Hooray for Cheerleaders!

October 28th, 2011

I don’t think I can live without cheerleaders.  Now before you go making assumptions about me.  I want you to understand I’m not talking about the cute young ladies in the short skirts who wave pompoms.  I am absolutely in favor of them, but they are not the cheerleaders I am talking about.   I’m talking about the encouragers in my life, the people who support me, the people who cheer me on.  As many of you know I’ve been on a diet for a few months now.  I’m not wild about diets…never have been…never will be.  With that said, this diet has helped me lose 48 pounds, only 7 more to go.  Like most diets there are limits and rules.  I’m
not great at self-denial.  I love sweets and fried foods.  Of course those were the first things I had to say good-bye to.  Now understand, I’ve not followed the diet to the letter.  I bend the rules here and there, and a couple times I just broke them….ok smashed them.  When on vacation I ate a caramel pecan roll for breakfast ( I gotta tell
you, I was one happy camper).  And then one day I just had to have a break, and Cindy and I got a pizza for supper.

As much as I wanted to lose the weight and drop a few sizes around the waist, I couldn’t have done it without Cindy.  She is an amazing cheerleader.  She is a constant encourager.  She supports me, lifts me up, and tells me I am doing great.  A couple days ago I put on pants that were 4 inches slimmer than when I started (pants that were stored in the attic), she gave me a great smile and told me how proud she was of me.  I know that without Cindy’sencouragement I’d have been off that diet in days.

In the Bible is the story of a man named Joseph, whose name is changed to Barnabas.  Barnabas means son of encouragement.  Barnabas was the man who brought the newly converted Saul of Tarsus (known later as the Apostle Paul) to the church leaders in Jerusalem.  Barnabas worked with Paul in spreading the gospel in the early stages of Paul’s work.  We know only a little about Barnabas, but even today we see the impact of Barnabas ministry.  His faithfulness and encouragement helped change the church.  He was a cheerleader who helped lead the church through difficult times.  When Paul and a young Christian named John Mark had a disagreement, it was Barnabas who took John Mark under his wing and nurtured and discipled him.  In his later writing, Paul refers to John Mark (II Timothy 4) as one who is helpful in Paul’s
ministry.

Are you a Barnabas?  Are you an encourager?  A cheerleader?  Everyone in your life needs to hear words of encouragement.  Everyone needs to know that someone is in their corner cheering for them.  As we enter into our Thanksgiving Season, I’d like you to look around and see the encouragers you have in your life.  Express your thanks to them in some way.  Also, choose to be an encourager.  Find someone in your life that you can encourage.  Be a Barnabas.  Be a blessing to those around you.  Be a cheerleader…remember pompoms are optional.

Wishing You Abundant Life,

Chad

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Are You Well Insulated?

February 17th, 2011

It’s been cold outside.  Most Southerners don’t do cold very well.  When it gets below 50 degrees the heavy arctic grade parkas get dragged out of the closet.  Wool hats and heavy gloves are everywhere.  When it’s below 50 degrees Southerners believe any liquid on a road could turn to black ice at any moment.  There’s a reason we live in the south.  Once the temperature drops below 50 we think we may not be South enough.  When it gets below 40 degrees, people start asking, “What happened to global warming?”  Below 40 degrees you’ll hear people grumbling that we’ve entered a new ice age.  Below 40 degrees, Southerners start to stock up on essentials like milk, eggs, bread, fatback, and chewing tobacco.  True panic hit if it snows.  Should it ever snow, we are all trapped in our homes.   Southern communities don’t have the proper equipment to clear the roads, why should we?  We live in the South! When there is snow, we go into survival mode.  We try to figure out how to remove the glass panels from the front of our gas fireplaces, so we can cook should the electricity go out.  We begin to look through the kitchen cabinets and figure out how we can survive the next 8 weeks on the food we have in there.  Sure the snow will be gone in a day or two, but you don’t want to be caught unprepared.

It’s been cold outside, but I haven’t really been all that cold.  You see even though we live in the South we have a nice furnace here at the office and at our home.  Our walls are well insulated.  Insulation is important.  It keeps the cold out and the warm in.  Or in the summer, it keeps the cool in and the hot out.  We like to be well insulated.  We don’t want drafts, or cold spots sneaking up on us.  Insulation protects us; it keeps all the stuff we don’t want away from us.

