he could do less and less around the house. But, even though legally blind, he could still manage to make a few simple things in his workshop/garage.

The coat rack is the last thing he made for us.

George's was a triumphant life .. a triumph over a lot of adversities. Toward the end, Peg's Mom fell victim to Alzheimer's disease, and it broke our hearts to see George and how faithful he was to take care of his wife. And he did that, and did it well, even though legally blind. In this day of easy marriage and divorce, and commitmentless cohabitation, George & Mary and their devotion to each other was an inspiration to anyone who took the time to notice.

Two treasures. Two gifts of love. Alpha and Omega .. the first thing Peg could do for them, and the last thing they could do for us.

Peg and I are wealthy beyond anything the world will ever be able to measure. And my mind cannot even begin to measure the vastness of the treasure we have in God's love, but He is doing a pretty good job of showing it.

If we'll take the time to notice.

I Got Yer "Mysterious Ways" Right Here, Pal

2011-08-16T15:07:00.009-05:00

That's our Granddaughter, Meredith, in the picture over there. She's currently studying the last few courses which will complete her Master's Degree, already having earned her Bachelor's in Theology at Southeastern Bible College here.

Last school year, she was the After-School Director plus Drama Director for Evangel Christian School in Alabaster, and enjoyed the job. But that job did not materialize for this school year, so she's been sending out resumes, "looking for a job". God seems to have had other plans.

Mer (sounds like "mare") has desired a career in ministry, for many years now. In fact, the picture is her and a kid from Kenya, and was taken when she was there on a mission trip. But nothing was materializing, and there didn't even seem to be anything much on the horizon.

Then, about two weeks ago, a young man who has been in our church for several years, and was part of the "youth group" of which Mer was also a part, was killed in a tragic accident in Homewood. Most folks in the Birmingham area, in fact, heard the news reports of the young man working for the Homewood Parks & Recreation Board, who was killed when a Lawn Mower turned over, fell off a retaining wall, and fatally injured him. He was known as "Edge" in the group, and Peg & I were friend of his parents, as well. As Mer had been a friend of Edge's, she went to the funeral at FBC.

Another young lady, about Mer's age, who'd been in the group and a friend of Edge's, also came to the funeral, from her home in Tennessee. Her name is Amanda Grantham Sekulow.

Yes, that Sekulow. Her father-in-law is head of the American Center for Law and Justice .. the ACLJ .. and is involved in several other ministries also. And, she and Mer had talked since their youth days, about being in the ministry.

Mer and Amanda got to talking at the funeral: Mer said she needed a job, and Amanda said they were looking for an employee. One thing led to another, resulting in her driving to Franklin, TN, to interview for a job.

Mer made the trip last Thursday, interviewed, stayed with the Sekulows that night, and came back home the next day. The deal was made, Mer spent some time looking for an apartment, and she'll be moving there right after Labor Day.

So, folks, let me introduce you to Meredith Cleveland, VP/Director of Special Projects, working in G.L.A.M. .. Godly Leadership in Arts & Media, and also with the "Silver Screen Church" ministry there. Just today, she blogged about it, here.

Meredith went looking for a job. What she found was the Hand of God.

I love it when that happens.

So .. WHO CARES?

2011-08-15T13:34:00.008-05:00

As Christians we're blessed, in many ways. And, as a Christian, one is expected to share that blessing with others around.

I've often used the illustration of a leaky tank. If the pressure inside the tank is higher than the pressure outside, then what's inside is apt to come leaking out. IF, on the other hand, the pressure outside is greater than that, inside, then what's outside is apt to come leaking in.

Case in point: Christians. Followers of Christ. If the pressure of your faith .. your allegiance to Jesus .. your dependence on Him, is greater than the pressures around you .. the pressures of the world, the family, the job .. then Jesus is going to ooze out from you. But, unfortunately, the opposite is true here, too. If your faith-pressure isn't very high, then the world is going to come flooding in. And that can hurt your faith-walk with Jesus.

FBC's Dennis Nunn-led revival was all about our lifestyles. How we live, and what we live AS. See, Jesus said a couple interesting things, just a few seconds apart (seemingly). Check this, from John 14(NIV):

"21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

Catch the difference? It seems to me that following His commandments is a matter of do's and don'ts, but following His teachings concerns who we are. What we let Him do in us. How we live our lives, from our hearts, not just our minds and their recollections of a set of rules.

In other words, whether we let the Holy Ghost have His way with us.

We all have our own lives to live, complete with our own set of troubles. But maybe if we live as we ought, from a heart made new by Jesus, just maybe God will use us to impact the lives of those around us.

Dennis Nunn told us how we could share with our servers in restaurants. As my Grandkids did last Wednesday night at a local restaurant, when they blessed the socks off a server named Chan. Well, Peg and I went to Applebee's today, as she had noted they had a pretty good "twofer" for lunch. When our server Mari brought our drinks, I looked up at her .. feeling all the shyness that's been part of me as long as I can remember, along with all the hesitancy Dennis mentioned .. and I said "We're going to give thanks for our food. Is there anything we can pray for you, for? Anything in your life?" She brightened up, in a serious sort of way, and said "Oh yes .. there's so much going on now.."

We chatted a few seconds and she shared that she was from Mexico originally, and was raised in Washington State, about 50 miles from the Canadian border. We then told her we'd pray for her, and she left.

We did give thanks for the food, and prayed for Mari.

When she brought us the check, she'd written some stuff on it. I asked her if she wrote that on all the checks and she said "Oh, no ... I did that for you".

I think she meant it, and I'm betting you're surrounded by folks every day, who have just as much going on in their lives, that need prayer, as Mari did. So the question I'd pose is this: do you care?

I'm not holding myself up as any sort of model, but when I read what she wrote on the check, I'd have to be either a fool, or a masochist, or maybe both, NOT to want to be "bringing some light" to the days of folks around me, as Mari indicated happened today.

I repeat: WHO CARES?

I do, and hopefully, so do you.

Here's the check:

How To Use A Tract You Don't Have

2011-08-11T16:36:00.015-05:00

Dennis Nunn just concluded a 4-day, 5-meeting “Every Believer a Witness Revival” at FBC Pelham. It was terrific, on more than one front.

It was entertaining .. Dennis is that sort of speaker .. and it gave us a lot of useful thought as to how to start a Spiritual conversation; practical ways to go about it. But what convinced me it was something special was a ~~couple~~ bunch of happenstances that weren't on his program.

Have you ever noticed that God does that, sometimes?

I talked to Dennis several times during the revival, as we'd previously met on blogs, including this one, and we'd spent a couple hours chatting in the coffee shop at Ridgecrest a few years ago, he and CB and me. I'd gotten a brochure from him and had left it with our pastor. When I left last night, I told him I was going to blog about the experience.

Now, I'm a cautious sort, so I emailed a friend who is a pastor of a church where Dennis mentioned he'd held a revival. I asked him for his thoughts about whether his message had a lasting impact. Here's his response:

"The lifestyle and intentional verbal evangelism approach advocated and taught by Dennis Nunn is a continuing blessing to our church. When it becomes part of the church DNA sinners are saved throughout the community. We will be baptizing over 100 converts to Christ for the 5th straight year and we do not have "altar calls"."

Hmm .. I estimate that church is about the size of FBC Pelham. Hmmm ...

One of the "happenings" that appealed to me was that the general “pattern” for telling your story, which he recommended, was Paul's testimony before Agrippa. What makes that “special” to me is this: in 1970, I took part in a 4-retreat training program called “Shamgar”, named after the guy mentioned in Judges 3:31. The idea was to equip us to be witnesses for our Savior without needing a Bible, a tract, or any other external “aids”. Like Shamgar, who slew 600 Philistines with a oxgoad .. a pointed stick .. our objective was to learn to use whatever was in our hand, for Him. And the testimony “pattern” we learned was Paul's testimony before Agrippa!

41 years ago!

Some coincidence, huh?

One of the options Dennis suggested was to carry tracts with you, and give one to someone when it seemed appropriate. He had quite an assortment of tracts, with varying themes, and he shared several ways to give one to someone. And he actually demonstrated by walking around the sanctuary, giving some out to the congregation. The one he handed to me: Billy Graham's booklet “Steps To Peace With God”.

Guess which one we used in Shamgar … the one we memorized so we could draw it out on a cocktail napkin at a dinner meeting, or whatever, when the occasion arose.

Yep. Billy Graham's “Steps To Peace With God”. Those same verses, in fact, that I used in the Nassau Airport, which I talked about here.

One of the things Dennis did was to ask us to commit to telling our story to someone the next day. The next day, he asked us to commit to giving one tract away the next day. So I picked up some of the latest Billy Graham tracts, to hand out the next day (Wednesday).

The next morning, Peg and I went to Home Depot to buy some stuff to finish my patio door project. When I went to get some nails for my nail gun, there was a man there looking at framing nailers. I put a box of the nails I needed in Peg's shopping cart, and she headed for the lumber aisle for some trim I needed. I struck up a conversation with the guy looking at nail guns.

I told him "For what it's worth, I have a Porter-Cable, and I love it". That led to a discussion about nailer angles, nail types, etc. After a few minutes of that, I rode off toward where Peg was.

When I got to the end of the aisle, I didn't even slow down .. I flipped a U-Turn, said "Wait here a second..." and went back to talk to the nail gun guy. I told him "Hey .. we got this thing going on at church and I was supposed to hand out a little booklet today, but I forgot to bring it, so I guess I'll just have to tell you how I came to trust Jesus."

I then shared my testimony with him and asked him where he was going to go, when he died. He waffled on the answer, so I said "You can do one of two things ... you can fix it right now .. I'll help you .. or you can go away and think about it". He said he'd like to think about it and I told him OK. I said "That sort of thing happens only when the Holy Ghost convicts somebody of sin, righteousness and judgment. And I can't do that .. it's not my job".

He did seem to understand what I was telling him. I stuck out my hand, shook his, and told him I was "Bob with one "o"" .. he laughed and said he was Claude, and that he was in Home Depot all the time and would probably see me again. That, in fact, he recalled seeing me before.

It was a neat time, and I got to share it Wednesday night at church.

What really iced the cake, though, was at lunch today. We struck up a conversation with our server, when she brought the bill and my credit card back, and she asked for my ID (that's written on my card in the signature line). When I showed it to her, she said ... "Cleveland .. hmm .. do you have any kids or grandkids?". We said we sure do, both. She got kind of animated and said our grandkids, Matthew and Meredith (and 4 of their friends from church) had been in the night before. They'd told her they were going to give thanks for their food and asked her if there was anything in her life, they could pray for!

That's one of the things Dennis suggested we do!

WOW.

Thanks, Dennis.

Rededication? Huh?

2011-08-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

There's one thing .. well maybe several .. about Southern Baptist practices that really bugs me. The one I want to talk about, for anybody who hasn't figured it out from the title, is "rededicating your life". And I think it really may be about more than just words.

We do play with words, you know. I've heard repentance defined as "turning around" .. changing your ways .. I've even seen preachers walking across the stage (it's not an altar, per Ed Stetzer) and suddenly stopping and going the other direction. They say that's repenting .. turning around. Well, we got into a minor brouhaha on another blog .. SBC Voices I think it was .. about the meaning of repent. According to my Strong's Concordance, the word is metanoia, which means a change of your mind. Thinking differently about something. SO, a verbal nod agreeing not to sin any more just doesn't get it, in my mind. It takes a change of mind, which brings about a change of will. And of actions.

We play the same game with "joy" and "love", too. We define joy as something like knowing God is in charge and is working things for our good, whereas the definition I see for "joy" in Strong's is Chara .. joy, gladness, or Chairo ... rejoice, be glad, rejoice exceedingly, or Charis .. joy, pleasure, delight. Now, when I look around the church and don't see a lot of that, I figure someone is going to come up with an alternate definition for that word. Well, no thanks, I'll take the real stuff, please.

Love? We define that as agape, meaning self-sacrificing love, and when we see a shortage of love in the church, we point to folks who do for others as being sacrificial, thus demonstrating love. I've done that myself, and have come to realize that love expressed through gritted teeth isn't love at all. And when I look at Strong's, again, I see Agape: "1) affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love, and 2) love feasts". That seems like the sort of love God shows, and which drives the one with that sort of love to act for the good of others.

Being old and curmudgeonly, I've decided to stop misusing words to please others' preconceived notions. That sounds too much like catering to itching ears, to me.

Which brings me around to two of my favorites to harp on: "Backsliding" and "Rededication". I think they're like lipstick on a pig.

Or, better yet, like the old line about "If you count a dog's tail as a leg, how many legs would the dog have"? Well, the answer is four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.

And calling sin "backsliding" and short-circuiting the Biblical remedy for sin by a follower of Jesus, namely repentance, confession and restoration, but wrapping it in the euphemisms of backsliding and rededication certainly doesn't do the believer involved any good.

It's kind of analogous to a husband or wife allowing a parent to come between them and their spouse, in a misguided interpretation of "honoring" your parent. Allowing a parent to interfere in a relationship that God has likened to that existing between Jesus and the church, can hardly be called "honoring" that person.

Same way with us poor sinners. If one of us turns our back on God and sets our sights on sinning ... and here I've heard that state as like being in a storm on a lake, when the only way to get off the lake is to aim for one safe spot on the shore and direct yourself exclusively toward that ... then the fact is we are sinning. And the bible is clear on how to deal with that.

Repent (change your mind, letting that new mind change your actions).

Confess (call it what God calls it) to God and sometimes to one another.

Be restored (by a body which realizes that is the only action they can do and be obedient to God).

Not talking about the sorts of "missing the mark" which we all stumble over, and repent of, daily. But how about such things as folks who join a church and then don't attend for five or ten years? If we take seriously the command to prompt one another to love and good works, assembling together in the process, then wouldn't discipline in that matter be pretty well required of the church? Particularly when the Great Commission is not to "lead people to Jesus", but to "make disciples" and "teach"?

Maybe the matter isn't the backsliding believers. Maybe it's the backslidden church. Come to think of it, the only time I've seen that term used in the Bible, it refers to Israel, and the modern equivalent of that would seem to be the church.

Frankly, I doubt the churches of the SBC can do that, particularly in a "denomination" which seems to desire powerlessness over its members.

And don't gripe about our not being a "denomination" .. the SBC website uses that word about the SBC ... check the second paragraph here ... so I believe I will, too.

My "Old Iron Bucket" and Other Throwaways

2011-07-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

Despite the fact that I don't like covering up one post with another, particularly on the same day, I got hit by this one this afternoon and just had to write it. So, now, you have the option of not reading one or two posts from me today.

Your choice.

I think I was born with that special "Packrat Gene". I've been that way all my life, particularly since we've been married, when I got to have my own stuff. So I tend to accumulate things that Smart Guys usually throw away.

For instance, I spent an hour or so, this afternoon (plus an hour or so last evening) sorting nuts & bolts, washers, etc. See, whenever I work on a project like hanging up a curtain rod or putting in a new toilet paper holder, if there are any screws, bolts, nuts, washers, brackets, or other miscellany left over, I always keep it. Depending on the size and nature, the leftover junk went into the nuts & bolts box .. about 30# as of this morning .. or into the Old Iron Bucket pictured.

It also helped that Peg brought home the "starter kit" of nuts & bolts about 30 years ago when a small manufacturer she worked for closed down and they gave her the stuff (which was cheaper than their having it hauled away).

I cannot begin to count the times I've gone to the nut & bolt box, to get a fastener I needed. The only trouble I had with it was that, when you dump the nuts & bolts & washers into the thing, the nuts & washers all sink immediately to the bottom, so when I need a nut & bolt, I have to dump the whole thing out on the floor. All 30# worth (and I think they're multiplying in there too as it seems to be getting heavier). Then it's a real hassle to put back into the box, since their are drywall screws in there, too, and them things is SHARP. So I couldn't just grabs handfuls and throw them back in. Hence the sorting process yesterday and today.

Now as to the Old Iron Bucket .. actually a rope-handled laundry basket .. there's stuff in there that somebody would probably pay good money on EBay for. There's a top bolt/bracket thing for a bike carrier I bought in the early 1970's, to take our bikes to Florida to visit mom & dad. There's a hood latch support for a 1989 Chevrolet S10.

I saw a muffler hanger for a mid-60's Thunderbird in there today, and also a couple of rear leaf spring hangers for a 1978 Camaro I used as a parts car when I built my red roadster..

Several brackets and an anti-vibration damper from a Vega.

The top of an old jack-stand, onto which I'd welded a big caster wheel. I used to stick it on the jack for our boat trailer on the theory that it was easier shove the thing straight than it was to learn how to back it up straight.

You get the idea. Anything and everything I ever should have thrown away, as long as it was metal.

Again, with this treasure trove, I cannot begin to count the things I've done with stuff I should have thrown away. I've been playing with a welder for 30+ years, so when I need a bracket, a brace, or some other thingamajig, I just grab the Iron Bucket, crank up the metal chop saw and drag out the welder.

Guess maybe I really am into recycling, after all.

I wonder if God's like that. Recycling some things the world views as throwaways.

Perhaps a scoundrel who'd steal his brother's birthright and inheritance?

Or maybe a guy who had it all but wanted his neighbor's wife, too, got her pregnant, and than had her husband killed?

Possibly a fat kid from Illinois who never thought he'd amount to anything?

Or someone else who comes to mind right now? Like a young mother from Florida whose child died, mysteriously and senselessly?

A Tale Of Jesus And The Keurig Platinum

2011-07-09T10:00:00.007-05:00

That's a picture of our Keurig Coffeemaker over there. It was bought for us by our younger son Brad, and is the top-of-the-line "Platinum" model. We really like this thing, too, as it's so nice to be able to whip up a cup of whatever kind of coffee we want, without brewing a 12-cup pot and letting most of it go to waste.

But there's something "spiritual" about this thing that has been nagging at me the past few days. It's this: Brad gave us a better model than he has!

THAT got me to thinking.

Isn't that what Jesus did? Think of His life here on earth. What was His favorite food, exercise, vacation spot, brand of automobile, or recreation? The only thing He ever said that even remotely approaches saying that (that I can recall) is that His "meat" was to do His Father's will!

He lets us have .. or earn .. all those things I mentioned. Sure, we have to order our lives after what He'd have us to do, but he even promised to give us the desires of our heart so we could do that as we are, where we are.

He had to physically suffer great agony for us. We don't for him .. we're told that we're His joint heirs if we suffer with Him, but Hebrews seems to equate that with crucifying ourselves in the face of temptation. We don't have to literally hang on a cross, but He did.

He gives us a better life, here, than He had!

Of course, His willingness to make that sacrifice was what got Him the position He now has in heaven, which our personal sacrifice here isn't going to get for us. We're never going to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that's what God provided for Him as a result of His life (and death) here.

The only appropriate response to that, to me, is to live for Him here. To continue the work He started. He's given us a better "life" here than He had, and it's only appropriate that He has more abundance of life, in Heaven, than we will (we may "rule with Him...", but we'll never be King of Kings and Lord of Lords).

And that's fine with me. If He's willing to share His life with us here, how much more when we're sharing His life, with Him there.

The old hymn says "Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

What a Savior, indeed!

Roto-Tiller Religion .. Rotary Mower Church

2011-07-06T15:35:00.015-05:00

I just happened to think of something an insurance company claims manager told me once. We were chatting over coffee, and I told him about my Father-In-Law's Roto-Tiller I'd borrowed. I told him the thing was fun to use, but a little scary. His response surprised me.

He told the Roto-Tiller was one of the safest machines to use, for the average homeowner. He said they look so scary, with all those revolving blades up front, that folks are almost always careful with them. Very careful! Rotary mowers, however, he said, are the most dangerous.

Hmmm, I said. Why? He said "Because they look so harmless".

***************************************************************************

There's another thought that's been rattling around in my alleged mind for a while now: if you injured your back .. say, you strained a muscle .. and the doctor told you he wanted you to stay in bed, flat on your back, for a week, I think I know what you'd do. Like me, you'd stay down a day and, if the back didn't hurt much when you got up to address certain needs of the body, you'd probably move to the couch and maybe watch a little TV on day two.

Day three, you'd probably be in the recliner and by day four or five, you'd be up and about. Perhaps taking it easy.

Now change the scene a little. Say you'd been in an auto accident, and you have a spine injury. Maybe a sliver of bone close to the spinal cord. This time, the doctor says stay in bed for a week, or you'll never walk again!

In this case, you'd keep your backsides planted in the bed, holler for the bedpan, and probably stay an extra day or two just to be safe.

Same instructions. Different actions. Why?

Simple. In the second case, you'd see the value. The stakes would be high and you'd know it.

I wonder if the same thought might apply to the Christian and his walk with God.

I think it does, and I think one big reason so few Southern Baptist Church members actually go to church is because they don't see the value of going. They don't see the value of being involved.

I have been obsessed with a simple thought, for some time now. It concerns the discernment of value. Of worth. Face it .. in too many cases, the occasional Christian looks about like the consecrated one. And overall, the lives of the folks in the church look pretty much like the lives of the rest of the population. I have to ask myself why that is.

Maybe it's that the membership in general .. both the occasional attenders, and the non-involved pew-sitters .. simply doesn't see the value of obeying God. Jesus said something interesting about that.

In two separate verses, in the same passages, He said those who loved Him would obey His commands, and then that those who loved Him would keep His teachings. Now I'm no theologian, but one of those seems to be following orders, while the others seem to speak to who we are. What we are. Ordering ourselves, not just our actions, after Jesus' model.

I have to ask why it is that most in the church don't seem to get that. Maybe the downside of being a "believer" but not a "follower" isn't plain. Maybe it's not being made plain. Maybe it's not the way to attract members.

I don't know. But I do know that Jesus was more of a Roto-Tiller than a Rotary Mower, and the only safe place I know to be is right behind Him.

Hands-on.

Following.

Speaking of Mom...

