I will be sitting on an airplane today that will fly from one city to another at approximately 30,000 feet elevation with a speed of about 400-500 miles an hour.
Before the plane takes off I will hear for the 3500th time the "Important FAA safety announcement", directing my full attention to the flight attendant at the front of the aircraft demonstrating to all those on board how to put on a seat belt.
My favorite part of the announcement is when the lead flight attendant says, "In case of air cabin depressurization, oxygen masks will fall from the panel above you. Place the mask over your face securing the elastic band around your head."
Now comes my favorite part... "And then BREATHE NORMALLY."
So, let me get this straight. I have flown over 3500 times and the oxygen masks have never dropped down and now the one time they do indicating that the air pressure in the cabin is in serious jeopardy and the fact that the pilot is now going to have to descend to an altitude of 8,000 feet as rapidly as possible before I die of hypoxia or hypothermia (whichever comes first) I am simply to remain calm, continue reading my book, casually look out the window and BREATH NORMALLY? I think not!!
My iWitness...
Today and in the days ahead you will experience air cabin depressurization in your life. Something will go wrong. Leaky pipes will flood your dining room. Your children will disobey you. Your friends will disappoint you. You will become frustrated in the traffic jam. You will throw up your hands at your dysfunctional workplace. Your aging body will have some sort of breakdown. There is no getting around this.
The question becomes, "Will I breathe normally?" I counted 14 normal breaths in one minute for me in a relaxed state of being. How about you? Take a minute to count...
It's the first Easter Sunday evening and the disciples don't know Jesus is risen from the dead yet. A couple of the disciples have seen the empty tomb but they don't know what has happened to Jesus. They are in a room with the doors locked for fear of the religious authorities. There are oxygen masks hanging down from the ceiling. Their world is imploding after the death of their friend and savior. The oxygen of life is being sucked out of their life and breathing normally is the furthest thing from their mind...
And then "Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you... And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit..." (John 20. 19, 22)
When life's troubles assault us and we are tempted to panic, hyperventilate and breath erratically causing our very souls to faint due to the lack of oxygen, let us take in the deep breath of peace of Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit and... "breathe normally..."
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16. 33)
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Affirmation
I grew up wanting to be a professional basketball player. I love the game of basketball and always thought there would come a day when I would coach a group of boys or girls in this fantastic game.
That day came yesterday as I coached my first basketball game.
It was YMCA Basketball with a team comprised of 8 second graders and one first grader - my son Joshua.
We had hoped to have a practice before the first game but it was not to be.
All the boys showed up at 1:00 for our 1:30 game. We passed out jerseys, learned each other's names, ran through a few basic drills and then the referee blew his whistle, looked at me and said, "Coach... your team ready to go?"
My voice for some reason confidently shouted back above the fray of gym noise, "We're ready!" Inside I was thinking, "Are you kidding me? I don't know what I am doing. These kids don't know what they're doing and look at all the parents, siblings and grandparents in the crowd waiting with great anticipation to see their "boy" work magic on the court under the direction of this new coach."
The other team ran out onto the court and they looked like giants compared to our boys. The game began with my boys running everywhere and with me shouting the encouraging words of coaching wisdom, "Get your hands up. Stay on your man. Pass the ball. Get back on "D" (Defense). Shoot the ball! Way to go!! Good job!"
Sometimes the boys did what I said and sometimes I thought to myself, "Do they even hear me?"
The first half ended and we had not scored one point. No ball had gone through the basket. I really wondered if we would ever score.
And then it happened. One little boy threw the ball up in the air and it hung on the rim for what seem like an eternity before it dropped through the basket.
On the sidelines I came out of my shoes!!! I must have jumped six inches off the ground, threw my hands up in the air, my voice exploding in a boisterous "woohoooo", the crowd came out of their seats and then it happened...
This little boy looked straight at me with eyes that begged of, "Did I do okay Coach? Did I do good? Is that what I was supposed to do?"
My team scored four more baskets and the same thing happened with each boy. They would score a basket and their eyes shifted immediately to mine. Their bodies instinctively moved toward me.
And every time my eyes met their eyes with a look of, "Way to go! I am so proud of you! Yes!!! You did it! You did good! Well done!!"
