Sad State of Affairs

The voice came over the intercom, “For your safety please do not accept requests from strangers to watch their luggage…”  But what do you do if someone really asks you for this favor.  Rebecca and were sitting in the Chicago airport waiting for our flight to arrive when the lady next to me made the request.

“Could you watch my bag while I go the bathroom?”

I grimaced, “Well, we’re not suppose to watch other people’s luggage.”

“I know” she said, “but I really have to go and I don’t want to have lug my bag around.” Her eyes were pleading.

“Ok, I guess,” and off she went.

Rebecca and I looked at each other.  I wondered out loud as to who would get in more trouble, she for leaving it me for watching. Then our imagination began to take over and wondered if she might be a terrorist.  There wasn’t any profiling. She was an older Caucasian woman who had been talking with the people around her.  But there was just something that just wasn’t right.  Rebecca noticed the book she had been reading.  It was entitled, “The Girl Who Plays With Fire.”  That settled it; she was a terrorist. 

Now that we had come to that conclusion the question was what do we do with the information.  If we called security and were wrong we would look silly and they would ask why we watched the bag in the first place.  If we were right the same question would be asked and certainly we would be placed in shackles. 

As we pondered our predicament she return, said thank you, and our world was back to normal.  Everyone boarded the plane, there were no explosions, and no one was embarrassed by false allegations.

It is a sad state of affairs when you can’t trust a simple request to watch a person’s luggage when they go to the bathroom.  Our culture has become paranoid because of the, how be it very dangerous, attacks of others.  Trust is something that is earned over a period of time and lost within seconds.  I am glad I watched the bag. I am also sure that I will need to be weary of the next request.  I am a trusting person.  I will probably never see this woman again in my life, but I hope that this little act of trust will say something to us all about our need to be more human.  I am just saying…..

I Grandpa

The role of grandpa fits me well.  As a pastor there are children in my congregation that are around the same age as my grandchildren.  I am drawn to them because I look into their eyes and see the smiles and tears of my own little ones far away in a distant land.  I enjoy their laughter and sympathize with their desire to be held by their mothers.  It stirs in my heart a longing to hold and play with Eva and Gabe.  I have taken to practice on my church grandchildren. 

They, however, are not a substitute for the children of my children.  In two days Rebecca and I will be sitting in a plan that cannot travel fast enough to satisfy our hearts.  Every second delays the time in which we will be able to engage the young smiles that wait for us.  We, however, have not been idle.  I must say that there is a conspiracy against grandfathers.  I could not find one item of baby clothing that expressed my importance in their lives.  Aunts received more attention than grandpa and that is just plain unacceptable.  We purchased a few items for each child.  I spent more time scouring the Apple App store to find age appropriate interactive storybooks.  I found a few and hopefully Eva will be as enthralled with them as I.  But toys and gadgets, clothes and bottles are only tokens of our appreciation for God’s gift of these two wonderful children.  It will be the time spent holding, cuddling, giggling, crying and playing that will mean the most. 

I am thankful that Josh and Alison are such wonderful parents who are sensitive to the calling of God on their lives.  Their love for the Arab people and their desire to have an impact in their lives is cause for great rejoicing.  However, it makes my role as a grandpa a little more challenging, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I thank God for the marvels of the internet that allows us to spend time with our children and grandchildren over great distances and feel that much closer and a part of their lives.  For now we look with such anticipation to be there in person.

A friend today pointed out that there may be some unrest in the next week or so in Bahrain, but there would have to be a lot more then a little unrest to deter these two grandparents.  Growing old has its down side, but it also has its upsides as well. God has created in us the desire to perpetuate our family line and there is an inexplicable joy that comes in seeing your children have children and raise them for the Lord.  

