Monday morning meanderings. Vol.54

Grapeview, Washington

Monday morning and nothing much “exciting” to meander through.  Trucking school is over, the new baby is not here yet and there isn’t a whole lot else new in the picture.  So maybe I will pick on politics or religion or both.

Item one.  Is it too late for a do-over in the political primaries that gave us the Obama/McCain choice?  I suppose it is.  Don’t care for either and I really don’t like the premise that says, “vote for the person who will appoint “conservative” judges.  Some say there is a real choice in this election but the choice to me seems to be between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Barna says “evangelicals” are choosing Obama by a large margin and that is certainly a change.  The race issue, though seldom mentioned is an issue that is real and it is really sad that it is.  Neither of these guys can do much about energy problemsand the resultant economic stuff that falls out of the high cost of energy.  We are so blase in this country about energy that we are happy if the cost of fuel drops a quarter, even though it is up 2 dollars since this time last year.  The almost total lack of anything constructive coming from either side of the political spectrum towards solving the major problems we face as a nation and world would be humorous if it wasn’t so scarey.  Having Nancy Pelosi and Obama running the country doesn’t sound like fun but frankly McCain and Mitt Romney is not a great alternative.  If I had to vote today, I’m not sure I would.  Here are a three different viewpoints that are interesting, sort of.  Here and here and here.  Who are you choosing?

Item two.  Here are a few blogs I read with some interesting posts: Eugene Cho posts an interesting article from CNN with this title “Why many Americans prefer their Sunday’s segregated.”  You can find Eugene’s blog here.  This one here from the Imonk has a pretty good bite.  The title? “The suburban Jesus hates me”.  And this one here from one of my favorite blogs, Stuff Christians like, on a Christian Tattoo contest.  This one from the NY Times is good but few are bothering to listen.  This from a young man who grieves authentically.  Find it here.  And my friend Sumi blogs with such sensitivity on the same subject, here.  And this one on how men feel about getting old, or is it older?  Here.

Item three.  Well, here it is Tuesday and I am just getting back to the meanderings.  Obviously, it wasn’t too pressing.  I have gotten pretty lazy with this blog lately and I know for those of you who sit by your computers waiting for these posts to come through, this has caused you some serious withdrawal issues.  Sure.  We went to see Brad, Summer and Canyon Paulfor the afternoon and evening and that was good fun.  CP is a lot of fun as he is very verbal and full of life.  Summer is really ready to have the new baby and not moving too fast or doing too much.  I think it could be anytime.

Good friend Tyler and wife Christine just had their first, yesterday and what a baby he is.  Joshua weighed in at 10 lbs 6 oz!  That is a big baby.  Congrats to them and to Grandma Barb!

My Dad is coming for a visit, next week and that will be fun.  It has been a long time since he came to see us and he will enjoy seeing the four boys and maybe the new one will show while he is here.  I think Linda’s parents are coming for a day soon too.

Our friends Rand and Kaylee are moving with their boys from Phoenix, AZ to Phoenixville, PA.  Rand will be part of the leadership of a church there.  What a big move for them.  They have so faithfully waited for their Father to open just the right door for them and this is it!  Read Kaylee’s blog here.

Item four.  There is a disease in the full time RV world called “hitch itch”.  It comes when you have been one place for a while and want to move along.  We are starting to get it, not so much because this isn’t a great place and we are really enjoying the kids and Bill and Leslee but when you live in an RV moving along is what you do and besides it is time to get back to the other home in Oklahoma.  Really miss Andy, Julie, Daryle, Carrie, Buddy, Lennie, Debby, Cody, Stacey (and all the kids), Charlie, Lorrisa (all their kids too), Eric, Jenny and the girls, Jack, Sharisa, Harley and the list goes on.  What friends they all are to us.  Don’t really miss Oklahoma, though it is steadily growing on me, but there are no greater (some equally great out here) people than Okies!

That’s enough.  There will be more posts this week, for sure, well maybe…

Friday Funny. Guest jokesters.

Here are a few “jokes” that were sent to me by others.  If they are funny I will take credit for recognizing such quality humor, if they are lame or cute, blame the person who sent them in.

