Lone Ranger

"Our work here is done, Tonto." - Lone Ranger

At the end of each episode, the Lone Ranger would disappear when people weren't looking.  Often times he would say, "Our work here is done, Tonto," and they would slip away unnoticed.  People would eventually notice and someone would remark, "Who was that masked man?"

Now, no one needs to correct me on the following.  I know the mythos surrounding the genesis of the Lone Ranger, however, the name has passed into pop culture as one who works alone. . . .

From the very beginning, the Lone Ranger was never alone.  After his band of Texas Rangers was ambushed, Tonto found him and nursed him back to health.  From that point on, Tonto was always at his side, fighting evil wherever it could be found.  Tonto bailed him out of trouble time and time again.  Tonto did a lot of the grunt work so the Lone Ranger wouldn't have to show his face.  Without Tonto, there could be no Lone Ranger.

It's a lot like that for us.

We come to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit brings healing and restoration.  We grow in our knowledge of Christ through the power of the Spirit.  The Spirit sustains us, teaches us, encourages us, strengthens us, etc.  What we do is through the power of the Spirit in us.  I am crucified in Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me ...

We are not "Lone Rangers."  It is not by our strength, intelligence, talent, skill or cleverness that we accomplish His mission.  David wrote, "Know you that the Lord He is God; it is He that has made us and not we ourselves."(Psalm 100:3)  We are not self-made.  We can't do this.  Fortunately, He that has begun a good work in us will perfect it.(Phil 1:6)  And so, we rely on Him.

"With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." - Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence.)

Me and My Kingdom

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:9)

It's supposed to be all about Him.  It's all about His Kingdom.  What's so hard about that?
Yet I don't seem to be able to remember it much past the last confession of my self-centered action or self-absorbed thought.
I catch a "high view" of God in a natural wonder or a passage of scripture or the words of a song or a sudden epiphany.  I commit myself to turning over all of myself to Him.  I make every effort to think only of Him.  And it lasts all of 3 to 5 minutes until my next selfish act.  Oh, what a wretched man am I.  The good that I would, that I do not, but the evil that I would not do, that is the very thing that I do. (Romans 7:19&24).  Always the war against myself.
Yet, He still loves me.  It's not about my performance.  Which is a very good thing.  He loved me when I was in absolute, active rebellion.  He loves me as I struggle.  And that love makes the struggle a little more bearable.  Little by little, sometimes in obvious increments, sometimes in such subtlety it goes unnoticed, sometimes in chaotic ripping and tearing, but ceaselessly the transformation continues, continually drawing me to surrender all I understand of myself to all I know of Him with His Presence bringing greater Peace than I've ever known.
Until the light of Presence shines again on my inner darkness and we begin again the refining process.
Oh, what a dearly loved by his Father in heaven who has given me everything I need for life and godliness and allows me to suffer the pain of being conformed into the likeness of Christ and that changes everything wretched man am I.

On the way to the center

Updates throughout the day as wifi allows.

Sunday Worship

A little piece of this mornings worship.

The message was about Godly wisdom applied.
We began with Proverbs 1:7 telling us that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but rather than debate what the fear of the Lord is, we looked at Job 28:28 that says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but to turn from evil is understanding.  Or, as I like to say, "None of this stuff really matters until you do something with it."
It's not enough to have a reverence, awe or even terror of God.  It has to change you.  The classic definition of learning is behavior modification.  It is not a mental assent to a series of propositions.  It is not enough to have the winning position in a philosophical or academic debate.  You must have a life altering (continuing to be altered) encounter with the living God.  Brother Lawrence talked about his "high view" of God that forever changed who he was.  How this view made it impossible to pursue anything other than the presence of God.
Jesus talked about it at the end of Matthew chapter seven.  Two men built houses.  Two men faced storms.  But, the man who put the words of Jesus into practice was able to stand.  We have to let His words work on us.
2 Peter 1 tells us that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness, therefore we are to get to work.  If we apply ourselves to the life giving power and grace that is available, we will find ourselves "productive and fruitful".  Nobody wants to live a ho-hum, meaningless existence.  And God does not call us to a life of boredom.  The call to come to Christ is an adventure that leads to unbelievable growth resulting in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  If these things are increasing in our life, we become useful to His kingdom and we can pray with certainty, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."
If these things are not present in our lives, Peter goes on to say, it is because we have forgotten that we have been cleansed from our former sins.  Or as Paul tells us in Romans 8, we are no longer obligated to follow the urges of the sinful nature.  It is allowed, but not required.  We can, but we don't have to.  The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in me and brings me from death to life.  Paul tells us that we have been made free, so we should live free.  Not free to indulge our flesh, but free to pursue a life of holiness.
We ended with "Happy Day", because we never want to forget that we have been cleansed from our past sin and are now free to be productive and fruitful and that dear brothers and sisters makes for one happy day.

