Adjustment

I must admit that as I rise this morning, I'm not doing so well, but I know I can get there. I thought maybe I would bring you along on my little therapeutic journey to feeling better.

You see, yesterday was Memorial Day and as I stood with my Patriot Guard family at the Veterans Cemetery, midst the sea of white crosses, little flags and plastic flowers it began to soak in again just how much pain and loss has been experienced in this experiment known as America.

In addition, there was another funeral we were asked to attend yesterday for a man who had been an MP in WWII. Ends up I knew this man, I had worked with him on many funerals as he had been a funeral director as well. I had already too many plans to be able to attend in person, but he and his family were not far from my mind.

Today at 1:00 we will be standing for yet another man who served his country well. A medic in Vietnam, imagine all the carnage and fear he experienced, yet he came home and managed to live a full life and raise a family.

If that's not enough, Friday morning a brave little lady only a year older than myself finally won her bitterly contested battle with cancer, today she stands victorious on the streets of God holding hands with Jesus. But for those left behind whose life was in taking care of their wife, mother, sister, daughter, etc. there is a gaping wound. Her service will be tomorrow morning. Then I was notified yesterday, that a dear sweet lady who had been afflicted with Alzheimer's for a very long time had gone on home. Her service will be later in the week.

Yes, in the ministry we are exposed to more than our share of funerals, but honestly sometimes it can be a struggle. On those days, I find that I have allowed myself to become too much a part of this present age and I remind myself of a very important quote.

C.S. Lewis said...

I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country,
which I shall not find 'til after death;
I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside;
I must make it the main object of life
to press on to that other country
and to help others to do the same

Those words bring me back to the realization that it's not about what happens here. We are here now and of this we are fully involved, but there is more...much more. As I grow older I am amazed at how quickly time passes, maybe that's why the words to the last verse of Amazing Grace has recently become so important to me.

When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days, to sing God's praise than when we first begun.

In heaven (our true home) there will be not waste, no spoil, no loss. Time will not exist so we will always have plenty, we will never lose anyone, nor will there be any sorrow. Are you looking forward to our true country? Are you a citizen of that fine land? That fact alone is what keeps me keeping on. Praise God!

Memorial Day 2008

Today is Memorial Day, the culmination of the long Memorial Day weekend. A time of family, friends, food, fun and the like. For me it (the weekend) has meant two days of garage sale, three visits to Riverfest, a great Sunday at church, and now I am preparing for lunch with friends and to attend the special Memorial Day Observance at the State Veteran's Cemetery in Sherwood.

While there is nothing wrong with having fun with the family and friends on Memorial Day, watching the NBA playoffs, soaking in the lake, or whatever activity scratches your particular itch this weekend. I do ask that you set aside some time to remember and appreciate those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

As I ponder the state of the American nation I am certainly concerned, the Presidential election holds no promise of anything good and the moral and financial decline coupled with the promise of higher gas and food prices has me on the verge of depression; however, this is still one nation under God, this is America: The land of the free and the home of the brave, this is still the greatest nation in the world and I am proud to be called an American.

I fondly remember those whom I never met, young men and women who answered the call to fight for America. Those who fought in wars from the Revolutionary War to the present day War on Terror. My heart grieves for their sacrifice and I hurt for the families they left behind. But my heart swells with pride at the courage and steadfastness they showed in doing what they were called to do. It is because of them that we enjoy the freedoms we have today. So think about those hillsides and valleys adorned with white crosses today...and everyday.

I think it is also important that we remember a particular hillside adorned with a cross. That hillside is just outside Jerusalem and it is called Golgotha, the place of the skull. On that hillside over 2000 years ago a man named Jesus gave up His life for our freedom as well. But rather than political or national freedom, Jesus provides freedom from sin and the penalty we all owe for it. This Memorial Day I hope you find yourself within the family of God, if not, you need to visit that hillside in your heart and accept the freedom that only Christ offers.

Spring Cleaning

For those of you who may not have figured this out yet, let me save you lots of time and effort. "MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT!" There, the secret is out!

For instance, to a man an attic is a space where things go and are never thought of again until it is (a.) Christmas or (b.)time to move. Whereupon we either (a.) reach in just far enough to grab the lights from last year to hang on the house or (b.) haul it all out to the curb for the trash man.

On the other hand, a woman has a need to know just what is up there and why. For some time now the contents of our attic have been sending mental messages to my wife. She has been telling me that we needed to "clean out the attic" for a few weeks but the Lord has smiled and kept us too busy for such. That was, until Saturday.