First, one from my father: A faucet, lettuce and a tomato were in a race. The faucet was running, the lettuce was ahead and the tomato was trying to ketchup.

From my friend Paul Zachary: A lady was walking past a pet store when a parrot said,
“Hey, lady! You’re really ugly!” The lady was furious and
continued on her way.

On the way home, she passed by the pet store again and the
parrot once more said “Hey, lady! You’re really ugly!” She
was incredibly upset now, so she went into the store and
said that she would sue the store and kill the bird. The
store manager apologized profusely and promised he would
make sure the parrot didn’t say it again.

The next day, she deliberately passed by the store to test
the parrot. “Hey, lady!” it said.

“Yes?”

“You know.”

My friend Cody Custer gave this to me a few weeks ago before the democrats finished up trashing themselves but it still works:

There are less than eight months until the election,
an election that will decide the next President of the
United States. The person elected will be the
president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or
the Republicans. To show our solidarity as Americans,
let’s all get together and show each other our support
for the candidate of our choice. It’s time that we
all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support the policies and character of John
McCain, please drive with your headlights on during
the day.

If you support Obama or Hillary, please drive with
your headlights off at night.

Here are three some kids told me last night.

Confusius say,”Man who stands on toilet is high on pot.”

Q: What do you call cheese that’s not yours?
A: Nacho cheese!

“Will you love me when I’m old and ugly?”
“Darling, of course I do.”

Don’t like these?  Send me some good ones! Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

 

 

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.47

Sayre, OK

With temps breaking the 100 mark several times last week, we finally broke down and had a second air conditioner installed in our 5th wheel.  They told us when we bought it, we would need it but we said “we live in the NW, it doesn’t get that hot for very long.”  Who knew we would be in the Midwest for several months of the year.  Fortunately we did take their advice and have the trailer wired for a second air conditioner so the install was relatively easy.  It is nice to have and Jake has found the bedroom, where the new unit is, to be his new favorite place.

Item one. The kids are coming, the kids are coming!  By the time you read this, Traci, Brandon, Sloan, Sean and Eyob will be here!!!!  They spent Saturday night in Gallup, NM and will drive the 540 miles to Sayre today (Sunday).  They will be with us for a full week.  We are looking forward to them seeing where we are, meeting the friends who have been so kind to us and seeing why it is we love the Trinity Family.  Their lives are going through a shaking, but they are learning well, what it means to walk in faith.  If you want to check up on their lives and plans you can read Traci’s latest here.

Item two.  What is your price point?  That’s the price gas has to get to before you start to drive less.  Apparently for many, if not most Americans, their price point is $4.00.  Syndicated columnist, Charles Krauthammer has been espousing for years, what he calls a foolproof plan to end our oil habit that makes a lot of sense to me, but apparently the people in charge (politicians) don’t think they could get elected if they put it in place, so the plan, while foolproof is futile.  Read what he says here.

Item three. We can finally start to look carefully at who it is we think can best lead our nation.  Several months ago I called it an Obama/Huckabee and I was half right.  Now it gets serious.  It has been a long time since a presidential election in this country had the kind of importance this one does.  I am really no fan of either man and ask myself why, in this great country we cannot do two things: First, have more than two choices and two, barring that, have two people who are the very best we can put out there, not the two who are willing to cut off a limb to get the job.  Any thoughts on running mates for these two?

Item four.  More from Stuff Christians Like.  In a world where we all must begin, no its past time to begin, it’s time to get after adjusting our financial lives, it is time to stop with the spend anyway we want, charge it to our card and expect God to provide.  That is the gist of this excellent blog on money.  Read it here.  I mean it, go read it here.  Seriously, right…here.

Item five. Heading back to Washington in a couple of weeks has me thinking about fly fishing. I haven’t taken the time to go after the abundant warm water fishing there is out here so I am really anticipating getting some trout on the fly real soon.  Here is a website by a friend of Brad’s that has me thinking about it.  Wilderness Angler in Gig Harbor.  Find it here.

Item six. My brother MIke and my sis-in-law, Vicky are leaving for Africa this week for about a month.  They are headed out on their first mission trip and will spend 10 days or so without running water and flush toilets helping to build something (don’t have the details) in Kenya.  My bro will have his 61st birthday while in Africa and I am really proud of them for doing something “uncomfortable” when they have the means and the opportunity to just be about themselves.  Have a great trip guys!

