tentmaking

The marketplace can be a really fun place to be. Consider the myriad of weird viewpoints that people carry with them. There are daily opportunities to speak Truth into the culture.

I envision the apostle/tentmaker Paul sitting/standing/working in the warehouse cutting and sewing canvas, listening to the weird viewpoints of the people around him and out of a sincere heart of concern, with a great sense of understanding, humor, and love of the Truth, setting things right in his world.

I know from the past that, over time, the frustration of seeing co-workers not respond to Truth could get discouraging, but I also recall that when problems arose, I was usually the one they wanted to talk to.

Keep a sharp sword; there's alot of wacky stuff out there! Speak the Truth.

success and failure

In my fallen mind (which I use too often, even when I don't want to) there is a nagging desire for a form of success. It is a worldly, inferior success based in fulfilling a longing for being right. But even when I know I'm right about something, its not always the right thing to make sure everyone else knows how right I am. Sometimes being quiet is success.

Rightness (or righteousness) can be a source of failure if the rightness comes from my own standard and not from God's. I have lots of standards. Lots of them are opinions. Lots of them are not God's standards even though I think they are. I parade them around and declare them as if they were God's ideas and that is failure.

Here are some successful rules for avoiding failure. Mind your own business; this works especially well in marriages. Speak into other people's business when God tells you to; this is rare (also good advice for husbands, wives, and parents of teenagers and young adults). Walk in love. Before pointing out people's faults, let love cover their many sins. (Often confused as "the discerning of spirits", finding fault with someone is one of the easiest thing a person can do. Much like pooping, it makes one feel better, lighter perhaps, but there is nothing God-like about it. Truly.)

Finally..."Never quit. Never, never, never quit." (Nev-ahhhh...)

Justice is comfort

I started reading in the book of Isaiah today. It has always been a favorite, along with John, Hebrews, Ephesians, and Psalms. I am reading from the Message, (I know, I know...).

It is such a book of hope. Even the prophetic judgments have a certain hope about them in the overall picture. Hope brings comfort. God's justice is comfort. Jesus said that the Father always judges rightly. He never makes an error in judgment. Never. See what I mean?

At the moment I am not anxious to stand in that place. But if I had to, I know whatever would be determined would be both true and just. Stay close.

Possess your souls

Ever feel really impatient for Jesus to come back? I am today. I really want to pull back the veil and see what's out there. We can be grateful for the little glimpses we get all the time; but don't you want to see the full picture? Sometimes when I am in worship or prayer I know I am seeing aspects of Him. But its never a full picture.

I know that before He returns and we do get to see Him, there will be pressure and persecution and trial. Its part of the process. It seems He is so close to returning, but then I think, so much more must happen. Some times I just want to step into that place beyond the veil. "In your patience, possess your souls." Yes but, "even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus."

To stay or to go...that is the question.

For the love of garlic

Garlic is so awesome. You would think that perhaps too much of a good thing would be a bad thing. But with garlic this is never true. Take, for example, a dish called "Roasted Chicken with 40 Cloves" in which you stuff the cavity of a roasting chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. I am not even kidding. After you take the garlic out of the chicken you spread it on bread. Its like buttah.

Take, for example, Loretta's Penne Pasta with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Tomato Sauce which I am about to eat right now. You can probably smell it where you are sitting. If you came to our house you could smell it about a block away. Again, not even kidding. Ciao!

Such a buzz

Well, the missionaries are back and we were all together again yesterday for worship and the Word. Even though we all didn't get the opportunity to go to India, there is such a buzz in the air that we instantly realize that we are connected to what has happened over there. We are being built up on the inside just by hearing the stories and being near them.

Their faces radiate and there is a real tangible sense of the presence of God coming off of them.

What an awesome thing to be a part of. "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them who bring good news."

Welcome home to all!

nothing

I think I need to learn how to put pictures on my blog. I mean, Tami has pictures, Loretta has pictures, Jeff has pictures, Bianca has pictures...Lex has moving pictures...(that's dinosaur talk for "YouTube" 'n such).

The big issue is, I don't take pictures so they would just be ones that I download from Office of families and children none of us know. But it would be better than whining all the time. Oops! Sorry, I'm whining about whining.