I rose early and rode out to have breakfast with some good friends then came home to start on "attic day". I will not be telling you about the fall I took off the patio thereby scraping the hide off my right elbow and left knee, you might think I am clumsy, so never mind.

Long story short, the attic is now empty, even swept out. Now at one point my garage looked like the aftermath from Katrina, but we began the long, arduous process of deciding what went to the curb (May I hereby place on record my public apology to the Jacksonville Department of Sanitation...you're gonna need a bigger truck!) What needed to be washed in preparation for the garage sale (yeah, where did that come from and when did I agree to that?) and what needed to be retained for later. (for use in my children's future homes, I'm told).

Thank goodness some dear friends called my wife late in the afternoon and invited us to the Travelers game or we might have been out there until midnight.

But all in all, it was a good thing. There was a lot of accumulated trash and worthlessness that needed to be removed. Which gives me a good springboard to explore the spiritual side of things.

It is good to do a little spring cleaning spiritually from time to time too. Things can accumulate in our attics, basements, closets, and other areas of our minds and lives that just dampens our joy and interferes with the kind of relationship God wants to have with us...his children.

I love the promise of I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." No conditions, no judgment, just confess it (which is a simple agreement with God that it is/was wrong and that you're sorry for it) and ask Him to forgive it (and His forgiveness is perfect. He removes it as far as the east is from the west) and again with a "clean slate".

Praise God for His holy forgetfulness and complete forgiveness. One catch, this spring cleaning is reserved for those who have become part of the family of God through salvation in His Son Jesus Christ.

Do you need a little tidying up? It might not be pleasant during the process, but after the dust clears, it is so much better. Hey, I'm even proud of my attic now!

Have a great day, that's what HE wants for you!

Available for Distraction

I heard a quote the other day that has really occupied my mind, "If the mountain was smooth...you couldn't climb it." Wow, how much truth is contained there? Life is a mountain, it seems, and the rocks and crags and valleys and outcroppings that seem to hamper our progress are really handholds and resting places that compliment our ascent.

Whether your life is a mountain or not, it is certainly a journey. But we seldom follow the path that we originally established for ourselves...don't we? God say through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55:8-9 (NKJV) 8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

I have had a couple in interesting things happen to me over the last couple of days. I took a ride with some friends up to Drasco, and at a meeting place I was asked if I did "bike blessings". Well, I never have, but I can sure pray for you, for safety, for mechanical soundness, so I said "sure!".
What a wonderful opportunity to pray with friends over a blessing from God and invite Him to ride along with them and acknowledge His protection and providence in their lives. Another "holy moment" if you will. Also being introduced as a chaplain I have had several requests to pray for a situation or a family member or a friend or a need, whatever. And although it began as a means of just not letting my forgetfulness keep me from keeping a promise, I just ask if we can pray about it right then and there. Again, what a blessing.

I may not have seen that coming or even planned for it, but what a blessing! I am reminded of ole' Moses and his "burning bush" experience. Exodus 3:3-4 (NKJV) 3Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Do you see what I see there? It wasn't until Moses actually turned aside to look at this strange thing that God called to him. What if Moses just kept walking? What if he hadn't turned aside? Would we have the Old Testament? Would the children of Israel still be captive in Egypt? Who knows?

Father, help me to no be so distracted from my chosen path that I neglect to see the "burning bushes" and other opportunities You place to try to get my attention. Help me to seek those "holy moments" and ways I can be involved in things far bigger than myself. And Father, thanks for picking me out for this special work. You are a great God!

A Knight's tale

Have you ever had one of those days? It seems as if I have had more than a week of them.

Things get frantic, not enough time, too much to do and if you're like me, it's so easy to lose track of who I'm depending on. If I don't watch it, I'll start working through my own strength and my own flesh...call it pride, call it being a man, call it "hard-headed" (thanks Joyce!)

I think for me, I kinda like coming in at the last minute and "rescuing" a situation, but when you operate in the flesh, it's easy to "give out".

Over the next few days, I'm making a concerted effort to depend on God more and on Jeff less. I'm putting my shining armor in the dry cleaners and giving my white horse a couple of days off to rest and I'm practicing the fine art of saying "no". For those of you who know me, you know that's gonna take some work.

The Bible tells us not to be weary in well-doing, but it also teaches us that the fruits of the spirit come through the true vine, not a result of ourselves but a result of being attached firmly to the vine.

Father, forgive me for working in the flesh. Help me to depend more on You and less on me. There's lots less chance for error that way. Thanks for being there and being so dependable!

Have a great day...depending on Him!