God's Grace

Did you ever do anything so heinous, you were sure you could never be forgiven.  Maybe something as horrible as traveling internationally and setting the watches to local time but mentally converting them back to home time thereby waking folks up 2 hours earlier than was planned on the one and only day they have to sleep in before an arduous week of service work and following a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong day of international travel with security fun, rain delays and the like after too few hours of sleep on the night before they left . . . (just a hypothetical for instance).  Knowing there was nothing you could do to take it back or make it better.  Hoping, just hoping that somehow the family members involved could not only forgive you, but extend the Grace to let you know you are still loved ...
Or, maybe, like me, you've done far worse than that.
You see, it doesn't matter how bad you've been.  God chose to love you anyway.  Nothing ever separates you from His love and I can prove it.
We talk about how God knows everything, and always did.  But we live like what we just did is a shock to Him.  Do you realize that at the point Jesus died for your sins, God already knew that bonehead thing you did just yesterday and the one you are going to do tomorrow.  He already knew that even after you came to know Him, you would do some of the worst things you've ever done.  Yet He still had Jesus die for you.  He loved you while you were a sinner apart from Him and He loves you as a sinner with Him.
Should we continue sinning so that we can receive more of His grace?  Of course not!!  The life we now live is through the power of the Spirit of Christ in us Who gave Himself up as a payment for our sin and gave us the right to be children of God.  Let's live as His children.  Forgetting what lies behind, lets push for what lies ahead.
You know, God's Grace is a lot like orange juice.  Anybody remember Anita Bryant selling Florida orange juice and the commercial with the tag line, "It's not just for breakfast anymore!"?  Well God's Grace is not just for sin.  It is also power to live free from sin.  Christ died so that we might live free, so live free.  By His Grace, we are not obligated to do the things we once did.  Oh, yeah, we probably will sometimes, and His Grace still covers those sins too.  But, we don't have to.  If you want to experience more Grace, then instead of desperately depending on the Grace of forgiveness, humbly accept the Grace that powers transformation.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.

And So It Begins

Sat next to Ana from Venezuela on the way down to Miami. We talked about helping people. She teaches English to young children. She has a real heart for the poor in her country and the lack of resources to help them. A very enjoyable 45 minutes! I challenged her to help me change the world. If we will both help 2 people change their lives in our lifetime, we will win in about 800 years. And if you would join us, we can do it much faster.
Just sayin'.

Learning to Trust

Just when I think I've got it figured out, I manage to demonstrate that I don't have a clue.  You'd think that after more than 40 years with God, I would have this trust thing down.  How hard can it be?
I have a whole history of God's faithfulness to me.  I have a strong reasonable basis for my trust in Him.  I have a supportive community that has a similar faith.  I have historic documentation of His faithfulness and sufficiency for many, many others throughout the past ages.  I have many first hand accounts of His intervention on behalf of people I personally know.  What's not to trust?
And yet I still have little things here and there that I need to control...
Maybe I'm good to leave the outcome in His hands as long as He does it my way.  Maybe I can trust Him with the process, but He really needs to stick to the timetable I've established for this particular project.  In subtle ways, I still seek to control outcomes, people, situations and even God.  That's not trust.
Hi, my name is Jim, and I am a recovering selfaholic.
I have discovered that I am powerless over my self-centeredness and my life has become unmanageable.
It's a good thing God's got this.  And I can trust Him with trusting Him.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is coming up.  We'll have some kids over for food and fun Sunday night.  There will be a cookout Monday.  I'm not sure what else will happen, bu I am sure Laura will tell me what I am doing at some point.

