You might have to go back and read "I Am an Ox" to get some of this.
http://haslemhome.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-am-ox.html
I am awake rather early this Sunday morning. Awake and can't sleep because I have some thoughts spinning around in my head that I can't seem to shake. Honestly, this is an opportunity ( the chance and reason to sit down and write something new and old) I have been praying and waiting for, just wondering why God would wake me this early in the morning, and not let me sleep. Yet, I am awake none the less. So...
Quite a few relationships, especially the guy/girl kind within the Christian world, are measured against the principal of equally yoked. "You two shouldn't be dating, you're not equally yoked..." generally means that one of the two primary people in the relationship are not Christian, or not walking a very straight Christian life. When we see such a relationship transpiring, we Christians like to toss in our two cents and piece of advice. Yet, I often feel that the words of wisdom are given without ever having questioned "Why?" and "Why is it there?" In other words, "Why would God give us a principal such as, equally yoked? and how does it apply in my life?" ( My son's favorite question is, "Why not, what happens if I....?") I personally feel, if we can find the answer to this question, and we understand the consequences involved, then we at least know what we were getting into when we chose to violate a principal God has placed before us. And I also like the Ox analogy, there is so much buried within it that we can find and apply to understanding our own lives.
So, equally yoked...
First, lets take a look back at a yoke, its purpose, and how it applies to our lives. A yoke is used to direct a beast of burden. More specifically, it controls the head by weighing down the neck. A very powerful and stubborn animal can be easily directed with slight tugs and pulls to the reigns that are attached to a yoke. And believe me, we are very powerful and stubborn animals. We humans are probably the smartest idiots and most stubborn and willing creatures. If a yoke is used to direct an animals path, what is our yoke? What is used to direct our path? Keep in mind, we ARE beasts of burden, we don't get to decide if we are yoked or not. Just, who's yoke will we carry, who is pulling at our reigns? And the simple truth of the matter is, there are only two masters in this world. Who's yoke are you carrying? The answer is simple to find. What motivates your actions and attitudes? "Only three things remain, faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love." If you don't recognize this phrase, and if you don't understand its meaning, I can tell you who your master is. I can't tell you what your yoke is, because that master has a wide variety of yokes to weigh us down and direct our path. If you do recognize this phrase, and you understand it meaning, then I can tell you who your master is as well. And I can tell you what your yoke is...its LOVE. Love motivates your actions, and is used to help direct your path. ( side note: "He will make your path straight...and he shall direct your path...all common phrases. Apply them to being an Ox with a yoke, and your path becomes the furrows of a field. Are your furrows straight and narrow and directed by Him?)
If our yoke is love, then what are all of these other burdens that we think we carry each and every day? For an ox, the yoke is not what makes his work difficult. It is not what he labors against. It is the conditions of the field that makes things easy or hard. A field full of rocks and roots and deep set clay will make pulling a plow very laborious and difficult to tread through. Holes and hard stumps can make us turn an ankle or stumble and fall. A good master walks before his animals, clearing out rocks and debris, stopping them when a stump is in the way, and helping them pull when the soil becomes hard to pull thru. A not so kind master will become angered and forceful when their animal stumbles or falls and will drive animals into the ground before they will lend a hand.
So, if our yoke is love, and the difficulties and joys of life are the conditions of the soil in our field. What is our field? And that one is easy, Life. Imagine that each furrow you make is a day in you life. Got a boss that is hard to work with? That's a root in the ground that you will come across each and every day, but take heart, roots don't last forever. A day will come when the furrow you are plowing won't hit that root any more. And also take heart that God knew that root was there, He planted the tree that put it there. Even if your not carrying His yoke, He still planted the tree that put it there, and He knew you would come across it. Experiencing a time of joy and ease? Thats some nice fresh soil that is sweet and soft and easy to plow. It can be found in almost any field, reserve your strength and enjoy the patch. Gain strength in it, because, just as the root won't last forever, easy soil is only for a time as well. And yes, God knew you would come across it also. He went before you and picked out the rocks, pulled the weeds, watered it a little, and broke up the crusted top. He knew you would need it. And yes, He did this for you even if it is not His yoke you are carrying.
So, if life is the field we plow, joy and sorrow are the conditions of the soil, what does it mean to be equally yoked, and why is it important? Once again, the answer to these questions will prepare us for what is to come. At least we know what we are getting into. First and foremost, if we are equally yoked, then we have the same master. If Christ is our master, then He has only one type of yoke. If Christ is not our master, then it is possible that we can be given the same type of yoke. (Though chances of this are slim) This makes plowing a field a whole lot easier. Can you imagine a team of oxen plowing a field where two separate masters are directing the path. One ox has a kind gentle master directing its path, making it straight and preparing the way before it. While the other ox has a slave driver, screaming and demanding compliance. The first ox will begin to feel the weight of its team mate as the second ox begins to slow and drag under the burden of its yoke and master. The rest of the field will become very difficult regardless of the soil conditions, and the first ox will have to work much harder to finish row after row. While the second ox will begin to falter under the weight of its yoke and the relentless drive of its master. Even though the second ox may pride itself in the amount of weight it is capable of barring, it will see the lite and easy burden of the first ox and begin to feel jealous, and begin to tire. Both are points of friction that can cause damage. The first ox may feel strained and tired by having to not only pull the plow thru a field, but may also feel the burden of pulling its partner thru the field as well. The second ox may become strained and tired of the burden it has to bare along with the plowing and the driving master. Both become tired before the field is finished.
Now there is a second principal in the understanding of being equally yoked. The yoke is one means of balancing out a team of oxen. But the size and strength of the oxen being joined is another means of balancing out a team. Imagine a strong mature ox and a young immature ox being joined together. The older ox may tire early from having to carry the load of the weaker ox. The weaker ox may tire early from trying to keep up with the stronger one. And yet, both oxen can have the same master and the same type of yoke, but still be unequally yoked. Once again, this can lead to a condition where both oxen tire early from trying counter the imbalance. And yet, in both conditions the field must still be plowed.
(side note: how can two people share the same field if the field is "my" life? Remember, once two lives are joined together, they become one life. "And the two shall become one." The joys and sorrows experienced by one are shared with the other. This is also why trying to make two fields out of what has become one field is very very difficult. How do you do it?)
And now the daunting condition. Unlike oxen in a pen, we get to choose if and with whom we become teamed up with. Our master may present to us partners that are best candidates, but we still get to choose. Does your partner and mate have another master, and now you are beginning to tire because your partner is exasperated? You chose them, of all that were presented to you, you picked one from another pen. If Christ is your master, then he is still with you, walking before you, preparing the way and directing your path, and he will even help you pull the plow. But He can't direct the path of your partner. At the end of each furrow and during the row, He might step over and give them a rub, and a quiet whisper, but He isn't pulling on their reigns...yet. Is your partner stronger and more mature, and you are struggling to keep up? Are you the stronger one and now you feel that you are pulling more than your mate? You knew what you were getting into before you picked them, or you chose not to measure them up and see how equal they were. Either way, you are now a team, your fields have been formed into one.
Not a team yet, but wondering if you want to be? Do you share the same master? Are your yokes of equal size and weight, are you of an equal size and weight to each other (this has little or nothing to do with physical size and weight. How equal are you in human and spiritual maturity?) If all things be equal and you enjoy each others company, then plowing your field will be easier. If there is an imbalance, just know, plowing a field is already labor intensive, even when Christ is your master and love is your yoke. Don't think for one second that having an imbalance will make things easier. But the real question is, are you prepared to work even harder? And don't forget, when that day comes, you were asked this question and said, " yes."
(side note: Though I can't see all of the rows I have plowed in my life, the fun part is knowing that my master was dropping seeds into them as we plowed the next one. Over time, those seeds have started to grow. Sometimes I get to munch on the fruit that grows from the plants of those seeds. Most of the time, I can't see very far beyond the wall of plants growing a few rows over. But its nice to know that something is growing in the rows I, and for sometime now...we, got to help plow.)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
What God does for good
I have a story to tell. It goes backwards and forwards and drapes all over the place, and to me, it is incredible.
This story is triggered by an occurrence that happened today and many years ago. Today, I sent off an e-mail of congratulations to a supplier who's "out of office" auto reply had declared that she was not in the office due to maternity leave. I hadn't known she was expecting so I thought I would leave her a note to come back to the office to, "Maternity Leave? I had no idea! congrats!"
A little over a half hour later I got a reply from her that I had not anticipated. Apparently she had forgotten that she had turned on the auto reply at her office. More importantly she had forgotten what she had put in her auto reply.... Her son had complications at birth and lived for 3 days before God called him back home. That was back in August, she had yet to return to work and my e-mail was the first note she had gotten in awhile by someone not knowing the end of the little guys story.
If we stop a story like this right now, stop reading, stop listening, stop anticipating how God works for the good in all who love Him, then we miss so much of the story.
Many years ago, my wife and I sat before a Dr. who told us that we had better chances of winning the lottery than we had at having a child. This was after my wife had miscarried, tubal pregnancy that diminished our chances. Along with various other complications, the Dr. was spot on, our chances of winning the lottery were better than having a child, and we don't play. But the Dr. wasn't aware of something that we weren't aware of either, the author of our story wasn't and isn't done writing.
After absorbing the blow of such news, my wife and I looked into adoption. I'll tell that story some other day, this isn't an adoption story. This is a chain of events that you can't predict and will never see coming story.
Follow along, roughly the same time that doctor was telling us the likely hood of us having kids were slim to none, a troubled woman was making a decision she would pay heavy consequences for later on. While a doctor was telling us no chance, this woman was telling another man, other than her husband, that he would get a chance. While a doctor was telling us the odds of planting a seed, one was being planted in someone else.
Wise counsel interceded in the woman's life and told her that her best chances of healing her marriage were to not have a reminder of her infidelity crawling around. God interceded and told her that aborting the child within her was out of the question. God interceded in our lives and told us, "you are not my own but I adopted you into my family, now, I have another for you to adopt." The guiding hand of God brought a troubled woman trying to heal her marriage and an empty armed couple together. And our oldest son was born and became the first child in our family.
Here is where I jump off the page a little and go to another thought, but don't worry, I'll get back to this story, because it is all one big story anyways.
Last weekend I took my oldest son to the Nike Youth Sports Day event at the Nike Campus. It is a day dedicated to children and adults that are rather unique in the way God created them. My son got to participate in the swimming event. Yep, he got to swim in the Nike soft-water-open-your-eyes-under-the-water-because-its-so-clean-I-wonder-if-Michael-Phelps-swam-in-here pool. The south side of the pool is floor to ceiling glass walls that reveal one of the campus lawns. Very green fields where employees and others play and practice their soccer and running skills while developing the next best thing. This day the lawn was covered with over a hundred participants trying their hand, foot, and head, at soccer drills and lawn bowling. As I sat in the balcony of the aquatics center I couldn't help but take in the view of both the pool and all of its participants, the field, and then what I couldn't see going on over at the running track and indoor/outdoor basketball courts. (Yep, all events going on that day, a couple hundred participants in all) I couldn't help but be touched by a thought from the Lord. Every single one of those participants, staff, volunteers, were individually created, designed, by Him. Every single one of them. That means that each of the individual participants were purposefully created by Him to be what and who they are, every single one of them. Have you got the point that I am trying to say every single one of them. Each individual person that walks this earth was not randomly thrown together in a people factory in heaven, but individually and pain stakingly scrutinized and put together by the master artist and creator himself.
