A Great Hymn Story

Joachim Neander was born on May 30, 1650. He only lived thirty years. In those thirty years he served faithfully an an endearing pastor and as the author of sixty hymns. In his spare time, he loved to hike through a beautiful valley near Dusseldorf, and after his untimely death from tuberculosis, this valley (or thal in German) was named for him - Neander-thal. (you know what's coming, don't you.)

Ironically, many years later the skeletal remains of an early race of humans were found in that valley and dubbed "Neanderthal man." The discovery gave a temporary boost to supporters of human evolution. How odd that the name of the writer of one of our greatest creation hymns should be attached to a theory he never would have supported.

   Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
   O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
   All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
   Praise Him in glad adoration.

   Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
   Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
   Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been
   Granted in what He ordaineth?

   Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
   All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
   Let the amen, sound from His people again,
   Gladly for aye we adore Him.

We Laid A Hero To Rest Today

Ted Wilding is a hero. He's a hero because he did the hard things well. He didn't shy away from responsibility and demonstrated a tremendous love for his wife even under a most difficult situation.

I met Ted nine years ago when I became the minster of music at West County Assembly of God. Ted played the tuba in our orchestra. Very early in my time at the church I had the opportunity to sit down with Ted and get to know him better and hear his story. The short version is that he had played the sousaphone and tuba in high school and college. Once he started in his career, he didn't play again. Much later in life, at the urging of other musicians, he started playing an old sousaphone. At one point, the minister of music at WCAG at the time, Doug Gilliland, arranged for the church to buy a new tuba for Ted to play. He didn't know if it was because Doug wanted a tuba rather than a sousaphone, or if it was because the sousaphone always played slightly flat. Either way, Ted, and the orchestra, was blessed with a brand new instrument. Ted also played in a brass quintet that make up the brass section of our orchestra. I love to hear them play.

Today the brass quintet was a quartet. Ted slipped into eternity last Tuesday evening some time, sitting in his favorite chair. He was the caretaker for his lovely wife Jo. I still remember the time when Ted told me that Jo had been diagnosed with dementia, and the prognosis was that it would probably turn into full blown Alzheimer's disease. Over time, we watched Jo start to slip away, and Ted faithfully took care of her. At one point he brought her to our rehearsals, so she could be close by. She needed to see him close. A few months ago he started taking her to the restroom during our rehearsals because he was afraid if she went on her own she might not find her way back. About the same time he told me that he was going to have to sit out playing for our worship services because Jo needed him to be close by. He still played with the Orchestra for special songs and presentations, but most Sundays he sat with Jo. Kathy and I went to the assisted living apartments where Ted and Jo lived for dinner a few times. It was wonderful to watch Ted take care of Jo, and to see her enjoy our visits because she felt so comfortable with Ted's care. I never once heard Ted complain about his and Jo's life. He was always upbeat and was a delight to be around, particularly at our Orchestra rehearsals.

Today we laughed at memories, cried some, played and sang some of Ted's favorite music, and said goodbye. The wonderful thing is that we'll see Ted again. The promise of eternity with those we love, and in God's presence is what sustains us through these times of loss. Ted Wilding is a hero...

The Miracle of God's Creation

I mentioned in my last blog that I had been in Albany, Oregon, visiting with our daughter Aimee, her husband Jason and our grandchildren. I also met our newest grand daughter, Norah Grace. I hadn't held a brand new baby in some time, so as I held her, many times, in the days I was there, I was reminded of how delicate and tiny and perfect, God's creation is. I was fascinated by her fingers, each one perfectly formed. Her tiny, tiny fingernails, miniatures of mine. Each facet and feature of her face placed there with exacting detail. While I realize I'm biased, this little girl is one of the most beautiful of God's creations.