Thinking about the sermon this week, I got stuck on how best to describe a memorial to the kids.  I know we will honor our fallen soldiers.  But what is a memorial.  Is it the ceremony/service, the ritual, the monument, the holiday ...

Wikipedia, the source of all wisdom, defines memorial as "an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event."  Further, it speaks of grave markers, headstones, monuments, fountains and parks.  There is no mention of ceremony or celebration.  At least not in the first few paragraphs.  I didn't look up Memorial Day.  I'm sure it has a well documented history.

"An object which serves as a focus for memory..."

I think I can work with that.  Unfortunately, I think what normally happens is the memorial becomes "an object which serves as a focus for the object."  Many of us have an understanding of what Memorial Day is all about.  But do we really think about those we are "memorializing."  Is our focus on the fallen or on the barbecue and beach.  Is it about the memory or the day off of work or school.  Is it just a day to seek our own comfort, entertainment and enjoyment or to remember those who died so that others could be free.

I think this year, our Memorial Day service will be centered on the memory of the ultimate sacrifice and the one who died so that others could be free.  And the object which will serve as a focus for memory will be Communion/Eucharist/The Lord's Supper.  Not the crucifixion, but redemption - the New Covenant that is in His blood.  We will take the body and blood and "proclaim the Lord's death," remembering what He has done.

And when our children ask us, "What does this mean?", we can tell them of the memory the object represents and of the Great Love the Father has lavished on us.

Jim and the Art of Lawnmower Maintenance

In Robert Persig's philosophical classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Bob teaches us the virtues of analytic thought over romanticism through events, circumstances and conversations he has on a cross country motor cycle trip.  I'm afraid I'm not as intellectually astute.  All I have is the day to day reality of living life, making things work and trusting God for results.

What I learned mowing lawns at the Children's Malnutrition Center in San Juan, Sacatepequez, Guatemala, C.A.:  (To read about the lawn mowing see our team blog, here.)

1. Inspection - It is a good idea to take a quick look at the mower before you begin just to make sure everything is still attached.  Little things like the shroud over the top of the engine or maybe even the muffler.  In the same way, we should inspect our lives.  What is coming apart and why?  We shouldn't wait until things start falling apart when all we needed to do was tighten a few relational screws.
2. Some Maintenance Required - Spark plug, oil and air filters are all expended parts.  When they are bad, they can have serious consequences to the operation of the mower.  In our lives, there are many things that need to be maintained - physical condition, nutrition, relationships, intellectual growth, spiritual connection ...
3. When Enough Is Enough -  When things aren't working well, it is best to stop and fix it rather than soldier on with unsatisfactory results.  Things like bent and twisted blades that extend below the deck of the mower and dig trenches in the yard when a wheel falls in a hole causing a need to raise the deck to the highest level leaving one with less than satisfactory results.  In our life and relationships, sometimes things just don't work.  Rather than making the best of it through the ugliness - FIX IT!  Learn a new skill, ask for help, pray a lot, study what God has to say about it (and then actually do some of it whether you like it or not), whatever it takes to make things right.
4. Fixing the Fixes - There are somethings you should not try to fix by just screwing it on tighter.  When you use a universal blade, it is preferable to use the accompanying adapters rather than tighten down the retaining bold until you strip out the threads and warp the blade.  Most of us have picked up some maladaptive behaviors.  We've learned methods of self-protection that are not conducive to good relationships.  We escape, withdraw, lash out, deny, begrudge, lie ... usually to cover pain.  Ask God for healing.  Learn new ways to deal with people and situations.  Pray Psalm 51.  Be transformed.
5. Repair Improv - When the necessary parts are not available, don't give up.  Use what you have to make it work.  Like finding longer bolts, washers and nuts to put the muffler back on when the retaining clip is lost.  In life, we don't give up.  We keep learning and growing and changing.  We fail and we try again.  We go back to the Bible, to prayer, to good Christian friends - the basics - until we find the missing part to make it work.  We persevere knowing that it will have it's perfect result that we may become mature and complete lacking nothing.