Christians tend to be well insulated. And I don’t mean from winter cold and summer heat.  We tend to create barriers around ourselves.  We insulate (or perhaps I should say, isolate) ourselves, but surrounding ourselves with likeminded people and friends.  We want our church to be a comfortable place, so we make sure it fits us.  We create an environment that fits people just like us.  We create a dress code, by what we wear and what we expect others to wear.  We encourage certain types of music to be sung and played.  Through our habits, histories, and preferences we create barriers that keep people different than us out.  We have insulated ourselves from the world.

One of the most difficult parts of being a follower of Jesus is remembering that we are all called to be evangelists.  We are all to reach out to those outside the church…those who do not know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells us that we are to be reaching out, welcoming the stranger, ministering to the least of these, and engaged in the problems of the world.  God calls us to break down the barriers we have tried so hard to put up.  We are called to open the doors and windows of our hearts and souls so we can let the love of God flow through us.

So, open up!  Put out the “Welcome” mat.  Reach out to the stranger, the immigrant, the outsider.  And remember, when you feel that draft …it might just be the Holy Spirit calling you to extend the love of Jesus to someone around you.

Chad

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Are You Contagious?

January 4th, 2011

Some of you are contagious.  I know, I’ve caught what you’ve shared, and I’m rather embarrassed.  I really didn’t want it.  Maybe you’ve seen me.  I’ll look out on the congregation, and before you know it, my mouth is open wide enough it might be confused for an entrance to underground parking.  I put my hand over my mouth and ……I yawn.  Yes…yawns are contagious.  And it’s getting pretty serious.  After all it looks bad enough if I’m yawning during worship, but during my own sermons!?!?  It’s a pitiful thing.  It was just the other day during worship, the hymns were bright; the choir was singing with their usual enthusiasm, the prayers were heartfelt and meaningful, and as I felt God’s presences among us, I looked out and saw someone yawn.  The next thing I know, I’m yawning too.  Thankfully, it was during a hymn.  I can bury my face in the hymnal and most people won’t notice my yawn.  It’s not that I’m tired or bored….it’s that yawns are contagious.  In fact just writing about yawns has caused me to yawn about three times per sentence.  Now I know after writing this, there will be some trouble makers who will have a competition to see who can make me yawn during a sermon.  All I can say is, “Stop that!”

Being aware of how contagious yawns are, I began to wonder if we are living in such a way that our faith is contagious.  There is an old saying that tells us, “Faith is caught, not taught.”  I can teach you all about Jesus and the Bible, but find that you only have information, not faith.  A person can attend church and Sunday School their whole lives, and never have the faith to choose Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We can teach about Jesus, but we find that a life lived for Jesus is much more compelling.  Those who face hardship trusting in God’s strength and love, have a powerful impact on others around them.  When our lives demonstrate our trust and hope in the Lord’s faithfulness, those around us are moved.  Being a person of faith – who lives that faith in word and deed – is a powerful witness to the world.  It makes us contagious.  Others “catch” what we have.  So the question is: Are you contagious?  Are you living a life of contagious faith?

This new year, let us choose to live so that others may see God at work in our hearts and lives.

Chad

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Jedi Dog Walking

November 23rd, 2010

I carry a light saber when I walk the dog.  I know, it’s a pretty amazing way to start a blog.  Everyone reading this is thinking, “How cool, I wanna be that guy!”  And it’s true.  It is pretty cool.  I know how cool it is, because cars slow down when they drive by me.  You can hear the people in the car gasp with awe.  Of course outside of the car the sounds get a bit distorted, so gasps of awe may sound a bit like laughter.  And of course words like “hero” and “awesome” are muffled enough that you might accidentally mistake them for “moron” and “loser.”  Don’t worry, I know they truth.  Everyone is wishing. if only for a moment, they could be me.  But I don’t carry the light saber just to be cool.  When we abandoned day light savings time a few weeks ago, it started to get dark about 5:30.  I usually take the dog for a walk after supper.  So it’s dark outside and I need something to keep me visible for the traffic in the neighborhood.  So…I carry a light saber.  Oh sure, I could wear a reflective vest, or a beanie with a flashing yellow light on top, but I’m way too sophisticated for those things.  That’s why I carry a light saber, that universal weapon of the Jedi knights with the glowing blade.  OK, my light saber is actually some funky flashlight with a collection of narrowing plastic tubes that extend to make a “blade.”  And it’s not really my light saber, it’s my son’s.  We bought it for him when he was five or six.  Luckily for me, the hyper-drive nuclear powered C cell batteries still work.  So the dog and I safely walk the streets of Fuquay by the glow of a light saber.

