Freedom of (& on) the Road:

FOURTH on the road:

As I sit here typing, the words of an old folk ballad, "I'll be gone five-hundred miles when the day is done."  Actually, if plans go as I hope, it'll be considerably more than that.  I had breakfast with some folk out enjoying our Independence Day on their motorcycles.  Their conversation was full of route numbers and "I'll catch up."  As near as I could tell they have no where they really need to go, and they're enjoying it immensely. Part of the time I live in a nation where I'd have to drive every road in the country several times to go as far as I'll go before I go to bed tonight.  Other places I've been on the road the road is so rough that if you went five-hundred miles your back would be done.  I recall traveling a couple of hundred miles in one nation, and being flagged down every forty or fifty miles.  It's just routine there for police to check papers, question the driver, and inspect the car's contents if they choose. My big-bike riding breakfast companions have it right.  The freedom of America's open roads is worth celebrating.  It is something that we ought not take for granted.  It is a resource that God has granted.  When my DAY is done, what will I have done with it.  It’s STTA.

AGING, #3

Something To Think About Aging, yes, even more:

On a journey, especially one by air or across water, you reach what is called the "point of no return."  Except in science fiction movies, it's not quite as ominous as it sounds.  The point of no return is simply the half-way point of the trip.  Once you pass that point you might as well go on to your destination; it's closer than going back to the beginning.  I don't expect to live to one hundred and thirty, so it is clear that I passed that point some time ago.  The reality is we can't go back in time, but the picture helps me to put some things in perspective. Maybe it will help some of you, on whichever side of that imaginary point you find yourself. For those who can reasonably conclude that they are still on the outbound phase of life's journey, I hope these thoughts from one on the other side will cause you treasure the time the Lord gives you.  I've lived long enough, and observed enough people to see folk who wasted their prime opportunity only to spend the backside of their journey regretting it.  Both phases are wasted. I see a lot of oldsters, like me, who waste the life they have left, mourning the youth they no longer have.  We can't go back.  If we allow the past to rob us of the future we will have lost all that remains. Caleb was eighty-five when he asked Joshua to allot him one of the most difficult territories to claim (here).  The Apostle Paul determined to  "forget . . . what lies behind and reach . . . forward to what lies ahead, [he] press[ed] on toward the goal"  (Philippians 3:13–14).  Both modeled behavior that we folk on the far side of that no turn back point need to emulate.  I'm trying to remember it myself.  I have less life in front of me than I've lived behind me.  That makes what is left all the more precious.  With Moses I pray,    “. . . teach [me] to number [my] days, That [I] may present to You a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)    It's Something to Think About.   Young or old we all need the Lord. Find out more here.

Aging, again--Old folk tend to repeat themselves:

Something To Think About Aging, again--Old folk tend to repeat themselves:

I can give hearty affirmation to King David's observation,    “I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25, NASB95)    I have been well provided for, all of my life.  The warm memory of a great meal from last night still lingers.  I was refreshed by good night's sleep in a warm, comfortable bed, sheltered by a house that meets my needs.  For most of my days, my situation has never been very far from hand to mouth.  But that has been OK.  By God's grace I was gainfully employed, and through that means the needs of my family and myself, were met.  I am now moving into a realm where there is more room between payday and due-day.  My late uncle put it this way.  He told me a few years ago, "I don't work anymore; I just draw."  Here in the West, many of us who worked through our adult years, are able to draw a Social Security check, and maybe on a pension fund.  Even for those of us who need to supplement that income, the "have to" element is not nearly as great as back when the "baby needs new shoes, and transmission just went out on the Ford."  More and more I find myself thinking, in answer to the question, "What do you have to do today?" "Nothing.  I don't have to do anything."  But, I need to keep in mind there is a great deal I need to get done. I've learned a lot from watching my wife, over the years.  Kathy has been self-employed for most of our time together.  She is a very capable piano teacher.  For a time she also taught music to preschoolers.  Her business, however, has never been more than a part-time job.  Because of her Proverbs 31 management of our household, we have been able to live well, mostly on my income.  Kathy chose to be good for nothing.  She has led the music ministry in our church for decades, and has invested herself deeply in the lives of women and girls, through ministries like Coffee Break.  I'm trying to learn from her, and from the work the Holy Spirit is doing in my heart, that . . . though there may be nothing I have to do today, there is a great deal I need to get done. This is a challenge that John Piper has eloquently made in his book,Don't Waste Your Life.  Look at page 46--the link accesses a pdf of the whole book--for a tragic story of some folk who concluded that because they didn't have to do anything that they had nothing to do. Seniors, let's finish well. Lord, I'm thankful to be at a place where more and more there is nothing I have to do.  Help me see that there is much that I need to get done.  It's Something to Think About.   Young or old we all need the Lord. Find out more here.