All I Have Needed

In the hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, there is the line, "All I have needed thy hand hath provided."  It goes on to talk about how great is God's faithfulness toward me.  Me.  "Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."  I certainly wouldn't argue that point.  He has been more than faithful to me.  He has been generous and gracious beyond any reasonable expectation.
But what about them.
We are surrounded on every side by poverty off all kinds.  Poverty of resources.  Poverty of education.  Poverty of community.  Poverty of hope.  Where is His faithfulness to them?
As we flew into Guatemala City, I had a window seat for the first time.  About half an hour out, I was watching the rolling hills, jagged peaks, river valleys, high plains and incredibly rich beauty scroll beneath us.  There was a lot of forested area, but there was an equal amount of hillside meadow.  There were vast, undeveloped areas without a hint of any human habitation.  Every now and then, a little hillside village would appear.  Little communities of no more than 100 dwellings.
Then suddenly, Guatemala City appears.  Our approach brought us over the city from the west and we circled around and landed from the south, giving us a view of about one third of this sprawling city of four million people.  Shacks and palacial estates sit side by side.  Middle class walled communities coexist with slums.  The first car I noticed was a Mazerati Granturismo.  Their are the extremely poor selling their handcrafts out side of international five star hotels.  The disparity is striking.
I know that Jesus said. "the poor will be with you always," but did He mean that he means for people to suffer in poverty?
I believe He has been faithful and His hand has provided ... we just can't handle it.  While people are malnourished, Guatemala's second largest industry is agricultural exports (mostly to the US).  People live in shacks while new luxury resorts are built.  Election posters abound from every possible ideology, yet nothing ever changes.  People continue their ancient animist practices, struggling without hope, while tourists visit cathedrals and chapels.
Great is His faithfulness to me, but what is the nature of my faithfulness to Him.

What my dad taught me about my Dad in Heaven

This is a replay from our first trip to Guatemala.  You can read more here.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Up a little early this morning. About to go see if there is some coffee ready. Ian asked yesterday, at the end of the devotions he led in the morning, "How do you see God's love for you?" I don't think any of us answered that question. We talked about how we were moved by what we saw and experienced. Several people mentioned being grateful for our 'stuff' when we see how others live. We were even awed at being able to serve as Jesus' hands and feet to touch these lives for this small place in time. But, I don't recall anyone saying how they saw God's love demonstrated for them personally.
For me, I think it is in be allowed to work with God. To be there when he does his 'thing'. To even contribute some small part to his work. To be a part of God's working, God's 'interfering' in the lives of men, women and children.
My dad did that for me. He let me work with him even when it made things take twice as long to get them done. Even when it meant he would have to go back and redo everything I had done.
God's an awesome dad. He lets me learn by watching him work. He lets me learn by trying things out. He lets me learn by messing things up. And he's always there with the 'great job' and 'I love you' even when I get it wrong.
How does he show you love?

Faith in Knowledge or Knowledge of Faith

"How do you know when taking a leap of faith in something is the right thing to do?"

This is the Great Paradox that is inherent in the intersection of the material world with the spiritual world.  How do you "know" "faith" in something is justified?
The real question is, "Which is greater, faith or knowledge?"  If knowledge is greater than faith, I need to "know" before I leap.  However, if faith is greater than knowing, that is what is required before I jump.

You've read this one:

Heb 11:1 NASB  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

You can't "know" that  a leap of "faith" is the right thing to do.  If you "know" it, it is no longer "faith".  And, yet, no matter what premium we've attached to knowledge and rational thought in our enlightened age of reason, the reality is that it has little power to propel us into anything greater than where we are.  Only by faith in things unseen do we ever learn, grow, conquer, create - live really.  Knowing is limited to the material world and the five senses.  Faith allows us to transcend these to reach a place we have never been.  It doesn't negate "reality", but, simply puts it in its proper place.
The truth is that there is no place "where no man has gone before."  Oh, in the very literal sense there is in that no two situations are identical. I suppose, in that case, every "where" we go is unexplored.  But in a more practical sense, it is not about going to a place where no man has gone before as much as it is going to a place that I have never gone before.  Just because I don't have a road map doesn't mean there isn't one, or, as many people believe, that the place must not exist.
Faith is a conviction (the state of being convinced).  It is a term with strong legal overtones that carries with it the ideal that ample evidence has been presented to persuade us that "this" is the truth.  We "know" something to be true either because we have ample evidence through personal experience or because we have "faith" in the source of the information
You see, you can have a great deal of faith with very little knowledge, but you cannot have any knowledge at all without a great deal of faith.  In order to have knowledge, you have to have faith in your senses, memory, the consistency of experience and lawful order.  You must have faith that you can even "know" anything in the first place.  If knowledge is dependent on faith, then faith is greater.  If faith is greater than knowledge, then it is not necessary to "know" that "faith" is justified.  It is only necessary to know what our faith is in.
In the secular world, we should take the leap when it will lead to our growth and ultimate greater good or if it provides opportunity for someone else to do the same.  In the sacred, the question is, "Will this result in glory and honor to God?"
My faith is founded on God.  The ultimate source of creation and sustenance in our material world.  He is sine qua non (without which not), or that without which there is nothing.  My knowledge of Him is very, very limited, however, I am convinced to a very great extent through personal experience that He is more that I can even imagine and therefore completely sufficient.  As I continue to "leap", I accumulate more evidence of his all sufficiency.  When I leap amiss, I nearly always discover that my knowledge failed me.  But not my faith.
So, jump already.

