A time for Thanks
Quite often, for our folks at the Chapel I give them David's (that's me) Top ten. Not wanting you to be left out . . here is a David's top ten things to be thankful for.
I am thankful …
10. That peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches are always a safe stand-by when Uncle Dave's trying to cook the turkey in the microwave.
9. That Thanksgiving is the one time you can eat for 8 hours straight, feel like ya gotta be rolled away from the table, but you keep right on eating.
8. For getting two days of school off—even though your teachers gave you so much homework, you'll never get it done by New Year's.
7. For that one food dish you never quite know what it is.
6. For finally graduating from the "kids' table" to the "adults' table." (I graduated a few years ago.)
5. That there's always a football game to snooze through, despite the fact you're sharing a love seat with five of your relatives.
4. For hearing Grandpa pray.
3. That black olives, a.k.a. finger puppets, can add entertainment to any meal.
2. For washing your dishes—and those of 14 other relatives.
And the number 1 reason to be thankful on Thanksgiving …
1. That God loves us so much, he gave us a family to love, a turkey to eat, and a Son to save our souls.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
Yesterday, I had a chance to join my son and a friend of his up to Timberline (a ski resort on Mt. Hood just east of our home). It had been almost two years since I had a chance to ski, let a lone join my son. It was a great day. Traveling up the lift, I remembered a story I read some time ago about Jean-Claude Killy.
When he made the French national ski team in the early 1960s, he was prepared to work harder than anyone else to be the best. At the crack of dawn he would run up the slopes with his skis on, an unbelievably grueling activity. In the evening he would lift weights, run sprints—anything to get an edge. But the other team members were working as hard and long as he was. He realized instinctively that simply training harder would never be enough.
Killy then began challenging the basic theories of racing technique. Each week he would try something different to see if he could find a better, faster way down the mountain. His experiments resulted in a new style that was almost exactly opposite the accepted technique of the time. It involved skiing with his legs apart (not together) for better balance and sitting back (not forward) on the skis when he came to a turn. He also used ski poles in an unorthodox way—to propel himself as he skied. The explosive new style helped cut Killy’s racing times dramatically. In 1966 and 1967 he captured virtually every major skiing trophy. The next year he won three gold medals in the Winter Olympics, a record in ski racing that has never been topped.
Killy learned an important secret shared by many creative people: innovations don’t require genius, just a willingness to question the way things have always been done.
Have an awesome day
When he made the French national ski team in the early 1960s, he was prepared to work harder than anyone else to be the best. At the crack of dawn he would run up the slopes with his skis on, an unbelievably grueling activity. In the evening he would lift weights, run sprints—anything to get an edge. But the other team members were working as hard and long as he was. He realized instinctively that simply training harder would never be enough.
Killy then began challenging the basic theories of racing technique. Each week he would try something different to see if he could find a better, faster way down the mountain. His experiments resulted in a new style that was almost exactly opposite the accepted technique of the time. It involved skiing with his legs apart (not together) for better balance and sitting back (not forward) on the skis when he came to a turn. He also used ski poles in an unorthodox way—to propel himself as he skied. The explosive new style helped cut Killy’s racing times dramatically. In 1966 and 1967 he captured virtually every major skiing trophy. The next year he won three gold medals in the Winter Olympics, a record in ski racing that has never been topped.
Killy learned an important secret shared by many creative people: innovations don’t require genius, just a willingness to question the way things have always been done.
Have an awesome day
Monday, November 14, 2005
I shared with our church the other day about losing focus . . .which is to easy to do! I came across some good thoughts by Jeannie Cole and I pass them on to you
A couple of months ago my husband mentioned that his eyes probably needed to be reevaluated for new glasses and contacts. He was having trouble focusing on the books he needed to study, newspaper, signs in the distance, etc. Obviously some changes were occurring within the focusing mechanisms of both his eyes - one more so than the other. He made a few more references to the need, and late in September he called me at home to have me put it on the family calendar that he had an appointment October 15 to get his eyes checked. Great.
In the meantime, he was getting crankier and crankier. Initially I had chalked it up to the fact that Angelique had left home for college and empty nest syndrome. But it really lasted too long for that. Eventually I made the connection that it was his struggle with the eyes focusing that was the underlying cause for his crankiness. It was a great strain for him to study, perform necessary tasks for his patients, read the newspaper, sing from song books in church, etc. (He never complained about working on the computer.) The strain was taking its toll. To interrupt him while he was straining to focus was taking a chance that you would get emotionally bitten. The crankiness even bled over to when he was not having to strain to focus. I began counting the days until that appointment on October 15. Sure enough, since his contacts and glasses have been changed, he is his usual self again. We no longer have to walk around on pins and needles when he is around.
