Pre-Birthday Musings

In a couple of days I will have one of th0se "benchmark" birthdays. This birthday has a zero in it, but does not have a 3,4 or 5. I must admit that for the first time, instead of thinking about all the things that need to be accomplished in the next few years, I have been much more reflective about what has already taken place, and what I could have done better. Don't get me wrong, this is not retirement time, I know I have some great years in front of me and I have plenty of energy. But I know I also want to factor in the time and energy to make sure that all of the positive influence I can exert, gets to the people I love and care about.

We have a plaque with the saying, "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child". Looking back, I hope this has been true in my life. A weeks ago I re-connected with a young man from one of the youth groups that we pastored. He wrote this on my Facebook wall: "I just wanted you to know that, at a time when I was in your college group, grinding away at college and feeling overwhelmed, you told me you were proud of me because I wasn't just killing time like a lot of the others but was actually trying to get an education. It was exactly the time I needed to hear that and...it gave me such encouragement to keep going even though I felt like I was missing out of a lot of the "fun" by having to go to school. So, YOU have a big part in my accomplishment and I wish you could have been here for my swearing-in." Today Tony is a Superior Court judge in California.

More musings later...

Landing On Your Feet

God really helps us "land on our feet". Let me explain. Our oldest daughter and son-in-law have been working at a church in Northern California for the past couple of years. They were brought on the pastoral staff by a senior pastor who told them he would be there "until I retire". Greener grass on the other side of fence lured him away to another church so our kids were asked to be the interim pastors. Unfortunately, the church had not been left in real good shape, so Jason & Aimee rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Sadly, partly because they are young and do not have a "ton" of experience, and partly because some Christians insist on their way no matter what, they had some great experiences and some not so great experiences. All in all, they feel good about their time of leadership in this church. However, as the decision to hire a new pastor came closer, it was painfully obvious that church finances were not going to allow a pastor and an associate pastor. Plus, our kids were living in the parsonage that would have to be vacated when a new pastor came on board. So here they are; the pastor that hired them left, they can't stay in spite of all they have done, some people would love to have them become the new pastors and some would like to see them gone "as soon as possible".

So what do they do...they trust God. He opens a door and as they explore the open door they realize that God is really in this. So as it turns out, today they are packing their home up in Northern California and tomorrow they'll drive north 4 hours to Medford, OR. Our daughter will join the staff there as their new Children's Pastor and our son-in-law will be a Pastor on the staff, serving the Senior Pastor, plus working on his ministerial credentials and furthering his education. Today, Kathy (my wife), called the church to arrange for some flowers for Aimee's office when she arrives at the church on Friday. The secretary she talked with went on and on about how excited they are about our kids joining their staff. This church can't wait for them to get there and start working along side them. So, from one difficult situation to a wonderful new opportunity. God really does help us "land on our feet".

Change Brings Change

Last Sunday night was the end of a wonderful, weekly event for me. Our Sunday evening service always ends with a time of prayer. The congregation is invited to come to the altars, walk the aisles, or pray in whatever manner is comfortable for them. During this prayer time we play music that is appropriate for this quiet time. In fact, the inspiration for the CD that I recorded in 2005, Gentle Worship, Quiet Praise, came from these 30-45 minute sessions in which we played from one song to the next without much of a break. While we have had different musicians join us from time to time, basically Jonathan Gathman and myself have been the primary musicians. Over the years that I have been on the staff of WCAG, this evening service has diminished in attendance and beginning March 1st, our Sunday evening and Wednesday evening schedules are changing. One of the changes is the elimination of the Sunday evening service.

Jonathan is one of the greatest musicians I have ever had the pleasure of performing with. He moves effortlessly between the cello and recorder. His mastery of the cello is phenomenal. There have been times during our playing that I was so distracted from my own contribution because I was so taken with what I was hearing Jonathan play. There were other times when we both wished the session had been recorded because we knew that something special had taken place. For us, this became a worship time, our playing to God, that benefited us far more than anyone else who might be praying, and listening. I know people enjoyed our playing. They told us every week. When you play with someone week after week, you begin to "feel" how the other player will interpret the song you are playing. In our case, we would exchange the lead or melody without having to signal each other or say "you take the lead". In most cases I would change songs and Jonathan would follow, changing keys with me so easily that most people would think that we had written down all the songs, keys and arrangements. I think that when musicians truly worship God in their playing, you almost play beyond your ability. I think there were many times that Jonathan and both felt like that is exactly what was happening.

Last Sunday night we played as usual. As people began to leave, we finished up the last song. My emotions got the best of me as we played the last phrase and brought the song to a conclusion. When I stood up from the piano and turned around to thank Jonathan, it was obvious the same thing had happened to him. We embraced, and almost simultaneously we each said "I'm really going to miss this", and that was that. I'm really going to miss those times...

Good Reads

I try to read a couple of books a month. I vary my selections to include books that help me in my professional life, my personal life and then I read for fun. I have 3 suggestions for you, if you are a reader, that touch each area I outlined above.