 

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.44

Sayre, Oklahoma

We are back here in beautiful Western Oklahoma after a week plus in Washington.  While some of the state has had tornados and really high winds we have only had the high winds-sustained 30-35 mph and gusts to 40+. They aren’t really dangerous, so much as annoying. If it wasn’t for the wind, the weather here would be perfect.  Oh well, you can’t have it all! We are thankful for such a beautiful place to be and great friends to be here with.

Item one. First Myanmar and now China.  First the hurricanes and now earthquakes.  Thousands of people gone in a few seconds.  The devastation is beyond my imagination and I am sure the pictures don’t show the half of it.  We all complain about the price of fuel and what it does to the economy, and it does affect us all, but very few of us feel any real pain related to increases in fuel and commodities.  This morning I am thinking about how fortunate I am to live here in America where, even though we aren’t all we should be, we are always the first to respond when someone else’s life is broken.  For those of us who are Kingdom people, that is a prophetic word for how we must be as we respond to the needs of people all around us. Be thankful, be hopeful, be bold, be fruitful, we are such blessed people!

Item two.  You can file this one in the “who cares” folder but does it bother anyone else that the two Democrat candidates for prez have together spent nearly 500 million dollars just to get the nomination?  The figures can be found here.  These numbers are a month old too.  That is just stupid.  You would think with so much money available, we could at least have one candidate that actually seems to have some real ideas, some some real vision or even something substantive to offer.  I really don’t care and I doubt you to either but for this kind of money I sure wish I did. 

Item three. In the last M3 I linked to a blog I like called Stuff Christians like.  I was reading through several of the blogs I read regularly and discovered soon after my posting of this site that there were links on several of these sites to SCL too.  I thought that was pretty cool since they are all young writers and so to think they would link to a site I know doubt turned them on to, makes me feel so special.  Sure, they could have gotten it somewhere else but I am not buying it.  Here is the link to it again.  (you are right it takes very little to make me feel special)

item four.  Our friends Royal, Rachel and young son Jayden are moving out here to the midwest.  Royal has a great new job and opportunity to get an advanced degree on his new company, so they are making the move from the Northwest to Wichita, Kansas.  I should have given some props to Rachel a long time ago, as her blog is a pretty funny read.  But I wanted to make note of the fact that there is a virtual plethora of egress from the NW to the MW.  (need help with any of those words?) Want to join us?  Here is Rachel’s blog.  Royal, Rachel and Jayden will be about 4 hours north of our current location.

Item five. Those of you who like Kamp Krusty might be interested in knowing Brant’s radio talk show is going “coast to coast”.  If you haven’t read his blog, you owe it to yourself to take a few and read a few.  I have linked to him many times before but some of you have resisted to this point.  Why not now, here.

Item six.  The end of AI is close.  Only three potential American Idols left and one will be gone this week, leaving the two who will do the show finale next week.  A month ago I had my top 3 as David C., Syesha and Carley.  Should never have bet against David A. because the country loves him.  Carley went off two weeks ago but 2 out of 3 isn’t bad.  Who do I pick for the big winner?  Like I said, hard to bet against David A.  Should come down to one of the two Davids.

In between item three and four I drove to the OKC airport with my friend Cody Custer to pick up our friend Destry Haught who was flying in from Arizona.  Destry is one of the young pastors we spent time with when we were in Arizona this winter.  He is a self employed man who makes his living “riding” horses (what they call breaking a horse) doing horse dentistry and building fence.  He will do all three while he is here.  He is such a unique man with a powerful testimony of what God can do with a life given over to the walking in the Spirit.  We are looking forward to some good visits with Destry.

Have a great week!

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.41

Sayre, Oklahoma

The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days.  When the wind dies down it is really good weather here.  It was 80 yesterday and more of the same for today.  I guess the wind here is kind of like the rain in the Northwest.  When it doesn’t rain there is no place better than the Pacific Northwest but it rains a lot.  When the wind doesn’t blow here it is really a very nice place, but the wind blows a lot.  There were a few people around the NW that, at least said they liked the rain, but nobody admits to liking the wind, except maybe the people who own power generating wind mills!

