Is There a Moral to this Story?

   One of the things that all golfers want to do, especially as they grow older, is to be able to shoot a score that is the same as their age. Shooting your age is a way to say that "you have still got it".

   This is a pretty hard thing to do for average golfers like me whose game deteriorates with the passing of time. If I could freeze my game, I might be able to live long enough to meet this goal.

   But yesterday I found a way to do it with nature's help. It was simple, and I did not realize it until I finished playing and added up the scorecard. There it was, big as life, a 77 at the Indian Mound course on Jekyll, even playing from the white tees with the rest of my foursome.

   The day started out relatively cool with a little wind, clear skies and a dry course, but as the hours passed, the clouds and heat and humidity came.

   My game was average at best, but I kept hoping for a flash of brilliance as the holes added up along with the score. I managed to keep the ball out of the woods and the water, and some of the putts fell, but all in all it was not a spectacular effort. I was not even thinking of this score and age accomplishment as we were forced to stop for a rain shower.

   As we resumed play, I looked to the west and the skies were pretty dark, but maybe we could get the round in. Then the siren from the clubhouse sounded, and play was suspended, and I had found a way to shoot my age.

   Don't play the last 3 holes!

   Not much to brag about, but there it was, in black and white, on an official scorecard, on a regulation course, a 77, big as life, we just won't mention how it was done.

   I know it was bogus, but interesting to see how the score added up on that rainy day.

   Is there a moral to the story? Know when to quit? Enjoy the rain? Try again?

   OK

Using a Remembrance

   How to begin this is the question. How do you take a lot of input, from various sources, and condense it into a short narrative, especially when there is so much out there that might be said?

   So, I take a portion of a verse, a line from an old hymn and a 20 year old memory and try to get a coherent thought out of the whole thing.

   A portion of a verse from Matthew 20:

"They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened"

   A line from an old hymn, sung many times in church, and today presented as part of the Moravian Daily Reading:

"till we cast our crowns before thee
 lost in wonder, love and praise"

   Then a memory of a day in July many years ago, in the midst of a college course at Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA.

   Dr. Donovan Graham, one of my favorite teachers at the college, had us perform an unusual exercise as part of our curriculum. He called it an "awe and wonder "day, and it was life-changing for me.

   After we settled into class that day, he asked us to listen to a short tape entitled "Awe and Wonder". It was a powerful message centered on the majesty of God's creation all around us. Then he asked us to take only a notebook and pencil and spend two hours out on the campus, by ourselves, and observe, then write down our thoughts in whatever form God gave us in that time.

   Covenant is situated on a picturesque campus, on top of the mountain, and, even to be outside on a mild July morning in that place, was a treat. To have two hours to contemplate was heaven itself, and so I did. I even ended up writing a poem, which is not me by a long shot.

   So, how does all of this fit together? Let me see if I can do it justice.

   My prayer as I began this June day in 2013, was to open my eyes and let me see what You have for me today. Help me not to miss those things that You want to show me, both through the eyes and through Your thoughts in my mind. So the words of the two blind men in the verse above fit right in.

   Then there were the words in the hymn that hit me. I thought of my photo hobby that has caused me to be more observant of the things around me, and as I walked out I reminded myself to look and then think about what my eyes beheld. The word "wonder" from the line in the hymn was on my mind as I walked and looked, and then I recalled that day in college.

   Yes, I want to see what God has out there for me, both in nature and in relationships. I want to be awed by what he reveals to me through my eyes, and I am at times, but as I relived those few minutes, in that class, on that day, I am in awe of how that experience still has an affect in my life today.

   So, I have to add another prayer this morning, "God, thank You for today and for the remembrances of an important time in my life, but help me not to just stop with remembering, but see You in all of this, Amen."

A Verse, Two Songs and a Thought

   Sometimes it is easy, in the quiet of an early morning, to see my priorities as they ought to be.