Another digression. I am going to admit something that will elicit more than one negative reaction, I like Harry Potter. There, I said it, I feel so relieved. The part that amazes me is how intricate and creative the author is. She has created a world and set of characters that have captured the eyes and minds of many readers. She has woven a tale that is deep and broad and very magical. (Yep that was put there on purpose) Ms. Rowlings has created a great set of novels over the past few years. I got hooked on her novels over semester breaks while going thru school. Her books could pull me from between the towers of boxes at the JC Penney warehouse for an hour each night, and push me into the halls of Hogwarts... Ok, I also like Ted Dekker, another incredibly intricate writer that weaves tales thru many of his books and into others. Both authors have created worlds and tales that envelope their readers. And this only in the course of a few years, maybe a decade. Whatever the timeframe, it is minor in comparison to the timeclock of eternity.
Regression, back to Nike. If two authors can create a cast of characters and new worlds of magic and mystery in the short time of a few years, imagine what the creator of the universe can weave together in the timeframe of eternity. Can you imagine the cast and plot upon plot? This is the thought that God stroked into my story as I stood there watching my son swim and others bobb around in the pool. Too many people look at that gathering on the Nike campus as the culmination of genetic randomness run amuck. I saw it as a gathering of some of the most incredible creations God could intricately craft together and unveil at the precise exact moment He wished for them to come onto the scene. See, its not the color or lack there of that makes an incredible masterpiece, its the way those colors are put together. Its not the notes that make a symphony, but the way they are combined to form a crescendo of sound and harmony that makes them incredible. We are God's masterpiece, each and every one of us is a precisely planned stroke, perfectly picked note, and exact set of words that He wants in his story. This is what we are.
Now, what author worth reading would create a cast of characters and not have a story for them to be inserted into? The author of our story is no different. A troubled woman made a decision, a troubled couple sought solace, and a child was born. And two families were brought together by an author who knows the whole play line by line. Had we stopped the story at the bad decision we would all have to ask, what is God thinking, why does He allow this? If we stopped at the news of the impossible we would have to ask, how could God do such a thing? But we keep reading, in anticipation that He has a bigger story to tell.
When our son was nine months old, we won the lottery. No we are not one of the rich and wealthy that got lucky trying our hand at such things. We have yet to buy a ticket. Nope, I was called up to the front atrium of the warehouse one afternoon to hear my wife tell me, "guess what?" And son number two entered stage left. He was nine months old when our luck struck again, "guess what?" And our daughter entered the scene stage right. During this time, unbeknownst to me, my supervisor at the warehouse was struggling with her news. One of those chances of winning the lottery announcements. Sometimes its hard to turn the page when that news hits. She knew of our plight to adopt after having received similar news. I didn't quite understand her reaction when I showed her the picture of the sonogram of the second baby (first to be born) in my wife's tummy. It wasn't until later when my wife bumped into her at a hospital that we came to understand that her knowing our story encouraged her thru the news in her story. (She now has two of her own.) Once again, had we stopped reading, we would have had to say hurray!, followed by another, "really God, really?why?" But we read on.
When our oldest was not quite three, another doctor told us that he was autistic. Is this where we stop reading? Or is this the part where the plot starts to thicken and things really start to get interesting? Up to this point my wife and I joked that the child that was supposed to be a mixed race baby that no one wanted ended up being a perfect blue eyed handsome little boy. Perfect. Was now autistic. How did our perfect little bundle become autistic? And I was troubled, God asked me, "I created him just for you, every stroke of hair and blush of his cheeks are for you, how is he anything less than perfect now that you know that he is a unique creation inspired after a millenia of thought and contemplation? You are right, he is not perfect, he is more than perfect. He is mine. Now take good care of each of them for they are all mine. And I am trusting you to show him my love until he is able to see it himself."
Right now, the supplier contact I spoke of earlier is wondering, really? Really God? why? why God? And her heart might want to close the book. You may have a similar story, and are also asking, really God? How could you? And all I can say is, don't stop reading, not yet, you haven't got to the good part, it's going to knock your socks off its so good. You see, the passage doesn't say that God only makes good things, it says that he makes all things good.
He penned together the story of a woman with child to add flavor to ours. He penned our story together to add encouragement to another. He added autism to my sons story to add a touch of grace and flavor and life to so many other stories. What is he writing in your story right now? Is it the end of a page, the end of a chapter, the end of the first book, or nearing the end of a series? Do you really know the answer to that question or will you let Him decide when its your turn to meet the author live and in person? Until then, every word, every stroke, every detail is on purpose.
This story is triggered by an occurrence that happened today and many years ago. Today, I sent off an e-mail of congratulations to a supplier who's "out of office" auto reply had declared that she was not in the office due to maternity leave. I hadn't known she was expecting so I thought I would leave her a note to come back to the office to, "Maternity Leave? I had no idea! congrats!"
A little over a half hour later I got a reply from her that I had not anticipated. Apparently she had forgotten that she had turned on the auto reply at her office. More importantly she had forgotten what she had put in her auto reply.... Her son had complications at birth and lived for 3 days before God called him back home. That was back in August, she had yet to return to work and my e-mail was the first note she had gotten in awhile by someone not knowing the end of the little guys story.
If we stop a story like this right now, stop reading, stop listening, stop anticipating how God works for the good in all who love Him, then we miss so much of the story.
Many years ago, my wife and I sat before a Dr. who told us that we had better chances of winning the lottery than we had at having a child. This was after my wife had miscarried, tubal pregnancy that diminished our chances. Along with various other complications, the Dr. was spot on, our chances of winning the lottery were better than having a child, and we don't play. But the Dr. wasn't aware of something that we weren't aware of either, the author of our story wasn't and isn't done writing.
After absorbing the blow of such news, my wife and I looked into adoption. I'll tell that story some other day, this isn't an adoption story. This is a chain of events that you can't predict and will never see coming story.
Follow along, roughly the same time that doctor was telling us the likely hood of us having kids were slim to none, a troubled woman was making a decision she would pay heavy consequences for later on. While a doctor was telling us no chance, this woman was telling another man, other than her husband, that he would get a chance. While a doctor was telling us the odds of planting a seed, one was being planted in someone else.
Wise counsel interceded in the woman's life and told her that her best chances of healing her marriage were to not have a reminder of her infidelity crawling around. God interceded and told her that aborting the child within her was out of the question. God interceded in our lives and told us, "you are not my own but I adopted you into my family, now, I have another for you to adopt." The guiding hand of God brought a troubled woman trying to heal her marriage and an empty armed couple together. And our oldest son was born and became the first child in our family.
Here is where I jump off the page a little and go to another thought, but don't worry, I'll get back to this story, because it is all one big story anyways.
Last weekend I took my oldest son to the Nike Youth Sports Day event at the Nike Campus. It is a day dedicated to children and adults that are rather unique in the way God created them. My son got to participate in the swimming event. Yep, he got to swim in the Nike soft-water-open-your-eyes-under-the-water-because-its-so-clean-I-wonder-if-Michael-Phelps-swam-in-here pool. The south side of the pool is floor to ceiling glass walls that reveal one of the campus lawns. Very green fields where employees and others play and practice their soccer and running skills while developing the next best thing. This day the lawn was covered with over a hundred participants trying their hand, foot, and head, at soccer drills and lawn bowling. As I sat in the balcony of the aquatics center I couldn't help but take in the view of both the pool and all of its participants, the field, and then what I couldn't see going on over at the running track and indoor/outdoor basketball courts. (Yep, all events going on that day, a couple hundred participants in all) I couldn't help but be touched by a thought from the Lord. Every single one of those participants, staff, volunteers, were individually created, designed, by Him. Every single one of them. That means that each of the individual participants were purposefully created by Him to be what and who they are, every single one of them. Have you got the point that I am trying to say every single one of them. Each individual person that walks this earth was not randomly thrown together in a people factory in heaven, but individually and pain stakingly scrutinized and put together by the master artist and creator himself.
Another digression. I am going to admit something that will elicit more than one negative reaction, I like Harry Potter. There, I said it, I feel so relieved. The part that amazes me is how intricate and creative the author is. She has created a world and set of characters that have captured the eyes and minds of many readers. She has woven a tale that is deep and broad and very magical. (Yep that was put there on purpose) Ms. Rowlings has created a great set of novels over the past few years. I got hooked on her novels over semester breaks while going thru school. Her books could pull me from between the towers of boxes at the JC Penney warehouse for an hour each night, and push me into the halls of Hogwarts... Ok, I also like Ted Dekker, another incredibly intricate writer that weaves tales thru many of his books and into others. Both authors have created worlds and tales that envelope their readers. And this only in the course of a few years, maybe a decade. Whatever the timeframe, it is minor in comparison to the timeclock of eternity.
Regression, back to Nike. If two authors can create a cast of characters and new worlds of magic and mystery in the short time of a few years, imagine what the creator of the universe can weave together in the timeframe of eternity. Can you imagine the cast and plot upon plot? This is the thought that God stroked into my story as I stood there watching my son swim and others bobb around in the pool. Too many people look at that gathering on the Nike campus as the culmination of genetic randomness run amuck. I saw it as a gathering of some of the most incredible creations God could intricately craft together and unveil at the precise exact moment He wished for them to come onto the scene. See, its not the color or lack there of that makes an incredible masterpiece, its the way those colors are put together. Its not the notes that make a symphony, but the way they are combined to form a crescendo of sound and harmony that makes them incredible. We are God's masterpiece, each and every one of us is a precisely planned stroke, perfectly picked note, and exact set of words that He wants in his story. This is what we are.
Now, what author worth reading would create a cast of characters and not have a story for them to be inserted into? The author of our story is no different. A troubled woman made a decision, a troubled couple sought solace, and a child was born. And two families were brought together by an author who knows the whole play line by line. Had we stopped the story at the bad decision we would all have to ask, what is God thinking, why does He allow this? If we stopped at the news of the impossible we would have to ask, how could God do such a thing? But we keep reading, in anticipation that He has a bigger story to tell.
When our son was nine months old, we won the lottery. No we are not one of the rich and wealthy that got lucky trying our hand at such things. We have yet to buy a ticket. Nope, I was called up to the front atrium of the warehouse one afternoon to hear my wife tell me, "guess what?" And son number two entered stage left. He was nine months old when our luck struck again, "guess what?" And our daughter entered the scene stage right. During this time, unbeknownst to me, my supervisor at the warehouse was struggling with her news. One of those chances of winning the lottery announcements. Sometimes its hard to turn the page when that news hits. She knew of our plight to adopt after having received similar news. I didn't quite understand her reaction when I showed her the picture of the sonogram of the second baby (first to be born) in my wife's tummy. It wasn't until later when my wife bumped into her at a hospital that we came to understand that her knowing our story encouraged her thru the news in her story. (She now has two of her own.) Once again, had we stopped reading, we would have had to say hurray!, followed by another, "really God, really?why?" But we read on.