For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. KJV 2 Tim 1:12b

Dad

With mom it was different. The Sorrow showed up again when Jacob was born, when Whitney graduated, when I was ordained, etc. - or when I changed some thing that was "hers". When I removed the hibiscus bushes in the front yard, the empty place where they had been provoked The Sorrow every time I looked in that corner of the yard. There is still a hook in my ceiling where her oxygen tubing used to run. It looks silly, but it is comfortable.

With dad, it's different. He was my greatest fan, my greatest cheerleader, my greatest counselor. He was the first one I went to when I was uncertain. He was the first to hear of my latest "heresy" whether it was a new understanding of God, scripture, evangelism or how you "do" church. He new all my insecurity when I launched into unknown waters. He was the candle in the window in the darkest night that reminded me where I had come from so I knew why I was going.
The only question a man ever has to answer is, "Am I enough ... ?". Dad was my constant example/mentor on being enough.

With mom, The Sorrow was a momentary shadow that clouded my day.

For dad, The Sorrow is an ever present ache with a sharp pain in every triumph, every change, every new idea, every insecurity, every failure, every question, every new revelation of God, every time I reach to pick up the phone to ask/tell dad about ...
It's like nothing is ever quite complete since I haven't told dad about it yet.

: (

With My Own Hand

At my uncle's funeral, Dr Tom Smiley of Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville, GA introduced me to two novel concepts.  First, he spoke about a system of files he has to save every piece of correspondence he receives from or sends to each of his parishioners.  He got the idea from the vertical filing system in a medical office.  I'd thought about cataloging pictures of the youth that pass through so that at graduation we can present them with an album of their life growing up in the church.  It would probably add a lot of laughter and a little embarrassment to the graduation party as well.  But, I never actually pulled it off.  I suppose in my life, the file would be primarily electronic with a bunch of emails, a few blogs and enormous number of facebook status snapshots.  It just didn't seem the same.
The second was actually my uncle's file itself.  It was thick.  I mean really thick.  I'm sure when he pulled it out of the file, there wasn't much left in the G's folder.  He read passages from several.  It was like having Uncle Dennis back with us for a few moments.  Incredible memories.
I don't know that I will adopt Tom's filing habits.  I receive so little by way of written communication.  But, Uncle Dennis' writing habit ...
To that end, I've written (and mailed - that part is important, too) four letters since I got home from the funeral.  I mean with actual paper and ink pen.  Complete with writer's cramp, crossed out words, misspellings, ink smudges, a paper cut on the tongue from licking the envelope flap and the like.
I don't know how many it takes before it becomes habitual.  I hope it becomes an addiction.

(1Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Philemon 1:19)

#2 Pencil

 Wow.  I miss pencils.
Someone was rattling off a phone number to me and I just grabbed whatever writing instrument was handy.  It happened to be a yellow, #2 pencil.  I don't think I've held one this year.
There's just something special about them.  The weight of the line changes with lighter or heavier pressure.  You can do cross hatch shading and smudge it to soften the lines.  If it gets a little dull, you can sharpen it by shading in your doodles with the edge of the lead.  You can erase.
Pencils are to written expression what black and white film is to photographic expression.
I almost feel like this should be written in pencil.  I don't even have a "hand written" font to use.

