It's snowing somewhere, but not here.

Everybody out here in the Pacific knows what snow is. It's like you who are back in our home knowing what the tropics are like, or either of us knowing about a desert. Though my neighbors here understand snow, it's never been seen in these parts. Sometimes I'm struck with the oddity of seeing pictures of my Virginia home covered with ice and snow, while Kathy and I are trying to decide whether to turn the AC on or get by for a while with the windows open. A friend from upstate New York commented on the oddity in reverse. They are covered in white and dealing with low temperatures. She watched a video that one of our colleagues posted. She couldn't help but notice that most of the folk in the video were wearing flip-flops. While we greatly enjoy the ease with which we can communicate around the world, there is an unavoidable dissonance. When I call someone back in the mainland, do I say "Good morning," because it is morning, here, or "Good evening," because it is yesterday evening there? It's no big deal. I'm just glad to be able to talk to a friend or loved one. Let me indulge in a moment of speculation. l don't think there will be time zones in heaven. There will be no need to the sun for light. The presence of the Lord will light the heavenly city. Since He is omnipresent, I figure there won't be any time zones. Like I say, it's just speculation, but it is going to be good. It's STTA.

Time Flies on Wings. It won't wait for you

I've thought a lot recently about a poem I read back in high school. I'm fairly sure that Andrew Marvell's intentions were not--how does one put it?--all together honorable, toward "his Coy Mistress." Still four lines from the poem have stayed with me for half-a-century, now:    But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near; Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.  Events have conspired, of late, to make me acutely aware of times passage, and the eroded landscape it leaves behind. My little brother had a birthday. Two of the youngest senior citizens I know were just confronted with the reality of mortality. My younger grandson is now fourteen. Though you'd never know it by looking at my lovely wife, in a week and a day we celebrate our Forty-fifth Anniversary. Just this morning I talked to a friend considerably younger than me; we discussed his retirement. It was the second serious conversation I've had this week about age and mortality. I'm surrounded by people younger than me, not only the students at Pacific Islands University, but the staff. Some of them are younger than my sons.  As if that wasn't enough video footage of the winged chariot rolling, unhindered along. The subject matter this week, for the class I'm teaching was heaven. Finally, though I started the week with good intentions, here it is Fridayand I'm just now giving you something to think about. It's not nearly as poetic, but the following has some of the same sentiment and is more my style than the verse of the Cavalier Poet. "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to slide across the finish line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, and shouting GERONIMO!!!"    Whether you prefer the version from the literature book, or the doggerel from the Internet, there is something to be said for the sentiment. As a fellow preacher reminded us Don't waste your life. I could say more, but I think you've got it. Go live Life. Love Jesus. Like the great apostle "finish your race. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Deadlines, Seen and Unseen

Deadlines:

I'm up against a deadline.  That's nothing new.  I spent most of my life as the pastor of a small church.  Sunday is always coming.  This one is a bit different, though.  While the deadline is real and missing it will have consequences, those consequences are less immediate than the preacher showing up Sunday morning with nothing to say.  Actually the real deadline is still ten days off--a lifetime for a guy who worked week-to-week for most of his life.  However, if I'm going to meet that deadline in a week and a half I have to meet a self-imposed one today. Several proverbs--or maybe they are cliche's; you decide-- compete for attention in my mind.   "You have to aim for perfection in order to achieve an acceptable result."  I learned that from a guy who never strove for perfection at any time in his good-enoughlife.  Still, the aphorism has some merit. "The perfect is the enemy of the good."  Some of those perfection-strivers burn so much time getting point A just right, that they never get to B or C, and A by itself just won't cut it. "Keep the big picture in mind." "Little things matter." Back when one of the biggest questions I asked myself, week in and week out, was, "What am I going to preach on Sunday?"  I had to learn that my task was not to preach the best sermon I could, but to prepare the best sermon I could with the resources, including time, that I have.  Now that I'm in this retirement, or second career, phase of life I'm accutely aware that we all face an unseen deadline.  The Bible makes clear that "it is appointed unto men once to die" (Hebrews 9:27), but God doesn't enter the date on Google Calendar for us.  I've watched enough people die to know that likely that deadline will be preceded by other smaller cutoff points.  I remember when I told my mom she couldn't drive anymore, and when we knew that dad couldn't be trusted to get from point A to B. The Psalm writer prayed, "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered" (Psalm 39:4, NLT).  If you read the rest of David's musings you will see that he prayed at a time of great turmoil.  He feared for his life.  Unlike David's, my life is pretty good, but, as surely as Sunday is coming, so is the end. It's STTA. At this site, you'll find some resources to help you prepare for that most important deadline, and live with real purpose until then