My iWitness...
Have you ever thought of God as a coach. He's watching over us and there is a game plan. There are certain plays to run. There are certain boundaries to stay within.
And there we are... running all over the place. In bounds, out of bounds, shooting at the wrong basket (as did happen in our game!), not guarding our hearts and the list goes on and on.
And yet there are those times when we get it right. Out of our faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit we do it, we live it, we profess it, we honor it. We actually do and are what God has called us to be.
And do you know what I think happens next as we look to God for affirmation?
I think He comes right out of His shoes!!
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!
That day came yesterday as I coached my first basketball game.
It was YMCA Basketball with a team comprised of 8 second graders and one first grader - my son Joshua.
We had hoped to have a practice before the first game but it was not to be.
All the boys showed up at 1:00 for our 1:30 game. We passed out jerseys, learned each other's names, ran through a few basic drills and then the referee blew his whistle, looked at me and said, "Coach... your team ready to go?"
My voice for some reason confidently shouted back above the fray of gym noise, "We're ready!" Inside I was thinking, "Are you kidding me? I don't know what I am doing. These kids don't know what they're doing and look at all the parents, siblings and grandparents in the crowd waiting with great anticipation to see their "boy" work magic on the court under the direction of this new coach."
The other team ran out onto the court and they looked like giants compared to our boys. The game began with my boys running everywhere and with me shouting the encouraging words of coaching wisdom, "Get your hands up. Stay on your man. Pass the ball. Get back on "D" (Defense). Shoot the ball! Way to go!! Good job!"
Sometimes the boys did what I said and sometimes I thought to myself, "Do they even hear me?"
The first half ended and we had not scored one point. No ball had gone through the basket. I really wondered if we would ever score.
And then it happened. One little boy threw the ball up in the air and it hung on the rim for what seem like an eternity before it dropped through the basket.
On the sidelines I came out of my shoes!!! I must have jumped six inches off the ground, threw my hands up in the air, my voice exploding in a boisterous "woohoooo", the crowd came out of their seats and then it happened...
This little boy looked straight at me with eyes that begged of, "Did I do okay Coach? Did I do good? Is that what I was supposed to do?"
My team scored four more baskets and the same thing happened with each boy. They would score a basket and their eyes shifted immediately to mine. Their bodies instinctively moved toward me.
And every time my eyes met their eyes with a look of, "Way to go! I am so proud of you! Yes!!! You did it! You did good! Well done!!"
My iWitness...
Have you ever thought of God as a coach. He's watching over us and there is a game plan. There are certain plays to run. There are certain boundaries to stay within.
And there we are... running all over the place. In bounds, out of bounds, shooting at the wrong basket (as did happen in our game!), not guarding our hearts and the list goes on and on.
And yet there are those times when we get it right. Out of our faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit we do it, we live it, we profess it, we honor it. We actually do and are what God has called us to be.
And do you know what I think happens next as we look to God for affirmation?
I think He comes right out of His shoes!!
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Labels
24601
Does that number 24601 spark any particular feelings, memories or remembrances?
At first glance that number reminds me of the childhood cheer we used to say after Little League games... "2 4 6 8 who do we appreciate... (then yell the opposing team's name)". Perhaps it's the population of a town nearby. Maybe it's a statistic that represents the number of people who bought iPhones in the last hour...
Or maybe it's a label...
For Jean Valjean in the play/movie Les Miserables it is his prison number. In prison Jean Valjean has no name, no identity, no sense of personhood. For nineteen winters strong his captor, his corrections officer, his personal nemesis and pursuer Javert has called Jean Valjean not by his God given name but rather by this number... this label.
Then Jean Valjean is set free and then breaks parole. Soon he has an incredible redemptive encounter and becomes a successful businessman, a strong, caring, loving and faithful follower and practicioner of the Christian faith. His life changes in all ways.
But not in the eys of Javert. Jean Valjean is still prisoner 24601 and Javert pursues him for year upon year as Prisoner 24601 who broke parole and who has not changed, who cannot change, who will not change... after all you are what you are and you can never change.
My iWitness...
What label do you carry around?
