A Tale of Two Towns

   "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

   Sounds like a book I once read, but in this case it concerned two county seats in Georgia, ones that we visited on our way north the other day. The trip that day featured five counties with their courthouses, Candler, Laurens, Wilkinson, Newton and Rockdale, but I want to talk about two in particular, because the contrast was so great.

   This is a tale of two courthouse towns, Irwinton, in Wilkinson County and Covington, in Newton County. Now I do not know a lot of the particulars of their stories, but these are only a small observation on each.

   Wilkinson County, north of Dublin, on the road to Milledgeville, has its county seat at Irwinton. This county was formed by the state legislature in 1803, it had at least 5 courthouses over its lifetime, the last one built in 1924. One of the courthouses was burned by General Sherman on his march to Savannah in 1864.

  The county population in 1830 was around 6,500 people and the figure for 2010 was around 9,500 souls.

   The downtown area, around the courthouse square looks like this today.

   The main highway has bypassed the town.

   Now contrast this with Covington, the county seat of Newton County, just an hour or so north of Irwinton. Newton County was formed in 1821. The current courthouse was constructed in 1884 after the former one burned. The population of this county was 11,000 in 1830 and was 100,000 in 2010.

   The courthouse is here and the traffic around the square, even on a Saturday afternoon, was heavy.

   What was the difference in the outcome for Irwinton and that of Covington?

   Covington is close to Atlanta and Interstate 20 runs right past the town. It looks like it has become a bedroom community for the big city to the west.

   It is like the old real estate adage: Location, location, location.

   This is not to praise one and cast dispersion on the other. I do not know enough to say where I would rather live, but the contrast is obvious.

   Just a few observations on the "Great Georgia Courthouse Tour".

   Fun

A Solid Example

   The next set of verses from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 reads thusly:

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock."

   The word that catches my eye is "solid", I guess because it fits this modern day story:

   A couple of years back, I got a call from my oldest son who lives in Charlotte and has a private school that was situated on an old plantation. The house is still standing and is on the National Register of Historic Places, dating from the 1834 era.

  Dwayne said that he had been contacted by a man, a descendant of the Stinson family, who was in possession of an old anvil. One that had come from that old homeplace. Since we lived about halfway between where this man lived in Florida and where the school was in NC, he wanted to bring it up and leave it with us, for eventual transportation back to its "home".

   He did, and there it sat for a few years, until yesterday when Dwayne came and picked it up to carry back to the school, where it might serve as a reminder of the earlier life of that piece of land.

   This morning, as I thought about this heavy and solid piece of metal, I wondered about its use and if I could trace its history.

   Right now, I only know that it is a good example of "solid" and that it fits into my idea from this verse above, but I would like to know more.

 

Another Book, Another Thought

   The next verse segment in Matthew 7 is this:

 “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here."

   The word is obedience. What is required is serious obedience. Now the question is, "what is obedience that is not of a serious nature?"

   It could be a "tip of the hat" to the Ten Commandments, or it might even be a acknowledgement that these are good moral laws that a person should try to live by as well as he can, at least the ones that do not have God in them, and deal with not having any other one in their worship life.

   The seriousness seems to become more increasingly important the more I want to do His will and when I ask for His guidance. If I ask, truly meaning to follow that answer wherever it leads, then my obedience is cranked up another notch.

   If my asking is for a list of options to choose from, then it is my will that decides what is best for all involved, but if there is one way that is God-chosen, then my obedience is to that one that God holds out to me.

   A lot of the time, that serious obedience is not seen by others, it is only felt in the heart and attitude of the person trying to live that way.

   I just finished another book. Yes another one, and I know that I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Maybe it is too hot to do anything else right now.

   Anyway, this true story concerns a middle aged man, one who has lost his wife to cancer, and decides to quit his job and hike the Appalachian Trail all the way from Georgia to Maine.

   Paul, whose trail name is Apostle, is a Christian man asking a lot of questions from God. He begins with the why. "Why did God take my wife?" Then as he walks along the trail, 2,000 plus miles to Maine, his question turns to "God, are You really there?" As God seems to answer that question in a series of events, he gets to the question "God, what do you want me to do now?"

   God does not mind the questions, but there is a seriousness involved with the answers, what do I do with the answers?

   I note that the question above does not end with "what do you want me to do?". It has that little word "now" tucked on at the end. "I hear what You say, and, as much as I want to know how it will all end out, the thing I need to do is step out in the "now".

