an honored gift

Brenda is the matriarch of our church. She and her husband, Dan, have been the backbone of hospitality outreach for many years. Dan passed suddenly some eight years or so ago and is dearly missed my many. They modeled what a Christian marriage could be and were filled with servant hearts. About a week ago, Brenda approached me at church and tearfully told me that she had a request of me. It seems that many years ago a friend of theirs gave them matching "Brenda" and "Dan" coffee cups. For several years now, Brenda said, she has simply watch his cup sit on the shelf gathering dust. Would I be willing to take his cup as a gift and use it? I was deeply touched, honored, and humbled that she would share this memory with me. Now I proudly drink my coffee in the mornings from a cup that says:

Dan

From a true straight path
will never budge,
tries to live by
'God is my judge'.

I salute you Dan Chrane.

late start/straight path

With a dusting of ice and freezing temperatures we are temporarily paralyzed...at least our schools are...and life goes on for the rest of the world. Why is it the expectation that our kids need to start school late while the guy who delivers my paper can still get it to my doorway by 6:15 AM? There are many things I do not understand. Why do 7-11 stores have locks on the doors if they stay open 24/7? Why do we have a pair of pants and not a scissor?
An ex-student wrote me this week and asked me to explain why her pastor had been viciously murdered...how can GOD allow it? I had few words of wisdom. What I do know, I told her, is that though I do not understand how GOD allows a massive earthquake to decimate the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, nor the slavery and starvation of children in Uganda, Darfur, or Zimbabwe ... HIS presence is there in the midst of the chaos. HE knows when a single sparrow falls . . . and one of his creatures' hearts comes to a halt. He is there under the rubble of a fallen school - offering gentle and silent encouragement to a teenage girl, reminding her of HIS presence and that HE will rescue her. My faith is not in chariots and horses! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight," Proverbs 3:5,6

Distractions

Last night I sat down with my wife and enjoyed the animation movie "UP" ... a recent release from Walt Disney. Yes it was enjoyable, but as good writers often do, there were a number of double entendre statements and quite a bit of symbolism. There were a group of dogs who had special collars that verbalized their thoughts to allow them to communicate with humans. As these dogs were focused on tracking and trailing a giant bird, they were frequently turned away from their goal by the sighting of a squirrel and completely lost track of what they were doing.

We are constantly distracted from what matters. It is important that we listen to each other, but it is critical that we listen to the Holy Spirit...in all things...we must now allow the GOD of all wisdom to direct our path...which may not lead where we thought we were going. GOD is constantly calling his people from a place of comfort and familiarity to a place that is new to them - a place where they will have to depend on HIM - a place where He is already waiting to meet them.

love and war

It dawned on me how ironic life is at times. The past two days have been consumed in my intervention in a family torn apart with domestic violence. As I waited on a Police officer to meet me so I could help the family move their belongings to Noah Project I realized I was going to be late to John and Staci Elredge's presentation about "the marriage of your dreams". I did make it on time and they did get moved in, but John reminded me that we are a love story in the midst of a world at war. Even though I have lived in the midst of the war this family endures, I do not understand how one can be so consumed in self preservation and misdirected pride so as to turn on those who mean the most to them. This is truly Satan's work.
So as I sat and listened to John and Staci, I felt as though he was talking directly to me. We've been blessed not to have encountered the great battles that many face in their marriage, but there is a great deal of similarity in our lives...all of us. I commented to a class on Wednesday evening that the reason we make the effort to give our testimony is that none of us walk this road alone. All of us experience very similar problems and challenges in our lives and it helps to know that others have survived...
...there is nothing new under the sun. God is with us.

maiden voyage

As I launch this initial entry, I must inform the reader that it is only by encouragement that I have agreed to embark into the realm of blogging. At present my perception is only that this may serve as some form of therapy for me to write as if someone else might be concerned enough to actually read what I've posted. It is more realistic to think of this as some form of journaling...perhaps it will evolve over time. I find it curious that this coincides with the beginning of a new year. Time will tell whether this is the beginning of something new and worthwhile or just the first of my annual entries. Perhaps you'll check back from time to time and I will actually have some worthwhile reflections or insights. Until then ...