TMI

I created a problem on my humble blog when I figured out how to upload pictures from my camera and change the background on the header. For all my fiddling, trying to make the blog appealing, I made it too large for the memory of other people’s computers and e-readers.

 I returned to the simplest version the hosting site offered: “Dynamic.” 

Dynamic comes from a Greek word meaning power – and power is a word that means a transfer of energy in physics, or the ability to influence people’s behavior.  And the design that the hosts put together conveys ideas more quickly than the former blog because its display is simple and pictures on the list of blog entries are easier to read. Less verbiage to wade through – it's like I went from an 80’s mindset to almost the second decade in the new millennium. 

Twelve years ago, awaiting the year 2000, btw, I was wondering if the sky would fall when all the computers in the world crashed as the New Year dawned. Many of our friends were making serious plans for huge outages, shortages, and other problems springing from being too dependent on grocery stores, ATMs and cars. Even now, describing the craziness is too much information, so, I offer links: The Problem  and The Panic.

By the end of 1999, we realized we had missed the chance to stockpile, harvest wheat we never planted, to grind into flour for bread we would never bake in the solar powered ovens we never built. So, we went to the Red Cross Website and followed their instructions – a handy reference for any who live in the path of hurricanes or tornadoes. (Y-2K Checklist)

We  set aside a two weeks supply of soup, bread, bottled water and toilet paper; we bought an alcohol-fired cook-top, batteries, and hand-cranked radio. We filled up our gas tanks and also bought two 50-gallon plastic drums, and filled them for flushing and washing. If the worst happened, we would have avoided being part of the problem for maybe a week or ten days – and perhaps we could have helped others a little. 

What made News Year Eve that year tough was our son was overseas, and daughter was at a party. News came that Australia made it – then India and finally Great Britain survived. When we stepped outside to greet the New Year, the year before the third millennium, we breathed deeply and were never so glad to see Christmas lights as we were on that new morning!  (Explanation)

The problems Y-2K posed seem small compared to the threats we still face.  The run up to Y2K’s problems though may have equipped Wall Street to rebound after 9/11/01.

·      What have we learned in the past twelve years that could help us cope with storms like Katrina and Sandy?

·      How have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq made a difference in us who are stateside?

·      Has our thinking about debt and deficient spending changed so that we could manage in a major financial crash?

·      Have we thought about the fact that death follows hard on the heels of disasters and outbreaks of diseases?

My friend, Lucy Higginbotham, writing for the White Rock Lake Weekly described what to do in the first few hours of a crisis – like a huge storm: Like your own funeral, the time to plan for an emergency is not after the fact, but before, she said.  

Three things are critical: first, we must be equipped to care for ourselves and/or those in our households. Second, we must know our neighbors, determine their needs and their resources and have a plan to address both. Third, wanting to help is good, but knowing how to help in a way that does not endanger you or others is best.  (White Rock Lake Weekly – November 12, 2012)

Before the unexpected happens – whether wars, or rumors of wars, weird weather, (like a gigantic tornado in Italy!) or illness, betrayal, or disappointment, plan now: 

·      Rejoice in your portion.  ~The Talmud

·      Beware the barrenness of a busy life.  ~Socrates

·      Eliminate physical clutter.  More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.  ~Terri Guillemets (The Quotegarden)

And don’t let what you think about Christmas past wreck what might be a fresh understanding of the season we are about to observe, both Christians, or “None’s.” 

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6)

That’s not too much information, is it?

Remembering Our Roots – Faith and Fear

Here and now is a great time to remind ourselves why the fourth Thursday in November is a good celebration to enjoy, especially since few of us have exhausted ourselves bringing in a harvest of our crops in the past few weeks. (Wiki facts on T-day) And less than half of us credit what we enjoy to God.  

Thanksgiving has deep religious roots and was a day the pilgrims and other adventuresome souls set aside to bless God and enjoy their harvest of all their labors, and the help of their neighbors. The habit endured. Our first President, George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."

