Thanksgiving 2014

As we weave through the seasons of life, we witness change in ourselves and others. This past year Seth married Sarah and Elisabeth said yes to Corey. Suzanne finished her first year as principal at Rye Elementary and I became a commuter pastor.

The holidays have changed as well. Thanksgiving was a feast of four - Suzanne, my sister, Jackie, Elisabeth and I. The best turkey ever (fresh herbs and butter under the skin was key), and 6" of snow. A white Thanksgiving! Our children are now making choices at the holidays between families and we are experiencing the truly "empty nest." No tears here though. We are happy when they are happy, and happy they are!

Seth took a new job at WordStream in Boston and is doing well, selling software to customers around the world. His wife, Sarah, took a job with IBM and became pregnant with their first child in July!!! Last week we learned it was a boy; top contender for names: Carter Alexander. Elisabeth continues at Vital Design as a graphics designer and go to photo-shoot girl. She also does shoots for families on the side and is trending towards a nice little avocation on the side. Corey got his real estate license and has closed on several properties. He also will be in the Naval Reserves and continues with carpentry projects in the area. Busy guy and gifted!

Suzanne has exceeded expectations at Rye (no surprise) and created a culture of excellence and compassion among staff and parents. It is much more responsibility than Washington, better pay and an opportunity to stretch her already considerable skills. I secured a literary agent who has put two manuscripts before publishers, with no positive results as of yet.

Over the years I have often thought of that verse in Psalm 16, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." I am thankful beyond measure for my family and for all of the blessings that flow from the God who has guided us to this point.

Old Heart, New Heart

David's prayer following his adultery with Bathsheba is a model for us who struggle with sin, especially sin that is under wraps, unseen except by God.

The initial request is for cleansing (v.2, "Wash me," v.7, "purge me… wash"), but in verse 10 David goes deeper:  "Create in me a pure heart oh God." Though most translations render it, "clean heart," the Hebrew word refers to refined gold, that is pure gold - unmixed and without alloy. This is the treasure that David seeks, a heart unfiltered by the desires of the flesh.

Our first impulse is to ask for forgiveness, pardon and covering, a washing away of guilt. But our greatest need is for a nature aligned with God that only He can create in us. Such work is a miracle beyond our ability and it is right that this ruthless, adulterous sinner seek it. "Create in me a pure heart oh God." Frequent visits to God's throne of grace for cleansing can become a trampling of the courts to Him (Isaiah 1.12). Seek instead the miracle of a new heart and a right spirit.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

"Measure twice, cut once." This is about all I know when it comes to woodworking. It goes against my nature (which is why I probably have never built anything). I much prefer the tongue-in-cheek advice of one craftsman who led a crew building an addition to a church I used to attend: "Close enough, nail it," he would say with a smile. That's my style! I lack the patience for precision and the passion for excellence (in wood) that good carpentry requires.

Having said this, I know a great job when I see it. I recently hired a guy who calls himself an apprentice to build a shelving unit in our basement. My expectation would have been met with several, functional, straight and roughly the same length shelves that didn't collapse when filled with books. To my delight it grew into a beautiful, carefully crafted furnishing - and as a bonus, it was totally functional.

Exodus 37 describes the ultimate building project, the Ark of the Covenant of God. This was the place where God chose to be present among the people of Israel; a wooden box in which had been placed the tablets of the Law, a pot of manna with which God had fed the Israelites in the wilderness, and Aaron's budded staff. This was more than a box, it was a treasure trove of relics that signified God's presence. God contracted the job out to a craftsman named Bezalel, a guy God described as "filled with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills." (Exodus 35.30).

As for me, put a guitar in my hands or tell me to "craft" a sermon, and I'm on it. I leave the wood to others who care enough to measure twice, cut once. Both are pleasing passions to God but more important, both come from Him, the author of design, the author of music and the author of truth.

Praying Upward

To pray "upward" sounds redundant, especially if we lift our hands or head. After all God is in heaven, up there, and we pray to him. Truth is most of my praying seems to have a downward focus, especially if it asks for what I want or need. Often my words are directed upward while my mind is grounded in the struggles of life or the wishes and dreams of earthly things.

Reading Psalm 80 today (a psalm of lament) I was struck by the trajectory of Asaph's words. He begins with prayer and a problem. The prayer is that God would hear, the problem is that God seems to have abandoned Israel to its enemies and not to care about its disgrace and despair. Been there? If the psalm ended at verse 7 it would resemble some of our prayers, desperate pleadings and complaints. But the second half of the psalm rebounds, recalling God's faithfulness in the past, his stated purpose for his people and requests for restoration and healing that are alive with hope and joy. 

Praying upward is more that geography or body language. It means that even in the worst of times, we remember who God is, what he has done in our past and we realign our thinking to his. In the process we are untethered from our circumstances and lifted up to the place of his presence.

Changes

Family update: A new job, a health scare, another new job... change is a fact of life. I am a creature of habit. Bad combination!

There is comfort for me and you in the words, "I the Lord do not change." (Malachi 3.6). I have often told people that their "rut" is my groove. I hate change and I embrace routine, and clinging to the character of God is the best way to tolerate changes in our lives. The unchanging character of God - His constant love, faithfulness, abiding presence and infinite wisdom - these ground me on the shifting sands of life.

As a bonus, every year leaves behind proof of these things we know intellectually to be true. We see that, in fact, they are true! And guess what? God uses the changes to change us. So bring it on!

Call me Jacob

Abraham had twin sons, Isaac and Esau. I can't relate to Esau, a man of the field, alpha-male, hunter-gatherer. But Jacob, a momma's boy, preferring to stay home among the tents, loved to cook what Esau killed. I am all of those things.