Losing focus can be a scarey thing. It is frightening to face a world that is blurred. Edges that were once as clear as black and white, become multiple shades of gray. The edge is lost. Uncertainties abound. Self doubt sets in. Judgement is impaired. What once seemed sure and solid now is only as solid as quicksand. Meaning and understanding is lost. When reminded that a decision has to be made, the unfocused become agitated as they strive to make sense out of the senseless. And as they are straining to focus on what is in front of them, what is approaching from the blind side?
Leaders can lose focus as well as individuals. Issues become blurred. Things that earlier had a straight, well-defined edge now need to be considered and debated. Heated arguments become the norm. In trying to make sense out of a mess in front of him, the leader loses sight of the main issue. It happened to Solomon. Leading his people and the kingdom in their dedication to God got lost, as he tried to focus on wisdom and wealth that he did so well. The edges of his dedication to God became blurred as he tried to do the politically correct things with the neighboring countries, marrying foreign princesses and honoring their religions. As Solomon had more and more eyes for the women in his life, he had less and less eyes for God.
The price of that loss of sight was the United Kingdom. The unity of the kingdom of Judah had always been shaky. The tribes grumbled and complained about each other 400 years earlier in their wanderings in the wilderness. Moses struggled to keep them focused on the Lord. Joshua faced the same problem as they took possession of the Promised Land. He managed to divide up the land among the tribes even while they were complaining about each other. During the next 300 years of judges no one even attempted to keep the tribes united. The tribes usually fended for themselves. King Saul and King David kept the tribes united with their military might. The building program that Solomon initiated greatly benefitted the tribe of Judah, where the temple and palace were located, at the expense of the other tribes.
Rehoboam makes the fatal mistake of trying to follow in his dad's footsteps and taxes the people more than they can withstand. The ten northern tribes will not give any more to the glory of Jerusalem and this new king from the tribe of Judah. King David has been dead for forty years and the new generation of tribal leaders saw no reason to pay homage and money to the South. Just put the blinders on and don't look at the fact that God chose Jerusalem and the lineage of David to lead his people and ultimately bless the whole world. They want to focus on their own needs to their own glory, and Jeroboam is happy to lead them. Unfortunately, he will lead them straight into apostasy, all the while claiming to clearly see what they need - their own place and manner to worship, their own priests, their own gods.
Satan is happy. In his eyes, he has won a major battle. He has managed to avert the leaders' attention away from God. With the nation divided, the two smaller nations are now vulnerable to the surrounding nations. From now on, both nations will harass each other and be harassed by others. The subsequent leaders will struggle to keep their kingdoms intact. The leadership of the northern kingdom of Israel will never try to focus on the God who led them out of Egyptian slavery and gave them their promised land. Of no use to Him now, in about 200 years God will eventually allow these people to be carried off into Assyrian slavery. As a nation, they will not recover.
A handful of kings from the southern kingdom of Judah will manage to shift the country's focus back to God from time to time. A remnant of this tribe will always remain faithful to God even when they become captives in the foreign land of Babylonia. God will preserve the Abraham/Davidic lineage that He has promised will bless the world with a new King and Kingdom for all time. This remnant will return and rebuild the nation and the worship of Jehovah God.
Where are the heros in this story? Not Rehoboam. God granted him leadership of Judah for David's sake, not his own. Not Jeroboam. Northern Israel chose a leader that would antagonize the new king and the exiled leader Jeroboam was just the man for that job.
The heros in this story are the obscure. While the writers of the books of Kings and the books of Chronicles focus on the two kings and the kingdoms, it is easy to overlook those Israelites from northern Israel who left their precious inherited land, their job, and their income to move to the southern kingdom of Judah. While their neighbors are trying to function in an out-of-focus kingdom, they journey to where they can keep their focus. Where right and wrong are still black and white. They flee from the evil of Satan, not to a paradise, but to imperfect Judah where they could keep their lives in focus on God and His will. In the coming lessons we will learn of some other heros - the faithful who at this time remain in the North attempting to influence the leaders of that rebellious nation. The prophets Elijah and Elisha will shine like beacons to us and to the weary while the leaders and their neighbors will see them as out of focus in the real world.