Lately I have been fascinated with the bigness of God. Recently I read an article about the vastness of the universe and how that despite advances in methods to see farther out into space, the writer of the article concluded that we would really never know how big our universe is, much less what else is out there. As I thought about the findings of the author, I thought that God had to be bigger than we can possibly imagine in order to have created and bring order to this huge creation. Then, I was awed again as I sat and held Norah and marveled at God's incredible detail in miniature. I had an interesting question. How does a baby's heart start and how big is that heart. Scientists tell us that a baby's heart begins to beat at about 5 weeks after conception and at 5 weeks, the entire baby is only 1/16 to 1/8 inch (1.5 to 3 millimeters) long. That means that the heart is nearly microscopic. I wonder if God takes the responsibility to start each new heart? I wonder if His assistant says to Him, "God, today 27,567 new babies are ready to have their hearts start beating." And in His Omnipresent way, He begins the process of breathing life by starting brand new, tiny, tiny hearts beating.

I am constantly amazed that the Creator of the universe, is also the same God who cares about microscopic details, like beginning new life. He does love us, He does care for us, He does know exactly where we are at and what we need. He is always there. Norah Grace, you won't remember my visit, but thanks for the reminder of who our wonderful God is.



It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

I'm in Oregon for a few days visiting with my daughter Aimee, son-in-law Jason, and grandchildren Mattie, Elyse, JJ and my newest granddaughter, Norah Grace. Here's a picture I took yesterday as we were both going in and out of consciousness. It's amazing how relaxed you can be when you are holding a new baby. In the moments when I was actually awake, it struck me how dependent Norah was on me to hold her, not drop her, pat her a little when she stirred and generally look out for her welfare while I was holding her. While she is too young to figure out who she can trust and not trust, I think that at this age, trust is automatic. It is expected. Boy, don't you wish you could trust like that again. We've had too many life experiences that have put barriers and filters up so that we can evaluate who we can trust and who we ought to avoid.
The beauty of trusting God is that we can trust him just like Norah was trusting me. No preconceived ideas, no conditions, not even any perceived outcomes, just simple trust that God has it all in control. He said in His word that He would never leave us or forsake us. He is there for us. I was thinking about that as I held Norah and she took a nap. Maybe that's what we should do, take a nap in the arms of Jesus, and trust Him...

I Will See the Goodness of the Lord

Psalm 27 was part of my read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year reading today. It begins with two huge statements of confidence in who God is. The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid? (emphasis mine) The Bible's description of Heaven tells us that there is no night there because Christ is the source of light. I wonder if that means there will not be any shadows. After all, if God is omnipresent, He would be on all sides of any object at the same time, no shadows. There are three powerful words here, light, salvation and stronghold. When you let that sink in, there really isn't a reason to fear or be afraid.

Later on in the Psalm the author writes, One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. There are days when we wish this would come to pass as soon as possible. The wonderful thing about this is that even in our toughest times, we know that one day we will dwell in the house of the Lord and we will gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. I have heard Christians wonder out loud if praising God will eventually get old in Heaven. I personally think that the process of uncovering the wonders of God will produce praise and worship and this process will go on throughout eternity. I think every moment will produce more wonderment and awe at who God is and what He has done, and our only response will be worship.

The Psalm ends with, I am confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. In our present day, consumer oriented culture, where everything is immediate, no one likes to wait. Sometimes, however, after we have exhausted all the things we can do, the only response is to wait. Even then, we sometimes can't resist the arrogance of telling God what He needs to do for us, now! I think sometimes God waits us out, waits out our struggling, throwing tantrums, trying to fix things, and then He moves on our behalf. If we believe He is our stronghold (verse 1), then in His strength we can be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (verse 14)

If you are having a tough time, this Psalm is for you. Read the entire Psalm and meditate on each section. Then, wait on the Lord. He's there...waiting for you.