   As I began my day today, my prayer was filled with questions. Questions of what I should do in this or that situation, with this or that person, with this or that opportunity. Then I realized as I read and thought, there are way too many "I" pronouns in this prayer. Would something that I would read, or that God might bring to my mind, put this more in perspective?

   Then this verse from Matthew 20:

"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, "

   The key word for me is "serve" or its derivative "servant", so I began to think on that as I walked An old hymn came to my mind, I guess because it had the word serve in it somewhere. A hymn written way back in 1852, Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult, whose last verse is:

Jesus calls us! By Thy mercies,
Savior, may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thine obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.

   Serve God first of all, and the rest of the priorities of service will fall into place. Get the first part right and the battle is half won, but there are other parts. Another song stanza comes to mind:

Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant too

   Others are out there that need to be served also, so where does that leave my prayer of earlier today?

   Then I go back to that verse, especially about being "great". When I get my priorities in the right order, I can be great in the eyes of The One that matters.

   Jesus first
   Others second
   Yourself last

   I could not help but go into the Internet and listen to that moving song, one more time:

http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/your-sunday-hymn-the-servant-song-2/

   What a way to actually live..

So Let Me Live That I Am Not...

   I admit that when I read the Scriptures for today, nothing at all jumped out at me. I even read them through two or three times and still nothing. Then I happened to look at the listing of the passages for this day and noticed that the authors of the site had not shown, on the page, all the verses that they had put down for the reading. There were 11 verses that did not show up on the reading page.

   All that said, I thought there might be a reason I noticed this, and so went back and looked them up. I guess I was looking hard for a reason because of my inability to find something in the other sections. I did not want to just make up something to write about, but to feel led. I did not want to fake a leading just to sound good. I want whatever I write to be truthful and a result of a prompting by God's Spirit.

   It is kind of like my picture from yesterday. With its size in the blog being as small as it was, it would be easy to pretend that it was a great shot. But deep down I knew that the picture would not stand up under close scrutiny because of its fuzzy detail. That I did not want.

   Back to those 11 verses for today. The words come from Psalm 109: 20-30:

"be ashamed"

"clothed with shame"

"own disgrace"

   I do not want to look back with shame on anything that I do, or write. I want my words to be reflective of something that God has pointed out to me. I don't have an example photograph of "shame", except maybe in my mind, which I can't get in here, but I do know what it feels like.

   If someone tells me that a thought, or even a photo, in a blog post was right on target, I want to know that it was truly what I felt and not faked for appearance sake.

   My prayer this morning is twofold:

      That I would so live that I would not be ashamed, and

      That God would not be ashamed of me, either

   My wife tells me that there is a good gospel song that would go right along with this, but neither of us  can think of it. Maybe I'll be led to it tomorrow. I can only hope.

Pronouns and Thoughts in the Wrong Order

  When I got up this morning, I knew what I wanted to blog about. It was so much on my mind that I knew that God had a lesson in the experience for me. Let me set the stage.

   Last evening, my wife and I went down to the beach to catch the super moon as it rose out of the ocean. Supposedly it is a super moon because it is closer to the earth than usual, and I thought it might make a good picture. It was dark when we got there, so I took out my tripod, set it up, fixed the settings on the camera and waited for the moon to rise.

   Somewhere back in my camera past, I had heard that the manual focus setting is the best to use on these long shots in the dark because the camera's auto focus just does not have anything to key in on. So I put it on manual and took the shot after lining the moon up in the viewfinder. Looking at the image display after the shot, it looked pretty good.

   After snapping several as the moon rose into the low clouds on the horizon, we went home. Going straight to my computer, I downloaded the pics and got a closer look at what I had captured. I knew the scene was colorful and graphic, and I could not wait to see how it came out.

   The thumbnails looked good and seemed to capture the scene as I remembered it, but as I put the different takes into the develop module and played with them, I noticed, as I zoomed in on the moon, that it was slightly out of focus. All the shots I had taken turned out the same way. What a waste of a good opportunity!

   Then, this morning, I thought about the lessons from all of this, even before I read any Scripture.

Lessons like:

   Know all the settings that you need to use, not just some and guess the others....