When our oldest was not quite three, another doctor told us that he was autistic. Is this where we stop reading? Or is this the part where the plot starts to thicken and things really start to get interesting? Up to this point my wife and I joked that the child that was supposed to be a mixed race baby that no one wanted ended up being a perfect blue eyed handsome little boy. Perfect. Was now autistic. How did our perfect little bundle become autistic? And I was troubled, God asked me, "I created him just for you, every stroke of hair and blush of his cheeks are for you, how is he anything less than perfect now that you know that he is a unique creation inspired after a millenia of thought and contemplation? You are right, he is not perfect, he is more than perfect. He is mine. Now take good care of each of them for they are all mine. And I am trusting you to show him my love until he is able to see it himself."
Right now, the supplier contact I spoke of earlier is wondering, really? Really God? why? why God? And her heart might want to close the book. You may have a similar story, and are also asking, really God? How could you? And all I can say is, don't stop reading, not yet, you haven't got to the good part, it's going to knock your socks off its so good. You see, the passage doesn't say that God only makes good things, it says that he makes all things good.
He penned together the story of a woman with child to add flavor to ours. He penned our story together to add encouragement to another. He added autism to my sons story to add a touch of grace and flavor and life to so many other stories. What is he writing in your story right now? Is it the end of a page, the end of a chapter, the end of the first book, or nearing the end of a series? Do you really know the answer to that question or will you let Him decide when its your turn to meet the author live and in person? Until then, every word, every stroke, every detail is on purpose.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
A Special Night at the Zoo
Last night was a night set aside for families throughout the Portland area to visit the Oregon Zoo for free. My middle son Noah anticipated the night for almost two weeks, ever since we got the invitation in the mail. The regular parking lot at the zoo was so packed that they had to have a shuttle running every 5 minutes from a nearby Nazarene Church parking lot 2 miles away.
One special point about this one free night is that its, well, at night. In the evening at least. normally the zoo closes around 5pm, so the crew can get out and get all of the animals fed. But last night the zoo opened up from 4-8pm. And the train and special exhibits were also free. They had large size animals that the kids could run up and hug and take pictures with as well. Plus a soda and bag of popcorn for everyone in the family, free as well. (We didn't get the popcorn and soda because Ti can't have either and we didn't want to leave him out.. It was after all his night) Oh yah, the most important part of the night is that all families in attendance had to have a child with...special needs. The way the zoo crew sees it, trying to get around the home and life are hard enough, the zoo should be a fun place to be.
The cool part about going to the zoo in the evening is that all of the animals start to wake up and come alive around that time. Its feeding time, the weather cools down, and they just got up from a good afternoon nap and are ready to play.
Early on in the stroll around the grounds I leaned in to my wife's ear and commented, "remember, every single one of these families has a child with special needs. They are all used to a child freaking out. So... we can lay off of Ti tonight and let him be amongst HIS peers." As silly as this may sound, it was really quite a releif to comprehend.
As we wandered into a cave where the penguins and sea lions can be seen from underwater, a rather large child wiggled his way out of his parents hands and went running up a ramp squealing. In any other setting the mother of the child would have been frustrated and slightly embarrased, yep, that was her kid, running off, freaking out, nothing normal about him. But on this particular night, she started screaming, "stop him, please, stop him!" Thing was, there were another five families coming down the ramp that knew exactly how this gal felt, and stepped in the way. He didn't get too far this night.
The line for the train was about 45 minutes. It was the typical attraction line, winding back and forth upon itself between fence posts and canvas strapping. The zoo has 3 trains that run in succession every 15 minutes. Each train holds roughly 80 to 100 people. I enjoyed the train ride, the scenery and all were ok, overgrown lush ferns covering the ground was the typical view for most of the ride. But I enjoyed the ride because my youngest, Lucas, took the time to nestle his head in the bend of my draping arm so he could stick it out the window and feel the gentle rushing wind wisk by his face. It was a quiet restful peace that is so fleeting in the time we have.
Since Ti can't have the regular faring at the zoo for snacking,...popcorn, soda, caramel apples, and the like...we packed a sack dinner. After strolling through the animal cages and riding one of the zoo trains, we were hungry. We wandered our way to a sprawling grassy amphitheater where they have special shows. We claimed one of the deep and wide stair steps as our picnic bench and sat down to enjoyed the breeze with sandwiches and chips.
As my family sat there munching away, I took the moment to look around at all of the families that were there enjoying the evening. So many families, so many people, all there at the zoo enjoying the evening because at least one of their children was something other than normal. Downs, Blind, deaf, armless, legless, limbless, autistic, ...and the list goes on. I couldn't help but think of the time in the Bible when the disciples asked Jesus, "who sinned, this man or his parents? That he should end up this way..." The event didn't come to me because of what the disciples thought, but because of what our Lord said and did in response. Here on the grassy knoll and strolling the grounds were hundreds of families smiling and laughing and showing excitement in such pure true honest enjoyment, because of a child in their life that doesn't fit the mold. "Neither, this man is here that the works of God might be displayed in his life." This man is here because God....not a mistake, not broken, not wrong, not.....but because God made him.
On the way back to the parking lot on the shuttle Karen struck up a conversation with another mom. Ciciley actually struck up the conversation, she wanted to know if the lady's son was autism. "Yes, he is." Karen carried on from there. The son was the youngest in the family, going on 11. The mom mentioned that she had 2 teenage daughters as well. She shared a quick note about how a teacher recently complimented the tender hearts and maturity of her daughters. And how her family was so impacted by the fact that the youngest was "on the spectrum." She acknowledged that her daughters would not be the way they are if their son was not part of the picture. Karen pointed at our two middle kiddos and said," I know!."
Well....its late...and I have to get to bed, but I'm not done with this one yet...my mind is still working it over a little. But I what I really want to say is, God doesn't make mistakes, none, nadda, zilch, zero, never, never has, never will, is completely and totally incapable of screwing up, even just a little. This is fundimental and needs to be completely understood. Once it is fully embraced, ...every single one of those families at the zoo last night, including my own, are part of our Lord God's mighty and awesome plan, even and especially the ones who gave them a reason to be there last night. So, since it is impossible for God to make a mistake, and everything he does is on purpose, why did he decide to create these special children? I have some ideas, how about you?
One special point about this one free night is that its, well, at night. In the evening at least. normally the zoo closes around 5pm, so the crew can get out and get all of the animals fed. But last night the zoo opened up from 4-8pm. And the train and special exhibits were also free. They had large size animals that the kids could run up and hug and take pictures with as well. Plus a soda and bag of popcorn for everyone in the family, free as well. (We didn't get the popcorn and soda because Ti can't have either and we didn't want to leave him out.. It was after all his night) Oh yah, the most important part of the night is that all families in attendance had to have a child with...special needs. The way the zoo crew sees it, trying to get around the home and life are hard enough, the zoo should be a fun place to be.
The cool part about going to the zoo in the evening is that all of the animals start to wake up and come alive around that time. Its feeding time, the weather cools down, and they just got up from a good afternoon nap and are ready to play.
Early on in the stroll around the grounds I leaned in to my wife's ear and commented, "remember, every single one of these families has a child with special needs. They are all used to a child freaking out. So... we can lay off of Ti tonight and let him be amongst HIS peers." As silly as this may sound, it was really quite a releif to comprehend.
As we wandered into a cave where the penguins and sea lions can be seen from underwater, a rather large child wiggled his way out of his parents hands and went running up a ramp squealing. In any other setting the mother of the child would have been frustrated and slightly embarrased, yep, that was her kid, running off, freaking out, nothing normal about him. But on this particular night, she started screaming, "stop him, please, stop him!" Thing was, there were another five families coming down the ramp that knew exactly how this gal felt, and stepped in the way. He didn't get too far this night.
The line for the train was about 45 minutes. It was the typical attraction line, winding back and forth upon itself between fence posts and canvas strapping. The zoo has 3 trains that run in succession every 15 minutes. Each train holds roughly 80 to 100 people. I enjoyed the train ride, the scenery and all were ok, overgrown lush ferns covering the ground was the typical view for most of the ride. But I enjoyed the ride because my youngest, Lucas, took the time to nestle his head in the bend of my draping arm so he could stick it out the window and feel the gentle rushing wind wisk by his face. It was a quiet restful peace that is so fleeting in the time we have.
Since Ti can't have the regular faring at the zoo for snacking,...popcorn, soda, caramel apples, and the like...we packed a sack dinner. After strolling through the animal cages and riding one of the zoo trains, we were hungry. We wandered our way to a sprawling grassy amphitheater where they have special shows. We claimed one of the deep and wide stair steps as our picnic bench and sat down to enjoyed the breeze with sandwiches and chips.
As my family sat there munching away, I took the moment to look around at all of the families that were there enjoying the evening. So many families, so many people, all there at the zoo enjoying the evening because at least one of their children was something other than normal. Downs, Blind, deaf, armless, legless, limbless, autistic, ...and the list goes on. I couldn't help but think of the time in the Bible when the disciples asked Jesus, "who sinned, this man or his parents? That he should end up this way..." The event didn't come to me because of what the disciples thought, but because of what our Lord said and did in response. Here on the grassy knoll and strolling the grounds were hundreds of families smiling and laughing and showing excitement in such pure true honest enjoyment, because of a child in their life that doesn't fit the mold. "Neither, this man is here that the works of God might be displayed in his life." This man is here because God....not a mistake, not broken, not wrong, not.....but because God made him.
On the way back to the parking lot on the shuttle Karen struck up a conversation with another mom. Ciciley actually struck up the conversation, she wanted to know if the lady's son was autism. "Yes, he is." Karen carried on from there. The son was the youngest in the family, going on 11. The mom mentioned that she had 2 teenage daughters as well. She shared a quick note about how a teacher recently complimented the tender hearts and maturity of her daughters. And how her family was so impacted by the fact that the youngest was "on the spectrum." She acknowledged that her daughters would not be the way they are if their son was not part of the picture. Karen pointed at our two middle kiddos and said," I know!."
Well....its late...and I have to get to bed, but I'm not done with this one yet...my mind is still working it over a little. But I what I really want to say is, God doesn't make mistakes, none, nadda, zilch, zero, never, never has, never will, is completely and totally incapable of screwing up, even just a little. This is fundimental and needs to be completely understood. Once it is fully embraced, ...every single one of those families at the zoo last night, including my own, are part of our Lord God's mighty and awesome plan, even and especially the ones who gave them a reason to be there last night. So, since it is impossible for God to make a mistake, and everything he does is on purpose, why did he decide to create these special children? I have some ideas, how about you?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Treasure Hunting
Those who know me know all to well that I like to shop at Goodwill. There are 6 of them that I have frequented in our county, one that I have gone to once in downtown Portland, and one I just discovered just outside of Salem. Yep, discovered, didn't know it was there but might have to go back to it just to see what it hides inside.