Item one. My last word on the primary season has been some time ago, when I posted a piece from another blog, about Senator Obama having peaked. Now as he and Senator Clinton fillet each other day after day, one has to wonder if the only person really gaining from their shooting each other is Senator McCain.  Most of the readers of this blog are probably not going to vote for Mr. Obama, but I would guess that he has turned most of our heads once or twice, with his ability to speak with passion about the things we care about like hope and change. I found this very informative piece by William Kristol that I think you should read, especially if you are still flirting with an Obama presidency.  Many of the readers of this blog live in small town America and here in the Southern Midwest there are thousands of small towns and Senator Obama does not get us.  This article speaks quite clearly about how Obama feels about us who live in these small communities.  Read the article.  You can find it here.

Item two. Pastor Andy has been speaking on the subject of giving for several weeks.  Yesterday he spoke passionately (yes it’s possible) on the subject of tithing.  It is not easy these days, to get up in front of your congregation, many of whom are deeply in debt, and tell them that if they will honor the Father first, in their giving, He will bless them.  The connection between the two (tithing and blessing) is argued both pro and con in the Christian community, but as Andy said, “you can’t talk someone who tithes with joy out of doing it”.  No doubt it is hard to get folks who can’t pay off their credit cards to give 10% away every month, but we can attest to the truth that if you will “try Him in this” (Malachi 3), you will be blessed.  The reality of our world is, that we don’t believe He will bless us back if we tithe, so what we say is that tithing is legalism.  Is it really? George Barna found that while 84% of people in America donated some money to a church, only 5% of church attenders tithe.  Of the group most heavily in debt to credit cards, those under 40, only 1% tithe.  Is there a connection?  Find the Barna stats here.  (if you read the comments to this link you will see how divergent the opinion on tithing is.  Another thing Andy said yesterday was sharp: “Why is it we are willing to pay 21% interest, or more on our credit cards and call the tithe legalism?”

Item three.  Our friend Kaylee has some good pics of the memorial stone for her brother Willie that was dedicated April 13th. (why Linda went to Washington)  You can find them on Kaylee’s blog here.

Item four. We sang the powerful, Beth and Matt Redmond song “Blessed be your name” yesterday in church, and there is this line in it that always catches me off guard, even though I have played it, sung it, listened to it, dozens of times: You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name…  After 13 years since we lost Paul, I still have a hard time choosing to say, blessed be your name and the 2.5 years since the loss of hundreds of relationships from the CLB, I still can’t say it, without making myself do it.  I have really grown to love a blog sister named Sumi, who lost her daughter Jenna a few weeks back, because she is choosing to grieve authentically, remember well and to bless the name of the Lord.  I know many of you are following Sumi’s journey so you can find the link to her latest offering here.  Thank you Sumi for your wonderful, genuine, vulnerable willingness to Bless the Lord on the road marked with suffering…

Item five. Many of you have seen this Mensa test floating around the cyber world.  My friend Jeanee sent it to me last night and I spent an hour or so taking it.  It is not easy, but some of you will blast right through it.  Take it here and let me know how you do.  I got 13 of them the first time through.  I had trouble finding the answers to the ones I couldn’t get, but you can type each phrase into your browser and find them that way.  Have fun!

Enjoy your week and thank you so much for reading the Juniper Tree.

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.38

Sayre, Oklahoma

The longer we are in Sayre, it seems we get busier, but I can’t see it ever being like it was when we were both working high stress and high responsibility jobs.  We have enough to do, the challenges are not as great or as many but there are enough to keep us sharp and provide focus.  We are beginning to think about ways to support ourselves and perhaps even the possibility of buying some property for investment and a place to park when we are here in Western Oklahoma.  Things are good, enjoyable and we feel blessed to have this life.

Item one.  For a lot of years it was my responsibility to write and deliver a message every week.  I would speak at least twice each Sunday morning sometimes 3 times and while I enjoyed it immensely, it was a huge burden for me.  Yesterday, Pastor Andy asked me to speak at Trinity, while he was out of town, and of course, I accepted.  It was really fun and the people were generally responsive and encouraging.  It was the largest group I had spoken to in two and a half years, but it was really not much different than speaking to the smaller groups, I have been lately.  I try my best to do a good job, no matter how many people are involved.  The overwhelming thought when I was finished?  I am glad I don’t have to do that next Sunday!

