9-11...ten years later

Tomorrow will be the tenth anniversary of an horriffic day in our nation.  On that day nearly 3000 civilians lost their lives in the worst terror attack in the history of America.  One might think that such an event might have caused a nation to understand her dependance on God.  Yet it seems that now our citizenry denies any need for God more vehemently than before that fateful day.  Just as we needed brave men and women who would go into the devastation and ruin to retrieve helpless, hopeless, wounded people, on this day we need spiritual heroes who will rise up with great courage and conviction to help a dying world find rescue, redemption, and mostly restoration.  These dark, difficult days reveal a frustrated world, void of hope and joy, unknowingly searching and pleading for that which only Christ can supply.  If we are among those who have found that which the is world is looking for, it is only right for us to share it.  Will you and I stand and be counted among those spiritual heroes in the continuing crisis of devastated lives? The brokenness of our world demands it!

Incredible Love

As I study the Scripture in preparation for Sunday morning, the next passage in our series is the last 2/3 of I John 4.  I had never noticed this before, but in verses 7-21 the word love or a form of the word love is found 28 times.  Count them.  This is a divinely inspired passage where it is clear that God wants to emphasize something that is a critical part of the human experience.  Love is incredible.  Think about it.  There have been more books, more songs, more poems, and more letters and notes that are inspired by love than by any other topic.  The opportunity to love is incredible.  I am blown away by the thought.  It amazes me not only that God would or even could love me, but also that another human being could actually love.  Yet the capacity to love is inherent within every human that has ever been born.  I know that it is within me, because I have had the opportunity to love.  I have personally loved many people in my life.  And I have been told by a few that I am loved.  What an incredible blessing.  What a special honor...to be loved by another.  I count myself to be rich because I have been loved by some very special people.  And I suspect that to be true of everyone.  All of us have been loved, and the people who love us are special, because they love us.  That is reason enough to consider them special.  I am so grateful for love.

Introinspection (I know it's not a word--I made it up).

The value of taking a look at the inside of oneself cannot be overstated.  As the process of introspection unfolds, areas become exposed that might need careful inspection.  These could be areas that necessarily need some attention.  It could be something that is a bit off in your life, or it could be something that is very right.  In my life I find that drift occurs, and if I do not pay attention, I lose sight of what is real, meaningful, and most important.  An inward look often helps me gain perspective and put down anchors in order to stymie the drift.  And then there are those times that I look into myself and find things that I really like.  See the inspection process is not only designed to find "bad" things.  Right things are discovered when I venture into those internal places.  Finding those kind of areas gives me wonderful (and often needed) encouragement.  The truth is that when I engage that process, I am not always sure exactly what I might find.  In order for this process to be productive at any level, I must be entirely honest.  I have to be ready to take a look into the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And certainly there are times I find some of one or the other. Then there are those times when I find some of all.  My willingness to deal with what I find is key to moving forward in life.  How about you?  Will you venture into the process of introinspection?  Be ready...you may find some things you really like!!  I know I did!!     

The Bird in the Mirror

As I looked out the door of the church a couple of days ago I witnessed a most interesting sight.  What I saw was a cardinal that had found a mirror on one of the vehicles.  He had no place to light and look, so he kept fluttering right in front of the mirror as long as he could then he would sit on the mirror for a moment then duck down and flutter in the mirror again.  It did not take long to understand that the bird was having trouble figuring out what he was seeing in the mirror.  He likely thought there was another cardinal he was seeing.  One thing is certain...he had no true idea that as he looked in the mirror he was seeing himself.  How about that?  I wonder if anyone reading this has ever had a similar dilemma.  Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered who it was that was looking back at you?  You have seen yourself, but are having trouble figuring out exactly who you are?  It happens.  I wonder if the bird had been able to find a perch and look at himself for a bit, if he might have figured out what was happening.  Who knows?  But this much I know. When we stop and carefully look at ourselves, it is much more likely that we will be able to figure out who we really are! 

Finding out...

I wanted to know...so I asked.  For me, it is much better to know the answer than to surmise wrongly.  What am I talking about?  It doesn't really matter does it?  I have learned through the years that when anything, and I do mean anything, is unclear, it is better to know than to keep on wondering, and thus wandering throuht the land of the unknown.  So I just ask.  Not bluntly, or crudely.  But with genuine, sincere desire to know.  You might try that too.  There is way too much assuming that goes on in this life.  People think they know why people act a certain way, or why things are the way they are, when all the while there are things going on that may be completely opposite what we think they are.  Laboring under illusions, or living in misperception is a sad experience.  There may be only a short distance between what you believe and the truth.  That distance may be covered by simply asking.  Try it.  What do you have to lose other than your wrong idea.     

Sundown Sunday

Spent is the word for the day.  When I come to the end of a day like this, I find myself very tired.  Spent.  This is when I like to stop and...well just stop.  Really when you stop, it is not possible to stop and do anything else.  So tonight I am just stopping!  I just do not feel like it is needful to do anything else at the moment.  Oh I know I am writing, but I also know it is so very random that it doesn't even require any real thought or effort.  So I am very content in this moment to just be...and to do it without guilt, without ambition, without investment of mind or strength.  I do this for the moment knowing that in a brief time I will rise to my feet and engage once again.  And I will do this with energy and passion.  So for now I am at rest.  Goodbye.

A Starting Place

This is a blogbeginning.  I know that I put those words together.  I do that kind of thing from time to time.  I like to build words.  Anyway, today I am putting fingers to keyboard when I have normally have put pen to paper.  I am thinking today about my cousin Leisa.  I grew up with Leisa.  She was a bit younger than me, always delightful, and a friend through the years. Today, she is having surgery for colon cancer.  That is tough on her and her family.  She is in my prayers.  So this is not a bright smiley beginning.  However, it is reality...you know...the stuff life is made of.  We may not always like it, but it keeps on coming.  One of these days perhaps I will sit down and count the ways that it has hit me head on.  On the other hand maybe not.  I am thinking there may not be much value in that.  Well I think I will go out and face some of that stuff called reality, all the while keeping in mind that mine may not be as tough today as the reality some others may be living.