This joy of scanning the shelves didn't come on a whim though, I generally avoided thrift shops while growing up, and really didn't see much in them most of my adult life so far. But all of that changed a few years back. You'll laugh at this but, I meet God in the aisles of our local Goodwills. He and I play a game of Easter Egg hunting within the stacks of books and electronics. I like to see what He has hidden for me to discover.
This game began a few years back when my wife was looking on e-Bay for a Jack Lalane Juicer. We had the goofy idea that getting a juicer would open some new safer tastes for our oldest son. He can't have a lot of the juices on the market becauce most manufacturers HAVE to put some form of gluten or casein in them and that makes him sick to his stomach. Karen spent a couple of weeks getting out bid on each juicer she found. She would set a $60 limit and the juicer would go for $80. One after the other would get grabbed up, and we didn't want to go too high on something that was an unfounded thought. So, after a few weeks of lost bidding wars I awoke on a Saturday morning and declared to my wife that I had had a dream. (The dream was real, I wasn't saying this to add flare to the story) That Friday night I had had a dream that we all went shopping at a Goodwill store in a neighboring town. In the dream I found on the small appliances shelf a Jack Lalane Juicer for $24.65. Karen smiled at me and gave me that look only a wife can give, "That's nice sweetheart (tilt head to one side and silently sigh at the simple minded joke her husband was playing on her.) Yet, after a cup of coffee and a hot shower, we saddled up in the family car and went thrift store shopping. My wife wanted to get some pants for the boys anyways. When we arrived she took the boys and a shopping cart while my daughter and I made a bee line for the small appliances....
It wasn't in a new box but, all of the attachments and even the recipe book were sittin' on the top shelf, $24.95. (Ok, so I was off by $0.30, it was a dream) We grabbed that juicer, hid it behind our backs and sauntered over to the pants fitting session. Karen saw us coming with the look that she knew could mean only one thing. "You didn't?! Are you serious?! You're kidding?!..." and then tears started to come down her cheek as her disbelief was washed away when we revealed that first treasure we had been seeking. Practically brand new and ready to be put to the test. I asked her," which is harder to believe, that we found one, or that I told you I had a dream that we found one?" The answer was really, both.
And thus began the adventure.
A little while later we were struggling with how to help Titus learn how to pedal. We tried big wheels, tricycles, training wheels, he just never seemed to figure out how to get the vehicle to move. Then we saw it. The Lance Armstrong Livestrong Ride cuts thru our town and its outskirts. Beautiful country roads and hills for a bike ride. So, we went out one Sunday morning to cheer the riders on. The kids lined the road holding US Flags shouting, " Good Job, way to go!." To each rider that went by. A little while later a father son combination went riding by on what we found out was a trail-along bike. Watching this father-son combination made both Karen and I both wonder about the possibility. Titus could pedal, shift gears, and everything else while watching a model demonstration right in front of him. Plus, mom or dad riding in front made the bike balance so he could focus on the pedaling. We went to a local bike shop and queried the shop owner about such a bike. He told us a story of a father-daughter combo that got hooked on riding to such a degree that on some evenings the father would come home bushed from the day without energy to go for a ride and the daughter would tell him," don't worry daddy, I'll push you, you just have to steer." Then he told us the price, bare bones base price, $150. Now I know some new bikes can cost more than this, even kids bikes but, this was way more than we anticipated. Our awe and wonder was drenched and soggy. Time for an Easter Egg hunt.
The next weekend we casually went to the local Goodwill. Honestly, I didn't expect to find such a cool treasure, we were just out to scan the aisles. But there it was, practically brand new, no scratches, good grips, good seat, chain was still oily. The only thing missing was the collar for attaching it to the lead bike. God's price tag, $30. The local bike tinkerer had the collar, he never puts price tags on anything so he asked if $12 would do. Ti and I mounted up when we got home, we took a short ride up and down the street while mom and the kids cheered Titus on for his first bike ride. When we pulled up to the curb Ti sweetly proclaimed,"Ok mommy's turn." From his perspective he had been giving me a ride up and down the street. Now that's a way to build confidence.
Now, I do have to admit, I shop at Goodwill a lot. The inventory turns so quick that you never really know what you will find. The chain here in town has a frequent flyer rewards card. You get a 5% discount of anything over $15 and 7% on anything over $100. Plus, you get a point for every dollar spent. 200 points gets you a $10 dollar store credit. In other words, you get a 5% kickback good on a following purchase. I have earned a couple of those store credits over the last few years.
With store credit in hand I ventured into a neighboring towns Goodwill Center. Now remember, the store credit is good for $10. And what should be sitting on the electronics shelf but a BOSE wave radio. No scratches, no tears, and the thing works, loud and very clear. Thrift store electronics, BOSE Wave Radio....marked price? $9. The cost of the shopping to earn the store credit aside, I walked out of the store with a good condition working BOSE Radio....for free, and $1 still left in store credit.
This last year has seen a lot of cut backs at work. The latest round of cost saving measure was to kindly ask all employees to take the equivalent of 1 week off each month. Paid if you had the time accrued, unpaid if you didn't have any time off left. Over the last year most everybody in the plant has exhausted their time off benefit, which meant that the average paycheck saw a 25% reduction. Now, we are a 6 member household, we don't have cable or cell phones. As you can now see, we shop a lot at thrift stores, even for clothing. ( I found a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for $2, that would get me 13-15 pairs for the price of a new pair) Needless to say, we don't go out to the movies very much. We have an extensive DVD collection though. So how do we economically entertain our family while feeling like we are getting something really special. God had an idea, how about an LCD projector for $15. Coupled with a BOSE radio system with awesome base we have a double feature pizza and movie night every Friday evening. The first is a kids show, Cars, Nemo, Monsters, Buzz n Woody...then the kids go to bed and we watch a more adult level flick. So if you are in the area and up for a show on Friday night, drop on buy, but we can't guarantee we'll save any popcorn.
These are some of our special stories. I twas telling them to a good friend one evening when he just sat there and shook his head,"from the way you tell them...these aren't just good finds, you go shopping like its a treasure hunt don't you?"
Keep in mind, for every 5-6 trips, one of them might hold something. I never now if and what but, I always go in expecting to find something the Lord has hidden for me.
I am now learning how to live life with this same kind of anticipation. I drink my morning coffee wondering what the Lord has hidden in the day for me to find. Imagine yourself and the morning you hide Easter eggs for your kids, can you now imagine how giddy He is while he places little treasures for us to find throughout our day? I can almost see the smile on his face and tears in his eyes when we found the juicer and when he heard our son proclaim," Ok, its your turn."
This joy of scanning the shelves didn't come on a whim though, I generally avoided thrift shops while growing up, and really didn't see much in them most of my adult life so far. But all of that changed a few years back. You'll laugh at this but, I meet God in the aisles of our local Goodwills. He and I play a game of Easter Egg hunting within the stacks of books and electronics. I like to see what He has hidden for me to discover.
This game began a few years back when my wife was looking on e-Bay for a Jack Lalane Juicer. We had the goofy idea that getting a juicer would open some new safer tastes for our oldest son. He can't have a lot of the juices on the market becauce most manufacturers HAVE to put some form of gluten or casein in them and that makes him sick to his stomach. Karen spent a couple of weeks getting out bid on each juicer she found. She would set a $60 limit and the juicer would go for $80. One after the other would get grabbed up, and we didn't want to go too high on something that was an unfounded thought. So, after a few weeks of lost bidding wars I awoke on a Saturday morning and declared to my wife that I had had a dream. (The dream was real, I wasn't saying this to add flare to the story) That Friday night I had had a dream that we all went shopping at a Goodwill store in a neighboring town. In the dream I found on the small appliances shelf a Jack Lalane Juicer for $24.65. Karen smiled at me and gave me that look only a wife can give, "That's nice sweetheart (tilt head to one side and silently sigh at the simple minded joke her husband was playing on her.) Yet, after a cup of coffee and a hot shower, we saddled up in the family car and went thrift store shopping. My wife wanted to get some pants for the boys anyways. When we arrived she took the boys and a shopping cart while my daughter and I made a bee line for the small appliances....
It wasn't in a new box but, all of the attachments and even the recipe book were sittin' on the top shelf, $24.95. (Ok, so I was off by $0.30, it was a dream) We grabbed that juicer, hid it behind our backs and sauntered over to the pants fitting session. Karen saw us coming with the look that she knew could mean only one thing. "You didn't?! Are you serious?! You're kidding?!..." and then tears started to come down her cheek as her disbelief was washed away when we revealed that first treasure we had been seeking. Practically brand new and ready to be put to the test. I asked her," which is harder to believe, that we found one, or that I told you I had a dream that we found one?" The answer was really, both.
And thus began the adventure.
A little while later we were struggling with how to help Titus learn how to pedal. We tried big wheels, tricycles, training wheels, he just never seemed to figure out how to get the vehicle to move. Then we saw it. The Lance Armstrong Livestrong Ride cuts thru our town and its outskirts. Beautiful country roads and hills for a bike ride. So, we went out one Sunday morning to cheer the riders on. The kids lined the road holding US Flags shouting, " Good Job, way to go!." To each rider that went by. A little while later a father son combination went riding by on what we found out was a trail-along bike. Watching this father-son combination made both Karen and I both wonder about the possibility. Titus could pedal, shift gears, and everything else while watching a model demonstration right in front of him. Plus, mom or dad riding in front made the bike balance so he could focus on the pedaling. We went to a local bike shop and queried the shop owner about such a bike. He told us a story of a father-daughter combo that got hooked on riding to such a degree that on some evenings the father would come home bushed from the day without energy to go for a ride and the daughter would tell him," don't worry daddy, I'll push you, you just have to steer." Then he told us the price, bare bones base price, $150. Now I know some new bikes can cost more than this, even kids bikes but, this was way more than we anticipated. Our awe and wonder was drenched and soggy. Time for an Easter Egg hunt.
The next weekend we casually went to the local Goodwill. Honestly, I didn't expect to find such a cool treasure, we were just out to scan the aisles. But there it was, practically brand new, no scratches, good grips, good seat, chain was still oily. The only thing missing was the collar for attaching it to the lead bike. God's price tag, $30. The local bike tinkerer had the collar, he never puts price tags on anything so he asked if $12 would do. Ti and I mounted up when we got home, we took a short ride up and down the street while mom and the kids cheered Titus on for his first bike ride. When we pulled up to the curb Ti sweetly proclaimed,"Ok mommy's turn." From his perspective he had been giving me a ride up and down the street. Now that's a way to build confidence.
Now, I do have to admit, I shop at Goodwill a lot. The inventory turns so quick that you never really know what you will find. The chain here in town has a frequent flyer rewards card. You get a 5% discount of anything over $15 and 7% on anything over $100. Plus, you get a point for every dollar spent. 200 points gets you a $10 dollar store credit. In other words, you get a 5% kickback good on a following purchase. I have earned a couple of those store credits over the last few years.