2011-07-05T15:09:00.013-05:00

About six years ago, I wrote a "book", simply detailing everything I could think of to write from my memory. I did that to leave behind my memories for my family, when I die. Sort of didn't want the knowledge to die when I did.

In the first chapter, I found myself writing about some events concerning my Mother. What prompted me to copy those paragraphs concerning her, and put them here, is the fact I stumbled across the bookmark over there, just an hour or so ago. It reminded me that my mother died 14 years ago today. That seemed a good enough reason, so what follows is what I wrote in 2005.

"Speaking of Mom, most of the things about getting along with people, that I can remember learning, I remember learning from Mom. To name a few:

Say “Please and Thank you”.
Paying the bills in a restaurant. When I was 8 or 10 years old, I would ride in to Midway Airport to pick up Dad when he returned from business trips. Mom and I would often stop somewhere, usually the White Mill, and get a milkshake. She’d always give me the money and tell me to go to the counter and pay the bill. She said, since I was the man in the party, I should pay the bill.
Never walk on a railroad track. A neighbor of ours was killed by a train when I was, perhaps, 10 years old, and another neighbor said the train had “torn him inside out”. I remember visualizing that, and the picture never left. To this day, I cannot stand to be on a railroad track for any time. Even the occasional traffic line-up that puts me on an old, unused, rusty track bothers me greatly until I get off the tracks.
Always call people older than you by “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, or “Miss”. Never use their first name, unless they ask you to. Truth be told, I never could, even when asked. One of my father’s friends, whom my Dad was training, told me later that, when I called him “Mr.”, it was the first time he ever felt old. I also had trouble, many years later, as a Rotary Club Member where all are commanded to call each other by their first names.
Always open the door for a lady. One amusing part of that is, since I’ve gotten older, ladies open the door for me. Even Pretty Ones. Talk about mixed emotions…
Always walk on the curb-side, of the sidewalk, of any lady with whom you are walking. I do that, to this very day. No matter who the lady is.

These thoughts all came to me one day when I was in the supermarket. Peg was out of town, and I’d gone there to get a meal at the deli, to take home and eat. Alongside me at the counter was an obviously pregnant young lady with a son, perhaps 7 or 8 years old with her.

When the attendant came over, she asked me what I wanted and I said “”She was here first … wait on her” The young lady said “Thank you” and I remarked to her “I think ladies are never more beautiful, than when they’re pregnant”.

She laughed and said “Well, in that case, I have about 4 more weeks to be beautiful”.
We left the counter, she one way and I the other.

I walked up to the checkout line and she walked up behind me; I told her “You were here first, so go ahead”.

She said “Thank you again!” I remarked “Don’t thank me … thank my Mother. She taught me all those things”.

I’d never thought of that before that instant. But the thought has taken root, and there’s seldom a day I don’t thank God for a Mom who taught me.

Mothers: take heart. Your children won’t ignore what you teach them, even when they’re ignoring you."

Here's a photo of mom, taken in Colorado. She's pretty much as I remember her.

Why WOULDN'T We?

2011-06-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

I just had a real flashback .. well, make that two flashbacks.

The second was to Penn Jillette's video, here.

But the first was to the visit I made some years ago, to my best friend from High School, Mickey Meese (that's his picture over there .. scanned from his own High School yearbook, which his widow sent to me after his death). His wife Ann had called me and said he was probably not going to last much longer (owing to liver failure and other things...); when I asked if she was saying that, if I wanted to see him again, I'd better get myself up there, she said, simply, "Yes".

I did, the next day.

Briefly, he was semi-comatose and drifted in and out of consciousness. But he did recognize me (his wife said that was somewhat unusual at the time, in his condition) and we chatted about a few things from the old days.

We'd graduated in 1956, from Broad Ripple High School, and kept in loose touch for 10 or 15 years thereafter.

I finally asked him if he knew how sick he was. He nodded. Then I told him that Jesus would take him to Heaven, if He'd ask Him to. He nodded again, and drifted off to sleep.

Some time later, when he woke again, I asked him if he remembered what I'd told him about Jesus. He nodded, and then I asked if he had, indeed, asked Jesus to take him to heaven. Mickey said, clearly, "yes".

It was the last word I ever heard him say. I told his wife about the conversation, and she said "That's why I asked you to come".

I went home a few hours later, and Mickey died shortly thereafter.

Now .. I may have related this story in a previous blog, but that matters not. What does matter is that God spoke to me about it this afternoon. He did that via a vision He put in my head ... one of bumping into Mickey in Heaven. In that brief vision, Mickey said that my speaking to him in that nursing home in Columbia, Missouri that day was the reason (speaking of earthly occurrences here ... you know what I mean) why he was in heaven.

WOW. The thought that something I did might have been used by God to lead the first best friend I ever had, to saving faith, simply took my breath away. And that thought brought me back to the video of Penn Jillette, linked above.

I've been espousing to my small group study on Wednesday nights, for about 4 years, and also to the Sunday School Class I taught from 2001 to 2009, that we ought to live openly as what we are .. Christians who are happy to be Christians. I don't think we need more programs, outlines, plans, leading questions, etc. What we need is to be what we are. And happy to tell anyone the reason for the hope that it in us. After all, who knows who you might bump into, in Heaven?

So, as concerns being open about our faith, and showing Jesus to the world, happily, I have to go back to Penn Jillette's video, and ask once again:

WHY WOULDN'T WE?

THIS WHOLE "MOHLER COMMENTS" DEAL

2011-06-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

I'm about to head to Shelby Baptist Medical Center for an arteriogram, so don't have a lot of time to say this, but I'll start. If I'm still around, I'll finish this tomorrow. If I don't, well, I don't think they have computers in heaven, so this'll be it.

There are a lot of people trying to pick apart what he said about homophobia, and SBC's guilt for lying about homosexuality. Well, I happen to agree with him, and I think that folks who are in the ministry are reluctant to admit that (NOTE: I'm fully aware that all generalizations are false, including mine...).

From the pulpit, it may be hard to admit.

From the pew, it's easy to see.

More, later.

Probably.

*********************************************************************************

OK, it's Saturday now, so it looks like God was merciful. As it turns out, minor obstruction of a smaller artery, and a blockage in a capillary. Doctor said nothing worthy of treatment, so I came home about 4 O'Clock yesterday. With a handy excuse for not doing anything for a few days (doctor's orders....).

Back to the subject. I agree with Dr. Mohler's assessment of the matter. Wade Burleson aptly pointed out that the restrictive definition of which churches were not "in friendly cooperation" with the SBC includes churches which " ... act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.", but they make no mention of gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, gossip, lying, or any other transgressions against God.

I had a discussion with an SBC pastor about this, this last week. I told him I agreed with Dr. Mohler, and he said he did, too. I said that if someone came to him and admitted having a secret "affair", or secret addiction to pornography I expect he'd deal with that in a certain manner. But if, say, it was a married man admitting a homosexual affair, he might react differently.

The pastor agreed I was probably right.

Men are well known as being generally troubled by lust, as is described well in Stephen Arterburn's "Every Man's Battle". The struggle is acknowledged to be real, and an inner war that goes on in men for many, many years ... until age changes the man's hormonal balance. And the sermons I've heard dealing with the topic always address the issue as such.

Not so with sermons addressing homosexuality, nor with print expressions on the matter, as I recall. I've never seen the "inner" facet of the issue addressed. And homophobia need not be merely fear of homosexuals as people, but may also include unwillingness to deal with the issue forthrightly.

And that's where I see the church falling short.

Finally, the extent to which I've seen people complaining about this in blogdom and the press, tells me just how right Dr. Mohler is. And it's disgusting to me when folks attack him for what he may or many not have said, before.

Like my dad said, the loudest boos come from the cheapest seats.

Mark me down on your side, Dr. Mohler, for whatever it's worth.

Some further ideas, about a week later: I just looked up the words "heterosexual" and homosexual". They're defined similarly, the #1 Definitions, as " of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward the ("same" in the case of homosexual, vs "opposite", in the case of heterosexual) sex.

It seems to me that if we call someone "heterosexual", we're saying that's their preference .. regardless whether they are sexually active or not. Say, they might be young and unmarried, chaste, or perhaps someone advanced in years and beyond the sexually-active time in their life. But if they're "straight", we have no trouble thinking of them in that term, anyway.

But when we refer to someone as "homosexual", it seems implicit that they are sexually active in a homosexual relationship. After all, ask the average church member if they'd want to see a homosexual member in the church, I dare say you'd get a negative answer.

Yup. I'm convinced that the folks who are hammering Dr. Mohler for his statements are either (a) Muckrakers, or (b) unable to see the problem because they ARE the problem being addressed by Dr. Mohler.

I REMEMBER FATHER

2011-06-14T15:42:00.007-05:00

Some years ago, I wrote a book of sorts, entitled "In The Foreword Of The Book Of Life", in which I simply wrote everything I could recall. I figured I didn't want all my terrific (and otherwise) memories to die when I did. The Second chapter, after the one describing the title, was about my Dad. In honor of Father's Day, I'm posting that chapter here, along with a photo of Dad as I remember him.

He was a fine, fine gentleman.

My father was not visibly a Christian when I was a child. But he was a wonderful example of manhood, leadership, nurturing, fatherhood, and husband-ship (if that's a good word). He dearly loved my mother and worked long and hard so she could stay home and raise my brother and me.

He was born in 1908 and grew up in very modest means, mostly on the south side of Indianapolis, Indiana. He studied hard in grade school and high school, and when he graduated, he'd obtained a partial scholarship to DePauw University. He went there two years, which was all he could afford, and studied metallurgy.

Not having extensive resources, he didn’t have the money to stay on campus. He’s the only person I know who actually rode freight trains ... to get from Indianapolis to Greencastle ... so he could go to school. The second year, he did manage to join Delta Chi Fraternity, and stayed there. He worked there to pay the costs of being a resident member.

I recall his saying that he never, once, ate dinner with his fellow members.

When he was finished with the 2 years, he was 20 years old and got a job with W.J. Holliday Steel Warehouse, in Indianapolis. His story about getting the job had a lasting and important impact on my life. It was in 1929, around the beginning of the "Great Depression". Holliday advertised for a records clerk in the local paper, and scores of people showed up with enough diplomas and resumes to wallpaper the world. And there was Dad, with 2 years of metallurgy and no work experience to speak of. Dad sat near the door and far from the desk where they called people in to interview. When they called him, he told them what he could about himself, then went out and sat down by the door again. When the interviews were finished, around noon (the interviews were brief as the job was only adding and subtracting steel shipments from a record book), the personnel manager told everyone to go home, and await a message from the Company. If they didn't have a message in 24 hours, they'd know they didn't get the job.

When people finished their interviews, Dad would opened the door for them and let them out. I’m sure that impressed the manager with his courtesy, but Dad had a better reason. When the last person had left, Dad went back to the personnel manager. The manager asked him why he hadn't heard the instructions everyone else seemed to have heard. And obeyed. Dad's response struck a real note with me, so much that I've never forgotten his words. He said:

"Look, anyone that was here could do this; it doesn't require a sheepskin. You don't need someone day after tomorrow, you need someone now. I'm here and ready to start. And I brought my lunch." And he held it up for him to see.

The personnel manager told him to wait a minute and called out the President of the Company. He made Dad tell the same story again. This time, the President said "Son, you sure made our job easier."

Dad stayed with the company, and with the conglomerate that bought them out 25 years later, for a total of 42 years, He retired from management with the company in 1971.

I can't help but think that much of his success was shaped the day he took his lunch, when no one else did.

I’ve heard it said that the most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. While that leaves out the Spiritual aspect, loving your children’s mother is one of the most important things your child will ever see, before the age of self-realization. I can recall many times when Dad would come in from work, grab Mom in a hug, and pat her on the derriere’ with both hands. He’d do that even if we kids were around. That little display went a long way to giving us a sense of security and solidness in the home.

Dad was also fiercely protective of our family. Sometimes it got him in hot water, even within the family. When I was 11 years old, my maternal grandfather died. He’d been disabled with a bad heart for many years, and my grandmother worked as a bookkeeper at Lane Bryant Company in Indianapolis. She’d come home on the bus every afternoon about 5pm and walk into the house, and I think there was a fear that he might have had some sort of episode during the day, and she'd find him dead. At least, that’s what the doctors speculated after his death in the middle of the night. Grandma’s mind “snapped”. She never shed a visible tear, and became increasingly confused over the following few months. Although she lived 2 straight-line blocks from my Aunt Marcella, in Indianapolis (we’d call her the care-giver, now), Grandma would get confused going from one house to the other. She’d forget which way she was going, and eventually, get lost between houses.

My other maternal Aunt lived close to Aunt Marcella, on a nearby farm. The two of them got together and discussed how to take care of Grandma, and then called our house. Aunt Marcella said they’d agreed to keep Grandma 4 months a year, each, in 2-month stints. Mom said we’d do our part, too.

When she told Dad that evening, he simply said “No”. A heated discussion followed, Mom saying she’d already agreed to it. Dad said he’d take care of it, and he called my 2 Aunts. What he told them was something along these lines: He and Mom were busy raising young boys. That was the most important thing in their lives. And having a mentally deteriorating woman in the house with us all would very much change that for the worse.

Dad said that there wasn’t any way that 3 busy housewives, all with children at home, could give her the kind of care she needed, anyway. He added that he’d take a second job, if that was required, to help pay for her professional care in a nursing home, but he just could not let Grandma interfere with his duty to raise his sons.

Dad was a strong businessman, and a strong father-figure and husband. The 3 sisters may or may not have agreed with him, but Grandma was put in a nursing home. Very shortly, her mind was completely gone, and it was about 5 more years before she passed away.

He further demonstrated his character in how he handled the biggest problem I ever caused them. I’d breezed through High School with good grades, with little or no studying. I made the National Honor Society and did lots of other good things that made Mom and Dad proud. Then during my senior year, my friend Mickey Meese said he was going to Purdue to study engineering. I thought that sounded cool so I registered there. Mickey changed his mind and went to Illinois to study architecture, but I went on to Purdue.

We went up on Saturday and I sat for the entrance exams. I signed up for the ones I needed for what I would study my Freshman year, and ended up with a one-hour hole in mid-afternoon. Rather than waste it, I took the Chemistry exam, even though I had never studied Chemistry at all.

BIG mistake. I guessed here and there and laughed a lot, and somehow managed to score high enough on that (despite a complete lack of knowledge of the subject) for the powers who be at the University to assign me to Advanced Chemistry. Having had things easy in High School, I had no study habits at all, so I was unprepared for college in just about every way you can think of. Consequently, I was completely lost from day one. In the first week, they were talking about ionic and covalent bonds (something to do with molecules, I think), and despite studying as hard as I could, I couldn’t make any sense of any of it. None. I haunted the Dean of Men’s office a few times, but they said with my IQ, I should be able to make up for it.

I couldn’t. So, after about 8 or 9 weeks, they switched me to basic Chemistry. The first day in that class, they were talking about ionic and covalent bonds. I was completely lost, and simply gave up. In my own defense, I did get really, really good at playing Euchre, (my favorite card game to this day) and also was pretty good at shooting pool and 3-cushion billiards.

When the grades were mailed home at the end of the first year, a few days before classes ended, my Dad showed up at our dorm. Even worse, I was inside in my room and one of my friends came in and said my Dad was waiting for me in the car.

When I sat down in the car, he said he’d gotten the picture from the school, and I knew what it said. He then said he’d discussed it with Mom, and that they were going to put it all behind them; that I would work the summer, as I had in the past, and then would attend Butler University in Indianapolis in the fall, while I decided what I really wanted to do. He showed understanding and forgiveness, at a time when that was what I needed.

Dad was also a clever and resourceful businessman. He had been in sales and sales management at the W.J. Holliday Steel Warehouse in Hammond, Indiana, when I was young. They’d moved there from Indianapolis a few years before I was born, transferred there from the Indianapolis Headquarters where he’d started his career in the Steel business about 8 years before. I can recall going with him to the office on occasional Saturday mornings when he had some work to do. He’d give us pencils and some old mimeographed order blanks and my brother and I would sit and draw on them while he worked. Now and then, he would show us around the warehouse, which was a thrill for a little boy.

Two incidents he related to me, stand out in my mind even now. The first is the time he visited a client and was told that their metallurgist could not successfully harden their steel to the required specifications. That could have forced Holliday Steel to take back a substantial amount of steel and refund a lot of money. Dad asked the owner and the metallurgist to get their best torch welder and a piece of the suspect steel, and come to the plant’s driveway. There, Dad asked the welder to heat the metal with his torch until he saw certain changes begin to occur. The welder did, and when Dad saw just the color change he wanted, he played a water hose on the steel. He then told the metallurgist to go and test it.

He reported that the steel had exceeded the required hardness. The owner apologized to Dad and fired the metallurgist.

Another time, in the 1940’s, one of Dad’s customers had invested several hundred thousand dollars in an injection mold for certain plastic products. The die maker then found several radial cracks in the steel, when the mold was completed. The owner said he had no choice but to present a claim for the value of the steel, and the lost time on the project. Dad asked if he’d be interested in a quick fix, and he said yes.

Dad then had the die maker grind the cracks out a few thousandths of an inch, and then peen soft copper wire into the cracks. He then had them machine the copper down, and polish a few thousandths off all the surfaces of the mold, and then nickel plate the entire mold.

When they were done, later that day, the mold was complete and usable and it worked fine for the entire production run of the product.

Dad was also a steel genius in other areas. He was one of the foremost authorities on spark-trace analysis. He could take a piece of steel and a grinder, turn out the lights, hit the steel with the grinder, and tell from the sparks, just what kind of steel it was. And what the percentages of various components of the alloy were. He could also hit most kinds of steel with a hammer, and tell, from the sound it made, what kind of steel it was. And, he knew weights and sizes, and could look at most bars or sheets or lengths of iron and tell how much they weighed.

When I was old enough to appreciate how much he was admired for his knowledge and expertise, and wisdom in the steel industry, I admired him for that, too.

That does remind me of one other incident that made me feel good about me, as I think it impressed Dad. He’d gotten me into an industrial exhibit at the Coliseum in Indianapolis, and I wandered around looking at various displays. One that he showed me was a company that produced exceptionally strong hex socket screws. They had a steel bar in a vise, and it had a threaded hole in it. They had a torque wrench there and they would challenge people to see how much torque they could put on the screw, in the hole. It was on a little platform, so I got up on it and put something like 250# or 275# of torque on it, much higher than anyone else had done. That made me feel pretty good, and Dad started bragging about his new bodyguard (me).

Even better; about a half hour later, Dad found me walking around and said they needed me back at the booth. The platform the vise was on was only big enough for one man, and they couldn’t find anyone strong enough to remove the screw. When they put guys on the floor to help, it just turned the platform. So I climbed on the platform and took it right out.

I recall feeling pretty good about myself that evening. That was not a common occurrence for me.

All through my childhood, I wanted to be like Dad. I heard later that second sons are much different from their older siblings, since they get half their parents’ attention whereas the older child gets all of it. That was certainly true in my case, and I think the basis for my competitiveness (even when I didn’t know I had any of that).

Dad also showed his leadership in the family on two occasions when I was injured. Once, while Mom and Dad were gone for a weekend, Mickey Meese and I went out to Speedway and played golf. They had a nice course there, in which about half the holes were inside the oval of the track. We were waiting to tee off mid-round when I simultaneously heard someone yelling “FORE” and felt a huge impact just below my left eye. I’d been hit, high on the cheekbone, by an errant golf shot. Mickey had driven, and he took me to Methodist Hospital’s emergency room and they sewed me up. The stitches actually went between the hairs of the lower eyelash. That’s how close it was to my eye.

I’d gotten the name and phone number of the man who hit the ball, and I just gave it to the hospital, and they said they’d collect from him.

That evening, when Mom and Dad pulled up in the driveway, they honked the horn. I went out to lift the garage door for them, and I could see their faces through a narrow set of windowpanes that ran down one side of the door. As the bottom of the door cleared my face, their expressions changed dramatically. I guess I really looked a mess.

I told Dad what happened, and he said he’d pick me up after school the next afternoon. He took me to an eye clinic and they did a thorough exam and pronounced the eye healthy.

Another time, between my Junior and Senior years at BRHS, I was working at the Holliday warehouse. In the process of pulling steel bars out of an upright rack, a 4’ piece of pipe being used as a temporary divider became dislodged and fell. I felt the resistance and looked up. The pipe hit me in the mouth. It knocked two lower front teeth out cleanly, broke one off at the gumline, and loosened the other one enough that it couldn’t be saved. I spit them out in my hand, realized what had happened, and put them back in my mouth. I ran over to my supervisor and spit them all out on his desk. He said “Don’t do that!! .. Go to the washroom!!”. So I scooped them up, put them back in my mouth, and went to the washroom. Right then, Dad walked in. He’d sensed something was wrong and came downstairs to see.

When he walked into the room, everything got OK, immediately. I no longer felt fear; Dad said he’d take care of it and took me to the local Industrial Clinic. We sat there for an hour and they looked in my mouth and said “You need to see a dentist”, and off we went.

As it happens, they sent me to a dentist in the same building I later worked in. He pulled out the 1½ remaining teeth and gave me a shot and sent me home. After my mouth healed, he made and installed a gold bridge, between the two incisors, and glued ivory teeth to it. He did a good job; I still have the bridge, like new, over 50 years later.

As I looked back, later, I realized I couldn’t have asked for a better Dad. And I guess I knew how good he was, too. When he showed up, things were OK. I did not realize what a tough job he had, and what sacrifices were involved, until much, much later.

One of the things for which I’m most grateful, is the success I had in the insurance business. That made Dad proud. For several years, I flew around the country extensively, and spoke before many conventions in a variety of industries. When I’d share those things with Dad, he’d tell me how proud he was of me.

That really came home to roost when our sons graduated from High School. As they walked down the a aisle to receive their diplomas, I felt a rush of blessing and fulfillment in my role as a parent.