A clear focus is a blessing. We appreciate all of our senses, but it is likely that the last sense you would wish to lose would be your sight. We rely heavily on the information that we receive from our eyes. There is much to fear in what we cannot see. Distortions can be just as devastating. Would you want to ride in a car with a driver to whom the edge of the road or the center line is distorted?
When putting other things before God, the cares of the world can distort a Christian's vision just as it did Solomon's and Rehoboam's. And refusing to look to God can blind a person to God's blessings, as it did Jeroboam who did what was right in his own eyes. And just like the gods that he was worshiping, he had eyes, but he sees not (Psalm 135:16). He became spiritually blind.
Does one always know when one is spiritually blind or cranky because they are straining to keep focused? Jesus told the Revelator, "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see." (Revelation 3:17-18.)
We must take care of our eyesight. In Matthew 6:22 and 23, Jesus says,"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness."
How do we keep the eye sound, full of light and maintaining the right focus?
"To thee I lift up my eyes." Psalm 123:1. Look to God and His word for His guidance. Be ever alert to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life that tend to distort the focus and change the focus. We are even instructed to pluck out the eye if it leads us astray (Matthew 18:9). We are to identify and avoid destructive distractions and destructive instructions. The only way to know if instructions are destructive is to look to God and His word.
Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight." Solomon said we must acknowledge God in all our ways, turning every area of life over to Him. Jesus emphasized this truth in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, His character for your pattern. Turn your eyes to Him and focus on His omnipotence, His love, mercy, and grace and His word for guidance. It is the only way we can truly follow Him on the straight path.
A couple of months ago my husband mentioned that his eyes probably needed to be reevaluated for new glasses and contacts. He was having trouble focusing on the books he needed to study, newspaper, signs in the distance, etc. Obviously some changes were occurring within the focusing mechanisms of both his eyes - one more so than the other. He made a few more references to the need, and late in September he called me at home to have me put it on the family calendar that he had an appointment October 15 to get his eyes checked. Great.
In the meantime, he was getting crankier and crankier. Initially I had chalked it up to the fact that Angelique had left home for college and empty nest syndrome. But it really lasted too long for that. Eventually I made the connection that it was his struggle with the eyes focusing that was the underlying cause for his crankiness. It was a great strain for him to study, perform necessary tasks for his patients, read the newspaper, sing from song books in church, etc. (He never complained about working on the computer.) The strain was taking its toll. To interrupt him while he was straining to focus was taking a chance that you would get emotionally bitten. The crankiness even bled over to when he was not having to strain to focus. I began counting the days until that appointment on October 15. Sure enough, since his contacts and glasses have been changed, he is his usual self again. We no longer have to walk around on pins and needles when he is around.
Losing focus can be a scarey thing. It is frightening to face a world that is blurred. Edges that were once as clear as black and white, become multiple shades of gray. The edge is lost. Uncertainties abound. Self doubt sets in. Judgement is impaired. What once seemed sure and solid now is only as solid as quicksand. Meaning and understanding is lost. When reminded that a decision has to be made, the unfocused become agitated as they strive to make sense out of the senseless. And as they are straining to focus on what is in front of them, what is approaching from the blind side?
Leaders can lose focus as well as individuals. Issues become blurred. Things that earlier had a straight, well-defined edge now need to be considered and debated. Heated arguments become the norm. In trying to make sense out of a mess in front of him, the leader loses sight of the main issue. It happened to Solomon. Leading his people and the kingdom in their dedication to God got lost, as he tried to focus on wisdom and wealth that he did so well. The edges of his dedication to God became blurred as he tried to do the politically correct things with the neighboring countries, marrying foreign princesses and honoring their religions. As Solomon had more and more eyes for the women in his life, he had less and less eyes for God.
The price of that loss of sight was the United Kingdom. The unity of the kingdom of Judah had always been shaky. The tribes grumbled and complained about each other 400 years earlier in their wanderings in the wilderness. Moses struggled to keep them focused on the Lord. Joshua faced the same problem as they took possession of the Promised Land. He managed to divide up the land among the tribes even while they were complaining about each other. During the next 300 years of judges no one even attempted to keep the tribes united. The tribes usually fended for themselves. King Saul and King David kept the tribes united with their military might. The building program that Solomon initiated greatly benefitted the tribe of Judah, where the temple and palace were located, at the expense of the other tribes.