Motherhood Is a High Calling

I live with a mother who has a high calling to be a mother. It became very evident when were were living in Linn County, Oregon in the early 80s. Kathy heard a public service announcement regarding the county's Social Services Department that was in desperate need of foster parents. We had two pre-schoolers at the time and we were on the pastoral staff of a large church in Albany, Oregon. After several discussions about the logistics of fostering children, and the consideration of moral and humanitarian implications, we signed up to take the classes and become foster parents. While Kathy and I are solidly pro-life, we are not protesters. We would probably never feel comfortable standing in front of a Planned Parenthood office or abortion clinic with a sign. But given the fact that at any given time there are approximately 500,000 children in foster care in the United States, caring for a child in this situation seemed to us to be a way to declare our commitment to life, to a watching world that seems to discard children without any remorse or second thought.

I must admit, Kathy was the primary care giver. I assisted her with a lot, but she is the one who cared for each child 24/7, took them to doctor appointments, took them for visits with their parents, met with the social workers, etc. There is not enough room to tell any of the stories, but each child was a story, including our very first baby with a huge hole in her heart that made her unadoptable. Our task was to care for her while treatment was decided on and then get her through the surgery(s) that would be needed and all the other things she would need. Before any of this took place, we had her dedicated in a church service and God healed that hole. Everyone who knew of her case was totally amazed.

I'm not sure how many children we had in our home in Oregon, but there were several, including the birth of our third child, Josh. When we moved to South Carolina, we were both working full time at Heritage USA, but we also cared for newborn pre-adoptive babies. We had several babies in SC, each time when they left our home to go to their adopted home, the new parents spent the night before the transfer with us in our home. One couple brought their video camera and videoed everything, including changing dirty diapers, feeding, especially burping, it was quite hilarious. Kathy was the perfect mother to turn over a new baby to adoptive parents. She made sure they knew everything they needed to know, and helped make the new parents feel comfortable with their new baby.

When we got to Denver, we were only one of two families that specialized in medically fragile or severely abused children. We saw some real miracles as severely abused babies started the healing process. These children were fortunate to have Kathy as a foster mom. She loved and nursed so many children back to health. It was in Denver where we adopted our three children who were not adoptable because of their birth problems, both medical and because their mothers abused alcohol or drugs while they were pregnant. I still remember the forms we had to sign for Nicole. The disclaimer form was longer than anything I have ever seen. They wanted to make sure that we went into this adoption with our eyes wide open. I thought we would stop at one, or two, but it was mom, Kathy, who couldn't turn a child away. Today we have three teenagers in our home that we love dearly. Even though they have presented some unique challenges, they are wonderful children.

There have been times when I have sat back and been awed by Kathy's commitment to children, to watch her love and care for them without any regrets or selfishness. She has given up a lot over the years to do this, (35+ children) but somehow I think that she wouldn't have changed a thing. For her, motherhood is a high calling.

Here's a Glimpse of My Mom

Mothers are wonderful people. They sacrifice everything for their children. They love, protect, nurture and set aside their own needs and desires for their children. My mother is no different. Even after all the years I have been an adult, with my own family, my mom is still my loving, protecting, nurturing mom.

When my two sisters and I were in elementary school we had an annual late summer routine that the kids loved. I'm not so sure it was as much fun for my mother. My mom didn't drive during these early years, so when the appointed day came, we walked down to the bus stop and took the public bus to downtown San Jose. On one of the main downtown intersections was a huge J.C. Penney store. For several hours the three of us would try on clothes, pick new underwear, try on shoes and get ready for the new school year. After we paid for our purchases, we would load up our bags and walk down a block to the big Woolworth store. We would climb up on the lunch counter stools, put our bags at our feet and enjoy a real treat, lunch in a restaurant. We didn't eat out very often when we were growing up, so having lunch at the Woolworth lunch counter was a treat to look forward to all year. After we had eaten the last bite, we would load up our Penny's bags and head back a block to catch the bus for home. I can remember thinking that I hated for the day to end as the bus got close to our stop. It eventually got there, we loaded up our bags and walked home and put away all our new school clothes. My mom made this a great day for us, a fun day that I remember so fondly.

