Forgiveness

One of the toughest things that I face in my life is forgiveness.  Over the years I have wounded many of those closest to me.  At the same time I have received wounds in return.   Both are very hard for me to handle.  I think part of this stems from my own struggle with grace.  As I work through my issues I have come to the realization that accepting God's grace in my life is not something that comes easily to me.   For whatever reason, I spend far too much time wallowing in the guilt of past failings and not enough time basking in the light from the cross.

It is hard to give grace and forgiveness to others when you can't accept it for yourself.  I have often heard it said that the most daunting distance that exists is the 12 inches or so between our head and our heart.   I am more than capable of writing reams on the topic of God's grace and have lead several studies on the topic.  I have encourage many to accept God's grace in their lives and have quoted volumes of scripture to them.  Yet it seems, that for all my "knowledge" I have a very hard time feeling and acting on it.

For now, I will continue the struggle and continue to pursue the feelings.  Until they come, I will embrace the knowledge and choose to walk  in the light.

blessings on your day

Onward Christian Soldier

Today is the day that we set aside each year to remember and honor those who fight (and die) to keep our country free.   Once again, the battles are being fought in remote, obscure corners of the earth for reasons that not everyone understands and many don't agree with.   That is what it means to be a soldier.  You go where you are told and fight the battles that you are lead into.   And sometimes you die in the process.

We Christians are soldiers as well.  God sends us into battles that we often don't volunteer for in areas that we would rather not consider.  Sometimes we are sent into battle with a comrade in arms - sometimes we are sent into a battle with no one but God at our side.  Like many of the Christians I know, I am in a battle today.   Although there are days when I weary of the struggle I know that in the end, with God's help, I will be victorious.

What battles are you fighting?  Do you have God at your side or are you trying to go it alone?  In the end that will determine whether you retire the field in victory or are carried off on a stretcher.

blessings on your day and as you go, thank God for the men and women of the Armed Forces who allow you to live in freedom and safety...

QOTD

I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an escalator temporarily out of order sign, only an escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.
  - Mitch Hedberg

Authority

Last night I was talking to some family members who were relating how upset their friends were about the policies of the current administration.   On a number of occasions, I have watched or listened to Christians viciously attack  our President and/or congress.   While I have never agreed entirely with any administration, I have always been careful how I express my views and what I say about those who are in office.   The bible has some things to say on this topic.  Now I recognize that if you don't consider God to be at the center of your life or if you don't consider the bible to be God's Word then there is probably no reason to read further.

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

1 Peter 2:13-14 For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

It seems to me that God is very clear here in regards to how we are to behave and speak about those in authority.   It is very easy to find fault with the elected officials - especially if you didn't vote for them.  What is hard for some Christians to remember is that these officials were elected by the sufferance of God and by His authority they sit in power.  As we look at leaders like Stalin, Hitler, Nixon and Papa Doc it is easy to lose sight of this fact.  

God is NOT powerless nor does the enemy "slip one over on Him."   God is in control and He has a plan.  Sometimes He shares the summary or even details of His plans - more often He does not.   Faith is a choice and is based on trust.  Perhaps we need to exercise more and stop sitting on our spiritual tails eating chocolate covered sermonettes.

blessings on your day

A Family Affair

Saw the following quote this morning and about died laughing.

If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'    - Jeff Foxworthy

How true that is, although I suspect heading down to the local Wally World on a Sunday afternoon might yield the same observation.   Watching people go by has always been a favorite hobby of mine.  The variety in this world (or even in my small corner of it) is astounding.   More than a few of them really should not be out in public dressed the way they are.  Sometimes I wonder if they (and that doesn't count the teens who dress that way simply to get a reaction) actually own a mirror.

We (fellow believers) are part of a family as well.   Sometimes I consider how we might appear to non-believers, do they wonder what we are doing out in public claiming to be Christian?   I do know that of late many of my choices have been called into question by those that really don't understand.   When you are a follower of Jesus, you tend to take a different view of reality and (hopefully) make different choices.

I know that I have made some horrifically poor choices over the years and that the ones I am making now may look strange but will hopefully lead to healing and stability.   I am starting to be more careful how I dress before I head over to Wally World - or the state fair.

blessings on your day

Apple Time

It was a nice day Sunday.  After church, we picked up one of Noah's friends and headed up to Apple Hill.  Got up there and found that there were almost no crowds (I guess there are advantages to going at the end of the season).  We stopped at our favorite produce place - Boa Vista Orchards - and picked a case of syrups,  jellies and sauces.  We got yams for Thanksgiving dinner (at 2 lbs apiece it only takes 2-3 ) and a small bag of apples for eating.  We picked up 4 pies for the freezer and got a jug of apple cider for spending so much money.