Hey, a guy from Portugal commented on my blog. His name looked familiar and so did his face, a little, but I don't think I know him. Can he do that? (I wonder if this is one of those "spin-off" bloggers that is coming in through the back door of Tami's blog. You know, that thing about, "now everybody in the whole world will be able to see your spot..." It happened right after I read the email, too. Hmmmmmmmmm.)

Anyway, here is a cool picture of nothing in particular. Oh, I forgot, I don't know how to put pictures on here, but I'll get the hang of it. Dinosaurs, unlike old dogs, can learn new tricks.

resisting extinction

Pastor's message this morning was really good. In part of it he was talking about change. Change is good when we can face it with the right perspective. Sometimes the reaction to change is fear. I have actually been facing the idea of some things chaning in my life and admitedly my reaction was not good at first. I used to be a person who loved change and even recently described myself in that way by saying, "I like moving into 'what's new and what's the latest'". Then the real prospect of change came my way. I found myself getting fearful. I thought, does my reaction mean I am getting old? I am turning into a dinosaur?

Here's the good news I received into my spirit today: "no matter what you are facing, if you've gotten this far by faith, God is not going to drop you now."

Bring it...

It's as simple as 1,2,3.

During prayer on Tuesday morning I wanted to pray out Ephesians 2:10. So I did. As it was coming out, I was getting all this understanding that God has a specific work for Church in the Word to do. He knew about the work from before time. He knew the people that would be in this Body right now and He has a particular thing for each one to do during this era of their lives.

Each one of us has been created in Christ Jesus for good works. God knows what each of our specific works are. The works are already in His mind; on His drafting table. We can see the plans if we want to. We have access to them; easy access. The plans come complete with directions that are simple to understand. If we take up the work, the specific work that is laid out on His desk with our name on it, He'll do it with us. Wow. Simple. The flesh and the devil lie about it and make it all so confusing. But its really simple. Access the plans in the presence of the Holy Spirit, look at the plans with the eyes of the Holy Spirit, do the plans in the power of the Holy Spirit.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.

Ask the Experts

We are working on our basement. It has been in process for several long months; including thinking about the layout and saving the money for the work.
I really enjoy this kind of thing. It is fun to sketch out the floor plan and look at some finishing ideas, like what kind of doors we are going to use, what color stain, and what will the floor finish be. We have been doing the same thing with the yard; which is not a priority but in the next several years will take the shape of what we are sketching right now.

I used to hate waiting for things like this and would often rush ahead on impulse and buy and do and fudge on the details and not take advice and usually do a lot of crying in the end about the so-so job and the mountain of bad choices and debt. I learned the hard way that debt and fudging are always regrettable. I have even learned to take advice. Even though it often creates an interruption to the momentum.
("Can't we just hurry and get it done? Like, now? Like, my way?"). In the end, stepping back and listening to the experts and redrawing the plans and reconfiguring the room to make it more useful is actually very rewarding on many levels. (OK, OK. Form really does follow function!!!)

The Kingdom process is like this; mostly a long, slow, deliberate build-out. There is a plan. There is a price. There are experts to consult. The job will get done. Its going to be beautiful!

"Its happening..."

God told Loretta and me early in our marriage that we would be like parents to more than just our own kids. At the time I was excited about the thought and had a "yes" in my spirit. Then the proverbial rubber hit the road. I started thinking wrong and "talking trash" to myself.

Since a couple of weeks ago when the Holy Spirit showed me that I had accepted the thought that "I don't want to be a father anymore" some things have really changed.

I'm posting this because its about God's ways and faithfulness. It was His idea to begin; all I did was respond.

Anyway, I confessed to God that I was tired of fathering and I just wanted to be left alone. Basically God said, "Oh, well..." And that's when I got this new level of understanding about the crosses in our lives. I knew the solution was to take those thoughts and attitudes and put them, with myself, on the cross. I realized, that very day, that the crosses we are called to "take up" are simple acts of obedience to the will of God.

A cross to bear is not a child or person who troubles me or a circumstance that I don't want to be in. The cross is where I put my bothered and inconvenienced flesh. Its not my job to identify the people and circumstances that bug me and change them. Its my calling to crucify the flesh that gets bothered.

