Chopsticks

No, I am not talking about the simple little tune which may be familiar to you. I am talking about those seemingly impossible to use eating utensils found in Asian restaurants. That is what I used to think anyway until one day I was challenged to use them while eating at a Chinese buffet. My first attempts were quite humorous. I am sure food was flying all over the place. I am not too certain about this as I have repressed these memories and there they shall stay. But the more I used chopsticks the better and more adept I became.

I soon learned not to try too hard, it takes a light touch. If you try to squeeze too hard the chopsticks will not work and you will end up with a stained shirt. Nice and easy, with just enough pressure to hold the food is all it takes.

So often, this lesson can apply in so many other areas of life. One place is in the Christian life, so often I feel we as Christians want nothing more than to change people who are not Christians. We try too hard by protesting, picketing, yelling, and demanding people change. I do not think that is what we are called to do, at least not using such harsh tactics. Several years ago I came to the conclusion I can not change anyone except myself. I can not force someone to follow Christ. I can not force someone to give up sinful behavior. The only thing I can do is point people to the one who can change. That is God the Father, through Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6 (NLT)

I have no doubt Paul felt much the same way. He could only plant the seed, and others would water. Paul knew that only God could bring about real change in a person's life. In the broader context of his passage Paul is reminding the Corinthians that at one time they were immature and they allowed sin to rule their lives. Paul knew it would not be effective to go in shouting slogans and waving pickets demanding people change their ways right then and there. No, he preached the Word with love and gentleness, planting seeds of the Gospel in order that the Word of God would grow in the lives of the Corinthians. Paul knew the importance his role played in bringing people to saving grace in Christ. He could only tell others about a loving Father who gave His Son to wipe away the sins of those who believed in Him.

We are called to do the same, some of us to plant the seed, to evangelize, to share the Good News of Christ. Others are called along side to answer questions and provide gentle direction. Like using chopsticks it is the gentle touch that will be the most effective. We as Christians need to put down the signs, stop shouting, stop protesting and show love, kindness and gentleness.

My challenge to you is this: Learn to use chopsticks, it will change your life.

Special thanks to Aaron, who many years ago encouraged me to use chopsticks. God bless Brother.

"Q"

I have threatened at various times to shave my head. For many years now my hairline has been receding back and to the sides, leaving a few scraggling hairs remaining on the top. I blame this on Dean. He was my youth group leader back when I was in High School. Yes, he was bald, and yes we made sure to point that out. And now I am paying the price for making fun of him. Dean, would often respond by saying, "God created some heads perfect, the rest he covered with hair." Other times he would remind us of the story Elisha and the youths who made fun of him for being bald.

²³ Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. “Go away, baldy!” ²⁴ Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. 2 Kings 2:23, 24 (NLT)

Ever since those days of my youth, I have been wary of bears. Dean was a great guy and a great mentor. All was in fun and he didn't seem to mind. But he also mentioned that someday I might be bald too. I never believed him... I should have.

About 10-15 years ago the hair on the top of my head started to thin. At this stage of my life I was not ready for 'male pattern baldness' to be a reality. I tried Rogaine to no avail. Finally, I succumbed to the fact that I was going bald. More recently, I decided to embrace baldness. It began one day after paying a barber $18 to cut my hair. I found this to be ridiculous. So, I asked my Uncle, who has done some barbering, where to find a pair of good clippers. He ended up giving me one of his older clippers (still in mighty fine condition too) and showing my wife how to trim up the sides and back of the neck. I started out with a size "2" guide. Over the last few months I have reduced it to a size "0". Until this morning that is. After breakfast I quietly slipped away into the bathroom with my clippers, razor and shave cream.

Ah, the freedom. When I emerged from the bathroom, my wife kept saying, "I don't believe you really did it!" My kids were shocked and think a little afraid of this completely bald guy who suddenly appeared before them. My oldest even stated, "you were more handsome with hair." Oh well, guess you can't please them all. I don't think my youngest knew what to think, and she still gives me a quizzical look every now and then.

My friends on Facebook are now trying to encourage me to get a tattoo or piercings. To which I say, "No way, I am too much of a wimp to have needles stuck into me voluntarily."