My bags are packed, I am ready to go, the taxis waiting and that sound you hear overhead is the roar of our jet saying, “So long Aledo and Hello Bahrain.” Don’t worry we’ll be back; I left Tobi at the house.  I’m just saying……

Why I Hate Memorex

Maybe hate is too strong a word.  No, I don’t think so.  Every time I buy Memorex brand DVD’s I regret it.  They don’t like to work in my Mac (and don’t think the issue is with the Mac), they seldom run well on the PC and they don’t come cheep.  What usually happens is I go through ten or twelve DVD’s before I find one that will work.  Right now I am trying to burn a DVD for one of my classes and everything seems to be going well.  I put the DVD in, the PC reads it, the program starts to burn it and when it gets to 99% I get an error message.  Of course it doesn’t tell me what the error is or how to fix it.  It merely rejects the DVD. The silliness of it all is that I keep buying Memorex. AHHHHHHH!

Life is so much like Memorex.  Some times it works and some times it doesn’t. And the silly thing is that we keep doing the same things hoping that everything will some how turn out better this time around.  I have read that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different out come.  The sad reality is that even if we get it right all through out our lives all our best efforts might get us is 99.9% and then a rejection error.

God probably is shaking his head at how we constantly buy the Memorex equivalent to life’s problems. Instead of finding the best way, the ancient paths of God’s will, we keep buying into the world’s blue print and at best it will never measure up to God’s specifications.  In the end all we will get is the big ERROR message.

I am so thankful that God is not like my computer, which doesn’t give a reason, explanation, or solution to the error message.  The Error Message of God is, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  The remedy is, “by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, but a gift of God.” 

My hope and prayer is that those who have not yet accepted God’s gift of eternal life will not hold on to their disbelief the same way I hold on to my Memorex DVD’s hoping that they will eventually work. If this next one doesn’t work I’m going to buy Sony!  I’m just saying…..

IPad and Grandchildren

Eight days and counting!  A week from tomorrow Rebecca and I will make the long flight from Chicago to Bahrain.  20 hours of grueling sitting, scrunched in small seats, and getting very little sleep.  But the prize of seeing Josh, Alison, Eva, and Gabe is going to be worth it (putting Josh and Alison in the sentence was important not to make them feel left out).  I have not been idle in my preparations.  While Rebecca has been thinking about essential American items that Josh and Alison might need to make their lives more comfortable, I have been scouring the App store to find fun interactive books and games that will make me the coolest grandfather ever, and I have found them!

Eva is only 19 months old and probably doesn’t sit long with anyone book.  Not so with my IPad books.  While I read the fascinating stories picked out just for her she can touch the screen and make people talk, items move, sheep bleat, and all other sorts of sounds and motion.  The most difficult part will be keeping her from wanting to spend hours on my IPad.  I am not sure who will be more enthralled Eva or me.  One of the games is called Talking Tom. He is awesome.  When you talk he holds his paw to his ear, and when you finish he repeats it to you.  Eva, of course, is not talking, but she can pet it and make it purr, poke it and make Tom howl, or push other buttons to see him drink and jump.  Fortunately the IPad is nearly indestructible. 

I finally had to hide my wallet because I was using my debt card too much.  The biggest threat to my best laid plans to be the coolest grandfather ever is the dog that they are watching for some friends.  As cool as the IPad is I am not sure it can complete with a live furry animal that Eva points at and says, “puppy”.  I may have make the puppy disappear.

None the less I am excited to see both Eva and Gabe and spend two weeks doing nothing but playing with them and enjoying the company of my family.  Now, where is my IPad.  I’m just saying…..

Sitting On A Two Legged Stool

I am amazed when I see someone ride a unicycle.  The balance and coordination is beyond me.  I am lucky if I can keep myself up on my motorcycle.  Now try and sit on a two-legged stool.  That can be funny.  You can do it but the concentration to keep your balance makes casual sitting impossible.  Of course you can use your feet, but then it really becomes a three-legged stool, and three-legged stool is what we have been created for.

I know that sounds odd, but it is true. No one is created for a two-legged stool, maybe a four-legged, but definitely a three-legged.  I started thinking about three-legged this past Sunday because I used a stool while preaching.  Somewhere between the third and fourth point it occurred to me how easy it is to sit down without falling.  It was a fleeting thought because I was in the middle of a sermon. Two-legged stools fall down, they’re useless, and either need mending or just thrown away.