Item two. The Barna Group has done some new research on the divorce patterns of society including the “born again” group.  For years we have been told that 1 out of 2 “Christian” marriages end in divorce and that the rate for “Christians” is no different than the rest of the culture.  You can check the stats out here, but they do seem to debunk the myth of 1 in 2 “Christian” marriages failing.  For evangelicals the rate is 26% or 1 in 4, while the rest of the culture is at 33%, if I read his report correctly.  If you add the evangelical to the non-evangelical the rate of divorce is equal to the culture as a whole, but it is still less than 1 in 2. While those are still sorry stats, they are better than previously thought and perhaps getting better.

Item three.  My name is Jake.  Linda has created a blog for our grandkids and the children of our friends, that sees life through the eyes of our little Cairn Terrier, Jake.  She has just gotten started on it, but so far it is fun and seems to be interesting to the boys.  You can find the latest post here.

Item four. Yeah! It is baseball season once again. For a lot of years we would attend 8-12 Seattle Mariner games and baseball has always been my favorite of the big venue sports.  Spending our time here in Western Oklahoma means not being able to see my Mariners on TV and I am going to miss watching them regularly.  But, today is Opening Day and guess what?  The M’s open up against the Texas Rangers and so will be on TV here! I am excited.

Item five. Is anyone else bored to tears with the presidential race?  If I hear “yes we can” one more time…!! One of the best blogs I know of, that critiques things political from a perspective that is neither conservative nor liberal, secular or spiritual, but is candid and fresh in analysis, comes from Biola University and John Mark Reynold’s piece on the lost world of Democrat politics is a good read.  You can find it here.

Item six.  Glow sticks, Hip Hop and egg drops. What was your Resurrection Sunday like?  I am seldom more thankful that I am not a lead pastor any longer than I am on the “holy days” of Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day and 4th of July.  It was such a struggle to come up with something fresh to say or do each year and the pressure, real pressure, to top the year before, got old.  But check this post out.  If I had to do this I would rather stick an ice pick in my eye than play this game.  Check it out here. (seriously look at it, it’s amazing).  I am totally fine with churches doing whatever they do. I am just so thankful, I don’t have to do it or try to compete with it.

Item seven. My friend Sumi and her family, continue to grieve the loss of their daughter, Jenna.  I so appreciate Sumi’s honesty and the depth of her commitment to trust the Father during this very, very hard time.  Because we have been through a similar loss several years ago, I am drawn to others whose lives have been rocked in this horrible way.  Take a minute to read Sumi’s heart and then pray for her and her family.  Find her words here.

Have a great week.

Back in Sayre

Sayre, Oklahoma

We arrived back in Western Oklahoma Wednesday afternoon and after some difficulty backing our 5th wheel into our place we settled in to our second or is it third home?  Thanks to all of you who commented or sent emails about my homesickness for Washington.  I know, things change, nothing ever stays the same, you have to move on, you have to know when to fold them and all the other true statements of life but no matter where we roam there will always be a tug on my heart for the place and the people in the place called Mason County, Washington.

One of the things that being in Sayre allows me to do is write.  I have some current responsibilities here and hope to have more, but putting some of my time into writing for the Juniper Tree is part of my calling that is affirmed by those who I serve here.

After more than 260 individual posts to this blog over a 14 month period, finding topics to write about is not the biggest problem, the problem is to keep them readable, interesting and helpful to the 200 or so regular readers of the blog.  I not only value your input I need it to keep my end fresh and worthy of the time you give to it.  The only real disappointment I have related to the Juniper Tree is that there are so many consistent readers but few consistent commentators.  My friend Doug wrote recently “write interesting stuff and you will get comments”.  Doug has never been shy in telling me how things really are!

But comments or not I will forge on because blogging at it’s core is about the blogger.  This is not a commercial enterprise, in fact the blogs that make the blogger an income tend, it seems to me, to become more about what people will read than what the writer wanted to say, this is, however a place for me to write what is on my mind and in my heart and the invitation is there every time I post for you to read what I write.  I am always pleased that what I write gets read, but at the same time if I am going to do this right, it have to do it because value flows back to me when I do.

