Pam asked the question that stumped me. After thirty-three and a half years of marriage you wouldn't think she could do that, but she did. We're driving down the road after seeing a CBS Sunday morning show about a Pie Guy in Round Top Texas. I'm interested in any thing 'Texas' and since we at one time lived pretty close to Round Top and were surprised to hear that there was a restaurant there famous enough for the Morning Show to show up, well, they piqued my interest. Oh, yeah, it was also about pie.
I know pie and pie knows me. It's easy to tell.
But Pam got me: what's your favorite pie? Favorite? The one I love the most? How can I leave out _______ if I pick _______. I love pecan. I love coconut. I love apple, especially the three kinds Pam makes. I love chocolate. You get the idea. I can't pick one. She asked if I liked pumpkin. Yeah, but it's not my favorite. I rattled off all the pie kinds I love and put pumpkin twelfth. The first eleven tied for first. Pam then asked if I liked mince meat pie. I responded that I don't consider that a pie. It was a cruel substitute thrust upon even poorer children of the depression to try and lift the spirits of the dust bowl diet which consisted of, well, dust on everything. I know this to be true because every depression era person I know says silly things like, "eat all the crust, its the best part of the pie." So sad, if that were true then why put any filling in at all? Just serve everyone a double portion of crust every Thanksgiving and Christmas...
I throw Shepherd's pie in there too. It's not really pie. It's England's or Ireland's response to being so poor long ago that they didn't have very large plates so they piled everything on top of each other and put a crust down there somewhere and called it shepherds pie. They called it that because even the sheep wouldn't eat it. Ok, ok, ok, so there are some pies that aren't dessert pies. I call that supper, but I digress.
I can't pick a favorite. It's either the one I'm eating, the one I haven't eaten in a while, or the one I'm thinking about eating. Now don't get me wrong, I've had some bad, bad pies. Soggy crust, vinegary sweetener, store bought, frozen crust can ruin a good pie. And don't ever trust someone who says that the frozen store bought crusts are as good as homemade. If they will lie about that they will lie about other things. Maybe they don't know any better, there are still deprived , unfortunate people out there who haven't had my experience with pies so I'll not be too critical and can only hope to enlighten them in my remaining days, which are probably not as long as they would have been if I didn't know my subject so well.
Anyway, this Thanksgiving I'll be thankful for a grandmother who made great pies, a mother who made great pies, and Pam who I wished would open her own pie shop. "Pam's Pies" has a nice ring to it doesn't it? I would, of course, be the official taster.
I wonder how God would answer a similar question Pam asked me, not about pies but people. "God, who is your favorite person?" I think it might stump Him. ( I know that sounds blasphemous, but so far I'm still typing...) Jesus would sure pick John, Peter or maybe Moses. Paul has got to be one of His favorites and He sure answered a lot of prayers for Elijah and helped him do a lot of spectacular things. Maybe He was partial to His earthly friend Lazarus or the first man, Adam. He seemed to have good time with Mary and Martha and Mary Mag would surely be close to the top.
I know you may not believe this, but He might just pick you. Yeah, you. No, I know you didn't do a thing to deserve it and that's the point. God, by His grace just loves. You don't earn it, He just loves--the one He is with, the one He is thinking about, and the one He is hoping to be with soon.
When you finish off that great meal with a great piece of pie Thanksgiving day, just when you're sinking your teeth into a masterpiece of delectable decadence, and you are oh, so thankful, just know this, God is thankful for you. And for that, you should be too.............
Piece Out,
Terry
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Fighting Demons
We all have them, including me. Those thoughts whose origins are closer to hell than heaven; those impulses to control, manipulate, judge, imply, marginalize, insinuate, or outright destroy; those tendencies to procrastinate, do poorly, disregard, or leave undone; those indulgences of body, mind, kids, friends, prejudices and worse, spirit that deflect responsibility to liberals, conservatives, Arabs, humanists, fast food, and easy gods; those inclinations to throw up the hands, throw in the towel, give up, go the way of the world, and resign to the philosophy of 'that's just the way things are and they ain't never gonna change!' Oh yeah, and maybe a few real demons thrown in for good measure but mostly in less civilized cultures, our made up ones are far more devastating.
These demons show up as anger-at the dad for never being around, at the mom for hovering around too much, the spouse who never gave what was needed, at the boss for crazy demands, crazy schedules and ridiculous pay. They manifest themselves as sloth and withdrawal or they go around as their more respectable cousins-workaholism and frenzied activities.You see these demons in the family SUV going to sporting games that fill the calendar and are filled with empty young people with scurrying thumbs and un-stretched souls. In truth they can tell you how to spike a volley ball, throw a curve ball, shoot a basketball and how to have a ball but not how or why to live morally and purposely. All those miles in the back of a suburban and no conversations about Jesus...
The demons of modern society goad us on to greed, materialism, apathy, and a brand of moralism that leaves out God and coronates self. With a proper self-image, a good education, a dose of toleration, a proper goal, and a tenacious spirit there's not too much a man or woman can't accomplish in this world. Of course, if someone should happen to have goals beyond this world and its achievements we can just label them as zealots.