What label hangs around your neck? What label have you allowed yourself or others to tattoo on your forehead? Athlete? Nerd? Neat freak? Overweight? Obsessive Compulsive? Loser? Divorced? Single? Adulterer? Lakers fan? Workaholic? Alcoholic? Successful? Type A personality? The list could go on and on.
What is sad about labels is that over time we learn to accept them. The label becomes the lense in which we see ourselves. Although the "bling" on these labels has tarnished and spoiled we continue to wear them and try to polish them and live with them and dress them up because after all I am what I am and I can never change.
Is that what we believe? Is this what we practice? Is this how we live out our lives?
The scriptures tell us that in Christ "We are a new creation! The old has passed away. Behold! The new has come... For freedom Christ has set us free!" (2 Corinthians 5 and Galatians 5)
In Christ the labels slip off! In Christ you are free! Free! Do we even begin to understand what that means? I wonder myself sometimes...
We have been made new! We don't have to stand where we have fallen... Yesterday is a closing door and we don't have to live there anymore.
In Christ the new labels never tarnish, never fade...Child of God, Son and Daughter of the King, Forgiven, Freed, Redeemed, Saved, Loved, Accepted...
In Christ we are no longer a number or a label. We have been claimed and redeemed by name.
"Fear not! For I have redeemed you; I have called you by name. You are mine" says the Lord.
"You are mine!" And perhaps that's the best label of all...
I am the Lord's
Fear not and Laugh Often!
David!
Does that number 24601 spark any particular feelings, memories or remembrances?
At first glance that number reminds me of the childhood cheer we used to say after Little League games... "2 4 6 8 who do we appreciate... (then yell the opposing team's name)". Perhaps it's the population of a town nearby. Maybe it's a statistic that represents the number of people who bought iPhones in the last hour...
Or maybe it's a label...
For Jean Valjean in the play/movie Les Miserables it is his prison number. In prison Jean Valjean has no name, no identity, no sense of personhood. For nineteen winters strong his captor, his corrections officer, his personal nemesis and pursuer Javert has called Jean Valjean not by his God given name but rather by this number... this label.
Then Jean Valjean is set free and then breaks parole. Soon he has an incredible redemptive encounter and becomes a successful businessman, a strong, caring, loving and faithful follower and practicioner of the Christian faith. His life changes in all ways.
But not in the eys of Javert. Jean Valjean is still prisoner 24601 and Javert pursues him for year upon year as Prisoner 24601 who broke parole and who has not changed, who cannot change, who will not change... after all you are what you are and you can never change.
My iWitness...
What label do you carry around?
What label hangs around your neck? What label have you allowed yourself or others to tattoo on your forehead? Athlete? Nerd? Neat freak? Overweight? Obsessive Compulsive? Loser? Divorced? Single? Adulterer? Lakers fan? Workaholic? Alcoholic? Successful? Type A personality? The list could go on and on.
What is sad about labels is that over time we learn to accept them. The label becomes the lense in which we see ourselves. Although the "bling" on these labels has tarnished and spoiled we continue to wear them and try to polish them and live with them and dress them up because after all I am what I am and I can never change.
Is that what we believe? Is this what we practice? Is this how we live out our lives?
The scriptures tell us that in Christ "We are a new creation! The old has passed away. Behold! The new has come... For freedom Christ has set us free!" (2 Corinthians 5 and Galatians 5)
In Christ the labels slip off! In Christ you are free! Free! Do we even begin to understand what that means? I wonder myself sometimes...
We have been made new! We don't have to stand where we have fallen... Yesterday is a closing door and we don't have to live there anymore.
In Christ the new labels never tarnish, never fade...Child of God, Son and Daughter of the King, Forgiven, Freed, Redeemed, Saved, Loved, Accepted...
In Christ we are no longer a number or a label. We have been claimed and redeemed by name.
"Fear not! For I have redeemed you; I have called you by name. You are mine" says the Lord.
"You are mine!" And perhaps that's the best label of all...
I am the Lord's
Fear not and Laugh Often!