So here I sit at my computer keyboard with a shaved head. I sprung the news on my parents and in-laws by emailing a picture. Normally, I send one picture of each of my girls out every day under the subject, "Picture of the Day." I am sure they were excited as usual to find a picture of their sweet, pretty grand-daughters, but were shocked to find a picture of their bald Daddy. My Father-In-Law called almost immediately to see if I had my wife's permission (no, I didn't). My Dad sent me email in response reminding me it will only grow back in "darker and courser." Which if that is the case, maybe I should have done this a long time ago. I have yet to hear from my Mother-In-Law or my own Mother. I am guessing my Mom is still in a state of shock and has not been able to formulate a reply. But I am sure she will come up with a good one.

Oh, and my Dad has given me a new nickname -- "Q" -- I think I like it. Thanks Dad!

Q

edit: The picture of my girls is not the actual reaction to my bald head. It was however a funny prank my wife pulled on them. Hopefully, she will blog about it, if not I might.

edit 2: She blogged about The Roach, click hear to read about it and see a video.

Ants

We have ants. Those pesky little sugar ants to be exact. I can't stand them. They arrive like the plague and it is difficult to get rid of them. Grrr... they really bug me. No pun intended.

Usually, we keep our counter pretty clean, or at least try to anyway. But Wednesday of this week we pretty much slacked off and let dishes pile up in the sink (well, ok they were over the sink). Dishes were on the counter too. I walked into the kitchen to start making lunch when I noticed them, hundreds if not thousands of ants marching to and fro across out counter. "Oh my goodness! It's an invasion!" I grabbed the bottle of Windex and started spraying. This stuff is awesome let me tell you, it pretty much kills them instantly. I then proceeded in cleaning up the large mess. And it took a good deal of time and effort. Definitely more than had we actually cleaned up the mess right away. But I got it clean and the ants have mostly disappeared, but still it was not fun.

If you think about it this is not much different than our lives. We try to keep our heart clean, yet we stumble and fall. We sin. Things get messy, and we leave it this way. Then evil begins to consume us, it covers us, it devours us. Then there is Jesus, He forgives, He cleans us up and makes us presentably to the Father. Jesus also shows us how to keep our hearts clean through the Word. We are to study and meditate on the Bible, and then to live it out. This is how we keep our hearts and lives clean and pure. Scripture tells us:

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation. Matthew 12:43-45 (NLT)

The problem is not that the house was clean and in order. The problem is the house is left unoccupied. Our spiritual lives may be cleaned up and left in order, but left unoccupied will once again be filled with the mess of sin. Protect yourself from the evil one, occupy your heart with God's word.

Photo Credit: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/ants/research.php

Identity

You've no doubt heard recent headlines or news stories regarding identity theft. One's life can be thrown into complete chaos in a matter a few keystrokes. Bank accounts are drained, credit is ruined and life becomes more of a struggle. One's identity can be put back in order after it has been stolen. But, it takes hard work, great expense and determination.

Have you had your identity stolen?

Think about it carefully. Mine has... and so has yours. A master thief has stolen your identity. In fact, he has stolen the identity of every person whoever has been on this earth. Through our sin we have had our identity stolen by Satan. Satan then wants you to believe this identity is now tarnished, destroyed and utterly worthless. If you believe this, then he wins.

So what do we do with our seemingly worthless identity. We take it to Jesus. It takes hard work to bring about changes in one's life. It takes determination to live out this changes in every day life. It also comes with great expense. When we take this broken and tattered identity to Jesus for Him to fix, He takes it to the cross. It is at the cross our old identity dies, it is at the grave it is brought to new life. But something changes, it is no longer our identity alone. We find that now our identity is with Christ, so that when others see us they see Christ. It is this new identity that God the Father sees when He looks at us. Christ paid the cost -- His life -- so that our stolen identity is made better than brand new. If you believe this, then you win.

Where is your identity?