Rehoboam makes the fatal mistake of trying to follow in his dad's footsteps and taxes the people more than they can withstand. The ten northern tribes will not give any more to the glory of Jerusalem and this new king from the tribe of Judah. King David has been dead for forty years and the new generation of tribal leaders saw no reason to pay homage and money to the South. Just put the blinders on and don't look at the fact that God chose Jerusalem and the lineage of David to lead his people and ultimately bless the whole world. They want to focus on their own needs to their own glory, and Jeroboam is happy to lead them. Unfortunately, he will lead them straight into apostasy, all the while claiming to clearly see what they need - their own place and manner to worship, their own priests, their own gods.
Satan is happy. In his eyes, he has won a major battle. He has managed to avert the leaders' attention away from God. With the nation divided, the two smaller nations are now vulnerable to the surrounding nations. From now on, both nations will harass each other and be harassed by others. The subsequent leaders will struggle to keep their kingdoms intact. The leadership of the northern kingdom of Israel will never try to focus on the God who led them out of Egyptian slavery and gave them their promised land. Of no use to Him now, in about 200 years God will eventually allow these people to be carried off into Assyrian slavery. As a nation, they will not recover.
A handful of kings from the southern kingdom of Judah will manage to shift the country's focus back to God from time to time. A remnant of this tribe will always remain faithful to God even when they become captives in the foreign land of Babylonia. God will preserve the Abraham/Davidic lineage that He has promised will bless the world with a new King and Kingdom for all time. This remnant will return and rebuild the nation and the worship of Jehovah God.
Where are the heros in this story? Not Rehoboam. God granted him leadership of Judah for David's sake, not his own. Not Jeroboam. Northern Israel chose a leader that would antagonize the new king and the exiled leader Jeroboam was just the man for that job.
The heros in this story are the obscure. While the writers of the books of Kings and the books of Chronicles focus on the two kings and the kingdoms, it is easy to overlook those Israelites from northern Israel who left their precious inherited land, their job, and their income to move to the southern kingdom of Judah. While their neighbors are trying to function in an out-of-focus kingdom, they journey to where they can keep their focus. Where right and wrong are still black and white. They flee from the evil of Satan, not to a paradise, but to imperfect Judah where they could keep their lives in focus on God and His will. In the coming lessons we will learn of some other heros - the faithful who at this time remain in the North attempting to influence the leaders of that rebellious nation. The prophets Elijah and Elisha will shine like beacons to us and to the weary while the leaders and their neighbors will see them as out of focus in the real world.
A clear focus is a blessing. We appreciate all of our senses, but it is likely that the last sense you would wish to lose would be your sight. We rely heavily on the information that we receive from our eyes. There is much to fear in what we cannot see. Distortions can be just as devastating. Would you want to ride in a car with a driver to whom the edge of the road or the center line is distorted?
When putting other things before God, the cares of the world can distort a Christian's vision just as it did Solomon's and Rehoboam's. And refusing to look to God can blind a person to God's blessings, as it did Jeroboam who did what was right in his own eyes. And just like the gods that he was worshiping, he had eyes, but he sees not (Psalm 135:16). He became spiritually blind.
Does one always know when one is spiritually blind or cranky because they are straining to keep focused? Jesus told the Revelator, "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see." (Revelation 3:17-18.)
We must take care of our eyesight. In Matthew 6:22 and 23, Jesus says,"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness."
How do we keep the eye sound, full of light and maintaining the right focus?
"To thee I lift up my eyes." Psalm 123:1. Look to God and His word for His guidance. Be ever alert to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life that tend to distort the focus and change the focus. We are even instructed to pluck out the eye if it leads us astray (Matthew 18:9). We are to identify and avoid destructive distractions and destructive instructions. The only way to know if instructions are destructive is to look to God and His word.
Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight." Solomon said we must acknowledge God in all our ways, turning every area of life over to Him. Jesus emphasized this truth in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." Turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, His character for your pattern. Turn your eyes to Him and focus on His omnipotence, His love, mercy, and grace and His word for guidance. It is the only way we can truly follow Him on the straight path.