As I thought about that, and the pride I experienced as they walked that aisle, I thought Dad must have felt the same thing when he saw me graduate. And the thought that I made him feel good, made me feel good, too.

I thank God every time I think about Dad.

Dad died in 1988, about 6 months short of his 80th birthday. I sang "Beulahland" as part of a quartet, at his funeral (as I did, at Mom's some years later), which probably tops my bittersweetness list. One of the happier memories is that they'd gotten quite active in a church in Clearwater, where they lived, later in life. And when they moved to Alabama in in 1983, they joined FBC Pelham and were most faithful there. It's my sincere hope that my own family's life and the accompanying testimony played some part in that....

It's PEOPLE!! It's PEOPLE!!

2011-06-02T20:58:00.005-05:00

We've been blessed to travel a bit, and see quite a bit of the world. Of course, there's a whole lot of world out there to see, and we'll hardly ever scratch the surface. But, nonetheless, we've been to a few places of note.

When Peg first incurred breast cancer, in the early 90's, we decided that we'd best be going away together regularly, as there's no use waiting for "some day", when the doctor's said "cancer" to you. As it happens, we were married on March 13th .. yes, Friday, which has been an immense source of fun for us .. and Peg's birthday is March 20th. So, we can take that week off and catch both, and that's what we did for many years.

Those vacations took us to Costa Rica, St. Thomas, St. Martin (and Ste. Maarten .. the Dutch half of the island), Germany, Cancun, and Jamaica. Plus some others I can't think of right now.

Also, as an insurance agent, insurers are always awarding trips for stellar production and performance, and those took us to Hong Kong (with side trips to Red China and Portuguese Macau) and Monte Carlo (with side trips into France). And then, plain business trips led me to London every year, plus traveling to over 40 states, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico on business.

Lastly, cruises have added another 3 or 4 countries, and mission trips got me to Nassau, Russia, and Latvia.

We now find ourselves in a curious position on two fronts. Having seen lots of really swell places to be, we really could sell the house .. it's paid for .. and move pretty much anywhere it's nice to live, if we wanted to. Plus, we have about a bazillion airmiles built up via our credit card, so we could take off on a vacation whenever we want, and pretty much go anywhere, including any of those really nifty places like the one in the photo above.

But we don't. In fact, of all the places we've been, there are only a couple I'd even be interested in going back to. One is Jamaica, and the other might be Germany.

Reason? We have friends there. Particularly in Jamaica, where we have friendships going back nearly 20 years, with people whose lives have been impacted by ours, and vice versa. And not to Montego Bay or Ocho Rios, either (although they might be nice to spend a day at) .. but to Kingston, where our friends are. Even though it's the murder capital of the Western Hemisphere.

There's a Spiritual overtone to all this, too. I don't think I'm going to long for St. Martin's beaches, Alaska's glaciers, or France's Alps, in heaven. I doubt I'll miss the quaint charm of the delightful English village of Oakington, the precision of the Munich train system, or the majestic sweep of Hong Kong Harbor, seen from Victoria Peak.

But the people ... well, that's another matter. I'm going to enjoy spending time with them in Glory. That's where my investment in them .. and theirs in me .. will pay dividends that last an eternity.

Isn't that the case with all God's children? And in light of that, shouldn't the very fact of their status as a child of God and a joint heir with both Jesus, and the rest of us who follow King Jesus, govern all we do or say to or about them?

I see entirely too much scheming, secrecy, and acrimony amongst church folks, which includes pretty much SBC'ers, for the last 30+ years now.

God wants us to serve Him. Paul Burleson has done some excellent writing on that in the past few days. But Jesus said we're to let all we do be governed by His sort of love, one for another. And we seem to be falling a tad short in that area.

In the end, when the heavens and earth pass away "with a fervent heat", people are all that'll be left of what we see now. Perhaps that should concern us above temperature, sea level, atmosphere, and whales. If we don't get that right, why would God even want to use us?

It's about people. The very ones that God created all the rest of this stuff for.

When Will We We Ever Learn?

2011-05-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

We went to pay our respects to a friend of ours, who died recently. His life, lately, had been a real testimony to God's power, as Peg had known him many years ago .. they worked together in the 1970' .. and God had done remarkable work in Marvin's life.

His visitation was at the old building complex of Gardendale First Baptist Church, so our trip out there and back took us along the edges of some areas that had been hit by the April 27 tornado, and for some reason, I was struck by the immensity of God's power. That the storm was a mere breath from God's nostrils, so to speak. That Jesus could have spoken "Peace" to the storm and it would have ceased.

When we got home a few minutes later, the TV was showing clips of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And that God had said there'd be some of those, which further leads me to believe He has something to do with those things, too.

I was again speechlessly thunderstruck at the awesome nature and power and presence of God.

My thoughts then turned to how we relate to Him. First in the thought process was the seemingly common thought that "Abba", which Jesus used in a statement concerning His Father, is the same as "Daddy". A term of familiarity. I tell you, that thought has always frightened me, as I don't believe I could ever be "familiar with" God. He is GOD.

G.O.D.

And considering His record and achievements and abilities and nature, I want always to hold Him in reverence. Here's what my Thayer's says:

"father, customary title used of God in prayer. Whenever it occurs in the New Testament it has the Greek interpretation joined to it, that is apparently to be explained by the fact that the Chaldee "ABBA" through frequent use in prayer, gradually acquired the nature of a most sacred proper name, to which the Greek speaking Jews added the name from their own tongue."

Whereas, my Computer Bible Strong's says:

"Of Aramaic origin, father (as a vocative case)."

The vocative case is the case of a noun used to identify the person addressed. For instance, I am father, but only my own sons can call me "Father" in the vocative case. So what we're told in Romans and elsewhere is that we can address the Heavenly Father is "my Father". Not daddy, ol' buddy ol' pal.

Even as our Father, he's still God. And He's always God.

On the way home, I thought of the ramifications of this. How should this regard for God be manifested in our life?

Every way conceivable.

When I taught Sunday School, my objective was to be the best SS teacher in the world. Now I know I cannot ever attain that, at least not as long as Elwyn Stafford is still around. He is the best. But I figure if my aim is less than that, then those sitting under my teaching are going to get short-changed.

There's an old adage that says "If you settle for less than what's coming to you, you'll get even less than you settled for! I kind of figure that applies to Spiritual things, too .. if I settle for less than what God has in mind for me, I'm going to get less than I settled for. And if I settle for less than being the best teacher I can possibly be, I'm going to fall short of what I did settle for.

This post has kind of been languishing in my draft column, waiting for me to finish it. But now, as I sit typing this, I'm listening to the live TV broadcast of the tornadoes in Oklahoma. And I am reminded of what all happened in Alabama in April, and that all those storms were the merest breath of air from God's nostrils.

The quake in Japan, and the resulting tsunami, were the merest twitch of God's incalculable muscle. And His ultimate control over all that He spoke into existence all those years ago.

And we take Him lightly. We show up late, we stay home, we speak to brothers and sisters, completely ignoring Jesus own commands to love one another as He has loved us, and paying no attention to the admonishment that the hallmark of those who follow Him will be the love we show one for another.

I'm not going to argue about whether God allowed, or caused, all these storms. To me, whichever is OK with me, and doesn't change Him or His nature, one bit. He is SOVEREIGN, folks, and He can do as He pleases, when He pleases, however He pleases, wherever He pleases.

In fact, He is.

Even now.

Not Every "Widow's Mite".....

2011-05-09T12:40:00.009-05:00

...comes from a widow.

For instance, this envelope contained one that didn't.

I mentioned previously, here, that Dr. Sheri Klouda was going to send me some money for the tornado disaster recovery here in Alabama. Her husband, Pinky, had set some dollars aside for just such a purpose, and God told him this effort was, indeed, the purpose. The envelope, copied above, contained the check, which she made out to me, and was noted to be for the disaster relief. We got it Saturday afternoon, and this morning, I endorsed it over to Westmont Baptist Church and delivered it to CB & Staff.

Note the postmark date. It's May 4th, 2011. That was the day before Pinky had his foot and lower leg amputated, owing to circulation problems. And that tells me that obedience to God may just hold a higher position in their lives, than their own current problems.

We're all going to run into a current problem that neither man nor money nor food can overcome, you know. I have to feel we'll be a whole lot better prepared for that one, if we start ordering our priorities while we're still able to, here.

All sorts of churches have joined the efforts here. Someone in the know remarked the other day that "Alabama's done more to help the recovery in one week, than the folks in New Orleans did in a year". And he mentioned that the churches were responsible for that. FBC Pelham, has contributed a lot to Westmont's effort, and we've also sent out work crews to help with the cleanup.

Westmont's better organized every time we go out there .. we were there Sat-Mon-Tues-Thurs of last week, and then again, today. Now, they've got food all sorted on tables, labeled for easy access, and have tables, around the perimeter of the fellowship hall, that have toiletries & shower necessities, diapers, and other non-food items that folks in the tornado areas would need. CB's obvious gift for administration (which we'd discussed many times over several years) has been working out there, now that the tyranny of the urgent, so to speak, has been overcome.

Here's a picture I took this morning. Some of the food has come in, in the form of canned goods and other packaged things like snack food, so they're all sorted and labeled so you can find them. There have been some folks stop by, from the hardest hit areas, who don't have any food and haven't been able to go back to work yet, so Westmont folks will fix them up with a sack of groceries.

Most, however, come to eat, and those needing groceries have been relatively few.

It's important to know that Westmont has about 150 folks there on a good Sunday. This isn't a mega-church, but they do have a mega-heart.

And they serve a Mega-God.

People Don't Limit God

2011-05-04T08:40:00.010-05:00

Many years ago, I read a Playbill posted on a temporary fence around a construction site, advertising a play soon to be appearing in Indianapolis. The play was named "Your Arms Are Too Short To Box With God".

The musical was loosely based on the Gospel of Matthew; I don't know how true to Scripture the presentation was, but man oh man, they sure got the Title right!

A few years back, when bloggers played a major role in electing Frank Page President of the SBC (over "establishment candidates"), a certain professor at an SBC seminary was reported to have said that there are no permanent relationships established in blogging, among bloggers. He's a fine professor, but he sure got that part wrong! Some examples, from this week, follow:

Alan Cross showing up at Westmont Baptist with a car full of stuff for their effort feeding people is a pretty good example, although not the most surprising one. Alan was one of the original cadre of SBC bloggers who worked for some needed changes in the SBC, back in 2005-2006, and he's also Pastor of Gateway Baptist Church in Montgomery. CB, Alan and I shared a room in Jackson TN, at a Conference we all attended a few years ago, in fact. My nephew John, an AoG'er from Indiana, spent over a year at Command Training at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, a couple years ago, and he liked Gateway so well that he rented an apartment less than a block from there (despite the fact that it meant driving clear across Montgomery to go to school, every day).

Alan's got it together as a pastor. He'd probably say he doesn't, which of course tends to prove my point.

But I have a couple better examples. Over the past couple of years, I've gotten to know a blogger from Orland, CA, named Laurie Lagrone. I've never met nor spoken to her, but we met electronically via The Pioneer Woman blog. Laurie has the same twisted sort of sense of humor I do, so my comments on her blog, Fooleryland, apparently struck some friendly chords.

Anyway, we've chatted a few times since the tornadoes struck, and I think she read my blog posts about Westmont's & FBC's partnership in Minor Heights. Then, I received the following email from her:

"----- Original Message -----
From: Laura Lagrone
To: Bob Cleveland
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 11:23 AM
Subject: Tornado Relief

Hey Mister Cleveland,

Finally had a few minutes to sit and talk with The Husband last night, and we decided we'd rather send tornado relief money to a person we trust who can get it to where it needs to go. Does your church have a donation fund going? Will you send me the name/address where I can send a check? It'll be small, but something. I can always give to the Red Cross or Salvation Army, but I suspect the people who live there can do the most good.

Hope you're well and safe, and your whole family, too.

Laurie

--
Reporting live, or close to it, from Fooleryland
"So much foolery, we had to start our own country.""

I immediately wrote her and told her what to do, and she's mailed off a check in response.

Then, some of you'll recall Dr. Sheri Klouda, prominently mentioned in Wade Burleson's blog, a few years ago. We've visited in the Kloudas' home a couple of times, and have kept in touch ever since that whole mess a few years back. Well, last weekend, during a Facebook chat, the following popped up on my screen:

"Sheri Klouda I am sending a few dollars from Pinky to help. He has had it put by for something like this. He promised it to God."

Wow. They haven't had it the easiest since she left SWBTS, but they have managed to get it together and buy a small house in Upland, IN, where she teaches at Taylor University.

But there's something else you need to understand ... Monday, on Facebook, Dr. Klouda posted the following:

"Hi Everyone; my husband Bill is going to have major surgery on Thursday afternoon when they will amputate his lower leg and foot. Today he received a card from a neighbor and really liked it. It is going to be a long recovery and your good thoughts and wishes would mean a lot in the next week or two. He will need a great deal of encouragement."

Wow. I think Bill .. friends call him "Pinky" .. and the widow who gave the two coins, are going to have a lot to talk about in Glory, some (hopefully distant) day.

I met C.B. Scott via blogging. I met Alan Cross through blogging. Ditto for Laurie Lagrone. Blogging introduced me to Dr. Klouda.

Methinks that, sometimes, Professors have a lot to learn.

FBC Pelham: Here's Who You're Feeding

2011-05-03T16:49:00.008-05:00

It's a good thing to be part of a program that feeds folks, which is what FBC Pelham .. along with some other folks, some of its individual members, etc .. has been doing since Saturday afternoon. Check my prior blogpost here for details.

But it's another matter when you put details .. images .. facts .. with it. So take a look at the picture above .. it was taken by a Westmont Baptist member, of an area where some relatives lived. When Sara showed me that picture today, it stopped me cold. The area is McDonald Chapel, the area South of Westmont, which was devastated by last week's tornado.

Imagine coming home to your neighborhood, from, say, a vacation, and finding what you see above. Imagine the shock, the questions, the fears, the concerns you'd have. Well, every one of those used-to-be homes you see, up there, represents several folks who feel just like that, now.

But they know one thing. They know that they can have a hot meal once a day. A little bit of normalcy among the chaos. And that's courtesy of the folks at Westmont, at Katherwood .. a Baptist church in McDonald Chapel that was also devastated by the tornado .. and the good folks at FBC Pelham.

When they sit down at the table in Westmont's gymnasium, or when they open their to-go box to eat, they also find this:

That's the closest they come to evangelizing people. Their approach is to feed folks in Jesus' name, and build relationships with them. And I might point out that the biggest baptismal service I've ever attended was at Westmont, last year. Between one and two dozen people, as I recall, were baptized!

It also helps to bring it down to the personal level. Take a look at the following:

The occupant of that home is a 91-year old lady. One of Westmont's members told me that, when her sister finally found her in the house on Friday, they were rejoicing and celebrating for all their worth!

I wonder if I'd want to celebrate anything if that was my house.....

One thing I will most definitely celebrate, though, is seeing, and participating in, one local body of Christ reaching out to help another local body give out a cup of cold water in Jesus' name.

Or a hot meal.

Or 220+ hot meals, a day.

Incidentally, this Baptist Church is using Catholic & Methodist freezers to store the food, and is housing a Presbyterian team of disaster workers, headed by a guy from Texas.

Jesus has got a big Body....

Church, Behaving Like Church

2011-04-30T13:13:00.009-05:00

It started with a text message:

"I have very limited phone service. We are OK. NO power. This area would make a great partnership ministry between Westmont and 1st Pelham. We are feeding all we can, but resources are limited."

I received that message at 4:53pm yesterday, from C.B. Scott. He's pastor at Westmont, my best friend, and we'd left messages on his cell phone and landline, asking if they were OK. They live, and the church itself is situated, immediately adjacent to McDonald Chapel, an area devasted by this week's tornado.

In fact, if you draw a line through all the communities devastated by the tornado .. Tuscaloosa, Concord, Pratt City, etc, the church and parsonage are right on the fringe of that line!

Now, I can't do a lot myself, owing to arthritis, age, etc, but I can sure make phone calls. So I called my pastor, Mike Shaw, and read him the messages, and also gave him CB's cell phone number.

A few minutes later, the following message from Brother Mike appeared on Facebook:

"Westmont Baptist Church is in need of Styrofoam bowls,plates,cups,as well as napkins and plastic utensils. Pastor C. B. Scott and his congregation are feeding hot food to people in a community where there is no electricity and many of the people are elderly or poor. Robert Heard will leave at 9AM in the church van Saturday morning to deliver these supplies. Bring them to the church between 8 and 9. Thanks"

A host of folks showed up by 8 and brought the stuff Bro. Mike mentioned. And then, a guy stopped by and asked us if we could use some bread .. we think he runs the "Second-Day" Bakery store across from the church. We said sure, and he brought a pickup truck with the bed full of trays, 6' high, loaded with all sorts of breads, bagels, muffins, rolls .. an absolute mountain. We unloaded it all into vans and cars and had a caravan to Westmont at 9am this morning. Less than 18 hours from the text message!

That's the bread, unloaded and sorted, in the Westmont Fellowship Hall, in the picture. Off-camera is all the cups, plates, napkins, and other similar stuff we took there.

Westmont's a small church; a good ol' Southern Baptist Church if ever there was one. Hymns, piano & organ playing happy stuff when we walk in, just a really neat place to be. But these days, they're reaching out to feed the folks from the adjacent communities, who've lost most .. and sometimes all .. of what they have.

One of our guys, John Spann, is a retired firefighter. He had a generator, which he brought to church this morning, which was great news in light of Westmont's lack of power. As it turned out, their power had come back on by the time we got there .. albeit not across the road or in McDonald's Chapel .. but John said that didn't make any difference. He was going to see the generator was used by someone that needed it. And he fueled it up and left it there!

That's the nice part about doing something. Something. When we do something (like make a phone call), then God can get hold of it and do something with it Himself.

I sure love it when the church acts like the church. I got to see two of them doing just that, today.

It's Who I Am

2011-04-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

I've never pictured myself as a "Macho Man", which (of course) means that I've always tried to look like one. I'm not sure I was ever successful. But, if there's one thing age is good at doing, it's demolishing any such unreal self-images.

By way of information, My left knee has been replaced, owing to degenerative arthritis. My right knee is now "shot" (that's what the doctor said), along with my shoulders and my right ankle.

There's not a lot I can do about the shoulders, but I do wear a brace on my right knee .. it's called an "Unloader" brace and it keeps the knee properly aligned and prevents any sideways motion. That would further the wear on the knee.

I can walk OK, but not for very long. I think the real icing on that cake was the walking we did on the trip last summer, added to, now, another year of arthritis. SOOO ... I tend to save my walking for times when I really need to walk, like around church, etc. When I go someplace like Wal-Mart or Home Depot, and they have these little electric carts there, I use them.

I usually tell the employee hovering around where the carts are .. I suppose in an attempt to feel better about my lack of macho being so obvious .. that "We guys really have to have it all together to use one of these things, you know..". What I'm really saying is that I'm an old man with some age- and arthritis-related limitations, which are now on display for all to see.

In other words, it's now an obvious part of who I am.

When I used to teach Sunday School, and now when I'm meeting with my Wednesday night small group, I stress the same thing about our lives in general. We're Christians. We should live like it, happy to be who we are.

A couple months ago, I brought the devotional at the monthly Deacon Meeting at church. I started by asking various of the deacons to tell me about their wife, their kids, their job, their home, etc. After a few minutes of that, I asked them how many classes they had to take, to be able to tell me that? How many times did they go out to somebody's house with a "trainer" who'd lead them through an outline of how to explain how they met their wife. Who printed the outline they were trying to follow in explaining that to me.

The answer, of course, is obvious. No program, no outline, no classes; just someone happy to be what they were, for whom it was quite natural to tell me those things.

If it smells a lot like the Primrose Path, that's exactly what it was!

I then told them they should be happy to be followers of Jesus, live like it, and be as happy to be identified with Him as we are to wear a wedding ring identifying us as married. For me, it's wearing Witness Wear or Jesus pins when I'm out in public. For someone else, it could be carrying a Bible, leaving a Bible on one's desk, or handing out tracts. "Jesus" license plate on the front of their car, emblems, bumperstickers, just something to say "I'm a believer".

Hey! Maybe I need to invent the "Jesus ring". Wear it on the ring finger of my other hand.

That's all. I need to go now. Time to Google "Manufacturing Jewelers".

The Neatest Weekend Ever

2011-04-19T23:08:00.004-05:00

The one we're going to celebrate in a few days. The time when Jesus was in the tomb.

Now, I need to acknowledge that I cannot fathom how it would have been for followers of Jesus, at the time, as they did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit. So they were people who'd chosen to follow Him, and IMO in their natural state. But in any event, I cannot identify how it'd be without His indwelling presence in us.

But pause for a minute, and think. Jesus had made some pretty fantastic claims about dying and coming back, and all the other things He'd said about His relationship with His Father, and in fact, Who He was.

But now, He was dead. And dead means dead. Unable to function, to move, to do anything .. much less raise Himself. Not "idling" over in the corner, waiting for Sunday morning to roll around.

Dead.

Now .. one of two things happens. He rises from the dead, or He doesn't. Pure "go-no go" moment. If He doesn't rise and live again, then He's proven a liar. Thus, everything else He said would be suspect. BUT ...if He DOES come out of the tomb, alive, then two things are immediately obvious:

He didn't do it Himself, as He was dead. Like the turtle perched on the fencepost, you know He didn't do it Himself. The only other Person with power to do that would be, of course, God.
God would have, Personally, validated what Jesus had said and done on earth. Including all the OT prophecies about Him, and everything He said and did while He was here.

It's obvious His followers weren't sitting around marking off the hours until Sunday morning, else they'd all have shown up at the tomb. I'm guessing that's attributable to the lack of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

I'm the sort of guy (the natural me, that is) that wants proof. And in Spiritual matters, I don't want external proof .. that is .. I want proof from the Bible. So, given the nature of the Bible as all truth, does it testify that He really was raised, and that it was obvious that He was?

