I’ve never felt okay ignoring people who are putting themselves out there for my protection. Several airplane flights ago I gave in tomy unease and started watching the flight attendants during their safety brief. Along the way I began noticing something peculiar…they never make eye contact.
This was confirmed when during a very rare first class flight (I’m usually in coach) I was clearly the only one among the 16 passengers watching. The attendant acted like a husband who wants to make sure his wife knows he is not looking at the attractive girl walking by. He looked in every direction but mine.
The New Year is a time of renewal reminiscent of the fresh starts each school year brought when we were children. Starting fresh is intoxicating to those of us encumbered with a litany of bad habits and regrets we would like to leave behind. Overwhelmingly those who resolve to leave baggage behind each new year fail. Most can make it a couple of weeks, a few for a couple of months, and a small minority past six months.
As the habits and regrets each day mount, we trod along hoping for another fresh start fix. Like junkies we crave a fix and decide to move, or change jobs or one is forced upon us through the tragedy of divorce, fire, or death. With each start we once again resolve to change only to fail again. Our hope for the next new year renews and the cycle repeats.
There has to be a better way.
“Energy follows thought ”
These three words were my take-away from three days of leadership training. Not that everything else wasn’t good information is was just more of the same from previous training events. I probably even heard these three words in training before but it never struck me the way they did that day.
What a simple rule for Christians.
When we take stock of what occupies our thoughts we will likely find an inventory of passions, fears, interests and distractions. These thoughts are the ones that determine what we do. A necessity of being human
But, when we consider what consume our thoughts we will discover our idols. The idols that consumes our energy will guide who we are not just what we do. Here we will find the birthplace of addiction and depression unless we allow our energy to be guided by love for God.
Make quick count of the things we humans tend to idolize: ourselves, people, family, food, things, abilities, money…all of which are destined to fail us in a temporal world. No wonder we are a depressed society. When our idols fail our energy also fails.
“Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus of Nazareth ( Matthew 22:37)
When we allow our thoughts to be consumed with the love of God and love for God our energy will never fail.
Shalom
NOTE: For those who have followed this blog I apologize for a delay in posting. On March 10, 2010 we had a devistating fire that completely threw me off my routine. I posted the following article on my personal blog days after the fire. We hope to be fully back to posting articles in the coming weeks. God Bless.
It began with the emergency call code from Angie to me. [ NOTE: If you don't have one of these I recommend it. When I'm in a meeting or otherwise unavailable at work I press "ignore" when she calls which sends her call immediately to voicemail. She then redials and I know to answer because it's an emergency.] During my Wednesday morning meeting in Austin I answered to hear that our house (in Merkel) was on fire. Considering the situation she was surprisingly calm, frantic yes…but definitely not hysterical. Once the front windows broke and flames with smoke rushed from the house we both knew it was best for Angie to go next door to her parent’s home and wait instead of watch. As she was walking in I could hear through the phone the horns blowing for firefighters to evacuate and let it burn.
The fire department was on the scene within minutes of Angie’s call to 911. We found out later someone passing the house had called earlier so they got a head start. Even with the quick response there was nothing that could be done. Our house burned from a mix of accidental ignition of a heat source warming the dogs and 35 mph (with gusts to 50) winds. Even with seemingly initial success in controlling the blaze, the fire and wind created a blow torch effect that would require more water to extinguish than the two Merkel trucks and seven Abilene trucks could possibly pump. The responders fought until exhausted and made the correct choice to retreat, there wasn’t one thing in the house worth even an injury. Thank you to the Merkel VFD and Abilene FD for their efforts, you just can’t beat nature.
I have thanked God every day for Amie’s presence at our house on that day. She only periodically helps Angie clean the house but without screaming for Angie to come downstairs when she saw the smoke, Angie would have been in the shower on the second floor and endangered at best. I’m thankful Angie didn’t open the door to the back porch where the blaze was raging, the wind would have certainly blown the flames into her and Amie and I would be typing this from the hospital She could have thought she could save the dogs (they got out anyway) or put the fire out with her kitchen extinguisher (too late for that) but she had the presence of mind under pressure to just evacuate.
The community of Merkel is phenomenal…I will certainly write more on this in the coming weeks, we would not be as strong right now without the hundreds of our friends and neighbors who showed up to help.
Service to community and help to fallen comrades are tenets so engrained in the ethos of the Texas Army National Guard that we were almost overwhelmed with support. It took direct orders and a promise of future help to keep these Great Americans away. I will always be grateful to God for the blessing of working with such a great organization.