Two Part Epoxy and the Art of Roadside Repairs

Most roadside adventures involve tires.  Simple flats.  Sling a tread.  There was even the time when the wheel came off the van and passed dad before the back end settled down on the pavement.
I've done various roadside repairs.  Alternators, water pumps, hoses, ignition wiring, fuel pump, serpentine belts, fan belts.  Dad and I even replaced a motor on the side of the highway using a fencepost and the dashboard for a engine hoist.
On my way up to my uncles funeral in north Georgia, I had a new one.  The gauges all looked good, but the engine started bucking like it does when it overheats.  I pulled off at the next exit, fortunately it was less than half a mile, and into a little ma and pop gas station.  I opened the hood and sure enough it was smokin' hot.  After half an hour, it was cool enough for me to open the radiator cap.  No water.  I went in and got some coolant and dumped it in and then a gallon and a half of water.  When I started the engine, it was hissing.  With only one ear, I have no directional hearing.  I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.  Finally I spotted a little stream of water that I traced back to the bypass tube.  Two pin holes in the steel tubing - not the hose.  This is not good.
Checked my watch.  Only 8:45pm.  I can call dad.  Oh, wait ... no I can't.  On my own.
Drove down the hill to WalMart, and went looking for potential solutions. I started with hose clamps and rubber tubing.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find appropriate tubing and I wasn't willing to wait until morning for an auto parts store.
Next my mind turned to JB Weld because there is a long standing Freeman tradition that anything can be repaired with either duct tape or two part epoxy.  Didn't find JB, but did end up with LockTite's version.  Now, how to make it stick.  Bought some steel wool, a screw driver and pliers (along with the two part epoxy).
With much effort, contortion, cut knuckles and burned fingers, I finally removed enough hoses and bundles of wires to sort of more or less kind of reach the problem area.  I crammed some steel wool into the space and used the screwdriver to scrub the area.  I pried the wool out and inspected it and repeated the process about 6 or 8 times until it was as clean as I could get it.  But, it was still dripping water.  I needed a clean dry surface to bond to.
I found the hose leading to the tubing and tried to blow air though it so the water would not be in the tube.  After much effort (and the concern that if I did succeed in putting my mouth on the hose I would end up blowing hot water in my own face)  I finally decide I just couldn't reach it.  Okay, on a search for a potential solution.
I scoured the interior of the car and the trunk.  I finally settled on a fountain pen.  I gutted it and shoved it into the hose an blew on it.  It worked like a charm (ignore those first degree burns on the back of my hand.  it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as cuts on my knuckles).  Now the tube was no longer dripping, but I wasn't content with the condition of the tube's surface.  Was it clean enough for the epoxy to stick.  Besides, how was I going to get the two part epoxy into the small little alcove the tube was hiding in.
Back inside to search for solutions.  I settled on drinking straws, brake part cleaner and contact cleaner.
I sprayed brake parts cleaner on the tube several times and scoured it again with steel wool.  One more time with brake part cleaner and then to air dry.  Then I sprayed it with contact cleaner ( a non residue cleaner) just in case the brake part cleaner left a residue.  Now to mix.
I used the cardboard from the epoxy packaging and mixed a good portion of goo.  I scooped some up and in the straw and threaded it through the small space and slathered it on the now reasonably clean area.  Several times.  Let the waiting begin.  According to package instructions, two hours to drill, sixteen hours until full strength.
At this point, the funeral is only 11 hours away and I still have 3 hours to drive.  I give it two.  While waiting, I head back in to buy some water - just in case.
It is now a week and a half and 950 miles later and I still have all the water I bought in my trunk.
I thank God for two part epoxy and a dad that could fix anything.