By 1863, though, Abraham Lincoln saw an added relevance of this event, and proclaimed a celebration to restore a sense of unity of Americans, though torn asunder by a grave civil war. And in 1941, when we were in another fight for our national life, President Roosevelt (FDR), hoping for continued economic recovery, proclaimed the celebration to be always on the fourth Thursday of November. 

This year, Americans will be mixing what has been a celebration of our unique history, God’s providence and our own productivity with our drive to get good stuff at cheap prices. Black Friday is the manifestation of fear that we may never be able to acquire our hearts’ desires at a better price – as well as faith on the part of merchants that they can finish their year in the black.   Now the genius of American commercial ingenuity is urging us to get out right after a T-day feast, and buy, buy, buy.

This is no segway into a rant, gentle readers. No – look for any snarky comments about how anyone chooses to enjoy Thanksgiving. That is the blessing of being an American!  

(But, before some of us nod off, party on or head out, remember to thank the cook(s); also, let’s remember dishes don’t get done by themselves!)  

Whatever we do today, my humble hope is that you and I remember how good we have it, and how too many Americans are hurting. Mr. Obama said today:

"As Americans, we are a bold, generous, big-hearted people," the president continued. "When our brothers and sisters are in need, we roll up our sleeves and get to work - not for the recognition or the reward, but because it's the right thing to do. Because there but for the grace of God go I. And because here in America, we rise or fall together, as one nation and one people." (Source) (Emphasis added)

I hope we will remember and thank the God who is; that we will reflect upon our heritage – the good and the bad, our history and government – its positives and negatives -- and the armed forces who give us the right to choose how we spend this day.  

Today is a good time to be thankful that we have opportunities to add good things to the lives of others!

God, please expand our vision to see You, as the Enabler of our prosperity and generosity – and the Sustainer in times of trial and troubles.  May we be wary lest we fall into the trap of pleasing ourselves first.

Preoccupied with ourselves, we have lost the grace of being thankful. It is sad to live in a world where there is no one to thank because we have ourselves become the cause and source of all good things. —John Hannah ( Self-Centeredness Reminders)

Thank you God for all You have done and are doing for us – by your grace and through your Son Christ the Lord.  Forgive us please our transgressions for His sake.  And give us a healthy fear of and faith in You.  

Photo Source 

A Thanksgiving Warm-Up

The news of the day – People still treat each other badly, and nature remains the force that mercilessly flattens us with little warning!  Although her panic helped neither herself nor those she alarmed, Chicken Little may have had a point – some days it really does feel like the sky is falling! But she ignored what could be plainly seen about the sky, and what was known about her companions.        

Recent and current events, coupled with some reading material have felt like “some things” falling on my head:

·      Four years of campaigning

·      The looming fiscal cliff

·      The Middle East’s issues

·      “Sandy ”

·      The morphing of the West Nile virus into a more virulent strain, and

·      Troubles in the lives of those I love

And books by my bed describe how bad things were for the Russian nobility in the early 20th century and how challenging life is for women in Afghanistan*.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

A suffocating impression taunts me, “Life is hard, and then you die.”  Life hurts: if not from our fellow man’s machinations, then from the destructive capacity of nature; or, worse, from my own blunderings.

The good thing is that when I lookup from my computer – I see the sky: nothing is falling – though this morning gray-white clouds are blocking the marvelous Texas blue skies. Then I see the gigantic oak tree: brown leaves highlight its green.  And I remember:

·      I believe a power greater than myself -- infinite, personal and knowable -- created this world and all that is in it as “good.” 

·      And, I believe because man rejected God’s rule, we have trouble; Adam earned for us God’s wrath; the natural world and mankind suffer.

·      Because we can’t work our way back into His favor, I believe God sent His Son to take the punishment we earned.

·      And I believe that God accepted this perfect sacrifice as an atonement for all the sins of any who will come under it.