The First Time, a second view:

Something to Think About First Times, the second time:

A bit of balance about first times. Two statements that stick in my mind: My pastor when I was growing up, who later became my Father-in-law, used to speak about folk still being "forked end down."  By that he meant they weren't dead yet. One of the hardest working people I ever knew, a business woman who was a charter member of the church I pastored, used to say, "You can't begin any sooner than right now." I put both of those together to make an "X," as in "X marks the spot."  If you are still forked end down then you still have opportunities.  You can mourn about all the chances to make a difference youmissed, or you can survey the ways you can move the needle in the right direction right now, and step up.  You'll never begin any sooner. Get busy. 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.

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.

Time:

Something To Think About Time:

I'm at one of those points in life where I'm going through the transition from "I have plenty of time." to, "I'm not going to get everything done."  I've been there before.  I know that minutes and hours are the same today as they were a short time ago.  Why do I have the sensation that they are flying by faster? Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses.  He had forty or fifty more years to work with us than most of us have, yet he prayed,"Teach us to number our days."  I don't think the wise leader of Israel had in mind knowing how many days and minutes he would have.  That is certainly information that is not available to you or me.  Even predicting when folk with terminal diseases will die is an inexact science.  The fact is none of us know how much time we have.  We number something because it is precious.  Time certainly is that.  It is the stuff of life.  So let's join with Moses, and the Psalmist who recorded his prayer.   Lord teach me to number my days. May I consider what I'm doing with them. May I ask what good will be left behind when my day is gone. I want to use my time that is fleeting to invest in eternity, which is forever. Thank You, Lord, for this time.  Help me to make the most of it. AMEN It's Something to Think About.

NEXT:

Something To Think About, Somebody's In Line: 3/11

From time, in an attempt to keep up with what's going on in the world around me, I'll look at one of the lists that constantly come my-way--you know, the "Twenty most" this, or the "Forty best" that.  This morning I looked at a list that matched "old" actors with younger stars whom the list-maker thinks will take the place of the star who is on the way out.    The resemblance between some of the outgoing celebrities, and their counterpart newcomer--like Meg Ryan and Rachel McAdams--is uncanny.  No doubt, if you take time to dig a bit deeper, though, there are nuances to the new version that weren't there in the old--same basic concept, but updated for a "new" era. Long before Hollywood, Solomon commented on the syndrome:     Speaking about a young king who rises out of obscurity to replace the old ruler, the wise man said, "I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him."  Solomon goes on to comment, ". . . the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind."  (Ecclesiastes 4:14-16) It is good to have a handle on ones mortality.   It encourages humility.  Peter reminds us that our "glory" like a flower--fleeting (1 Peter 1:24). It compels one to invest in something that lasts--like the people who come after me (2 Timothy 2:2), and to focus on that which really does last, like the Word of God (1 Peter 1:25). It encourages wisdom in choices.  Like the kid looking at the array of candy in the glass case, we ought to make sure that we spend out nickel so we get the most for it. it helps one avoid fads, and emphasize substance. In the eternal scheme of things who the next pretty face, or hunky body is really of very little importance.  Whether I use my time to the Glory of God is of supreme value. Live for Jesus! It's STTA. Explore the Good News here.