YES! From Matthew 28, NIV:

^"11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day."

Two things strike me about that. First, telling the boss you were sleeping while on duty would hardly have "kept them safe". I hear that was punished rather severely. But more importantly, you don't have to bribe people to tell the truth! You bribe them to lie!

My conclusion: the guards knew He'd risen, the chief priests knew it, and their bribery of the guards puts Satan in the unenviable position as testifying to the truth of God's word, and Jesus' resurrection.

So that was, indeed, The Weekend That Was.

Thank God.

Off-The-Wall Thoughts

2011-04-17T15:49:00.004-05:00

Since you don't see them on the wall, they must be off the wall, right?

I've been thinking about the crucifixion, now and then, for a couple years. Ever since I read The Shack and figured I needed to think for myself about a lot of things.

The first thought is connected to something Paul Young said in the book .. that God does not forsake His people, ever. Not even Jesus .. "Poppa" said He knew what Jesus felt on the cross, but He never left Jesus alone there. That had a ring of truth to it, and made me wonder why, with what all Jesus knew about His Father, He would have cried what He did, from the cross. And that's the first off-the-wall thought: He cried that out when the sin itself fell on Him. That's the moment He took it all on. And, filled with every sin that you and I and everyone else ever committed, how could He see, or feel, or sense God's presence?

Wow. It wasn't the "penalty He paid"; it wasn't the "weight of our sin" ... it was the sin itself that overcame Him. He actually became a sinner .. the biggest ever.

No wonder He could not see His Father!

You and I struggle to sense God's presence when we are in the middle of intentional sin, so how unable to see God would Jesus have been, with all that sin all over Him? And, remember, His assumption of that sin was intentional!

Second, it got dark for a few hours. I've always wondered why; I didn't really buy the sermons' and lessons' explanation that God could not bear to look on Him, as He cannot look upon sin. Well, God surely looked upon me and my sorry state as a lost sinner .. and besides, God doesn't need light to see, anyway. I think there was another reason.

There was no one on earth, at the point, worthy to look upon God's Son, there on the cross! It's not that God didn't want to see Jesus .. He didn't want US to see Him in that state.

Maybe that's one reason God said not to make any "graven images" ... carved images .. images of heavenly things, like Jesus on the cross. Those are man-centered attempts to make "physical representations" of what we must accept by faith alone.

Perhaps I'm trying to understand the unknowable, but I have a feeling .. with these thoughts in mind .. that this coming Easter is going to be something pretty special.

Wow again. What a God, and what a Savior!

Peace .. and Joy .. in the Storm

2011-04-11T21:24:00.010-05:00

The video clip up there was taken from our screened-in deck. You can see in the background the little shop building, and our Prius, amid all the downpour and the wind. Peg and I sat on the deck for about 15 minutes, just watching the storm raging outside, with us all safe and dry on the deck.

I really, personally, owe my enjoyment of that to my Mom, who stood before our front windows when I was just an infant, holding me in her arms, and showing me the "pretty lights in the sky" ... despite the fact that she was scared silly. She didn't want me or my brother to grow up with the same fear.

We didn't. Thanks, Mom.

Anyway, a couple of dominant thoughts echoed around my brain, during the storm. One thought was a remembrance of a Mission Trip to Winfield Missouri, during which we went, one evening, to a boys' prison, our youth choir performing for the young men and the guards. I was out on the front porch while a huge thunderstorm was raging, as there was not a lot of room inside the hall. During the storm, another of our men went inside and came back out a few minutes later, thunderstruck (pardon the pun); he was awed that the storm was raging so strongly outside, but when he went inside, there was such peace there, as our kids ministered.

The presence of the Spirit, he reckoned.

The other thought that hit me was Jesus' episode of calming the storm while the Apostles were scared silly in the boat. When I thought of that, I said to Peg "Can you imagine Someone in sandals and a robe, walking out here on the porch, saying "Peace ... be still!", and the storm stopping just like that!?!?

I then said "What a Savior we serve", and no sooner were the words out of my mouth, than an indescribable wave of joy swept over me. I got this huge grin I just couldn't shake, and I sat there and reveled in it for 5 minutes or so.

He said He'd give us peace "that passes understanding", and joy "indescribable". And those words mean what they say; no watered-down alternate meanings involved. Since I don't think He forces us to be peaceful and joyful, I'm guessing we have to decide that's what we want to be.

Now, I'm reluctant to attach any "cause & effect" relationship to what God has done for us .. how He has blessed us .. as I just want to attribute His blessings to His love for us. But if I had to guess at something in our lives that God has smiled on so generously, it's that we have simply believed God. We believe Him. If He says it, that settles it. And there's nothing mysterious about that .. it's simply a decision that we will believe and trust Him, and act accordingly. And, as we want an abundant life, we'll act in accordance with Jesus' commands and teachings, too (to the extent that our sinful old flesh will allow).

So. What storms are facing you? What's interrupting your peace and joy? Don't settle for less than He offers us .. if you do, chances are you'll get even less than you settled for.

SO ... What Have YOU Got To Lose?

2011-04-02T15:47:00.004-05:00

Peg and I were having lunch at Ruby Tuesday's this afternoon, when I noticed one particular lady walking by. She was noticable for two reasons: for one, she walked with great difficulty, using a 4-wheeled walker .. the kind with big wheels and a basket in which you can carry stuff in the middle; for another, she had this unforgettable smile.

It was pretty much her default expression.

She was unlucky enough to sit between me and the Salad Bar, so when I went there, I stopped by her table. Now I am really a shy sort, which makes it a double thrill when I actually overcome my natural state and speak to someone, in public, that I don't know. Nonetheless, I stopped at her table .. she was alone at the time .. and told her the specific reason I stopped there was that, despite her obvious difficulty in walking, she had this wonderful smile on her face. She thanked me and I asked her the nature of her disability.

She told me it was MS. And her, with this wonderful and genuine smile. When I commented on that, she told me that she'd decided long ago that, if God wanted her to have it, then He must have His reasons. I showed her the Jesus pin I was wearing (it just occurred to me I should have given it to her .. guess I was just too captivated to think of that at the time), and that I sure understood that.

I went to the Salad Bar, then, and Peg and I had lunch. After the meal, she'd been joined by someone with a little girl in tow; I'm guessing it was a daughter and granddaughter. I told the younger lady that I was guessing they were related; she confirmed it. I then commented that the lady in the picture must be a Spiritual person, and the daughter said "Oh, she's a Spiritual person, all right!".

The lady in the picture showed me something in (A) a wonderful smile, and (B) saying that if God wanted her to have MS, it was OK with her.

She seems to have bought lunch, as I saw her signing the charge slip, and that got me to thinking a lot of things. Among other things:

First, joy in the midst of adversity, when it would be easy to be otherwise..
Second, a willingness to accept God's will, even when the results cause us pain, discomfort, and/or difficulty.
Third, a refusal to let a handicap interfere with life.

I asked if I could put her picture here, and I told her why; she said sure, that was fine. And for that, I thanked her, and then took this picture with my Camera-Phone. But, then, I got to thinking two additional thoughts.

For one, I see so many instances of believers who don't always act like it. And I see Sunday School Lessons on how to live a Christian life in a non-believing world, as if it's soooo hard to be a believer. So, I wonder, what have we got to lose if we live our faith every day, without compromise? If every blog post, every discussion where we don't see eye-to-eye with someone else, were conducted along the same friendly lines as when we agree? If we had the same sacrificial attitude about things, and particularly toward our families, as Jesus showed?

What are we afraid of?

Second thought: we're all going to die one day. We're going to leave some earthly treasures behind, and also some earthly woes. For the lady in the picture, she's going to leave MS behind. And I hope that thought is of some encouragement to her, as she battles that illness, and the difficulties that it brings, here on earth. But the good we do will go on ahead of us, and I hope that is of more lasting eternal consequence than all the bad things I leave behind.

I get the feeling that's how it'll be, with Smiling Lady.

A Built-In Problem of Compassion

2011-03-31T17:49:00.008-05:00

I just finished reading an article in the Birmingham News, online version. It stated that the US Supreme Court had denied a stay of execution for a man who'd killed an elderly 76-year-old man, and his wife, in Calhoun County.

Now I do need to state that I'm a supporter of the Death Penalty. The Bible instructs it, and I believe the society that values life is not the one that shows forbearance to murderers, but rather the one that stands ready to swiftly demand the life of anyone who takes the life of another (in manner described by the laws). So I think that societally, the Death Penalty is a reflection of the USA's, and the individual states', valuing of human life. But the article I read today gave me real pause.

Here's why: the man in the picture is 45 years of age, and has been on Death Row for 23 years, 11 months, and 22 days. Well over half his life. He is not the same man, today, that killed that couple.

He could be a better man. I've seen plenty of "Reality TV" shows in which convicted murderers have gotten saved, have matured and seen the horror of their crime, or simply become better people for all their experiences. And I'm certain .. although they normally don't show these folks as often .. that there have been murderers who have morphed into even more heinous people than they were when they swung the knife or pulled the trigger. But one thing's for sure: after this many years, the executioner is dispatching a different person from the one that did the crime.

What is, I suppose, most disturbing, is there doesn't seem to be a system to monitor this, that I am aware of. I don't know whether Parole Boards check on these guys, or whether there's any other system of monitoring rehabilitation. Perhaps there is, but that doesn't change the fact that the Government of the State of Alabama was poised to kill a different man, from the one who killed that couple.

As I post this, 2 minutes ago.

I find that sad.

Adolf Eichmann was captured 5/11/60, was tried and subsequently convicted on 12/16/61, and was executed 5/31/62. That would be less onerous, to me, had that happened here.

FURTHER UPDATE: Mr. Boyd was, indeed, executed, about the time I originally finished this post. In reading the wrap-up in the paper, just now (some 3 hours later), I learned there was another man involved in the murder. He confessed at the time, and in a plea-bargain with the Prosecuting Attorney, was sentenced to life in prison, without parole. Different decisions. Different results.

Even though all the results were not immediate, one decision led to life, and one led to death.

That sounds familiar. I am reminded of the last line of the chorus of Eric Solar's song, Love Suffers Long:

"Make your choices slowly, for time will tell
If you've chosen wisely, if you've chosen well".

Amen to that.

That Settles It Once and For All. Well, For Me..

2011-03-24T21:05:00.007-05:00

I have heard "debates" over whether America is, or ever was, a "Christian nation", pretty much ever since I've been active in a church. Initially, in the early 60's, I would have said "yes" to the question .. but for quite a few years, now, I've thought we weren't.

The founders would not have written the constitution the way they did, if they'd intended for us to be that. They seem to have gone quite a ways to assure we would never be a nation tied to any one religion.

I've been involved in plenty of discussion in Sunday School about this, and have debated it more than I probably should have. But a couple days ago, sitting in my recliner, one thought came crashing in on me.

Let's say you and I want to start a church, so we do. Couple dozen people, maybe. And we draw up a constitution and a set of by-laws, and we specify that our "church" can never in any way prescribe what you, the members, must believe. We stipulate we must never pass any regulation as respects your faith. Or lack of faith. Buddhist, Christian, Atheist, whatever you want to be is OK with us.

Let's even say we had reasons to do so. Religion was crammed down our throats, parents made us go to their church, we went to Parochial schools, etc etc.

Could you ever, in your wildest imagination, think of referring to that as a "Christian" organization? Or as any kind of "church"?

I didn't think so. But that's precisely what the organizers of our country, Christians though they may have been, did when they drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

If God's been favorably disposed to the USA, it must have been for other reasons. Maybe as simple as our mandated freedom of religion. But whatever that reason might be, it's not that we're a "Christian nation".

Lesson From a German Soft Drink

2011-03-23T12:17:00.007-05:00

The stuff in the glass over there is called "Spezi", and it's my favorite soft drink. I don't think they sell it as such .. it's simply a 50/50 combination of Cola and Orangeade. In this case, it's half Diet Orange Crush and half caffeine-free Diet Coke.

I believe they do sell it as such in Germany, as I recall seeing a billboard .. from the train .. that said "Spezi ist Spitze!". Spitze being excellent, wonderful, the apex, etc.

If you've ever tried pouring a diet Coke into a glass, you probably know how foamy it gets. Takes forever to pour a glass full of it, and not just get a glass of foam. But I discovered something yesterday while fixing a Spezi (I told you it was my fave.....): if you pour the Orange Crush in first (it being non-carbonated), then when you pour the Coke in, there's no foam.

And hardly any when you slip in the ice cubes.

That brought two things to mind. The first is that how you go about something can be as important as what it is you're doing. Be offensive enough, and the listener or observer isn't going to get what you're driving at, at all. I heard it expressed once like this: "If you tell someone they're condemned to an eternity in hell, because of their sin, you'd better have a tear in your eye"

Amen to that.

But the other thing that came to mind is a statement I saw perhaps half a century ago. It said simply "Where one will not argue, two cannot argue. In other words, if you're the recipient of some harsh or unfair or unfounded criticism, your reaction is entirely up to you. I recall one time being particularly unfairly and viciously accused of false teaching. The man had about a dozen points written down, all of which were either patently false, or terrible misinterpretations of what I'd said. I was all ready to set him straight point by point, when God reminded me of what he'd said to Moses .. when Moses had the Red Sea in front of him, Pharaoh's army roaring up behind him, and angry Israelis all around. From Exodus 14:14:

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

So I simply said to him "Anything else?" He said no, and I thanked him for his opinion. He'd said I should quit teaching and he asked if I was going to. I said "No". We then left the church and talked about our vehicles.

We eventually, within a few months, became good friends.

Said all that to say this: if you're going to criticize anyone, constructively of course, make sure that's what you're doing, and not trying to win an argument and "be right".

Secondly, when someone offers criticism, simply accept it and then look at it objectively over time. Like my Dad said, "Use all the brains you have, and all you can borrow".

God also said something about soft answers, I think......

Oh yes .. one more thing .. I like Orange Crush and I like Diet Coke. By themselves. But put them together, and I like them together more than I do separately.

I think churches are kind of like that, too.

Respect. We've Got A Lot To Learn

2011-03-15T15:42:00.005-05:00

I was perusing some pictures on MSNBC a few minutes ago, when I saw the picture over there to the right. It stopped me cold, for two separate reasons.

The first, which I had been thinking of lately, anyway, is that the overwhelming deluge of news .. in full color .. may have hardened us to a lot of what's really going on. Perhaps similar to children who lose a bit of respect for life by playing all the killing games that we've even seen some specials about. We see so many pictures of the tsunami and the overwhelming devastation in Japan, that it become commonplace to us, and loses some of its impact on us. But if you thought about your entire family being senselessly killed, and actually seeing their corpses lying there, or your entire neighborhood laid waste by a tornado or a conflagration, with the things you treasure most, of your possessions, perhaps you can feel a bit of what has been .. and is being .. repeated, millions of times over in Japan.

I recall the death of my parents, and can easily contrast it with my only brother's death. Mom & Dad were Christians, while my brother was not. One can only imagine how many of the victims who died this past week in Japan, went out into eternity to a future they did not expect. I hope the frequency with which we see the events in Japan does not obscure that fact in our minds.

The part about this photo that really got me was the respect shown, by the South Korean Rescue Workers, as they recovered a corpse. The caption stated:

"A group of South Korean rescue workers and local policemen pay respect after collecting the body of a Japanese earthquake victim in tsunami-swept Sendai, Miayagi Prefecture on Tuesday."

We've also all seen, I'm sure, picture of Oriental citizens as they greet each other, with their hands folded and bowing to each other. Like I said, respect.

After 5 years of blogging, and involvement in various SBC meetings, I think we have a lot to learn from the Japanese and the Koreans. Would that even within our churches and our associations, we'd show each other such respect as these workers showed to someone from another country, who was already dead.

Lessons From Our Car

2011-03-08T15:20:00.005-06:00

When we retired, February 1, 2008, we bought a 2008 Toyota Prius, just a couple weeks later. As it happens, that was the perfect time for it .. we got a nice discount from the sticker price, and the local dealer had exactly the car we wanted. Leather, Nav System, Bluetooth, all the goodies. Well .. except for heated seats, but having a small engine, the Prius heats up so quickly that it's not really a problem not having them. And, as I remarked to Peg last week, the car comes the closest to being exactly what it's supposed to be, of any car I've ever bought.

Hold that thought.

Peg and I went to a prayer conference this past weekend, at FBC Montgomery. There were some pretty good .. and some highly innovative .. Breakout Sessions, plus two general sessions. The "headliner" speaker was Tom Elliff, President-Elect Nominee of the IMB, who spoke Friday evening and Saturday morning. Of course, the arrangements for his being on the program were made a year ago and more, so it had nothing to do with any recent developments, and he preached two of the finest sermons I've ever heard.

I heard some terrific thoughts at the conference .. you know .. the sort that causes you to think "wow" and to make notes. One of the points was this: "Prayer is no substitute for work, but it is the work for which there is no substitute." That rang a bell with me, since I have for years thought that prayer was the work of the church .. that most of the things most churches do can be done by other entities (feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless, etc) .. but no other entity is charged with the privilege of prayer. And I've heard that "before you pray, there's nothing greater you can do than pray .. but after you pray, there's a lot more you can do. And both are summarized by the new thought put forth at the meeting.

The other thought, that came out of Tom Elliff's first sermons, was this: "When all I want is all God wants me to have, I'll always have all I want".

Wow. That one packs some real punch. It carries with it the thought that God wants what's best for us, regardless of our ability to see it. And that He wants to give us what's best for us, and that He really is a giving God.

The thought also awakens in me the memory that God's plans are to bless us, not curse us. And that Jesus came so we could have an abundant life .. not just an eternal one.

And the issue that, if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts, how much more does our heavenly Father want to give us good gifts? And, just as we hope that our children will want what we give them, how much God wants us to want abundant life.

When we raise our children, we teach them a lot of stuff, not so they will simply behave as we want them to, but so they will live fruitful, happy, productive lives.

Reflecting on Tom Elliff's statement, I am certain that I want what God wants for me. What He wants me to have. Or, as I heard once before I was even a practicing believer, "God's will .. nothing more .. nothing less .. and nothing else."

All I want is all He wants me to have.

OK. Back to the Prius. When we retired, I thought it would be good to try to live within social security. To do that, I figured we'd need to hold expenses down, yet we didn't want to cut out all vacations, eating out, etc. Since we were driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee, getting 11-12 mpg, and since we didn't want to be concerned about driving to see people what with high gas prices and all, we went and looked at Toyotas. And we ended up getting a wonderful deal on a car just like the one in the photo.

Since that time, it has done precisely what I wanted it to do. Four people can ride in relative comfort, but 99% of the time it's just the one or two of us, and it's comfortable even on long trips for Peg and me. The electronics are really cute and a lot of fun to play with, having several interesting displays, and the mileage is terrific. Usually in the low-to-mid 40's.

I didn't want gas prices to be a concern to us. And they aren't! We use about 3 to 3-1/2 gallons a week, fill up every two weeks, and when gas goes up a quarter a gallon, it costs us maybe $.75 extra a week.

Worry over gas prices is simply off the radar. And I guess that's my point. The car is doing now precisely what I had in mind when I bought it. It's everything I wanted in a car .. everything I'd hoped it would be.

Here's hoping that I'm filling the bill with God as well as the Prius is filling the bill with me. That's sure all I want .. what all God wants for me.

You've Been Drafted!

2011-02-07T14:24:00.000-06:00

We have a small band of guys that meets on Wednesday nights, just to read and discuss the Bible. We've been meeting for several years and have made it through five or six books, so far.

One night, we spent the entire hour & some minutes one one verse. That happens because we have only a couple of real ground rules .. we chase all rabbits and answer all questions (to whatever extent we can).

It's been a real pleasure to lead this group (which the church refers to as "Discipleship Training"), and the other night one of the guys said something that really rang some bells with me. It should be noted that he's no Calvinist, but what he said would sure make Presbyterians spread high-fives.

Craig (Reeves) is a fairly quiet guy, but as we were discussing a passage in Colossians, he said something like "You know, in a football draft, when you pick someone, it's for a specific position. You don't just draft someone because you like him". He also wondered whether God doesn't operate on the same basis. That, when He calls us and saves us, it's for a specific purpose.

I think Craig made a great point .. that God "drafted" us to fill a particular position in His Body. That He has something specific in mind for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 (New International Version, ©2010)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So let me ask: if God prepared the works for us, in advance, then He knew what they were to be, right? And still knows, right?

So .. how are WE to know? Simple .. consider the following:

Psalm 37:4 (New International Version, ©2010)

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Yes, I know we're taught not to trust our feelings, to seek God's will, but we seem to ignore the promise that He'll give us the desires of our heart (heart being the seat of our will, not the blood-pumping organ in the chest), if we take delight in Him.

SO .. let me get this straight .. God planned in advance what He wants us to do ... He put the desires in our heart for what He wants us to do .. and we're still trying to figure out our role in all this?

That makes no sense to me. And, apparently, I'm not alone .. the Rev. Wade Burleson seems to agree .. here.

I agree with Wade's final conclusion. Ask yourself what it is you want to do, in the Kingdom work, see if the door's open, and jump in!

And as far as knowing whether what's on your heart is sin or not, check this verse...

Psalm 119:11 (New International Version, ©2010)

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Assuming you (like me) haven't got it all hidden in our hearts, check the Bible if there's any doubt. Or, seek Godly counsel. But I know this from experience: it's worth the effort.

This One Was Fun, Too ...

2011-01-26T16:00:00.006-06:00

So, as I was saying, I had my appendix out a week ago Tuesday. Well ... maybe I wasn't saying it, but I will.

Oh yes ... that's the part of Shelby Baptist Medical Center I stayed in, over there in the picture; I didn't figure you'd want to see my appendix.

Trust me. You wouldn't.

