Posted on November 24, 2009 at 4:11pm.
If you have followed my blog - you know that I have a good friend with bad taste in shoes. Read that blog before going any further, otherwise this won’t make much sense. Well, today, I finally shamed him into getting a decent pair of shoes. We went into an upscale shoe store at Southpark, he tried on several pair, and ended up with some respectable choices. So as he was forking over his money to buy his Italian leather shoes, he pointed to a huge shipping box at the back-end of the store. On the side of this box, in larger than life print, it read “made in China”. My hope is that his feet will know the difference between good leather and petroleum rubber. Certainly, they will at least smell better.
Posted on November 23, 2009 at 8:58am.
It is so interesting how God pursues us at different times in our lives, and keeps drilling home the same theme. He knows that I need to hear something several times before it has the potential to sink in. Because of my role at church, I often hear the message a few times over during a weekend. Lately, the theme of grace in the reality of my shortfall, keeps getting pounded on this heart of mine. I have also been reading through the book of Nehemiah, and reviewing how God’s people have been through the mill, under all degrees of weak and strong leadership. Some did evil in the eyes of the Lord, while others not so good, even evil. But here in Nehemiah, Ezra reads the Scriptures, and God’s people are moved to obedience. They return to their God, confess their sins, and strive toward a repentant response. Chapter 9 is pretty powerful, and in verse 33 the honesty strikes me - “In all that has happened to us, you have been just, and you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.” Sounds like God - old and new testament. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us”. A new day, a new week - new grace - our faithful God.
Posted on November 10, 2009 at 4:34pm.
I met a friend for lunch today. The same friend I meet for lunch every Tuesday, and have so for the past 15 plus years. I have lost a lot in recent years to age: my hair, my knees, my sight, and my hearing to name a few. But the one thing that is getting keener - is my sense of smell. So, here we are at the same booth we freequent every Tuesday, we sit down and I am overcome with this powerful smell. It was as if someone came into the restaurant after working on an oil rig. I asked my buddy, do you smell gas? He said no. Our food arrives, and for a few moments, while I scarffed down my spicy chicken, the smell is gone. Then it wafts in again. So, I start looking around to find the source of this odor - I was sure I would find a booth full of hungry mechanics behind me. No chance - just a sweet little old lady with a ton of powder on her face. I mention it one more time, and my friend looks at me like I am losing my mind. We get engrossed in conversation, and I try to put it out of my head. I have an incredible gag reflex, and the smell is getting to me so much that I keep swallowing deeply, and try to convince myself that it is now just something in my mind. My friend and I make a pit stop before heading back to different sides of the city, neither of our old bladders would make the trip successfully. So there we are in the men’s room, and my friend gets real serious, and looks me square in the eye and tells me that he has something to confess. For a quick minute , I have a sense of panic, almost fearful of the words to follow. Then he tells me that the smell belongs to him. He asks me to check out his new shoes. That’s what I’m smelling. He had just been to China, and he was so proud of this great deal he got on these shoes. I busted up. Good thing I just emptied my bladder, or I would have lost it right there. He asked me how much I thought he had spent on these shiny new shoes - I guessed 8 bucks, and I was right. I am back in my office, hours later, and the smell of these shoes has lingered in my nostrils. I am committed to ensuring my buddy owns a pair of shoes that leaves less of an impression. A pair of new shoes - priceless!!!!!
Posted on November 9, 2009 at 9:03am.
I read a testimony of a woman who found peace with God, pretty dramatic! And she closed with this verse - “Now may the Lord of peace himself, give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with all of you” (II Thessalonians 3:16). This weekend for me was anything but peaceful, wrestling through some issues of heart and mind, awake a lot. This testimony, these words from Scripture are great reminders of who I serve, and what he offers his followers.
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 12:05pm.
I know the whole Bible is God breathed and useful for teaching . . . but I must admit in my reading through the Old Testament it gets tough to extract a thought for the day. Not today. This morning in I Chronicles David is aware that God is not going to use him to build a permanent structure of cedar for God to dwell, but that privilege was going to be given to his son Solomon. I either forgot, or never knew that David set Solomon up with the many of the resources to accomplish this great task. David gathered materials for the next generation, for his son, to accomplish this great work. My dad set me up in many ways. He invested, provided, encouraged, lived a life of obedience in front of me and launched me into this world giving me all he had toward my success. I am now readying my girls to be launched. What resources beyond monetary do I have still to pour into them, to give them, to establish them for obedience to God?