   Apostle had to begin the walk before he could experience what he came on that jaunt to find. He had to get out of that friend's car, put on his backpack and take that first step. Then each morning he had to take another first step, and each time he questioned and got an answer, another first step was required.

   How many times do I ask the questions, get some answer, realize that is what God wants me to do, and then even take the first step, only to leave the trail for some reason, realizing later that I have not followed, go back to the trail marker, and start anew

   There were many hikers in that book, persons that he would meet up with or come along side Apostle as he walked. Some stayed with him for many miles and some for just a few, depending on their goals and hiking styles. One caught my attention as I wrote this post.

   I don't remember his trail name, but he seemed to be directionally challenged. It was joked about this hiker that he made the trail a lot longer than the 2,100 miles, because he kept getting turned around and going the wrong way. Hikers he had met going north, and passed, would see him again days later coming toward them going south.

   Is that the way I am when it comes to serious obedience? Taking a detour or even turning around and going the wrong way? My way?

   Help me, God

 

Words from a Cooking Show

   I read these verses yesterday morning but just did not have the time to write: (From Matthew 7 in The Message)

“Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned."

   I know there is a lot of possible material in these verses, but one thing that caught my attention has to do with words and their importance in our lives.

   One of the few TV shows that we watch is one called Chopped on the Food Network. The format is that 4 chefs compete, using mystery baskets of ingredients, to see who will win the title of Chopped Champion for that particular show.

   Last night we watched a taped show featuring a chef that had a real inferiority complex, who had been continually told by his father that he would not amount to anything. This may have been a reason for him being on the show, to give the viewers someone to cheer for, but it dramatized the whole concept of the power of words. Even when this chef told the judges about the dishes he had prepared, he spent a lot of the time apologizing for them.

   Of course it is entirely possible that the show was rigged to let him come out the winner because of the story line, but regardless, he was the winner and was so outwardly happy that he could show his dad that he did amount to something.

   Even at that point I could not help but wonder how long his confidence would last. He had so long been confronted with his inabilities, that it would take more than just the affirmation of 3 judges to let him keep a new positive attitude for any length of time.

   I know the verse above speaks of words in the context not judging people by what they say and more by what they do and who they are, but the clear warning concerns the words that come out of their mouths. It is so easy to be taken in by smooth words.

   I think about the many words that I say each day. That is a start I know, but I want to think longer about the words that I will say than those that have already been thrown out there.

   There are at least two lessons in all of this:

   1. Think before you speak.

   2. The fewer words you speak, the less chance you have to get into trouble.

   These I need to remember....

Vigorous Attention

   Yesterday after church, we went up to a place on our island, Cannon's Point, where the Land Trust is establishing a conservation area.  It is a beautiful 600 acre piece of property that will be excluded from any development and kept open for people to enjoy.

   As is true for a lot of spots on the island, there is a creek running down the east side of the property. Where I come from, a creek is thought of as a moving body of water eventually flowing into a larger stream, making a river that continues to flow from a higher elevation to a lower until reaching its terminus somewhere "down there".

   In the marshes that surround the area where we live, creeks are "tidal creeks". That is they flow inward (away from the ocean) as the tide comes in, and outward  (back toward the ocean) as the tide recedes.

   As I stood on the bank and watched the outward flow of water, I saw various grasses and reeds, caught in the current and moving toward the mouth of the creek. I also remembered a time just a few days ago that I stood on a dock over another tidal creek on the west side of the island and watched stuff moving in toward the land and away from the ocean. Depending on the situation with the tides, the same piece of wood, or reed, or grass, could be moving in either direction as it passed by my point of reference.

Sunset on Dunbar Creek

St. Simons Island

   I thought of these creeks when I read the verse in Matthew 7 for today:

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."

   It is so easy to just flow with the current, whichever way it is headed. In fact, like the tidal current, it can be going east at one time and then 6 hours later be moving in the opposite direction.

   I want to be more intentional than that.

   The "creek illustration" may not be a good one. There is a time to be resting and moving with the current of God's direction and prodding, but I want my life to be in constant movement toward Him.

   Even if I have to paddle against the incoming tide that threatens to sweep my back to the land I came from.

   Vigorous Attention

A Life Worth Imitating

   I want to write about a book today, but am not sure I can convey all of its meanings. Let me start at the beginning.