Believe it or not our lives revolve around three necessary legs that keep our lives stable and in balance.  I order for us to find deep satisfaction we need three essential components or legs.  They are family, work, and church.  Of course these are the structures that give substance to our deep desire for relationships, to be significant and to have a spiritual experience.  Each one of these is essential to our lives.  The problem is that we are often out of balance, and when one leg is missing or too short life can be precarious. 

We need to work.  God has created us to be industrious and this can take many forms.  Work includes stay at home moms, volunteering for social causes, and of course our jobs.  Work provides us an avenue where we feel as if we are making a difference in the world and in someone’s life. We spend a lot of time at our jobs and raising our children

We also need family. Family is the core venue for developing relationships.  We have been created to have relationships.  Few people really like being alone.  Relationships provide strength and comfort in difficult times.  They provide joy and celebration at important ventures of our lives.  We need to spend time with our immediate family and the extended family of God.  We should never neglect one over the other.

The third leg of our metaphorical stool is the church.  We have been created for a spiritual experience.  Our hearts were created for worship.  And it is often the most neglected and short changed of the three legs. The Church used to be the central gathering point in American culture.  In agrarian society Sundays were a day of rest and people came from miles to attend church and spend the day with God’s people.  Little if anything got in the way.  Not so today.  For many people church is optional.  They will say it is important but the other legs often get in the way.  “I have to work”. “My children have an activity.” I was up late the night before.” Missing church is rationalized by touting the tired refrain, “Now don’t get legalistic about attending church.”  And, yes, attending church can be a legalistic endeavor, but Christian freedom can be another word for convenience.  To say that you can miss church on a regular basis and be a growing mature believer is to believe a lie.  Cooperate worship is essential; fellowship with believes is essential; and studying the word together is essential for spiritual health. 

Some of us need to get our stools fixed, and put our priorities back in line.  Taking a stand against culture and not allowing the world to encroach on our time of worship together will not be easy, but then nothing God asks of us is easy, and He always provides a way and the strength to overcome.  I’m just saying…..

Until My Last Breath

The Breath We Breathe

Traveling gives you an opportunity to read or just listen to music that has sat silent for a while. So I did a little of both this past week as I went to visit my mom on her 80th birthday. As I was listening to some country songs this phrase caught my attention. “Life is not the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.” It set my mind contemplating on the truth of these words. So, here are a few of the moments in my life that have taken my breath away:

1. My first love
2. Kissing my true love for the first time
3. Proposing and promising a life of love together
4. My bride walking down the aisle.
5. Entwining of lives together physically/spiritually
6. Our first fight knowing that we would never give up on each other
7. Each newborn son who changed the way I see the world.

•  The joy that comes when your children take their first step
•  They crawl in your lap and give you a hug
•  Say their first words
•  Go to school for the first time
•  When they give their lives to Jesus
•  When they experience their first love
•  The first time their hearts were broken and seek solace in their parents
•  Enjoying events together
•  Watching them fail and succeed in what gives flight to their dreams
•  Seeing them find their true love and seeing them walk down the aisle
•  Staring beyond my son and his bride and seeing my bride and what seems just like yesterday
•  Holding, playing, and watching your grandchildren grow up. Each and every one of them!

8. Holding my wife's hand as we watch our nest become empty
9. A smile across the room when nothing is said but volumes are communicated
10. Arriving home from a trip and receiving a hug so tight and long that being loved isn't questioned.

This is in no way a complete list, matter of fact some are categories that could fill pages with moments and memories. There will be a moment where my breath is taken away for the last time. At that moment I will be ushered into the presence of my Savior. At that moment I will be awed beyond comprehension! Until that time God gives us these moments to be cherished, enjoyed, and savored. They are moments that are both unexpected and created. I relish more of these moments until my last breath is released. Comment on this post. Share a moment that has taken your breath away. I’m just saying……