Recently we volunteered to help out with the grandkids during a busy time. We met our son Scott and daugher-in-law Caroline late at night as they returned from a family getaway. Grandtwins Bennett and Clara were sound asleep when we made the transfer to our vehicle. Clara rallied briefly but Bennett never roused in the transfer to his bed at our home. The next morning the kids were having breakfast when a thought crossed Bennett’s mind. “Nana…how did I get here?” We laughed at Bennett’s very legitimate question. He went to sleep in his car and woke up at Nana and Papas. The truth is that is a question that a lot of us ask during certain seasons of life. How did I get here? How did I get in this place in a relationship? How did I get here in my relationship with God? How did I get here with my health or the health of a loved one?
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A song by Joe South reflected my teenage disdain for those in power who seemed to not care a whit about the regular folk. I check the comments of Millenials today and I realize that not much, if anything, has changed since this song was recorded in the turbulent late 60’s. “The Games People Play” was recorded by Joe South and here are the first two stanzas. Oh the games people play now Every night and every day now Never meaning what they say now Never saying what they mean And they wile away the hours In their ivory towers Till they’re covered up with flowers In the back of a black limousine I have to admit that a bit of the anger and power of the protest was diminished with this hard-hitting chorus. La-da da da da da da da La-da da da da da de Talking ’bout you and me And the games people play Hard to gin
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I was following a gravel truck down the highway when I noticed the usual warning. The only problem was that you have to get closer than 200 feet to read the doggone sign! The message was simple. If you are going to follow this truck you have to keep a respectful distance so you won’t get hit with rocks. Following too closely has its risks. I think we do the same thing with Jesus. We follow Him at a respectable distance because it does not always feel safe to follow Him too closely. I can talk about how Jesus is love and Jesus loves me but when I follow too closely I get hit with rocks of truth like this. “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in
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I am sure that at least a few readers of these humble ramblings remember a song by Five Man Electrical Band. The song was called “Signs” and it told about some warning signs that dared to tell us what to do. Sign Sign everywhere a sign Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign I remember the opening part of the song quite well. And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you’ll do So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you woah! What struck me most is that the official Five Man Electrical Band website actually has that last word spelled “woah”.  Hearing that song recently on an oldies station made me think
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The Monday Musing is actually an announcement. I am just putting the finishing touches on Waking Up Slowly: Spiritual Lessons from My Dog, My Kids, Critters, and Other Unexpected Places. This has been an incredibly challenging, convicting and fun book to write. The premise is pretty simple. We are the most connected culture in history but arguably the most disconnected from God and one another because of devices, schedules and misplaced priorities. I asked myself this question as I began the book. What if we are stubbing our toes on the sacred every day and not realizing it? What moments of joy do we inadvertently miss as we stare at our screens? What performance idols destroy our ability to appreciate God’s gifts? I set out to find out how life might look differently if I awoke each morning consciously looking for the easy to miss “postcards from God.” Waking Up Slowly is a completely vulnerable exploration of my journey to
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(Joni shared her story at  Waterbrook Bible Fellowship and she referenced a blog I wrote ten years ago during her cancer journey. I re-read it yesterday and it brought back a lot of memories. I decided to share it as the Monday Musing as an encouragement to those going through valleys. You can make it one step at a time. You can watch her story here) One of my smart aleck remarks that I use periodically is that “I am not burdened by that whole maturity thing.” There are many times when I go about demonstrating that in real life. But the unwelcome intrusion of “life” into my happy little routine has caused me to evaluate a lot of things. God is teaching and revealing a lot of things to me during our cancer journey. 1. I am clearly a work in progress as a follower of Jesus. 2. He has done a lot of work over the years that
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The next couple of months of our political season are going to be brutal. The conversation between the two parties will be less than gracious. You have to be a trained professional to have that kind of grasp of the obvious. I felt like it was worth revisiting an earlier post about our political discourse as followers of Christ. A song by Chris Rice cycled up on the iPod titled “You Don’t Have to Yell”. I tuned in to hear the news I don`t want your point of view if that`s the best that you can do, then something`s missing and experts on whatever side you plug your ears, you scream your lines you claim to have an open mind, but nobody`s listenin` don`t you think we`re smarter than this? How should a follower of Christ engage in the political discourse? Dr. Gregory Boyd has said some controversial things but, in my humble opinion, this is not one of them.
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