Some people may not approve of me carrying such a dangerous weapon on the streets of our quiet little town, but you never know when you may get ambushed by a squadron of Storm Troopers or attacked by a rabid Rancor.  I know that there are people in their homes securely watching reruns of Captain Kangaroo with the assurance that I am patrolling the streets, keeping them safe from inter-galactic trouble makers.  But don’t get me wrong, I’m not bearing glowing arms to look for trouble.  As I said, the sword is there so I’ll be seen.  It draws attention to me so I won’t be run over.  So far my Jedi mind powers have proven fairly ineffective on cars, trucks, and chocolate cupcakes.

Do people notice you?  Not when you are walking the dog, but living your life?  In the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  In a world where everyone wants to fit in, Jesus says we should stick out.  Our lives should show the love of God and the light of the gospel.  As the old saying goes, we should not only talk the talk, but walk the walk.  Each day, our love for God should shine like a light saber in the darkness.  It is not always easy shining our light, because some people prefer darkness.  They don’t want our light sabers of love slicing through their darkness and exposing hearts of selfishness and sin.

I’d like to encourage you to find a way to shine your light.  Smile at someone having a tough day.  Speak words of encouragement to the people you work with.  Speak a blessing to the person on the other side of the cash register.  Take a moment to do something nice, something extra for another person.  Let your light shine.  And may the force of God’s love and grace be with you.

Chad

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Leaf Me Alone

November 17th, 2010

Well, the leaves are falling by the bushel full.  Every time I turn around it seems I have to dig out my car.  I just can’t figure out how a few trees can bury my entire yard 3 feet deep in leaves.  It’s time to do what everyone else does this time of year…procrastinate.  I mean…rake.  It doesn’t make sense, but I need to get out there and rake the yard.  I say it doesn’t make sense because even though neighborhood children are disappearing in the wind blown piles of leaves that have accumulated in the yard, somehow there are still millions (perhaps billions) of leaves still on the trees.  Shouldn’t we wait until they all come down and take care of them all at once?  I mean why try to rake when 10 minutes later it hardly looks like you did anything to the yard?  It is when I am struggling with this philosophical dilemma that someone mentions something about neighbors thinking unkind thoughts about “my leaves” in “their yards”.  While no one ever says it, I wonder about voodoo dolls and other black magic sent in my general direction.  It’s the only explanation I can come up with for why every time I pick up a rake I get this terrible urge to take a nap.

     Last year I took a major step in the leaf disposal problem.  I bought a yard “blower/vac”.  Yes, this incredible machine will suck up leaves, chop them up into little bits, and put them in a bag for recycling.   The only problem with my new yard machine is that it takes its own sweet time doing its job.  Let’s face it.  If you have to tunnel your way to the front door, how is something that munches up 3 leaves a minute going to help?  I am not a patient person.  I want things like leaf raking done in a hurry.  So far the town hasn’t been willing to loaning me their leaf sucking truck, which is probably good since our dog would probably fit up the sucker pipe.  And I haven’t convinced Cindy we need a full sized tractor with special leaf removal attachments for our less than a 1/3 acre lot.  So I just have to be patient and rake like everyone else.  Be patient….humfph!  That’s not so easy.  I’m like a lot of people,  I like living in our instant world.  High speed internet, microwave popcorn, fast food – .they all make life so much easier.  Hurry, hurry, hurry…so I can sit in my chair and practice twiddling my thumbs.