·      He authorized a few folks to offer these truths and act them out  – from the prophets to the apostles, to preachers and teachers, and all kinds of disciples. The most persuasive remain those whose deeds and words match.

·      One day, nature will no longer be a terror to those who turn to Him. 

Until then, though it may feel like the sky may be falling, these sorrowful tribulations are not random acts of wrath – not if they get our attention before God remakes the heavens and the earth. Many have believed Christ is Lord and God raised Him from the dead. Alas, this message still hasn’t reached everyone yet. Unfortunately, many who have heard, don’t or won’t believe it. Unhappily, some of the messengers have muddied the message; and God’s enemy can blind and deafen hearts. 

But this week we have a whole day to remember what that power greater than ourselves has done, or permitted – including the scary stuff. Well, we did until somebody got the bright idea to make money off our national holiday!        

Chicken Little’s panic helped neither herself nor those she alarmed.  Eating too much, power shopping at weird hours isn’t going to make Christmas merrier or the New Year more prosperous. But practicing an attitude of gratitude might. Thinking about who this “power” is  -- looking up, and seeing the stars – takes time. So does taking the time to look at our companions, and look out for them, especially if their lives seem under siege.  Time redeployed from worry and self-absorption to loving God and our neighbors as ourselves is time well spent.  

I am grateful to God, the masterful Gardener, who has preserved my life thus far. My hope is to finish well the life God has lent me.

Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it now. Rubem Alves (A Brazilian Theologian)

While it is wise to accept what we cannot change about ourselves, it is also good to remember that we are never too old to replace discouragement with bits and pieces of confidence and hope. -Elaine N. Aron,  The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

(Psalm 27:13 -14)

*Former People: The Last Days of the Russian Aristocracy, by Douglas Smith; In the *Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord)

How to Say What I Mean

 

I thought I was on the winning side when forty years ago, women won a constitutional right to abortion.  We wanted this very old practice legalized and regulated; we wanted the lives of women facing unplanned pregnancies protected. In the afterglow of victory, too few of us thought about the life of the child – being assured “it” wasn’t a life – not really. 

Nor, did I ever once think that “God” would care.  I have come to believe God does care for both the baby and the mom – and for the father, and grandparents and aunts and uncles – and siblings of the little child who develops from an unplanned pregnancy. But a majority of Americans no longer sees God as a credible authority. (Pew Research) 

Shortly after, in 1976, I withdrew from the winners – and joined their opposition, after seeing in quick succession on PBS a Nazi’s film of the careless treatment of bodies of humans who perished in the death camp, and a photo essay in Life Magazine on an abortion clinic, and its careless treatment of so many tiny bodies.  Since then, I have struggled with how be a proponent of choosing life – without being dismissed as “a loser.”  

Recently candidates who lost their bid for Senate seats, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, demonstrated how hard it is to express pro-life principles clearly and lovingly.  How we say what we mean matters. The candidates backed voters off by speaking imprudently on the right of a woman to have an abortion if she has been raped. Both men believe each human life is a unique and valuable gift, even when created through the horror of rape; and that living with the trauma of rape is an inexpressible pain and having a life conceived through rape, even more so. 

I think I understand what these men were trying to say. Thirty years ago, I met a baby boy whose mother had been brutally raped – she never saw her rapist; nor, was the attacker ever apprehended and punished. Three months before I met this newborn, I had met his grandmother. She was distraught because she had just learned what her daughter suffered and that she was unable to get a late term abortion for her daughter.  Anguish had so crippled the young woman, who was in her third year of college, she couldn’t tell her parents. For six agonizing months, she was alone, and had no help. 

A friend and I were able to get counseling for her mom and dad, and they got their daughter help – first, rape counseling, and then birth counseling.  The young woman decided on an adoption plan – and the baby’s foster parents let me see him before he went to his adoptive parents.

Recently, I saw the grandmother, who remembered our help. She told me her daughter recovered physically and in time emotionally and mentally; the scars are there – but she completed her course of studies and went on to an advanced degree and impressive career, marriage and her own kids. She has met her first born, and knows he too has done well. 