As part of the litany of tests they ~~inflicted on my body~~ ran on me, when I was in Shelby Baptist Medical Center December 1st-6th .. about which I blogged here, they did a CAT scan of my abdomen. Along with an Echo-Cardiogram and a sonogram of my abdomen. As the prior hospitalization was ostensibly due to a serous infection, I suppose they wanted to know where all it had gone.

They saw several shadows in the abdomen, which seemed to be enlarged lymph nodes, along with a shadow around my appendix. Since a PSA test (0.01) pretty well confirmed the enlargements weren't a recurrence of my prior cancer, they were presumed to be caused by the infection. But that left the appendix thing.

A followup visit to my family doctor to confirm my blood tests were back to normal confirmed just that, but he suggested I have the CAT scan re-run to see about the enlargements. That test, done the next day, confirmed there was some sort of growth on my appendix, which necessitated its removal last Tuesday. Despite the fact that I'm on Plavix, which the Cardiologist said should not be stopped.

Anyway, the surgery went fine.

This visit was fun, too. I talked to a very nice young nurse in the recovery room, about eternal things. I started by asking where she went to church and she said she didn't. We chatted about things a bit and I told her she was certainly worth it .. going to church .. and that was a really important thing to get ironed out while you had the chance. After a little more talk, she finally said " ...you're going to make me cry.." My hope was that I somehow touched her and awakened a Spiritual desire that will be addressed by someone else God sends across her path.

Then I went to the room on the 3rd floor of the new South Tower .. just one floor under where I was December 1st to 5th, and every bit as magnificent. I was there about 24 hours and I didn't have to witness to my nurse. It was Melissa Vondereau, a good friend from church.

Missy and I go back about 15 years, so this one was a fun time of the "hallelujah" variety.

So, today, I went for the followup visit with the surgeon, Dr. Christopher. He asked how I was doing and I told him that's what I'd come to his office to find out. So he got out the pathology report and told me what it was they'd torn out of my body a week ago. Turns out it was a low-grade mucinous tumor, well confined, with clear margins all around. Not cancer, and not dangerous unless it becomes really huge and bursts, gets, infected, etc.

News as good as it could be!

Funny thing is .. what started this whole mess about a year ago was mild chest pains, with hot flashes, and I still have them. After the stent, after the serious UTI and dehydration, after discovery of, and removal of, the appendix tumor (and appendix itself), I'm back where I started.

Except whatever it was that my appendix did, before, it's not going to be doing, any more.

Although the news was good today, there was no big "sense of relief". I know where it comes from, and it comes from the One who wrote down the number of days of my life, before any of them came to be.

And He's doing just fine!

We Meant It. We Think God Did, Too.

2011-01-10T07:14:00.010-06:00

Back in 1983, we'd sold the company I was working for .. the one which bade us move from Indiana to Alabama .. and we had some money in a CD. At the time, the going interest rate was 20%, and we got 2 years of that before interest started down.

I thought about the money in that CD and that it'd be better off in a rental house, so I asked a friend to find one in Pelham for us. She found the house in the picture, which was a huge bargain, had a favorable interest rate, the down payment was just what we had in the CD, and it was about twice the size of the house we lived in.

Now, Brian had married by that time, and the house was too big (and, frankly, too fancy) for the 3 of us, but it occurred to me we should buy this one and rent out the house we already owned. Peg and I had long discussions about it, and we finally agreed that the only way we should buy this house would be for us, somehow, to use it for God's glory. So, we went ahead and made the offer, signed the papers, and then, on closing day, came to the house and had a little prayer time.

We actually laid hands on the kitchen countertops (more easily done than, say, the ceiling or floor) and prayed that God would use this house for His glory. That the house truly would be His. Then, over the years, we've simply looked for opportunities to have folks here. And, when folks come in, they're going to see lots of stuff around like the needlepoint a good friend made, that quotes "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".

That's really about all we do. But it's taken some interesting turns. Shortly after we moved in here, Mom and Dad sold their condo in Florida so they could move to this area .. to be close to us. They stayed with us for several months while their apartment was being completed (about 5 minutes from here). That couldn't have happened in the house we'd occupied, formerly.

We've had visiting missionaries stay here for a night or two. Even from South America

We've had DiscipleNow kids spend a weekend with us.

Peg leads a Bible Study here, for some of "her girls", once a week.

We've had lots of Sunday School parties here. Because of the way our dining room and living room are arranged, we can put up a table about 30' long to seat everybody. Or, more likely, we can fit 40 or so kids in the living room sitting around the coffee tables, having a buffet dinner and watching the Super Bowl (or some such).

I recall once we had some sort of party here .. I think it was the 25th anniversary party our kids threw for us .. and the soon-to-be Fire Chief (I was just finishing a term as Fire Commissioner) remarked that he couldn't understand why we were letting little children ride tricycles around in the hallways.

We had a chance, then, to tell him our tale.

A couple of times, we've had ice storms that closed the roads. At those times, our son Brian has stayed here, with a Paramedic Vehicle, with a fellow medic from the Fire Dept. Our subdivision is somewhat hilly, and it's over a big hill from the fire station serving this area, so it was beneficial to the city's ability to provide service here, so they stayed.

Both our sons and their families come here for lunch on Sunday. Peg's momma was a cook in a school, always cooked for the crowd, and there were apt to be 8 or 10 or 12 extra people show up Sunday dinnertime, and Peg seems to have inherited whatever gene her momma had. So there've been a lot of folks over the years who have popped in at noon on Sunday, to our and (hopefully) their delight.

One of the young men who is here most every Sunday is Marcus, who works not far from here but lives about 35-40 miles away. He's a pal of Matthew and Meredith, so he eats here and then they all crash in the living room until Sunday evening church activities. Last night, however, he stayed over, since he had to go to work today and didn't have any way to get home .. what with the winter storm and all.

Since Brian was on duty last night, the rest of his family stayed over, too.

All in all, I'm thinking about getting some banners and signs and starting selling used cars. There are a bunch of'em sitting around.

NOW: Let me say this: I'm not pointing to us as any great example here. What I am, however, saying, is this: if God can use our house for His glory, He can use yours, too. He's no respecter of persons, and He doesn't need 3000 Sq. Ft. to bring on some magic (I mean, how much space do 2 DiscipleNow kids take up, anyway?).

Yes, indeed. God does mean business. Especially with those who mean business with Him. So look around, see what it is in your hand .. or under your feet .. talk to God about it, and get busy.

I think you might be amazed.

"Cel-a-Bration Time ... Ya-HOO!!"

2010-12-24T09:31:00.007-06:00

By now, I figure most folks know Jesus wasn't born on December 25, 0000. Or December 25 of any year. And that December 25 is the date we've chosen to celebrate his birthday.

I'm betting He's not upset, at all, that we're celebrating His birthday.

That's what we do at the Cleveland home every Christmas. Tomorrow morning, at some yet-to-be determined time, our family will gather together and we'll give presents to each other .. present we've bought for them because of our love for them, and this is just one of the two (usually) occasions during the year, that we do that.

I'm betting Jesus likes it when we buy something for someone that they'd like to have, just because we love them.

If you'll note the tree, it's the artificial one I bought a couple years ago, in a fantastic demonstration of the cumulative effects of discounts. And it's festive, with 1000+ lights, plus lots of decorations various folks have made, many of which were, themselves, gifts to us.

I rather think Jesus likes the fact that we see the celebration of His birthday as being a festive occasion. But still keeping others in mind, and involved, via the gifts we give, and get, and show, like some of the decorations.

If you'll notice, there are a bunch of stockings hung on the mantle. Peg made those. When our kids were infants, my Sister-in-Law Joan made them each a Christmas Stocking for their first Christmas. And we've hung them up every year, ever since.

Now, when they got married, Peg did a couple extra things; she gave them each the original, and then made another one for us to hang up at Christmas, which we started doing when we moved into a house with a mantle upon which to hang them.

When they got married, and when grandkids came into the family, she made up one for each of them, too. And, finally, if you'll note the one at the far end of the mantle, it's just labeled "Grand Dogs". Peg doesn't want anybody left out, you know.

SECRET: Tomorrow morning, they'll each be stuffed with treats like apples, oranges, M&M's, Doggy-Treats for the dogs, etc.

Somehow, I think Jesus would approve.

We've got a new tradition this year, even. When someone tell me "Happy Holidays", I always wish them the same, and tell them it's even OK to wish me "Merry Christmas!". Which they always do, without exception! WOW .. what a neat opportunity to bring up what we're celebrating, and the merchants and the clerks and the like are even bringing it up so we can mention Him.

We stopped sending cards out some years ago. We have a lot of friends here, and it's easy to mention Christmas, and extend our wishes to them, when we see them during December. I'd rather have someone do that, any day, in person, than send me a card that I never know what to do with on 12/26 or thereafter.

Or, come to think of it, once I've read it......

Oh, we don't neglect folks. Peg is an avid fan of Cable Telephone .. she calls all her sisters and their families, and other friends she keeps in touch with, all the time. I'll take keeping in regular touch, over an almost-anonymous-card in the mail once a year, any time.

I have to think Jesus approves of keeping up friendships. He sure did when He had supper with Levi and his friends.

Do merchants cross some lines in "using Christmas for profit"? Sure. And we may not like that, but you and I cross our own lines, too, and we're holding ourselves out to be followers of the Saviour; Disciples of the Most High God.

At least Wal-Mart doesn't do THAT.

We celebrate Christmas. And if it's too much work, or too much expense, or too hectic, well, so what? Can you think of a better cause, than the celebration of the one Whose name we claim?

Bring it on, world. We're ready.....

HAITI, AND MIRACULOUS PROVISION

2010-12-22T21:51:00.005-06:00

The following is a brief chapter I wrote about our first Mission Trip, to Haiti, for my book "IN THE FOREWORD OF THE BOOK OF LIFE" .. which was just a collection of all the memories I could think of to write about. I did it 6 or 7 years ago, and many of the things I wrote about were 'way back there in the sludge of my memory. But this one was crystal clear, and still is:

On Saturday, April 11, 1970, I went with my friend Dave Van Veld, to a Men For Missions International breakfast in Indianapolis. Downtown at the Howard Johnson’s, in fact.

At the close of that meeting, Charlie Spicer announced they had 4 places left on the Haiti Family Crusade scheduled for July 1970. Instantly, I felt as if everyone in the room was looking at me. I even recall looking up and around the room, to see if they were. They weren’t. I did know, however, that something was happening. I told Charlie, on the way out, that I’d just mailed in my tax return on the way to the Breakfast, that if I got the return back by May 1st, the deadline for the $100 deposit, we’d go. Our tax refund was $105, and we would not have the money without it.

As Dave and I got into the car to go home, he said he had felt the same thing. My opinion, I said, was that we might ought to apply to go; that I would discuss it with Peggy when we got home. He said he’d talk to Diana.

I talked to Dave Monday and told him that Peg wasn’t at ALL interested in going. She said maybe I was called, but she wasn’t. Dave told me he’d talked to Diana and she wasn’t thrilled about it either, but he’d called MFMI headquarters to inquire, and they’d told him they’d already put the Clevelands and the Van Velds on the list, filling it, simply on faith.

More talks with Peg reached a sort of consensus that we ought to look into it, no promises, but let’s see what develops.

I talked to my boss, and told him I’d like to have that week in July off for vacation, so I could go on a mission trip. He said no.

We called my mom and dad. Our kids were 10 and 7 at the time, and they’d needed to be 12 to go on the trip, so we needed my Mom and Dad to keep them for the week. A couple days later, Mom called Peggy and “read her the riot act”. It seems there had been an “Insurgent Army” (actually 3 unhappy soldiers) which commandeered the entire Haiti Air Force (an old relic of a DC-3) and had bombed the Dictator’s Palace (pushed out a partially-full barrel of diesel fuel, which bounced harmlessly on the Palace yard), and didn’t we realize that revolutionaries always kill missionaries first and here we have these 2 kids who are going to be orphans?

Peg said as Mom was talking, she could envision “SATAN TALKING” written on the wall. Mom and Dad had no evident spiritual leanings at the time, had not evidenced any previously, and Peg figured if they didn’t think we should go, then we should.

So: we had no money to go; the cost was about $475 and we didn’t know where it would come from. We also had nobody to watch the kids, and my boss said I couldn’t go.

A few days later, we got a letter from Mom, and she apologized and said they’d be happy to come stay with the kids. And, oh, by the way, here’s a check to help pay for the trip.

Then, the Friday after I had mailed in the tax return .. a total of six days later .. we got the refund from the Government. That, after mailing it a few days before the deadline!

My boss called me in and said he knew there was something good about going on that trip, and I could have that time off, after all. And, by the way, here’s a check to help pay for it.

In early May, I got a birthday card from my brother, Art. He said he didn’t know what to get me that year, so he sent me a check. The ironic part of that is had never sent me a birthday present before that May. In fact, I don’t believe he ever did, again.

We had to have the final payment in by July 1st, and we were still $175 short. At the time, I was the Secretary-Treasurer of the Madison Avenue Businessmen’s Association. That entailed collecting the dinner tab from the members on meetings nights once a month, sending the bulletins out, receiving the reservations, and paying the restaurant every month. About the middle of June, the President of the Association called me about some Association matter. He then asked “Have you written yourself a check yet?”. I asked why I’d be doing THAT, and he said “On .. they didn’t tell you .. we pay the Secretary-Treasurer for the work you do”. I asked how much, and he replied “$175 a year”.

I was dumbstruck. My next question, as I wanted to do everything just right, was “When is that normally paid?”. He replied “Our fiscal year is July 1st through June 30th, so write it before the end of the month.”

God had provided, to the dollar, just what we needed.

Our church, now, promotes many mission trips every year. We’ve had several to Peru and Guatemala and Honduras. The usual format is to encourage people to put down the deposit, which is usually around $100, and then write letters to church friends enlisting their help in paying for the trip. I guess that’s ok, but I think it was Brother Andrew, in God’s Smuggler, who called that “Faith by Feelers”. I don’t personally believe in that, as I’ll trust God to provide the funds and wouldn’t want to pass up the miracle of seeing God provide, where there seemed to be no way.

We went on the trip, and it was a life-changing event. I had anticipated a call to the mission field, and I didn’t get one. But, I learned that missionaries were happy, well adjusted people. Teenaged kids there were like teenagers everywhere. They were just in a different place. The evening we got to the missionary compound, a Haitian came to the Picazo home with a Boa Constrictor, fairly small, for sale. Daniel Picazo bought it for 50 cents and put it in the attic to kill mice and rats. Some days later, it crawled into the garage and squeezed a can of turpentine. It popped open and the snake was drenched in it. Daniel found it writhing on the garage floor, in pain. He took it into the bathroom and put it in the tub; the only soap he could find was bubble bath, so he dumped some in.

OMS International has a radio station there, 4VEH, broadcasting over Haiti and the Southwest North Atlantic. They carried a story the next day about the Boa Constrictor who got a bubble bath.

Another Haitian came to the compound one evening. As I recall, he was led by his young daughter, as he was blind. He’d borrowed some money from the missionaries to buy supplies so he could make some whisk brooms. This evening, he came to sell the whisk brooms to the missionaries so he could buy food for his family. I asked our host, Dave Graffenberger, why he just didn’t take the money he’d borrowed to buy the food (since he never did repay the loan for the supplies) and Dave said they were too proud to borrow; they wanted to earn the money.

There were 20 of us on the trip. It was a real culture shock going there. They’d told us that nothing they could say to us would really prepare us for stepping off an airplane and into the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. And they were right. The first night, in a small hotel in Petionville, 1500 feet high overlooking Port-Au-Prince, we were served Pumpkin Soup for starters. We didn’t even know there was such a thing. Then, they put a plate before us, which had a whole fish on it, eyes and all. We were really not used to that, but it was delicious, nonetheless.

After a couple days on the trip, folks started getting sick. They had something like the stomach flu, nauseous for a day and then it’d pass. Sometimes they’d even lose what they’d eaten. Myself, I felt somewhat sick one day and was lying on the bed; I recall praying ‘God, if you want me down, you’ll have to knock me down, as I’m not going to lay here feeling sorry for myself”. I got up and went on with the activities and worked through it ok.

Of the 20, 19 of us were sick to one degree or another. Peggy was the exception. Miraculous exception would be an even more apt description, as she’d been suffering from diverticulitis for several months. Her diet had been baby food for quite a while, and when she was unsure she even wanted to go, she appealed to the doctor. She said she figured he’d say not to go, and she’d be “off the hook”. His response, however, was “You can’t live your life in a bubble … go ahead and go”.

She did, and she was the only one who wasn’t sick a minute on the trip.

At the end of the week, as we were leaving, a man came to the bus as we were loading luggage at the hotel outside Port-Au-Prince. He wanted to shine our shoes. Dave had told us a quarter was the going rate, so that’s what I offered when he asked for a dollar. As the man was kneeling at my feet, shining my shoes, God intervened and I felt so ashamed for asking him to chop his price, so I gave him the dollar he asked for. I’ve never forgotten how that made me feel, trying to “win”.

The story even continued after we came back home. Two folks on the trip who’d touched me were the Dentist and the Mechanic; we’d had dinner with each and they had shared their needs with us.

The Dentist said he always needed dental needles. The dental situation among Haitians was pathetic, and his office was said to be the best-equipped dental office in the nation. But he couldn’t get enough needles.

The Mechanic said he couldn’t get shock absorbers for the Land Rover. He said the roads were so bad, and the shocks so worn, that it was tearing the Land Rover, slowly, to pieces.

When I got back home, I had about $56 of the money we’d saved to spend in Haiti. I went to Washington Auto Parts and asked if they had shock absorbers for the Land Rover, and they did!.

The price just happened to be $56 for the set of 4.

I'd also mentioned the dental needles to the dentist who occupied the office next to ours. That was before I bought the shocks, and I told him I had $56 to spend on needles (since I never thought I’d find the shocks).

A week later, he walks into our office and plops a huge box onto my desk. He said “Here .. this will be my good deed for the year”. And, with that, he walked out. The box was marked “Contents: Dental Needles. 5000 count.”

Yes .. I learned a lot. Before, during, and after.

It’s amazing how much God will show us when we don’t try to make it into what we want to see.

THEY FAILED ME AGAIN

2010-12-16T15:23:00.002-06:00

We've patronized this restaurant many times over the past few years, and never once has an employee offered to wash my hands.

I've complained to management, but they've never fixed it.

I feel so neglected....

HEROES COME IN ALL SORTS OF DISGUISES

2010-12-15T20:33:00.004-06:00

I forget what day it was, but I was outside playing, near our home in Calumet City, IL. A strange dog came into the neighborhood .. there were lots of houses and lots of kids there .. and started chasing kids around. He nipped me on the heel, but I'm not sure he broke the skin. I ran into the house yelling for mom and dad, and dad asked what had happened.

When I told him, he flew down the back stairs,to the basement, grabbed a pair of long welder's gloves he had there, and ran out the back door to find the dog. And, as the article says, he did.

I recall we got into the car and took the dog to the police station, where the police took the dog from us and destroyed it. Its head was sent off for analysis, and it did, indeed, have rabies.

The police told us while we were there, that they'd had several reports of people being bitten by a mad dog, and they thought this was probably it. As it turns out, it was, and we had no idea of the havoc he'd wrought in 2 cities and 2 states.

By way of explanation, Calumet City, IL, and Hammond, IN are one metropolitan area split in two by the State Line, which happened to run down the middle of State Line Avenue. In fact, South of town there'd been a tavern which straddled the line; only half the bar was open on Sundays as Liquor sales were legal on Sunday in Illinois, but not in Indiana.

Or vice versa. I was, like, five at the time.

The article Mom clipped out was from the Chicago Sun-Times, and Mom made a humorous note on the bottom for Dad's benefit. He hadn't been bitten, but the doctors thought he should take the shots anyway, to be safe.

It also made me feel a lot better to go there every morning for one or two weeks (I forget which) and get the shots, which I recall getting in the part of me that faces north when I'm southbound. IF you get my drift here...

Like I say, heroes come in all sorts of configurations. This one was Rescuer and Comforter of a five-year-old kid.

The paper got that part wrong, too.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYBODY!

2010-12-13T21:44:00.005-06:00

Christmas is a really neat time to be an old curmudgeon. You can speak your mind about stuff and, if somebody disagrees, they can just dismiss you as an old fuddy-duddy.

At my age, I'll take all the escape routes available to me, thank you very much.

This rant is brought to you courtesy of the church's seeming upset at merchants who tell you, or who instruct their employees to tell you, or even just people who tell you "Happy Holidays". Some thoughts:

First, when someone says that to me, they're expressing the hope that I have a happy holiday season. I'm supposed to be upset about that?

Not gonna happen.

Second, merchants are in business to make money. Particularly someone like a major chain store operation is charged with making as much money for their owners, as possible. If using the phrase "Happy Holidays" is less offensive to some, then they're really only doing what they should.

Next, it's not the merchants of this world who are supposed to "keep Christ in Christmas". It's you and me, the church. Blaming the stores for not doing that really indicts us, ourselves, if we're doing the usual present buying for friends & family, and not giving the birthday presents to the One Whose birthday we're celebrating. He told us how to do that, you know......

Then there's the fact that "Happy Holidays" is in no way an insult to Christians. Period. It's no more an insult to Christmas than, as you leave work, telling a Jewish friend to "have a nice weekend" is an insult to the Sabbath.

Last, when someone wishes me a "Happy Holidays", it's a wonderful opportunity to say what I do believe. That's it's OK to wish me "Merry Christmas". Every time I have said that to someone, they've brightened up and returned the favor.

I can't help but think that's constructive to the cause of Christ. Much moreso than the church in Texas that started a "Grinch" website, taking to task those stores that don't wish them the best in a manner they like.

So .. anyway, here's hoping your holidays are happy ones, indeed, this year. And you know which ones I'm talking about. If you don't, just ask and I'll be happy to fill you in.

