Funkyjimmer's Blog

Friday, December 17, 2004

ON MURPHY’S LAW

I have seen “Murphy’s Law” desk calendars and other forms of these quotes. I have never completely understood Murphy’s Law. From what little I do know about it, the principle is that anything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time. I guess these “laws” could be similar to the “Hairballs of Life” about which I posted recently.

I had one of those “Hairballs” which I believe combined with a “Murphy’s Law” to produce some stress in my life this week.

Monday evening of this week our middle daughter, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, called and said that the transmission on her car went out on the Interstate on her way to work. So, an aggravation, a “hairball of life”, if you will. No real problem. She had purchased the car just a little over a year ago and we purchased an extended warranty on the car at a cost of almost $500. So, the transmission replacement should be covered, right? Even the salesman who sold us the car thought so. But…when our daughter called the toll-free number on the warrantee, she learned that it DID NOT cover the transmission—only everything connected with the motor. So now we have the problem of how to help her come up with the nearly $4,000 she was quoted to repair the car.

Calling around proved to be financially prudent. She is going to get the repair done more quickly at about half the price. Paying for it? Well, thanks to Dad’s and Mom’s good credit, we have a very low interest credit card to put it on and we’ll share the repayment of the debt.

Problem solved? Well, not quite. That part of the problem was solved. But in the process, one of our youngest daughter’s cars had to go to the service department for routine maintenance. This required much switching back and forth of cars in a short period of time. Okay, we got that cared for—within three dollars of the estimated price and the total was under $150. Not so bad, eh?

During all this, our oldest daughter called and said, “The inside handle of my driver’s door is about to completely break off. Can we get it fixed? A few phone calls and some additional switching of cars around was necessary to get this problem corrected. Mission now accomplished! A new handle that actually works is on the door!

But in the process of that experience, one of my two cars needed unexpected, sudden mechanical attention. That one is going to cost $500! Ugh! But the good news is they are furnishing me a car while they service mine. They say, “Free of charge.” Of course we all know the charge is built into what they are charging me for the repair work. But at least they have the hassle of getting and returning the rental car, not me. I wonder what kind of rental car I’ll drive this time. (See previous posts on “Rental Cars”.) Soon this will all be history and we’ll be on to some other “Hairball of life”!

Jim

posted by jim 4:00 PM 0 comments

Saturday, December 11, 2004

PEACE

The Bible has a lot to say about “peace” – or the lack of it. It is evident that there are different kinds of peace. Jesus said His peace was different from the world’s idea of peace. (John 14:27) I have read and heard many stories and comparisons trying to illustrate “peace”: like being in the “eye” of a hurricane; or a bird on a nest in a tree being swayed hard by strong winds. There is also false peace. Jeremiah said, “ ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11)

Life experiences have taught me that often what looks peaceful in reality is not peaceful at all.

Example: If you are inside a warm house, with a crackling fire in the fireplace and you look out at the snow falling gently it might seem very peaceful. But if you are out on the road trying to drive in that situation it could be anything but peaceful!

That shows us that what brings peace to one person might bring the farthest thing from peace to another person.

We are now officially in what is called, “The Christmas Season”. During this season we read and sing a lot about peace. What is peace, though? Do we really understand what we are thinking about and singing about? I think it is safe to say that those who look at the world in a secular worldview see peace as being all about bringing an end to wars. This is not a bad thing. We certainly should pray for peace. We are told to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”.(Psalm 122:6) But I personally think it is futile to pray for the day in this life, on this earth, as we know it, when there are no wars or conflicts going on. Jesus clearly said, “There will be wars and rumors of wars. . . but the end is still to come.” (Matthew 24:6) True, lasting peace will not come, I believe, until the Return of Christ, and His Kingdom on earth is completely set up.

“Peace”, as defined by the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, comes from the Hebrew word, “shalom” and means “fullness, well-being. A Hebrew term used both for greeting and farewell with great richness of meaning. It is much more than lack of war and points to full societal and personal well-being, coupled with righteousness and possible only as a gift of God.”

One of the earliest Scriptures where the word Peace is found is Numbers 6:22-26: The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

In the context of this Scripture passage, the peace that is spoken of is a peace from God, not from another, nor is it from outward circumstances.

One of the last places in Scripture where the word “peace” is found is in Revelation 1:4, where John is greeting the seven churches with a typical greeting found in the Letters: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ.”

Not just at Christmas, but always, we who are His children need to be an instrument of peace; the type of peace that can only be found by living a life of grace through God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that God blesses your Christmas Season because you are able to focus on Him and His Son.

Jim

posted by jim 9:00 AM 0 comments

Monday, December 06, 2004

THE “HAIRBALLS OF LIFE

I have a friend who refers to certain circumstances as “the hairballs of life”. This has proven a fitting description of many of the things that occur in life.

I guess you have to be a cat-lover-owner to understand that. If you’ve ever had a cat as we have, you know they wash themselves frequently. Periodically they cough up a ball of hair that has accumulated in their stomach, or wherever in their system. They don’t care where or when they cough these up. Nor do they care that someone else has to clean up after them. It isn’t a completely horrible or time-consuming job. It is just an interruption or inconvenience that isn’t particularly pleasant.

This describes a lot of what happens to us in life. The “hairballs of life” are not those catastrophic events of life, such as the life-threatening illnesses or injuries. They are not the loss of loved ones through death. “Hairballs of life” are not the separations or divorces that so devastate families. Nor are they the loss of friendships that have meant so much, or the loss of employment. They are not the painful separations caused by loved ones in the military who are serving in a foreign land far from family and friends. All these situations (and others like them) are real tragedies that come to us in life.

The “hairballs of life” are the flat tires, the mechanical failures of cars or other equipment. Or when somehow you lose a long e-mail you have just written but had not sent. They are the times when you lock your keys in the car (as I wrote about in a recent Post). You can supply your own list of “hairballs of life” that have come to you.

But if we aren’t careful, these “hairballs of life” can cause us to lose our joy and our spiritual equilibrium. They can cause us to curse God and life itself. They can be the cause of the separation of our fellowship with our God and with our fellowman because of how we choose to react to these “hairballs of life”.

The Apostle Paul said, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) I confess I don’t always give thanks for these “hairballs of life”. In fact, I seldom express either mentally or verbally any kind of thanksgiving for these events that come to me and aggravate me so much. But I should. So I guess a part of my prayer time should be, “Lord, help me to be thankful for the hairballs of life!”

Jim

posted by jim 1:20 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

MIRACLE DAY OFFERING

Earlier this year my church had the opportunity to purchase 4 acres of ground immediately joining our present property. We need the land to expand our present church building. We have outgrown the facilities.

The church leaders have spent a long time negotiating with the landowner to buy the land. For quite a long time he was refusing to sell the ground to us at a price we could afford – a price we felt God wanted us to pay. So we began looking at other options. Then unexpectedly the owner called and said he would sell at the price we had finally offered--$10,000 per acre.

The church had about $13,000 in the building fund. We thought we could come up with an additional $7,000 from our General Fund and be able to pay $20,000 from funds already on hand. We decided to have a “Miracle Day” offering to raise the remaining $20,000.

On that Sunday (October 17th) we would receive a special offering of cash or checks. We were not looking for pledges or commitments. It was to be a one-time cash offering. The goal was a minimum of $20,000. But all money received would go toward our land purchase and the expansion of our facilities.

The purpose of this offering was more than just to raise money. It was to give God a chance to show Himself and what He can do through committed, dedicated people. We thought it would be a blessing to each of us and to our communities to learn what God would do through this offering.

This offering was not so much about land or building additions as it was about ministry! We have no interest in buying land and adding to our present building, except that more space allows us the opportunity to expand present ministries and develop new ministries in order to reach more people – here and abroad!

“WOW!” “Incredible!” “Absolutely Amazing!” These were some of the comments when the total offering was announced that morning. There were also cheers, tears, shouts and applause when I read the total: $40,330.00. There have been some money come in since that Sunday. But that was the total received in that one-day offering.

God really showed up in a mighty way. It was such an encouragement to the people. It gave us the momentum we need to go into the actual building project and the long-term fund raising we will need to do to pay for the building addition.

I am praying that we will keep our focus on ministry, not building additions. I know that is the focus that the other Servant Leaders and I want to keep and the one we want our members to keep.

But we are still thanking our Awesome God for His blessing on that “MIRACLE DAY”.

Jim

posted by jim 11:30 AM 0 comments

Friday, November 26, 2004

ON RENTING CARS -- Part 2

Another policy of car rental companies that distresses me is this: Once they get your credit card and your signature they hand you the key and say, “Have a nice drive!” There you are, left in a new car you probably have never driven before, not knowing where all the various dials, switches and other gadgets are located or how to work many of them. You don’t know how to activate the windshield wipers, how to operate the CD player, the radio or the heating/air conditioning unit or how to defrost the windshield. Sometimes you even have a hard time finding the switch that operates the windows. You are sitting there in the rental car company’s parking lot with them wanting you to move out of the way so they can help other customers. So you are forced to drive off while trying to locate all these operating controls and trying to figure out how they operate while trying to drive down the road.