   A Facebook posting some weeks back pointed me to an article by Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. Dr. Mohler had compiled a list of books that he wanted to read this summer, and, as I scanned the list and read the short sketches of each, I thought, "these are worthwhile", and copied down the list.

   The first book on the list caught my eye at once. Mission to Nuremberg, the story of an American chaplain, Henry Gerecke, whose charges for a year were the Nazi war criminals on trial at the end of WWII. This book, by Tim Townsend, tells the story of this unassuming Lutheran pastor from Missouri, who brought the Gospel to some of the most notorious men of the German war machine at a time when the world was clamoring for blood, German blood, to atone for some of the horrific crimes perpetrated against humanity.

   The trials at Nuremberg were show trials, meant to mete out justice to representatives of the Nazi regime, but also to show to a world that it was justice that the Allies were after and not vengeance.

   I thought of this book as I read the Matthew 7 passage for today:

“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get."

   Chaplain Gerecke seemed to me to be the epitome of this verse. He was thrust into a situation that was completely out of the ordinary, even for a chaplain in wartime. The facts of the Nazi concentration camps were known to everyone, and the world was waiting for the "monsters" that had brought this slaughter to pass to be dealt with. Even though a lot of the Nazi leadership, including Hitler and Himmler, had committed suicide at the end of the war, there was a need to get closure and try someone for what had gone on, and for the damage to individuals, families and society in general.

   Two incidents from the book seem to illustrate both the tenor of the man who ministered to these war criminals and also the type of men that were on trial during those days.

   When the chaplain was first introduced to his 21 charges, indeed they became his 21 parishioners,  his first act was to look them in the eye and shake their hands. Many who saw this, and the pictures of the occasion, were outraged that he would treat these men as "human", but he replied that he knew he could not bring them the power and love of God without them liking him. His first mission was to bring these souls to God or back to God, and that is what he would attempt to do, no matter the reaction that accompanied it.

   The second scene takes place near the end of 1945. Gerecke had served overseas since back in 1944 and had not seen his wife since he left the states. She wanted him home, and he wanted to go. The trial was over, and all that was left was the sentencing and the result of that. By that time he had only 13 charges, since there was a new chaplain to minister to the Catholics, 8 of the 21.

   When those "hardened" criminals, who by this time were not so hardened, wrote a personal letter to Alma, Gerecke's wife, begging her not to take her husband away from his post, his ministry was recognized. They needed him there. His caring about them as persons and about their lives in the moment, and their souls thereafter, had made him both the face of Jesus Christ and the symbol of American justice.

   Chaplain Henry Gerecke had become the embodiment of that verse above.

   "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

   His wife wrote back, speedily by air mail, and told him to stay where he was and not to come home until his work there in Nuremberg was finished, which he did.

   I would recommend the book, but more than that, I would recommend an imitation of the ministry of this one man, thrust into world events, but remembering his calling, caring for those God put into his life, and loving the unlovely, without reservation.

Two Animals on a Mission, A Coincidence?

   Oft times I am not so good. Oh, I know that I smile a lot, clean up and go to church, bow my head in quiet meditation, but underneath lurks the real me, at least the "me" that pops up on a too frequent occasion. On my own I can think not so good thoughts, my actions can be less than charitable, and my attitudes can be pretty self centered.

   But on those occasions I find that God does not give up on me in exasperation. He still seems to be right there even when what I deserve is a shunning. It is His nature, thank goodness.

   One of the reasons I like to walk in the mornings is to clear my head, to wake up and look around and see what God might be telling me. I do it even when I don't feel very holy and connected. It is like "here I am God, do something, show me something, give me something". Maybe I figure that if I just show up, He will be obligated to act in my favor.

   Then there is those words in Matthew 7 this morning, from The Message:

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

   I don't always see my actions as a bargain with God, I'll do this and then You do that, but maybe there is some sense of that creeping into why I do it. Regardless, there are times like this morning, when I feel like He was good to me anyway.

   Two things caused me to stop and pause in my walk, but I did not associate them with the verses that I was to read later. I knew I would read in Matthew 7, right where I left off, but how those words would resonate, I did not know.

   Then I read a short blog post on the Jesus Calling devotional for today, talking about divine appointments. I thought, "sometimes divine appointments can be with other people that cross my path, sometimes they can be with inanimate things like a book or a magazine article, or sometimes nature speaks in the quiet".

   Two incidents from my walk came into my conscious thoughts, both from God's creation.