I will be writing more on the Kingdom as I am convinced it is Everything the person of Biblical faith is to be about.  I want to critique the church and church people.  I have some political things to rant about and I want to bring some thoughts to bare on the culture both Christian and secular, among other things.  There will continue to be Monday Morning Meanderings and my friend Leslee is pushing a Friday Funny.  Will have to see about that one.  Just being in Sayre is always good for a post or two as well. 

Blessings to all of you and thanks for reading and when it is interesting in whatever way, bring your comments to the table.  I might even respond to them and make the journey even more interesting.

Obama over?

Had a long conversation with good friend Kasey the other day about all kinds of things.  It was one of those conversations he and I have periodically that dredge up all kinds of interesting thoughts.  Both of us remarked that we thought Barack Obama would make a great preacher and we both wished he had some kind of platform or ideas or history we could draw on so we had something to like about him other than his great sermons (oops meant speeches). 

This line after Super Tuesday is a classic: We are the change we are waiting for… almost made me stand up and cheer, but what left me in my seat was wondering just what it is this man has ever done to commend him as president.

This morning I was reading another of my favorite blogs The Scriptorium Daily, which you can find here, and came across this essay which speaks well to the thoughts Kasey and I were expressing the other afternoon.  I know I won’t get a lot of hits off this post nor will many of you take the time to read this well thought out essay but it is worth your time.  Especially if the eloquence of Barak Obama is turning your head. Find the essay HERE. 

By the way this blog features the writing of several professors from Biola University where Brad graduated.  (read it anyway Kasey)

Monday morning meanderings. Vol.31

Fort McDowell, Arizona

What a beautiful weekend.  I am almost embarrassed to say how nice it was, considering the NW is having it’s usual fare and closing ski resorts because of too much snow.  Some places have gotten as much as 10 feet in less than a week.  I love to ski and love the snow but learning to really love 75 degrees and clear blue skies.

The meanderings:

Item one. Sedona, Arizona.  Bill and Leslee took us north of Phoenix on Friday to visit the little mountain town of Sedona.  Beautiful red rocks, green juniper trees, cacti all blend together for a beautiful setting.  Sedona describes itself as a spiritual mecca and global power spot (that)has drawn some of the most amazing healers, intuitives, artists and spiritual guides now on the planet. Lots of crystal sellers and other New Age stuff around and they make a big deal about the vortex(s) that you can find in the area.  A vortex, you may wonder, is a place where all these renowned spots of heightened spiritual and metaphysical energy can be found. Should you desire a map of these energetic spots you can find it here.

We went there with a primary plan of visiting a beautiful Catholic church built into one of the red rock facings in the area.  It was the highlight of the trip and well worth the time and the short walk to view it and worship in it.  Take a couple of minutes and look at the pictures here.  Frankly, I think it stands as a symbol of the power of the cross over any other spiritual power purported to be in the area.  Fun day with Bill and Leslee.

Item two.  Since we are not able to be with our children and grand children as much as we would like we have been trying to think of ways to connect, on regular basis with the little boys, especially.  So we came up with the idea of a blog featuring our Cairn Terrier, Jake who will interact with the boys and keep their Poppa and Nanny in their lives a little more.  We have only posted twice but it is going to be fun and will feature Jake’s view of our life, travels and the things we see.  If you want to check it out you can find it here.

Item three. Our “neighbors” here in the park are here from the Chicago area and the east coast somewhere and are very friendly people as many are in places like this.  Something about this lifestyle invites people to interact differently than in neighborhoods where there are garages and fences to block interaction.  Last Tuesday night (Super Tuesday) they invited us over for (I’m serious) a class of wine and to watch the election returns!  The intros went something like this: ”I’m Gary” and “I’m Glen and when I introduced myself with an “I’m Greg, one of the women said “oh how fun, the three “G’s“!  For those of you who know some of my history, you understand the irony of all that.  We must have had fun since they invited us to dinner last night.