With store credit in hand I ventured into a neighboring towns Goodwill Center. Now remember, the store credit is good for $10. And what should be sitting on the electronics shelf but a BOSE wave radio. No scratches, no tears, and the thing works, loud and very clear. Thrift store electronics, BOSE Wave Radio....marked price? $9. The cost of the shopping to earn the store credit aside, I walked out of the store with a good condition working BOSE Radio....for free, and $1 still left in store credit.
This last year has seen a lot of cut backs at work. The latest round of cost saving measure was to kindly ask all employees to take the equivalent of 1 week off each month. Paid if you had the time accrued, unpaid if you didn't have any time off left. Over the last year most everybody in the plant has exhausted their time off benefit, which meant that the average paycheck saw a 25% reduction. Now, we are a 6 member household, we don't have cable or cell phones. As you can now see, we shop a lot at thrift stores, even for clothing. ( I found a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans for $2, that would get me 13-15 pairs for the price of a new pair) Needless to say, we don't go out to the movies very much. We have an extensive DVD collection though. So how do we economically entertain our family while feeling like we are getting something really special. God had an idea, how about an LCD projector for $15. Coupled with a BOSE radio system with awesome base we have a double feature pizza and movie night every Friday evening. The first is a kids show, Cars, Nemo, Monsters, Buzz n Woody...then the kids go to bed and we watch a more adult level flick. So if you are in the area and up for a show on Friday night, drop on buy, but we can't guarantee we'll save any popcorn.
These are some of our special stories. I twas telling them to a good friend one evening when he just sat there and shook his head,"from the way you tell them...these aren't just good finds, you go shopping like its a treasure hunt don't you?"
Keep in mind, for every 5-6 trips, one of them might hold something. I never now if and what but, I always go in expecting to find something the Lord has hidden for me.
I am now learning how to live life with this same kind of anticipation. I drink my morning coffee wondering what the Lord has hidden in the day for me to find. Imagine yourself and the morning you hide Easter eggs for your kids, can you now imagine how giddy He is while he places little treasures for us to find throughout our day? I can almost see the smile on his face and tears in his eyes when we found the juicer and when he heard our son proclaim," Ok, its your turn."
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Kids Camp 2009
Well, Ti and I went to Beaverton Foursquare's Kids Camp Again this summer. So, a few stories:
First, the camp had a new feature this year, a 30 or 40 foot long water slide! The first afternoon, Ti and I went to the candy cabin and then went and watched the other kids going down the slide, followed by a short visit to the creek for some shallow water wading. But the next afternoon, Ti told me he wanted to go to the Snack Shack and then the waterslide. I asked him if he wanted to watch the kids again or ride the slide? He told me he wanted to ride the slide. So we sat and watched the other kids while he ate his candy and got him ready for the event. (This is the first ride that he has ever gone down on a water slide) I figured the little guy would make a run down the slide, realize the shock and surprise of the cold water and the wet pool at the bottom and then decide to go somewhere else. Boy was I wrong. He spent the rest of the afternoon running up the hill to get in line so he could go for another ride down the blue monster. Very cool milestone. He did really well standing in line and waiting his turn, only now and then he had to get out of line to come and tell me what he was going to do next, "Dad! Next time I'm going to go dwon on my knees!" (Which really didn't work well but, it was a grand thing for him to actually come over and tell me this.)Bad event, I asked another counselor to watch Titus at dinner time while I ran into the kitchen to make him some "safe" rice spaghetti to go along with the spaghetti everyone else was eating. The counselor seemed to get it and said he would keep an eye on him. When I got back to the table with a plate of spaghetti, the counselor smiled and said he made sure Titus didn't get any spaghetti but, he did give him a peice of garlic bread to tide him over. CRAP! (For those of you who don't know, Titus is on a gluten/cassien free diet. No wheat, no dairy, and any of their derivatives) Yep, Garlic Bread is chock full of butter (dairy) and wheat flour. CRAP! This meant that the evening would be "loopy" and the morning would really suck for him. And...they did. Plus, the next morning I told another counselor, no pancakes but he can eat the sausage. So the counselor made sure he didn't get any sausage. DOUBLE CRAP! (yep, I mouthed the words at church camp, I am in big trouble now) Sometimes the dairy takes a little while to work its magic, Wendsday night during worship...the room was dry and hot, the motions were full of jumping and screaming...and Titus was bent over the chair in front of him working that butter right back out the way it came in. By the time I got him out of the auditorium and into a bathroom, breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner again, all made their way back up-out- and onto the floor. Poor guy. He looked back at me a little later and said, "I shouldn't have eaten the garlic bread and pancake huh? They made me sick..." Yep little buddy, thems made you sick. But he recovered well and the staff was incredible, all 5 puddles were cleaned up before I had Titus cleaned up and into a new shirt. Good job folks.
One of the worship songs had the lines: I am free to run...(kids echo I am free to run) I am free to dance...(echo) I am free to live for you...(echo) I AM FREE! (ECHO) My son had me crying tears of laughter as he exclaimed as loud as he could, I don't want to run, I WANT TO GO HOME! I don't want to dance, I WANT TO GO HOME!....As the final lines crescendo in repetative "I AM Free!" repeated 4 times...Titus crescendoed with I WANT TO GO HOME! The cool part was, he knew he was making a joke and smiled the whole time he was doing it.
All in all, it was a really good week. The weather was warm and sunny. The food was quite filling. And the activities, worship time, and all else was a joy to be a part of.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Something to Hold Onto
While on our trip back home to MT we had the opportunity to go back to our old church for a Sunday service. I don't remember the topic exactly but, Pastor Simmons was talking about where and what we put our faith in. He made some comments to the idea that, we have become a nation that sways depending on who is in the White House ( as if the right guy in the oval office can create heaven on earth and, the wrong guy can lead us to hell in a hand basket.) Do we put our faith in the economy, as if a bear market means we must all be in sin and are being punished and a bull market means the Lord is smiling upon us as a beacon for all to see. Yet, in a country like China where the government reigns and there's little in concern for "The Market" people are coming to find salvation in numbers that make the entire US look small. In these terms, we are a night light trying to outshine a light house beacon.
But what troubled me during the time I sat and listened to these words was not the points indicated, I know where my faith lies. But what does it mean to have faith and find solace in the Lord. What exactly do I have faith in, what do I believe and trust in Jesus? I have faith that God will....fill in the blank. If I know where my faith lies, why do I still feel anxious? What do I not trust? Is my sense of unease and unrest an indicator that I must not really trust in the Lord? Trust in Him for what?
Do I trust that He will upright the economy and make life easier? This is an absurd thing to trust anything in. An upright economy leads to a decadent society that thinks it can pave its own path, why would the Lord want to see this occur. And our historical archive, the Bible, doesn't indicate a lot of times when the Lord went in and made things hunky dory because His people were afraid of hardship. Seven years of plenty meant seven years of famine. 40 years of manna doesn't sound like life living high on the hog.
Do I trust that He will put a godly man in the office that will lead us all into becoming a godly nation? Equally absurd. He puts godly men in homes to lead their families. The man in the office is an indicator of where the country has already come, not an indicator of where it will go. King Saul anyone. The Lord doesn't touch His people thru governments. We are a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
So I sat and pondered this during the sermon, sorry Pastor Stan but the Lord and I have some of our best conversations while you guys are up there talking to the crowd. If I know where my faith lies, in the Lord; what is it I have faith in Him to do? And this is where the Lord blessed me with a picture of my oldest son, Titus.
See, Titus is autistic. He does not like change. This isn't your typical child like aversion to chaos. I often explain to people that there are four levels of stability in all of our lives:
static (predictably predictable) " The minute indicator on the clock just turned into a new number, in 60 seconds it will change again." No questions about it, this will happen over and over again as long as we have clocks. We all know what will happen, when it will happen, how it will happen, and what follows. Predictably Predictable, very few will question or challenge this condition.
Predictable: Sometime today I will get hungry, thirsty, sleepy...our daily habits. We can, to a fair degree of certainty, declare that these things will occur and, give a fair estimate to what period of the day they will occur as well. There is a slight degree of uncertainty as to the exact time, place, or what the meal will be. But we can be safe to say that they will most likely occur.
Unpredictable: Believe it or not, this is still a safe environment, we kind of like living in this state part of the time. It keeps us awake in the monotony. This is the state of life we see a lot of surprises. It occurs within a controlled environment that has a lot of known but only slightly controlled variables (I know, I am an engineer and write like one at times, sorry about that.) Kids at a birthday party that is well chaperoned. There will be spontaneous events and possible unpredicted outbursts of screaming. But the environment is still somewhat safe and controlled.
Chaos (unpredictably unpredictable) A person in great shape, runs every day, eats right and drops dead of a heart attack while reading a bedtime story. Devastating by its result, shocking by its occurrence and, completely unforeseen by anyone around. Or in my sons case, a room full of four year olds all standing up to sing a song. Not one in tune, none singing together, some singing the wrong song and he was caught in the middle of this incredible thunderstorm of unmelodic and non-harmonious mayhem.
Why this list in this post? To help you understand that my son loves to be in the first phase. Some of us see this as monotony run amuck. He sees this as the safest environment known to man and created by God. And I think deep down, most of us would like that kind of stability in our lives too. Our lives are dictated by clocks, calendars, daytimers, alarms, the rising and setting of the sun and routines that help us get thru the day. Titus is simply an amplification of what lies within all of us.
Why is this understanding important? Because when Titus was a baby/toddler, I was still in school chasing my degree and Karen had to work. We had a schedule that was so tight that a five minute delay meant we were off by five minutes for the rest of the day. Yet, every day was a different schedule. And Titus became our little football, handed off back and forth between Karen and I as we navigated the rapids of full time jobs, a house and, chasing an engineering degree. Normal kids become loopy under such condtions. But Titus smiled thru all of it. Down economy and a sad state of affairs with our schools and government, Titus road the waves. High times and good paycheks, Titus road the waves. How can an autistic child that craves a static environment get thru such a chaotic first few years without freaking out on us?
Blue! Not the color or state of mind, the bunny. Blue the Bunny? When Titus was a new baby he was given a blue rag type bunny that was bigger than he was. He liked its ears. He would suck on those ears until they turned brown and we had to wash him. Blue went everywhere with Titus. It soothed him when he couldn't sleep and helped up his first set of stairs. If Titus was there, Blue was too. Titus is nearly 10 years old now and, Blue is still in his bed soothing him to sleep.
The thing is, no matter what kind of world was flinging around my son, Blue never changed. Up early, up late, going with mom, going with dad, in the car, in the truck, going to sleep, waking up...Blue was always there and still the same.