     The prophet Isaiah says, but those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Like I said, I’m not patient.  I don’t like waiting.  Yet it is waiting that God says I need to do.  Be still, and know that I am God!  God doesn’t work according to my time schedule.  He doesn’t answer prayers according to my convenience. Galatians 4 says,  But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  It wasn’t according to our time or convenience that Christ came into the world.  It was according to God’s timing.  Christmas is a celebration that, in the fullness of God’s time, God gave His very best for us.

     The leaves fall according to their timing, and God works according to His.  I’ll keep fidgeting and fussing about the yard.  But I know that Jesus came into the world not to answer my impatience, but to be my Savior from sin.  And when I face the crowds at the stores…I’ll try to remember to “wait upon the Lord”.

 Wishing you a blessed Christmas,

Chad and Cindy

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Trash Night

October 18th, 2010

It’s trash night.  You know, that night before the day the trash collection truck comes.  At our house the truck comes early in the morning, so I need to remember to put the trash out before I go to bed.  After all, I don’t want to be one of those people who run outside in their pajamas dragging the trash can behind them, trying to get the can to the curb before the truck passes by.  OK, I don’t want to be that person again.  I can’t help it if the neighbors don’t have an appreciation for Marvin the Martian pajamas.  It’s trash night, and that means someone has got to go around and collect all the trash that’s in the waste baskets, so that I can take the trash to the can and then drag the can to the curb.  I don’t know about you, but in my house trash night is kind of like playing chicken in your car.  When you play chicken two people drive their cars head on at one another.  The person who is chicken is the person who veers off for fear of crashing.  Of course you have to wonder about the person who won’t veer off.  They may not be chicken…but they appear to be pretty foolish.  Anyway, on trash night…we try to ignore the fact that it’s trash night.  Every Monday night we ignore the obvious and leave our foot on the accelerator refusing to yield.  We head straight for self destruction…waiting for the other person to blink.  If no one blinks, the trash isn’t collected, and it sits there for another week, until the next trash night, when we play the game all over again.

After 28 years of marriage, we still haven’t designated whose responsibility the trash is.  Well, Cindy may have designated someone (me), but I’m still holding out for further negotiations.   After all, I have a number of responsibilities here at the house!  ….I…ummm….well….I…help with the…no…not that….not that either….hmm….  OK! I help put away the groceries.  Sometimes I even put my clean clothes in the drawer.   Don’t tell me I don’t help out around the house!

It’s trash night and Cindy’s just gone off to bed.  Uh oh!  That’s not fair.  She didn’t chicken out, she completely changed the rules.  It’s all up to me.  Will I chicken out?  Or will I stay strong to my principles.  I can’t cave in to the pressure.   I am strong.  I am determined.  Ugh, I looking at the trash can next to me and it really needs to be emptied.  I feel my resolve fading quickly.  My determination has been undermined.  I hear the trash bags calling my name.  Which makes me wonder, why did they choose the name “Glad” for the trash bag brand?  Did they really think they would fool us?  Suddenly by pulling out that plastic bag, my outlook on life will change, and I’ll be giddy with excitement because I get to take the trash out?

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “11Command and teach these things. 12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”  Paul was telling Timothy that he needed to do the work Timothy was called to do.  As you read that passage, you get a sense of urgency.  There is no place for slacking, no room for laziness.  Paul lets Timothy know that time is short and there is much to be done. Sometimes I forget that God intends for his people to be busy.  He wants them to be doing the work he has for them.  Whether it is praying, studying, sharing themselves with friends and neighbors, or leading others in a closer walk with God.  We are never too young or too old to be useful to God and His kingdom.  Paul’s call urges us to get out of our recliners and back into the game.  We are to serve God and His people.  So we need to be about kingdom business.  And if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ve got to go take out the trash.

Chad

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His Son

October 5th, 2010

 

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, mostly because I’ve been conflicted over things going on in my own life. As many of you know, my son has been deployed to Afghanistan. Like so many other parents I’m proud as can be of him for wanting to serve his country. But, I also struggle with the idea of my “boy” going off to war. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe we need to have national security. I believe there is a place for the military in world affairs. But this is my son. My heart has ached with all the reports of loss of life overseas. I pray for peace. I pray for understanding and reasonable hearts to put an end to all wars. I’ve always thought like so many others, that if rulers want to start wars….let’s put them in a ring, and let’s them bash each other senseless. Why do our young men and women need to get mixed up in the greed and politics of people they don’t know? But…that’s not the way the world works. It’s not the way it has ever worked…at least that I know of. No, we send our young to fight and die. As a parent of a soldier, I know my son’s job is to make our world safer….by making his more dangerous (at least for a time). He is serving and we are blessed.