In a Small Southern Town

My uncle passed away at the end of last week.  His funeral was yesterday in Gainesville; a small town of about 36,000 in north Georgia.   I just arrived home a few minutes ago.
I love small southern towns.  The people are more relaxed, more helpful, more kind, more ...
Well .... human.
On the way there, my car had some issues.  I stopped in a little town in central Georgia and found a water leak.  I went into a ma and pop gas station and bought some coolant and as the ol' boy was ringing it up, he said, "Now if you  need some water, just come right on back in."  ("You" not "y'all", because in the south we know "y'all" is plural despite any stereotypical representation you may see in movies.)  It turned out I needed some water.  I came back in and he filled my now empty coolant jug with water and said, "If you need some more, just come on back."  Keep in mind, that all 6 of his pumps had 2 cars at each, the store had about a dozen customers in it and he was there alone making order out of chaos.  Well, I needed more.  He filled it again, told me to come back for more and not to go off without a full gallon extra in my trunk.  Several hours later (what it took to make the repairs will be the subject of another post sometime) I got back on the road to Gainesville.
I finally connected with the family, made it to the funeral parlor, the church and finally graveside. (Actually, it was "finally" back to the church for lunch provided by two Sunday School classes for the entire extended family.  More hospitable should probably be added to the list above).
During the funeral procession, both from the funeral home to the church and from the church to the grave site, an interesting thing happened.  As the procession passed, all the cars on both sides of the road stopped.  Not just as the police escort passed, but for the entire procession.  This wasn't a little side road.  It was a 4 lane, state highway with a good amount of traffic right through the middle of town.  No one got impatient and tried to squeeze around the stopped cars.  No one honked.  No one cut into the line.
Literally hundreds of people stopped to pay their respect to the grief of a family and the loss to the community.
You see, in a small town, they understand.  When one of us hurts, we all hurt.  When someone dies it is a loss to us all.  Even though I don't know you personally, you are a part of me.  We don't live in a community, we are community.
It is more human in a small southern town.

Gettin' outta the boat (not)

Is "faith" getting out of the boat, or staying in?
It's easy to look at the guy jumping over the rail and walking out on the stormy seas and say, "Boy, does that guy have some serious faith!  Wish I had faith like that."  But, are we ever called to stay with the sinking ship?  When every intelligent soul on the face of the planet knows this thing's goin' down and even the rats are abandoning ship, could the act of faith be in sticking with it?
Yes, there was the time when the ship was tossed in the sea and it was really scary.  And Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and went out and joined him. (Matt 14:22-33)  But there was also the time when the sea was rough and even the experienced fisherman were terrified and they were waking Jesus up and saying, "Hey, don't you care.  We're gonna drown!"  That time, Jesus didn't walk on the water or invite anyone out of the boat.  He just said, "Where's your faith?"  And then, "Peace.  Be still." (Mat 8:23-27)
Sometimes faith is standing in the impossible place, knowing there is no hope, hoping only in God!

The Recovering Consumer's Lord's Prayer

I was meeting with a student – we get together once a week to talk about what God is doing in our lives (and other random things) – when I mentioned refrigeration and food storage were key in “getting off the grid”.  (I could lead you down the path of “are you called of God or convinced by Christians?” through used motor oil to how I arrived at that point, but it would take several paragraphs.)  I then made the observation, “Unless we become Amish”.  Their food storage is the living creature that produces the product.  I don’t need to refrigerate my milk, I just go obtain today’s supply from Bossy.  Which then led to “give us this day our daily eggs” and a few seconds later “and forgive us our decadence as we try to keep up with the Joneses.”

So, with no further ado, The Recovering Consumer’s Lord’s Prayer;

Our Father in Heaven, indescribable is who you are.  Your perfect plan is our desire, beautiful is the order you created.  Give us this day our daily eggs and forgive us our decadence as we try to keep up with the Joneses.  And lead us not into consumerism, but deliver us from our selfishness.  For in you is contentment, and peace and joy everlasting.  Amen

Advent - The Sacrifice

Imagine waiting and waiting and waiting to receive your gift in the mail.  You've been checking the status daily waiting for the elusive "your purchase has shipped message" so you can get a tracking number.  Then you start tracking the package as it moves from facility to facility getting closer and closer.  Finally!  It arrives!  And then you dad tells you that you can open it and play with it once, but then he is going to take it back.  What a rip!!!  How can he be so cruel!!!!!
God had promised Abraham a son and told him that a great nation would come through this son.  After so many years, Isaac is finally born and it seems like the promise is coming true.
Then ...
God tells Abraham, "sacrifice your son to me".  Wow.  At the end of the story, God provides a sacrifice in place of Isaac, but Abraham followed through, trusting in God.

So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

How are you at following even when it doesn't make sense?  That's a tough one.  But, God is faithful.  Do you trust him?

Today's Advent reading: Gen 22:1-14