Monday, November 07, 2005
We are in the fouth week of a series of messages that is grouped under the title "Losing my religion and finding something better. Its a look a the seven deadly sins as comprised by the catholic church and amplified by the scriptures. A phrase that has been repeated (intentionally or unintentionally) through out the messages is "A hole in the Soul" That is the human condition that we find ourselves in. A hole that many of us fill with everything but the one true reality. That being Jesus Christ and His fullness.
In a recent trip throught the maze we call the internet, I came across an article written by Greg Laurie, a pastor from Sothern California. I was drawn to the man famous people that was talking about this hole . . .Listen to what they said.
Actor Nicolas Cage echoed those ideas: "I wonder if there's a hole in the soul of my generation. We've inherited the American dream, but where do we take it? It's not just about cars and wealth. It has to do with freedom. We'll fight for freedom, but are we free in our thoughts, or are we paralyzed by our dreams of consumption?"
Aristotle Onassis "Happiness is not based on money, and the greatest proof of that is my family." Shortly after making that statement, Christina Onassis died of heart failure reportedly as a result of years of abusing tranquilizers and diet pills.
Madonna was asked the question "Are you a happy person?" She replied, "I'm a tormented person. I have a lot of demons I'm wrestling with. But I want to be happy. I have moments of happiness. I'm working toward knowing myself, and I'm assuming that will bring me happiness."
Jonathan David, of the rock band KORN, was on MTV holding and kissing a bottle of PROZAC and was quoted as saying, "This is my best friend. I don't know true happiness. I'm not a happy person. I play like it. I act like it a lot. But inside, actually I'm really not that happy."
Ted Turner described life as being "like a B-grade movie. You don't want to leave in the middle, but you don't want to see it again." That's a sad commentary on life from one of the world's most successful men.
"A Hole in My Life," a song by the Police, might be the anthem of our times. A one-time leading Hollywood actress told USA Today: "It sounds so trendy, California . . . but I believe a lot of us feel a kind of hole in our heart, an unfocused ache that's fixed by some people eating too much, . . . others with freebase. In my case, I'm a romantic junkie."
Emptiness and loneliness are not unique to this generation. Nor were they unique to my generation . . . or the generation before . . . or the generation before that. Nor will they be unique to the next generation and the one following. Every generation has complained of feeling empty because every person is born with an essential emptiness inside, a deep longing for spiritual meaning, an inner vacuum that can only be filled by one thing.
Jesus Christ . . .the real filler of the emptiness ins side.
In a recent trip throught the maze we call the internet, I came across an article written by Greg Laurie, a pastor from Sothern California. I was drawn to the man famous people that was talking about this hole . . .Listen to what they said.
Actor Nicolas Cage echoed those ideas: "I wonder if there's a hole in the soul of my generation. We've inherited the American dream, but where do we take it? It's not just about cars and wealth. It has to do with freedom. We'll fight for freedom, but are we free in our thoughts, or are we paralyzed by our dreams of consumption?"
Aristotle Onassis "Happiness is not based on money, and the greatest proof of that is my family." Shortly after making that statement, Christina Onassis died of heart failure reportedly as a result of years of abusing tranquilizers and diet pills.
Madonna was asked the question "Are you a happy person?" She replied, "I'm a tormented person. I have a lot of demons I'm wrestling with. But I want to be happy. I have moments of happiness. I'm working toward knowing myself, and I'm assuming that will bring me happiness."
Jonathan David, of the rock band KORN, was on MTV holding and kissing a bottle of PROZAC and was quoted as saying, "This is my best friend. I don't know true happiness. I'm not a happy person. I play like it. I act like it a lot. But inside, actually I'm really not that happy."
Ted Turner described life as being "like a B-grade movie. You don't want to leave in the middle, but you don't want to see it again." That's a sad commentary on life from one of the world's most successful men.
"A Hole in My Life," a song by the Police, might be the anthem of our times. A one-time leading Hollywood actress told USA Today: "It sounds so trendy, California . . . but I believe a lot of us feel a kind of hole in our heart, an unfocused ache that's fixed by some people eating too much, . . . others with freebase. In my case, I'm a romantic junkie."
Emptiness and loneliness are not unique to this generation. Nor were they unique to my generation . . . or the generation before . . . or the generation before that. Nor will they be unique to the next generation and the one following. Every generation has complained of feeling empty because every person is born with an essential emptiness inside, a deep longing for spiritual meaning, an inner vacuum that can only be filled by one thing.
Jesus Christ . . .the real filler of the emptiness ins side.
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