So we find ourselves at zero. Even with the donations of clothes and essentials from the community we still can fit our earthly possessions into the back of my truck. We have always talked big talk that we don’t put any stock on earthly things but the talk falls flat when we actually lose everything. An inventory runs in our minds of all the things we lost…
It’s not so much the loss of stuff that causes sadness but the loss of the memories connected to the stuff. We are saddened to think of losing Angie’s wedding ring, wedding dress, childhood doll “Susie,” cookbook collection, and high school cheer uniforms (into which she still fit!); Chelsea’s impressive collection of books, cheer and dance gear, senior scrapbook, and American Girl dolls; Chera’s sports medals, cheer gear, scrapbooks, snow globe collection, and artwork; The Bible I carried through combatin Iraq and my Jeep (it’s a jeep thing you wouldn’t understand) [Note: Monkey is safely secured at my parent's house because my mother rightfully decided years ago I wasn't responsible enough to have him yet] .
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust [and fire] destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust [and fire] do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)
On Wednesday night we had a family meeting in our hotel room to discuss the importance of the day. I believe that with every life changing event there WILL BE change. It’s up to us to make it positive. After a family hug we all confirmed that stuff didn’t matter and our memories will survive without the stuff. More importantly, we had each other.
The GREAT thing is we are only at zero in terms of possessions. We are blessed beyond description in so many other ways.
- We still have treasures in heaven by the grace of God through Jesus Christ
- Our family has never been closer and each are stronger
- We live in the greatest community in the world
- I work for an organization dedicated to service to others
- Starting at zero gives us the unique opportunity to rebuild with focus on what’s REALLY important
We are thankful and at peace…Shalowm
Why?
As a father of two teenage daughters I frequently hear their friends and them state somthing akin to “I just want to do something to be famous..” I cringe every time I hear it because they envision a life of glitz, glamour, and glory….I see a life of discontent, decadence, and diversions.
Jesus was arguably the most famous person to live; almost 2000 years later his name is kown throughout the world. We celebrate holidays yearly dedicated to his life and death (and ressurection). Fame itself is not the problem, it’s how we get there lately that’s wrong.
Too many young people are striving for fame for fame’s sake alone. Fame for fame’s sake guaruntees one to never be content with enough fame. I’m convinced the famous will not be through seeking until they pass that one in front of them with more album sales, more money per movie, the most awards, wins….
Fame by the worlds standards, especially by United States standards is rooted in decadence. We have young ladies famous only for the devience they gained attention for. They’ve reached a goal, but at what cost? With the exception of very those obtaining fame through a narrow business or humanitarian niche the cost to the individual and our culture is just too high.
Oh, you want to be famous in order to influence others to Christ? Consider how many have walked down that narrow path only to be diverted down a much wider way, swallowed quickly by the masses. Besides, seeking fame in this way is contrary Christ’s teachings on the first being last on earth and the last being first for eternity.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. Matthew 19:28-30 (NIV)
If you insist on fame may I suggest a different path? .
Define God’s purpose for your life and make the pusuit of that purpose your life’s passion. Never let a cent of potential go unspent You will find later in life that you will have achieved a position far greater than fame: contentment, purity, and a laser focus on glorifying God. You might even gain some level of recognition that might be defined as fame by some. When that happens you will know what to do with it….influence as many as you can to seek Christ and surrender their lives to a higher purpose.
Shalowm.
After finishing this post I read the following in the American Way Magazine article quoting America Ferrera:
“My hunger has never been to be famous or well known or to win awards. I’ve never been interested in whatever the industry-prescribed definitions of success might be…And it’s probably a good thing because I’m not the archetype of the Hollywood starlet. I’m Latino, and even now there’s not a huge range of roles for Latino actors. I’m not stick-thin. There’s probably a long list of roles I’m ‘wrong’ for because of who I am, but that rarely crosses my mind, because I’m always focused on creating a reality that will allow me to work hard.” (32)
Rentilly J. “America the Beautiful.” American Way March 1, 2010. p29-33
“Christians are horrible, they are so mean.”
Not only is this sentiment too common today, but these were the words I heard from one of our varsity basketball players this morning. We had just finished a win over a Christian school who’s crowd began a personal verbal attack on the player over perceived rough defense. The 15 year-old player was left reeling from a crowd of adults screaming at her. As I overheard her talking to her mother on the phone, the words of dissappointment stung with each syllable.
“Christians are supposed to be the best, but they are the worse.”
Unfortunately this was the second Christian school in as many days who had behaved in a similar manner. I must confess my own behavior has not always been exemplary during close and heated games. The words this morning stung because it brought home how much my behavior represents Christ, too often in a negative way.
The United States went through a phase of t-shirts, bracelets, and other Christian merchandise that challenged us to ask”What Would Jesus Do?” or “WWJD?” when confronted with a decision. Apart from the superficial nature of t-shirt Christianity, I wonder if we would have been better served challenging believers to “LLJD” or “live like Jesus did.” I’m sure there was no room in Jesus’ life for screaming at a 15 year-old basketball player no matter how hard the foul.