Of course, nobody is living “happily ever after,” but they are living – scars and all.  They are living, being loved and loving. 

Perhaps winning the abortion versus giving birth argument is learning to   persuade people of a better way when they face an unplanned pregnancy. I doubt this will ever happen through elections.  Taking the time to listen to a woman’s desperate plea, “Make this go away!” is a start. Being sure, I know how to explain what abortion is, and how the procedure is performed so I can help that precious woman make an informed decision is next. Being willing to walk with her – for more than nine months is just as vital. 

How, then, do we help the woman respect and decide wisely about the life she now carries? No easy answers come to mind – although a simple one does. If in doubt about the choice between giving life and terminating the pregnancy, choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Two Important Links:

http://www.heroicmedia.org/adoption

http://bravelove.org/

Christians are differentiated from other people by country, language, or customs . . . They do not live in cities of their own or speak some strange dialect . . . They live in their own native lands, but as resident aliens . . . They marry and have children just like everyone else, but they do not kill unwanted babies.  Epistle to Diognetus (Christiansquoting.com)

Morning Coffee Quarterbacking

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.  ~Author Unknown

How the game should have been played is a favorite pastime for sports enthusiasts and political junkies. I can’t second-guess sports games, and I probably shouldn’t wade too deep into political analysis. But I am listening to the pros analyze the recent elections and I am smelling an aroma of coffee that is different – I am a citizen of a country that is quite different from the one in which I grew up.

And that’s not all bad. Those times seemed kinder and gentler because I was a child – I didn’t have a clue about what it was to come through the Depression or a World War; or, the actuality of segregation and racism; my daily needs were met and I did not have to struggle to survive. Plus, there was no 24/7 news reporting.   

Through this election, we are learning the voters aren’t who we thought they were –they were not a flash in the pan in 2008. We are  not quite certain about who we are becoming. We are tired of gridlocked government, but unable (unwilling) to change it.  So, we kept on the same politicians mas o manus. 

Now, we have elected a government that is poised to increase our dependence on the services it will provide. It seems like we Americans no longer believe we have the ability to care wholly for ourselves – too many of us are unemployed or underemployed. 

We hope the rich can give a little more to reduce our 16 trillion dollars of debt and 1 trillion dollars per year of deficit spending.  

Since we have not had a budget in three years, I don’t know how the politicians will reduce or reorganize the entitlements; nor, how they will apportion health care under the new healthcare plan that promises so much to so many citizens. I suspect more of us will experience unexpected changes in how our doctors treat our ailments. 

The election analysts described the outcome by saying the demographics have shifted. And many pollsters sheepishly admitted they didn’t see it coming, and so, their forecasts were incorrect.  The demographic shift means younger voters, Latino voters, African Americans and women have more clout. This voting coalition held from the 2008 election. I submit the voters with the most influence are the ones who stayed away and did not vote.

 Thursday's report, from the Center for the Study of the American Electorate, put 2012 voter turnout at 57.5% of all eligible voters, compared to 62.3% who voted in 2008 and 60.4% who cast ballots in 2004. In 2000, the turnout rate was 54.2% . . .That means 93 million eligible citizens did not cast ballots. (Read more: link)

Steve Blow, writing in today’s Dallas News (11/07/12), said we can thank the crackpots for the outcome of the election.  “ . . .Truth matters. And inversely, blatant disregard for the truth comes at a cost . . .”

I think we can thank the voters who sat home.

Hoping for the Best

Sandy changed the lives of one in four Americans who are living in part of the country that stretches from New York to the Great Lakes. The pictures of the devastation that swept in on the night of October 29, 2012 ago are jaw-droppers.    My brain can’t wrap around the troubles that have flooded into people’s lives.  Over night, thus far, one hundred-ten Americans lost their lives; others lost their possessions; many more have been overrun with fear. 