As an adult, I now know how hard my parents had to work to provide for us. I know my mom set aside many of her desires and needs so that we would have what we needed. Her example help mold me, and build character into my life. I know everyone thinks they have the best mom in the world. Too bad they didn't have mine, it would change their mind. (By the way, I still buy my underwear at J.C. Penny. As a child I loved the smell of a brand new tee shirt, I still do...)  

Freedom and the Voice of God

I have just started reading Bill Hybels book, The Power Of A Whisper. Near the beginning of the book Bill talks about some of his experiences in hearing the voice of God, and how awesome and humbling it is to know that God would speak to us. Specifically to us.

Reading the first pages of the book reminded me of a time when I was as frustrated as I could be as a worship leader. We had joined the staff of a church in the northwest part of Denver and my assignment was to help transition this church from a fairly traditional congregational singing church to a worshipping church. What this entailed was working with a choir and musicians, helping them understand what we were trying to do, and to communicate to the congregation, mostly by our actions and attitudes and not a lot of talking. Week after week I carefully prepared music that would help us all make this transition. We learned some wonderful new worship music, we put together a small vocal worship team, we rehearsed faithfully each week, and we blended hymns and older songs into the mix so there would be something for everyone, and nothing. I mean nothing. Each week it felt like our musical offerings to the Lord made it to the end of our stage and dropped off onto the floor. I would look out and see people yawning, talking, half heartedly singing and it would wipe me out. I can remember telling the Lord how futile it was trying to help this congregation learn to worship Him.

On one Sunday, after the second service of the day, I was driving home alone, feeling sorry for myself and complaining to the Lord about how I thought things had gone. And then God spoke to me. I can take you to the exact place in the road where it happened. While I don't believe I heard the audible voice of God, the impact created a lifetime transformation for me. He said, "You are not responsible for any results. When you lead people into My Presence, it is up to Me to affect their lives. All you need to do is to worship Me, worship with all your heart, people will watch you, join with you and they will enter My Presence where I will have the opportunity to change their lives". I cannot tell you how freeing that was for me. While it took some time to totally let go of my need to "see people respond", it was the beginning of a change for this congregation. After this encounter I began to have people come up to me and tell me how "meaningful this song was", or "I really was able to worship God this morning". Sometimes people made these kind of comments to me and I remember looking out over the congregation and not seeing anything unusual happening to them. No hands raised, no "heavenly glow", but it didn't matter. God was at work and I didn't have to worry about the results. If you are in a ministry position today and you are struggling with your effectiveness, just do what God has called you to do. Let Him take care of the results. It's freeing....it really is.

Our Bodies Are Miraculous Creations

Last week I was reminded again of God's unbelievable attention to detail when he created us. I had a visit with a new cardiologist. After listening to my Atrial Fibrillation story, he decided to do a stress test. I'll have that on Friday of this week. As part of the appointment, he decided to have a heart ultrasound done to make sure that my heart muscle is strong and that everything, except for the erratic rhythm, is working good.

I was turned away from the ultrasound monitor so I could not see any of the images that were being recorded. Since it took about 45 minutes, there is a lot of video of my heart beating. When the test was over and I was putting on my shirt, I looked at the monitor and saw that the last images were still there. It showed one of my valves opening and closing. I watched as the valve, in concert with the other part of my heart that was visible, worked to move blood through my heart. I was nearly overcome emotionally as I watched the valve work and realized how wonderfully we are put together. As I got ready to write this blog, I did a quick calculation. If I estimate that my heart has averaged 75 beats per minute, for 61 years and 2 months, the valve I was watching has opened and closed two billion, four hundred and fifty million, five hundred and twenty thousand times since I was born. (2,450,520,000) And that doesn't included the time in my mother's womb.

The Bible tells us in Psalm 39:13-14; For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; (my emphasis) your works are wonderful, I know that full well. I left the building with a deeper appreciation for the God we serve. The God who loves us, who knows us intimately and who loves us with an overwhelming love. By the way, the test showed my heart is very strong and working well, except for the irregular heart beat. I'm hoping this cardiologist will be able to help me with that.