My dearest cousin’s husband is dying. How odd that phrase when , in fact, we are all dying, just at different times. For an atheist the idea of death must be one of great loss and despair. To have as your only hope, “like the little dog rover, when you’re dead you’re dead all over,” would not be extremely comforting. I suspect most atheists don’t remind themselves of death very often. Yet, we are surrounded by it. Every day the local paper reports them in the “obit” section. I am very happy to report that my cousin’s family are not atheists and have a comfort available to them that is not the case for people that prefer to “go it alone” without God. There are days when my cousin’s husband just wants to go on and leave the old shell behind, but he lingers. Even in asking, “why,” we know, if we’re honest in our quest for the answer. I believe the answer is the one given by one actor to another in a movie I saw once. One asked the other on the occasion of leaving this life for the next, “It’s hard to let go isn’t it?”
Physical life is precious, it’s a gift of God, yet, eternal life is so much more a gift. The transformation from one to the other is a great mystery. In his great novel, “If Winter Comes”, A.S.M. Hutchinson describes how a young man named Freddie Perch who had just been killed in the war (WW I) came back to help his mother die. He was the type of son that would never allow his mother to even cross a road without him. And here he was to help his mother cross the greatest road in her life.
She was moaning…. That inhabitant of her body had done its preparations and now stood at the door in the darkness, very frightened. It wanted to go back. It had been very accustomed to being here. It could not go back. It did not want to shut the door. The door was shutting. It stood and shrank and whimpered there….. It was old Mrs. Perch that stood there whimpering, shrinking upon the threshold of that huge abyss, wide as space, dark as night …
Down where we live it doesn’t snow much. When it does, we love it, well, most of us. The kids hope with the snow comes a snow day away from school. Most folks never lose their wonder at snow’s beauty and its nature of covering the most unsightly sights. Even a junkyard takes on a beauty not its own when snow falls and covers the old cars. Snow! Snow is a transformer of the ugly to the beautiful.
Lewis Carroll had Alice in “Through the Looking Glass” describe snow to her kitty this way.
“Do you hear the snow against the windowpanes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if someone was kissing the window all over outside. I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, and that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ’Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.’ And when they wake up in the summer, Kitty, they dress themselves all in green, and dance about – whenever the wind blows – oh, that’s very pretty!” cried Alice, dropping the ball of worsted to clap her hands. “And I do so wish it was true! I’m sure the woods look sleepy in the autumn, when the leaves are getting brown.”
You lied to me! Perhaps one of the harshest sentences in any language is that one. No one wants to be lied to, deceived, tricked or otherwise diminished by another. The other day Rhoda and I were waiting for my daughter at her house when we noticed a hummingbird poised at my granddaughter’s basketball goal. The goal is bright red and the little bird thought it had arrived at a great big red flower. After a moment it was gone – after figuring out it was not a real flower. It was one of those “ if only I had a camera” times.
Satan grows those great big red flowers for deceiving human hearts. “…your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour…”. (I Peter 5:8 TNV). He can also transform himself to make the real bad look real good. “…for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”. (2 Cor. 11:14 TNV). Elizabeth Browning brilliantly depicted Satan’s nefarious ways in her poem, “Aurora Leigh”, when she wrote, “the Devil’s most devilish when respectable”.
How much trouble will Satan take to try to deceive us “hummingbirds”? Whatever it takes. He only quits trying when we draw close to God. When we stay close to the cross, he can’t come there. But, we must be ever vigilant. In the book of Revelation, chapter 2, John says that some folks simply do not know the depths of Satan. Yes, he is real and yes he wants “hummingbirds” to fall for the fake great big red flower. He desires all to follow him, not God.
Watch our for the great big red flowers! Several years ago I wrote a poem and I think it speaks to the issue of not being on guard against the wiles of Satan. In this case it ends tragically as it always will when one becomes a friend of Satan.
DONKEY FLATS
Two men met where two roads cross.
One man was old and one was young.
Where to, young sir?
Where do you go?
To Donkey Flats, sir.
Why there young man?
Men only go there when all is lost.
All is lost sir and I am lost too.
Everything is lost that I held dear.
Cards, drinking and women
Took wife, children and home.
So I’m going to Donkey Flats sir.
And I won’t be coming back.
We often describe our Christian life as a daily walk, which is an enduring example of how we dedicate every moment of every day to Christ. The good news is we walk in the light near to God which gives a guiding light and illuminates a Spiritual path to the comfort of eternal life. To discover the true depth of this good news we need to focus on things to come. In Revelation the new heaven and the new earth are described by John:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”….And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:1, 21:3, 21:23-27 (TNIV)
For believers it’s almost overwhelming to think of the day we can walk in the light of the Lord. BUT WE ALREADY ARE!