Before the storm hit, when the warnings from the weather reports were beginning,  I was preparing a talk on Revelation 7 – a welcome interlude between all kinds of troubles John saw when six of the seven seals were undone, and then when the seventh one was broken open.  (Revelation 6 & 8) When I started reading the lesson on Thursday, and the description of the four angels holding back the four winds, Sandy  had just pummeled the Caribbean, and  now threatened the east coast. By Friday morning, I had passed from being mildly concerned about my family’s well being to being more frightened – mindful of severe repercussions that come with a late season hurricane in Maryland.  That day at lunch, a friend and I managed a laugh about what a great illustration a hurricane might be in the discussion of those winds in Revelation 7:1. But, with the unfolding details of the storm, and the seriousness with which the kids were preparing their homes, I wasn’t laughing.  Our son’s comment was, “We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”

Sandy’s potential swath was so vast and brutal, from New York to the Great Lakes that a newscaster said it would affect one in four Americans, one quarter, of the US population.

Hmmmm. What did Revelation 6:8 say?   The pale rider was given power to destroy a fourth of the earth  

When we walked into church on Sunday morning, I was freaked.  A storm, the likes of which had not been seen since the 1820’s,  a storm the size of Texas, was bearing down on our kids. There was nowhere to run to – to hide – and I couldn’t shelter them.  But in the midst of worship, God got a grip on my runaway emotions.  Worship does that. So, too, the compassion and prayers of friends help calm me down – even as I remained glued to the coverage of what was happening, trying to put together a talk on what John saw in the throne room. (Praise in the midst of Peril)

Believing the promises of God in the midst of faith-testing trials is a facet of Christianity that is a fiery dart for Christ’s followers, and an enduring objection of those who doubt or reject God.   We all want to know “Why?” when the innocent suffer. I believe God showed John answers in the apocalyptic visions recorded in Revelation.

I hope for the best: I want to be in the throne room – with all the people I know and love; I want to be in that number – when the saints go marching in - I don’t even want my enemies to miss its splendor! (Revelation 4) But preparing for the worst, though, is what I must do now. (John 16:33)

Encouraging words are important; concrete help – a shovel and a trash bag and a hot meal – are more important.   The folks in Staten Island were happier to see the Marines than they were with the politicians!

“It was wonderful to see them,” said Jessie Gonzalez, 34, whose home on nearby Patterson Avenue was flooded after the storm.

“They gave us supplies, water and food. It makes us feel like we’re actually getting help now. At least we feel safer with their presence.” (The Marines Have Landed!)

Please consider how you can help; whatever time, talent or resources God enables you to give – give!  Here’s a starting point or two: 

·      Helping People Help People

·      Samaritan’s Purse    

May God make thee, dear reader, and me as welcome a sight for suffering eyes as those brave and gallant Marines! 

 Photo REUTERS/Keith Bedford

Responding to What Readers are Reading

Cleaning Up Messes

Periodically I check who reads what on my blog, and when they stop by. Life is Messy – remains an oft-visited post. Maybe it’s the cartoon, or, the scary dust bunnies’ photo? Or, maybe some readers recognize:

·      They’ve been hurt or have hurt others;

·      Their circumstances are changing in ways they could not imagine and so, life is increasingly messy.

·      Now, they are mad, or scared, and hurt.

I made so many messes in my life when I got mad at another person.  Somehow, anger fired up my heart and idled my brain.  In this state, fired up but idling, I can be quite adept at justifying why Biblical principles of peacemaking don’t apply in this situation. So, I can disregard the inherent worth of the person who is irritating me, and discount the value of the relationship that God had established, or permitted.  Alas, in some quarrels, so convinced was I of my position, I rode roughshod over some folks, treating those I should have honored with scorn and distain.

Righteousness indignation isn’t much of a cleaning tool.