   My life can get out of focus just like my image results....

   Regret over wasted opportunities....

   All of these were good and applicable, so could I find something in the verses this morning that I could use to fit them in? Like so many things in my life, I knew what I wanted to do, and I just wanted God to be on board. A verse from the readings would put His stamp of approval on my ideas.

   Then this verse popped out of Psalm 97:

"All worshipers of images are put to shame"

   I had put the cart before the horse. I took my own ideas and asked God to make them His. I was worshipping my ideas and not Him, placing my images, as it were, in first place ahead of everything else.

   You may think the picture above looks pretty good, but if you have the ability to look at it in detail, you will see that it is not a good representation of the scene at the beach.

   Just like my life sometimes......

   My prayer does not need to be "God, take my thoughts and make them Yours". I've got the pronouns in the wrong places.

   God, please make Your thoughts mine today.

Bird Voices and Reminders

   It is funny sometimes how the mind works. Take this morning for example:

   After getting up early, reading a little, I went for a stroll in the quiet. I looked at the sky as the sun rose, watching the cloud formations and the way that the sun played off the tops. I looked around me, and then I listened. There seemed to be a multitude of birds, flying around and making noises. But there was one particularly loud one. As I walked I started to listen to what he, or she, had to say.

   The first question was what kind of bird was I hearing? Then I wondered if he, or she, was saying anything? The voice of that one winged creature was easy to hear, it was so much louder than the others. Then I started to count the chirps in each set, seeing if a pattern emerged.

   There were 4, then 4, then 4 more. Then came 5 and another 4. Next was 4, then 6, then 7, then 2, and 4 again. There was no discernible pattern to the number. The noises sounded the same, but the frequency in each set seemed random.

   So, I wondered. Was that one bird talking to another? Was he talking to me? Was he just making noise? What was the purpose in all of this? Was there one?

   Jesus says in Matthew 10:

"What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it."

   God created the birds that I hear. They are a part of His creation, and there is a purpose for them. Is that what I am supposed to realize this morning, or is there something else for me?

   Then I hear the sounds again, and I begin counting again, and thinking again.

   To me, these noises, however melodic, are just gibberish. To other birds around them they may have meaning, but not to me.

   Is my voice, when I speak, just more of the same, just more noise added to the din of the universe, or something else? Do I speak just to hear myself speak, or is there a purpose? Is that purpose worthwhile to others around me?

   Then I remember another verse, this one from Psalms 19:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."

   My words have meaning and are not just sounds. Thank you, birds for the reminder, and Thank You God, for creating them, words and birds, for me.

   Now if I only knew what that loud bird was talking about....

Old or New, or Both?

   As I read Psalm 87 this morning, I guess I should not have been surprised to find the words to two songs, one an old hymn by John Newton and the other a newer song, written by Chris Tomlin.

   Psalm 87 verse 3 reads:

"Glorious things of you are spoken,"

   Psalm 87 verse 7

 “All my fountains are in you.”

   After all, the Psalms were songs of the Hebrew people. What better inspiration for modern day writers, whether the definition of modern be the 1700s or the 21st century.

   Verse 2 of Newton's hymn reads:

        See, the streams of living waters, 
         springing from eternal love, 
         well supply thy sons and daughters, 
         and all fear of want remove.
         Who can faint while such a river 
         ever will their thirst assuage? 
         Grace which like the Lord, the giver, 
         never fails from age to age. 

   And here is the chorus from Tomlin's newer praise song:

               Open the heavens
               Come Living Water
               All my fountains are in You
               You're strong like a river
               Your love is running through
               All my fountains are in You

   Are they all that different? Sure a different tune, a different beat or measure, but the same message, and both written to worship God, the maker of our universe.

   Do I prefer one style of music over the other? Sure, but it is not the style that I should worship, it is the giver of that music, along with everything else.

   God, let me concentrate on the words and message and not so much on the way it is presented.

What Is Waiting?

