“Watcha been preachin?” is a good question…

I’ve been thinking about that conversation with the young man on his second visit.

In retrospect, my answer really was a pretty good answer.  Not because I’m so quick, but because that it was actually rather accurate, and for that I am encouraged.

I’ve been teaching through 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, and three times ago was a message about not losing heart – because we teach about Jesus, not ourselves.  The next time was about our relationships to our “earthly tents” – our human bodies and how Jesus as the new creation – the ultimate extension of the Spirit in physical form – demonstrates the value of our physical bodies and establishes the certainty of our future resurrection and the full redemption of our own bodies.  And, the last time was about the certainty of future judgment – and how through Jesus alone we escape condemnation on that day.

So, they were not at all the same message, but they were, in the end, all about Jesus.  It would be good to keep it that way.

We all said “yes!”

Last weekend, a fine young man asked my 23 year old daughter to marry him.  She was delighted – it’s hard to believe that any thing could have brought this couple more joy.  We were delighted too!

It reminded me of the same kind of freedom and joy my wife and I experienced 29 years ago, when she said “yes”.  There is great happiness in saying “yes” forever to the one whom we love with all of our hearts, to our best friend.

Great, then, is the picture when Jesus calls us his “bride”.

To live for Jesus is to love for Jesus

Mutually inclusive.  Both difficult.  Both treasure.

SUMMERS – What I’ve learned

“Let’s get organized” resolutions at the start of Summer vacation are even less enduring than the ones we made at New Year’s.

Clever programs collapse under their own weight, fade in a few days, and are gone by the next week.

The youngest buy in the longest.

Real change only flows from changed values – a changed heart.

Avoid alliterations at all costs.

The words, “family meeting”, produce an explosion of supposedly very funny stories about me.

Coping vs. Living

My wife and I had the privilege – given to us by our wonderful children – to get away for 48 hours from – well – our wonderful children.  It was long enough to miss them again.  And, we got away from the rest of life a bit too.

We we’re both surprised by how much our daily life had been reduced from living to coping.  And, it felt like we weren’t necessarily doing a great of a job of that.

It makes sense we we’re feeling wiped out.  Most of our friends our age are already empty nesting – or close to it.  We’re, um, not.

We have 7 children.  Our oldest daughter got married last year and we love our son-in-law.  Our next daughter is planning on following her example soon – (here’s hoping) – that’s two weddings in 12 months.  Our 21 year son is in college – about to transfer to a bigger one, and our 18 year old daughter graduates from High School this year.  Our fifth child will be 15 next week, a 9^th grader.  And, nearly 5 years ago we adopted two little boys – they’re 6 and 8 now – not so little anymore.  Our family is demographically and ethnically diverse, to say the least.  Except for the one who’s married, we still all share the same drive way.  Well, she still knows where it is.

We have 3 jobs.  I have two vocations – I’m a Pastor at a small, revitalized and growing church, and, I’m a computer programmer.  Between the two I “work” around 65 hours a week – but I’d put in a lot of that church time even if I weren’t a pastor.  It’s my wife who does most of the work around here, though.  Every meal has at least 6 of us here, and often 11 – not to mention opportunities to entertain folks from church.  We have a kanban system in the laundry room – but I’m the only one around here who knows that is what it is called.  She’s a logistical genius and keeps herself beautiful too.

But, we’re refreshed and living again.  “Thank you”, guys, for making that possible.

We love each other a ton – our life – and especially our children.  We wouldn’t change a thing and we’re grateful to God for the abundance of life he is giving us.

It’s a blast – it’s always a party!  And, we’re already scheduling the next get away…

90 and flyin

My Mom was born 90 years ago today.  Born again 12 years afer that.  Got her new body 5 years ago.  She’s having a blast.

Another teachable moment lost in translation

My youngest boys and I were riding in the car the other day and they asked whether we would ever move from our house.  I told them that it wasn’t likely, but that sometimes people do have to move.  Sometimes they have to move to get a job, or because something else happens.  For example, our house could burn down and we would have to move somewhere else until it was rebuilt.

I knew I probably shouldn’t go down the “natural disaster” path – I didn’t want to frighten them – but I’m also always one to look for teachable moments.

The 7 year old lamented that “Captain Miller” (his teddy bear) would get burned up.  I assured him that if that ever happened, we would be “ok”.  “God will take care of us.”, I assured them, “If anything bad like that ever happened, God would still be there to take care of us.”

“After all,” I continued, “even if we die we’ll be Ok – we’ll be with Jesus.  If we believe in him, of course.  You guys believe in Jesus, don’t you?”

“I said that decide before.”, my 5 year old immediately answered, somewhat to my surprise, since I’ve never heard him mention anything like that before.  Cars are noisy, so I asked for clarification.

“I said that decide before!”, he answered again.

“When?”, I asked.

“The other day.”, he answered, mildly irritated now.

“What do you mean ‘ I said that DECIDE before’?”, I asked.

More frustrated now, so he raised his voice and clearly and slowly said, “I SAID, ‘I SAW SANTA AT THE STORE!’”

Sigh.

Funeral Falsetto

I spoke at a funeral this week.  I didn’t know the family very well, but somewhere I got the impression that the guests in attendance were familiar with some old hymns, so I offered to lead the congregation in singing them.

I was wrong.  Hardly anyone knew the songs at all.

Singing a solo isn’t my, ahem, expertise – not by a long shot.  But I knew right away at the beginning of solo 1 of 3 that there was going to be an exciting grand finale on the last one.  Song 3 was the old chorus based on the last verses of Psalm 23 – “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.”

Sure enough, there it was – the even higher pitched reprise after the last chorus; “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and I shall feast at a table set for me!”

Those words are in red because that is the color of my neck and face as I tried to reach the very high pitch.

Such events help keep me from struggling with feelings of adequacy.

Forty more

In my early 50′s, I was thinking that I was running out of time, that the list of things to do and goals to accomplish was getting shorter.  Then I realized the other day that if I lived even as long as my father, I had another 40 years to go!

I have a lot yet to do; people to love, things to learn, places to go, and overall a God to serve and his purposes to accomplish.

Am I in the future?

Asked my 5-year-old.  Not sure that I had heard him correctly – partly because he was eating little cheese crackers and talking with his mouth full, I asked “What did you say?”

“Amf I in the fumphture?”, he answered. 

“Are you in the future?”, I questioned again.  “Did you say, ‘Am I in the future?’”. 

“Yeshmf”, he said, eating another cracker. 

“The future is what happens next, like later on today we’ll have supper – and that is in the future.  Like this cracker here (I placed a cracker on the table) – this is where are right now – and this cracker is where we were in time this morning when you got up, and this cracker is when you went to bed last night - those crackers are “the past”, and this cracker is “now”, and this cracker is when we have supper tonight, and this cracker way out here is when it is your birthday again.  So, yes, you are in the future.  Get it?”

“Hey look, the crackers make a ‘T’”.