That's why it really hurts to see folks in the church consistently brandishing this tool. When quarrels break out, we struggle with our anger over other people’s shortcomings. Christ said this would happen and He said how to handle it: Go to your brother or sister – and don’t let the sun go down on your anger! (Matthew 5:23, 18:15; Ephesians 4:26) Anger left to stew over night eventually stinks, and Christians can do some stupid, cruel things to each other when we feed on our own frustrations!

Some of them can’t seem to get beyond disappointment, dissatisfaction, or disgust that a person with whom they work, worship or live has failed them.  Confessing Christians blow up at others because they simply failed to do or be what we wanted them to do or be.

Yet Paul said, carry one another’s burdens — reprove gently the one caught in a trespass — lest I do something far worse. (Galatians 6:1-2) Yet, I may put burdens on them I excuse myself for not fully bearing.  (Matthew 11:28-31) For example, if I am honest: I want my Christian friends and family, pastors and teachers to be perfect – mature, wise and winsome. And God help them if they mess up!

What kind of witness is it if we refuse to simply go to the Christian who wronged me, real or imagined, and ask if we can talk? Timing, of course, is everything – so, praying for the opportunity and courage is essential; God also might show us what is in our hearts and so prepare us for a better conversation than if we charged out the door on a mission. (Psalm 51:12-13)

The Presidential Debate – After Round Two

The questions on the minds of “undecided” voters were filtered through a moderator who chose the questions for the two presidential candidates. Before I read the papers and test what I think I heard and saw with what experts will tell me that I heard and saw, I have formulated a question or two I wish I could have asked.

·      Why are 46 million people in America on food stamps?

·      How much money do we really owe, and to whom?

·      What do you believe about rules that govern the United States? ( A lack of social norms and the problems thus generated)

·      What does an ambassador of the United States represent, and what does it mean if he or she is deliberately murdered?

Fifteen percent of our population can’t feed themselves without help from the government.

Our government owes more than we make. (Government spending)

Suicide rates are up. (Source)

Why should I vote for you?

*Moderator Candy Crowley talks to the audience before the second presidential debate at Hofstra University, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Hempstead, N.Y. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

 I Can't Be Out of Money!

I Want to Report a Robbery . . .

I said to the dispatch officer.

As we left for church this morning, I noticed something amiss in the driver’s seat – and then I saw that my brand new GPS was gone! Sometime in the previous twelve hours, a person opened our unlocked car door and helped him or herself to my shiny new gadget.  They also rummaged through Doug’s unlocked car, but found nothing.

The officer who arrived within five minutes was sympathetic, took our information and asked good questions; before leaving, she reminded us to lock up our cars even when we parked in our own driveway.  And no, ours was not the only report this weekend; some neighbors also reported their cars had been ransacked, but no thefts.

Someone took our external guidance device; their internal guidance device needs replacement – roaming about in the dark testing car doors to see who’s the easiest target is foolish.  Discovering in the daylight it was us, is embarrassing – especially after all my determination to be a better steward.   

May God bless the one who stole from us with contrition. And I pray that God makes me more careful! But maybe the satellite guidance system  – or the GPS leprechauns -- could deprive those crooks of any pleasure or profit? 

Kudzu, An Apt Metaphor

Cooler temperatures and gray clouds pushed through recent pleasant sunny temperatures – in fact, we plunged thirty degrees from the high 80’s to 52 degrees. It feels more like fall. And fall is my favorite season – and October, a favorite month.  Memories of summer’s heat have softened, colors have ripened, and I don’t need a sweater just yet.  Carol Bishop Hipps, a writer and gardener called October bittersweet, describing it as “. . .  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.”

Bittersweet has been my word of choice this month.  We have spent the past few weeks unpacking all the boxes that we packed up before leaving Maryland -- when we emptied our storage locker.  Some of what I have unpacked, surprised me – like reconnecting with an old friend; other items flabbergasted me because I thought we disposed of them already in the yard sale from hell.  