Item four.  Tomorrow I am going with some of the guys from Trinity, one of the young pastor’s from here and Todd Pierce to the Pastor’s School at Phoenix First Assembly.  One of our guys, Cody Custer has a relationship with this church and Todd will be doing a demonstration tomorrow breaking a horse.  Not sure what all that will look like but somewhere during the time we will have an opportunity to present out Spiritual Life and Rodeo Mentorship School to this large group of pastors and leaders.  It should be interesting.  We have a new website for the school, as just put up over the weekend, and while it is very sparse and there is more work to do on it, it will be really helpful as we begin to market the school outside western Oklahoma.  I still find it hard to see myself doing the things I am doing.

Item five. I think of myself as a “word guy” because I like words and enjoy writing and speaking them so I found the Nouwen devotional today a good reminder of the power of words: Words, words, words. Our society is full of words: on billboards, on television screens, in newspapers and books. Words whispered, shouted, and sung. Words that move, dance, and change in size and color. Words that say, “Taste me, smell me, eat me, drink me, sleep with me,” but most of all, “buy me.” With so many words around us, we quickly say: “Well, they’re just words.” Thus, words have lost much of their power.  Still, the word has the power to create. When God speaks, God creates. When God says, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), light is. God speaks light. For God, speaking and creating are the same. It is this creative power of the word we need to reclaim. What we say is very important. When we say, “I love you,” and say it from the heart, we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage. When we say, “I hate you,” we can destroy another person. Let’s watch our words.

Thanks for reading my words and enjoy your week, wherever you are.

 

The Kingdom and Super Tuesday.

Fort McDowell, Arizona

Today is Super Tuesday.  No, not the day people in New England replay the Super Bowl and cry, but the day when the largest number of states will hold primary elections simultaneously.  24 states plus American Samoa are scheduled to hold either primaries or caucuses today and award more than 50% of the delegates to the respective parties nominating conventions. 

Apparently there is more interest in this election than any in recent years.  What should we as Kingdom people think about all this clamor over politics and politicians? In Matthew 6:24-34 Jesus taught us about the impossibility of serving  two masters. In His illustration of this impossibility He says we cannot serve both God and money. The illustration would have been just as good if He had said we cannot serve both God and government, because what He is teaching is not so much about any particular issue but about where we find our security.

“Therefore I tell you,” Jesus goes on to say, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” And a few verses later he concludes: …the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

People who do not function with a Kingdom mindset instinctively try to find their security in whatever they think will ensure that their self-interests are met (minimally, food, clothing and shelter).  While Jesus was thinking about pagans or non-believers when he said this, there are so many Christians who do not have a Kingdom way of thinking that they are virtually pagan in their thinking so that most of life is a running after these things in order to find security.  This is why so many religious people join their non-religious neighbors as they serve money and worry incessantly about keeping up and getting more stuff.

The difference between Kingdom minded people and those who run after these things is that Kingdom people are committed to running after only one thing: the rule and reign of God.  An essential part of being truly a Kingdom person is shown in our trust that God will provide for our basic needs and not worry about securing our self-interests.

What does this have to do with Super Tuesday?  Everything.  The reason we have governments today is because the broken human race finds it virtually impossible to trust God.  Like our ancient counterparts we want “kings” to protect our self-interests (I Sam. 8). The person with a non- Kingdom mindset must be concerned with rights, tax advantage, political positions, programs, personality, etc because so much of their self-interest is at stake! But Kingdom people are empowered to trust God to provide for them and so are free from these preoccupations.

I am not saying you should not express your opinion about political stuff if you are so inclined.  Express it by voting or by telling whomever you please how you feel about who, what and how much, but this passage definitely is saying that Kingdom people do not serve, chase after, or worry about these matters. Our total trust is in God, who views all the governments of the world as less than nothing (Isa 40:15-17).

Our King says it is impossible for us to serve two masters. If, as Kingdom people, our allegiance is to the rule and reign of God, it cannot be to anything else, including money and government.

So if you live where there is an opportunity to vote today, by all means go and vote but remember you are not like everyone else.  It really doesn’t matter to a Kingdom person what happens or doesn’t happen because we have a citizenship that trumps all others and our Ruler has taken responsibility for all our needs no matter what else is happening around us.

So keep your focus on the King.