   For some reason, I don't know exactly what, ever since I got my new, actually refurbished, camera, I have seen things that are waiting. People waiting, inanimate objects waiting, just the theme of waiting has caught my eye.

or

   Now I know that objects do not have feelings, so cannot actually wait, but I see things that have been placed somewhere, by someone, that just seem to be in limbo, waiting for someone to use them, waiting for their purpose to be fulfilled.

   Sometimes I just snap a shot that seems to be interesting, but don't actually see it as part of a theme until much later. Like this one on Jekyll that was merely part of an interesting path to the sea.

   I paid no attention to what was at the end of the path at the time, but on later reflection, seemed to see an object that was waiting, for someone or something. It was a spot waiting to for its purpose to be realized.

   Was that a spot for me? Was someone led to place that bench right there for some purpose that he did not even know? What things might be thought about, or decided, on that spot? If not for me, for who?

   Does God place things in my life, people or objects, that have a purpose that I do not even see? Am I so busy doing nothing that I miss what is out there.

   It may not be this particular bench, but this shot get me to thinking about the things that God prepares for me to use, or see, or relate to, and, not just things, but people.

   This was only a shady path toward the ocean, but at the end...

For Who?

For What?

Why?

How to Hold Things

   While reading the Psalms this morning, this verse caught my eye: Psalm 119:109

   "I hold my life in my hand continually,"

   I hold my life in my hand. I am holding my life, it is my life and it is in my hand. That is a lot of first person pronouns in that one sentence. When we have free will, that is a true statement, but it is the attitude that this all represents that impresses me right now.

   This sounds like the most important person in this equation is me. I do what I want to with my life, because it is mine. I clutch it tightly, because I do not want to give up the reins of it to anyone or anything else. It sounds a lot like a small child screaming "mine" when someone else wants to get a thing out of his hand.

   I hold tightly onto what I say is mine, perhaps clutching is a better description, holding out a stop sign and saying "mine, don't touch". This can be possessions, family, time, or even my life. "Don't mess with it!"

   But, is it really? I know that my life and times are in God's hands. I cannot add one day to my life that has not been ordained by Him. The circumstances and the things that go on around me are in His providence, not mine. The other people that come into my space and interact with it as I allow, they are not controlled by me, but act on their own, as they are led or respond.

   So, what does it all mean for me for this day?

   The best way is to acknowledge that all is His, including my stuff and my life, and to begin every new day with that thought. If I give the day over to Him, for His purposes and then see what happens, I will at least be in the frame of mind to catch hold of the significance of what is going on around me.

   I will hold onto my life with a light hand, not grasping and clinging, but with a willingness to say, "I really don't control anything, take it, God, and do with it what You want."

   And open my hand.

Faith, Active or Passive?

   I thought about this after reading a verse in Matthew 17 this morning:

   "He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

   Then I pondered the three words of Belief, Trust and Faith. I look at my life in the light of that verse, and what do I see?

   I believe that God is, that He cares, that He is active in the world., and that He is indeed in control of everything.

   I trust that God's plan and way are the best for my life, and that they are the way to His blessings.

   But I feel that my faith is more passive than active. I see the application of this in my favorite prayer, the one that never fails: "Thy will be done". A lot of the time this prayer is just tossed out there, and there it lays, used as a catch-all, a way to be in God's Will without much thought on my part.

   That is not all bad, I know, but the voice of resignation does little for living a life of active faith. God does bring circumstances into my life, as well as relationships, but, if all I do is acknowledge that these come from Him, and then go my way, what have I done but see them?

   Belief in His control, Trust that these things are for me, and Faith to see them more from His point of view than from my sense of "well, they are just there, now move on". That is a start, but I need to get out of the "que sera, sera" mode.

   "Whatever will be, will be" is not the end of the story.

   God wants a better response than that, and I need to at least ask, Why and What For?

Hippocrates and Me

   When I read these verses from Psalm 69, I thought immediately of the Hippocratic Oath and its admonition. The verses:

"May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,"

   The part of the oath that I focused on:

"I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone."