The first book enhanced my professional life. The title is Who Stole My Church by Gordon McDonald. McDonald is a well-known pastor and prolific author. In this book, Gordon tells a story in novel form that outlines the changes that a traditional church makes as it tries to connect with present day culture. If your church is "changing", and you are having difficulty with some of the changes, this is a good read for you. The publisher is Thomas Nelson.

The second book helped me personally and is titled Meltdown (A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse) by Thomas E. Woods Jr. Woods is a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. In 2006 Woods won a first prize in literature from the Templeton Enterprise Awards. He is a prolific author on economic subjects. In this book he gives a good history of economics in America, details the Great Depression, compares it to the financial collapse in Japan, and compares Great Depression thinking to our present economic crises. As you can tell by the sub-title, he does not agree with the present governmental course of action. This is a good book for people who want to understand what is going on, but do not want a lot of technical information. The publisher is Regnery Publishing, Inc. I bought my copy at Borders.

The final book I just finished was for fun. I've been a John Grishman fan since his first book, A Time To Kill. This brand new book is titled The Associate. It has a captivating story line that grabs you from the very first chapter. I read it in a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it. Many of Grisham's books are about lawyers and legal matters. This one explores the world of huge New York City law firms and brand new Ivy League lawyers. The publisher is Doubleday and I saved a ton by buying my copy at Sam's Club.

Here's a tip to save some money at Borders. Join their free reward program. Every week you get emailed coupons that can save 20%-40%. If you wait for a book to go on their normal 40% off pricing, with the coupon you can a lot off the price.

Trusting God In Difficult Times

As you know, a huge spending bill has been passed by our Congress and will be signed by the President in the next couple of days. While this is being touted as the "solve-all" for our country's financial woes, history and a study of sound economic strategy, tells me different. I believe that all of us in the middle class are in for some difficult and trying times.

Here are a few promises from God's Word to meditate on:
God will be with us - Isaiah 43:2-3
God cares for us - Matthew 6:28-30
God will provide for us - Matthew 6:31-33
God will give us peace - Philippians 4:6-7
God will give us strength to endure hard times - Philippians 4:12-13
God will bless us as we bless others - Proverbs 11:25

Spend a few minutes looking at these scriptures. Allow the Spirit of God to point out key elements of His truth as you read His Word. We know and love a great God. And He knows us far better than we know ourselves. We can trust Him...

Heaven

A few months ago I purchased a book by Randy Alcorn titled Heaven. It is a near exhaustive book about Heaven, written in question and answer form. I worked through a lot of the book and then put it down, meaning to get back to it, but never did. A few weeks ago a member of our congregation gave me a small version titled Touchpoints Heaven. It is a much smaller version of the book I already mentioned, with 3 major divisions. First, the Present Heaven; second, the Eternal Heaven; and Life on the New Earth. This last section was fascinating. It included topics like age, alien life, angels, animals, books and reading, culture, free will, homes, marriage, sex, sports, technology and much more. I must admit that while the author uses scriptures for all of his answers, some of the scriptural applications seem to me to be a "stretch". However, this does not take away from this wonderful subject and the great treatment that Randy Alcorn gives it. Even if you are not much of a reader, this little $5 book reads very quickly and is packed with a lot of information. You will be amazed and inspired by what God has in store for those who know him!

She Is My Lady - For My Valentine

I am a Donny Hathaway fan. I have enjoyed his music, starting with 33 1/3 records, cassettes, Cd's and now on my iPod. One of the songs he sang on his self titled album Donny Hathaway is an all-time favorite because it describes my wife, Kathy, so well. So here is my early valentine to "my lady".

I've learned to live for the sound of her laughter
Her sunny smile is my only light
To love her now is the sole thing that I'm after
I'll make her melody my life
She came to me when I knew I'd lost the meaning
Lifted the shadow from across my way
She touched my heart with the sweet song she was singing
Brought back the sun into my days

Oooh she is my lady
I'm a witness to the wonder of her ways
Oooh she's my lady
The solitary reason for my days

And sometimes when my burdens just seem too overbearing
The girl turns my tears with a single sigh
She taught me loving
And through love we both learned sharing
Right now she's every, every reason why

Oooh she is my lady
I'm a witness to the wonder of her ways
Oooh she's my lady
The solitary reason for my days

A New King

The book of Genesis ends with the wonderful account of Joseph, the re-uniting of his family, and God's provision for His chosen people. I love reading this entire story over and over. I just finished reading it again in my daily through-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule. However, chapter 1, verse 8 of the book of Exodus begins, "Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 'Look', he said to his people, 'the Israelites have become much to numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.'

When I read these verses, I immediately thought of our country and our recent change in presidential administrations. While I want to be supportive, and will pray for our new president and administration, already he/they have made changes that I cannot support. I cannot support my tax dollars, for instance, being used as foreign aid to pay for women to have abortions. I cannot support the use of embryonic stem cells to be used for research. I cannot support major aspects of the financial bail-out/stimulus package that has been put together. I wonder if this "king" has forgotten where we've come from, on Who's principles and truth this country was founded on, a more importantly, what will happen when Christians begin to protest anti-Biblical policies and legislation. I pray that Josephs will rise up, be recognised at the highest levels of government and be able to make a difference. Is a Joseph reading this blog...