My demon? Its pretty obvious isn't it. It's name is Cynic. The ancient Greeks birthed its name in a gymnasium extolling virtue and hard work but its history is long, its effects, well, there weren't many positive long-range ones were there? I must fight my demon. I often am beaten down and lost in the fray. It's true, if you don't believe me read the first three paragraphs again. How do I fight this wicked monster and keep it from stealing all joy and hope in a fallen world? The answer is almost too easy. It's so easy it can be overlooked. It is easy to see the effects of a fallen world. We must learn to look deeper or at least differently to see the effects of grace. We who have developed a taste for this juicy demon empty of spiritual calories can find the fullest spiritual feast a bit chewy and the effort to savor that meal a real pain. But if I will but feed my soul this one food, I find myself nourished to dream and fight and persevere while at the same time starving the demon of its power to corrupt. What is this miracle food?
It is Truth, plain and simple found in the gospel of Christ.
The truth is God has not now nor has He ever abandoned His creation or His people. At this time in our world of war and rumors of war, disease and drought, H1N1 and AIDS, genocide, suicide, and homicide, He still moves. More people come to faith in Christ every day than at any time in history. Estimates are as low as 45,000 and as high as 60,000 people come to follow Christ as Lord each day in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and even several thousand in North America. The church now has over 2 billion who claim Christ as Saviour.* (Rick Warren's mission's website*)The church is so robust in Korea, Africa, and South America that these regions have sent missionaries to the United States to strenghten the church spiritually.
Young ministers are sensing the call to ministry in great numbers in many denominations. These young men and women are not enamored with thoughts of power or prestige but will genuinely go anywhere and do all things to advance the kingdom of God and proclaim His righteousness. Their music is different, their methods are unconventional but they are reaching people in places like liberal western Europe that a few years ago was closed to the gospel.
As more people are hurting the budgets of churches across our nation have felt the crunch, yet, the outpouring to relief agencies from individuals and churches is keeping such ministries afloat. The Red Cross estimates that during the relief efforts after hurricane Katrina, that 90 % of the meals it served in actuality came from local churches and church relief agencies. The churches responded quickly and effectively while the large agencies and government were tied up in red tape.
A large percentage of our kids can expect to live to be a hundred years of age and were it not for lifestyle choices related to obesity and drugs those numbers would apply even greater for our grandchildren. Diseases are being cured or curtailed. Lives are being extended. Limbs can be repaired and joints replaced as never before. The God who said 'be fruitful and multiply' also said to mankind 'fill the earth and subdue it.' That is happening at a rate like never before. The advances will never lead to eternal life by themselves but they may very well extend the time a human has to hear the good news that salvation for eternity comes by no other name than the name of Jesus.
So how do you live in such a world where the demons are very real and are seemingly everywhere you look, even internally? Look to the Truth and that Truth is Jesus revealed in His word. Read it. It will help you read the paper and listen to the news with an eternal perspective. We can learn to live with and interpret the times with a faith that is real and balanced. It will see the reality of evil but know the limits of it. It can face the uncertainties of life because it is based on the Certainty of eternity. This faith founded and built on Truth can see the obstacles to living and keep moving forward with joy because this faith enables him to see the end of evil, pain, and suffering in the Kingdom of God.
Even a cynic can learn from the Bible truths for living abundantly. When the army of Israel faced the Philistines, the soldiers quaked at the sight of Goliath and effectively said, 'how can we fight such a huge enemy?' David looked at Goliath and said,'How can I miss?'
And when you face that greatest of enemies, even the one called Death, and he stares that blank, lifeless stare into your life, stare back with the love of God and watch. It is death that blinks.
Still Staring if not Standing,
Terry
These demons show up as anger-at the dad for never being around, at the mom for hovering around too much, the spouse who never gave what was needed, at the boss for crazy demands, crazy schedules and ridiculous pay. They manifest themselves as sloth and withdrawal or they go around as their more respectable cousins-workaholism and frenzied activities.You see these demons in the family SUV going to sporting games that fill the calendar and are filled with empty young people with scurrying thumbs and un-stretched souls. In truth they can tell you how to spike a volley ball, throw a curve ball, shoot a basketball and how to have a ball but not how or why to live morally and purposely. All those miles in the back of a suburban and no conversations about Jesus...
The demons of modern society goad us on to greed, materialism, apathy, and a brand of moralism that leaves out God and coronates self. With a proper self-image, a good education, a dose of toleration, a proper goal, and a tenacious spirit there's not too much a man or woman can't accomplish in this world. Of course, if someone should happen to have goals beyond this world and its achievements we can just label them as zealots.
My demon? Its pretty obvious isn't it. It's name is Cynic. The ancient Greeks birthed its name in a gymnasium extolling virtue and hard work but its history is long, its effects, well, there weren't many positive long-range ones were there? I must fight my demon. I often am beaten down and lost in the fray. It's true, if you don't believe me read the first three paragraphs again. How do I fight this wicked monster and keep it from stealing all joy and hope in a fallen world? The answer is almost too easy. It's so easy it can be overlooked. It is easy to see the effects of a fallen world. We must learn to look deeper or at least differently to see the effects of grace. We who have developed a taste for this juicy demon empty of spiritual calories can find the fullest spiritual feast a bit chewy and the effort to savor that meal a real pain. But if I will but feed my soul this one food, I find myself nourished to dream and fight and persevere while at the same time starving the demon of its power to corrupt. What is this miracle food?
It is Truth, plain and simple found in the gospel of Christ.
The truth is God has not now nor has He ever abandoned His creation or His people. At this time in our world of war and rumors of war, disease and drought, H1N1 and AIDS, genocide, suicide, and homicide, He still moves. More people come to faith in Christ every day than at any time in history. Estimates are as low as 45,000 and as high as 60,000 people come to follow Christ as Lord each day in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and even several thousand in North America. The church now has over 2 billion who claim Christ as Saviour.* (Rick Warren's mission's website*)The church is so robust in Korea, Africa, and South America that these regions have sent missionaries to the United States to strenghten the church spiritually.