   As I walked, I sensed movement on my right and, looking that way, saw an armadillo coming across the golf green and heading my way.  I stopped and waited to see what he would do. Now these creatures don't see well, but do react to noise, so I just stayed stationary and quiet. He crossed my path about 5 feet or so in front of me without missing a beat, neither looking at me, nor deviating from his route. Head down, he just plodded along until he disappeared into the bushes on my left. I could have almost reached out and touched him as he passed, unaware of my presence.

   Then, as I continued toward home, I glanced down at the end of the pond on #4 and there was this white heron fishing in the shallow water along the far bank. He just glided through the water, walking on those long legs of his, intent on breakfast.

   Two incidents, both without sound, both of which called for a photo moment, and me without my camera, but could they be divine appointments, things put in my path to remind me of God and His caring?

   Someone once said "There are no coincidences", and I believe it.

   God is good, even when I am not so much so.....

   (Even with a photo from another time)

Breakfast in the Pond

   How easy it is to see truths in the early morning, before the world gets busy, but how hard to keep them in mind as the concerns of living take over my conscious thoughts.

   As I continued reading in Matthew 7, the next verse in my study stated (from The Message):

“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege."

   There are phrases that come to mind, ones that I speak sometimes, that are not given the correct reverence. They may be true, and maybe even come right out of Scripture, but come out of my mouth in a flippant way. Phrases such as:

   "Thy will be done"

   "One day at a time"

   I often think of the fact that this is indeed a brand new day. It may look like any others from the past when I gaze at the calendar, or my "to do" list, but it is unique, and I cannot know what will be the outcome. I need to be sincere when I look to God's will. It will be done.

   So I spent some time reading various passages before walking out in the cool of the morning. The sun was brightening the clouds as was usual. The dew was on the golf course, and I could see where some animals had been active from their tracks through the wet grass.

   But there was something different in the pond on #4. I could see movement in the water out in the middle. Something was making a slight wake as it moved first this way and then that. Usually the pond is smooth with maybe a few water bugs and wind ripples, but this was different.

   Then I realized it was "my friend" the gator that I had not seen in a few weeks. He (or she) was moving back and forth at a pretty good pace, purposely it seemed. Then a splash and silence, and I suppose, breakfast.

   I had not seen this happening before. My eyes seem to be drawn to that movement in the water, so I stopped to watch and see the cause. My usual walking is to move along, maybe taking note of the birds singing or the sky getting light, but today was different.

   Was it a reminder that this day was not the same as the ones that had preceded it?

  Will I get to the end of the hours of this day and realize that, indeed His will was done, and it was just not one of those "same ole days"?

   A reminder to be thankful for....

Comparatively Speaking

   In the Matthew 7 passage that I remember, it says "Judge not that ye be not judged".

   In reading it this morning in The Message it is "slightly" different.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."

   When I read it over again a few times, I see an admonition not to try to make everyone else like me. I cannot know their circumstances. I don't know how their day has gone, or what things lurk under the surface of what I see. I only see the outward face that they present to the world around them.

   And why do I even notice and care about those "others" in my world?

   Do I think that I am so "right" that they ought to move that way also?

   Or do I bad mouth them and what they do, so that I might look good (or better) in comparison?

   My reason for helping is flawed if I do this, and my attitude toward my own "rightness" needs a major adjustment.

   The standard for righteousness is definitely not me. It is Jesus.

Which Shall It Be, Today or Tomorrow?

   It is mind-boggling to think that there are so many people on this earth at this particular time and that God, not only has the ability to, but seriously wants to, connect with each one and cares about the lives of each one. I get so wrapped up in my own petty things that I easily forget the big picture, but one little verse at the end of a familiar passage draws me back to truth.

   The passage goes through the way that God prepares his world for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, stating that they are cared for even though they are "just a part of His creation", and how much more does he care about each of His human creatures.

   The 6th Chapter of Matthew's Gospel ends with these words: (from The Message)

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

   It answers the question about what we need to do to live in the knowledge of His love and care, and it is one that I need to be reminded of most every day.

   The verse speaks of several things, but two ideas loom large.

   1. Don't spend my time worrying about things.

   2. The time to live is today.

   God has given man the ability to think, to reason, to plan, but also the aptitude to project and to think of possibilities that can be out there. I can see what might happen, or could happen, but there is no way to see past the end of the particular minute or second that I am living in.