   That is my prayer a lot of times as I enter into relationships with others, family and friends that God has placed in my life. It may seem like a passive prayer, but one of the things that I do not want to be is a stumbling block to someone else, especially in the things of the Spirit.

   I think of the many ways that others can be influenced by my life, by what I say, and what I do. There is also the opposite side of that coin, what I do not say and and what I do not do. I want these facets of my life, all of them, to line up on God's side, so that my life becomes an example of the right.

   This week has been a good one for us. We have played, laughed, talked and just had a good time with our family. When I say family, I mean all, but especially those grand children that God has placed in our lives. This week we have been blessed with the three that live in Virginia, three states away up the interstates, and a good time was had by all.

   But I would pray that it has not just been a "good time", but a week that those kids will look back on and see their grand parent's lives lived in accordance with God's plan, to know that they are loved, each one, for who they are. We want to reinforce those things that their parents are putting in their young lives, so that the witness of God to them will be consistent and true.

   Thank You, God, for these opportunities to bless, and help me to be faithful in these "good times" Don't let me forget the importance of my words and actions on everyone You put in my life. Help me do good and not harm.

Caroline is Eleven Today

   Yes, 11, although it seems like only yesterday when she was born.

   So her mother arranged for the 3 girls in the family, Dawn, Caroline and Lucy to go back to Jekyll to ride horses for an hour and a half this morning.

   It was hot, but you would not know it from the smiles that abounded.

   This pretty girl is smart, witty, sensitive, and that is only on a Thursday. Much more can be added for the other 6 days in the week.

   But best of all, she loves her Papa.

   Nuff said......

Following A Theme

   Following the theme of family, and having a 12 year old grandson in the house still sleeping off yesterday, and not knowing when he will be out here talking about playing golf this morning, I decided to do more of a Jekyll Island promotional blog today instead of anything profound, unless, of course, a reader can find something worthwhile in the activities or thoughts of yesterday.

   So.....

   The main activity of yesterday was the water park over on Jekyll, Summer Waves. Doug and family went over when it opened, and we followed later, in time for a few pictures and bringing a snack lunch for everyone. An unexpected blessing was that the girl at the entrance gate allowed us to go in free and we just got to wander around, using the camera and watching the activities.

   Then it was time for fruit, crackers, drinks and chocolate.

   We had a visitor for lunch also, and he looked well fed.

   Not only did we get to go in the park free, but they stamped our hands on the way out for the picnic, so we got to go back at the same price. A double blessing.

   After a few more minutes in the park, it was a hot day and we could not go in the water, we decided to let the younger folks enjoy the fun, and we took the scenic drive around the south end of the Island, looking for scenes to photograph. At St. Andrews beach, we found a piece of driftwood sitting out on the sand and asking to be captured in a digital image. It used to be that the proper term for this was "captured on film", but, since there is no film, it is just captured.

   Regardless, I took several shots and then noticed that, in the distance to the north was the Sidney Lanier bridge. A convenient hole in the old tree trunk allowed me to frame the bridge, and I got the old and the new in the same picture.

   Neat, right? Can't see it?

   Better?

   The theme of family strikes again.

Family Week

   This is family week here on St. Simons. Doug, Dawn and the 3 kids are renting a house here for the week, and we are busy having fun. Drew will be 13 shortly, Caroline is 11 this Thursday and Lucy will be 9 in a couple of months. The newest member of the family, Roxie, is 6.

   Let's see: They got here late in the afternoon of Saturday, and we ate supper at our place and played a few games. Sunday we went to church, played in the afternoon over at their house, both outside and in, cooked out there and played again.

   Monday, Drew and I went to Sanctuary to play 18 holes of golf, the girls and Momma went to the beach and rode bikes, and then we ate supper with and kept the kids while the parents celebrated their 18th anniversary with a dinner out. We played more games and listened to the thunderstorm rumbling around outside.