So since that day, when I responded correctly, (thank you, Holy Spirit, for the grace to respond correctly), something has changed. There is a new ability to deal with my family and an excitement about seeing people in our house. It seems like our house is becoming one of those places where kids want to hang out. I always wanted that, until people came over; then I'd get all grumpy about the work and mess. Now I don't care; I mean, I don't care as much as I used to (change is a process, right?).

When Timothy came over yesterday to pick up the boys he noticed all the shoes by the front door and told me later, "When I saw all the shoes I thought to myself, 'Its happening.'"

Where do you go?

Do you have a favorite place to go to get quiet and where you get recharged? There are places that, even when I think of them, refresh my soul.

I drove down by the Fox River the other day and in just the few seconds it took to wind down the path along the water, I found myself getting quiet inside. Its odd, because the music I was listening to was really loud; like rock and/or roll. But I decided right then, this could become a favorite place. Some of my other favorite places are Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Winchester, Virginia; the stretch of road on Massachusetts Avenue between Wisconsin Avenue and Decatur Place, in NW Washington, D.C.; and a tiny Methodist Campground village in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania called Mt. Gretna. Some of these places are refreshing for nostalgic reasons and some are just flat-out, drop-your-jaw awesome.I was going to make a profound spiritual connection with all of this, but I think I'll quit here and let the reader carry on. Where do you go?

entitlements

Today we were talking about entitlements. I think of it as the world-view mindset that says "you owe it to me".

Here is a way of thinking that seems like it would satisfy the longings of our soul but, in fact, is a never ending cycle of dissatisfaction.

Imagine never having to work for anything and always being given what you want while living a life of luxury and play. Someone provides your spa and your gourmet dinner and drives you to your croquet game in a black limo and holds your mallet so you have a free hand to carry your refreshments around the lawn. Or more realistically, someone pays your electric bill and your doctor bill and buys your groceries and never requires your participation or expects you to contribute in any way. Imagine thinking like this and truly believing this is proof of love.

I wish this were an exaggeration but it's not. This is a pervasive mindset in our modern culture. Its not often spoken of in such blatant examples, but a current generation, young and old, think like this. It isn't too many more steps until we give our all to a "Big Brother" as long as he will keep us in the stuff.

But this comment today is not about Big Brother or the anti-Christ. Rather, the deepest longing of the soul that searches for satisfaction in things that cannot satisfy. In conversations like this, even the mere suggestion that entitlement thinking is a spiritual problem is received with offense and contempt. This should come as no surprise, since any time the Word of God presses against the carnal mind there is "war".

Entitlement existence and thinking is really a disconnect from the Life of God since the mindset is opposed to His ways. Entitlement says, "me first, why not?; you owe it to me." Jesus said and says, "Give, expecting nothing in return." But there are returns, because He is generous.

In an attempt to sense the Real Love and acceptance of God an entire culture has blindly turned to the lame nurture of government, media, employers, self-seeking friends, and dysfunctional family. Even the best attempts of these finite institutions fail in the end.

Nobody owes nobody nothin'. But God gives us all things freely. And that's the simple point. The gaping canyon of need for love and fulfilment will never be filled with the stuff of this life; no matter how many programs you throw in or how much money is dumped or how many empty "I love you"s are echoed. The need stops with a surrendered heart. Longing fulfilled.

Reflecting God by Creating

Hi! This is a fun way to pass the time. Its cool to read what your friends and people in your world are thinking. I decided not to do a profile. I figure that the things that are included in this space are my profile.

This is my first entry. I found some stuff I like and so I'm going to blog about it.

Aaron Copland is one of my favorite American composers. (See video clips below.) I have been listening to his music since forever and again this summer. Though I don't know what he thinks about his creativity as it relates to his Creator, I believe that a person who can compose such complicated, moving, and beautiful scores is reflecting the reality of God's presence in the earth. I know there is debate over where this music comes from but I'm not even talking about that right now. I just think this is one of those instances where the reality of the God-head can be clearly seen (heard), being manifested in the things He created.

Beauty has its origins in Heaven. Complex creativity is part of God's nature; feigned beauty, masquerading angels, self-glorifying human composition all have their original untainted source in the Life of God. Before there was feigned beauty, there was Beauty Himself; before angels masqueraded, they were true worshipers of the One. And before humans felt the need for self-glorification, they knew that by creating they were reflecting their Maker. "Be like Us", said God, "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and have dominion..." Reflecting God. Creating.