LIVING AS WHAT WE ARE

2010-12-08T13:33:00.010-06:00

That's Svetlana over there. She was my Tech .. technician who tended my requirements that didn't require a nurse, while I was in the Intermediate Care Unit, at Shelby Baptist Medical Center. She was there Saturday and Sunday, 7am-7pm.

More about her later.

When I was first taken to the ER, I was, as Jeff (the nurse on duty) said, really, really sick. He mentioned that nothing added up, with me. I was somewhat of an anomaly.

Before they trundled me off to SICU, where I spent the next 2-1/2 days, they made sure everything was in order, I'd been checked for bedsores, linens clean, etc; that the nurse who'd be tending me was quite protective toward her patients. And, indeed, she was.

About 4:30-5:00am on Thursday .. I'd slept from 3:27 to 4:05 .. she came into my room again to check something. She'd been walking around softly singing things like "Go Tell It On The Mountain", and when she came into my room, she started in on "I Surrender All". So I started singing a little harmony with her.

She heard me and sang louder, and I heard her and sang louder.

Folks, we had us a duet.

In fact, a couple people stopped by and said it was great (speaking non-musically, I presume).

Next few visits were a wonderful time of ministry for me. It was God-ordained, as I don't know of a lot that will cheer up a sick patient like doing some Heavenly work, despite earthly woes.

When Peg came in just before shift change, she spoke to Peg and said "Your husband has blessed my soul". You and I both know it wasn't me; God just let me in on the goodies.

A little later, a lady came in to run a test on me. We got to talking about spiritual things .. her name was a clue .. and she said "I have learned the most important thing in this life is "I AM"."

Amen and amen.

Shortly she asked if she could ask me a question. She had questions as to how a small church that grows huge can maintain "ministry". I told her of what I'd observed, and she thanked me for it. Then she asked what I thought was happening when someone says "I'm being led to leave here" .. speaking of the church he's serving. I again gave her my observations, and her comment was "I knew you were a man of God, and now I know why He sent you here".

More chills & thrills.

There was a further episode with a lady who came in to draw blood. We had a wonderful time rejoicing in the Lord.

Still more thrills & chills.

Then there was the pleasant young lady Chaplain who visited me in SICU, too. When she came in, she introduced herself and we said the usual hello's. Then I asked her to tell me about herself. She described her education .. perhaps wondering why I was questioning her .. and at the end she said she'd attended SWBTS. So, I asked her if she was there when Dr. Klouda was there. She brightened up and said yes, she was, albeit she hadn't ever taken a course from her. That led to a discussion on women in the ministry, the "Official SBC position", some of the actions that had taken place. She asked my opinion and I told her.

We talked for nearly an hour. It was a fascinating time for me, to think that I might have something to say of interest for a Hospital Chaplain, rather than vice-versa.

Which brings us to Svetlana. When I moved into the room, they wrote the names of the Nurse, Tech, and Charge Nurse on an information board in my room. They listed the tech as "Lana". But when she came in, I saw her name tag, and called her by that name, of course.

Next time the nurse came in, I asked why she was shown as "Lana", and the nurse said Svetlana'd told them if they had trouble saying the Russian name .. she was from Belarus until 9 years ago .. just call her Lana.

Next time Svetlana came into the room, I asked her to do me a favor: please change her name on the board. I'd been to Russia, knew some folks there, and knew how to say her name. She acted so happy, and changed her name. She said she was really happy to have someone who could say her name.

I then told her we learned some songs in Russian, so I recited the parts of "Because we Believe" and "I Love You, Lord" in my now-13-year-old Russian. Again, she was so happy.

At that point, Brad walked in and I asked him to snap her picture, which you see above.

NOW: for years, I've taught that what the church really needs is not more programs or plans or outlines. We need its people to simply live as what we are. And happy to be so. We wear a wedding ring because we're happy that people will know we're married. We wear Alabama or Auburn T-Shirts or Sweatshirts or License Tags because we're happy for folks to know those things about us. But I don't see a lot of external evidence that we're Christians, which is the most important there IS, about us.

Why are we reluctant to have them know that about us?

The verse which says "He that winneth souls is wise" is normally used as an inducement for church folks to go out on a "witnessing visit" or some such. But as I read the original language, that verse says that it's wise to "gather" "living beings with vitality". Like making friends, building relationships, and being so happy in our faith that when people have a Spiritual need of which they become aware (whether lost or saved), well ... "Who ya gonna call?"

In the end, December 1-6 proved to me that what I've been teaching all these years is really true. Gee .. who knew?

Furthermore, those days shed a new light on what Wade Burleson blogged about, here. God put the desires to do those things recounted here .. to talk to people .. in my heart for reasons which run clear back to my childhood. But all of them have made me whatever it is that I am, now. And insofar as it lined up with Biblical principles, it wasn't just God's permission to act like that. It was my obligation to do so.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He'll give you the desires of your heart, I read somewhere. Let's act like it, OK?

DEAR HOME DEPOT:

2010-12-07T14:34:00.002-06:00

Yes, I can, and NO, you CAN'T.

IT'S ABOUT WHAT WE ARE

2010-12-06T22:22:00.006-06:00

Short Version: Last week, on Wednesday, I developed a severe Urinary Tract Infection. Also, due to some sort of allergy to an antibiotic I'd taken, I threw up everything I drank that day. Upshot: dehydration, but no way to know it, as I never urinated all day.

Peg finally loaded me up and took me to Shelby Baptist Medical Center .. 7 minutes away in Alabaster .. where I spent the night in ER, the next 2 days in ICU, and then was in Intermediate Care until last evening, when I came home.

The dehydration was so severe that they ran four bags of fluids through me before anything came out of the catheter, at all! The ER nurse .. a great ex-paramedic named Jeff Ray, said "You're one SICK puppy", with a glance that let me know that I was lucky as all get-out that Peg had taken me in when she did.

And the infection was so severe, that every test they ran was abnormal. Liver enzymes, a slight touch of pneumonia, and a bunch of others I cannot recall and never could pronounce.

In the end, all the blood cultures came up negative, which meant that (apparently) the UTI was it; it'd just spread all around my considerable body in my bloodstream. And, after 5 days of industrial strength IV antbiotics in two flavors, they sent me home with an 8X10 envelope full of instructions.

Long Version: It was an incredible time of ministry for me, and a wonderful time of affirmation of some of the things I've been teaching for years (gee .. WHO KNEW? ... I was right!) Laying out all that happened will take a separate post, but you can get a glimpse of its essence by reviewing Wade Burleson's post, here.

All I can say simply is that it was an affirmation of his thoughts, as well as what I've been teaching, and has also connected some dots that I'd never seen before.

Peg just read me a line from our last church prayer letter; it says "Please continue to pray for Bob Cleveland and Shelby Hospital.....".

Amen. They did, and it worked.

Stay tuned. More details to follow.

I AM NOT GOING TO LET...

2010-12-05T10:37:00.002-06:00

...a whole MONTH go by without posting SOMETHING but, as I am still in a hospital bed, this is all you're going to get.

The pic over there is me, last Wednesday night, in the ER. I asked #1 grandson Matthew to snap a pic of me with his IPhone, put it on Facebook, and tag me. When he showed me the pic, I said "Idon't feel THAT good", so that's what he put up.

Short version: severe kidney infection, bad (as in BAD) dehydration, and sepsis.

But I am getting better now. There have been some wonderful times of testimony and ministry, which have made it all more than worth it.

Stay tuned. Details to follow.

It Just Keeps Gettin' Better

2010-11-05T12:12:00.007-05:00

Now, I know what you're thinking; "Oh, NOOOO .. it's another blog post about canned biscuits!"

Well, it's not.

Sort of.

Peg fixed us breakfast for lunch today. Scrambled egg(beater)s, ham, and Pillsbury Grands FLAKY LAYERS Butter Tastin' biscuits.

I'm even old enough to remember when they first came out; they were so much better than the old original bake-it-yourself hockey pucks they replaced .. which I also remember first hitting the market .. that we were all giddy over them. But ready-made biscuits have come a long way, since then. A long way.

Nowadays you can buy biscuits that come out of the oven as good as you can make at home. You know .. a little dusty with flour on the outside, and all. And, thinking of that, I remarked to Peg:

"You know, these biscuits used to be state-of-the-art."
Peg laughed, and said she agreed with me, and I then said "It just keeps gettin' better...". And that, as Jerry Clower used to say, "Flung a cravin' on me".

Namely, to write about that last statement.

Last Wednesday, we were reading and talking our way through Philippians, and got into a fairly lengthy discussion over Verse 21 of Chapter 1. The one where Paul says "For me, living is Christ and dying is gain" (HCSB style). We talked about that, and the plain fact that I have a real preference to continue breathing, for now. Everybody else confessed the same thing, and I observed that the verse was a lot closer to being true in my life, now, than it was 30 years ago. Sure, I've always confessed the Bible is true, and that's how Paul really did feel about it, but I wondered aloud how many folks could really say that same thing, and mean it.

I then observed that Paul's statement reflected how he truly felt inside, and asked the class if they'd like to have that same feeling. If they'd like to have that same closeness to Christ that Paul did (and we discussed how he met Jesus, etc etc).

To a man, they said they'd like that, too.

Then we turned to whether God wants us there, too. No doubt about that, so we came to the conclusion that, if we desire that sort of closeness to Jesus, that God will help us to get there.

Then I got to thinking about life. Peg and I stopped going to the Caribbean on our annual anniversary/birthday trip, in 2006. We'd gone away for several years, and discovered that we'd really rather stay home, than go someplace we'd be glad to be for a week. And then be glad to go home! But .. that year .. we went to the SBC Annual Meeting, and every year since (except 2010). And, we really enjoyed those trips; they had purpose beyond just going someplace nice.

And, as it developed, the purpose turned out to have real spiritual connotations. My last blog detailed some of that stuff.

As we've gotten older, the glitz and glam of the world really has faded in importance. I don't care whether I ever have another new car, and when it comes to housing, we now think smaller instead of bigger. Even that lifelong dream of having a Ferrari (since I was 13...) is of no importance any more. But the Spiritual is another matter entirely.

That's the only thing that's really fascinating any more. It is, honestly, the only thing of which I have never tired. It's simply never gotten old. In fact, it just keeps getting better.

Couple those two thoughts, and voila .... life itself just keeps getting better and better. And I have no reason to believe the ultimate betterment won't come when we are absent from the body, and present with the Lord.

Paul had it right. I just wish I'd wanted the same thing he had, years before it ever even occurred to me.

They say folks should express their opinions, but send their advice by fourth-class mail. Well, I'll proffer a little advice, anyway. Young'uns, listen up:

You don't have to settle for less than what Paul had. So don't.

It's Not What We Do.

2010-10-25T21:12:00.028-05:00

It's what God does with what we do.

Case in point: Wade Burleson's blog, Grace and Truth To You. And, the fact that Wade, Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Enid, OK, is laying aside blogging for good, effective with a post he put up a couple days ago.

It's been interesting to see some of the reactions put up by other bloggers and commenters. But I don't really care about anyone else's opinion; I'm better off for the fact that Wade blogged about what he did, and for as long as he did.

A few things that have changed in my life, tracing back to his first blogging about what he saw as unfair rules set up by the IMB Trustees:

1) I got involved in the SBC. We'd first joined an SBC church in 1981, but I had no clue about what went on, beyond the obligatory mentions of IMB, NAMB, and the fact of seminaries and colleges, now and then. I also knew FBC Pelham gave 10% to the CP, but that was about it.

It's a different matter, now, all kicked off by Wade's blog.

2) My first involvement came as a result of a story run by Bob Terry, Editor of the Alabama Baptist, telling the tale of Wade and his objection to the IMB's then-new tongues & baptism guidelines. As a result, I wrote a letter to the editor, stating as one who'd been given the gift of tongues (hey .. that's what the Bible calls it), I objected to the IMB's stance, and particularly since they were, in my opinion, objecting to a gift sovereignly given out by God Himself. That letter, when it was published, got me a phone call from a pastor here in Shelby County, thanking me! It seems his wife had manifested that gift during childbirth, some years before, and she'd felt marginalized by the IMB action. The pastor told me my letter had helped her.

All because Wade was blogging.

3) Our first SBC Annual Meeting, that we attended, was 2006 in Greensboro. We went specifically because I asked Wade if I ought to go. His response was that yes, interested laymen really did need to attend the convention; it wasn't just "for the pros". So we went, and as a result of that, I even got to speak to some issues on the floor of the convention.

I found out that the little guy does have a voice, after all.

We also learned about how IMB Trustees can really be, courtesy of an attack by a long-time trustee while we were walking into the convention hotel. That would have been a real shock, had it not been for what I'd already read.

All because Wade was blogging.

4) When San Antonio rolled around, and the issue of the "Garner Motion" came up, I had the chance to speak to that. I'd also studied the BF&M, as I figured I should know what it was I thought the SBC entities ought to stick to. That led to my studying the 1925 and 1963 versions, also, so I could see where the SBC was headed (to the extent you could tell that by comparing the three...). In the process of that, I found out that very, very few Baptists have ever seen, read, or surely not studied, what is our fundamental consensus statement of faith. I found out that all most SBC'ers seem to know is how they got here, so to speak.

I use the analogy of someone using a Satellite Nav System to go somewhere. All they know is the route they took. Nothing about the countryside.

As a result of that, if I'm objective with myself, I have to acknowledge I know more about "being baptist" than most, and probably more about what I believe, personally, than ever before.

All because Wade was blogging.

5) I've made friends from around the country .. fellow bloggers and commenters .. that I never would have met, otherwise. I recall a time CB Scott and I got on an elevator, at Ridgecrest, and J.W & JaNelle Glidewell, from Nebraska, also got on. JaNelle turned to me and said "Say .. aren't you Bob?" It seems she gotten to my blog after reading a comment I'd made on "Grace & Truth To You", and had been following it.

We're friends on Facebook, now!

All because Wade was blogging.

6) I've been in some meetings here and there, which I never would have been involved in, and met some really nice folks there, as a direct result of blogging (I started Eagles' Rest after reading Grace & Truth To You).

All because Wade was blogging.

7) While attending the 2006 Convention, I met CB Scott. We had lunch a week or so later, and he's become my best non-family friend. It was one of those things .. you know .. from the first lunch at O'Charley's, we just hit it off famously. That friendship, and the sharpening of fellow iron, has been a huge help to me.

All because Wade was blogging.

SO .. while he started blogging to display the things that were going on, to report to the people he served, the actions of those serving the people, the consequences of his blogging go far, far beyond the purpose for which he started, and continued, posting.

There's so much scripture, all over this whole thing, I wouldn't have time to list it all.

The Bible says iron sharpens iron. Indeed.

The Bible says we should acknowledge Him .. ascertain by seeing .. in all our ways. How true.

The Bible says that the victory is the Lord's. And it is.

God said that He'll continue the good work He starts in us. I can attest to that.

Whether I agree with all Wade wrote, with all he's done, he's been a tool God has used in my life. From hundreds and hundreds of miles away, most of the time.

Thanks, Brother. I owe you.

Most of all, thanks, God. Do I EVER owe YOU.

Vision is More Than Just Seeing

2010-10-08T12:41:00.021-05:00

Yeah, it's another paper that I put in the "Save Stack" while we were preparing for the shredfest, a few days ago. This one happens to be one of three pages of notebook paper upon which my dad had drawn, in the early 60's, the plans for an A-Frame house they were arranging to have built at Bear Rocks Resort Community, not far from Greensburg, PA.

He knew that the A-Frames were all 24' wide, and came in multiples of 12' in depth, so he settled on the size, and drew up what he wanted it to look like. This was the main floor .. sort of the bottom of the "A"; he had another page for the loft (bedroom) and another for the basement, with activity room, sleeping area, woodworking shop, laundry, and a bathroom. They'd owned a nice home in Indanapolis, which they sold when they moved to Pittsburgh in a corporate transfer, and he wanted to reinvest the money before he had to pay taxes on the gain on the prior homes.

So they built this.

As you can see, it turned out to be a nice-looking place. And it all started out as a vision in Dad's mind.

I wonder if there's maybe some Spiritual application here. Perhaps we want to, somehow, limit God to what we can see ourselves. What we may have seen someone else do. What we have been able to do in our own strength. I wonder if we're not accustomed to doing what we know we can do, and asking God to bless as we do "that" for Him.

But that's not the kind of vision I'm thinking of here. I'm thinking of vision like Dad had, with the A-Frame, except pertaining to Spiritual matters. The sort of vision that saw Goliath getting rocked. Saw Jericho being overthrown by an inferior army (with a Superior Commander). The sort of vision that saw hundreds of Baal's prophets coloring the rivers with their blood.

The same kind that saw a deluge from a single cloud.

There's been a bit of a dust-up at Wade Burleson's blog, about knowing God's will. Some of the comments were a bit surprising, since God told us He gives us His Spirit so we can know what's been hidden for generations, and that we can know .. test .. approve the will of God. He then goes on to say that it's the perfect will of God, which of course His will is. ALL of it!

Could we be wearing the wrong glasses? The glasses that focus on us, or on the bankers, or on the congregation, or on the opposition?

Israel's army was pitching a fit about how big Goliath was, but David went up there pitching his own fit about how big God was.

Ten of the twelve scouts that scoped out the Promised Land couldn't see what was there for the taking. Joshua and Caleb could, and they got to hang around long enough to get what they'd been promised. The rest of them perished.

Maybe one of our bigger problems is that we think this: If God hasn't shown me something, He hasn't shown anybody." If I don't see what the GCRTF saw, then I have to disagree with their conclusion, their report, and its implementation. But, if I'm willing to consider that they may be seeing through Higher glasses than I do, then I must give them the benefit of the doubt.

I recently read another blog that compared the Cooperative Program to the venerable B-52 Bombers, citing how they'd been in used for decades and decades, and were still viable weapons in our arsenal. Methinks their vision in that post simply looked past all the later weapons in our arsenal, without which we'd probably be speaking Russian or Chinese, right now.

Perhaps it's only true that we see what we want to see. What we expect to see. Like the CP is the biggest, the best, the envy, etc etc.

And those symptoms remind me of the morning I wore two different-style black shoes to church. The closet had been dark and I 'd thought I'd picked up a matching pair, but I hadn't. I had two different style loafers. As it happens, an hour later, I noticed it as I was mid-way through a lesson in which I had made note that we tend to focus, in the Bible, on that which we expect to see. That which we want to see. That which agrees with our preconceived notions. Right then I noticed my shoes, and told the class I wanted to prove the point to them; I pointed out my shoes.

They'd seen them, but they really hadn't seen them.

Vision. Too often, we don't see what's really there. And seldom do we see what might be.

That would be God-sized. If you want an example, check what happened when our HS football coach and our FBC Pelham Youth Minister saw what wasn't there.

There were nearly 14,000 in attendance, close to a thousand decisions, and hundreds of first time decisions. And it all happened because they saw the same God David saw, and as a result, they saw what wasn't there .. but something well within the capabilities of the God Who spoke the universe into existence.

And, as with David ... and Goliath, Joshua ... and Jericho, Elijah ... and the prophets of Baal, and lots of other folks who saw what wasn't there.

Vision. Without it, we perish, you know.

A 362 Year Old Present That Changed ...

2010-10-05T11:34:00.005-05:00

... a lot of things in my life. Here's why:

We were in London on business .. Peg and I .. in early May, 1989. We looked up Baptist churches to go to on Sunday, as we'd just joined an SBC church a few years before. And, we also figured that Presbyterian Churches in London would probably be really dry.

The closest one we could find, by chance near a Tube Stop and not too far from our hotel (or Harrod's) was Bethesda Baptist Church. So we hopped on a subway and went there Sunday morning, which just happened to be their 175th anniversary.

Their goal for the day was 175 in attendance, which they made. Now, the church and its layout were an interesting topic in itself, as was the pastor (American) and the guest preacher for the occasion, his father (Florida resident). But the part of the deal that really zeroed in on me was the page, out of an old Bible, that they gave to me. It seems the Bible had come completely apart, having been printed in 1627, and they wanted those attending their special day to have a remembrance of the occasion.

I didn't really expect something from Leviticus, but that's what I got. And I was OK with it until we'd had lunch, visited Harrod's, and took the tube back to the hotel. That's when I read the page. Or, more correctly, Verse 32, which says we're to rise up in honor before the white head, and honor the face of the old man. At least, in the then-New King James version.

And here I was, using Grecian Formula to keep my hair brown (what of it I had left), and some man-stuff on my mustache. I suddenly got quite convicted about that, and when I got back home, I threw out my nearly new bottle of Grecian Formula, and that other stuff, and told God I was sorry but I didn't know any better.

That simple incident was probably the first real life-changing decision I made in obedience to scripture. I'd been raised as a good kid, never stole, etc, but here was something that was fine with the world, but I knew I couldn't do any more.

I mean .. the Holy Spirit doesn't have to do a lot of conviction in a couple of areas, at least, when you were raised with a mindset of sanctity of marriage, an attitude that lying or stealing were simply wrong, and that we were to treat others with respect and dignity. Simply because those things were "right to do".

We were going through this huge pile of papers out of a old filing cabinet we don't need any more, and shredding most of the stuff therein (or throwing it away). But this little folder, containing this page .. really from the Bible, not a copy .. and a copy of the cover page of the Bible, and a certificate of authenticity .. went in the "Save Stack".

I'm not ever going to discard this. I'll leave it to my wife or kids, It's been too important, to me, not to.

A Tale of the Heart, Really.

2010-09-22T13:31:00.008-05:00

Take a good look at the little girl in the picture at the right, if you would.

Is that joy, or what?

We were on a mission trip, and my duties involved overseeing a Backyard Bible Club/VBS, being held at a small Baptist mission church in the town in which our work was located. The mission was pastored by a man who was well known in the area, and presumably very knowledgeable.

The young man is Mike Yates, one of the teens who were doing the teaching and the like .. Mike, himself, was doing recreation time for the kids.