I’ve thought about the words to John 3:16 for a while now. Particularly the idea of “sending His son”. I know that God’s love is so incredible that He chose to give us the gift of His Son. But, as a dad, I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry. There are lots of folks I like. Some of you I like a lot. But if it were up to me to choose between my son and you. You’d draw the short straw. I love my son too much to think of giving him up.

Maybe that’s why John 3:16 has hit me so hard. God sent His Son. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t coincidence. It’s wasn’t happen-chance. God sent His Son….willingly, voluntarily, intentionally. He gave His Son to be a sacrifice. This shakes me to my very core. How could God do such a thing? How could He give so much? How? I don’t know. But I am in awe that God loves you and me that much. I’m thankful that God is not as selfish as I am. Somehow His love is bigger and greater than I could imagine. I don’t think I’ll ever think of the cross in the same way. Amazing grace….truly is amazing.

Praying for Peace.

Chad

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Grilling

September 20th, 2010

There is something about cooking on the grill that connects to a fellow’s heart.  Now I’m not saying women cannot cook on the grill, or that they may not even grill better than the average man.  But, whether it’s a campfire, a charcoal grill, a gas grill, or one of those high-end solar powered, laser models with self lighting features and temperature control; there is just something about “meat over fire” that speaks to the heart of a guy.  Maybe it is cooking while standing out in our backyard, amidst the flowering garden and well groomed lawn that makes us feel like we are camping or roughing it somehow.  Maybe it’s in the few minutes we spend outside near the grill with our favorite beverage, sitting in the lawn chair that we break away from the rat race and we claim we are the emperor supreme of all we survey; the master and commander who determines whether that chicken breast is cooked thoroughly or not.  With these extra long tongs in hand, the caveman returns.  We aren’t the accountant making veggie and shrimp shish kabob, or a minister warming up hot dogs.  No, at the grill we are Ogg, the mighty hunter, cooking some prime cuts of wooly mammoth.  We are the provider of the real food for the family.  Sure the wife is making the potatoes and salad and vegetables and drink.  And she was the one who bought the meat at the store….which was handed to us in a hermetically sealed package.  There is something about the grill that will not let us lose heart.   Even when we get handed the tongs and the meat, and our wife says, “OK, here ya go.  Now go and play, but try not to burn it this time.”  The inner caveman…the inner Viking…the inner mountain man wells up and calls out in a brutish tone, “Me cook meat over fire!”  It is of course always appropriate to follow this declaration with a howl at the moon.  How long has it been since you’ve had a good howl?

I think the grill has the same mystical power over us as power tools.  And not just power tools, it is electronics also.  There is something about men that urges us to want the bigger, better, more powerful.  We want the TV with a 72 inch screen, hi-def, 3-D, LCD with 500,000 kilajerks contrast, and 20,000 megamertz refreshing.  And even though I don’t know what any of it means, I know I need those things.  We want a reciprocating saw that will be able to cut our car in half in 3 minutes or less.  Not that I will ever do that, and can’t foresee a reason to want to cut anything that quickly. But…I know I want….no…I need it!  We want a computer that has the most memory and the fastest processor possible…ok, we really want what’s not even possible yet…..but put my name on the list for it!   Now, my wife will tell you all this compulsion of mine is from testosterone poisoning.  That being a male makes me crazy.  I don’t know… maybe she’s right…I just want to know why my BBQ tongs are aluminum, and Fred’s are stainless steel?!?!

