I have attended dinners to show appreciation to a person or group, I have signed letters or posters to show support, I have witnessed the unveiling of statues and monuments in honor of some celebrity. I have seen the stars in the sidewalk in Hollywood, watched as athletes’ numbers are retired, and participated in the dedication of a building named for the honoree.
If you someone were to honor you, what would you consider the best/highest possible way to do so?
Recently our youth group at church decided to spend a day in our community doing random acts of kindness. They did all sorts of things, like hand out water to workers on a construction site, offer to wash car windows or check tire pressure at gas stations (after asking permission from the manager), clean up an old city cemetery, and more. They did not even give out information about the church, they wanted to do something good without expectation of reciprocation of any kind.
It was an eye-opener to the kids. The primary response to the young people, at least the initial response, was mistrust. Folks were either afraid of the kids or thought there was some scam involved. Most often the recipients of the RAK were able to loosen up and accept the kindness, but some completely refused.
Does that say something about our society, teens, or just our town?
Manny Ramirez got his wish and was traded from the Boston Red Sox today before the trading deadline. I was a bit surprised, because his antics in Boston are not that new, but this time he really got on the nerves of the front office and they made a big deal today. In the three team deal, Los Angeles, the Dodgers, received Manny. In return they sent two prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also received two prime prospects from the Red Sox. The Pirates sent their best player, Jason Bay, to the Red Sox.
The Dodgers will get a lot of offense from Manny and will probably be in the playoffs. The Pirates got four players for one, two of whom are very highly regarded! The Red Sox got rid of a problem child–who can really hit. But they may not reach the playoffs. The big winner in the deal seems to me to be the Tampa Bay Rays, who should pull away from Boston in the AL East race!
I just finished the third in the Civil War trilogy of novels written by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. The series is very entertaining. The historical work of these two authors is impressive. The depiction of the weight of command in the midst of war is intense and the horror of the carnage in our country’s struggle is gruesome. The strategies are illuminating.
The most fascinating element of the last book, Never Call Retreat, to me was that the Gingricgh and Forstchen brought the war to a close about a year and a half earlier than it happened in history. Their presentation suggested that if the war had ended in the way they depicted, the country would have healed in a much shorter time and the equality of all men would have been a reality at least a century earlier.
If you enjoy good writing and a look into some of the most important people and issues of our society, I would suggest you take the time to read the entire trilogy!
Teaching at church camp is one of my favorite things in life, and it is always a learning experience for me as well as the kids. Last week I again had the tenth graders, thirty eight of them. They were great! And I was tickled to have a young minister work with me this year who not so long ago he sat in my class at the same camp!
Usually at camp I am a pretty creative and active teacher. I use a lot of teaching techniques to keep the class thinking and discovering for themselves. This year our study was in the Minor Prophets, with the aim of seeing “How Great Is Our God.” We have a morning class of an hour and fifteen minutes and an afternoon class of forty five minutes. I made a decision that the sophomores would read, or hear read, as much of the texts of those books as possible. Paul set the scene for each reading and then one of the guys would read the message of God through the prophet. The kids were then asked to create a MySpace bulletin that might be sent to the rest of the campers to transmit the message they had just heard.
I went to camp thinking that at least half the kids would fall asleep during the readings. I mean, it is hot and the kids are tired and the messages are, in some cases, long and a bit repetitive! I figured that for the first time in my camp experience they would find my class boring. But I wanted them to hear the Word of God so much that I was willing to take the chance.
We did have a three or four that could not keep their eyes open, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many read along with the “prophet” in their own Bibles. I was even more pleased at how much they understood the main message of the various texts, especially the traits of our great God!
It made me wonder how I could have doubted that the Bible itself would not suffice to teach those precious kids. And it reinforced my idea that we all need to actually read it more than we do!
Temptations and trials are difficult to deal with rationally. When tragedy strikes we automatically think of self. If a hurricane comes and destroys the home in which I live, my first thought is, “Why me?” If someone near and dear to me is struck with a serious illness, my first question is, “How much must I bear?”
I fail o remember that Go has ordained that the sun will shine on the just and the unjust. He does not discriminate! The best answer to the question, “Why me?”, is, “Why not.”
Matthew 5:45 “For He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness.”
A friend of mine from the Caribbean is in town for a couple of days. His son graduated from college in Tennessee earlier in the month. He has extended his stay to allow him to make contact with churches that have supported him in his ministry over the past 30 years.
Tomorrow I will take him to a small town in the Hill Country of Texas. He will speak there on Sunday. I am going to take my two grandsons along for the trip. We will stay overnight, then get up on Friday and allow them to shoot the BB guns at the turtles in the catfish pond on our host’s place.