David!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Loss
I will never greet a New Year with the same gusto and excitement that I used to after what I experienced the first few days of last year... 2012
It began with a friend's husband taking his own life at work leaving behind a beautiful wife and two precious children ages seven and nine. To be with the new widow at her breakfast table at 9:15 only an hour after the news of her loss, with her kleenex clenched hands on her tear stained cheeks, elbows on the table, still in her bath robe and looking across the table her voice cracking asking the painful question, "What do I do now?", was a moment in time where the oxygen of life was sucked out of the air and the lone heartbeat of brokenness and pain was the only sound I could hear.
Ninety minutes later we stood at the door of her mother-in-law's apartment knowing full well that as soon as that proud mom openend the door her world would be forever changed. Watching her body crumple at the news was like watching that scene out of "Saving Private Ryan" all over again... only much worse.
Four hours later the children ran across the backyard from the yellow school bus full of "first day back to school" joy and within seconds the joy leapt from their little hearts into the abyss of anguish.
That was Tuesday, January 2, 2012.
It was only a prelude to what would take place the next day, January 3, 2012...
At 5:15 pm I received a phone call with a crying voice on the other end of the line pleading for me to come to the emergency room. Upon my arrival there they were... two proud grandparents and there was the grandson, born six weeks early, oxygen deprived for over 10 minutes with the mother in ICU fighting for her life. The son of these two faithful parents was in Seattle training to be a manager. He would start driving home only to be told to stop in Portland where his wife and new son would be life flighted. We held that little boy's littlest of hands and prayed and prayed...
Nine hours earlier everyone was healthy and normal. Six hours later both Mother and Son would be resting in the arms of Jesus. The father left behind to explain to his toddler daughter why mommy and her new baby brother weren't coming home... ever...
Ten weeks later I would leave Klamath Falls leaving the pastorate and becoming a Vice President at the University of Dubuque.
Nine months later I am calling the year of 2012, "The Lost Year."
Lots of loss in 2012... loss of a job, loss of friends, loss of security, loss of being in a profession and calling that seemed to come so naturally, loss of spiritual identity, the loss of a home, the loss of a routine, the loss of comfortableness, the loss of being the spiritual leader of a great church, and the feeling of being lost spiritually.
So... the questions arise from many people... "In the lostness, I cannot 'feel' God. Where did He go? Where is He? Why won't He comfort me? Why did He abandon me?"
Have you ever asked those questions? Have you ever just asked one of those questions?
Me too...
This is my iWitness...
God is always where He always is... right there! Right next to the very soul of my heart. So close to my hand that the hairs on the back of my hand bow in reverence to His presence. So close to my broken heart that the only reason it actually beats to a rhythmic cadence is because His hands squeeze it in perfect time. So close to my buckling knees that it is only by His strong arms that He keeps me upright and enables me to place one foot in front of the other.
Oh... I may not "feel" the presence all at once but I am comforted by God's words found in
Isaiah 41 and 43...
"You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off";
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine."
Today, at the funeral of a 50 year old man whose wife is hurting beyond repair, a friend of mine sent these words to me that were used at the funeral...
"Though the voice is quiet, the Spirit echoes still..."
I have had no doubt for the last nine months that I was walking hand in hand with God and that He was leading me on a journey that is just that... a journey. On the journey there will be loss, there will be gains, there will be sadness, there will be joy, there will be mistakes, there will be hearty laughter, there will be buckets of tears, there will be forgiveness and best of all, there God will be... every step of the way, step by step... Praise be to God.
Fear not and Laugh often!
David!
It began with a friend's husband taking his own life at work leaving behind a beautiful wife and two precious children ages seven and nine. To be with the new widow at her breakfast table at 9:15 only an hour after the news of her loss, with her kleenex clenched hands on her tear stained cheeks, elbows on the table, still in her bath robe and looking across the table her voice cracking asking the painful question, "What do I do now?", was a moment in time where the oxygen of life was sucked out of the air and the lone heartbeat of brokenness and pain was the only sound I could hear.
Ninety minutes later we stood at the door of her mother-in-law's apartment knowing full well that as soon as that proud mom openend the door her world would be forever changed. Watching her body crumple at the news was like watching that scene out of "Saving Private Ryan" all over again... only much worse.
Four hours later the children ran across the backyard from the yellow school bus full of "first day back to school" joy and within seconds the joy leapt from their little hearts into the abyss of anguish.
That was Tuesday, January 2, 2012.
