Just Another Day At the Office

Being a pastor is alternating joy and depression, exhilaration and discouragement. There are times that you are sure you can see God at work - changing lives, moving the Kingdom forward, and at others, you wonder where He is.

Yesterday, He showed up. A lady asked in small group Bible Study "Is there anything we can pray for the church about?", and I spilled my guts.

I talked about family and friends, about dreams and expectations, about what church could be if we'll share our lives together. And I think they got it. It's rare but when it happens it's as if God smiled.

Somebody up there likes me.

Summertime

It's supposed to be that time when "fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high." Well, I saw one out of two this morning. 20 ft away from where the big Dane and I were walking, a dolphin rose out of the water and splashed back.

You know, I hear people pay money to see that sort of stuff.

Somebody up there likes me.

DSL DT's

We've got them DSL's down blues here,
can't surf the net nor play no games.

We've got them DSL's down blues, Baby
Said, can't surf the net or play no games.

If Sprint don't get their act together quickly
Val-P cable's calling my name.

:)

Can I Have A Word?

Had a friend come by this week, and he asked "can I have a word with you?"

He didn't just want one.

An hour later, he had delivered his message, challenging me and making me examine just what I'm doing and what I'm about.

Funny thing about it was that I had heard the same message from two other people that same day.

You know, even when it hurts to hear what He has to say, I'm convinced...

somebody up there likes me. :)

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Went back to my birthplace for a couple days this week. You really can't go home again, or at least I can't. It was a shock to realize that. Home to me is my wife's embrace. It's where I can relax and be me.

It's here.

Disclaimers

Well, I went to the blog to see what yesterday's post looked like and it looked good, but the banner above it didn't.

Titled "Positive Thinking", it stated that you could "learn how to change the polarity of your thoughts to change your life."

"Polarity of your thoughts?"

Sounds a lot like Wayne Dyer's "Power of Intention". You know,the idea that somehow by thinking really hard you can change reality. Yeah, right.

I can remember being 12 years old, standing on the roof of my Father's tractor shed clad in my makeshift Superman cape. I had just finished watching TV, and thought that I should be able to do that flying thing too. (Hey, I was young, okay :)

Gravity.

It takes power outside yourself to overcome it.

Reality. It takes power outside your ability to change it. I don't care how often you think positive thoughts, the real struggles we have are with forces beyond our ability to change.

"The Polarity of your thoughts". And they call Christians gullible. LOL!

As for me, it's enough to know that no matter what,

Somebody up there likes me.

The Calm Before

Saturday night for many people who do what I do is a very stressful time. I'd confess that it has been for me on occasion too. After all, when your task the next day is to say a word for God, there does tend to be a certain tightening up.

But sometimes just the opposite happens. This week has been a blur, with the death of one of our members, and care for those left behind basically consuming most of the week. Great honor to be invited into their lives to help them walk through the valley of the shadow though.

So when tonight rolled around, the preparation factor wasn't what it usually is. Normally, I can write a sermon after researching it, sketching it out, and gathering all the ingredients - in two hours.

Tonight, after very little prep during the week - a lot of reflection, just not a lot of scholarly work - 1 hour.

Now I just have to pray I deliver it well.

It's the calm before..

Family Matters

No, I mean really. Family matters.

Went to a funeral today for a woman of 80. Married 61 years, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.

It was stunning to see the impact of one life lived well.

Frankly, I'm used to seeing just the opposite. Being a pastor today is like being am ER doctor. We are so used to dealing with families in crisis who have been living anyway they chose and are paying the price. I look at a Father whose disregard of responsibility in his rush for whatever pleases him. Or a mother in no sense of the word save biological. It's what's normal today.

So when I can pull back a family's curtain and find someone who laid her life down for her family, it's pretty special. Why should it be a shock?

If a butterfly's wings movement can affect the world, why not a mother's love?

Ironies

It's ironic that the young man who avoided church, hated funerals, and basically just wanted to be left alone has wound up smack in the middle of all of those. Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor.

But you know, it's in those areas that I find myself bumping into God most often.

Today it was with church people at a funeral home. (almost called it a parlor - wouldn't that mark me as old :) ). While I helped them through making the arrangements for their mother's service, I was struck by the honor they had paid me by inviting me into this most personal and private world.

I knew who to thank.

Somebody up there likes me. :)

It's not all good, but it's pretty darn close

Just sitting here listening to my wife and son go over a worship song. Her voice warms me still after 31 years together as a couple. It was 31 years ago on August 6th 1973 that a very scared young man asked a young woman to be his wife.

She said yes.

Nothing has ever been the same.

I hear some people say "it's all good." I can't say that, because in those years there's been some real heartache. My mother dies too early, our first grandchild is stillborn, people have wounded us...

But listening to her, thinking back on all the time we've spent together...

It may not be all good, but...

It's pretty darn close.