   Does He say that I should not worry because everything will turn out rosy? No, but He says He will be there in the hard times as well as the good. What more can I ask for than His presence and the fact that He cares. I know that is all that I need, but still it is hard to actually live that way.

   Another two listing: things that someone has written about planning:

   1. "Failure to plan is a plan to fail", and

   2. "If you want to give God a chuckle, present Him with your plans".

   God does not condemn planning, He just reminds me to hold those plans loosely in my hands.

   A few weeks back, I was reminded of these verses on worry when I walked through a wildflower meadow, and I realized that all around me were glimpses of His truth.

   And I resolved, once again, to live in the day that has been given to me, and see Him there, and I pray that I can actually do it.

   Oh, so easy to write these words and know they are true, but so hard to make them an integral part of my life each and every day,

   Each and Every Day

The World is Crowded

   Last week I wrote about Sydney's graduation from her school, Woodlawn. I am always struck whenever I visit up there in North Carolina, how much the parents and students at that K-12 school enjoy being there. There is just something about the atmosphere there that draws people in.

   I picked up a book, actually a compilation of letters from students to Dwayne and Karen on the 10th anniversary of the school they had started, and was struck by the many references to the outdoors as a reason the kids enjoyed their learning experiences. These lower school students loved the fact that they could get out in nature and do things to learn. They play outside, they eat outside, the garden outside and they just get out of the classroom into the larger world where things are going on.

   Now this school is not "a Christian school" in its charter and its teachings, but God is available to these kids on a daily basis. I may call it "accidental encounters", but in the long run, it is anything but.

   There is a quote from C.S. Lewis that I ran across the other day:

   "We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him."

   I always try to take the time to look around the school when I am there. I just like to see what the kids are doing and how they are interacting with each other and with their learning experiences. I saw some students going through the garden area, mind you school was out for the summer, and they were pointing out to each other various things that they had done and the plants that they were watching to see how they developed. That garden was "crowded" with God's handiwork.

   In another area, the 5th graders had made projects out of bottle caps and planted them in a portion of the field that adjoined the classroom area. I was drawn to the color.

   But as I looked closely, I saw this writing on the back of one of the plastic creations:

   Sounds like a Bible verse to me. It may have been featured as a lesson on respecting others, but was it not God "crowding" into that space?

   The verse that I read this morning was from Matthew 6:

“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!"

   All I have to do is open my eyes and He is everywhere.

   How much I pray that all the students at that school and people everywhere will open up their eyes to the things that God has put all around us.

   The world is crowded.

Blessed With Treasures

   This has been a hard week to get some writing time in. Our VA folks have been in town for 5 days and our time has been well taken up.

   But I did read ahead in Matthew 6 and came across these verses:

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

   Most of the time when I read in the Bible about treasure, I think of money, of material things, of gifts that go to good causes, and of good deeds performed for others without regard for myself.

   But I think there could be more treasures that can be stored up for eternity, treasures of time spent, of attention given to, and of relationships that will last.

   So I give you at least three of my treasures,

                                          Drew

Caroline (with Roxie)

Lucy

A Response on a Monday Morning

   How busy these past few days have been. Graduation up in Charlotte with all of its trappings and now our VA family here for 5 days with 2 adults, 3 children, 2 foster kids and the dog.

   As I wake up early this morning, sit down to read, think, meditate and pray, my prayer turns to a pleading request:

"Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!"

   This is what I read in Psalm 55, just after expressing the same thoughts as I wrote out a prayer to God. I was feeling the disconnect of too much busy and too little God.

   As I was thinking and praying, the words from Matthew 6 came to my mind:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

   I have thought on these words many times, especially over the past few years, and one part of that prayer especially jumps out at me a lot.

"Thy will be done"

   An easy line to pray, but oh so hard to let it be a central theme in my life. So easy to pray in the mode of que sera, sera (Whatever will be, will be), but not in an active way that says the line is the best for my life at any given time.

   Then I walk, thinking of that portion of the Lord's Prayer along with my personal plea for guidance and help. And what do I see?

   The light from the sunrise, just striking the top of the trees, letting me know it is there, but not yet reaching the ground level where I walk. There is a whole blog post contained in that sight, I know.

   Then there is a small white peg sitting on the cart path, and I think of golf and the "play it where it lies" aspect of the game. There is a lot of life contained in those thoughts also, but, alas, a posting for another day.

