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Dang it! Moments

06 Feb

There have been so many times when I have done something that I thought was pretty great only to find out that it wasn’t quite so… example…
64187self-portrait-1917-posters Painting class 101 or something like that in college… We had to pick a master artist and mimic his/her work…. I chose Monet… I worked so hard to have my painting look like his… I studied his brush stroke and color and my finished product looked similar or as similar as a college student who knew nothing about Monet could get. I was very proud of my piece.. Got to class that evening and pulled out my work and placed it in the line next to the others… everyone oohed and aahed….. not at my painting but at the one down the line from mine that was brilliant….. Dang it!! ……. the instructor, I never respected her much, was so incredibly critical of mine that I tossed my work in the trash as I left the room.. it took me several years to pick up another paintbrush after that class was over… …
and another...75827_gameboy
As a teenager I had a tiny little LCD TV that I could carry around in my pocket if I wanted. (I never wanted) I also had a video game system that used game cartridges. In my mind, I thought that there had to be a way to bring those two things together… kind of like peanut butter and chocolate make a Reeses Cup… I was going to make a little tiny game system that changed games and would be small enough to fit in a pocket, if you wanted. Now these were days before the internet and google and the only way that I knew how to accomplish such a task would be to figure it out in the library or at MIT or something… my idea and dream stayed alive in my mind for years … then one day, it happened… GameBoy… Dang it!.. I could have made millions… If I had figured out how to make it first then I could be blogging on some beach right now… or at least in a bedroom that had matching furniture..

I chuckled today as I read in Exodus… The focal person in the whole exit out of Egypt is Moses but Moses’s brother, Aaron, played a big role too. After all Aaron was the one who did what Moses told him to do… he was kind of at the mercy of Moses… Can you imagine?
Exodus 7:10-12a
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. DANG IT!

or

Exodus 7:19-22a

19 The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs’-and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.” 20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. 22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, DANG IT!

There’s more… it happened again… only with frogs… three times the magicians were able to at least match what Aaron did… If you read the rest of verse twelve you know that Aaron’s snake was likely a bit more “realistic” as it ate up the magician’s snakes… but the whole point of what I am getting at is Aaron had some Dang it! moments there….He was doing something that was pretty incredible, something that God had asked him to do, only to be matched up by some nonbelieving magicians … I wonder what his facial expression was like when the magicians matched what he was doing?  Was he looking at Moses with disgust, fear, frustration or did he stand proud and bold knowing he was doing what God had said to do?  I would guess that since we don’t hear about a mutiny or a desertion that Aaron trusted… regardless…

So then if I am feeling like I am doing what God has asked me to do… no, not just feeling like it, but knowing it… and I find myself overwhelmed, incapable, feeling frustrated, frightened or forgotten,  I can choose to give in and give up or I can choose to grit my teeth, hold onto the gifts that God has given me, listen to Moses (or that person that God has placed in my life) and take my Dang it! moments with trust…. oh, and I’ll remember one very important thing…

The fourth time Aaron was asked to show a miracle… it couldn’t be matched by the magicians. They themselves said it was from God. That was their Dang it! moment…..and from then on they weren’t even an obstacle…Now that is a total Woohoo! Moment!



 
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Posted by on February 6, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Life Stories

 

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I’m not a Walrus.. Kookookachoo… but it wouldn’t be the worst thing

31 Jan

arctic-tale

My 6 year-old and my 16 year-old and I watched An Arctic Tale tonight…Here is what I learned:

  • Don’t mess with a Walrus…
  • Walruses have a lot of personality…..
  • Walruses aren’t designed for mountain climbing…..
  • You can’t hide from a polar bear under the snow.. they can smell what is under at least three feet of snow
  • If your group is caught between a fox and a hard place a leap of faith inspires the whole flock
  • An itch is an itch and an itch must be scratched no matter where that itch may be
  • A 6 year-old might not be suited for watching cute little arctic animal die..
  • Baby Narwhals, no matter how small, just aren’t cute…
  • Big arctic animals are scary and some are downright creepy…
  • Wildlife cameramen have incredible jobs…
  • I would never want to be a wildlife cameraman (they get really close to big scary arctic animals and they film cute little arctic animals dying)
  • Instincts of wild animals are amazing to observe…
  • Instinct looks a lot like love and nurturing…
  • As Creator, God thought of blubber, camouflage, instinct,  tools like claws and tusks…. those are for those arctic animals

Luke 12:6-7

6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins[b]? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Those are the words of Jesus.. He wasn’t talking to Polar Bears, Walruses, or Narwhals… He was talking to those around him who were listening about not being afraid of what would happen to them when they trusted in Him….