Stains

Laundry day. Two words that make most people cringe. My wife and I share this duty in our household. Basically, the duty belongs to whomever the pile of laundry lands when it falls over. Recently the duty was mine. I strongly dislike doing laundry. It is an all day job. Separate lights and darks. Check for stains, which with two young children and myself, means quite a few stains. Load the washer. Wait... Load the dryer, unload the dryer and clean the lint screen, load the dryer. Wait... Check the clothes and add more time. Wait... Finally they are dry, but they don't fold themselves, and you can only go so many days of pulling a shirt out of the dryer to wear, so then comes folding. A couple of hours go by and it is time for bed. The folded clothes are still on the bed. Too tired to put them away they go back into the basket and are placed on the floor. After a couple of days they need to be refolded again. This time they are put away immediately. I hate doing laundry. Oh well, it has to be done.

The thing I dislike the most is folding and putting away the clothes, but since I can't really come up with a spiritual application for this (however, I reserve the right to come up with something in the future though), I will talk about stains. Which does come second on my list of what I dislike about laundry duty. Like I said between myself and my two wonderful daughters we go through plenty of stain remover. In fact I am thinking of buying stock in the company whose product we use. Stains sometimes get forgotten from the time they happen to the time they hit the washing machine. Have you ever missed a stain only to find it after the shirt is pulled from the dryer? Frustrating because now it is set and won't come out. Then the ones you do catch you just hope they will come out. Some do and some don't.

We are a lot like a pile of stained shirts. We can't do anything to remove the stain ourselves, the stain detracts from our inherent beauty, and we are not as useful with the stain as we are without. Sin, is our stain. But unlike us, God is a master cleaner. He misses no stains, they always come out in the wash, and He is proud to display us and use us for His purpose. The old hymn "Jesus Paid it All" says:

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. ~ Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

Baby Ethan

I ran across a website today. It tells the story of Ben and Becky Powell and their little boy Ethan. Ethan was born on December 5, 2006 and was diagnosed with Leukemia on February 6, 2007. I cannot imagine the heartache and the emotional distress of this situation. It is truly a tremendous burden to carry. But here is the beauty of the situation Ben and Becky are Christians and just reading the posts on their website it is evident they have a tremendous faith. If fact they say "prayer works" and I believe and know it does. According to a counter on their website close to 900,000 people worldwide are praying for Ethan's healing.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

The Powell's believe exactly what these verses state: Prayer can bring healing to the sick. They are our brother and sister in Christ and they have come before us to intercede on their behalf. Please join us in prayer for Ethan's healing and for the comfort of his family.

You can visit Ethan's website by clicking here.

Flood

Sorry I haven't written anything recently, but it has kind of been a dry spell as far as creative writing goes. That is until last night. It was somewhat eventful, but not as bad a it could have been I suppose. However, I have learned one thing: That the words "Urgent" and "Care" should not be allowed to be used together. I also learned something else, but more to that later.

I received an email from my wife about 6:00 last night while I was at work. She stated that she was back from her walk and had fallen and hurt her knee. I immediately called her and while her words downplayed the seriousness of the matter, her tone of voice revealed the broader scope of the situation. I told her I would be right home to look at it (one of the great things about living one mile away from work). As soon I as I saw her I could tell she was in a great deal of pain. Looking at her knee I knew we needed to have it looked at by a doctor. I then announced we were going to the ER or Urgent Care. I looked up the info on the Urgent Care center and saw they were still open so I said let's go. Leaving home the car began to run rough while stopped at red lights. Then the check engine light came on. I thought, "Ok, what else can go wrong?" We made it to Urgent Care just fine. All said we were there for about four hours.

Four hours to think and pray, think some more, play some games on my cell phone, pray, watch people, make jokes about "urgent care," pray some more. But not once did I worry. Now, I am about to let you into a secret room of my life (those of you who know me well already know this about me), but I tend to worry about financial matters. Typically, I would be thinking, "Ok, this is going to be expensive, and the car too. This is great, just great. Not just one thing but now two..." I just kept saying over and over "I trust you Father, I trust you. You will provide, you will get us through this." Then God slowly began to show us that He would take care of us.