Young ministers are sensing the call to ministry in great numbers in many denominations. These young men and women are not enamored with thoughts of power or prestige but will genuinely go anywhere and do all things to advance the kingdom of God and proclaim His righteousness. Their music is different, their methods are unconventional but they are reaching people in places like liberal western Europe that a few years ago was closed to the gospel.
As more people are hurting the budgets of churches across our nation have felt the crunch, yet, the outpouring to relief agencies from individuals and churches is keeping such ministries afloat. The Red Cross estimates that during the relief efforts after hurricane Katrina, that 90 % of the meals it served in actuality came from local churches and church relief agencies. The churches responded quickly and effectively while the large agencies and government were tied up in red tape.
A large percentage of our kids can expect to live to be a hundred years of age and were it not for lifestyle choices related to obesity and drugs those numbers would apply even greater for our grandchildren. Diseases are being cured or curtailed. Lives are being extended. Limbs can be repaired and joints replaced as never before. The God who said 'be fruitful and multiply' also said to mankind 'fill the earth and subdue it.' That is happening at a rate like never before. The advances will never lead to eternal life by themselves but they may very well extend the time a human has to hear the good news that salvation for eternity comes by no other name than the name of Jesus.
So how do you live in such a world where the demons are very real and are seemingly everywhere you look, even internally? Look to the Truth and that Truth is Jesus revealed in His word. Read it. It will help you read the paper and listen to the news with an eternal perspective. We can learn to live with and interpret the times with a faith that is real and balanced. It will see the reality of evil but know the limits of it. It can face the uncertainties of life because it is based on the Certainty of eternity. This faith founded and built on Truth can see the obstacles to living and keep moving forward with joy because this faith enables him to see the end of evil, pain, and suffering in the Kingdom of God.
Even a cynic can learn from the Bible truths for living abundantly. When the army of Israel faced the Philistines, the soldiers quaked at the sight of Goliath and effectively said, 'how can we fight such a huge enemy?' David looked at Goliath and said,'How can I miss?'
And when you face that greatest of enemies, even the one called Death, and he stares that blank, lifeless stare into your life, stare back with the love of God and watch. It is death that blinks.
Still Staring if not Standing,
Terry
Monday, November 9, 2009
Exposed
I have hesitated to write anything about the tragedy of last week at Ft. Hood. So many capable writers, pastors, journalists and politicians have undertaken the task. Many have done so with somber beauty and crystal clarity. 'What could I add?' I thought. I was deeply saddened and enraged with teeth gritting anger. I (God forgive me) was a little miffed when I heard the gunman had lived. Did I really think I wanted another human being dead? I'm still not sure but one thing I wasn't too surprised about is that it happened.
Maybe I'm becoming jaded so that even an attack on the world's largest Army post wasn't totally shocking. My lack of surprise had little to do with it being on an Army post, or that a fellow soldier did those people in, or that it was a Muslim that did it. I wouldn't have been surprised too much if a non-Muslim did it either. No it was something else that caused me to be only slightly surprised. Frankly, what surprises me is that there aren't more tragedies. Isn't that horrible to say? What's wrong with me? Am I sick in the heart or something? Maybe I am, but it's for another reason.
I've read the Bible. It exposes the heart of humanity with awful honesty.
No, there's not some secret prophecy hidden in Habakkuk or some other minor prophet that told me there would be a massacre in Ft. Hood. But the Bible does say this in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." What? You thought that meant we were just a little tarnished but basically good once Jesus polished us up a bit? No, it means we all have the evil that causes us to rebel against God and have the capacity to hurt our fellow man. Not clear yet? How about Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (The implication from the next verses and all the Bible is that only God can.) I looked up a dozen other "sinful" passages and they are amazingly consistent from Genesis 3 through the epistles of John--we are infected with the same evil and capable of horrific injustice. Lest we think we aren't, Jesus made it pretty clear how insidious, pervasive, and personal this sin is. Remember how He taught that if a man looks on a woman lustfully he's already committed adultery with her in his heart? If a man is angry with his brother he is guilt of murder (Matt. 5:21-22;27-28). The Bible also teaches of an evil loosed in the world who goes by the name of Satan. The Bible describes him as a thief, liar and murderer. Face it folks, the world is broken and we often trip over the rubble of our brokenness and break some more.
I'm amazed more evil stuff doesn't happen and why doesn't it happen more? It's not because the human race is basically good. How many wars and massacres will it take to convince us of that? That's the bad news. The good news is that into a broken world where evil lives and breathes and has its being a tremendous power has also been loosed. That power is the grace and love of God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore our hope is in Him and His power to forgive, cleanse, restore and re-create the hearts of men surrendered to His will. This power still moves and lives in the church, Christ's followers, to share the good news of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ. The hope we have is not just in this life but in the life to come. Our hope is an eternal hope that is not stopped by the bullets of a mad man or the ideology of madmen. Our hope is not defined by the length of physical life but by the quality (think abundant) and quantity (think eternal) of life lived by faith in Christ.
Whoa, I went off in preaching mode there didn't I? Sorry about that.