So on that Sunday morning while the pastor was giving his sermon, I was asking the Lord, "If we say we have faith in you, what exactly are we saying and what does that mean?" And the ever the same unchaging Lord showed me a picture of Titus holding Blue by the ears and said to me," If this child can find solace in a little rag doll bunny with wash cloth ears that helped him get thru the craziest days of his life...what do you think will happen to you if you hold onto my hand and seek solace in me?"
But what troubled me during the time I sat and listened to these words was not the points indicated, I know where my faith lies. But what does it mean to have faith and find solace in the Lord. What exactly do I have faith in, what do I believe and trust in Jesus? I have faith that God will....fill in the blank. If I know where my faith lies, why do I still feel anxious? What do I not trust? Is my sense of unease and unrest an indicator that I must not really trust in the Lord? Trust in Him for what?
Do I trust that He will upright the economy and make life easier? This is an absurd thing to trust anything in. An upright economy leads to a decadent society that thinks it can pave its own path, why would the Lord want to see this occur. And our historical archive, the Bible, doesn't indicate a lot of times when the Lord went in and made things hunky dory because His people were afraid of hardship. Seven years of plenty meant seven years of famine. 40 years of manna doesn't sound like life living high on the hog.
Do I trust that He will put a godly man in the office that will lead us all into becoming a godly nation? Equally absurd. He puts godly men in homes to lead their families. The man in the office is an indicator of where the country has already come, not an indicator of where it will go. King Saul anyone. The Lord doesn't touch His people thru governments. We are a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
So I sat and pondered this during the sermon, sorry Pastor Stan but the Lord and I have some of our best conversations while you guys are up there talking to the crowd. If I know where my faith lies, in the Lord; what is it I have faith in Him to do? And this is where the Lord blessed me with a picture of my oldest son, Titus.
See, Titus is autistic. He does not like change. This isn't your typical child like aversion to chaos. I often explain to people that there are four levels of stability in all of our lives:
static (predictably predictable) " The minute indicator on the clock just turned into a new number, in 60 seconds it will change again." No questions about it, this will happen over and over again as long as we have clocks. We all know what will happen, when it will happen, how it will happen, and what follows. Predictably Predictable, very few will question or challenge this condition.
Predictable: Sometime today I will get hungry, thirsty, sleepy...our daily habits. We can, to a fair degree of certainty, declare that these things will occur and, give a fair estimate to what period of the day they will occur as well. There is a slight degree of uncertainty as to the exact time, place, or what the meal will be. But we can be safe to say that they will most likely occur.
Unpredictable: Believe it or not, this is still a safe environment, we kind of like living in this state part of the time. It keeps us awake in the monotony. This is the state of life we see a lot of surprises. It occurs within a controlled environment that has a lot of known but only slightly controlled variables (I know, I am an engineer and write like one at times, sorry about that.) Kids at a birthday party that is well chaperoned. There will be spontaneous events and possible unpredicted outbursts of screaming. But the environment is still somewhat safe and controlled.
Chaos (unpredictably unpredictable) A person in great shape, runs every day, eats right and drops dead of a heart attack while reading a bedtime story. Devastating by its result, shocking by its occurrence and, completely unforeseen by anyone around. Or in my sons case, a room full of four year olds all standing up to sing a song. Not one in tune, none singing together, some singing the wrong song and he was caught in the middle of this incredible thunderstorm of unmelodic and non-harmonious mayhem.
Why this list in this post? To help you understand that my son loves to be in the first phase. Some of us see this as monotony run amuck. He sees this as the safest environment known to man and created by God. And I think deep down, most of us would like that kind of stability in our lives too. Our lives are dictated by clocks, calendars, daytimers, alarms, the rising and setting of the sun and routines that help us get thru the day. Titus is simply an amplification of what lies within all of us.
Why is this understanding important? Because when Titus was a baby/toddler, I was still in school chasing my degree and Karen had to work. We had a schedule that was so tight that a five minute delay meant we were off by five minutes for the rest of the day. Yet, every day was a different schedule. And Titus became our little football, handed off back and forth between Karen and I as we navigated the rapids of full time jobs, a house and, chasing an engineering degree. Normal kids become loopy under such condtions. But Titus smiled thru all of it. Down economy and a sad state of affairs with our schools and government, Titus road the waves. High times and good paycheks, Titus road the waves. How can an autistic child that craves a static environment get thru such a chaotic first few years without freaking out on us?
Blue! Not the color or state of mind, the bunny. Blue the Bunny? When Titus was a new baby he was given a blue rag type bunny that was bigger than he was. He liked its ears. He would suck on those ears until they turned brown and we had to wash him. Blue went everywhere with Titus. It soothed him when he couldn't sleep and helped up his first set of stairs. If Titus was there, Blue was too. Titus is nearly 10 years old now and, Blue is still in his bed soothing him to sleep.
The thing is, no matter what kind of world was flinging around my son, Blue never changed. Up early, up late, going with mom, going with dad, in the car, in the truck, going to sleep, waking up...Blue was always there and still the same.
So on that Sunday morning while the pastor was giving his sermon, I was asking the Lord, "If we say we have faith in you, what exactly are we saying and what does that mean?" And the ever the same unchaging Lord showed me a picture of Titus holding Blue by the ears and said to me," If this child can find solace in a little rag doll bunny with wash cloth ears that helped him get thru the craziest days of his life...what do you think will happen to you if you hold onto my hand and seek solace in me?"
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Go Make Your Bed!
Ok, so here is the story.
About a month back I was driving home from a "Dad's at the Helm" fathers group at our church. One of the table leaders challenged us with the thought of, "How many people or families do you know personally that are not well off, poor?" His challenge was for us to find away for us and our family to personally touch someone who could use a helping hand.
On my way home I felt the Lord tell me to make a bed. No, not make my bed, make A bed. See, I have made a set of lofted beds for my kids. These are simple design, plain old pinewood 2x4 constructed beds. Nothing special or fancy, just a plain old twin size bed that sits almost 5 feet off the ground. They open up the space under a bed where toys, shelfs, cribs...whatever needs space can go. I have tinkered with the idea of trying to sell them on the side but, they don't compete very well with factory made fancy bed frames that can be bought on the cheap from places like Target, Wal-Mart and IKEA.
Anyhow, I'm driving home wondering how to meet this challenge and I get a picture of these beds in my head and the Lord says, go make a bed. You make a bed and I'll find the family, okay? Okay.
So, I went to the lumber store and selected some good 2x4's. I was building a bed for the Lord, what a joy. The last few weeks I have been putting in a couple of hours on the weekends and evenings building a loft bed. A plain simple 2x4 pinewood loft bed. I am not one for aesthetics, so those who know me should know that these are very simple designs. With each bed I get a little better. But i worked like I was building a bed for the Lord. He was going to inspect it, he was watching its progression, no short changing or cutting corners.
There have been some delays, there always are when our enemy doesn't want us to finish our work when it is for our Lord. I sometimes worried that I didn't get enough materials. The Lord always coalmed me down and whispered, I have given you exactly what you need. At the lumber store a bought a couple of extra pieces just in case something didn't work out just right. In the end, all was consumed. The Lord knew I would goof up that first few cuts and made sure there was an extra piece for the event. And I always found other things that needed to be done. When we came home from vacation a tree had blown down in our yard. Another disctraction but, the Lord told me I would be able to finish it this weekend, I had an overwhelming sense that I would have the time to do so.
This afternoon, Noah and I sanded it down and dusted it off. Dismantled it and set it in the garage. I took some photos earlier in the day while it was still together. We went inside and I posted it in the FREE section of Craigslist. Within 10 minutes I had 7 responses...and a challenge, which one of the 7 responses was the one the Lord had picked out? So, like any good and wise man, I read them to my ever so discerning wife. She told me she liked two of them but, when she recited which one(s) she liked back to me from memory of what I had read, both of the stories were from the same response, and we had a ringer.
So I graciously told the other responders that I would let them know when the next bed might be available and gave our winner a call.
Her response to my add was plain and simple, their 4 year old had outgrown the toddler bed, needed to upgrade to a big girl bed but, they had 5 kids (4 girls and a brand new baby of 7 weeks) The 4 year old had to share a room with her sisters and a loft bed was just what they had been looking for.
Now, from this response I figured the 4 year old was sharing a room with some of her sisters. My mistake, this is a family of 7 living in a 2 room single level condo/ apartment. All 4 girls are sharing one room. The baby brother is finally home after several weeks in the NICU after being born at 32 weeks. Mom and dad are healthy but are 2 months behind in just about everything. The wife told me they had been watching CL adds for a couple of weeks but the prices were too high for their budget. ( Some CL beds go for less than $50).
On the way there I got nervous over the fact that the bed I had made was simple plain and made of pinewood. I feared that they may be disappointed by the fact that it was still dusty and used carriage bolts. When Noah and I arrived, they opened the door and showed us where the bed was going to go. They had piled all they could onto the other beds in the room to clear a space for this new bed coming into their home. Such a tiny room for 4 girls.
As I opened up the back of our van, the husband, Ryan, came out to help us unload it and was surprised to see what lay in the back of our vehicle. "Wow, you made this? This looks really nice...you made this?" As I helped them assemble it. "wow, this goes together so much easier than that [factory made] one over there." "This is such better wood and so much sturdier than that [factory made] one." "wow, you made this?" "Thank you so much for giving this away, we shopped all over and could never find one we could afford, really, thank you so much."
Here I was worried about making a plain and simple 2x4 pinewood bed and not meeting their expectations and this family was so thankful that they were being given a good sturdy bed that far exceeded what they thought or expected. A little pine dust was minor.
On the way home a fleeting thought went thru my mind that the Lord slapped me for, I sure hope they are a deserving family....SLAP...you don't get to make that decision, you don't get to make that judgement, you don't even have the right to think that thought. You build it, let me worry about who gets it. You keep up your end and let me worry about the other end.
This all still goes back to the whole ox thing. I don't get to brag about the bed, who got it, how it was made, none of it. I just have to build it. It is because of my Lord that I have the mind that I have got to be able to see this bed in my head before a piece of wood is picked, let alone cut. It is because of my Lord that I get to labor in his shop and make plain and simple things. I don't get to see what the Lord does in this family, I just get the privilege of being part of his story in their lives.
Take up my yoke for my burden is lite...you don't get to pick the field.. it is not your place to plant the seed...you may not get to be part of the harvest...you don't get to brag about the crop...you don't get to brag about the soil or the field...you didn't make the furos straight...and you may not be the one to help water the rows...Just pull, and listen to His voice whisper in my ear, "go make a bed....that's nice...right there...good job."
When I got home my wife wanted to know how it went. I have to say, I think I was at a loss for words. You build it, I'll find the family for it, deal? Just pull, let me do the rest. God's requests can be so simple. Go make a bed. That's it. Go make a bed. And because I took the gifts and talents the Lord has given me and put them to work to make a plain and simple bed, the Lord took them and I got to be a plain and simple blessing in someone else's life today. Karen asked me if I needed to go to the lumber store this evening and get materials for another bed.
Though the night was getting long and most stores were closed, I have to admit, I almost took her up on it. I am excited to go and make another bed.