The Friday morning men’s Bible study is going through the book of Matthew.  This coming Friday we will talk about Chapter 3, where we meet John the Baptist.  I love Matthew’s description of John.  Now here is a guy I can relate to!  John is a guy I want to invite over to join me to grill and howl at the moon.  John seems to be a testosterone pumped prophet of the Lord.  He wanders through the wilderness, calling on people to repent.  There’s no, “Come let’s play nice together.”  Nope, John is out there.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”   John’s wild man survivalist nature is shown in his wardrobe and diet as well.  4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.  And when the religious leaders came around, did John mellow and welcome them?  Nope.  He was in their face.  You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  Yeah, that’s telling them, John!

Now the scary part of having John over for supper would be that he would see right through me.  He’d call me to repent, and remind me that my life is a mess.  He’d tell me that when it comes to repenting I should be at the front of the line.  He’d remind me that following Jesus isn’t about Sundays, or religious talk, or church meetings.  No, following Jesus is about changing your life.  Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire, to cleanse, purge, and change.  I know any attempts I made to justify myself, or any claim of righteousness I might make because I was a minister would get me compared to a pile of copperheads and cottonmouths.  No, John doesn’t mess around….he gets right to the point.  I think I’ll try to straighten myself up a bit.  See if I can’t go a bit deeper in my studies, and be a little more earnest in my prayers.  If John comes over for dinner, there are just two things I want to know.  How he wants his steak cooked, and whether he’ll howl at the moon with me.

Chad

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Smoke Detector

September 13th, 2010

I’ve always thought of myself as being reasonably intelligent.  All right!  I heard those snickers!  Stop that!  I am a college graduate (Go Gauchos!)  I graduated from Seminary, by the grace of God and Dr. Story.  I think I can hold a rational conversation…at least with myself.  I know what waxing and waning moons mean.  But today, I’m afraid I nearly suffered a terrible defeat to an evil foe.

I came into the office this morning and heard the oh so irritating beep of a smoke detector with a low battery.  After playing a game of “Bet You Can’t Find Me” with the beeping nuisance, I climbed on a chair in the kitchen and took down the smoke detector.  I pulled the batteries and declared myself the supreme master of problems.  I wandered back to my office to finish some emails.  Then it happened….Beeeeep!  What was that?!?!?!  It can’t be.  I had pulled the batteries out of that little monster.  Well, maybe it had one last dying beep in it.  I sat down to start writing again.  A couple minutes later…Beeeeep!  NO WAY!  I marched into the kitchen vowing that I would not be defeated by this little piece of demonic electronic.  Perhaps I was wrong….could there be another detector in here?  There’s nothing on the ceiling.  Nothing in the storage closet.  Nothing here….nothing there.   Beeeeep!  How could it be?  How could this battery-less, soulless, mindless, little ummm “thing” defeat me?  I grabbed the smoke detector and tried to decide whether to stick it in the oven or the refrigerator.  I may not be able to get it to shut up, but I can put it where I can’t hear it!  And that’s when it happened.  Beeeeep!   What’s that?  I had it in my hand, but the sound came from over there.  How could that be possible?  There’s nothing over there.   I looked.  I looked again.  And again!  Nothing!  I became aware that this evil little machine could not only live without batteries….it was also a ventriloquist and could throw its voice.  How diabolical!  I began considering phoning Father Mark at the Catholic Church to see if he would mind if I dipped this foul monstrosity into some holy water for an hour or so. 

Then it occurred to me.  There is a sheet hanging on the wall.  Well, we like to pretend it’s a curtain, but it really is just an old sheet.  I cautiously stepped closer to the curtain.  I didn’t want to scare my quarry.  I raised the bottom hem and there it was.   An old carbon monoxide detector plugged into the wall.  It had a battery back up, and the batteries were dying.  I unplugged the small box and reached into the back of it.  I pulled out the little 9 volt battery and listened with satisfaction to a final gasping Beeee *cough* *cough*  ehhhh (sound fades into silence)  I stifled the maniacal laugh that wanted to explode from me.  Yes, my tormentor was dead, but Stella was in the office and I didn’t want her thinking I was some kind of weird crazy person.  Ok, I didn’t want her thinking it more than she already does.  My victory was sweet.  The rest of the morning was quiet.  I sat at my desk and pretended to know what I was doing all the way until lunch.