Capacity. Is that a full or empty word for you? I suppose that depends on how you answer. What fills you? We all have the capacity for evil, horror, and unspeakable sin. Some of it comes out in some peoples lives very publicly and tragically. For many people, the horror and evil is borne internally, with only the guilt and stress of keeping it in check causing our lives to crack a bit from time to time. Jesus has borne our sin. There is no need to carry the burden, it has been lifted. Nidal Hasan either didn't get the message or chose to ignore it. What was in his heart was exposed, and it came to the surface in a horrific act of cowardice and in a manner exposed the problem of the human race. We need help. It has come. Hasan cried out "Allah Akbar" (God is great in Arabic) before he began shooting. But he really didn't know what that meant. One day he will.
What will you do with the good news of Christ?
Please continue to pray for the families of those who lost their lives and for the recovery of those injured in the Ft. Hood tragedy.
Terry
Maybe I'm becoming jaded so that even an attack on the world's largest Army post wasn't totally shocking. My lack of surprise had little to do with it being on an Army post, or that a fellow soldier did those people in, or that it was a Muslim that did it. I wouldn't have been surprised too much if a non-Muslim did it either. No it was something else that caused me to be only slightly surprised. Frankly, what surprises me is that there aren't more tragedies. Isn't that horrible to say? What's wrong with me? Am I sick in the heart or something? Maybe I am, but it's for another reason.
I've read the Bible. It exposes the heart of humanity with awful honesty.
No, there's not some secret prophecy hidden in Habakkuk or some other minor prophet that told me there would be a massacre in Ft. Hood. But the Bible does say this in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." What? You thought that meant we were just a little tarnished but basically good once Jesus polished us up a bit? No, it means we all have the evil that causes us to rebel against God and have the capacity to hurt our fellow man. Not clear yet? How about Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (The implication from the next verses and all the Bible is that only God can.) I looked up a dozen other "sinful" passages and they are amazingly consistent from Genesis 3 through the epistles of John--we are infected with the same evil and capable of horrific injustice. Lest we think we aren't, Jesus made it pretty clear how insidious, pervasive, and personal this sin is. Remember how He taught that if a man looks on a woman lustfully he's already committed adultery with her in his heart? If a man is angry with his brother he is guilt of murder (Matt. 5:21-22;27-28). The Bible also teaches of an evil loosed in the world who goes by the name of Satan. The Bible describes him as a thief, liar and murderer. Face it folks, the world is broken and we often trip over the rubble of our brokenness and break some more.
I'm amazed more evil stuff doesn't happen and why doesn't it happen more? It's not because the human race is basically good. How many wars and massacres will it take to convince us of that? That's the bad news. The good news is that into a broken world where evil lives and breathes and has its being a tremendous power has also been loosed. That power is the grace and love of God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore our hope is in Him and His power to forgive, cleanse, restore and re-create the hearts of men surrendered to His will. This power still moves and lives in the church, Christ's followers, to share the good news of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ. The hope we have is not just in this life but in the life to come. Our hope is an eternal hope that is not stopped by the bullets of a mad man or the ideology of madmen. Our hope is not defined by the length of physical life but by the quality (think abundant) and quantity (think eternal) of life lived by faith in Christ.
Whoa, I went off in preaching mode there didn't I? Sorry about that.
Capacity. Is that a full or empty word for you? I suppose that depends on how you answer. What fills you? We all have the capacity for evil, horror, and unspeakable sin. Some of it comes out in some peoples lives very publicly and tragically. For many people, the horror and evil is borne internally, with only the guilt and stress of keeping it in check causing our lives to crack a bit from time to time. Jesus has borne our sin. There is no need to carry the burden, it has been lifted. Nidal Hasan either didn't get the message or chose to ignore it. What was in his heart was exposed, and it came to the surface in a horrific act of cowardice and in a manner exposed the problem of the human race. We need help. It has come. Hasan cried out "Allah Akbar" (God is great in Arabic) before he began shooting. But he really didn't know what that meant. One day he will.
What will you do with the good news of Christ?
Please continue to pray for the families of those who lost their lives and for the recovery of those injured in the Ft. Hood tragedy.
Terry
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Reunion
And so it came to be that after thirty two years it was decided to have a track team reunion. (We were good. Its true. We won the Lone Star Conference and finished third at Nationals.)It was discussed before, proposed before, but it never happened before. Now it has. The occasion was one of the former coaches being inducted to our beloved Howard Payne's Sports Hall of Fame. Jim Ewing coached distant runners as he was one himself in his thinclad days. Quite good obviously but I never knew much about that. But one of his former pupils, Dave, undertook the task of pulling us in from the four winds for Dr. Ewing's induction and to have the Reunion.
Dr Ewing, of course, never coached me but he did teach me English. No, please don't have harsh impressions toward him, just know it would be far, far worse had the good Lord not brought the good Scot into my life. He opened up a window in my soul through which meaning and words could flow. It was no doubt in part due to the brogue in which he spoke that brought new textures to old words but also the sternness (not meanness)by which he evaluated our work. He made a difference. Much of what I learned from him by way of dissecting a story or poem I later applied to Bible passages. And passages that were written as and meant to be viewed as literature would have had their beauty lost to me were it not for the slight Scotsman. Theology left on its own can add dust to the Bible and make it hard to swallow- syntax, etymologies, historical and personal background studies add the butter to some, what seems at times, dry bread.
So we gathered, a handful at first and few more later. ( I had to miss the later). To my surprise everyone was recognizable but one. Doug, the miler had to tell me who he was. Dave, Tim, Vic and the other runners looked good. Most still ran some. The other shot putter\discus thrower besides myself, Tommy, had possibly changed the least. Danny the spear chunker was still Danny and told stories with animation from 35 years ago like they were yesterday. He should have been the preacher. Dave greeted Dr. Ewing with a recitation from Macbeth, Act 5, scene 5, 19-28 complete with rolled Scottish r's and dropped gutturals. Those distance guys were clearly more cerebral. I always wondered what they did when they ran for two hours straight. I guess they memorized and recited Shakespeare.
I didn't get to hear all the details of their lives journeying over the past thirty plus years. I heard the high points--marriages, kids, jobs. Most seemed to be doing well. Quite a number had followed Dr. Ewing's way into teaching and coaching. It was good to see them. I would have like to have seen the black guys. Maybe we can find them for the next reunion. I missed seeing my coach, Don Hood. He came after I had to leave. I'll try to catch up with him on my own. It made me think of others I'd lost track of along the way that I had at one time enjoyed or had made an impact on my life. I can't help but believe after seeing the guys and visiting with them a few minutes that Macbeth was wrong, at least in part when Mr Shakespeare had him say at the death of his wife:
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Given what poor Macbeth had been through and put others through, well, one could get soured on life. But a life that's been affected by the quiet strength of a big German shot-putter, the antics and animation of a javelin thrower you could never feel down around for very long, the relentless determination of a marathon runner, the awe struck wonder of hearing a Scottish English teacher read a Robert Frost poem, or hearing the sincere thankfulness of a poor African sprinter be so happy with a Big Mac, well, with all due respect Mr. Shakespeare, that signifies something. Of course, I didn't know it at the time. It took the ages to whittle off the ego and add the spice of perspective but all had an impact on my life. To quote another Englishman of the same era , John Donne, "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is piece of the continent...I am involved with mankind...ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."
The truth is that as much as I enjoyed seeing the old track team, some of them I'll probably never see again in this life. That doesn't mean that's the end, it's just another place Mr. Macbeth was wrong.
TerryFriday, October 23, 2009
Unseen Hands
But I trust in you, o Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands..........Psalm 31:14-15
We had some computer trouble last week. We also have a couple of guys we know who know everything there is to know about computers. This time we didn't call them because it seemed to us that the problem was actually the physical computer itself and not this dummy trying to run it, and, besides, it is still under warranty. So the toll free number is dialed, a voice comes on telling me which number to punch for which area, some music is played for thirty minutes interrupted occasionally by another voice reassuring me that my call is important followed by more music.
Then at last a human voice begins to speak, but, Naveen is in India or Bangladesh or who knows where and these Texas ears are not always the best for discerning dialects. So we begin to muddle through the experience.
Naveen begins to ask me questions about the problem, and take me through about fifteen steps I've already done and still the problem is not fixed. Next Naveen tells me certain letters and numbers to type into the address bar. I do. He tells me a screen will come up requiring me to check the "I have read and agree to the terms." I check the box even though I haven't read the agreement. Who does? Next, Naveen tells me to take my hands off the keyboard and he will try and fix the problem.
Then it happened. All of a sudden, my cursor on my computer is being moved around by some unseen hands far, far away. Screens pop up on my monitor that look very technical but I didn't call them forth. Words, letters, numbers appear, the cursor arrow moves back and forth, up and down, icons I've never seen before appear, they are clicked and the computer makes whirring sounds and I'm thinking " I hope Naveen isn't draining my bank account because we're both going to be disappointed.
This sequence goes on for about fifteen or twenty minutes and Naveen asks me to move a plug in the back of the tower. I didn't know I had a tower. Turns out that it is the computer itself, I think they used to call it the cpu or some other initials. The problem still isn't fixed. Naveen types and moves on my computer and at one time I see he's going to "my documents." Why is he going to the "my documents" section? There are only bad sermons and unfinished drafts of letters never sent. I'm a little frightened at this point. What's he looking for? Still connected by phone I ask him, what are you doing in "my documents?" He was needing an empty folder to download a driver. So he found his empty folder and download a driver. All the time I'm feeling like I'm in a remake of Driving Miss Daisy except its not in a car but on a computer and I've got Naveen instead of Hoak.
Finally, Naveen tells me to move the plug back to another hole in the back of the tower, which I find much quicker this time and he instructs me that he will see if the problem is fixed and confirm with me that it is. To confirm he goes to a music screen and picks a symphony and it begins to play. Everything works. He tells me he is giving me back my computer and after a few follow up questions for quality control, he hangs up.
I check my bank balance, its all there. I check my documents, I think they are all there. The computer works and all I had to do was sit back and keep my hands off and let someone who knew what they were doing take control and follow his instructions. It was frankly a bit frightening to not have control but I can't complain about the service or the results.
Hummm? I wonder if that would apply to.........
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in -- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from you Spirit? Where can I flee from you presence? Psalm 139:1-7
Are there Unseen Hands just waiting for you to agree to take control of you brokenness and go to work on your behalf? Go ahead, click on faith...
Terry
We had some computer trouble last week. We also have a couple of guys we know who know everything there is to know about computers. This time we didn't call them because it seemed to us that the problem was actually the physical computer itself and not this dummy trying to run it, and, besides, it is still under warranty. So the toll free number is dialed, a voice comes on telling me which number to punch for which area, some music is played for thirty minutes interrupted occasionally by another voice reassuring me that my call is important followed by more music.
Then at last a human voice begins to speak, but, Naveen is in India or Bangladesh or who knows where and these Texas ears are not always the best for discerning dialects. So we begin to muddle through the experience.