I now have a simple list of people I get to pray for:
Bed #1: Titus and Noah
Bed #2: Ciciley (and Lucas)
Bed #3: Cheryce, Ryan, and a family of 5 kids
Bed#4: Only God knows right now.
About a month back I was driving home from a "Dad's at the Helm" fathers group at our church. One of the table leaders challenged us with the thought of, "How many people or families do you know personally that are not well off, poor?" His challenge was for us to find away for us and our family to personally touch someone who could use a helping hand.
On my way home I felt the Lord tell me to make a bed. No, not make my bed, make A bed. See, I have made a set of lofted beds for my kids. These are simple design, plain old pinewood 2x4 constructed beds. Nothing special or fancy, just a plain old twin size bed that sits almost 5 feet off the ground. They open up the space under a bed where toys, shelfs, cribs...whatever needs space can go. I have tinkered with the idea of trying to sell them on the side but, they don't compete very well with factory made fancy bed frames that can be bought on the cheap from places like Target, Wal-Mart and IKEA.
Anyhow, I'm driving home wondering how to meet this challenge and I get a picture of these beds in my head and the Lord says, go make a bed. You make a bed and I'll find the family, okay? Okay.
So, I went to the lumber store and selected some good 2x4's. I was building a bed for the Lord, what a joy. The last few weeks I have been putting in a couple of hours on the weekends and evenings building a loft bed. A plain simple 2x4 pinewood loft bed. I am not one for aesthetics, so those who know me should know that these are very simple designs. With each bed I get a little better. But i worked like I was building a bed for the Lord. He was going to inspect it, he was watching its progression, no short changing or cutting corners.
There have been some delays, there always are when our enemy doesn't want us to finish our work when it is for our Lord. I sometimes worried that I didn't get enough materials. The Lord always coalmed me down and whispered, I have given you exactly what you need. At the lumber store a bought a couple of extra pieces just in case something didn't work out just right. In the end, all was consumed. The Lord knew I would goof up that first few cuts and made sure there was an extra piece for the event. And I always found other things that needed to be done. When we came home from vacation a tree had blown down in our yard. Another disctraction but, the Lord told me I would be able to finish it this weekend, I had an overwhelming sense that I would have the time to do so.
This afternoon, Noah and I sanded it down and dusted it off. Dismantled it and set it in the garage. I took some photos earlier in the day while it was still together. We went inside and I posted it in the FREE section of Craigslist. Within 10 minutes I had 7 responses...and a challenge, which one of the 7 responses was the one the Lord had picked out? So, like any good and wise man, I read them to my ever so discerning wife. She told me she liked two of them but, when she recited which one(s) she liked back to me from memory of what I had read, both of the stories were from the same response, and we had a ringer.
So I graciously told the other responders that I would let them know when the next bed might be available and gave our winner a call.
Her response to my add was plain and simple, their 4 year old had outgrown the toddler bed, needed to upgrade to a big girl bed but, they had 5 kids (4 girls and a brand new baby of 7 weeks) The 4 year old had to share a room with her sisters and a loft bed was just what they had been looking for.
Now, from this response I figured the 4 year old was sharing a room with some of her sisters. My mistake, this is a family of 7 living in a 2 room single level condo/ apartment. All 4 girls are sharing one room. The baby brother is finally home after several weeks in the NICU after being born at 32 weeks. Mom and dad are healthy but are 2 months behind in just about everything. The wife told me they had been watching CL adds for a couple of weeks but the prices were too high for their budget. ( Some CL beds go for less than $50).
On the way there I got nervous over the fact that the bed I had made was simple plain and made of pinewood. I feared that they may be disappointed by the fact that it was still dusty and used carriage bolts. When Noah and I arrived, they opened the door and showed us where the bed was going to go. They had piled all they could onto the other beds in the room to clear a space for this new bed coming into their home. Such a tiny room for 4 girls.
As I opened up the back of our van, the husband, Ryan, came out to help us unload it and was surprised to see what lay in the back of our vehicle. "Wow, you made this? This looks really nice...you made this?" As I helped them assemble it. "wow, this goes together so much easier than that [factory made] one over there." "This is such better wood and so much sturdier than that [factory made] one." "wow, you made this?" "Thank you so much for giving this away, we shopped all over and could never find one we could afford, really, thank you so much."
Here I was worried about making a plain and simple 2x4 pinewood bed and not meeting their expectations and this family was so thankful that they were being given a good sturdy bed that far exceeded what they thought or expected. A little pine dust was minor.
On the way home a fleeting thought went thru my mind that the Lord slapped me for, I sure hope they are a deserving family....SLAP...you don't get to make that decision, you don't get to make that judgement, you don't even have the right to think that thought. You build it, let me worry about who gets it. You keep up your end and let me worry about the other end.
This all still goes back to the whole ox thing. I don't get to brag about the bed, who got it, how it was made, none of it. I just have to build it. It is because of my Lord that I have the mind that I have got to be able to see this bed in my head before a piece of wood is picked, let alone cut. It is because of my Lord that I get to labor in his shop and make plain and simple things. I don't get to see what the Lord does in this family, I just get the privilege of being part of his story in their lives.
Take up my yoke for my burden is lite...you don't get to pick the field.. it is not your place to plant the seed...you may not get to be part of the harvest...you don't get to brag about the crop...you don't get to brag about the soil or the field...you didn't make the furos straight...and you may not be the one to help water the rows...Just pull, and listen to His voice whisper in my ear, "go make a bed....that's nice...right there...good job."
When I got home my wife wanted to know how it went. I have to say, I think I was at a loss for words. You build it, I'll find the family for it, deal? Just pull, let me do the rest. God's requests can be so simple. Go make a bed. That's it. Go make a bed. And because I took the gifts and talents the Lord has given me and put them to work to make a plain and simple bed, the Lord took them and I got to be a plain and simple blessing in someone else's life today. Karen asked me if I needed to go to the lumber store this evening and get materials for another bed.
Though the night was getting long and most stores were closed, I have to admit, I almost took her up on it. I am excited to go and make another bed.
I now have a simple list of people I get to pray for:
Bed #1: Titus and Noah
Bed #2: Ciciley (and Lucas)
Bed #3: Cheryce, Ryan, and a family of 5 kids
Bed#4: Only God knows right now.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I am an Ox!!!!!!
I am taking a class on Financial Planning. Its web-based discussion and one of this weeks topics is Retirement. How should Christians view the idea of retirement? Retirement as we see it here on earth is an end period in our lives when we get to abandon the burden of work for "greener pastures." In my posts I couldn't help but keep going back to the verse where Jesus proclaims, "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my burden is lite..." and reference it in light of the idea that if we are working for the Lord, then our retirement is the time when He calls us home. So, what is a yoke? What is it used for? who typically "takes one up"? and what is the difference between Jesus' yoke and any other yoke?
First off, I think there is a grand misconception about taking up any yoke. A common response to this verse is one of "why would I take up any yoke?" Which is a good question, if it were an option. A yoke is a tool used to lead and control a beast of burden.
In another class I took, we talked about values. What are values? They are the things, ideas, concepts, we use to guide our decisions. If you value money, it will be the measure by which you make decisions considering what you do and how you do it. Should I tithe? It will cost me a good amount of money. I value money, therefore I may not want to tithe. I value generosity. Should I tithe? Tithing is giving and being generous with what I have, then I will most likely tithe. I value obedience. Should I tithe? The Lord commands it of us, then I will tithe, regardless. The way I place priority on my values will determine which of those values wins out and guides my actions and decisions. All of this to point out that our value systems are our yokes. They are what guide us and lead us. It is also to point out that we all have them. Carrying a yoke is not a choice, it is a fact of life. We all have value systems, we all have yokes. Thus, asking the question, "why would I even take up a yoke, any yoke?" is only a valid question if we had the option to do so.
Thus, Jesus is not asking us to constrain ourselves to a life of servitude and burden barring. We are already doing that. He is simply offering us a lighter burden. Its not a matter of carrying a yoke or not but, its a matter of who's yoke are you carrying? More important, who is pulling at the reigns and guiding our steps?
I have gotten the impression that many of us feel and believe that our families, our jobs, the loans we carry...all of the burdens of life are the yokes placed upon us. I happily contest this idea. My family is not what guides me down any given path. There is an underlying value that drives me to care for my family but, they are not the yoke around my neck. My job may be a burden or a blessing but, it is not what causes me to make the decisions that I make. There is once again an underlying value, priority, that drives me to make decisions concerning my job but, the job itself is not the yoke around my neck. This can be said for all of the burdens that we bare, they may be part of what we make decisions about but, they are not the underlying value that we base our decisions upon. So, what are these lovely little burdens that we think we carry? When an ox is pulling a plow, what is it that makes its job easy or difficult? Its the field. If the field is course and rocky and thick with clay, the job of pulling the plow will be long, hard, and very difficult. If the soil is fresh, loose, and weed free, the job of pulling the plow will be quite an easy task. Both of these will occur while carrying the same yoke. So the yoke is not what makes life easy or difficult, the field does.
Now comes the most important question, who is pulling on the reigns and whispering in your ear? The owner of the yoke. The beautiful part of taking up Jesus' yoke is that it is Jesus who is pulling on the reigns and whispering in our ear. The ox doesn't get to pick the field, he doesn't say how long or deep the furrows should be. It doesn't get to look over the field and say, "boy I did a good job picking this field...I sure do make nice and straight rows...that sure is a good planting...some of the times watering made me wonder if a crop would ever come up...whoo-eee look at how tall my crop is getting...this harvesting makes me shiver with excitement...I sure did a good job with this here field..." For the most part, the same ox probably won't even be used in the same field for different tasks. What one plowed, another will most likely be chosen to help in the harvest. So what would make an ox get up each day and let his master place a yoke upon him and lead him out to another field to pull dirt? If your master were a kind and gentleman that whispered in your ear, scratched your head, and gently guided each step to keep the rows right and stright, prodded you with "whoop" "hah" and " there you go, right there, nice and easy, good job..." wouldn't you want to spend a day under the sun in any field just to spend some time with Him?
So, what does His yoke look like? First off, he tells us that it is lite. If we consider that a yoke is what guides us, our value system that guides our decisions, then what is it the causes you to make the decisions that you make? From a picture of the Christian life and Jesus, what is the highest priority in our lives? What did Jesus himself say is the number one rule to follow? Love. Love God and love you neighbor. Love your job, whether it is easy or hard, it is the field the master has chosen for you at this time. Relish in the fact that you are not alone in trying to plow it but, that He is right behind you, tugging a little to the left, pulling back a little on the reigns, giving you some slack, and whispering in your ear. Love your family, they may be a heavy burden at times but, He chose the field for you and you for the field. Love your friends, neighbors, community, life, enemies, all of them have been hand picked by Him for you to plow. The beauty of being an ox is this, we don't get to pick the field, we don't get to say how deep, far or long we have to make it, we don't get to decide when the work is done or, when its time to move into another field. All we have to do is pull. Be what we are, knowing that He picked us to plow a given field, which means we must be what that field needs to do the job He wants to do. The only way we can mess things up is when we think the yoke is ours, not his, and decide to drag the plow wherever we want.