It was only a prelude to what would take place the next day, January 3, 2012...
At 5:15 pm I received a phone call with a crying voice on the other end of the line pleading for me to come to the emergency room. Upon my arrival there they were... two proud grandparents and there was the grandson, born six weeks early, oxygen deprived for over 10 minutes with the mother in ICU fighting for her life. The son of these two faithful parents was in Seattle training to be a manager. He would start driving home only to be told to stop in Portland where his wife and new son would be life flighted. We held that little boy's littlest of hands and prayed and prayed...
Nine hours earlier everyone was healthy and normal. Six hours later both Mother and Son would be resting in the arms of Jesus. The father left behind to explain to his toddler daughter why mommy and her new baby brother weren't coming home... ever...
Ten weeks later I would leave Klamath Falls leaving the pastorate and becoming a Vice President at the University of Dubuque.
Nine months later I am calling the year of 2012, "The Lost Year."
Lots of loss in 2012... loss of a job, loss of friends, loss of security, loss of being in a profession and calling that seemed to come so naturally, loss of spiritual identity, the loss of a home, the loss of a routine, the loss of comfortableness, the loss of being the spiritual leader of a great church, and the feeling of being lost spiritually.
So... the questions arise from many people... "In the lostness, I cannot 'feel' God. Where did He go? Where is He? Why won't He comfort me? Why did He abandon me?"
Have you ever asked those questions? Have you ever just asked one of those questions?
Me too...
This is my iWitness...
God is always where He always is... right there! Right next to the very soul of my heart. So close to my hand that the hairs on the back of my hand bow in reverence to His presence. So close to my broken heart that the only reason it actually beats to a rhythmic cadence is because His hands squeeze it in perfect time. So close to my buckling knees that it is only by His strong arms that He keeps me upright and enables me to place one foot in front of the other.
Oh... I may not "feel" the presence all at once but I am comforted by God's words found in
Isaiah 41 and 43...
"You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off";
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine."
Today, at the funeral of a 50 year old man whose wife is hurting beyond repair, a friend of mine sent these words to me that were used at the funeral...
"Though the voice is quiet, the Spirit echoes still..."
I have had no doubt for the last nine months that I was walking hand in hand with God and that He was leading me on a journey that is just that... a journey. On the journey there will be loss, there will be gains, there will be sadness, there will be joy, there will be mistakes, there will be hearty laughter, there will be buckets of tears, there will be forgiveness and best of all, there God will be... every step of the way, step by step... Praise be to God.
Fear not and Laugh often!
David!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Forgiveness
I went to the bank yesterday to deposit a check. I looked in the back of the checkbook and there were no deposit slips. Lots of checks… lots of ways to spend money… lots of opportunities to get rid of money but no deposit slips… no easy way to put money into my account.
I looked at the teller with that face of improvisation and said, “Oh, I guess I need to use one of these” as I grabbed the generic brand deposit slip where you have to use your own pen to write down every bit of information known to you and all of your Facebook friends. I filled in every space without incidence until it came to the part known as “Account Number”.
It had about 11 little rectangles where I was supposed to put my account number. “No worries”, I thought as I looked at a blank check with about 20 numbers on the bottom of the check. So I got started with great gusto, copying down the numbers into the 11 little rectangles. About halfway through I realized that I had more numbers than little rectangles. Sheepishly I looked up at the teller. She had a big smile on her face. “I think I am writing down the wrong numbers”, I confessed. Her answer was straight and to the point. “Yes you are.”
I reached for a new generic deposit slip. My suggestion, “Should I just start all over?” was quickly rebuffed with one smooth action on her part. She grabbed a little gizmo called the “Bic Wite-Out” and with three quick strokes she “whited-out” my mistakes. I stood there rather amazed. Where there was once scribble and wrong numbers, now there was just pure white space. A blank slate. I wrote down the correct numbers, slid the deposit slip over to the teller’s waiting hand and within fifteen seconds my deposit was secure. I looked at her and she looked at me. She smiled. I smiled and walked out the door, laughing in spite of myself.
Here’s my “iWitness”…
With three quick strokes of the “Wite-Out” my mistakes at the Bank were wiped clean.
With three nails pounded through the body of Jesus, my mistakes in the Bank of Life were wiped clean.