   How about the bird's song, loud and clear from a tree just to the right of the path, a tree full of leaves with the songster hidden in the branches? I stop and listen. I get closer and still the songs comes out. Where is he or she? Many times my search comes up fruitless in these situations, but then, there is the small brown and white creature sitting on a branch just about 6 feet or so over my head. As if to acknowledge that its job was done, it flew off after one more loud melody.

   Coincidences on a Monday morning? I hardly think so.

   The answer to a written prayer for connection?

   What more could I want?

   I am blessed, again

   "Thy will be done"

 

 

Experiences: Past, Present and Future

   On Wednesday of this week we experienced the glories of the Interstate Highway system as we drove to Charlotte, NC.

   On Thursday we experienced the graduation of our grand daughter.

   On Friday we got to experience the backroads of South Carolina as we drove home down Highway 321 going through Norway, Denmark and Sweden, all on one stretch of road, a story for another time.

   Is there a common thread? Sure, it is the experiences.

   I found a quote in an article about a professor at UT Knoxville (my Alma Mater) where he refers to something his dad often told him. "God does not waste any experiences. Every experience is useful; everything connects".

   We may waste the wisdom that comes from the experiences of our lives, but they are there for us, placed there by a God who cares.

   An Aside: I have been going through the Sermon on the Mount, reading and writing about various passages included in Matthew 5,6 and 7 and the word most used in the first of these chapters is "Blessed". When I think of being blessed, I think of my experiences over the past 56 years of marriage to a great lady. Today is our anniversary, and I salute her for her perseverance and faithful forgiveness. Our experiences together make my life.

   But, I digress. I thought Thursday, at the graduation, of all the experiences that had come into the life of this girl who was graduating, and her brother who had done the same thing 3 years before. Not only was she leaving the school that her parents founded some years back, but so much of her life was bound up in the experiences she had at that place.

   Now she moves on, and, if her life runs a "normal" course, she will have way more experiences in the future than she has had up to this point. Experiences placed there by a loving God who wants the best for her. Experiences not to just have been lived through, but looked back on at some point as guideposts to Life with the realization of what they meant and continue to mean for her.

   So I salute Sydney and pray for her as her experiences take a new turn.

   And I salute her parents who have raised a beautiful young woman.

   Ane her brother, a rising senior at his college, who is not too busy to sit and talk with his Granny Lou.

   And I wonder if they are talking about the past, present or future, or all three.

A Response to a Prompt

   This morning as I read these verses, I was reminded of a scene from yesterday. (From Matthew 6 in The Message):

“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace."

   Jesus is talking to his disciples about prayer. I know the gist of the verses may not fit my example, but just the word "prayer" got me to thinking of this.

   I was in the barber's chair early yesterday morning. There were others in the shop, but in the other room, and I was alone with my barber in the back room. When he finished, I asked a simple question about how he was doing. His response, "not so good". As he sat in the other chair, he began to pour out a story of medical problems and family issues. He talked, I listened.

   He is a friend, so I knew parts of the story, but I also realized that he just needed to get some things said.

   As the time moved on, and I knew I had to go, I had this prompting in my spirit and got up to stand behind him and pray over him. Just a simple time, a time of a short prayer for peace for him and guidance for his relationships, but I sensed that he and I both needed that short, special time.

   Sometimes I know I do not act on nudges from God like this one. This time I did.

   And I am glad.

Rightly Doing Good

   Recently we were with some people and got into a conversation about giving and recognition for those gifts. One person stated that if someone made a special effort to help their church or help someone in need, the church was at fault for not properly recognizing what they had done. He stated that if he was to do something like that, he would expect to be pointed out as a person of generosity and applauded for his good works.

   Where does this attitude come from?

   As Christians, we want to be generous people. We want to help others. But sometimes we want people to know it and to give us praise for what we do. Not that we should be ashamed for these acts, but that it seems to validate what we have done and who we are.

   But what does Jesus have to say about this?

   From Matthew 6 (The Message):

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out."

   Do it in secret.

   There is even a problem in doing it the right way but with the wrong motive. The object of our generosity is not to get a reward from God, it is to do His will and help those that need it.

   God still comes first in this equation.

   The ones we help come next.

   My gifts are not even in the same ballpark.

   Again, as in so many of the things that Jesus talked about in the previous verses of the Sermon on the Mount, it is a matter of the heart. That shows us who we really are.

   Do good.

   Do right.