TIME

Something To Think About Time:

Just about every day when I look at social media or talk to those around me, I'll hear about something significant that has to do with the passage of time.  I just read about the birthday of a young lady.  We have been blessed to have her around for ten years.  I clearly remember when I prayed for her to be born in good health.  The network computers regularly remind me that it is some friend's birthday, or anniversary.  Holidays, and special times of remembrance remind us to look back X number of years ago.  What happened back then?  What have I learned?  Have I used the passage of time wisely? Moses prayed,    “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV) Let's allow ourselves to be infected with an "When this--then that." virus. When we  see an announcement about a birthday, an anniversary, or a memorial of a significant event, let's ask, "What am I doing with the time the Lord has given me?"     It's Something to Think About.

My Home, My Castle?

Something To Think About, My Home:

"A man's home is his castle." It's a proverb that indicates a person's dominion over their residence--particularly if they are a home owner.  Though often challenged in court and debate, in the United States this concept is a part of our legal system.  Our Bill of Rights prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures."  Breaking and entering is a crime.   Men--the male of the species--are apt to quote the proverb with bluster.  "I call the shots, here.  I'm master in this house."  Women knowingly smile.  Part of the means by which they run things--in a Proverbs 31 sort of way--is to let we men think we are in control.  If we men really were in control our homes probably would be more castle-like, even resembling fortresses.  The women folk, it appears to me, are less interested in a home being a citadel and more interested in making it a palace.  We guys would build turrets; the fairer sex is more interested in coordinating the color of tower with the rest of the wall. A problem is both men and women are infected by sin.  High on the list of "What's wrong with us:" is selfishness.  Our home is a place where that sin, we condemn in others but excuse in ourselves is likely to flourish.  A desire for security can mutate into isolation, and an attitude of indifference or even hostility to those out there, on the other side of my moat.  Likewise self-expression and aesthetics can become the justification for extravagance and self-indulgence.  He can't be bothered with others, while she doesn't want others bothering her stuff. One of the virtues that the Bible extols is hospitality--"He must enjoy having guests in his home" (1 Timothy 3:2, NLT),  is one of the qualifications for church leadership.  It is likewise a desirable trait among the led (see here).  More important than my door keeping others out is my door being open to those I can help.  Rather than ask, "Does my welcome mat look like the picture in the magazine?"  I need to be concerned about whether Matt and Maddie are welcome.  As I write this I am blessed by being a guest in a lovely home.  It does look nice, but far more important it feels nice. Lord, my home is one of my greatest investments.  Help me to use it for your glory. It's STTA. You can find out our home in heaven and how to get there here.

EXCELLENT!

You may remember Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.  Even if you don't, you have likely had adventures in excellence.  All through school we were encouraged to strive for excellence.  Many of us, long past our classroom days, have found that it is easier to declare something "Excellent!" than it is to produce excellence.  It seems that life conspires against superlative performance, and could it that we misdefine (Is that an excellent word?) excellence, as it applies in the world where most of live?
In Colossians, a book I've been spending time in for the past few weeks, the Apostle Paul says some things that I think could come under the heading of "excellence."  He tells slaves that they are to obey with "sincerity of heart," and work, "heartily, as unto the Lord."  Somehow, when I think of showing something to the Lord, I don't hear "Good enough," as being good enough.  After all, the entire book is about Christ's superlative nature.  "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."  (2:9)

Consider though,would a slave, assigned to dig post- holes, please his master if he spent all day digging one perfectly proportioned meticulously neat hole?
"Of course not!" you say.
Don't tune out just, yet.  All of us have a Master.  He is not only our Boss from 9:00 to 5:00, but over our home-life, the time we spend alone, even the hours we spend asleep.  As a pastor of a small church if I prepare one exegetically, homiletically, and oratorically excellent message, yet neglect everything else I should be doing that week--not only at church but at home--am I performing with excellence?  

At this point I may have succeeded only in making things more difficult.  Not only do we need to be concerned about doing what we do with excellence, we need to apply excellence to the consideration of what we do.  Actually, let's turn that around.  First, I ought to ask:

• Am I doing what the Lord wants me to be doing?
• Am I attempting too much?
• Am I distracted by activities that don't matter?

Then I need to do what I do with excellence.  That doesn't necessarily mean doing the best I possibly can do every time I do whatever it is I do.  Sometimes the demands of doing all that I ought to do will demand that I only go over my project with 80 grit sandpaper, rather than spend hours rubbing it with polishing compound.  

We should all work with excellence.  But housewives with three preschoolers shouldn't be down on themselves because their house doesn't look like a spread in Better Homes and Gardens.  Sometimes working with excellence will mean doing less on a particular task, not more.  The big question is not what I want, or what others who are pros at this activity expect, but what does my Boss want?  The servant who works with excellence strives to hear these words:  "Well done, good and faithful servant.

It's STTA.