With three nails pounded through the body of Jesus, my mistakes in the Bank of Life were wiped clean.
In all my efforts to say, “should I start over?” or “should I do this or should I do that?”, Jesus is quick in His response – “No, I’ve got this!” And with three nails my sins are forgiven. Jesus does that which I cannot do for myself. The forgiveness of my sins.
I look at Jesus. Jesus looks at me. He smiles, even begins to laugh. I smile and walk on, forgiveness of sins securely desposited in the Bank of Grace, humbly laughing in the amazement of it all, grateful for the one who forgives, the one who “wites-out” my sins…
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah 1. 18
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah 1. 18
Laugh often and Fear Not!
David!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
More than meets the Eye
My children Faith and Joshua are now at an age where they are still learning to read and at the same time reading to learn.
Yesterday, my ever so creative wife, Julie engaged Faith and Joshua in a word game while she was preparing the New Year's Day breakfast. (Which was absolutely delicious!)
Julie wrote down two simple words NEW YEAR
Two word, seven letters, six different letters...
She then cut up the two words into their seven individual respective letters
Underneath NEW YEAR she wrote the numbers 1-10 like this:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The challenge was to arrange as many words as possible using only the letters found in NEW YEAR
As I was watching my first thought was, "I am not sure even I can come up with ten words."
At first glance how many words do you think you can come up with?
Well, the whole family got involved in the game.
After about 10 minutes we came up with 29 words!
Couple of thoughts...
1. When we think that there may only be one or two or even ten different options to choose from when facing an issue, problem, situation or challenge, God just might have 29 different positions, angles or solutions in mind.
2. Faith and Joshua got stuck after six or seven words. With some help from some older and more experienced players (Mom and Dad) the results yielded 29 words. How many times do we try and figure out things on our own when there are more experienced and sometimes wiser people that God has placed right in our midst to help us out. Seeking God and yes, seeking input from other Christian friends just might give us a wider and better perspective than we may have originally thought.
"Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11. 14
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3. 5-6
Laugh often and Fear not!
That is my iWitness for the day...
David!
Yesterday, my ever so creative wife, Julie engaged Faith and Joshua in a word game while she was preparing the New Year's Day breakfast. (Which was absolutely delicious!)
Julie wrote down two simple words NEW YEAR
Two word, seven letters, six different letters...
She then cut up the two words into their seven individual respective letters
Underneath NEW YEAR she wrote the numbers 1-10 like this:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The challenge was to arrange as many words as possible using only the letters found in NEW YEAR
As I was watching my first thought was, "I am not sure even I can come up with ten words."
At first glance how many words do you think you can come up with?
Well, the whole family got involved in the game.
After about 10 minutes we came up with 29 words!
Couple of thoughts...
1. When we think that there may only be one or two or even ten different options to choose from when facing an issue, problem, situation or challenge, God just might have 29 different positions, angles or solutions in mind.
2. Faith and Joshua got stuck after six or seven words. With some help from some older and more experienced players (Mom and Dad) the results yielded 29 words. How many times do we try and figure out things on our own when there are more experienced and sometimes wiser people that God has placed right in our midst to help us out. Seeking God and yes, seeking input from other Christian friends just might give us a wider and better perspective than we may have originally thought.
"Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11. 14
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3. 5-6
Laugh often and Fear not!
That is my iWitness for the day...
David!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Last night on New Year's Eve we decided to order pizza for dinner. I went to the Pizza Hut carry out place and was told that it would be a few minutes. An older couple sat patiently in the only two chairs available for people waiting for their order.
After standing for a few minutes a woman walked in. She must have been a regular as the Pizza Hut employees called her by name as she entered... "Charity." Within two minutes her name was called and the girl behind the counter carried out a variety of pizzas (square and rectagular boxes) along with bread sticks and a two liter bottle of Pepsi. As Charity tried to pick up the order in her hands I could tell she was wondering how she was going to open the door to get out. She managed to pick up the meal in one swoop and turned and looked at the door. I was already there with the door open. With surprise in her voice she said, "I was wondering how I was going to get through the door." I simply replied, "I was a step ahead of you. Have a great night. Happy New Year." Down the front steps she went and off into the night to celebrate.