Turns out Emily only has deep bruising of the ligament in the knee, and not a broken knee cap. It will still take some time to heal, but she'll do ok. We are praying for a speedy recovery. The car is going to be fine too. The car ran just fine on the way home, but the check engine light was still on. However, after bringing Emily home, I had to go back out to get her perscription. When I started the car the check engine light did not stay on. God is good. And yes, He did take care of us.

One of the lighter things to come from this is that the song playing on Emily's mp3 player when she went down was "Flood" by Jars of Clay. Even more so, the line she remembers playing at the particular moment was "Lift me up so high, that I cannot fall, lift me up." Ironic, coincidental, weird? Yeah, maybe.

I think The Message sums up Matthew 6:34 the best:

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Typically, I would get all worked up thinking what is going to happen next? How much are the bills going to be? How much is the car going to cost to repair? What about this? What about that? Worry, worry, worry. What happened was a life lesson from my heavenly Daddy. He was asking, "Do you trust me?"

Yes, Dad, I trust you! Thank you.

Where Does My Help Come From?

PSALM 121
A Psalm of Ascent

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Living in the Willamette Valley of Oregon has many advantages. For one there is the rich and fertile soil created from volcanic activity long past. There is the relatively mild climate. Then there are the mountains, to the west is the Coast Range and to the east are the Cascades. Mountains are beautiful and majestic. They rise up out of the earth stretching out towards the sky. Today, mountains for the most part don't pose much of a challenge. Superhighways have been carved out of the landscape and modern jets soar high above their peaks. But not long ago pioneers struggled to cross mountains on their pilgrimage to the west. Many dangers existed in the mountains. Wild animals, thieves, and treacherous terrain are just a few. This was nothing new.

The writer of Psalm 121 also recognized the dangers of the mountains. As often would be the case the Hebrews would have to pass through such hills on their journey to Jerusalem. The hills are thought to have harbored thieves, wild animals and shrines to pagan gods. I remember my Old Testament professor describing the journey. He stated the Hebrews would travel through a valley and as they lifted up their head the could see many shrines which had been erected to honor false gods. To the traveler they would seem to be surrounded by evil and trouble on every side.

Not much has changed in this sense. Today we are surrounded by evil and trouble. Sex, greed and power have become the false gods. Difficulties come at us from every conceivable direction. Where does our help come from? It comes from God.

I don't believe the author of this Psalm was crying out in desperation, but instead making a statement grounded in faith. Maybe he was looking up at the pagan gods on the hills, knowing that there is no real power or help in wood and stone. He was saying, "My help comes from the living God. He is my protector. He is my provider. With Him I do not have the fear the evil which surrounds me." Our God is with us on our journey through life

Where does your help come from?


Serving Yahweh,
Jeff

Conditioned to Complain

I was out with the family last night. We went out to dinner, and then stopped by a couple of stores to pick up some needed items. We walked into the first store (specialty type), and were immediately greeted by two store employees. One of them even greeted me with a handshake. Pretty cool. Every time we passed by an employee we were greeted and even engaged in a brief conversation at times. The employees of this store truly had a genuine interest in our being there and how they could help us. Anymore this kind of service has become a thing of the past. This was not the typical "Hi, welcome to (insert store name here)." And that is the last you hear from them. It truly was really great service.

This morning I called the store and asked to speak to a manager. Now, I will admit to having a little fun with this. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello, may I speak to a manager please?
Manager: Yes, my name is Bob and I am manager. How can I help you.
Me: Yes, I was in your store last night and I have not received service like I did last night in a long time.
Manager: I am sorry, I...
Me: No, no, no. You don't understand. The service I received was extraordinary...

I went on to explain the great service I had received. I then called the corporate customer service number (they are a national chain) and the person I spoke to there also seemed surprised to be taking a call with a compliment.

This led me to think, "Have we become conditioned to complain?" The manager was ready to hear a complaint as was the customer service rep. We have become a society in which we live to complain. We say things like: "The food is cold." "The service is too long." "The music isn't the right style." "I can't believe they don't open more lanes." We don't we think to stop and say a word of thanks and gratefulness when we receive good service or when we appreciate something someone did.