It is especially bad (and I think even more dangerous) if you have rented a car at the airport and are in an unfamiliar city—at night—and maybe it is raining! I think this raises the potential for an accident to a very high level. That is why I take all of the insurance the car rental company offers, especially if I am in an unfamiliar city. I am very glad that the company I work for has already negotiated with the car rental company to take the full insurance package on every car they rent.

But I see this lack of instruction on the part of the car rental company as very dangerous. I wish there was a way that the car rental company could give you at least a brief run-through of where everything is located on the car and how they operate. I wonder how many accidents have been caused by the driver’s unfamiliarity with a car different from what he is used to driving?

Jim

posted by jim 10:30 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

ON RENTING CARS

The company for which I now work (that purchased my old company) does not have company cars. Their policy is that if you go 100 miles or more for the company you should rent a car. That’s okay with me because it keeps a lot of miles off my personal cars. And I was able to purchase my former company car for a really good price. Now I have a car that I have enjoyed driving for the past two years. And I know that it was serviced regularly and is in excellent condition. It is a silver Honda Accord EX with Sun Roof, six-CD changer and cassette tape player, dual air bags; dual side air bags, and all that other “good stuff”.

But renting cars has been an interesting experience for me. Until this year I did not often have occasion to drive a rental car. My new company has arranged an especially good deal with the car rental company. They will deliver the car to you and pick it up when you are finished with it if you want them to.

Driving rental cars has, for me, been a good/bad situation. The “good” is that you get to keep lots of miles off your own car and you get to drive a lot of different kinds of cars and vans that you wouldn’t otherwise drive – unless you are a car parking lot attendant. And then you only drive them short distances at very slow speeds (supposedly!) So far this fall I have driven a silver Chrysler Pacifica and a bright red Jeep Liberty. These were both up-grades. I just wanted a mid to full size car to drive for business. Not having such a vehicle available when I needed one, I guess their only choice was to give me an up-grade.

The down side of all this, at least for me, is that the car rental company delivers the car (or you pick it up), you complete the paper work, give them a credit card, sign your name and they inspect the car for damage and hand you the key and you drive away.

Two things about that have proven interesting to me this fall. First, it seems to be the policy of all rental car companies (at least all the ones I’ve ever used) to only give you one key to the car. I have never understood that. The potential, especially for me, is to lock the key in the car. I always carry two keys to my personal car that I am driving at the time. This is the voice of experience!

And I locked my key in the car when I was driving the Pacifica. But this time I did it intentionally but unknowingly. Always before I locked my keys in the car unknowingly and unintentionally. What I mean by that is that I had parked in my driveway and left the key in the car in “accessory” mode and shut the door. I just ran into to the house to quickly get something and then right back out to the car. When I returned to the car every door to the vehicle was locked with the key inside! I hadn’t locked the door when I got out. I was shocked.

Triple A came to my house about two hours later and got inside the car and retrieved the key. They informed me this wasn’t the first time they had to rescue a key and driver in this situation. He informed me that the Chrysler, the Toyotas and the 2005 Fords are manufactured to automatically lock the door when it is shut when the key is in the car. I guess it is supposed to be a safety feature to prevent someone driving off with your car if the keys are in it. I inquired how you would start the car to warm it in the winter or cool it off in the summer? The Triple A guy said, “You don’t unless you have another key, leave the window or door open or have one of those automatic starters that you can push a button and it will start.

So I learned the hard way! I am extra cautious with rental cars now. The cost to have Triple A come out was on the car rental company. So I still don’t understand why the car rental companies only give you one key. They had to pay Triple A, I was inconvenienced for a couple of hours or so. Thankfully the car was in my own driveway and the motor wasn’t running.

I’ll discuss the other problem I have with car rental companies in my next Blog.

Jim

posted by jim 7:44 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

I'M A GRANDPA!

It is a BOY. Our youngest daughter (the only one so far to have married) had him at 11:01 yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Everyone is fine and that is a praise. He was 8 lb 1 oz and 20 inches long. The baby's name is "No Name"! They had a girl's name chosen but can't decide on the name for a boy.

They have had a kitten since August and not agreed on his name. I am hoping this does not take as long!!! But I'm glad they are carefully choosing. I often wonder how some parents could name their kids the wierd names I have heard. It is sad--sometimes almost inhumane.

Well, I've got to adjust to this new factor in my life!

Jim

posted by jim 10:30 AM 2 comments

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

THE HIATUS

Two and a half months are a long time for a hiatus from this Journal. But to me it does not seem long.

The hiatus has been forced by time constraints – not because I had nothing about which to write. I have been inundated with circumstances too numerous to mention in a brief entry.

But two of these circumstances stand out in my mind when I reflect on why I haven’t been faithful to this Journal. And they seem worthy of mention here.

One circumstance is the 50-Day Spiritual Adventure which my church is completing this week. I wrote about this Adventure in my August 16th Blog. It was a great experience for the church. The weekly themes were great. The response by the congregation to the messages and to the Small Group meetings was terrific. We have had 5 small groups meeting 5 nights throughout the weeks of the Adventure.

But the preparation time on my time part has been horrendous. Just the sermon preparation for each of the 7 weeks was great. It required research, compilation of materials and sorting through all the material, then thinking through and selecting material to present on each subject and arranging the presentation in an orderly and comprehensible manner. It has all been time-consuming. The experience has been very enjoyable for me and the spiritual rewards for doing this have been great. But this intense preparation, along with the other aspects of ministry at Countryside and working full-time, has prevented many other things from occurring.

That leads me to the other time-consuming circumstance I want to mention: travel. During October I traveled over 4,000 miles for my Company. This travel has required several overnight stays. It has all been good but it has cut deeply into my time for other things. The result is there are many things that did not get accomplished. Writing in this Journal and getting very much rest are two of the many things left undone.

My travel will continue in November. I will be out over night some each week until the day before the United States Thanksgiving, November 25th. I have no guess as to how many miles I will add to the 4,000 with the November travels.

I have had a rental vehicle for all my travels and that has been good because it has saved wear and tear on my car and my Company has paid everything related to the travel.

But I am back. And I hope to be more faithful in my posts from now on.

Jim

posted by jim 5:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

A SHORT REPORT ABOUT LAST SUNDAY

God blessed the Sunday morning worship service at my church so much. My long-time friend was absolutely terrific on the piano. And he gave his moving testimony of how he left touring with the Band to come home after his father recovered from a severe automobile accident in which he should have died. My friend spent a lot of years playing with some of the really "greats" of our generation. He toured with Al Hirt, "Boots" Randolph, just to name a couple.

Anyway, the music was all good and everybody really got into the spirit of worship. There were no problems in that part of the service. My friend wrote a marvelous song about, "God Doesn't Love You Any More." It is so theologically accurate to the Bible. I built my sermon around the theme of that song.

As he sang we had the words showing on the screen. And our tech person is really great with all that sort of thing. When the words to his song showed, they were highlighted in yellow. As he sang them, the projectionist moved the highlighting off the words. It was very effective.

We had a video testimony by a couple who are also friends of mine. They had been told to have an abortion of their first child. They told in simple, moving words about that experience. The couple had planned to be present but a family commitment in Tennessee prevented them from attending. But after the video testimony we showed a couple of pictures of the family to show the healthy boy who is now 12 years old that they were told to abort. People were moved. This video testimony was one of the things woven in as a part of the sermon. We also had a sharing of joys and concerns and then had a prayer time for those requests as part of the sermon.

The only "hitch" was that the video got stuck right at the first. But the projectionist got it going and all was well.

There was a very good attendance even though for whatever reason or reasons there were at least six regular families absent that day. Several from our old church attended and surprised us.

I think the sermon went okay. I really "poured" myself into it! I had prayed and prayed that it would be all right and that God would use it. I am still praying for that. I guess it was okay. I lost my voice in the afternoon as a result but it was only temporary. That always happens when I haven't spoken publicly for awhile. It is the old "use-it-or-lose-it" principle.

There were several indications that people were blessed by the service. It was a good Sunday for me after being on Sabbatical for three weeks.

On to next week! I'm preaching about the spiritual consequences of being a "worklaholic". Sunday is called "Labor Day Sunday" in America.

The next week is the kick-off for our 50 Day Spiritual Adventure.

Jim

posted by jim 4:30 PM 0 comments

Friday, August 27, 2004

"IT’S OVER"

Well, almost! I mean the Sabbatical. Sunday is my first service back from Sabbatical. Tomorrow (Saturday) I have a practice run-through with our projectionist on some of the projection stuff we’re doing as a part of the sermon.

I am looking forward to getting back to preaching on Sundays. The Sabbatical has been good and very worthwhile. I hope to make this an annual occurrence. I feel I used the time very wisely and I am thankful for that. That is usually not the case with me. I often don’t use my time wisely. I fool myself into thinking I have a lot of time and put things off and before I know it, the "lots of time" I thought I had is gone and I didn’t get done what I intended. But this time was different. And I thank God for that.

I am really excited about the service Sunday. At our church we have 4 different worship teams—one for each Sunday of the month. But every fifth Sunday there’s no one regularly scheduled. We usually "scramble" to find worship leadership for those Sundays.