Naveen begins to ask me questions about the problem, and take me through about fifteen steps I've already done and still the problem is not fixed. Next Naveen tells me certain letters and numbers to type into the address bar. I do. He tells me a screen will come up requiring me to check the "I have read and agree to the terms." I check the box even though I haven't read the agreement. Who does? Next, Naveen tells me to take my hands off the keyboard and he will try and fix the problem.
Then it happened. All of a sudden, my cursor on my computer is being moved around by some unseen hands far, far away. Screens pop up on my monitor that look very technical but I didn't call them forth. Words, letters, numbers appear, the cursor arrow moves back and forth, up and down, icons I've never seen before appear, they are clicked and the computer makes whirring sounds and I'm thinking " I hope Naveen isn't draining my bank account because we're both going to be disappointed.
This sequence goes on for about fifteen or twenty minutes and Naveen asks me to move a plug in the back of the tower. I didn't know I had a tower. Turns out that it is the computer itself, I think they used to call it the cpu or some other initials. The problem still isn't fixed. Naveen types and moves on my computer and at one time I see he's going to "my documents." Why is he going to the "my documents" section? There are only bad sermons and unfinished drafts of letters never sent. I'm a little frightened at this point. What's he looking for? Still connected by phone I ask him, what are you doing in "my documents?" He was needing an empty folder to download a driver. So he found his empty folder and download a driver. All the time I'm feeling like I'm in a remake of Driving Miss Daisy except its not in a car but on a computer and I've got Naveen instead of Hoak.
Finally, Naveen tells me to move the plug back to another hole in the back of the tower, which I find much quicker this time and he instructs me that he will see if the problem is fixed and confirm with me that it is. To confirm he goes to a music screen and picks a symphony and it begins to play. Everything works. He tells me he is giving me back my computer and after a few follow up questions for quality control, he hangs up.
I check my bank balance, its all there. I check my documents, I think they are all there. The computer works and all I had to do was sit back and keep my hands off and let someone who knew what they were doing take control and follow his instructions. It was frankly a bit frightening to not have control but I can't complain about the service or the results.
Hummm? I wonder if that would apply to.........
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in -- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from you Spirit? Where can I flee from you presence? Psalm 139:1-7
Are there Unseen Hands just waiting for you to agree to take control of you brokenness and go to work on your behalf? Go ahead, click on faith...
Terry
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The River of Doubt
In late 1913 and early 1914, less than two years from suffering what to him was a humiliating political defeat for the presidency, former president Theodore Roosevelt took off on an adventure. TR had served as president from 1901 to 1909. He had chosen not to run in the fall elections of 1908. Unhappy with the political climate, being restless and out of the limelight, TR tried to stage a comeback. Running as an independent in 1912, he was pretty soundly defeated by Woodrow Wilson.
After agreeing to a speaking tour in South America, he also wanted to explore and get out into nature again to heal from
his rejection from the American voters. His expedition is recounted in the book The River of Doubt authored by Candace Millard. TR's expedition was to explore and map a large tributary of the Amazon system that had not been explored. In fact, the name of the book has many meanings but one was that the river's existence, length, and importance where very much in question, thus the river of doubt. Oral traditions existed of a few who had tried to make the trip to be heard from never again. Thus another layer in the name The River of Doubt: it was doubtful that anyone could survive the journey.
The trip was a disaster. There was poor planning by people who didn't know Brazil. The wrong canoes were chosen. Not enough of the right kind of food was taken (although early on the party had choices of five teas). The problem was compounded by the fact that although the Amazon basin is teeming with game and fish, this group didn't know how to access it. The explorers were stalked by cannibals, beset with malaria, inundated with bugs, always hungry, divided by a murder, drenched to the point of dry rot and shall we say, not a bunch of happy campers. The expedition very nearly killed Roosevelt. He instructed the party at one point to leave him but his son and the Brazilian co-commander Rondon refused. By all accounts this exceedingly fit, strong man's health was broken and his life eventually cut short by the ordeal he and his party suffered. They did rename the river after him, however. (Check out the Rio Roosevelt on google to see a 600 mile river in Brazil.)
The name of the waterway was the River of Doubt, but with the courage, stamina, and dogged determination to survive, the unknown became known and doubt was turned to knowledge. It was a costly discovery. Dispelling doubt always is. As a result of the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition nearly 100 years ago, rubber exporting grew from the area, timber was harvested (this can be debated if this is good), some experimental medicines researched, and a few developments sprang up. The river is still wild, untamed but open.
We all have our rivers of doubt. We get bogged down in them. Their rapids can crush us. They tend to make us want to go back or quit. Our personal rivers of doubt are often left unexplored from fear and unwillingness to pay the cost exacted to bring the wild unknown into the realm of usefulness. The doubts we have about our purpose, our abilities, our love, our being loved flow so freely much of the time that we spend most of our lives looking for dryer, safer ground. The headwaters of all our rivers of doubt are traced back to one source. Does God exist? Does He know me and if He knows me, does he care?
There is really only one way to find out isn't there? Launch out in faith and see where your Guide takes you. The stories down through the centuries point to the Guide who knows our hearts better than we do and can lead us home. But you can't survive on others' stories, you must write you own.
There is a river of doubt that also goes by the name of death. Try as we might, it cannot be avoided forever. One day we will have to cross it. Not if, but when. When that time comes will the river of death bring tributaries of doubt and fear so strong that you will be swept away or will your confidence in the Guide you know so well cause you once again to reach out your hand and with quiet confidence let Him take you home? Choosing wisely now will help you wade channels that could otherwise sweep you away.
Rivers of Doubt to Rivers of Delight---choose wisely.
Psalm 46:4
Terry
After agreeing to a speaking tour in South America, he also wanted to explore and get out into nature again to heal from
his rejection from the American voters. His expedition is recounted in the book The River of Doubt authored by Candace Millard. TR's expedition was to explore and map a large tributary of the Amazon system that had not been explored. In fact, the name of the book has many meanings but one was that the river's existence, length, and importance where very much in question, thus the river of doubt. Oral traditions existed of a few who had tried to make the trip to be heard from never again. Thus another layer in the name The River of Doubt: it was doubtful that anyone could survive the journey.The trip was a disaster. There was poor planning by people who didn't know Brazil. The wrong canoes were chosen. Not enough of the right kind of food was taken (although early on the party had choices of five teas). The problem was compounded by the fact that although the Amazon basin is teeming with game and fish, this group didn't know how to access it. The explorers were stalked by cannibals, beset with malaria, inundated with bugs, always hungry, divided by a murder, drenched to the point of dry rot and shall we say, not a bunch of happy campers. The expedition very nearly killed Roosevelt. He instructed the party at one point to leave him but his son and the Brazilian co-commander Rondon refused. By all accounts this exceedingly fit, strong man's health was broken and his life eventually cut short by the ordeal he and his party suffered. They did rename the river after him, however. (Check out the Rio Roosevelt on google to see a 600 mile river in Brazil.)
The name of the waterway was the River of Doubt, but with the courage, stamina, and dogged determination to survive, the unknown became known and doubt was turned to knowledge. It was a costly discovery. Dispelling doubt always is. As a result of the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition nearly 100 years ago, rubber exporting grew from the area, timber was harvested (this can be debated if this is good), some experimental medicines researched, and a few developments sprang up. The river is still wild, untamed but open.
We all have our rivers of doubt. We get bogged down in them. Their rapids can crush us. They tend to make us want to go back or quit. Our personal rivers of doubt are often left unexplored from fear and unwillingness to pay the cost exacted to bring the wild unknown into the realm of usefulness. The doubts we have about our purpose, our abilities, our love, our being loved flow so freely much of the time that we spend most of our lives looking for dryer, safer ground. The headwaters of all our rivers of doubt are traced back to one source. Does God exist? Does He know me and if He knows me, does he care?
There is really only one way to find out isn't there? Launch out in faith and see where your Guide takes you. The stories down through the centuries point to the Guide who knows our hearts better than we do and can lead us home. But you can't survive on others' stories, you must write you own.
There is a river of doubt that also goes by the name of death. Try as we might, it cannot be avoided forever. One day we will have to cross it. Not if, but when. When that time comes will the river of death bring tributaries of doubt and fear so strong that you will be swept away or will your confidence in the Guide you know so well cause you once again to reach out your hand and with quiet confidence let Him take you home? Choosing wisely now will help you wade channels that could otherwise sweep you away.
Rivers of Doubt to Rivers of Delight---choose wisely.
Psalm 46:4
Terry
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Chaos
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters...........Genesis 1: 2
Formless? Empty? The words of Genesis 1:2 are hauntingly cold in their assessment of the world before God's creative activity is seen. The word for formless (NIV) is rendered desolate, worthless, confusion or nothing in other venues. The word used for empty is seen in other works and places as void, a ruin, a vacuity. The world before Genesis 1:3 was a place of darkness, chaos-- nothingness on steroids. But on this chaotic void of dark confusion and emptiness there was nonetheless hope for it also states that the Spirit of God was hovering, brooding, on the waters. That word for moving implies to flutter, to envelope as a hen broods over her nest so the Spirit moves over the primordial waters. Was it waters? The word is used also for urine, semen, and waste. In the wasted, chaotic nothingness that was called 'world' before creation God was present, moving, about to change nothingness into glorious beauty and fill emptiness with Himself. Creatio ex nihilo-creation from nothing, now that is something!
Imagination can't soar high enough to capture even a scintilla of the wonder of Creation. We see its results in nature and in people and still marvel. Watching Ken Burns' The National Parks on PBS this week has left me in awe and filled with sadness at the same time. Awe, because the sights are indescribable, sad because I've not seen them in person. The brooding of the Spirit over the lives of people and the creation He still works in them is even more breathtaking. Imagine a soul, a real, living person whose life is filled with emptiness, confusion, darkness and is wasted regarding any thing permanent or eternal. They most likely are not even aware of their own darkness because its all they know and its all they see around them. Then the Spirit of God speaks and the light comes on and the ugly void of life without God in the heart is awakened to its purpose and the journey begins.
I recently saw a glimpse of this again with the building of our home and the subsequent move into it. The canvas wasn't blank but it appeared more barren than most places to build a house in our community. It was not on the bluff overlooking the lake with their shimmering vistas. It was not on the golf course with the tranquil beauty those lots afford. It was not heavily wooded teeming with wildlife, although it had a great set of trees out front. That was all, no other trees, just the one big one in front and the lot and those around it were so nondescript that telling people where it was drew mostly blank stares despite the fact that it was clearly seen from the main road. The previous owner no longer valued it much and so the plain, empty lot with a good tree was about to be brooded over. Applied to it now was the creative art of all-world home builder Ron Roberts and his crews of craftsmen. Land was scraped, leveled and forms were set. Foundations went down and frames went up. Rooms became distinct where before there were prickly pear and native grasses. Where darkness exercised its reign now light competes at the flick of a switch. Strength, beauty, and utility were taking over where nothingness once ruled. The land bent and conformed to Ronnie's hand and in a matter just a few months, a house was born.
