Lovebirds
April 12th, 2011
Back in Marlow, the term “lovebirds” was applied (negatively) to people who were showing too much display of affection in public. I had no idea that the primary meaning of the word referred to a pair of parrots, multi-colored, native to Africa. The unique thing about these real “lovebirds” is that they bond to one another and to their owner in a most unusual way.
I recently drove my wife to the hair salon. While she was doing her thing, I went to the local Dunkin’ Donuts and did my thing! I sat outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine in spite of the heavy pollen count. Halfway through my cup of coffee, I saw two birds sitting on the table beside me. At the same table there was a woman working with her computer. Assuming that the birds had escaped their cage and been attracted to pieces of donuts on the patio, I asked the woman, “Are those your birds?” Almost before she could answer, I asked a second question, “Won’t they fly away?” “Oh, no.” she said calmly. “They’re lovebirds. They’re bonded to each other and to me.” The woman later went to retrieve something from her car – the birds stayed on the table. A family with five lively children walked by and the birds stayed on the table.
The words of Jesus came to my mind and overwhelmed me: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish (John 10:27-28). The question I asked myself is, “Am I that bonded to Jesus?” Maybe we should ask ourselves that question more often.
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Good Night John Boy!
February 24th, 2010
“Good Night, John Boy!” Staff meetings at Ridgedale are every pastor’s dream (or nightmare!). It’s a time when all the ministers get together, have lunch, have a devotional, pray together, coordinate our ministries, and share a lot of opinions! The event takes place every week and usually takes half a day. It’s the only time that we all get together in a typical week and sounds much like the Walton’s “Good Night” routine.
Even though there are no rules for our meetings, there’s a general expectation of what our purpose and personal involvement are. Each week, a different minister leads the weekly devotion. The assigned minister also gets to choose where we eat. We go to some interesting places!
Recently, it was Judi’s week. I pulled rank on Judi and chose Genghis Grill (downtown on Market). Great place to eat. You choose your own meat, vegetables, sauces, etc and they cook it for you. I give it 4 stars!
Afterwards, back in the staff meeting, Judi talked to us about the earthquake in
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Donut Time in Tennessee
November 12th, 2009
Waiting for Godot. Does that ring a bell? It’s a play by Samuel Beckett that I studied in college. Two characters waited for Godot, who was a no-show.
We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting in the check-out line, waiting in traffic, waiting for the traffic light, waiting for the last person to come to the dinner table so the meal can begin, waiting for the copy machine to warm up, waiting for the computer to crank out a list of names and addresses we needed yesterday.
I tend to get a little restless when I have to wait. My wife would say that I get cranky.
Recently, I took my grandson to get a donut, a Saturday morning treat for both of us. But the donut shop was “Closed for renovation.” Two weeks later, I drove by the same shop and there was a new sign: “Dunkin’ Donut Coming Soon.” Being the donut aficionado that I am, how soon was soon??
The big day came on
When we got to the donut shop, the parking lot was full and there was a long line, but I knew it would be worth it. Finally we got to the register. I made my purchase and could hardly wait (irony) to consume my reward. My pastry was filled with custard, not the white sugary cream I had anticipated. My decaf coffee was not hot, not warm, nearly cold; I would have settled for just about right.
Sometimes, the things we wait for never happen (Godot, the Great Pumpkin….) Sometimes, what we get after the wait isn’t worth the wait. Am I missing something? In God’s great master-plan for my life, maybe the thing missing is creative waiting. When God puts me in a waiting line, it’s definitely not because He’s too busy.
What if it’s not about what happens AFTER you wait but what happens WHILE you wait? The next time I have to wait, I’m going to play along with God. When He says, “I know something you should do,” I’m going to look around for clues. That’s probably what He meant when He said, “Good things come to those who wait.” Actually, that’s not a direct quote but a lot of people think it is. What the Word actually says is that those who creatively wait upon the Lord will discover a burst of energy and soar to new heights (Isaiah 40:31 my paraphrase). Have fun waiting, and be a blessing while you’re doing it!
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Summertime!
June 30th, 2009
It’s summertime. Mosquitos, cicadas, sunburns, and reunions. They all sound like a revisit to the plagues of
Why do people like reunions? I went to my wife’s 10-year high school reunion as well as my own 10-year reunion. The most frequently-heard comment at both was: “You haven’t changed a bit.” The most frequently-thought idea was: “I look so young; I can’t believe I graduated with these over-weight, wrinkled losers.” Self-perception is a strange thing. We simply can’t see in ourselves what is so apparent in others. To underscore that absurdity, Jesus made a joke about a man with a 2x4 in his eye criticizing his neighbor for having a speck of sawdust in his (Matthew 7:3-5). Some things never change.
Speaking of reunions, the Owens family is having a reunion this summer. Not sure how I feel. On the one hand, it will be nice to see everybody. On the other hand, it will be difficult because of who’s not there. We probably won’t play kick the can or any of the other games we used to play as children but I guarantee we will talk about the old times. The conversation about the past activities will bring joy to our hearts and smiles to our faces. Then, we’ll talk about how good it was to revisit our childhood and tell ourselves that we “must do this” more often.
I often hear believers talk about their involvement in God’s Kingdom in the same way. They have fond memories and wouldn’t take anything for their experiences. Like children grown up, all they do is talk. They miss the joy of assisting God in the new-birth process. They miss the fulfillment of reaching out to someone in need and meeting that need. It’s too bad that most of us stop doing and began talking about what we’ve done. Too bad. Reliving the past is never a substitute for living in the present.
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Tax Day!
April 20th, 2009
Blog
Tax Day –
Speaking of taxes, did you get invited to the Tea Party at Ross’s Landing on April 15? I got the invitation but was a no-show. I don’t think they really served tea or dumped any tea bags into the river. The participants were part of a nation-wide protest against the government’s spending of trillions of dollars. I have no idea what a trillion dollars is; how would I know what to protest?
Something else I can’t understand- if I wanted to travel around the perimeter of the universe, and could travel at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, it would take me 500 billion years to complete the journey.
Math is not my strong suit, but my best friend is a math teacher. Science isn’t my strong suit either, but my brother teaches science. My strong suit is probably God. I suddenly feel awkward. Even though I’m a seminary graduate, study my Bible daily, and have 60 years of “life experience,” I have done little more than scratch the underside of God’s toe nails. Here I am, still looking up, trying to discover, comprehend, and “know” God, my so-called strong suit. That’s okay. God became flesh, dwelt among my ancestors, that I might know Him. Awesome!
One of these days, I might start complaining about my taxes and have a tea party. One of these days, I might challenge the government’s spending trillions of dollars, but first I think I’ll make a list of God’s awesome attributes. Then, I’ll catalog His blessings. Who knows, if I live to be 500 billion years old, I might finish my lists and have some time to complain about politics or the world. In the meantime, I think it would “sweet” to reveal God to those who don’t fully understand Him. I’m already flesh; how can I show others what God is like? Uh oh! Looks like I have another humongous list. I should have seen that coming.
Catch you later; I’m going to crawl back under one of God’s toe nails and hopefully make some new friends and make someone else’s day a little brighter. Then, I’ll check off a couple of things on my list.
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