   God has blessed us with 3 great kids of our own and 7 beautiful and "above average" grand children, and we are more than happy to share our time with them whenever we can. We look forward to the rest of this week with these "pumpkins", and then next week we will rest. But for now, we are off to Jekyll for the water park and the beach and all the fun we can stand.

   As the summer wears on, we hope to be with all our kids and grands, at one point or another, at one place or another, doing the things we like to all do, play.

   We'll rest in the fall.

Two People on the Road

   This morning, out as the sun began to come up, walking the cart path around the 4th hole, I saw a man coming toward me. Now this man was not unfamiliar to me, I had seen him and said hello a few times in this same area, but that was the extent of our interaction. I thought it would be nice to be able to call him by name the next time we met, and so I stopped and introduced myself. As he told me his name, I thought, I know that name and so made more inquiries about his life and how we might have, at least been in some of the same places or with the same group before.

   It turns out that John, who lives over next to the 9th fairway, was an active member of the Emmaus Community of which we are a part, and, no doubt, I had seen him at some Gatherings and heard other members speak his name. Now I can put a name with the face on the path, and treat him as a real person and not just a body walking in the early morning.

   Then as I finished up my walk, I saw another man coming toward me with his dog. I had seen this man before, but never spoken to him except with a "good morning", and, I thought, maybe I could make another friend and, at least, be able to personalize my greeting when we met. He was coming toward me as I turned into the condo area, and I walked slower so as to meet him before I turned off the road. But then he walked slower also, and, as I tried to at least get his eye to wave, he continued to look the other way.

   So I opened the gate and went in, still looking his way, but not receiving any clue that he had seen me, which I knew he had. I kept looking his way until I walked into the garage, but he just passed by on the outside of the fence, paying attention to his dog.

   Now I don't know about the second man. He could have been worrying about something, could have been concerned about his pet on some issue, or even could have been praying, but he was in his own world, and I was on the outside.

   Two men, two possible encounters, and two different outcomes, one satisfying and the other, well, another.

   A message here? Treat people who come into my life as people, as persons of worth, as ones that matter. They all matter to God, and the least I can do is treat them that way.

   Now I do know John's name and I'll keep trying on the other.

   And I will pray that God will help me keep my eyes open to others that cross my path and take the time to pay attention to them.

Celebrating the Times

   I guess I am still thinking about time this morning. Yesterday I wrote about my wife and the celebration of our 55th wedding anniversary today. I thought about how blessed I am to have her in my life for these years. As we peer into the future and try to see what this 56th year will be like, we just know that it is all in God's hands, and we can rest in that.

   And then last night, Dwayne, our oldest, sent me some pictures from the graduation program of his school up in Charlotte. Yesterday was an important time for those young people and a milestone for them and for the school. Their lives will be forever molded by their experiences on that campus and with those teachers who have led them in those high school years. They, too, are looking into the future, not knowing what this next year will bring.

   To follow on the time theme, tomorrow will bring our youngest son and his family to our Island for a week of vacation. We will get to be with those 3 kids for this time, and we anticipate a great time with them and their parents.

   Three time periods to think about. My married life for the past 55 years, the present in the form of the graduation, and a new beginning for those high school seniors, and the future that will bring part of our family to our shores for this next week.

   Past, Present and Future.

   Today I can celebrate one, live in one and look forward to one.

   I think I will try to do all three and enjoy the time I have to do it, all the while figuring how to get Donna in this blog also. Oops, I just did it.

   Thankful, Again

Fifty-five and Counting

   I have written about these verses before, but they seem to strike a new chord this morning. There are two verses in Psalm 50 that hit me this day:

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,"

"The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me"

   Thanksgiving, giving thanks as a sacrifice to God. Living a life with a grateful heart is equivalent to giving God glory as a sacrifice.

   I think about some things that I am thankful for right now, this moment. Like a roof over my head while a storm hits outside, like food in the fridge, like a nice couch to sit on and write. All the material things that have been a part of my life.

   But then I think of the more substantial things that God has blessed me with, things that really matter after all else is gone, and my mind goes immediately to what I celebrate tomorrow June 7th. It will be our 55th wedding anniversary, and that constitutes my greatest thanksgiving.