Afterward we headed over to Rainbow Orchards for hot, fresh apple-cider donuts before starting back down the hill for home.  We ended up at Pluto's for dinner.   All in all, it was a beautiful fall day here in NorCal.

A Melancholy Saturday

Sitting here this morning listening to some music and watching the leaves swirl in the wind.   Fall is a sad time of year for me.  Watching the leaves turn brown (California, remember?), the garden die back and the sun light get "dimmer" always seems to put me in a melancholy mood.  Add to that the fact that I am sitting in a kitchen that isn't "mine" and you see why this isn't one of my better days.

Last night Emma and I went to another session at church as we continue our journey towards healing.   Spending time in the wilderness is rarely comfortable or comforting.   It can get dreary and depressing all too quickly.  Sometimes it is hard to remember that all of this is under His control and that the timing is His (and as such is "right").  In a few moments, I think I will head out and find some place where I can sit and do a better job of focusing on what God has blessed me with in my life and stop dwelling on the things that are broken.

blessings on your day

The Bear

As the expression goes - "sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you."  Today the latter is true.   After arriving at work tired and out of sorts (was up most of the night as my pager went off every hour) things started going down hill.  I won't bore you with the geeky details but at some point having your schedule turned upside down and being told to do 3 impossible things at once, you start feeling a little chewed on.

The trick, of course, is to avoid letting that stuff control you and your attitude.  I freely confess that I am not very good at that.   I often go straight to being grumpy, snarly and generally unpleasant to be around.  Today I want to make different choices - I want to maintain a Godly attitude, stay helpful and cheery.   I will stop back in later today and let you know how well I did.

blessings on your day

VOTD

James 4:7-10 (New Living Translation)

 ⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

New Day

It is a new day here in NorCal and a new day means a fresh start.  Each day we get the chance to decide how we will respond to the events as they unfold.   Each new day brings fresh challenges and opportunities.  At each opportunity we get a new chance to make a choice - do we choose to follow and honor God or do we fall back into old habits and patterns?  All too often, I make the choice to fall back into old habits and patterns.  Make a choice today - choose to do something different, something fresh.

blessings on your day

Seize the Night

The title to a song by Meat Loaf has relevance to me right now.  As I sit here contemplating life I recognize that the night is the most dangerous time to those who struggle emotionally.  Your biorhythms are at their lowest ebb in the wee hours of the morning.   The hours before dawn are a time when the mind travels down roads best left alone.  It is all too easy to travel places that are darker even then the night sky.

We need to take control - seize the night.  We need to plan for those times.  Joseph resisted Potiphar's wife because he had a plan.  Some might say that planning for the dark times is giving in to pessimism - I respectfully disagree.  The dark times always come.  Maybe you are in the wilderness and the dark times come often. Maybe you are resting at the oasis and the dark times seem but a distant memory.  Regardless of where you are, the dark times WILL come.

By planning for them, you can mitigate the impact.  The dark times are when the enemy attacks (usually from behind).  Be having a plan we can defeat the enemy.  While we can't avoid the dark times completely we can certainly reduce the impact and, in some cases, that means the difference between surviving and...not.

Blessing on your night

De die in diem

Literally, from day to day.  Often this is how we live our lives.  I know that I have taken this as a motto for most of my 50+ years.   So easy to live for the moment without consideration for the long term consequences (let's admit it - damage).   It seems that this is one of the hardest lessons for people to learn.  We hammer on it with our children but often ignore it ourselves.

We often hear the phrase "experience is the best teacher" but that really isn't the truth.  Other people's experience would be a MUCH better teacher.  The problem is that was are rarely willing to listen and learn from the mistakes of others (let's face it, we can't even learn from our OWN mistakes).  Why is it so hard to learn and to make better (or at least different) choices?  

More on this later...

~Dum vita est spes est ~

The Universe

Life sure does get strange at times. About the time you think you might actually be making progress towards figuring out your life, you hit construction and detours.

It has been a long time since I "blogged" here, maybe it is time to start chronicling the journey once again. Stay tuned for updates if you like, but it won't hurt my feelings any if you don't.

Where's My Pictures????

Got an email from Google. It seems that "they" messed up security and had to reset some links that unfortunately invalidated some (????) of my pictures.

As it happens, I have no intention of going back through all the posts and relinking the pictures. I will add new ones going forward.

Where's JS????

Where is Jack-Sean? Now granted, I have been extremely scarce myself, but I haven't seen him out and about for weeks! If anyone knows where he is hiding, please send him out to play with the neighbors.