I sort into three piles – toss, keep, or recycle.  It’s good – sweet -- to get organized, rediscovering tidbits and treasures, like the certified copy of our marriage license. (July 29, 1972) It’s a wee bit sad though, here’s the bitter bit, to be reacquainted with items only to bid them farewell. The advantage is out of sight out of mind! The annoyance is managing more the stuff! (Stuff – October 2009)

Being a steward of anything isn’t easy; being a good steward of even a little is hard. Being reminded I should have done this six years ago is irritating. It’s a blessing having things – it’s a reproof to see how poorly I’ve managed them.

Another part of the bittersweetness of these past few weeks is seeing how “things” can become more out of control than a half acre of kudzu! Now kudzu can be a good thing, if contained – but it got out of hand in the south, spreading at about 150,000 acres annually! Sometimes, I have nightmares about shipping boxes of my stuff  -- stuff I’ve forgotten about -- and I can’t unpack and sort it fast enough!

The important stuff of life is people -- at all ages and stages, with all their wonderful, exasperating, inscrutable quirks and quandaries. And most of that I am unpacking shows me how many great people to whom God has linked me! Whether I keep something, toss, or recycle it, it’s hard to let go of these reminders.     

All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbours. John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion


*Photo from Wikipedia article on the ubiquitous kudzu 

The Cost of My New Bible

The new (to me) Bible cost a bit more than two and half paper grocery bags at Half-Price Books. Well, they gave me the money at the back of the store; I gave it back to them at the front.

Mindful of what being buried alive in too much of a good thing means, thanks to a reality cable show, I have become diligent about discarding what others might enjoy or profit from reading. But a recent quote by a favorite author spurred on my disposal: John Piper told seminary students to stop reading so much John Piper and start reading the Bible. (Bible Study: Following the Ways of the World, by Kathleen Bushwell Nielson)      

I like his books, and I’ve collected several on timely topics – they are surely biblical.  That is, he anchors his opinions with Scripture.  But  books taking up space on a (dusty) shelf wasn’t why the man wrote them; hoarding them, afraid I may not find another copy, shows I may not have fully grasped the many ways Dr. Piper wants his readers to be in the world.

Anyway, I had to find space for the books from Maryland we just shipped to Texas and I needed a smaller Bible.  Study Bibles – Bibles with footnotes, concordances, charts, cross references, and maps -- I have. One that is more portable, yet with print large enough to decipher, that I can carry to and from Bible study, which just began, I didn’t have.

So, I traded in a stash of books for just one -- I wonder why the one who disposed of their Bible got rid of a brand-spanking new one.  Maybe the NIV edition wasn’t scholarly enough for their studies?    I sure hope it wasn’t because they didn’t want it.  Too many Bibles on Half-Price Books’ religion shelves look like folks couldn’t or wouldn’t use them – although I honestly am not sure what the protocol is for Bible disposal.  

Anyway -- in the coming months, I will be reacquainting myself with apocalyptic literature, and using a Bible with no notes, scholarly, or my own.  (It does have cross-references and a concordance – and maps.) It is a letter to me, in the church, and given so that we non-scholarly types could understand from God how He sees us.  And I pass along the following, if Revelation piques your curiosity, dear reader:

 Study Questions for Apocalyptic Literature

1.            What is the situation or what are the conditions among the people to whom the apocalypse is written? How does the text reveal the situation?

2.            What images and symbols are used in this text? What effect does it have on you as reader?

3.             Where do the symbols appear elsewhere in the Bible? And what, if any, connection does the author intend for us to make?

4.             What in the text demonstrates that we are reading about events from God’s vantage point of history? What comfort and insight does this provide for our human perception of history?

5.             How does the text anticipate or recall the death resurrection and reign of Jesus Christ?

6.             What is the tension or conflict in the text and how does it relate  both to the original readers and us?

7.            How does the text compel us to respond to the death, resurrection and reign of Jesus Christ?

 (from Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word, pp 176-177.)