   I am thankful that my wife stuck with me through some tough years. I am thankful for all the help and encouragement she has given me over all those years. I am thankful for all the nursing and nourishing that she has provided over that time.

   But most of all, I am thankful for her and for the wonderful family that she has made possible for us to enjoy over those years and these that we now enjoy.

   She said "I do" way back in 1958, but she did not have a clue what she was getting into. Thank goodness she didn't.

   I love her very much

Music Speaks

      One of the things that I enjoy about these retirement years is the time to be unhurried and just to sit and soak, not in the tub mind you, but in the place where God has put me. Let me illustrate it in this way, by going back into my morning and following the path to the present.

   Early this morning, I awoke, knowing it was still dark, but feeling like it was the right time for something, not knowing exactly what that might look like. I read some in the Psalms, not keying in on one thing in particular, just reading. Then I walked my normal route as the sun was just coming over the horizon. It was quiet, not much was stirring but a few birds and some squirrels, at least that is all I heard and saw. I like that quiet time very much. It is calming, and, although I do not always hear from God in that time, I know it is a time and place where I can if He desires it.

   For some reason I began to think about the number of years I have lived and why, when so many have passed on, that I am still around and reasonably well. Was there some reason that God has seen fit to leave me here? Was it something important that I should be doing or at least working toward?

   I thought of my role as a husband, as a father and as a grandfather. I thought of my role in our church, in our family and in the relationships that I have with others. Was there another role that should be added to that or was that the sum of it all?

   Then, as so often happens, a song came to my mind. I am not sure why music is so much a part of my experience, because I sure do not have any talent in that direction, but God often uses it to speak to my spirit with His. This particular song and its chorus goes like this:

Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There's a crown and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus' Name.

   Who am I to say what are the important things of life? I do not have the perspective to know or even guess what they are in the world around me, I am just responsible to see them in my own life. Not for those things that maybe I should have done in the past, or done better, but those things that are there in this time and are important right now. "Little" is a relative term and I can't determine what is little in God's eyes.

   Then, as so often happens, another song comes along to bless me and another chorus plays in my mind:

He is here, Hallelujah, He is here, Amen 
He is here, Holy Holy, I will bless His name again 
He is here, listen closely 
Hear Him calling out your name 
He is here, you can touch Him 
You will never be the same 

   And I know that I have been in His presence this day, and that He has reminded me of why I am here.  Thank You, God and Amen

Put your computer on full screen, watch and listen. Perhaps it is for more than just me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A97aLphdL00

God and a Good Caddy, a Connection?

   I'm not sure how to entitle this post, but it has to do with golf and thinking, so let me set the stage:

   I played yesterday, in a charity golf tournament over on Sea Island at a very high class and top of the line golf course. The course was in great shape, the greens like glass and the fairways clipped and tight. When you stand on the tee box, comparing the view to the courses we usually play on, the intimidation factor begins to set in. Fortunately, I played here last year also, and, although the factor was still there, it was not quite as bad.

   We started on number 6, which is the hardest hole on the course, a par five with lots of traps. I did not play it well and had the same result on the next couple of holes as well. On number 9, a par three, I managed to two-putt from the edge of the green for a par and felt better.

   As I stood over my putt on 10, about a 20 footer for a par, I was not confident with my putting skill, and wondered what in the world I needed to do to feel more comfortable. Playing on undulating greens, with multiple breaks and a fast speed on the downhills, is hard for me.

   Each foursome had a caddy that rode along with them, pointing out the best line to drive on, the distances to the flags, and he also helped spot wayward shots. I felt him standing behind me as I looked over that putt. He gave me his thoughts on the putt line, and then I stepped up and knocked it in the hole. My thought was, "hey, I can do this with his help, so use him and see what happens".

   A change of thought, a boost in confidence, and I proceeded to one-putt the next 5 holes for pars on each, simply because I trusted the caddy's read and then felt like I could make any putt. Then came the lightening and thunder. The siren sounded, and we headed back to the clubhouse.