They are excited, this is the first time I have let them shoot the BB gun. I bet they wake up early Saturday in order to get out to the pond. I wonder if the turtles are in any danger.
My first degree is a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching with certifications in biology and physical education. I have an affinity for the field of biology and the incredible progress that has been made in understanding our planet through the sciences. It is amazing to see the advances made in medical and communication technologies in my life time.
It is also amazing at how entrenched the theories of Darwinian evolution have become in the scientific community. There is no doubt that micro evolution takes place within species of animals. But there is very much that denies that macro evolution takes place; that is the big jumps from one kind to another.
Over the weekend I went to see Expelled—The Movie, starring Ben Stein. It is a look at the climate surrounding the scientific community in regard to the question of Intelligent Design. There is a growing number of people, scientists included, that believe the idea of an Intelligence behind the beginnings of life is a viable answer to the questions of the origins of life. But when such ideas are proposed or mentioned in the place of higher learning as worthy of discussion, the scientific community reacts swiftly and summarily to have it removed, along with the ones making the proposal.
I was particularly drawn to the discussions of the advances in the study of cell biology that were presented in film. So many things have been discovered since the time I was in school. I was facsinated to see the things learned about the order and structure with the cell, how the components work in such a precise way. I makes me want to get back in a lab and let someone show me those things first hand. It also solidifies my belief that there is an Intelligence behind the functions. Random accidents cannot produce such complexities!
In the movie, Stein reveals the issue in a sound and sane way, suggesting that in a free society we should be able to present ideas for consideration without being muzzled by those in power who disagree. The movie deserves to be seen. There have been factions trying to keep it out of movie houses, but it is available in a few in our area. I hope many go see it and form their own conclusions.
There is a story in Judges, chapter 9, that needs to be brought to our attention occasionally. A wicked man, Abimelech, killed seventy men to insure that he would be chosen king of Shechem. When the righteous Jotham heard that Abimelech had indeed been appointed, he told a very pointed parable about the trees.
The trees were seeking a king ad sought first to anoint the olive tree, who refused for a seemingly good reason. Next the fig tree was approached, but he also refused. Eventually the grape vine was asked to serve, but he likewise declined. Finally the trees requested the bramble (thorn bush) to become their king. Verse 15 says, “And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade.”
Jotham used the parable to make a point about the situation in which he found himself. I’d like to make one about more current circumstances. It seems to me that the trees showed good judgment initially in recognizing the one who ought to be their leader, the one with the most talent. Undaunted by the olive’s refusal they turned to the fig, who was nearly as talented as the olive. Imagine the frustration felt by the entire group as they could get no one who qualified to lead take up the leadership responsibility. As the frustration mounted, they turned to the worthless, even troublesome thornbush.
I am afraid that phenomenon is not isolated to imaginary forests, but that it is true in the jungle of humanity. We desperately need leaders, everyone recognizes it. And yet we have refusal after refusal on the part of important and blessed men. If we have the talent and do not supply it to those that need it, we surrender the right to complain about the way we are led by a thorn bush. If I am not mistaken, you have to crawl to get in the shade of a bramble!
I am in the midst of moving from my old office to the one I am to occupy in our new wing. Among the things I found stored was a cache of old bulletin articles I had written in 1980. I had kept them with some vague idea that I might compile them into a volume to submit for publication sometime in the future. Well, it is the future, and I am not sure I am up to a compilation or receiving rejection letters. I decided to put some on my blog. Here is the one from December 11 of that year.
My dad and I were together for an afternoon and evening a couple of weeks ago. We went to see a high school football playoff game at the Astrodome. We used to do such things often when I lived in Lake Jackson, but it was the first time in a good while that we have done it. We both enjoyed it. I hope we don’t wait so long to get together for another such outing again.
While driving to the Dome we began reminiscing about his mother and some of her philosophies. This lady was one of those truly great Christians. She lived her faith every day, her good deeds were a positive force on everyone who lived in her small farming community. She believed in doing her best at whatever she was involved in, whether the task was a pleasant one or not. She complained very seldom and expected to do her share. She slept soundly every night, she said, because she did not have a guilty conscience. Now her rest is eternally secured.
Her philosophy is not one that is widely spread in our society today. All too often we only want to do enough to get by. We look for ease and comfort. Frequently we expect to have things given to us. We would rather be “done for” than “do for” someone else. This attitude is prevalent in our work, our family life, our religious life, everywhere. At the appearance of a stumbling block, we give up.
We need to be ready to fight for the victory. Without combat, no victory is reached. Without labor, we cannot arrive at rest. My Christian brothers, be the best you can be. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