My Information Was Not Recognized

As I type this, I am listening to music on the Help line – it is scratchy, hip-hop, unsophisticated and angry: not a good choice as a person waits for technical assistance on a device that has become a communications crutch. I may be waiting for thirty minutes, the tech said. It’s only been three minutes and I can see why music can be used a torture weapon.

The ID and password I selected for my new cell phone do not work after downloading a system update this morning.  I even may not have registered it properly, linking to my computer – so now, I must talk to “security.”

The tech made the connection, asked that I hang up and wait for “security” to call back with in 30 seconds.   Trusting tenuously, I hung up – and they did call back, and overcame my problems by patiently probing my memory for answers to security questions.

I thought back to this morning’s sermon about the God we worship – the pastor had raised the subject of passwords: their centrality – and our propensity to forget them. He said we too often come to church unprepared to think about worship, forgetting that church attendance is not worship, and realizing too late, “good intentions” is not a safe password into God’s presence.

Yes, I know better – but this morning I arrived at church distracted – thinking about my phone problems, parking, and the fact I had nothing to serve from lunch. My mind was not prepared to meet God – nor was my heart.

·      What if I had had an Isaiah moment, and saw the Lord in church – and all the creatures that attend Him --  in worship? (Isaiah 6)

·      What if I saw Who John saw on Patmos in the sanctuary? (Revelation 1:12-17)

An update temporarily disabled my phone; for whatever reason, what I thought was the correct password, did not work, no matter how many times I tried it. And I got upset because I couldn’t work my way through the problem without asking for help – not the first time computers etc have stymied me. But I followed the tech support’s instructions – I trusted what I was told to do. I paid attention closely -- more than I can say about how I studied Scripture and prayed this week!

Familiarity with the Gospel hasn’t bred contempt – but it has generated some carelessness.  Could this have been a little life lesson showing me my heart and mouth are often in two different places?

Would that I was as frantic to retrieve the password God freely offers, J-E-S-U-S, as I am the one to my communication gadgets.   

Would that I could help others with their God-access password as proficiently and graciously as the phone techs helped me. 

Matthew 7:21-23 

Ruminations

Fog looked like steam rising from the Susquehanna River, and obscured the hills across from us on our last day.  The grayness dissipated in the sun’s heat – and we had another sunny, cool day. 

Watching the changing beauty of this river – I know that rivers, if gorged with rain, and wind-driven, are deadly – not delightful. A picture on the wall of our vacation home is a grainy enlarged image of women wading almost chest high in the waters of the Susquehanna during the 1933 hurricane. In 1972, when Agnes inundated this area, the river reached the deck of our current abode. That storm was a dozy for Pennsylvania! 

As our family holiday wound down, each moment was bittersweet. The simple pleasures of fishing, swimming and feasting, however, contrasted against the news of hurricane Isaac’s hammering the Gulf coast.  And learning of more trials for dear friends and family reminded me that if I have my health I have everything – a proverb oft quoted by my parents and grandparents.  It drove me nuts to hear it then – but now, well, getting up and going is no small mercy – and blessing.

In the week after our Pennsylvania adventure, Doug and I emptied the storage locker – that small patch of Maryland that held “stuff” – sorting, packing, and shipping a couple dozen of boxes. Having recently watched Hording: Buried Alive, I gave myself a few stern words too about why I had to keep this book or that.

And then we headed west and south, listening to The Greater Journey by David McCullough -- On September 11, we marked that grievous anniversary – watching and remembering, and prayed for the families of all who suffered and served, and for our nation and our leaders; we awakened yesterday to the news from Libya and Egypt. On the last leg of our return, driving through Tennessee and Arkansas, and then Texas, we listened to The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, absorbing news of Benghazi.   

Little things really so make a big difference – whether enjoying the views as the sun burns of a river’s mist. Or, hearing a grandchild confides their desire to become an artist; or, gazing on the glorious landscapes of our country; or listening to words of good writers – all parts of a gift of peace that passes understanding in times of trouble and heartache.  God help me to live in it!

. . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)