There are times in our lives where we just can’t seem to find what we are looking for.  Our lives are full of distractions, and we want to find focus.  Our lives are full of fears, and we want to find peace.  Our lives are full of disappointments, and we want to find hope.  Just like the beeping detector, every time we think we have a handle on our problems….beep…a new problem arises.  How can we keep going? In Matthew 11, Jesus says  28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Jesus is not telling us that He will make everything fine and dandy.  But He tells us, if we will come to Jesus and carry the burden of being a Christian.  We will find that somehow our other burdens will seem lighter.  Perhaps it’s because we know we have eternal life, or forgiveness for our sins or perhaps it’s just knowing we are loved.  Whatever it is, don’t let the ugly beeping problems drive you crazy.  Let the love and grace of Jesus help you find rest for your soul.

Chad

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Choices Choices

September 8th, 2010

Pulling weeds the other day was a mess.   I’m not one of those people who weed and garden every week.  No, I’m more of a semiannual or annual person.  I like to give the weeds a fighting chance.  But…it was getting harder to find the sidewalk because of the overgrowth, and we were afraid search and rescue might be called because a small child wandered into what we call our “flower garden”.   So on a beautiful Saturday morning, I went out and did battle with the forces of darkness.  Giving the weeds 5 or 6 months to grow means they have a chance to get some decent roots.  Pulling them out means digging in the dirt, and getting to spend some quality time with its many offspring/shoots.  All you gardeners are out there shaking your head sadly.  You want to tell me that if I will pull weeds regularly, then they will just be little shoots that will come up quickly and easily.  By waiting as long as I do, I end up with Audrey II, the plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Perhaps you’re right. All I know is that committing an hour every Saturday morning to gardening, I risk giving up on watching all the amazing infomercials. How can I give up shows for things like the Autoflosser, which can floss your teeth and be used to get that grime out from between your toes (no additional attachments required), and the Remote Finder, a small electronic alarm which causes your TV or other remote to give off a 140dB alarm if it is not used for more than ten minutes?  Saturday morning TV also offers 28 different shows on how to become a millionaire through internet sales of 8 track tape collections. (Yes, one day this collection of ’70s garage bands from Sri Lanka will be worth more than the $55,000 I paid for it.)

So it comes down to the problem of choices.  Do I weed the garden, or enrich my understanding of all the worlds greatest inventions (available for only 23 easy monthly payments of $29.95 plus shipping, handling, and processing charges)?  It’s not an easy choice.  The infomercial tells me to call within the next ten minutes and I’ll get the free bonus gifts of a magic garlic grater and 10 acres on Pluto, for only the cost of additional postage, handling and processing.  I know that 10 acres on Pluto isn’t what it used to be since Pluto is no longer a planet, but it’s still a great deal!  So, if I’m weeding the garden, how will I know when the 10 minutes start?  And what about Sassy Lassy the new make up for dogs.  Our dog has more of a winter fur tone, and so far they’ve only offered make up for the Spring and Fall colored dogs.  There is so much to do, so much to worry about, so much that demands my attention.

King David, author of the Psalms, was in the midst of a great deal of conflict and trouble when God spoke to him.  God reminded him that He is the Lord, and in control of all things. Psalm 46 says, “ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble… “Be still, and know that I am God;””  We live in a world of choices, and sometimes our choices can be overwhelming.  Do I do this or that?  Do I go here or there?  Along with all of our choices, there are so many different pressures to have us do one thing or another.  I can’t tell you to choose gardening over TV.  I can’t tell you whether to choose crinkle-cut fries or julienne-fries.  All I know is that when things seem to be too big, too troublesome, too hard.  I have a God is able to do far more than I need.  His grace extends farther than my sin.  His love reaches farther than my failures.  His peace covers father than my fears. His strength blankets my weaknesses.  I have a God who offers me His presence, but to first I have to quit my striving and sit still.  I have to give up trying to be in command. God wants to be my fortress…I just have to quit running away.  I have to let God be my God.  Well, the weeding is done for the rest of the year, but I’m not heading back to the infomercials.  I’m going to set a spell, and let the presence and power of God wash over me.  As for the paint-sprayer/pizza-oven/ and auto-vac in one?  Sorry, I’ll have to wait until you make it to the dollar store.

Chad

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