The little girl was named Isadora .. we called her Izzy .. and she was just as cute as she could be. On the day I took this photo, I'd gone into the nearby mobile home park where she lived to pick up 12+/- kids, and she was one of the last ones to hop on. She then came back up to where I was and asked if I'd "Please stop by the telephone pole over there" so she could pick some little purple flowers that were growing around the base. It seems that several kids had taken flowers to some of the teachers the day before, and one of the teachers hadn't gotten any.

Izzy wanted to fix that.

So I did, Izzy did, and the teacher got her flowers.

By that afternoon, the teacher was irate. It seems that the pastor of the little church plant had made a comment that we needed to stop looking to the trailer parks for children. That there was too much "deadwood" there.

"Deadwood" like Izzy.

They mentioned this on the way to the motel that afternoon, and I asked God to "set up something" so I could talk to the pastor the next day. But nothing came .. there was never a time when I could just casually mention the incident to him. So we went back to the motel (and I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, inside). But I should have known better....

Mid-afternoon, one of the teachers involved called my room. She asked about a particular bible verse, if I could give her the reference; I told her I'd look it up and call her back. But when I picked up my bible to look, it fell open (it really did, folks, I'm not kidding) to this verse:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Matthew 23:37-39, NIV).

I slammed the bible shut and apologized to God for not having confronted the pastor. Then I set about finding the verse the teacher had called about.

The next day, we drove to the site and picked up all the kids. When they were all situated and the teachers started their classes, I approached the preacher and said "Preacher, you, me, by the tree out back, NOW!".

I rehashed what the teachers had told me. He affirmed that yes, there are too many "non-contributors" in the trailer park, to reach out to them. I then read him the verses cited above, and told him that, if he didn't change his heart immediately, and do all he could to reach out to the children that were all around the little church, I didn't care how much money they had in the bank ... God was not going to honor that, and they would not last as a church.

I have to say it was a good thing I was sitting down. My knees would've been trembling had I n0t been. But the conviction I felt was as strong as any I've ever felt, on any matter before or since.

Maybe it took that kind of weight to kick me into action. Maybe. But I find it's been easier to "follow the Leader" since that summer day at that little mission church on the highway.

I can't help but wonder how many Izzy's there are, out there. That nobody much cares about, because they're "non-contributors". But one thing I don't wonder about is the mission church. I don't think it made it.

We Regret to Report the Death.....

2010-09-08T20:25:00.003-05:00

.. of the Cooperative Program, as we know it. And that evokes the following purely emotional response from me:

It's about time.

The key here is as we know it. That's pretty much as it was designed in 1925, and I don't know a lot of things that were designed & built back then, that we still use today. So maybe it's time for a major updating, as the GCRTF suggested.

Oh, I was one of the guys pooh-poohing the report, thinking it posed a threat to the CP. And, it does. But after I got to thinking about it, and not just reacting to it, I agree with the part about looking at all a church's bona fide missions expenses, and SBC entity investments, as part of their SBC stewardship.

I while back, I blogged about some of the things that a network of churches could do, that the SBC doesn't seem to be doing now. You can read that, here.

What really got me to thinking about this was the nomination of Kevin Ezell as President-Elect of NAMB. I saw the expectable shots at it, by those decrying the extremely low percentage of the budget, of the church he leads, that goes to the CP. But, I read the release they'd put out some time back, about their missions expenditures overall, and have seen reports about what they're doing to advance the Kingdom work, and I'm impressed by what they're doing. And that got me to thinking that maybe they DID know better how to advance the Kingdom, with the money God entrusted to them, than simply sending more of it to the CP.

A couple of points that might be of further interest: our church knows how to put on a Mission Trip. We've sent from 75 to 140 people to various places around the country, normally with three purposes in mind. One is to help a church with construction needs .. be it the church property itself, or the community (we've been to the New Orleans area several times). A second is to hold Backyard Bible Clubs in various locations around the community. We've been doing this for years, have good material, know how to structure them, and what makes for a good location.

Finally, we're good at putting on block parties. We have the Stage Trailer, the sound equipment, the cooking setup to feed hundreds and hundreds of people.

To top it all off, we're used to sleeping on the floors of the churches that want us to come and pitch in. We normally even carry along a shower trailer.

NOW: it occurs to me that there might be some folks out there who'd like to go along on a trip like that, but their church has never done that. Or there might be a pastor who'd like to get his church started in such a ministry, but isn't sure how. I'm sure our missions folks would be happy to have them come to Pelham and tag along with us to see, participate, and learn.

I'm not real sure about that, because nobody's ever wanted to .. at least not in the last 15 years (2 folks did then, and were welcomed to our team).

We also know how to go places like Nassau and Jamaica, and work there, too. We did a lot over about 14 years, helping Red Hills Baptist build their Community Outreach Centre, enough that they asked Peg & I and another couple ... the Blackwelders ... to come down and help in the dedication ceremony for the new building. Plus, the prior trip we made, Peg and Debbie, with our pastor's wife and 2 local ladies had a 5-day Vacation Bible School at their sister church .. Cypress Hall .. for over 100 kids. In ONE room. Our pastor STILL talks about that.

I can't help but think that there are some churches out there that would like to do the same sort of thing, but are not sure how to get started. We could be a big help with that.

Here's one little typical SBC Church that's doing several things that other churches might well profit from, and the SBC would be a wonderful clearing house for such information.

Peg and I were also personally involved in planting Riverchase Baptist Church, here in the Birmingham area. It was remarkably easy.

All these things have gone on, and still go on, largely apart from SBC involvement. Should we have done none of them, and simply sent whatever we spent to the CP, washing our hands of needs of which we were aware?

The SBC and its entities and commissions and programs, could be involved in all those things, but they seem to prefer sticking to a program invented in 1925, when our church could never have done any of the things I mention above.

And I hasten to add that I'm positive there are many other SBC churches out there, just as active ... or moreso ... as FBC Pelham, outside the activities of IMB, NAMB, or the CP. The recounting of what all Kevin Ezell's church is doing, the activities I'm aware of that Emmanuel Baptist Church of Enid is involved in, and the overseas activities of Alan Cross and Gateway Baptist in Montgomery are just the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure.

Perhaps SBC entities don't want to learn. Maybe they ... ***shudder*** ... like their hierarchy and their buildings and their expense accounts and their cars and their travel just fine, thank you.

I hope not, but I fear so. And the GCRTF and the nomination of Kevin Ezell may be just what the CP needs, to add some relevance before it's too late. Before it ceases to be even a good alternative to the local church just doing it, itself.

Refinished With A Purpose In Mind

2010-09-02T14:02:00.011-05:00

I previously blogged here about the dresser I've been refinishing for Peg. Well, I'm done (I was about to type "I'm finished", but it's the dresser that's finished, not me).

It is now residing in the spare bedroom across from the little computer-room/den I'm sitting in as I type this. And it's now pretty well filled with stuff. Spare linens, our entire supply of wrapping paper, placemats, other bulky items like that, for which we don't have any other designated storage facility in the house.

The chest itself, as best we can determine, is over 100 years old. Peg used it when she was a kid, and believes that her mom did, when she was young, too. And I believe it. It's largely put together with cut nails, which haven't been in use since before I was born 72 years ago.

And it just looks like it was made by someone who "did it himself". The drawers didn't have any drawer guides; they just slid in, bare wood on bare wood. That wood was worn so badly that each of the drawers had a distinct rearward slant then they were pushed all the way in. The drawer bottoms were made of wood that was 3/4" to 1" thick, and had been planed away at the edges to fit into the drawer sides. The entire back of the chest was rough sawn, as if it had just come been cut out of a log.

And one of the drawer backs had been cut from a log, and the edge of the piece still had the bark on it!

It was a real treasure, covered in its thick scarred-up orangish shellac finish, with its barely functional drawers.

After a couple of months of messing around with it in the shop, it finally emerged, looking as you see above. And it's got drawer guides, and they all function quite nicely now. But it's not just a decorative piece. It's not just to be admired or studied. It's to be used.

That's a lot like you and me, you know. If you're a believer. God didn't save you just so you could be looked at, admired, envied, or anything else of the sort. He saved you for a purpose, and told you what it was, too. Ephesians 2:9 puts it this way:

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do "

We're new creations, too. God tells us that in II Corinthians 5, verse 17. Even though we're still walking around in the same flesh, fed by the same blood as before, we have a new outer covering, just like the chest. We've put on Christ .. God tells us that .. and I heard it said a long time ago that a Christian should make you think of Christ. You can interpret that one of two ways, and I like both of them.

If you look at James, you can pretty well deduce that faith that doesn't generate works from you is pretty well dead, and I suspect dead faith won't get you very far. And, as someone once said, if your faith won't take you anywhere here, what makes you think it'll take you anywhere?

In the case of the chest, it's easy to see its purpose. Just walk in, open a drawer, and look.

In the case of my life, it's a little more complicated. God does, however, give us eyes to see His involvement in our lives ... Proverbs 3:5 & 6, anyone ... and here's hoping we all know our purpose. And fulfill it.

The chest is. I'm glad I refinished it.

So's Peg.

I hope God's happy He refinished me.

Two Sacrifices. BIG Difference

2010-08-30T13:17:00.011-05:00

Many, many years ago, a friend committed suicide. He sensed ... despite the fact that he was a believer ... no other way out of the mess he'd gotten himself into.

It was debt.

He'd done some gambling with some friends, and ended up owing them a few thousand dollars. After being unable to pay them, over several years, it so ate at him that he killed himself. But he left behind some instructions, for his wife ... now a widow ... as to how she should go about paying off the debt with the proceeds from his life insurance.

One of the first folks that she went to pay, told her "He owed me some money, but you don't owe me anything". Her line, which was really the impetus for this post, was:

"My husband DIED so this debt could be paid, and you ARE going to take this money".

And he did.

There's one similarity with, and one huge difference from, the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary .. and really, with His entire life, death, and resurrection.

The difference: He didn't owe the debt. You and I? We sure did. But not Jesus.

There's another difference: the folks he owed the money to, didn't need the money. Us? The debt is far more that we could ever pay.

The similarity was that He died to pay off a debt. And, He died with the intention that we "take the money", so to speak. That the benefits payable upon His death, actually be paid out.

And, man oh man, do we ever need it. Because without His sacrifice, we're hopelessly lost, and bankrupt in every account that matters to God.

Seeing that Jesus was God's only Son, that makes me think God really must love us you and me, that He'd sacrifice His own Son.

And He intends for us to take what it was that Jesus came to give, too.

Abundant Life.

Jesus said that, you know. He didn't say "I am come that they might have life, and have it more eternally". Nope, the words He used were "...more abundantly." And, according to my Strong's Concordance, that means "superabundant (in quantity) ... superior (in quality) ... by implication, excessive..". And that sounds just like the sort of life I'd like to have.

Question: when you purchase a gift for someone, do you hope they'll actually want it? That you've actually gotten them something they'd like to have? If so, then maybe you can get a glimpse of how the Lord hopes we'll want an abundant life, with all that means, for which He paid such an incalculable price.

If you're saved, you're not just "barely saved". You're saved to the uttermost. Chas. Spurgeon, Billy Graham, or your pastor are not one bit more saved than you are. And you were saved to live an abundant life.

I think God left us some clues as to how to have one, too. It's called The Bible. Check it out, if you want one, and then be ruthless in ridding your life of anything that interferes with your obedience to God. I think you'll find the result is the abundance that so many believers seem to be missing.

If you're not saved, of course, that's your first problem. You cannot, by yourself, obtain that kind of abundance, no matter how hard you try.

If you are, then maybe it's time to start believing that God really does keep His promises.

He does.

Always.

The Exercises Are Over Continue

2010-08-25T20:19:00.009-05:00

What you're looking at in the picture over there is (1) a Bio-Med Bio-Met Semi-Recumbent Elliptical, in the foreground, and (2) a Monark 881 Rehab Trainer, (actually, several of them) behind. On 36 separate days, since April 22 of this year, I've tried my best to wear them out.

I previously blogged here about the fact that I was prescribed 36 sessions of Cardiac Rehab Exercises, after having a stent put in April 6th, by my cardiologist. Yesterday was the last of those Medicare-funded (thanks, all you taxpayers) rehab sessions.

In the beginning, I ~~suffered through~~ ~~endured~~ enjoyed four 5-minute stints of exercises, mostly on those two machines. Those were gradually increased until, yesterday, I ~~agonized through~~ rejoiced over completing four separate fifteen minute sets of exercises .. one whole hour of increased heart rate, blood pressure, and ~~huffing and puffing~~ elevated respiration rate.

Actually, the hour's exercise yesterday, completed in about 65 minutes, was a whole lot easier than the 20 minutes was, some four months ago. And, to boot, I've had to cut my BP medicine in half, to keep my BP from getting too low!

The exercise has been really, really good for me. But, alas, I've fulfilled the prescription.

I will, however, continue the exercises. See, the rehab center makes their facilities available to ex-patients, for $5.00 a visit! They just record when I come in and work out, and at the end of the month, the hospital .. of which they're a part .. will send me a bill for the five bucks per visit. Since one of those machines costs $4,995 and the other costs $2,695, I figure $5 a session is as big a bargain as I'm likely to find these days.

So, while the exercise the doctor prescribed ended about 4 pm yesterday, my exercise isn't stopping. I'm going to be going back twice a week for an hour's session, which, hopefully, will at least maintain the gains I've made in the past 4 months. I've been going there Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but with church suppers at 5pm on Wednesdays, I'll cut back to just the two weekly sessions at the 3 o'clock hour.

Because I want to.

NOW: as I sat there pedaling and pumping on the Bio-Met yesterday, I got to thinking. I started this because I was told to. Because it was expected of me. Because common sense and some highly educated folks told me that it'd benefit me. And that's proven to be the case, in a big way. I mean, reducing BP meds? Hasn't happened to me before!

And all the walking and stuff we did on the Alaska Cruise and the bus tour? I could never have done half that stuff, had it not been for the cardio I'd been doing on the machines in the picture.

SO: as I was reflecting on church, I got to thinking that too often we're told what we should be burdened about. The lost .. the babies in the nursery .. witnessing .. going on mission trips .. feeding the poor .. etc etc. But the fact is, we cannot pick and choose what to be burdened about! Assigning "burdens" is solely the prerogative of God! But, the good news is that He'll do it, once we are willing to follow up on whatever task He assigns us.

For me, the deal is obedience. Find out what God wants you to do in the continuation of the work Jesus started a couple thousand years ago. Then dive in, headlong. No safety nets, no holding back. Just jump in.

How to find out what it is? There are more methods for finding your areas of giftedness than I can shake a stick at, and if you don't know how, ask! Then, when God points you in some direction, hit it! See .. God enables you to do what He has in mind for you to do, and He will develop what you need as you get to work. You can't gain strength for His work by reading about it, any more than you can get thin by reading diet books, or build muscles by reading body-building magazines.

If you'll serve Him out of pure grind-it-out obedience, you'll be amazed at the heart He will give you for the work He's assigned you.

Let the exercises begin!

We Have an "Unless" God

2010-08-23T12:56:00.007-05:00

I was standing in line at the Post Office this morning, waiting to mail a package, when I noticed the sign in the picture. Fortunately, I had my cell phone, featuring a built-in camera, so I snapped me a picture. It spoke to me, so I think I'll speak about it.

UNLESS ... "the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalms 127:1, NIV.

Well, of course this verse would tickle my fancy .. I've maintained for years that it's the Lord's involvement in what we do that produces fruit. It's not our teaching a lesson or preaching a sermon that changes lives, it's God .. via the Holy Ghost .. working in their lives afterwards, that brings about change. After all, we're only unworthy servants, doing our duty (if you don't believe that, check Luke 17:10 for what Jesus Himself said about that..). This is why Henry Blackaby pointed out, in "Experiencing God", the necessity of our looking around to see what God's doing, and then getting involved in that work.

Hey .. Jesus said that's what He did, and if it was good for Him, then it'd sure be a good idea for me.

I figure if His involvement is necessary for building a house or watching a city, that it's going to be necessary for all that I do, or try to do, in the Kingdom work. Early on, I was cautioned about "running ahead of the Lord"; I think Moses killing the Egyptian guard was a pretty good example. Moses knew the people should be set free, so he undertook the job himself, and look what it got him.

David, on the other hand, seems to have been specifically instructed on the fact that God was involved with him & Goliath, and that whole episode turned out rather well, for David.

And then, when God did tell Moses it was time for the people of Israel to be set free, it happened, in ways man could never have done.

Over the years, I've had a lot of people ask me how they can know when God is telling them to do something. My normal response is to observe that they seem to be depending on their own ability to hear, rather than on God's ability to make Himself heard.

He's good at that, if we're willing to act on what it is He wants us to do. It's been my experience that God doesn't submit His plans to us for approval. He reveals His plans to His willing workforce, who are ready to get on with the task.

There seems, to me, to be a hint of this in the ordinance of Communion. That's based on His statement that those who don't eat His flesh and drink His blood have no part in Him. See .. up and down the food chain, so to speak, it's always the higher that takes in the lower. Grass can't become cow, but the cow can eat the grass. Same goes for cows & people, and for man getting right with God. We could never get right with God unless God reached down and did something to accomplish that (which He did).

But along comes Jesus, and tells us that we are to take His flesh and blood into our very beings. That tells me that He didn't give up the ministry He started (remember how He told us to tend to the poor and the widows, and visit the captives?) ... He wants to continue it, and he wants to use your flesh and my flesh, as followers of Christ, to do it!

We're all the flesh He has, down here.

So. When we run ahead of Him, we're trying in our own strength. And we're doomed to fail in the ways that matter.

We have an "Unless God". Unless He builds the house .. visits the sick .. gives to the poor .. feeds the hungry .. teaches the class ... all while using our flesh to do it, then we labor in vain.

I just don't have time to do that, any more.

Neither do you.

I Got a Perfect Bill in the Mail Today....

2010-08-14T17:49:00.008-05:00

That's it, in the picture. What makes it perfect, for me, is that they're billing me for $0.00.

I'd love it if the power company, the cable company, the gas company, and a few others would adopt that practice, too.

Nobody's crazy here .. the bill is for my Cardio Rehab, and it's being paid by Medicare (thanks, all you taxpayers), plus the supplemental coverage Peg and I carry. So, I don't owe any of the bill, myself. The part that amuses me is that they included an envelope, presumably for me to send them a check for Zero dollars and Zero cents. I guess that would be like giving a blank CD to a Mime, right?

Anyway, this got me to thinking .. it's the same bill I got from Jesus, for my salvation. I put my faith .. my trust .. in Him, to save me, when I was a little kid, And He did, and the bill I got for my salvation was for Zero Dollars and Zero Cents.

The actual cost of the Cardio Rehab was considerable, but somebody else paid it for me. And the actual cost for my salvation was infinitely more considerable, but Somebody paid that bill for me, too.

Jesus.

Every morning, I wake up with a new bill from Him. It's for Jesus, and it's for Zero Dollars and Zero Cents. But there's this envelope there, for me to send Him my payment, regardless. So, what is it? To explain, let's look again at hospital deal.

See, Medicare paid for my rehab services, but I had to go and do what they said. And I did. I pushed and pushed, and in fact have previously blogged about the results of my obeying the instructions of the folks at the rehab center, here. If I'd gone there and goofed off (which I don't think they'd have let me get away with..), or otherwise avoided actually doing what they'd suggested I do, I'd be a whole lot worse off now, than I actually am. So .. I literally thank God that I had the determination to do what I was supposed to do as a cardiac patient in need of rehab.

My resting heart rate is down in the 50's & 60's, I've had to cut my BP meds in half since my BP had gotten so much better, and I have energy like I haven't had for some time. At least I do when I reduced the BP meds and got the pressure back up to 110/65 or so.

On the other hand, the bill from Jesus has to do with how I live my life. The course He has prescribed for me is designed to produce an abundant life, and just as I desire to be in better shape, have lower BP, etc, I desire to have an abundant life, too.

I don't have to have one. But I do want one. So I do the exercises my Heavenly Therapist has prescribed for me. See .. the great part about it is that, while no matter how well I do my cardio rehab, I'm going to die some day. Guaranteed. But with the abundant life, that's never going to end.

So why wouldn't I want to get started on that one, right now?

Thanks, Jesus. My payment, on the bill I don't owe, the one you already paid for me, is in the mail every day. Thanks for giving me that choice.

A Little Philosophy From The Folks

2010-08-10T11:36:00.006-05:00

As in my folks. Mom and Dad.

Peg was sorting and packing some stuff we'd stashed away in an old dresser in our spare bedroom, this morning, and found four different paper napkins that have been in there ever since Mom lived with us; she was packing the stuff away to store in the attic, and brought me the napkins to see.

So, while I guess the thoughts really come from the folks who printed the napkins, Mom did buy them and keep them, so they must have said something meaningful to her. She even kept them through several moves .. perhaps as many as many as seven .. so I'm guessing there are some messages in there for me, too.

Indeed, there are. The napkin at the top says "Welcome to our house". My folks were hospitable people. I recall many evenings when they'd have visitors over, most particularly to play pinochle once a month. And, in fact, one of those visits was indirectly responsible for my getting saved (chasing a rabbit here).

The dining room, where they played Pinochle, shared a wall with our bedroom, and our bedroom door was maybe two feet from the opening into the dining room. So we could hear what was going on, and I recall Dad saying two things out there .. one was "nothing's sure except death and taxes", and the other was a reference to the fact that we all die, sooner or later. That got me to thinking about dying, which scared me, which eventually led to the discussion during which I trusted Christ to "take me to heaven when I die".

It was just that simple. So, I'm glad they were hospitable folks.

Another napkin is just a Thanksgiving-themed napkin. No message, other than Thanksgiving. And that was always a special day at our house .. not for the spiritual aspects, but Mom always made a production out of Thanksgiving Dinner .. I recall exactly ONE Thanksgiving Dinner we ever had elsewhere .. so that was kind of drilled into my genes, apparently. We always celebrate Thanksgiving at home (which is where we live, not where we go), and since Peg was raised that way, there's never any question.