At the end of the day, he'll take us back to the barn and gives us a nice brushing, lift our chins, look us in the eyes and say, " nice job good and faithful servant." And that is when we get to retire.
First off, I think there is a grand misconception about taking up any yoke. A common response to this verse is one of "why would I take up any yoke?" Which is a good question, if it were an option. A yoke is a tool used to lead and control a beast of burden.
In another class I took, we talked about values. What are values? They are the things, ideas, concepts, we use to guide our decisions. If you value money, it will be the measure by which you make decisions considering what you do and how you do it. Should I tithe? It will cost me a good amount of money. I value money, therefore I may not want to tithe. I value generosity. Should I tithe? Tithing is giving and being generous with what I have, then I will most likely tithe. I value obedience. Should I tithe? The Lord commands it of us, then I will tithe, regardless. The way I place priority on my values will determine which of those values wins out and guides my actions and decisions. All of this to point out that our value systems are our yokes. They are what guide us and lead us. It is also to point out that we all have them. Carrying a yoke is not a choice, it is a fact of life. We all have value systems, we all have yokes. Thus, asking the question, "why would I even take up a yoke, any yoke?" is only a valid question if we had the option to do so.
Thus, Jesus is not asking us to constrain ourselves to a life of servitude and burden barring. We are already doing that. He is simply offering us a lighter burden. Its not a matter of carrying a yoke or not but, its a matter of who's yoke are you carrying? More important, who is pulling at the reigns and guiding our steps?
I have gotten the impression that many of us feel and believe that our families, our jobs, the loans we carry...all of the burdens of life are the yokes placed upon us. I happily contest this idea. My family is not what guides me down any given path. There is an underlying value that drives me to care for my family but, they are not the yoke around my neck. My job may be a burden or a blessing but, it is not what causes me to make the decisions that I make. There is once again an underlying value, priority, that drives me to make decisions concerning my job but, the job itself is not the yoke around my neck. This can be said for all of the burdens that we bare, they may be part of what we make decisions about but, they are not the underlying value that we base our decisions upon. So, what are these lovely little burdens that we think we carry? When an ox is pulling a plow, what is it that makes its job easy or difficult? Its the field. If the field is course and rocky and thick with clay, the job of pulling the plow will be long, hard, and very difficult. If the soil is fresh, loose, and weed free, the job of pulling the plow will be quite an easy task. Both of these will occur while carrying the same yoke. So the yoke is not what makes life easy or difficult, the field does.
Now comes the most important question, who is pulling on the reigns and whispering in your ear? The owner of the yoke. The beautiful part of taking up Jesus' yoke is that it is Jesus who is pulling on the reigns and whispering in our ear. The ox doesn't get to pick the field, he doesn't say how long or deep the furrows should be. It doesn't get to look over the field and say, "boy I did a good job picking this field...I sure do make nice and straight rows...that sure is a good planting...some of the times watering made me wonder if a crop would ever come up...whoo-eee look at how tall my crop is getting...this harvesting makes me shiver with excitement...I sure did a good job with this here field..." For the most part, the same ox probably won't even be used in the same field for different tasks. What one plowed, another will most likely be chosen to help in the harvest. So what would make an ox get up each day and let his master place a yoke upon him and lead him out to another field to pull dirt? If your master were a kind and gentleman that whispered in your ear, scratched your head, and gently guided each step to keep the rows right and stright, prodded you with "whoop" "hah" and " there you go, right there, nice and easy, good job..." wouldn't you want to spend a day under the sun in any field just to spend some time with Him?
So, what does His yoke look like? First off, he tells us that it is lite. If we consider that a yoke is what guides us, our value system that guides our decisions, then what is it the causes you to make the decisions that you make? From a picture of the Christian life and Jesus, what is the highest priority in our lives? What did Jesus himself say is the number one rule to follow? Love. Love God and love you neighbor. Love your job, whether it is easy or hard, it is the field the master has chosen for you at this time. Relish in the fact that you are not alone in trying to plow it but, that He is right behind you, tugging a little to the left, pulling back a little on the reigns, giving you some slack, and whispering in your ear. Love your family, they may be a heavy burden at times but, He chose the field for you and you for the field. Love your friends, neighbors, community, life, enemies, all of them have been hand picked by Him for you to plow. The beauty of being an ox is this, we don't get to pick the field, we don't get to say how deep, far or long we have to make it, we don't get to decide when the work is done or, when its time to move into another field. All we have to do is pull. Be what we are, knowing that He picked us to plow a given field, which means we must be what that field needs to do the job He wants to do. The only way we can mess things up is when we think the yoke is ours, not his, and decide to drag the plow wherever we want.
At the end of the day, he'll take us back to the barn and gives us a nice brushing, lift our chins, look us in the eyes and say, " nice job good and faithful servant." And that is when we get to retire.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
If You Can't Get Out to See the World, Bring it into Your Home
A little over two years ago I came across a short little column in our local Newspaper talking about a rather large contingent of Arabic Foreign Exchange students at Pacific University here in town. The article mentioned that the group of nearly 18 students was actually small in comparison to a group of students attending Portland State University in the Metro area. Parts of the article mentioned how man of the students at PSU were also participating in American Homestay programs.
Both PSU and Pacific are quite active at hosting foreign exchange students, both have programs that help acclimate the students to American university life. Part of the program is in depth immersion classes in learning English: writing, reading, speaking and listening. Command of each is imperitive in being able to gain any return on the invetment of time and money once in standard classes. Many of the profs in these immersion classes fear that their students return back to their dorms and amongst same language freinds at the end of the day. So, many of them recommend homestays to all of their students. Under such and exchange they can go back "home" at the end of the day and practice what they have learned.
The surprising part of the article was a plea at the end. Apparently though many of the studenst in PSU had been matched with an American family, none had found homes to host them in the Forest Grove area.
In jest, I turned to my wife and asked her what she thought of hosting a foreign exchange student from Pacific. For those of us who know us, we have four kids, 10, 8, 7 and, 3. The oldest is also autistic. Needless to say, we have our hands full. And family is a good long distance away. To my greatest surprise, my wife non-chalantly shrugged her shoulders and said,"sure, why not?"
And thus an adventure began.
Our first student was a somewhat young and happy man from Saudi Arabia. We came to find that he was one of roughly a dozen members of one family over here in the area, all on scholarship. As a goodwill gesture to try and smooth the relations between the US and Saudia, the king of Saudi Arabia granted full ride scholarships to thousands of students that could get accepted into US schools and build a bridge over the gap that had been created from the 9/11 events. Anyhow, on our first meeting, this young man's smile against his dark skin was as bright as the moon in a dark sky. His name was Ali Al Matar. He lived with us for nearly three months, some a bit trying. Ali was a night owl. And back in Saudia he was a bit of an entrepreneur, selling jewelry and women's accessories in two if his own ships. So, his motive to do well in school were minor and, he was a very social creature. He would sleep till 6pm, rise, shower, and run off to visit with friends 'till 3 or 4 in the am, go get breakfast, attend class, come home around 9 or 10 am, go to sleep, repeat. Under this schedule we rarely saw him or spent much time with him. He did make a trip to Montana with us to meet Karen's family. Yet, after the third month we contacted the middleman agency and informed them that this student was participating in the homestay program so he could say he did it but, it was becoming apparent that his desire to actually become part of an American family was lacking and that our home may be better suited for a student that actually wanted to be there.
Off to campus went Ali and into our home came his older brother, Muhammed.
Next post. Muhammed Al Matar.
Both PSU and Pacific are quite active at hosting foreign exchange students, both have programs that help acclimate the students to American university life. Part of the program is in depth immersion classes in learning English: writing, reading, speaking and listening. Command of each is imperitive in being able to gain any return on the invetment of time and money once in standard classes. Many of the profs in these immersion classes fear that their students return back to their dorms and amongst same language freinds at the end of the day. So, many of them recommend homestays to all of their students. Under such and exchange they can go back "home" at the end of the day and practice what they have learned.
The surprising part of the article was a plea at the end. Apparently though many of the studenst in PSU had been matched with an American family, none had found homes to host them in the Forest Grove area.
In jest, I turned to my wife and asked her what she thought of hosting a foreign exchange student from Pacific. For those of us who know us, we have four kids, 10, 8, 7 and, 3. The oldest is also autistic. Needless to say, we have our hands full. And family is a good long distance away. To my greatest surprise, my wife non-chalantly shrugged her shoulders and said,"sure, why not?"
And thus an adventure began.
Our first student was a somewhat young and happy man from Saudi Arabia. We came to find that he was one of roughly a dozen members of one family over here in the area, all on scholarship. As a goodwill gesture to try and smooth the relations between the US and Saudia, the king of Saudi Arabia granted full ride scholarships to thousands of students that could get accepted into US schools and build a bridge over the gap that had been created from the 9/11 events. Anyhow, on our first meeting, this young man's smile against his dark skin was as bright as the moon in a dark sky. His name was Ali Al Matar. He lived with us for nearly three months, some a bit trying. Ali was a night owl. And back in Saudia he was a bit of an entrepreneur, selling jewelry and women's accessories in two if his own ships. So, his motive to do well in school were minor and, he was a very social creature. He would sleep till 6pm, rise, shower, and run off to visit with friends 'till 3 or 4 in the am, go get breakfast, attend class, come home around 9 or 10 am, go to sleep, repeat. Under this schedule we rarely saw him or spent much time with him. He did make a trip to Montana with us to meet Karen's family. Yet, after the third month we contacted the middleman agency and informed them that this student was participating in the homestay program so he could say he did it but, it was becoming apparent that his desire to actually become part of an American family was lacking and that our home may be better suited for a student that actually wanted to be there.
Off to campus went Ali and into our home came his older brother, Muhammed.
Next post. Muhammed Al Matar.
SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, so far as I can see, no one has even looked at this, let alone read it, so...... I just jot my thoughts and know that no one will read it, so I can say just about anything. That is so coooooool!!!!!!
The Portland area just hit nearly 80 degrees. It is April 19th and we had SUN! We laugh at the cliche of this in the Pacific Northwest but, it is truly a wonderful thing to see. We opened all of the windows, found a park on the way home from church where we chased some ducks and, all in all, enjoyed the day.
Actually, part of the day was a little disappointing. Normally the Lord and I have a pretty good chat during the morning sermon but, today He was a little silent. Perhaps He was enjoying the day He had created just as much as we were.
The Portland area just hit nearly 80 degrees. It is April 19th and we had SUN! We laugh at the cliche of this in the Pacific Northwest but, it is truly a wonderful thing to see. We opened all of the windows, found a park on the way home from church where we chased some ducks and, all in all, enjoyed the day.
Actually, part of the day was a little disappointing. Normally the Lord and I have a pretty good chat during the morning sermon but, today He was a little silent. Perhaps He was enjoying the day He had created just as much as we were.
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