"So encourage each other and build each other up. . . " 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Make it a point today to build someone up giving them words of encouragement and appreciation. Let them know of a job well done! Let's become a society in which we are conditioned to encourage.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jeff

My Amazing Daughter

Like most any Dad, I like to brag about my kids. Tonight my six year old, Aimee, said some really profound things. My wife sent me the following email:

Tonight Aimee and I were at the table, working on math problems. I was sitting in my usual spot, she was standing next to me. Aimee backed up to walk around to the other side of the table, then screamed, ran around the table, and started crying. Autumn was sitting nearby, so I asked if Autumn scratched her. "Yes," was her teary reply. I said, "Bad kitty!" Autumn was surprised at that, she thought when I got up I was going to feed her! She cowered back a little, then came right back to me and rubbed against me, I guess to ask for forgiveness... I checked on Aimee and her ankle was bleeding a bit. So I got her a wet washcloth to cover it with. I told Autumn I hoped we didn't have to get rid of her, but I don't want a bad kitty in the house. Aimee said, "Mommy! It was probably my fault! I probably got too close to her face. It's ok, Mommy, she wasn't trying to be mean!" Then she said something that I really liked. Aimee said, "Mommy, it's like with God. Even though sometimes we disobey, he still loves us and doesn't want to get rid of us. So even if Autumn is mean sometimes, we still love her, and shouldn't get rid of her." Quite the insight from a little girl who just got scratched, unprovoked.

Wow... such insight from a six year old. But she is right, no matter what we do, no matter how badly we mess up, God still loves us! God could, and yes, should condemn us for some of the stupid things we do. But...

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1,2

Read that again. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" Aimee had it correct. Even though we disobey, God still loves us and doesn't want to get rid of us. Read the rest of chapter 8 sometime today. Meditate on what Paul wrote. Who will you live for?

Forgiven & Loved,
Jeff

Mulligan

I like to golf. I am not the greatest golfer, in fact I am really not good at all. But I have fun playing. In fact I really don't play golf as much as chasing the little white ball. One of my favorite aspects of the game is the mulligan. Otherwise known as the "do over." Hit a bad shot, have a bad lie, hit into water... take a mulligan. I love the mulligan.

Life is a lot like golf. My intention is to play my best game, to always hit the perfect shot. I address a decision or situation and I aim to go straight. Swing. Disappointment. My "shot" goes far to the left. Sometimes I do make a wise decision, other times a foolish one. Sometimes my intention is to avoid sin, yet temptation leads me to miss my target. I give in, I take my eyes off of Christ. My life is out of bounds. But, here is the beauty of being forgiven. I can take a "mulligan" and start again. Because Christ died and rose from the dead to forgive my sin I have another chance, and another, and another, and another.

I don't always take a mulligan with every bad golf shot, sometimes I just play the ball from where it lies. Life is like this too. I am still forgiven for sinful decisions, but consequences of sin still have to be faced. Much like a sand trap, it is not impossible to get out, but just requires more hard work, dedication and better aim.

Hebrews 10:17 tells us God chooses not to remember our sins. "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." What an awesome God we worship and serve. A God who chooses to forget.

Life and golf... for me the connection is easy to make. Although I don't have a chance to play much golf (too expensive and not enough time), every day is a chance to play "life." To step up to the ball and hit straight.

Go with God,
Jeff

Photo Credit: http://www.sdyouthservices.org

Who Do You Serve?

Ask me this question and I won't be able to give you the answer I would like to give. The answer I would like to give and the answer I have to give are diametrically opposed. What I would like to say is that I serve God and God alone. The truth of the matter is in reality I serve myself. I live my life for me. I want this, I want that, give me this, give me that. No wonder where my kids get this, the watch me.

Jesus tells us in Luke 4:8, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” Yet, it seems I get so wrapped up with the things and stuff of this world I lose sight of the One I need to serve. I become selfish and only interested in serving myself. This needs to change and given time and devotion to God's Word I will become the servant He wants me to be.

I have chosen the name Doulos-Theou as a reminder of who I want to become. The word doulos is greek for "servant" and Theou means "of God". I am therefore a "servant of God". God must be first in my life and everything else a distant second.

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." -- Joshua 24:15

Photo Credit: http://www.garychapman.org