In Arctic Tale I saw a walrus protect her baby, a polar bear search for food and other animals do things that were pretty extrordinary, but I never saw any of them not attempt something because of worry or fear… We have the “tools” of intelligence and reason yet we tend to lack trust in One who values us more than those animals he equips…

Maybe the trust of a walrus is what God is looking for in me and what I need to have……….kookookachoo

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Life Stories

 

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Deceiving Beauty

28 Jan

Electricity out for many, temporary shelters set up to house those who don’t have heat…. That is what my town and surrounding area is like today.  Amazing how something so beautiful can cause so much grief… Hmmmm, much like sin.  Many times it seems so harmless, even beautiful,000_0010 but the grief it causes …. well, you get the picture000_0016

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2009 in Devotions, Faith, Life Stories

 

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Snow Storms and No School and Ice, Oh My!

27 Jan

I am a kid at heart.  As an adult, even before I had children I can remember getting up in the morning on a snowy day and being happy for the kids who didn’t have school due to the weather.  I don’t know why it pleased me so much.  Maybe it was the fun that I imagined the kids having or maybe it was the fact that the world had to slow down and step out of the routine or most likely it is the fact that nature doesn’t go by man’s schedule.

God ordained man to take care of the earth… to be a good steward of it… to be “green.”  Jesus may have had power over nature but we as men can only be stewards of it…. It puts us in our place whether it be changing a precious schedule, creating unexpected and much needed family time,  humbling humanity as we watch pain and heartache from destruction or standing in awe at the beauty of a snow and ice covered scene….
I’m hoping for the storm to arrive.. a few inches of snow, a cup of hot chai tea latte and kids snuggled in their beds… I’m watching and waiting and thankful for the beauty of nature in all of its forms…..

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2009 in Faith

 

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Happy New President’s Day

21 Jan

Happy New President’s Day!

Inauguration

Disclaimer:  This is an unbiased entry…..I couldn’t care less about politics.  However, I’ve heard it said that you shouldn’t  discuss politics or religion unless you want an argument.  I can’t say I want an argument but…… I’m gonna do both so fasten the seatbelt!

Today was a far more heartwarming experience that I had expected.  Watching our new President take the oath of office had great meaning today.  I thought about the elderly African-American generation who thought that they would never see this day.  I thought about the young African-American children, particularly little boys,  who will have a hope now that some of us can’t truly imagine anyone not having in the first place.  I thought about the prayer of Rick Warren and the prayer of Rev. Joseph Lowery… different but both to God and both in support of our new leader and his family.  It should have been an incredible day of excitement for a community of people who have watched a country change it’s racial ignorance and intolerance into something quite beautiful… but for some it wasn’t.

Politics are one of my least favorite things in the world.  I think the whole political arena stinks  because good people tend to dwell on it.  They let it turn them into either cynics, zealots, or apathetic bystanders.  It seems to divide people.. just listen to talk radio.  It is not the radio personalities that cause the division, they are just voicing the extremes of the political view and platform…. Okay, maybe they do stir it up, but it is on both sides of the fence.

How can we expect world peace or solve true problems if  there is no common denominator.  Some of the “right side” are  already looking for ways to find fault in our new President… from complaining about socialism to how much was spent on the Inaugural Ball.  Yet they are not alone, some of the “left side” are holding onto the hate that they too have been throwing out at leadership over the past few years… I see articles and blogs making fun of those who think differently or have moral convictions of their own…… And you know what I find funny?   I’m talking about Christians…..or maybe I’m talking to Christians….

If asked the many of the questions I think we would find that no one wants our country terrorized, no one wants babies dead, no one wants people to starve or freeze to death because they have nothing…. Now there may be some who are truly ruthless and care about no one but themselves but I would have to think that most people truly want the same thing it is just the route taken to get there is where the difference is…

It seems only reasonable that it is up to the Christian community… the people who follow Christ, pray to Him and serve Him… that we put our “route takens” on the back burner and make this a time to stop the cycle that spins every four or eight years …. the world will continue the name calling, blaming, manipulating and disrespecting….I’m a total believer that without God seated at the tables of our homes or at the tables of the leaders of our country and our world, there will never be any peace.  I don’t think it is possible without God.   What should we do?????

Love one another-

1 John 3: 11-24

11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2009 in Faith, Life Stories

 

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