I got a very kind and challenging response to the recent article about Living the Abundant Marriage. This is the note that arrived on my guestbook page. I loved your article “Living the Abundant Marriage”. -and I cried because as a couple we could relate to this so much. My husband read it and he liked it but his response was: How? Communication in this area seems blocked for us though we have tried hard to communicate, it appears. What would the answer be… First of all I have to tell you I related to the husband’s monosyllabic response. How? That’s a typical guy response. Let’s cut to the chase here blog boy. Nice words but how does that work? My second response was one of bemused amazement. Me giving marital advice feels a little bit like a mule explaining to a thoroughbred how to win the Kentucky Derby. So I have to be honest and tell you I have
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Youngest son Brett suggested that I read The Last Lecture. The book came from the notoriety gained when Professor Randy Pausch literally delivered his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon because he knew he was soon going to die. The lecture became one of the most viewed items on the internet. I finished the book on July 25th and then found this item in the next day’s news. Randy Pausch, a prominent computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University who became an instant sensation far beyond the classroom last year when he delivered his inspiring “Last Lecture,” knowing he had only months to live, died July 25 at his home in Chesapeake, Va. He was 47. That was a little weird. The book and the lecture on YouTube is inspirational and thought provoking. Pausch’s response to a terrible disease was remarkable. Here is just one little tidbit from the book and lecture. “We can’t change the cards we’re dealt, just how we play the hand. If
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July 31st is Mutt’s Day. I am a big fan of the phony baloney holiday. For example, your humble rambler has done the work of researching a special holiday for every day of the first week of August. August 1st –  Your choice. Homemade Pie Day or Respect for Parent’s Day. August 2nd – National Ice Cream Sandwich Day August 3rd – I know I should choose International Forgiveness Day but it is far easier to go with National Waffle Day. August 4th – National Mustard Day August 5th – I rejected Work Like a Dog Day because I am currently looking at my dog Hannah laying on her back with every leg going in a different direction. If the holiday was live like my dog lives I would celebrate that instead. So I offer National Failures Day as a way to help you feel better about yourself. August 6th – Big day. You can choose Friendship Day. If you want to put a real damper on Friendship Day you
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If you missed the last edition of the humble ramblings allow me to bring you up to date. One of Job’s buddies gave us a seminar on how not to treat a friend going through a difficult season. Today we have another lesson. Our first guest is Zophar from Naamath. And, waiting backstage to confront his friends is the star of the book, Job himself.  Let’s welcome Zophar from Naamath: Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we’ll say nothing? (Pretty sure Job was thinking that ain’t likely to happen).  That we’ll let you rail and mock and not step in? You claim, “My doctrine is sound and my conduct impeccable.’  How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind, tell you what’s what! I wish he’d show you how wisdom looks from the inside,  for true wisdom is mostly “inside.’  But you can be sure of this,  you haven’t gotten half of what you deserve. (Job 11:3-6, MsgB)  Application: Can you imagine
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For the most part I have learned to roll with the responses to my blogs and books. But I have to admit that some responses bug me. Recently I wrote an article on the Five Stages of Church Woundedness. The post was in response to correspondences with a pastor friend but the gist of the article was intensely personal. I dialed up Crosswalk and read this response from a reader. I’m a bit skeptical about the premise for this article. The pastor was so hurt? What happened? Perhaps this pastor overreacted emotionally. Was the criticism warranted? All criticism isn’t just mean. . .maybe his behavior had something to do with his “being hurt”. Why does he sound as though he lacks maturity? Grace is his answer. . .what’s the alternative to preaching grace anyway? Legalists haven’t hurt this pastor too?   What happened? That would be none of your business. Maybe you would be convinced if I told you the whole story
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(No time to write today. Please enjoy a low mileage previously posted article) Dear friends Nelson and Suzie deserted us to go live in the Texas Hill Country. We tried to lure them back with Biblical admonitions.  “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.”  Deuteronomy 2:3 But they have ignored our wisdom and have settled in the rolling hills between Austin and San Antonio. One of our friend’s challenges of country living was making sure that their dog Pepper would not wander away. Pepper is about 10 pounds of pure attitude.  He needed to be safely restrained from animals that were not intimidated by blustering small packages. So Nelson installed an underground fence to keep Pepper at bay. For those who don’t know about this innovation, underground fencing is a wired perimeter with a radio antenna. When the dog approaches the wired boundary it sends out a signal that activates a battery in the dog’s collar. The battery causes a shock similar to static electricity, and the dog backs
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I get a fair amount of email. Some of it is a blessing and quite encouraging. Some not so much in either category. But the ones that break my heart are the e-mails from wounded and deeply discouraged people who have been devastated by life, the church and especially other churchgoers. I try to be encouraging. I try to offer perspective. But I wish I could do more. I wish I could help those battered and limping follower travelers find the abundant life that I wrote about recently.   An email from a pastor has been weighing heavily on my heart and mind. He was deeply discouraged and ready to give up his ministry. I suggested that he read the book TrueFaced because the practical theology drawn from Romans helped me recover from my own church wounds. I had hoped that the book would resonate with him as much as it did with me. Recently he responded.   I did read the
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