   While waiting out the 40 minute rain delay, I wandered into the men's locker room library, picked up a book and began reading Bob Rotella's take on the mental side of golf. There I was, living out what he was preaching in the book. I was playing his thoughts without knowing them. Over the six holes before the rain came, my thought patterns had changed on the greens from "this is scary", to stepping up with some confidence and making the shot.

   Same putter, same ball, same stance, same fast greens, but there was a difference in attitude and thoughts. It was not an "I can do it" attitude, but a "I can do it with his (the caddy's) help" one. Makes all the difference.

   Could there be a connection to life? Is there help out there that I can call on for all the twisting 10 footers that life throws my way?

   Anyone find a spiritual application here? I did but now to remember it each and every day, on the course and off.

   Thank you God, for bringing golf and life together, and helping me see You in that.

 

And All The People Said "Amen"

   There is a conspiracy against me this morning. Everything that I look at has something to do with age, and, since I just had another birthday, I am reminded again of just how far I am removed from my birth.  Check these verses from Psalm 71:

"Do not cast me off in the time of old age;"

"And even when I am old and gray,"

"My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of Your salvation all day long;
For I do not know the sum of them."

  Do I see some pattern here, something that God wants me to know, or at least not forget? There are considerably fewer days in front of me than I have already lived. None of us knows the sum of our days, the length of our lifespan.

   All of my days matter to God, and they should to me. I cannot change any of the past ones, as much as I might like to, and I can't do much about the future ones either, except prepare some for living them, but the day that matters most right now is the one I am living in at this moment.

   What will I do with it?

   My prayer earlier this morning was for 3 things: Guidance, Wisdom and Understanding, all for the living out of this day, in relationships, and in situations that will flow into and out of my life in these few hours. All of this for one specific day---this one.

   "This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Interesting Clocks and Lives Lived Under Their Gaze

   The courthouses in some Georgia county seats are sometimes hard to find. The larger the town or city, the more the site of official county business tends to be obscured by larger buildings, but in the smaller towns, the more it stands out. In fact, as we pull into some places, the first thing we look for is the clock tower of the courthouse because it stands above all its surroundings. Like this one in Thomaston, in Upson Conty:

   Sometimes the clocks are running and sometimes not. Sometimes they are correct and sometimes not, and, if there are four faces of the clock, facing in four different directions, sometimes they do not all tell the same time. Sometimes they are only the silent sentinels of the town, and sometimes they chime the hour. Sometimes the chimes are newer and electronic, and sometimes the original bell is still up there and working in the tower.

   Except for restoration and history buffs, does anyone care about the clocks that stand looking out over the town square? At a time when almost everyone carries their time around with them in their pockets or on their wrists, what do these symbols of a bygone era mean, like this one from Sandersville in Washington County?

   As I think about them in this day and time, my mind wants to go back to when they were erected and why the planners chose these timepieces to adorn their, at the time, new buildings. The modern courthouses that tend to replace these outmoded structures in the cities and larger towns, do not have these features.

   These clocks were not just ornamental, they had a function that was needed in these towns a hundred years or so ago. Folks who lived out in the country worked by the time of the sun, but those in the towns had schedules to meet and business to conduct. Courts were held and meetings were convened. The clocks could get a person to the right place at the right time, and they could also be an excuse for someone who was late. A man could point to an incorrect clock face and claim that was the one that he was going by.

   How interesting to know what these old essentials of the past could tell us about the peoples that lived lives in their shadows.

   How about God's timepiece? What does it show about my lifespan or the nation's? No matter if ours is an atomic clock, correct to the nano second, or the the clock in Washington County that was about 4 hours slow, if it was running at all, God's time continues on.

   If I depend on that county courthouse clock I can be in big trouble, even on my new clock that says I have lots of time, so, maybe the best thing to do is affirm that God is in control of my life and make my time count for Him.

   That sun will set anyway, on God's time, no matter what that clock in the tower says.

   Time marches on.