But it was empty, void, looking good on the outside but with nothing on the inside but possibilities. I did my part with the help of the six Seraphim (the men who helped me move). All the accumulations of the ages was now under the same roof. But it was still without form and chaos ruled. Where's my socks? Where's my phone? Where o, where is my life in this mess? Then Pam began to brood and her spirit began to move over the face of the home. Beds for resting and re-creation were placed; dishes filled cabinets; chairs filled rooms, electronic devices to keep in touch with or be touched from the world found their niche. Where weeds claimed squatters rights, now there is grass; where there were vines, now there resides hollies and jasmine; where rocks grew deep now a fence stands straight; where a breeze once moved on nothing now cools the brow of the tired owner who rests on a porch that overlooks a valley from which a steeple extends its spire and a place that once was easily missed in passing now shares a vision of life and its living for miles and miles. It was there all the time, it just took some one to see it, invest in it, and work it.
Even this creative process can't compare to what Christ does when He begins to move over the hearts that are choked by the cares of this world and living in darkness without Him. When He moves over those hearts and new life with Him begins, even the angels can't explain its joy (I Peter 1:12) for no eye has seen and no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (I Cor. 2:9). Your life chaotic, dark, and feeling wasted? Maybe not you but someone you love feels that way? Pray for the same movement of the Spirit of God over the face of your depths and watch what he can do with a Word.
And God said, " Let there be light," and there was light. ...it was good...
Terry
Formless? Empty? The words of Genesis 1:2 are hauntingly cold in their assessment of the world before God's creative activity is seen. The word for formless (NIV) is rendered desolate, worthless, confusion or nothing in other venues. The word used for empty is seen in other works and places as void, a ruin, a vacuity. The world before Genesis 1:3 was a place of darkness, chaos-- nothingness on steroids. But on this chaotic void of dark confusion and emptiness there was nonetheless hope for it also states that the Spirit of God was hovering, brooding, on the waters. That word for moving implies to flutter, to envelope as a hen broods over her nest so the Spirit moves over the primordial waters. Was it waters? The word is used also for urine, semen, and waste. In the wasted, chaotic nothingness that was called 'world' before creation God was present, moving, about to change nothingness into glorious beauty and fill emptiness with Himself. Creatio ex nihilo-creation from nothing, now that is something!
Imagination can't soar high enough to capture even a scintilla of the wonder of Creation. We see its results in nature and in people and still marvel. Watching Ken Burns' The National Parks on PBS this week has left me in awe and filled with sadness at the same time. Awe, because the sights are indescribable, sad because I've not seen them in person. The brooding of the Spirit over the lives of people and the creation He still works in them is even more breathtaking. Imagine a soul, a real, living person whose life is filled with emptiness, confusion, darkness and is wasted regarding any thing permanent or eternal. They most likely are not even aware of their own darkness because its all they know and its all they see around them. Then the Spirit of God speaks and the light comes on and the ugly void of life without God in the heart is awakened to its purpose and the journey begins.
I recently saw a glimpse of this again with the building of our home and the subsequent move into it. The canvas wasn't blank but it appeared more barren than most places to build a house in our community. It was not on the bluff overlooking the lake with their shimmering vistas. It was not on the golf course with the tranquil beauty those lots afford. It was not heavily wooded teeming with wildlife, although it had a great set of trees out front. That was all, no other trees, just the one big one in front and the lot and those around it were so nondescript that telling people where it was drew mostly blank stares despite the fact that it was clearly seen from the main road. The previous owner no longer valued it much and so the plain, empty lot with a good tree was about to be brooded over. Applied to it now was the creative art of all-world home builder Ron Roberts and his crews of craftsmen. Land was scraped, leveled and forms were set. Foundations went down and frames went up. Rooms became distinct where before there were prickly pear and native grasses. Where darkness exercised its reign now light competes at the flick of a switch. Strength, beauty, and utility were taking over where nothingness once ruled. The land bent and conformed to Ronnie's hand and in a matter just a few months, a house was born.
But it was empty, void, looking good on the outside but with nothing on the inside but possibilities. I did my part with the help of the six Seraphim (the men who helped me move). All the accumulations of the ages was now under the same roof. But it was still without form and chaos ruled. Where's my socks? Where's my phone? Where o, where is my life in this mess? Then Pam began to brood and her spirit began to move over the face of the home. Beds for resting and re-creation were placed; dishes filled cabinets; chairs filled rooms, electronic devices to keep in touch with or be touched from the world found their niche. Where weeds claimed squatters rights, now there is grass; where there were vines, now there resides hollies and jasmine; where rocks grew deep now a fence stands straight; where a breeze once moved on nothing now cools the brow of the tired owner who rests on a porch that overlooks a valley from which a steeple extends its spire and a place that once was easily missed in passing now shares a vision of life and its living for miles and miles. It was there all the time, it just took some one to see it, invest in it, and work it.
Even this creative process can't compare to what Christ does when He begins to move over the hearts that are choked by the cares of this world and living in darkness without Him. When He moves over those hearts and new life with Him begins, even the angels can't explain its joy (I Peter 1:12) for no eye has seen and no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (I Cor. 2:9). Your life chaotic, dark, and feeling wasted? Maybe not you but someone you love feels that way? Pray for the same movement of the Spirit of God over the face of your depths and watch what he can do with a Word.
And God said, " Let there be light," and there was light. ...it was good...
Terry
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