I volunteered for the worship leading responsibility this fifth Sunday! I think it will all be good. A long-time friend of mine who is an outstanding pianist will be working with me in the musical portion of the service. We have planned everything out. I spent a lot of study time on this sermon both before and during the first part of the Sabbatical. It is built around a theme I blogged about July 1st, the difficulty of waiting. And my friend wrote a great song about God not loving us any more. He’ll play and sing it during the sermon.

Also during the sermon we’re doing some other things different. One part will feature a video testimony from a family I know who were told they should have an abortion and terminate the pregnancy of their oldest child. The boy is now a healthy almost 12-year old! The testimony is powerful and moving. I had hoped to have that family present to introduce after the video testimony but a family commitment prevented that. So we’re showing a couple of pictures of the family.

So that’s what is occupying my thoughts and energy right now. Maybe I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

Jim

posted by jim 1:46 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 21, 2004

NEARING THE END

I have written previously about my Sabbatical. There is one Sunday and one week left. I have taken several days off the past two weeks from my regular, week-day job. That has been good. It has allowed Karon and me to do several thngs. And I have had some good study time during the day when I am not so tired from the day's other activities.

I am pleased with the study progress. The sermon and the entire service (for which I am in charge) for Sunday, August 29th, are prepared. The sermon for September 5th is nearly completed. I have looked at all the material for the 50-Day Spiritual Adventure and have formulated some plans and ideas for the series. And I am working on the sermon for September 12th. Before I go off the Sabbatical I hope to have the sermon nearly completed (if not totally completed) for Sunday, September 19th. That will let me study and prepare ahead and still be ready for the coming Sunday. I hope it all works out that way.

I have wanted this Sabbatical. I am grateful to my fellow church leaders to allowing me to have it. I believe I have kept faith with the leaders and the entire church and have used the Sabbatical for its intended purpose. To me, it was a matter of keeping faith with my Brothers and Sisters at Countryside church. I used the time as I had proposed to them that it be used. I didn't neglect what needed to be done. And I didn't neglect getting some rest, which was a big part of the reason for the Sabbatical. I feel much more rested physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally than I did when I began the Sabbatical.

So I intend to make good use of this final week. I will take Monday off from my regular work. But I'll be studying and still getting some rest this final week. Tomorrow we will go to our old church, Traders Point Christian Church. Last Sunday we worshipped at Countryside. The week before that we went to our old church again.

I want to post a journal entry soon about the series of three messages that the man presented at my church while I was gone. I heard one of the messages, but I plan to get the tapes and listen to the other two messages. The messages were on the three forms of Government: The Home, The Church, and what he calls, "God's Back-Up Plan", the Civil Government. A really throught-provoking series. The one sermon I heard was helpful.

Jim

posted by jim 10:55 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 16, 2004

STANDING TALL

I wrote in my last Blog about my Sabbatical. The major purpose of the Sabbatical, in addition to getting some rest, is to read, study and prepare for our church’s "50 Day Spiritual Adventure" which begins September 12th. We have done these "Adventures" at the church for several years. There is an over-all theme for the 50 days. The theme is developed through weekly topics relating to the theme. Each week’s topic is developed through the Sunday sermons, a book to read, individual journals and small home group studies. These "Adventures" have been very beneficial in the past.

This year’s theme is especially interesting to me. "STANDING TALL—FACING FEARS THAT GRIP THE SOUL". The topics we will study are concerns that everyone in the country seems to be discussing or at least thinking about. The topics are: terrorism and war; financial insecurity; rejection and betrayal; skeletons in the closet; failure and disgrace; disease and death; the paralyzing what-ifs; fear of the gathering doom.

It all sounds depressing and gloomy. But these are relevant topics. And the good part is that the 50 Day Adventure will give us an opportunity to explore what the Bible teaches about all these things.

One of the exciting aspects of the study is the way they tie the messages of the themes into the Christian themes taught in J. R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, "THE LORD OF THE RINGS." The author of the study relates the experiences of the characters in the trilogy to the particular fear being studied that week.

It all sounds very interesting to me! I hope it all works out well for my church. I hope we can reach out to people in our communities who need answers to these topics.

Jim

posted by jim 4:15 PM 0 comments

Friday, August 13, 2004

ON SABBATICAL

Feeling the need for some study time and some rest, my church and I agreed that I would be on Sabattical 3 weeks in August -- 8, 15 and 22. So I am in the midst of that Sabbatical. The goal is to do some studying in preparation for our 50 Day Spiritual Adventure which begins September 12th. I want to Blog more about that very soon.

It became more and more difficult to work full time, be a husband-caregiver for a sick wife, help my kids and friends, prepare weekly messages for Countryside and carry on other aspects of the ministry there -- AND to adequately study and prepare for a whole new series of messages for the 50 Day Adventure. I was so tired and getting little to no rest--physically, mentally or emotionally.

So I am trying to discipline myself to study, rest, prepare, rest, spend time with Karon, rest, (you get the idea.) So far it is going well. I have completed the preparations for the service for August 29th (my first Sunday back). I have surveyed the plan for the 50 Day Adventure. Now I am ready to get down to the actual study and preparation.

I have a dear friend (probably my best friend) who loves me and completely understands me. He is holding me accountable to get rest during this Sabbatical. I am so grateful to him for his encouragement and for his holding me accountable in this area. My temptation is to cram all I can into the time of the Sabbatical--excluding any rest! But my friend is "holding my feet to the fire" and I am getting some rest.

Karon and I have enjoyed watching several DVDs. Some excellent and some poor (according to our tastes and judgement). We have different tastes in movies. I really liked "The Secret Window" but she isn't into thrillers. She really like "Welcome to Mooseport". I thought it was okay. We both liked "Miracle", "Out of Time" and "Drumline". There were others that rated "so-so" in our opinons and one that was absolutely awful. I can't even remember the name of it.

Oh well, we have enjoyed our movie-watching; popcorn eating time together. Oh yes, and we've done some Bible readng-studying together, too.

One of the highlights was going to see the exhibit of "The Dead Sea Scrolls'. Absolutely fantastic. The video they showed at the beginning of the experience was excellent.

Saturday we go to the Indiana State Fair. That should be fun. The weather is great--by my standards. It is about 20-degrees cooler than normal and low humidity. Karonis freezing! Hope we have a good day for the Fair. I hate to think of pushing her all over the Fairground in a wheelchair in the rain! (We won't go if it is raining.)

Now you have a brief summary of my life during the first half of August. As if you cared!

Jim

posted by jim 4:00 PM 1 comments

Saturday, July 31, 2004

BIG WORDS = BIG TROUBLE

Last March I developed an annoying condition in my right eye. It is called Posterior Vitreous Detachment. This occurs when the vitreous humor of the eye contracts or shrinks and eventually separates from the retina. It doesn’t usually manifest itself in people until they are in their 80’s or 90’s. However, it usually happens earlier in life to those who are near-sighted. And I have always been extremely near-sighted.

The symptoms are a lot of black “floaters” in front of the eye. A more serious indication of the problem is when you see brilliant flashes of light. I have had both of these symptoms in my right eye since last March. I have been to the eye doctor several times since then. It had gotten better and was bearable.

But Wednesday night while I was at church, the symptoms appeared in the left eye this time. They are worse than they were in the right eye. I used to only see the flashing light on the right side when it was completely dark and I turned my head just to the right sort of fast. But last Wednesday night I began seeing lots of black floaters in front of my left eye and I saw flashing lights with both eyes all around most of the time even though there was bright light in the church building. This condition has persisted for several days. I am getting more used to it but it still clouds the vision somewhat. And the black floaters are annoying. I can’t tell if there is dirt on my glasses or spots on my shirt or just what I am seeing.

I thought about going to the eye doctor. But I am pretty sure I know what is happening. I know that it will either get better or I’ll get more used to these symptoms. So I have decided to wait it out. The Ophthalmologist would just dilate my eyes and do a long examination. That is what he has done every time I have returned for a check-up on my right eye. Now he’ll have to do both eyes.

My main concern is that this condition doesn’t develop into a retinal tear or a hole. This could lead to retinal detachment. That would be much more serious. But since the symptoms are like they were with the right eye (although more severe and pronounced) I have decided to wait awhile. If the condition is just the Posterior Vitreous Detachment, the floaters will probably become less annoying in a few weeks or months. Hopefully the light flashes won’t continue to be so pronounced.

As long as there isn’t a hole or a retinal detachment there is very little risk of loss of vision. Hopefully my life can go on normally.

Jim

posted by jim 9:22 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

A GOOD VOTE

Recently my church pursued purchasing approximately 4 acres of ground adjoining our property so we could expand our building in the near future. It took a lot of negotiating and waiting but the owner agreed to sell us the property.

We are paying $10,000 an acre, or approximately $40,000. The proposal to the members is to pay $20,000 from our existing money and receive a special offering to (hopefully) raise the remaining $20,000. The leaders also requested permission to, if necessary, borrow up to $25,000 to finish paying for the land and cover closing costs.

We voted last Sunday. With 62 percent of those eligible to vote casting a vote, the vote was 100% -- unanimous – to accept the proposal. We are thankful to God.

We allowed space on the ballots for comments if anyone had anything to say. (Of course the ballots were unsigned.) A dozen or so chose to comment. All comments were positive, expressing appreciation for the job done by the people on the committee.

One comment was especially meaningful to me. It expressed great confidence in the leadership of our church. That was good to read. We DO have great leaders in our church. Wise, godly, visionary, people with a love for God and His people.

We are blessed. Thank you, Lord. Now the real vote comes when people are asked to vote with their money and give the remaining $20,000. We’ll see. It is easier to put an "X" on a ballot than to write a check and put in the offering!

Jim

posted by jim 3:29 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

ABOUT GIVING AND RECEIVING

Motives for giving money, goods and/or favors to a charitable organization, church or an individual, are often improper or even evil. But motives for giving these things may also be, and often are, proper and holy. But motives for giving are also often misinterpreted. It is this latter situation I want to address in this entry.

We must always be careful about receiving favors (whether monetary or otherwise) from anyone. We teach children (and rightfully so) not to take money, items or favors from strangers. The more discerning parent will also instruct the child to be careful about taking these things even from people they know.

This caution is necessary, given the fallen world in which we live. But it is so sad that it must be this way. I would admit that possibly many people who give to others probably do so with an ulterior motive. It might be to buy acceptance or privileges. It might be to buy friendship or sexual liberties with an individual. So it seems all acts of generous giving must be suspect – at least for a time.

It seems difficult (if not impossible) for most people to believe that there are those in this world capable of loving so deeply and guilelessly that they would give generously of time, money or possessions without any expectation of any kind of recognition, reward or reciprocation. We have learned by instruction and our own experience that there is no such thing as a "free lunch". We have been conditioned to think that there is no possibility that someone could so deeply love another person that they would want to given unselfishly to that person – even to the extent of giving their life for that person.

But it can happen. It does happen. (John 15:13; Romans 5:7). You may have been the recipient of the expressions of that kind of pure love. If so, how did you react? If you are like most you became suspicious of the person and their motives. You probably refused their expressions of love and tried to stop those expressions all together. (You can stop the expressions of love but you can’t stop the person from loving.)

And maybe you should have done so. Maybe the person’s motives weren’t pure. If that was the case, you were right to break off those expressions of what was purported to be love. But what if you misjudged the person’s motives?

Also, If you were the object of someone’s genuine love and you rejected their love by rejecting the tangible or intangible expressions of their love, something else may be involved.

Instead of being discerning and cautious you may just have been prideful. Pride manifests itself in a number of ways. Sinful pride says, "I can do this myself!" "I can provide for myself." "I don’t need your help." When you take that attitude toward someone who truly loves you and wants to express that love, you do several things.

First, you are guilty of the sin of pride. The Bible talks a lot about sinful pride. But that’s not the subject of this Post. Sinful pride can prevent us from being able to accept another’s love and thus rob us – and the other person – of a ton of blessings that could be enjoyed.

Also, by your prideful attitude in refusing to accept another person’s love and their expressions of their love, you cut off God’s channel of blessing to you. God has chosen to work through His people to bless us. When we refuse to let someone show his or her love, we may have cut off God’s blessing if God was choosing to bless us through that person. Then we not only hurt the person who loves us and wants to express that love, but we hurt God as well because we won’t let Him bless us as He desires because He loves us so much. And we hurt ourselves because we don’t receive the blessings that otherwise could be ours.

I know the scenario I just described rarely happens. But I also know it DOES happen. There are people capable of loving God or another person so deeply and with pure motives that they give out of the overflowing abundance of that love. And they usually get hurt, too.

Oh well! When you truly love you can’t help but give—to God and to one of God’s children whom you love deeply. And probably you are bound to get hurt. But you have to give anyway – God did and He got hurt, too!

I’m thinking that if we can’t accept someone’s genuine expressions of love, can we really fully accept God’s expressions of love – especially His greatest expression of love, the gift of His Son? I don’t know, but I wonder about that.

Jim

posted by jim 3:08 PM 0 comments

Monday, July 26, 2004

NOW I KNOW
 
At least now I know the subject of my next Post! I have thought about this for a really long time. Now I think I am ready to put those thoughts into words. A personal experience is behind this Post but I am not going to discuss the personal experience.
 
The subject is about Giving and Receiving and how people react. Watch for it in a day or two.
 
Jim

posted by jim 2:49 PM 0 comments

Thursday, July 15, 2004

THOUGHTS ON RELATIONSHIPS
 
For years I have heard the old expression, “Opposites attract.” And they cite the positive and negative poles of a magnet, the earth, etc. as examples. Just as the positive and negative poles are drawn to one another, they say that it is true in human relationships, too – especially the male and female relationships of husband-and-wife – opposites always marry one another. Whenever I have read or heard that statement it has always been made in a positive way, as though that’s a good thing. The reason that I have most often heard is that the two opposite people can balance one another.
 
I am questioning that premise. My years of experience talking with and observing engaged and married couples has taught me that when people marry who are extremely opposite in so many ways, there will be a lifetime of struggle, strife, disappointment and heartache for both parties.
 
 It seems that when two people need things from one another that neither can provide for the other in enough significant areas, it seems good that the relationship not continue toward marriage. Rather than the opposites fitting together to make a happy, peaceful, complete and united relationship, it results in conflict, strife and unhappiness for both people and for others also.
 
That doesn’t mean that if people who are extreme opposites marry that they are doing wrong. And it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be unhappy together. Nor does it mean that it couldn’t/wouldn’t work. I recognize that no two people are exactly alike. So when a couple marries there will be differences. In fact, if two people were to be very nearly alike, they probably shouldn’t marry either. I think that would make a different set of significant problems. I don’t know what those problems might be because I have not been in that specific situation.
 
But I strongly believe two people shouldn’t marry if there are sharp differences in a lot of significant areas. What are some significant areas? Well, I could list several but that would just be from my own perspective due to my experience.
 
Rather, I’d say significant areas would be defined as those areas that each person considers important and the two people significantly differ and both feel very strongly and uncompromising about those areas of difference. Or it might be areas where two people have sharp personality and/or temperament differences. Or they might have contrasting needs that the other person can never meet. When two people need things from one another that they just can’t offer one another any long-term relationship will probably not be happy. It certainly won’t be peaceful and probably not productive. (I’m not speaking in the “reproductive” sense!)
 
There you have my thoughts on the subject. What do you think?
 
Jim

posted by jim 5:00 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

COMMENTS

Yep! I did it! I now have comments on my blog. Last night two very good friends, Jenn and Jeremy, came to our house for an evening of food and fun together. After Pizza and a fun game of Yahtzee (at which Jenn soundly beat Jeremy and me) we got to talking. The subject of web sites, blogs, and the like came up. I mentioned I had tried unsuccessfully to put comments on my blog. Jenn said, “Get Jeremy to help you. He’s a CS grad.” So I did and he did and now I have comments.

I’m not sure how I feel about it all. I have been ambivalent about it for a long time. At first I definitely didn’t want comments. My personality (as those who know me best will tell you) isn’t one that likes to “go out on a limb” very often. So I wasn’t sure that my psyche could handle comments.

But the more I wrote in my blog and the more I read other peoples’ blogs and journals, the more intrigued I became. But I hid behind the mistaken idea that my blog wouldn’t accommodate comments. That may have been true when Joel first set up my blog. But recently the blogging has been updated. I was surfing around the various windows and options the other day and something about “comments” caught my eye. I tried in vain to understand what they were instructing me in how to set my blog for comments. But I tried setting up anyway--to no avail. *Sigh*

So I resigned myself not to have comments – until last night. It took Jeremy only a few minutes and I was all set up. That’s one of the differences between a CS grad and me!

So I am grateful to Jenn for suggesting it and to Jeremy for setting me up. Now we’ll see how happy I will be to have comments. It may confirm what I always think – that no one reads the thing anyway. Or I may be devastated by some of the comments – or maybe not. I just don’t know.

I’m not even sure how it works. I think you click on the “comments” section beside my name and I guess go to the bottom of the Blog page, click on “Post Comments” or something like that, and put your comments. You who are even slightly computer savvy will figure it out I am sure.

I thought we set it up so you didn’t have to sign in to post. Apparently not. But if you post a comment under “anonymous” please put your name in the comment text if you want me to know who you are. (Or maybe you don’t want me to know!)

At least now my profile makes more sense: “Some place to think out loud and maybe someone will think back.” Now they can if they wish.

Karon and I go to her orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. We’re experiencing mixed emotions. On one hand, we’re anxious to learn if the bones are healing and if she can begin to put weight on the leg. On the other hand, we’re somewhat apprehensive because her leg has begun to swell a lot and we don’t know what that means. She continues to have a lot of over-all pain, also. Next week we go to the cancer doctor for his evaluation. We’ll let you all know.

Jim

posted by jim 9:55 AM 1 comments

Thursday, July 01, 2004

WAITING

Throughout the Bible we are told to “wait on the Lord”.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 41:31)

There are a lot of Scriptures that say basically this same thing –wait on the Lord!

We are told to wait for Jesus’ Return. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

We Americans are always waiting. We wait in the Dentist or Doctor’s office.

Husbands wait for the wife to get ready to go somewhere. Wives wait for husbands to finally ask directions.

We wait in line for the traffic light to turn green. Or we wait for the traffic jam to clear so we can proceed. We wait our turn in line in the “cone zones” for the road construction traffic director to tell us it is our turn to go.

We wait in line at McDonalds’s, Wendys or Burger King. We wait in line at Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Department Store checkout lanes. We wait at the airport ticket counter.

We American don’t like to wait. So we resort to E-Bay or on-line shopping and the electronic airline ticket. But then we still have to wait for our order to be shipped to us. And there is no way to avoid the lines and the wait at the airport security checks.

We wait for the Lab or the medical test results to come back to determine the cause of our pain and other symptoms.

Students wait to learn if they have passed the test or the course or if they will graduate.

Then they wait after the interview process to learn if they got the hoped-for job.

Waiting is not something most of us do well. Yet God tells us to wait on Him.

Karon and I are in a “wait mode” right now. We are waiting to see if the broken bone is going to heal. We wait to see if the cancer treatment is putting the cancer into remission. We wait to see if the twice-daily home therapy and the twice-a-week outpatient therapy is having the desired effect.

We don’t like to wait. But it is often God’s Will that we wait. Why? There are a lot of reasons that would be interesting speculation. But the bottom line is that God has us wait. And while we wait we are to learn. We are expected to learn things God wants to teach us through the waiting process. We don’t always learn these things, but God would like us to learn. Then maybe we wouldn’t have to wait so much or so long!

Life on this earth is God’s Waiting Room. We are waiting to enter His Heaven. And while we wait He wants us to learn.

So Karon and I are waiting. Are we learning? Sheesh! I don’t know! It is like when I was in College. Did I learn? Often I didn’t think so at the time. A lot of the stuff I studied seemed like a big waste of my time and effort. But later, out in the “real world” what I had done in College had relevance! And I realized I HAD learned.

Maybe it will be like that regarding this current waiting period. I just don’t know.

Jim

posted by jim 1:01 PM 0 comments

Saturday, June 19, 2004

A NEW GROUP FORMING IN MY CHURCH

I don’t know how to begin this “Post”. I’m not sure I even know how to say what I want to communicate. I have wanted to tell about a new group forming within my church, Countryside Christian Fellowship. But I also want to communicate about more than just another “group” forming within an already existing group. This new group is about “community”. I think every group ought to be about community, at least to some extent.

As I was contemplating this Post, one of my friends wrote some very relevant truths about community in his latest journal entry. I don’t have his permission to do this, but I don’t think he’ll object to being quoted!

“A healthy church is a community. If a person wants to get into church, and an individual connects them to the church, they won’t feel satisfied in that church if there’s no sense of community. If the body in a given area isn’t healthy, if there isn’t a fullness of Christ’s image present in the congregation, it will be clear to the visitor. If they are a true seeker, they will probably hop from church to church until they can find a church where they imagine the image of Christ is most present.”

What he writes is so true. For many years I have witnessed people “church hopping” for the exact reason my friend states in his journal. And this will continue to happen until the church realizes the importance of community.

We think and talk a lot about community at Countryside. Hopefully we are doing more than just talking about it. I observe that Countryside practices community far more than most churches I have known. And people continue to be attracted to Countryside. And we have joy, peace, harmony and unity even though we have diversity within the Body of Believers at Countryside. But we have unity in Christ.

My friend continues in his journal:

“Community is the whole purpose of the Church. When I read the New Testament, I don’t find a bunch of individual followers of Jesus just trying to make individual followers of Jesus. Instead, I find Paul and Jesus establishing communities of people, communities that can reflect Jesus’ own character. These people don’t simply preach to individuals; they convert people and immediately make them a part of a group, if a group is somehow present. It’s not like we can run around being disconnected Christians. It’s just not healthy to divorce yourself from the Body. Why would Christ’s Body want parts of itself to be disconnected?”

I say, “Amen! Right on, my friend!”
Our world and certainly many of our Western churches have lost (if they ever had it) a sense of community that is important to the church’s well being.

So what? Why am I writing this? Within our Community of Believers at Countryside Christian Fellowship we have a special group of people who, until now, have been only “fragments” within the Body. They have not been connected in their own Community. This group could be called Young Adults. A young adult has been defined as someone between the ages of 18 and 35, single or married, with or without children, a college student or a working professional.

I mean they are part of the Body of Believers and they are an integral, active part of the fellowship of Countryside. But as far as the church or congregation is concerned, they have no sense of community, of being connected together at Countryside. We believe that it is vital to help young adults feel connected at CCF. After all, young adults have specific needs and interests that can be fulfilled by spending time with God and people of their own age; people who are experiencing similar things in life.

This group had a successful beginning last Sunday. There were 11 present for their first “official” meeting. This group is quickly getting organized and already has had their first group activity.

The group will continue to meet Sunday mornings following the worship service for study, fellowship and planning future activities and service opportunities to insure developing community within the group.

We have hopes this will occur. We have some excellent gifted people within the age group who are serving as facilitators for this group. Our prayers to God are that this group can serve as a model for the entire church of a true Christian Community. We’ll see. I’ll try to let you know how it turns out. But it takes time and effort to develop community.

Jim

posted by jim 11:35 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

THOUGHTS ON BEING A CARE GIVER

Karon was discharged from the Rehab Center last Friday evening. She is at home, bound to a wheelchair, walker or her “lift” chair. She goes to Rehab 3 times a week. They will provide transportation in a wheel chair van for a cost of $10 round trip. We have used it once so far. She has to be non-weight bearing on the leg for a total of 8 weeks.

This has been a most painful experience for her and the doctor told me it would very slow and painful during the next few weeks due to the severity of the break. He placed a rod and several “screws” to hold the rod in place.

We are trying to re-arrange our lives to accommodate her current situation. The house has been prepared to accommodate a wheelchair and walker.

BOY! I had no conception that this care giving would consume so much of a person's time. It seems as if every minute is spent in some form of care giving. And Karon is somewhat ambulatory and able to do many things for herself! I can't imagine what it would be like if the afflicted person were a paraplegic or a quadriplegic! As it is, there doesn't seem to be a spare minute in my day to even think of ministry or to do anything else. I've been only working half-days (and to be honest, not really even that much!)

I didn’t preach at my church the Sunday after Karon fell and broke her hip. The next Sunday Joel preached and I attended with all three of our girls! Anita was home over the Memorial Day weekend. I preached last Sunday but honestly I don’t know how I managed to find time to prepare! It is a good thing I had some idea of what I wanted to share from the Word. Ladies from our former church, Traders Point Christian Church, stayed with Karon mornings I had to be gone, including last Sunday morning.

The two churches, Traders Point and Countryside, have been excellent to us. Both churches are cooperating in providing food for us and house cleaning. The Traders Point church has meals scheduled through September! There is a crew that sees to mowing our lawn. Anything else we need, we just have to ask. But you know that may be one of the hardest parts of this life experience for me – the asking. It seems as though I should be able to care for my wife and household situation as the husband and man of the house! But because of the shoulder surgery a few months ago and the many “hats” I wear, it is difficult to find the time and the physical strength to accomplish everything. My blood pressure, which is usually well within the desired range, has shot “sky high” and it keeps climbing. If it hits the dangerous level I may have to give in and call my doctor.

I suppose I am whining. I don’t want to be a “complainer”. I know there are lessons to be learned from all this. I just pray that I will be a gracious “student” as God continues to teach me and refine me. I know that I have failed Him in a couple of very important areas during this time – of which I am aware. There are no doubt other areas I have failed to glorify God with my life.

Joel preached from Psalm 119:1-24. It was an excellent message (as his always are!) The Holy Spirit used Joel’s message to really convict me. Verses 5 and 6 of that Psalm really got my attention: “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.” I have not been steadfast in obeying and I have thus been ashamed.

I have neglected my Quiet Times in the Word. And when that happens, other things “go to pot” as well. I have failed in another area with which I struggle constantly. I think partly I got prideful and let my guard down. Then Satan moved in and I fell for his deceptive temptations. So my prayer life suffered a bit also.

Hopefully my God and I are getting back on better terms again. Please understand He didn’t fail me – as is always the case, I failed Him.

Enough of this. Hopefully I’ll post again before another 2 weeks! Karon was supposed to have her surgical staples removed this afternoon. However, her doctor had an emergency and they re-scheduled it for Friday. I hope his “emergency” didn’t involve a change in “Tee-time” on the golf course! (I know, I’m being cynical. Sorry.)

Jim

posted by jim 3:03 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

UPDATE ON MY WIFE’S PHYSICAL CONDITION

About 7 p.m. Saturday night, Karon fell trying to get out of the bathtub and her hip broke. It is a very bad break.

I called 911 and the ambulance took her to the hospital. They did surgery that night to repair the damage. The orthopedic surgeon is not at all optimistic that the hip will heal due to the poor condition of the bone caused by the cancer and the radiation treatments, which also weakened the bone. But our prayers are that it will heal so they don’t have to do any type of replacement. That wouldn’t be good either, due to the extensive bone cancer.

She has been in the hospital for a few days and tomorrow (Wednesday, May 26th) moves to a rehabilitation center. Today was her birthday. So she spent her birthdayin the hospital! But she got tons of cards and flowers, gifts and even two cakes!

This has been a most painful experience for her and the doctor told me it will very slow and painful during the next few weeks due to the severity of the break. He placed a rod and several “screws” to hold the rod in place.

Guess that updates you on where we are at this time. Hopefully that is at least a partial explanation of why I haven’t Blogged in so long. I started a Blog on “The Christian and Alcoholism” but didn’t finish it. Maybe later it will be “postable”!

Jim

posted by jim 11:32 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

LATEST UPDATE ON MY WIFE, KARON

I haven’t Blogged in so long I am ashamed. Between all the medical appointments Karon and I have “enjoyed”(???), my work during the week (this is an especially time of year for me at work and the load has been doubled this year), and the ministry at Countryside Christian church, there hasn’t been much time for sleeping, not to mention Blogging. But any of you who reading this deserves an update, so here goes.….

We have all the test results back from last week’s MRI of Karon’s brain. It shows that the cancer has not spread to the brain or any of the internal organs. They have identified the type of cancer as breast cancer that has spread to the bone structure. Most of the bones are still strong. There is one area where the bone has been weakened by the cancer and could be in danger of breaking. We don’t want that to happen as it would only further complicate things. That is the area on which they are doing radiation. She started radiation this past Monday and will go every day, five days a week, for three weeks. The plan of treatment: a daily dose of Armotase, a once a month infusion of the drug Zometa. She began the infusion therapy this past Tuesday. They will do blood work monthly to see if the drugs are reducing the cancer activity in the bones. In three months they will do another bone scan. The doctor said it could take several months before we know if the cancer is in remission or not. It is a slow-growing type of cancer and the treatment will be slow.

We are grateful for all the answers to the prayers . We know that God is the ultimate Healer and we will continue to trust Him for His healing in this journey with cancer. She really feels pretty good except for the aches in her joints and left leg. The radiation should relieve the pains. The only time she has missed work is for doctors’ appointments and tests. We have learned that you can read a lot while waiting on doctors.

Our prayer mostly is for God's will to be done and that He be glorified.

Jim

posted by jim 11:05 AM 0 comments

Sunday, April 04, 2004

KARON’S MEDICAL SITUATION

I should have posted before now. I have been wanting to write about giving and receiving criticism. But in addition to getting really sick (I'm still coughing!) and trying to get everything done that had to be done, another challenge arose in my life. It is regarding my wife's health. Most of you few who read this know Karon. Perhaps the following will serve as an adequate explanation for now at least.

Since the first of the year Karon has suffered aches and pains throughout various parts of her body. The pain was often concentrated on the left side of her lower back and her left leg and hip. It became very difficult for her to walk. She has also had some pains in the back part of her head. Not like a headache, but a hurting.

She tried the heating pad, ice, and various home-remedy treatments. During this time she also continued to go to her scheduled appointments with her doctor that did the radiation for her breast cancer nearly 4 years ago and the surgeon who removed the cancerous breast tumor.

Finally she agreed to go to her G.P. to see about the persistent pains. I insisted she insist that x-rays be taken. The doctor said it was probably a pulled muscle or pinched nerve. But she agreed to the x-rays.

The x-rays showed something wrong. The next step was to do an MRI which she had done last Wednesday, (3/30). The MRI revealed that the breast cancer she had almost 4 years ago had metastasized to the bone. The MRI was of the back so it showed cancer a lot of places throughout her back on the spine area.

She will have a bone scan tomorrow, Monday, to see if there is cancer in any other bones of the body, like arms, legs, etc. Then they may also do a CAT scan to see if it has spread to the head. Karon is sure that it has because of the pains she has been having in that area also.

So we are devastated but not hopeless. We are reeling from that news and trying to maintain our faith and trust in the Almighty Heavenly Father. There is a lot we do not know as yet—how much of the body has it consumed, what will the treatment or treatments be, what doctors will she see and when, what can we expect as far as prognosis, etc.

So we wait and pray. We would be grateful if you would pray with us about this also. Of course we pray for healing. We’d like God to take all the cancer away. But also we are praying that He lead us to just the right doctors for this situation and that He would help us in the decisions we have to make. Also, please pray that we will have peace about all this. Pray that I will be the kind of husband Karon needs me to be through all this. Also pray that I can be the kind of support needed for my daughters.

We want His will to be done. We want Him to be glorified by our lives through all this. Karon and I have an opportunity to demonstrate the faith we have proclaimed as a couple all these years.

This will be a journey of faith. It will be made easier knowing you are praying about this with us.

Jim

posted by jim 10:12 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 26, 2004

OVERDUE

I know I am overdue for another Post. My intentions have been good but the performance has been lacking.

This has been a crazy week. Work is nuts--so much to do and increasing daily -- and so little time. Two out-of-town trips this week and more out-of-town trips each week for the next few weeks. Lots to prepare for this coming Sunday: Sunday morning message; Memorial service and message for Sunday afternoon; speaking at another church Sunday night.

All that and I had to go and get sick -- I mean really sick. Severe sore throat, stuffy, then runny nose, voice loss, just feel terrible, all that good stuff. From Wednesday until now I was completely wiped out but had to continue working. When I got home each night I collapsed in bed and got virtually nothing done. So I'm behind with everything and the post has had to wait.

I am a little improved but tomorrow (Saturday) won't be very productive either. Someone from church is coming to work on my lawnmowers--riding and push -- and do some other stuff that I can't do because of my recent shoulder surgery. And the service technician from Overhead Garage Doors will be servicing my garage door. Lots of activity tomorrow and not much time for study or preparation.

I hope these weak excuses and whinning will be sufficient explanation for now. I hope to do better next week--but can't promise. Work will probably continue crazy until about June first or so.

But we can always hope I'll do better! And I should be healthy again!

Jim

posted by jim 9:40 PM 0 comments

Thursday, March 18, 2004

MOURNING A LOSS

In my last Post I said I was mourning a loss. It is not the loss of a person or the loss of a relationship (although that has happened recently also.) Rather, this loss is of an inanimate, intangible nature.

Whenever we suffer loss of any kind we go through stages of grief: shock and denial; guilt and anger; depression and acceptance. This is true no matter the type of loss. It may be the death of a loved one, a friend or a pet; the loss of a relationship; the loss of a limb due to illness or accident; the loss of a job or a position within a job. It may be the loss of a spouse through divorce or a child leaving home for college. Any loss can plunge us into grief of varying intensity. Then we must go through the stages of grieving.

Not everyone goes through each stage of grieving in a set order. Nor does everyone spend an equal amount of time in each stage. Depending on the type and intensity of the loss, not everyone goes through every stage. The degree to which we experience each stage of the grieving process depends on the severity of the loss.

A very good friend – I would even call him my very best friend – has written an almost daily Journal, lacking only two days of being exactly two and one-half years. It is a very well written Journal; definitely worth the time spent reading it. My friend is very intelligent and an excellent writer. His Journal covers a wide variety of topics – things he has been personally doing, his emotions and feelings about things going on in his life and in the world around him. He has intelligently discussed relevant topics and issues in his local area and in the world. He has discernment and sound judgement.

For very good reasons my friend has decided that at least for now he will no longer write his Journal. This is the loss I mourn. It is not that my friend has done any thing wrong by discontinuing his Journal. He has very good reasons for discontinuing it at this time. It is the right thing for him to do.

But I have suffered a loss, nonetheless. It was a bright spot in my day to be able to open the Journal and read it. I looked forward to reading the Journal. Often I would go to the Journal several times a day and digest its contents. I have read every entry he ever made – all 500 of them.

Now I can no longer anticipate some new entry that will stimulate my own thinking. Actually my friend’s Journal was the motivation for the semi-regular entries in this Journal. When I began reading his Journal it was as though the floodgates were opened in my mind. I wanted to express my thoughts, too.

My friend lives a long way from me. The Journal was a way to keep in touch with him. A way to know what he was doing; what he was thinking and feeling about various subjects and issues. Through the Journal I came to know my friend very well and to understand him better. I am mourning the opportunity to keep in almost daily touch with my friend.

When a person mourns a loss, in some form he does go through the stages of grief I previously mentioned. I have thought about my mourning the loss of the Journal in relation to those stages of grief:

1) SHOCK? No. My friend had indicated to me that he might be coming to a time when he would no longer write the Journal.

2) DENIAL? Yes. I am experiencing some degree of denial. I still find myself going to the Journal several times a day to see if he has changed his mind and has written something after all.

3) GUILT? No. Nothing I did or didn’t do caused the loss of the Journal. I am no part of the reason my friend no longer writes the Journal. I don’t think so anyway.

4) ANGER? No. I have no reason to be angry with any of this. Anger is not relevant to this particular loss. It’s his Journal; he can do with it what he wants. Besides, I am not an anger-prone person anyway.

5) DEPRESSION? Yes, I can admit to some depression. I am a bit depressed to think I will no longer be able to read my friend’s Journal on a near-daily basis. I won’t know what he is experiencing, what he’s thinking and feeling about various issues and events. That is kind of depressing. I have a certain fear we may lose touch. I hope not. He is a person worth knowing and having as a friend.

6) ACCEPTANCE? Yes. I am beginning to move to the point of accepting that the Journal is no more. My grief is beginning to subside. Writing this Post is helping.

Other languages have more adequate words to express shades of meaning than does the English language. In English, the word, “farewell” has a ring of finality to it. It usually indicates that something will be no more. We lack a really good word to express a temporary departure. Sometimes we say, “So long,” or “See you”.
In Spanish there is “manana” – tomorrow. The French say, “au revoir”, or
“a bientot”.

I do hope the time will come when my friend will write in his Journal again. Until then I would say to my friend’s Journal, “Au revoir”, “a bientot”, “See you manana”, “So long!”

Thank you, my friend.

Jim

posted by jim 8:54 PM 0 comments

Friday, March 12, 2004

BACK FROM ATLANTA

Well, I'm back to the cold North from the warm South! A great trip. Good weather and no car trouble. All-in-all a pleasant trip. We saw only one accicent as we neared Atlanta on Interstate 75. Apparently a bad one. An SUV was upsidedown, wheels spinning, in the median. Personal possesions and people strewed about on the ground. But plenty of help was present and arriving. A nurse approached. You could tell by the Smock she was wearing. So we went on by. No emergency vehicles or law enforcement personnel were on the scene that we could tell.

I came back to a very busy week. (Thus the delay in Posting until now.) I have two major projects going on at the same time, both with nearly concurrent deadlines. Both involve a lot of telephone time and paperwork. Also some travel will be involved between now and approximaely June 1st. But it is going to be all right.

This weekend I have studying to do and Federal and State income tax information to collect and organize for my tax preparer. Enough to keep me out of trouble and enough to keep me from Posting as often as I would like.

My next Post should be more of my thoughts on Words and their effect. I have many thoughts I want to Post. I will get back to that topic. But my next post will be about mourning. I am mourning a loss. It is not the loss of a person but rather a loss of an inanimate, intangible nature. Your curosity aroused? I'll hopefully post about it sometime over the weekend.

Jim

posted by jim 3:42 PM 0 comments

Thursday, March 04, 2004

GOING TO ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Ah! Going South! Driving to Atlanta, Georgia. From 40-degree temperatures to nearly 80-degree temperatures. *Sigh* Tough job--but someone has to do it!

We will leave fairly early (not TOO early, mind you) tomorrow (Friday) morning. We'll spend Saturday and Sunday and part of Monday visiting our daughter and doing (hopefully) exciting things--like checking my email; watching some movies, MAYBE making a Post, probably some sight-seeing like to Lowe's, Wal-Mart, you know--all the good places worth visiting! (Of course church Sunday morning!)

We'll start back Monday and come on to Zionsville Tuesday, in time to attend our church's Small Group Bible Study. Oh, how I love that time with our small group. It is such great fellowship, great study of the Word and great sharing. And there is always something good to eat at the end, too.

Yep, a great time of the week for my spiritual growth.

Then it is back to work Wednesday. Which I don't mind either. I love my work and the people with and around whom I work.

So if anyone reads this and would care to pray for safe travel to and from--it would be appreciated. And you-all will continue in my daily prayers. There will be a lot of "wndshield time" some of which can be turned into prayer time.

The trip almost didn't happen! Monday I made an unplanned trip to the eye doctor because of some weird visual symptoms Sunday night. It turned out I developed something called "Vitreous Separation." This means the jell-like stuff between the lens of the eye and the retina on the back of the eye has come loose from the retina. After a somewhat miserable examination it was determined by the doctor that this is what had occured. The concern is that this will detach the retina or put a holel in the retina

I had more symptoms of a different more disturbing nature while driving the car last night. So another unplanned trip to the doctor this morning and another miserable examination. But nothing had changed and I was cleared to go to Atlanta. Please pray this this condition doesn't cause something worse. What is there won't improve but the prayer is it won't worsen either.

Gotta go finish up stuff that is work-related so I can be gone for 3 days!

Jim

posted by jim 4:47 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

BRASS TACKS CAN BE SHARP!

Now to continue my thinking on words and their power to bless or destroy. (I took a break from this subject of “words” in my last Post to write about the film, “The Passion of the Christ”.)

This Post, and probably a few more, will deal with criticism. I don’t like criticism. I don’t like to give it and I certainly don’t like to receive it. (Maybe that’s why I don’t have a comment board for this Journal—beside the fact that I don’t think this site offers that option.) I think not many people like to receive criticism.

But there are people who seem to thrive on giving criticism. I know a man of whom his church said, “_ _ _ _ _ has the ‘Gift of Criticism.’” I knew a lady in another church much like that man. She criticized everything and everyone. She would always begin her criticisms with the preface, “I don’t mean to criticize, but……….” and you knew some ugly criticism was coming.

The Bible teaches, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). That verse seems to appeal most to people who love to give criticism!

This makes me think of another old saying: “Let’s get down to ‘brass tacks’”. A person who says this usually means, “I’m going to let you have it now!” But it is also true that brass tacks can be sharp—especially if you have to sit on them!

I’ve been studying the book of Proverbs in a couple of venues. Proverbs can be a “hard read” if you just read it straight through. It is so constructed that it seems to bounce all over the place. I am teaching some of the principles found in Proverbs at my church on Sunday mornings, rather than a verse-by-verse study. There are so many great themes for practical living in Proverbs if you focus on them rather than each verse, which can seem so disconnected.

And I have been studying the Proverbs this past month in my daily devotions. One of the prominent themes in Proverbs is about our speech, the necessity and kinds of criticism, and the like.

One thing I have learned from studying this topic in Proverbs is that we all must recognize that we need criticism. We usually don’t want it but we need it – at least occasionally. Even the person who invites criticism by saying, “Tell me what you really think!” usually doesn’t mean that literally. Most often what they are really saying, usually without realizing it, is, “Tell me what I want to hear,” or, “Tell me what I already think.”

So, why do we need criticism? Because we are blind to our own faults. We can’t really see ourselves as others see us. That is probably a good thing in some cases. If we could see ourselves as others do, we probably couldn’t stand ourselves! We’d certainly understand why others couldn’t stand us sometimes!

We all practice self-deception and need correction. And much like the typist who can never accurately proofread his or her own typing, we cannot self-correct completely. One of the greatest gifts God can give us is other people who love us enough to help us make those corrections. The Apostles were a part of the foundation of the church, grown men who later distinguished themselves as leaders in the church. Yet they constantly had to be corrected by the Lord. Should we be any different?

I am awfully tired right now. But later I want to Post about the dangers of loveless criticism. Not all criticism is helpful.

Jim

posted by jim 2:53 PM 0 comments

Friday, February 27, 2004

“THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST”

Wednesday night Karon and I saw the much-talked about movie, “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST”, produced and paid for by Mel Gibson.

Last Sunday at Church the service focused on this subject. I preached about Christ’s Passion. At that point we had not seen the movie. I had decided that anything I would say about seeing the movie I wanted to say before people saw it. I also decided that I would not comment about the movie itself until everyone who wished had an opportunity to see it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone or prejudice anyone either for or against.

But I do want to make some general observations now that I have seen the movie. First, I strongly believe that every Christian should see the film. It has every potential to strengthen their faith. I will never participate in the Lord’s Supper (Communion) with the same attitude again, having seen the film. It definitely made an impact on me.

I definitely think younger children should NOT see it. There have been several ages suggested which children below that age should not see the movie. Some have suggested 14, 13, and 12. I think those are about the right ages to begin to consider whether or not your child should see the film. There is no exact, magical age. It will vary by the emotional and spiritual maturity of the child and their spiritual background. Children from Christian families MAY be able to see the film at an earlier age than children from another type background.

But always, parents should see the film first and prayerfully decided whether or not to have their children see it. And parents should ALWAYS see the film WITH their children and then discuss and process it afterward.

Some have said the film is a good evangelistic tool to bring people to Christ. Having seen the film, I would say, “That depends!” It depends on where you are in the process of leading someone to Christ. If you have been in discussions and study for a while and have developed a relationship then, yes, it could be a good tool. But if you are just in an initial, casual relationship with a non-Christian I’m not so sure the film would be useful.


Having said all that, I would make some specific suggestions regarding seeing the movie:
1. Prepare to see the movie by praying about your decision to see it or not. It is up to each person’s personal convictions whether or not they should see this film. In all matters we are to remember: “….and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b)

2. Read the 4 Gospel accounts of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. That’s the period of His life covered in the movie. If you have children, prepare them to see the movie in much the same way you prepare yourself to see it should you decide your children should see the movie.

3. Remember that this isn’t fiction. It really happened. Maybe it didn’t happen just exactly the way you see it portrayed on the screen but it happened. We are so used to the fictional on television and in the movies that we tend to think, “Oh well, this didn’t really happen. This is just a story.” Folks, this happened. In fact, Mel Gibson says he “toned it down” from what it probably was really like. If the screen version is toned down, I don’t want to witness what really happened.

4. Remember, the physical suffering wasn’t the worst part of it. The worst part was when God turned away because Jesus took on Himself the sin of the world. And God cannot look on sin.

For me, there is one downside. It has nothing to do with making the film or the film itself. It is the commercialism of it. And I’m not talking about the selling of tickets. There is nothing wrong with that. I have no problem with Mel Gibson recovering his $25+ million dollars it cost to make the film. I don’t even have a problem with him making a profit.

I believe in the free enterprise, capitalistic system. But it was too much for me when, on my computer screen at home, a well-known Christian bookstore flashed a classy advertisement with the invitation: “GET YOUR PASSION ITEMS HERE WHILE THEY LAST. PASSION COINS, PASSION CARDS, PASSION…….I can’t remember what all else!”

*Sigh* I guess it shouldn’t bother me. They did the same thing with the Prayer of Jabez; the Lord of The Rings, and who knows what else. But I have to admit it did cheapen the whole thing for me for awhile. But I didn’t let it detract from the main focus—the Passion of the Christ.

Yes, seeing the movie is quite an experience. One for which you should adequately prepare yourself.

Jim

posted by jim 3:21 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 26, 2004

BIBLICAL, PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF “THE TRUTH”

In my last 2 Posts I talked about the tension between speaking soothing words and telling the truth. That is not always an easy thing accomplish. So how do we do it? What is the answer? Well, I don’t have it all figured out. When I don’t have the answer myself or am trying to determine an answer, I look to Scripture.

As I pointed out a couple of Posts ago, Christ says, “Let’s be honest about who you are and what you have done.” That truth, standing by itself, is destructive. But standing along side the Cross of Christ, there is no truth that need destroy you. Rather, that very ugly truth about you—because of the Cross of Christ--can heal you.

So how does that work? Here’s an example from Scripture that helped me comprehend this concept:

On the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter preached the first Gospel sermon. In that sermon he tells the truth about the people listening to him: “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” (Acts 2:22-23)

Peter went on to say: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Verse 36)

Now the truth hurt. Verse 37 of the same chapter says, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

In response Peter and the other apostles spoke healing words in verses 38-40 and told them what to do: “…repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

And 3,000 of them did what they were told and were “healed” from their hurt.

So the truth about each of us is spoken in the Bible. “All have sinned…”. But Christ’s sacrifice heals us when we accept Him and His sacrifice for our sins.

I’m awfully sleepy right now. Maybe none of this makes any sense. I just don’t know. More later.

Jim

posted by jim 4:25 PM 0 comments

Monday, February 23, 2004

THE “THEOLOGY OF NICENESS” IN ACTION:

In my previous Post I talked about people who resort to the “Theology of Niceness”. Their philosophy is, “Be nice—even it isn’t true!” For example….

1) In the days when most women wore hats, the ladies would wear them to church. Invariably there would be a woman who would ask the Preacher, “What do you think of my new hat? Do you like it?” Now, what do you do? The truth is you wouldn’t put the hat on your dog in a clown act. Do you say you like it, even if you don’t? That’s what someone who adheres to the “Theology of Niceness” would do. They would be nice and say they like the hat even though they hated it—just to make the person feel good. Otherwise, they reason, they would be casting aspersions on the person’s taste and ability to choose a decent hat.

On the other hand, some folks would advocate avoiding an outright lie—just don’t tell the truth! Say something like, “Well, it certainly matches your personality.”

2) Or take the matter of the inspection of a new-born baby in the foyer of the church or maybe even in the Mall. Now to some of us one baby looks pretty much like every other baby. And some new-borns start out just plain ugly. But what do you say to demonstrate immense interest in the new baby to a new Mom or dad, who asks, “Isn’t (he/she) the most beautiful baby you ever saw? Doesn’t (he/she) look just like (his/her) (dad/mom)?”

How do you avoid lying while still staying in the good graces of the parents or the grandparents? Some advocate a response like, “Well, now! That’s a baby!”

3) Or a lady bakes you an inedible pie (at least inedible by your standards) for your consumption. Now what do you do? Well, practicing the “Theology of Niceness”, you could say, “A pie like yours never lasts long around our house!”

4) One more: If you dislike someone, if there is something about the person that is preventing you liking that person, you’re not supposed to hurt the person by telling him about it. Even if telling him could improve the relationship.

So, what is the answer? I just don’t know. In my next post I’ll discuss a practical application from the Bible of how the Truth (Christ) can bring positive changes in a person’s life.

Jim

posted by jim 10:37 AM 0 comments

Thursday, February 19, 2004

TRUTH-TELLING OR WHITE LIES?

Truth telling is important. A lot of places in God’s Word instruct us to truth telling—and the consequences for not doing so.

But there is a tough concept here: We don’t want to use cutting words that hurt—yet the Bible teaches truthfulness over lying. Truthful words are sometimes cutting words; lies are sometimes soothing words.

So, if we disapprove of cutting remarks and place great value upon soothing words, how can we live by these two apparent contradictions? Truth is often a costly and painful thing.

Some people resort to the “Theology of Niceness”. This simply means, “Be nice even if it is not true!” There are many examples of how this is carried out. In my next Blog I’ll give some examples I have witnessed. Some are pretty funny and some are pathetic!

We have created a society so devoted to kind and soothing words that it has substantially loosened its commitment to speaking truthful words. So as Christians seeking to follow Jesus we struggle: How to be kind and truthful at the same time.

That has always been one of the criticisms of Christianity by “outsiders”. They complain that Christianity says so many “bad” things about mankind. “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Roman 3:10); “All have sinned…” (Romans 3:23) Look at all the “Woes” Jesus pronounced in Matthew 23. Jesus said some harsh things. All these words are hardly soothing syrup!

So, how do we reconcile truth and kindness? How may we be both truthful AND healing? How can we tell the truth and still bind up the wounds? I don’t know the solution, at least not when it comes to practical application with my fellow man. I guess I am supposed to have it figured out but I don’t – at least not completely.

I do understand though that we must turn to Jesus for the answer. He is the one whom the Scripture says came to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. (Isaiah 62:1 and Luke 43:18ff)

Yet Jesus also spoke the darkest words that were ever uttered to human beings who had hardened themselves in their sinfulness. Jesus came to both reveal the Truth and heal mankind. He showed that both truth and healing ultimately stand together.

How can this be? Because Jesus took upon Himself our tragedy. He suffered for our sins. So, in effect, Jesus says to us, ”The truth about you is that you have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the reason this cutting truth can be made into a healing truth is that I am going to suffer and die for you. I will take the suffering for those cutting remarks that you make. I will pay the price of the suffering which truth causes. I will die for your sins.”

A child breaks a window. He or she must be confronted with the truth—YOU broke the window. Then the parent says, “I realize you cannot pay the price to replace that window. I will bear the burden to restore what has been lost.”

So Christ says, “Let’s be honest about who you are and what you have done. Standing by itself, that truth is destructive. Standing along side the Cross of Christ, there is no truth that need destroy you.”

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) The Truth is Christ. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life….” (John 14:6) Jesus is the “Truth” who can heal us.

So how do I put all this into practice in my relationships? That’s a tough one. I will wrestle with this one a while longer. Hopefully I will come up with some practical applications to put in a later Post.

Jim

posted by jim 10:21 AM 0 comments

Monday, February 16, 2004

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS

I have been thinking about this subject for over a month. The thought process began when I received a wonderful email from one of the best friends God has ever allowed me to have. Over a month ago I was struggling with temptation in an area I have struggled for many years. Because of our friendship I am able to share my struggles with my friend as often as I feel I need to. Sometimes this is pretty often.

So I wrote an email to my friend. I have written about my friend in this Journal before. He is a friend with whom I am completely transparent and honest. His responding email was exactly what I needed to hear. Notice I didn’t say, “Wanted to hear!” But it was what I needed to hear. As I read and re-read that email several times, I was so blessed. The blessing I received from that email continues to this day. I expect those words to continue to bless me for years to come. Those were powerful words!

That is what got me to thinking about the power of words—both written and spoken. In the above instance, it was the written word.

There are some “old sayings” which are not true. One saying is, “Sticks and stones may break my back but words can never hurt me.” There are many scarred people to give evidence to the falsehood of that statement.

Another statement says, “Talk is cheap.” That may be true when “talk” is substituted for “work”, or actually doing something. But other than that, talk is NEVER cheap! Talk can start—or stop—wars. Challenges are issued or peace treaties are negotiated.

Ever get a notice in the mail that you just inherited a million dollars? Well, neither have I. But those wouldn’t be cheap words! Nor would they be cheap if I got a notice in the mail (or a telephone call) that I owed someone a million dollars! Actually all paper money is just talk on paper. It represents the reality that stands behind that paper money.

But words do hurt—sometimes more than anything done physically. They have destroyed many a marriage, a parent-child or sibling relationship, and a friendship or business partnership. Words can be deadly.

But words can be life giving, too, as in the email from my friend.

Most psychotherapy has to do with just letting people talk. It is not the words of the therapist that help so much as the words of the one with the problem(s) who have been hurt. The saying, “JUST LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT” contains truth. When there is a trusted friend/accountability partner with whom we can share, it is like having someone help us carry a heavy load for a little while. After a bit of rest, we are able to take up the load and carry it a while longer.

God spoke the first words spoken in the Bible. (Genesis 1:1-3) God’s spoken word brought forth life. Jesus is the “Living Word”. The very one who brought our salvation is the very word of God made flesh. (John 1:1; 14) This is the Biblical witness to the life-giving power of words.

It has been said the three most powerful words in the world, in any language, are, “I LOVE YOU!” And that is exactly what God says throughout His Word. And this love was demonstrated in Christ’s life, His sacrifice on the Cross-and His resurrection.

Yep! Words are powerful. I have a feeling I’ll be writing about words in this Journal for several Posts.

Jim

posted by jim 10:33 AM 0 comments

Someplace to think outloud and maybe someone will think back.

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