Another five minutes went by and the girl behind the desk called out "Hermstead?" The older couple looked at each other, chuckled a bit and stood up to receive four large pizzas along with an order of bread sticks. My surprised facial response must have spoken to the older lady as she looked at me and said, "These are for my son and his friends." I said, "Wow! He is going to have a good time tonight." Her husband heading out the door, she paused and turned to look at me and with a sweet smile and gentle face she went on to explain, "You see... my son in handicapped and we do this for him every New year's Eve." And with a few more "Happy New Years" she and her husband were out the door.
A few things stood out for me from this encounter...
1. "Charity" is a word that is translated into "love" in many Bibles. When I opened the door for the woman named "Charity", I was ushering "Charity" throught the door. In a sense I was letting "love" walk through the door of my life. What would happen if I ushered in God's love through the door of my life every day? How many times do I allow skepticism, cynicism and doubt walk through the door instead of love? May 2013 be a year of ushering in love.
2. Charity wondered how she was going to get out the door. I was already there to provide the way out. Whatever predicament or problem or issue I may be having, God is already there providing direction and perhaps even opening the door before us as we wonder, "How in the world am I going to get through this?" Good news... God is already there! A step ahead of us!
3. I was so touched by the older couple's devotion and annual tradition of providing pizza for their handicapped son on New Year's eve. I have no doubt they provide in all sorts of ways for their son throughout the year. When we have children they are our children for the rest of our lives and we care for them as such. Parenting doesn't stop when they turn 18. How much more does God care for His children relentlessly and lovingly.
That's my "iWitness" for the day.
I love the words of one of my favorite Praise songs...
"Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see you, I want to see you"
iWitness wants to see you Lord! That is our prayer for the day and the year!
Laugh often and fear not!
David!
After standing for a few minutes a woman walked in. She must have been a regular as the Pizza Hut employees called her by name as she entered... "Charity." Within two minutes her name was called and the girl behind the counter carried out a variety of pizzas (square and rectagular boxes) along with bread sticks and a two liter bottle of Pepsi. As Charity tried to pick up the order in her hands I could tell she was wondering how she was going to open the door to get out. She managed to pick up the meal in one swoop and turned and looked at the door. I was already there with the door open. With surprise in her voice she said, "I was wondering how I was going to get through the door." I simply replied, "I was a step ahead of you. Have a great night. Happy New Year." Down the front steps she went and off into the night to celebrate.
Another five minutes went by and the girl behind the desk called out "Hermstead?" The older couple looked at each other, chuckled a bit and stood up to receive four large pizzas along with an order of bread sticks. My surprised facial response must have spoken to the older lady as she looked at me and said, "These are for my son and his friends." I said, "Wow! He is going to have a good time tonight." Her husband heading out the door, she paused and turned to look at me and with a sweet smile and gentle face she went on to explain, "You see... my son in handicapped and we do this for him every New year's Eve." And with a few more "Happy New Years" she and her husband were out the door.
A few things stood out for me from this encounter...
1. "Charity" is a word that is translated into "love" in many Bibles. When I opened the door for the woman named "Charity", I was ushering "Charity" throught the door. In a sense I was letting "love" walk through the door of my life. What would happen if I ushered in God's love through the door of my life every day? How many times do I allow skepticism, cynicism and doubt walk through the door instead of love? May 2013 be a year of ushering in love.
2. Charity wondered how she was going to get out the door. I was already there to provide the way out. Whatever predicament or problem or issue I may be having, God is already there providing direction and perhaps even opening the door before us as we wonder, "How in the world am I going to get through this?" Good news... God is already there! A step ahead of us!
3. I was so touched by the older couple's devotion and annual tradition of providing pizza for their handicapped son on New Year's eve. I have no doubt they provide in all sorts of ways for their son throughout the year. When we have children they are our children for the rest of our lives and we care for them as such. Parenting doesn't stop when they turn 18. How much more does God care for His children relentlessly and lovingly.
That's my "iWitness" for the day.
I love the words of one of my favorite Praise songs...
"Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see you, I want to see you"
iWitness wants to see you Lord! That is our prayer for the day and the year!
Laugh often and fear not!
David!
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