It also ties in to the first napkin, as the past couple of years, Peg's invited other folks, who don't have any local family, to come have dinner with us on Thanksgiving.

One of the napkins is just a collection of Pennsylvania Dutch colloquialisms, which Dad always found amusing. Oh, he never poked fun at them, but he found language interesting, anyway, and Mom got this one when they lived in Pittsburgh, and occasionally ran into some Pennsylvania Dutch folks.

Languages? He took first-year Spanish and second-year Spanish the same year, in High School. Unbelievable as it seems, he got a "B" in Spanish One, and an "A" in Spanish Two. When the teacher told him he couldn't do that, Dad told him "Well, just give me an "A" in both".

The teacher did!

The fourth napkin has four interesting "cute sayings" on it. Interestingly, they evoke memories of certain parts of scripture. For instance:

"A Smile wins Friends, chases Blues, Lightens Work, and costs nothing".

Proverbs 15:13-15, and 17:22, anyone?

"A Handful of Patience is Worth More than a Bushel of Brains".

How about Galatians 5:22? Or James 1:4? Or Isaiah 40:31?

"All the Wealth of the World Could Not buy a Friend." Check Proverbs 18:24, 27:27, 27:6, and I'm sure you can think of some verses, too.

"The smallest Good Deed is better Than the Grandest good intention."

See Matthew 10:42, and also most of the second Chapter of James.

Dad died in March of 1988, and Mom died in July of 1997. But it was nice hearing from them this morning.

How Far. How Long. And How Much

2010-07-22T13:22:00.007-05:00

Mike Shaw, my pastor, is fond of saying "Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.

Even to the 3rd largest corporate fraud in history (behind only Enron and WorldCom).

Which brings me to my friend, Bill Owens. I've known him for about 20 years, through thick, thin, and a bunch of other stuff, too. Bill has always been a good friend, hospitable, generous, and showed some real Spiritual strengths. Once, when I was rotating off the Deacon Body ... of which I was chairman ... I had a feeling that he was the logical Deacon to be elected Chairman for the following year, so I had coffee with him one evening and we talked about the position, and what it entailed. Here Bill was, what I knew to be a dynamic and successful businessman, and he was most receptive to everything I had to say.

My suspicions were correct; he was subsequently elected chairman of the Deacon Body at FBC Pelham.

I recall having visited in his home on more than one occasion, and he was (and is) most hospitable and considerate. And, when he and his wife celebrated her 40th birthday at the Wynfrey Hotel at the Galleria, he invited Peg and I to attend.

Things took an unexpected .. to us .. turn, when the HealthSouth Corporation ran into near-fatal difficulties, about 7 years ago. They came to a head the same day, when the USA invaded Iraq; I was standing on a pier in Kingston, Jamaica, when my younger son called my cell phone and said "In case you haven't heard, the USA invaded Iraq today. And, they invaded HealthSouth, too."

That was a big deal, as HealthSouth was a big deal in Birmingham, what with their HQ here.

To give a little further information about Bill, historically speaking, here are a few excerpts from the resume he sent me yesterday:

Mr. Owens is currently most widely known for his involvement in the fraud, and resulting scandal, at HealthSouth. He has just completed his prison sentence, moved into a one-bedroom apartment, and is starting a new life. He hopes to use what he has learned the hard way to make a positive difference in the lives of others. He is willing to share, without censor, whatever may be of value to help curb unethical behavior and prevent future fraud.

Bill grew up in Troy, AL, the youngest of six kids from a poor family. After the 11th grade, he dropped out of school to marry and support his new wife and their newborn. He got a job, took his GED, and soon enrolled at Troy State University. While working full-time jobs as a Manager at McDonald’s, and then a Computer Operator, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Troy State with a B.S. in Business Administration, Accounting and Computer Science concentrations, in June of 1981. He made one ‘B’ during his junior year, ironically in Auditing

(...after joining HealthSouth Corporation....)

HealthSouth was still a small private company with only a few locations, approximately $4.5M in revenue and $12M in assets, soon to go public. When the fraud began in early 1987, Bill was one of three in the room; when it ended, 16 years later, he was one of two in the room. He devised the scheme that hid the fraud through 1994, was part of the team that developed the acquisition strategy, and using those acquisitions to continue hiding the fraud through 1997, and developed the plan to lower analyst’s expectations in 1997 and 1998.

Almost all cash had been drained from the company by February 2000 when Bill took the reins as Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He restructured a $3.2B debt portfolio, and, with a goal of reporting legitimate numbers within five years, but without the luxury of telling anyone that wasn’t involved in the fraud, he began aggressively repairing the company’s operations to cut costs, increase patient volumes, improve pricing and efficiency.

As part of a strategy to split HealthSouth into two companies, and allow Richard to relinquish all responsibilities, save his position as Chairman, Bill assumed the roles of President and Chief Operating Officer in August, 2001 and then Chief Executive Officer in August, 2002. He was removed as CEO and reinstated as CFO in January 2003. The SEC was circling HealthSouth on Insider Trading allegations and issued subpoenas to several of its executives in early March 2003.

After leaving a subpoena unopened for eight days and a cathartic evening, Bill decided to reveal the fraud in its entirety. He was one of two executives to voluntarily meet with the Department of Justice. At its height, HealthSouth had over 2000 locations throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico, The UK, Australia and Saudi Arabia, with approximately $4B in reported revenue, $8B in reported assets.

His statement about curbing unethical behavior and future fraud is absolutely correct, and it reflects his heart, today. While he was still under "house arrest" .. confined to his apartment except for Sunday morning church, and going to the office for his job as an accountant for a landscaper .. Peg and I went and visited him. He told us about his dreams to make the rest of his life helpful for other people, and even mentioned his fears that someone might want to take up a love offering, or otherwise pay him for his testimony. I told him that he should not turn down, or be reluctant to accept, such money, but rather to dedicate it, and use it, for helping others. Charity, ministering to those in prison, whatever. Just do something with it he wouldn't otherwise be able to do. And he got genuinely excited about that possibility.

If either of the two people who regularly read my blog, are in a position of arranging speakers to come talk to their church, to the youth group (Bill's very concerned about youth), Association gathering, or whatever, I recommend you get hold of Bill and get to talking about that very thing. You'll be glad you did.

My friend Bill Owens gets his email at billowens1368@yahoo.com

Don't Just Sit There .. DO Something!

2010-07-18T18:16:00.003-05:00

Folks, meet John & Debra Mendow, from Covington, LA. We met them on Bus #3, OC&W Coach Lines, YMT Great Pacific Northwest Tour.

John was a really friendly sort and, sitting in the front row of the bus every day, I used to sing something like "Big Bad John" when he got on, and we got to be good friends.

Secret handshakes, fist bumps, elbow bumps and the like, followed.

The above picture was taken the day we stopped at the Old Faithful Geyser Visitor Center. We'd eaten lunch there, and had moved outside and sat on one of the wooden settees .. the one to the far left, in fact. We still had about a half hour or more before the bus left, so we were just enjoying the atmosphere.

Then John and Debra sat down and we chatted. They're Catholic folks, and we were wearing our usual Witness Wear, and they picked up on it. And then John asked us a favor:

Could we pray for their grandson, Max Mendow? He's an infant, his esophagus wasn't connected to his stomach when he was born, he's in the Children's Hospital in Boston, and he's aspirating all sorts of stuff into his lungs. He's also facing some serious surgery.

We said we certainly would (and we did & have), but then it struck me: here I sit with a cell phone. So I said to John "hang on a second".

I dialed FBC Pelham's old telephone number .. I can never remember the new one .. and Pat answered the phone. Pat is the pastor's ministry assistant, and I told her where we were sitting, and told her our friends had just asked us to pray for the infant Max. I gave her the details, and she said she was about to prepare the Prayer Email she sends out every day, and there'd be about a hundred "prayer warriors" reading about John & Debra's grandson, that very afternoon.

They seemed blown away. And, the next day, late, John stopped Peg and said "the surgery went terrific!!"

I suspect that we've got some lifetime friends in Louisiana, now. John referred to himself as "our folks in LA" later on the trip, and I couldn't be happier. And all I did was make a simple cell-phone call.

Didn't seem like a big deal, at the time, and it really wasn't much to do. But I suspect John & Debra would disagree. And so, one day, methinks, will Max.

So. Next time opportunity arises, DO SOMETHING! The key isn't how MUCH you can do, but how much GOD can do.

And that's quite a bit. Just ask the Mendows.

Refinishing Furniture and Dealing with Stuff

2010-07-16T11:47:00.011-05:00

The Great Alaska and Pacific Northwest Adventure being over last week, we returned home to all the stuff that was going on before we left June 24th. That includes the refinishing project on the chest-of-drawers, disassembled and displayed in the photo over there.

Hold that thought for a minute.

When we came back from the Tour, we were thoroughly whipped. It was great fun, but we were on the go almost constantly, and while Peg has a pretty active life taking care of the house and all .. not to mention taking care me me, too, I don't. I've pretty much been a couch potato since my prostate surgery and subsequent abdominal radiation, which ended about 18 months ago, and coupled with the meds I've been on since then.

Including those dealing with arthritis. As in degenerative arthritis. It already got my left knee, which I had to have replaced 4 years ago .. exactly 2 months before my debut at the Greensboro as an SBC loudmouth .. and has my right knee in bad shape, now. Also my right ankle, and both my shoulders, not to mention the back of my neck, where it all started 20+ years ago.

That spot gives me headaches.

Well, lately, the shoulder pain has begun causing problems beyond just pain. My doctor prescribed Loritab for the pain, which I take when I go to bed, and when it wears off in 6 hours, the pain in my shoulders wakes me up. Even if I'm lying flat on my back.

SO, all in all, while the Great Alaska and Pacific NW Tour was wonderful and I wouldn't take anything for the experience (or the 4,890 pictures I took while gone .. no, seriously .. 4,890), I was in quite a bit of pain while on the trip. And, when I got back home.

Side note: head over to Facebook and check my photos, if you'd like. I'm posting maybe 10-15% of them there, and they're visible to anybody.

Anyway, I called my doctor when we got home, he got me in Monday morning at 8. He said that I should stop the stair-climbing portion of my cardio exercises, which I told the rehab folks at my 3 p.m. session. And I did, doing 48 mins total on two other apparati. One of them was a crank-deal and when that caused my shoulders to flare up, I got an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon who did my knee. Wednesday at 4:15. So I called and cancelled the cardio session and went to see him. He said no more cranking unless it was waist level or below.

We discussed what to do with the knee, and also that there wasn't really a practical replacement, for an old guy like me, for the shoulders. But perhaps some shots would help. SO .. I got three shots in the left shoulder .. one for the Rotator Cuff, one to deaden the shoulder, and one deep one (cortisone, I think).

I also got a shot in my right knee, a "lubricant" (it's bone-on-bone now) and will go back next week for the three shots in the right shoulder, and the second of a series of three of those lubricant shots in the right knee.

Then, Thursday, when I went to try the cardio, 3 minutes on the easy recumbent let me know my shoulders were going to suffer so I told them no more, and I went home.

I feel much better, today. And it occurred to me that the reason is that I'm dealing with the stuff. And that got me to thinking about salvation, itself. And also about refinishing the chest-of-drawers.

For one thing, decisions must be made. We have to decide .. under conviction of the Holy Spirit .. that we want to believe Jesus, trust Him with our salvation, and really forsake our sinful reliance on self, and service of our desires. That's painful .. at least, within my experience.

I had to decide to take those shots, and let me tell you, the one in the knee was really painful. But it was necessary.

In refinishing the chest, the Ace Extra-Strength Paint Stripper I'm using is some serious stuff. Get any of it anywhere on your body, and suffering will follow. As in "run for the bucket of cold water and the paper towels .. now!! But that's what it's going to take to take all that old finish off a chest that Peg used when she was a kid, and is likely older than she is.

Having started the project, I am now obligated to see it through. That's the only thing Peg has asked me for, recently, and I cannot not finish it.

Having started the cardio rehab .. which I blogged about a few days back .. I'm going to have to see it through. I can see the positive effects from it, and I'm not about to let go.

Having started the chest, I can see how much better it's looking .. the positive effects .. and I'm not about to let it go.

Having trusted my life to Jesus, many years ago, I cannot quit that project, either. Even though it required a rather painful stripping-away of some stuff in my life, it was necessary to make me the new creation He promised. And, I can see the positive effects from it, and I'm not about to let it go.

Each of the three things is taking work .. it's involving pain at times .. some of what's required is strong stuff, maybe even dangerous. But I can do no other.

I can see the results.

Spezi ist Spitzi!

2010-07-14T10:21:00.017-05:00

One day on the Pacific NW Bus Tour, we stopped in Leavenworth, Washington. That's a city that morphed itself into a Bavarian-style village when they lost the lumber industry, and subsequently the railroad, some years ago.

While there, we had lunch in Cafe Christa, which was remarkably like a certain 2nd-floor restaurant I'd eaten at in Austria, just over the border from Bavaria, 10 years ago. That's it, in the photo up there, on the 2nd floor of the dark brown building at the far right.

The next photo, on the right, is of Monica (if I recall her name correctly, which I may not), who was our waitress. During the normal table talk, I said that they need to put Spezi on the menu, if they really wanted to be Bavarian about this whole thing. She laughed and said they'd tried it, but it didn't work for some reason.

Now, I know that Cafe Christa couldn't be accurate in every way; for instance, they had a sign announcing that they had genuine "Munich Bier". While they spelled "bier" the way they would in Germany .. remember Biergartens .. they didn't spell Munich correctly for German. There, it's known as, and spelled, "Munchen".

But I don't think folks would know Munchen was Bavarian for Munich, so the effect would be lost, I guess.

Anyway I told her Spezi was sure a big thing in Bavaria, and told her of a billboard I'd seen in 2000, there in Bavaria, touting the deliciousness of Spezi.

Actually, Spezi is a mixture of half Coke and half "orange lemonade" (their term .. I think they used Fanta Orange) .. and "Spitze" means, "wild, great, too much".

I'd ordered lemonade, and when the glass was empty, Monica brought me a refill, only this time it was Spezi in a mug. And the sign applied. It WAS SPITZE!

I gave her the URL for my blog and told her to keep an eye on it. I'd post about the whole thing, as my way of thanking her for making the trip to Leavenworth a little bit more like my actual trips to Bavaria.

Quite a bit, actually.

I Got Your 'Mysterious Ways" Right Here, Pal..

2010-07-12T17:13:00.006-05:00

As some of you may know, Peg and I just returned from a two-week tour; a one-week cruise to Alaska, followed by a one-week bus tour of the Pacific Northwest.

We did a lot of walking. A lot. We had about 240 steps forward to the Crow's Nest on the ship, in the nose, to watch where we were going, to enter the Trivia Challenge, etc. we had 48 steps to the elevator that took us up or down to the restaurant lobbies for meals. The theater was forward, under the Crow's Nest, and we went to a show every day.

We did a lot of walking.

Then there were the side trips. The first was to some locks in Seattle, which was about 1/4 mile downhill. That was my cardio for that day, I can assure you. Twice. We also walked around Pike Place Market some, that day, before boarding the Zaandam.

Side trips on the cruise started with the Mendenhall Glacier, another long walk down a narrow trail. And back up it. We'd already toured a Salmon hatchery that day, and we ended the day by walking down along Gold Rush Creek for the Liarwood Salmon Bake, including a trip down the creek to the falls, which were beautiful.

Add to that a tour of the cathedral at Sitka, a long walk to the catamaran in Ketchikan for the catamaran taking us to Misty Fjords, a block's walk from the bus to the Princess Hotel in Victoria, and we did a lotta lotta walking.

Hold that thought for a minute.

I'd been having chest pains for some months. Probably over a year. They were very mild, running from a specific muscle in one arm, across the muscles on the surface of my chest, to that specific muscle on the other arm. They lasted 30 seconds to a minute, and were always followed by a hot flash. A good, old-fashioned hot flash. Which would last 30 seconds or so and then leave.

Well, I got to nosing around online, and found out that one of the side effects of the Lupron I'd been taking for prostate cancer, is muscle pain. And an acknowledged effect is hot flashes (and sometimes mood swings). So I didn't pay a lot of attention to the pains; they sort of became old friends.

Then, I mentioned them to our family doctor during a routine visit. He said let's don't assume anything, and ran one of those EKG's that had wires stuck all over my body.

Nothing. It was fine. He then said we really needed for me to see a heart specialist, and set me up with a doctor in Alabaster. When I went to see him, he said he wanted me to do a stress test; with my arthritis, he suggested a medically-induced one. Where they shoot me up with a vaso-dilator, which causes the BP to drop real quick, and then do a nuclear scan to see the blood flow to the heart.

Looked fine!

Well, the doctor said he still didn't want to assume it was the Lupron, so he set me up with a beta blocker to slow my heart for a few days, and then did a CAT scan. THAT showed some calcium around an artery; he said he could not tell whether it was inside or outside, so I need to cardiac catheterization.

The dread of what I knew they were going to be doing was much worse than the procedure itself, which was done April 6th. And the procedure found a 70% blockage in the right anterior descending artery (if I got it right) and Dr. Goyal put in a stent.

NOW: the cancer doctor only keeps patients on Lupron for about 18 months, and the installation of the stent happened to coincide with the cessation of my Lupron shots. And, to top it all off, the pains and hot flashes didn't stop! Oh, they have moderated and kind of morphed into a different deal .. sometimes I get a hot flash with no pains, but never have pains without a hot flash. But for some reason, it's better now, than it was before.

Then one day I get a call from a nurse at Shelby Baptist Medical Center's Cardiac Rehab facility, saying Dr. Goyal had prescribed cardiac rehab for me. So I went there about the first of May and started doing rehab exercises. The kind where they get your heart rate and BP elevated for so many minutes .. I started at 4 activities of 5 minutes each, which had me huffin' and puffin' at the start. But over the weeks, leading up the cruise, I worked up to 4 activities of 12 minutes ... 48 minutes of cardio exercise ... per day, 3 days a week, and doing it fairly easily.

I'd gotten into a lot better shape than I was before I started.

Then we went on the cruise. Trust me, I could never have done all the stuff we did on the cruise, and the bus tour, had it not been for the cardio exercise prescribed by the doctor who put in the stent to cure the blockage that was probably not the cause of the pains that sent me to see him in April!

If we'd gone on this cruise in March, or last year, I would have tried one side trip and spent the rest of the time in the cabin, ordering room service.

SO. Bottom line: thanks, God. I love your mysterious ways. Please keep'em coming.

Making a Difference

2010-07-09T09:35:00.012-05:00

Folks, meet Jay Gunsolley. Jay is a resident of Eugene, Oregon, has ridden his Harley to Sturgis, and was the bus driver for our bus tour to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, the Snake River Canyon, and more National Forests and waterfalls and canyons than I can count.

I took 2,960 pictures on the bus-tour part of the trip, if that'll tell you something.

Simply put, Jay was terrific. If the windows had all been blacked out, and we'd never seen any scenery outside the bus, it would have been a fun 6 days, regardless! He was just that entertaining, professional, informative, and considerate.

Above all, Considerate. He'd put a towel on the bottom step of the bus whenever we'd stop, so that it'd clean our feet whenever we got back on; he'd then take the towel and wipe the steps off so they'd be clean for us and, as he said, we "wouldn't have to look at a dirty bus". Every night he'd wash the bus and clean all the windows, as did the drivers of the 2 other buses.

As Jay said more than once, "Hey .. this is YOUR VACATION!"

He also told us what a good group we were, and what a delight it was to be our driver and guide on the tour. Now I know that some folks might say things like that, just to be saying them, but his demeanor when he said it, and during our entire time together, leaves no doubt in my mind, whatsoever, that he meant every word he said.

Entertaining: he had a constant stream of witty asides, jokes, all of which were clean and OK for your 7-year-old to hear. He even passed the microphone around .. once he'd gotten to know us .. and we all told jokes running down the road.

Informative: he kept us constantly informed of where we were, the wildlife, and what was really interesting about where we were. Example; one time mid-Yellowstone, we had a brief period of rain: he told us that good part about that was it'd bring out the animals. And it did. We saw, altogether, deer, elk, bison, and bald eagles. Also hawks, ravens, all of which Jay spotted before anybody else.

His conduct of the tour caused the group on the bus .. 37 of us .. to "bond" (I don't like that word, but it applies) as I doubt many bus tourists do. At one stop, at an overlook before the Grand Teton Mountains, the Driver/Leader in Bus #1 .. who headed up the tour, as it were .. suggested we take a group photo. Jay said we had to decide if we wanted the whole group .. all 3 buses .. 141 people .. or just our bus.

The "just us" shout was deafening. Jay laughed, and said he thought so.

What's going on in the photo of him was that, at the stop I just mentioned, Jay asked for all our cameras, hung them all over his arms, and stood out in the middle of the parking lot and snapped pictures of us. The photo above was the second round of cameras, in fact; he'd given my camera back to me and I took a picture of him taking pictures of us.

Some time back, I did a blog post about how some folks at the St. Vincent Cancer Center doing their jobs well .. making it a good experience .. made me a better husband, father, and even a better Sunday School Teacher. Well, I think this applies to Jay, too. Turning what might have been a tedious bus ride and recitation, into 6 days of fun, laughter, wonderment, awe, and fellowship, will undoubtedly make me better at what I'm supposed to be doing around here. And I told him just that, including the Spiritual aspects of being a good bus driver and tour guide.

I will put up some more posts about the trip, with photos, and will also put up some albums on Facebook, as soon as I sort through and pick out those I want to use, from among the 4,828 pictures from the whole trip. But I thought the first post upon our return, ought to be about Jay, and his impact on the trip. After all, a lot of those photos .. we sat in the front seats .. were through his side of the windshield. You can see his reflection in a lot of them, and while photographers might not like that, I'm leaving those photos in the deal.

Shouldn't our lives be reflections, themselves?

I think so.