So much for cultural roles! Call it "getting in touch with my feminine side" but Jacob is my defense. He is why I held a loaded rifle in my hands on the first day of a hunting season and watched a family of deer pass safely in front of me, meandering into the woods. He is why I used to hover around my mother in the kitchen, an ornery student of the culinary arts. He is why I persistently decline offers to go snowmobiling, hiking or kayaking. Call me Jacob!

Who we are in the sight of others is not nearly as important as who we are in the sight of God. God used and loved men of every personality type. But He loved Jacob and hated Esau... just because (Romans 9.6-18). In some remarkable way, God designed me in a certain way that fits His plan. So call me Jacob!

Prayer Changes Nothing

I think it was Donald Grey Barnhouse who shocked his congregation with these words, "Prayer changes nothing." The words serve to correct a "name it/claim it" approach to prayer where God is obligated to act in the way our prayers prescribe. However, Barnhouse could not have believed the words himself, for God is all about change and often about prayer. "When you pray..." Jesus began, assuming His disciples would do so.

So what's the truth about prayer? I remember reading an essay by C.S. Lewis when I was in college entitled, "On Petitionary Prayer." In it Lewis piles up verses seeming to suggest that God promises to give us what we ask for. Then alongside, he piles up verses stating conditions for answered prayer. He concludes with this question: "Tell me reverend fathers, how shall I pray this night?" It comforts me to know such a light as Lewis struggled with the answer.

For myself, the answer came when preparing for a devotional at a men's breakfast. The text was James 1.5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God..." I was struck that out of all the things James might have urged in the way of prayer requests, he chose wisdom alone. This led me to re-read the story of Solomon to whom God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." His request:  "Give your servant a discerning heart..." 

My takeaway from these two scriptures is this: pray not for outcomes but for outlook. This has changed the way I look as situations and my prayers. Believing that God wants to use situations to change me, to make me more wise, I pray that He would change my outlook on them. Of course, there are notable exceptions like prayer for healing or salvation. But as a rule, I pray for outlook not for outcomes.

What do you think?

Rolling Stone, Slippery Slope

If anyone questions whether this culture has been turned upside down where right is wrong and wrong is right, witness the cover of this month's Rolling Stone. The article presents Tsarnaev as a sympathetic victim, failed by his family and society. The facts are otherwise. He was a spoiled brat who got everything he wanted and gave full expression to the evil inside of him. Save your sympathy for those families who were true victims and be willing to condemn those who commit unspeakable crimes.


The actual edition won't appear until Friday, but content leaked suggests it will present a very sympathetic view of Tsarnaev which is not justified by the facts and are an inappropriate response to such acts. The Jim Morrisonlike cover by itself is repugnant , but nonetheless protected by the 1st Amendment. Exercising their rights, aeveral businesses like CVS, Tedechi food stores, BJ's and Walgreens have refused to carry it. 


What lessons are there for believers? I guess we'll have to wait until Friday, but based upon what we already know one lesson is that the heart is deceitfully wicked whether it beats in a Muslim, Christian, Jew or pagan. Any attempt to minimize that - much less glorify it - ought to be opposed.

Fab Faux

Last night my wife and I attended a concert at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston featuring the "Fab Faux." Their name is taken from the Beatles' surname, "Fab Four," an unassuming tribute by a tribute band. The five members are exceptional, multi-talented musicians and vocalists. They are different from other tribute bands because they don't try to impersonate the Beatles. Their goal is to reproduce the sound of the Fab Four, especially on those tracks that were produced in a studio and never performed live (Strawberry Fields, I Am the Walrus...).

I was equally entertained by seeing their performance and witnessing older fans (a 60-something man to my right was moving every limb to the music while smiling widely) and younger ones (a 10 year-old boy behind us never stopped playing his virtual guitar while bobbing up and down in his seat). Having lived Beatlemania I was transported back to the culture of the 60's, the signature sound and the twisted path that led to faith. As a new believer I remember playing and singing Let it Be on the piano, believing at the time it was a Christian anthem ("Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom..."). It's funny how I imported so much of the popular culture into my new way of thinking.

For the record, I made my wife leave at the intermission - she didn't need much convincing - telling her, "I've got my fill." I've never been one to live in the past and believe that God is most interested in our future. All of those years, guitar in hand, listening and re-listening to tracks, scrutinizing lyrics and imagining meanings somehow opened a door to a larger world where God is King and music is a tool of praise and worship and eternity. But isn't this just what God does, taking what is His own and reclaiming it for His glory. Let it be!

Raising Mom

I said goodbye to my mother - for a time - when she passed into the presence of God at the VA Home in February. We shared a final worship time in her room with George Beverly Shea and readings from the Psalms (via IPhone).

The three years she spent in our home, descending into the abyss of dementia, is now coming out in the form of laughter and tears in a book I'll title, Raising Mom. Caring for a loved one with dementia is reverse parenting. Our natural children come to us as infants and grow into adolescence and beyond. My mom came to us as an adolescent, strong-willed and sure she could do things she couldn't. Over time she became a child and finally an infant, totally dependent on us. During those precious years, I saw so many parallels to my childhood. All of the challenges, disappointments and hard decisions my mother made raising me, were repeated by us in reverse order.

Two generations spill over into the third, for our children will benefit both from seeing our example of compassionate care and, as we age, we will be better prepared to shelter them from the challenges ahead. I say this confessing that hardly a day passed when mom was alive that I didn’t selfishly yearn for greater freedom and less responsibility; as her world closed in around her I sometimes felt trapped in it. But in the end we both belong to the world that is unbounded, invisible and eternal, to which the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared.