Trying Out a New Thing

My wife got a belated birthday present yesterday....a new I-Phone. She had been waiting patiently since November until her existing contract with the phone company ran out so she could upgrade at a discount price. She is truly a "gizmo freak" and simply could not wait to get her hands on an I-Phone.

She arrived home and excitedly began showing me it's features and I smiled warmly inside to see her pleased with her new gizmo. Her first chore with it was to download her favorite pics of our grandsons so she could readily have them at her fingertips.....

I remember how I felt when I first decided to try out Jesus Christ as a new thing. I could not wait to learn about Him and to find out if what they all said was true and to discover new things that perhaps no one else had found in Him. Now five years into it, I am still learning and still amazed at His teaching. Here are some wonderful features if you are in the market:

1. He comes with a comprehensive user reference guide called the Bible.
2. His Grace is the most amazing thing in the history of all the world.
3. His kindness and understanding will guide you through the worst of times (even better than a GPS.)
4. His Love can be felt every single day.

Finally, and this is the best part of all....He is FREE! No charge, no fine print, no exceptions, no contract, and 100 percent guarantee.

Visiting Home Home and Being Homesick

For the past couple weeks, I have had the blessing of visiting my parents and family at home. I had to leave my existing home to go out of town on business and have been able to stay at my "home home" with mom, dad, my sister and my brother in law. Now, I find myself becoming home sick to get back to my immediate family especially since my oldest son and his wife had their new baby this past week and I havent had the chance to hold him.....

I dont get to go "home home" very often though, perhaps 2 or 3 times a year since it's such a long distance. So I am trying to be patient.

It has been said that home is where you hang your hat but I dont find that to be true. It's optimistic but not practical. The Bible has countless stories of homecomings both in the Old and New Testaments and I am trying to relate this experience to any of them. I think what the Lord is tring to tell me is that no matter where you go in the world though, you are always at home in His Kingdom and time and distance are meaningless. Today, Sunday, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Oh, To Be There

Last night, Elaine and I watched a Christmas special featuring the Mormon Tabernacle choir. The choir reminded me of what the Bible spoke of as a Heavenly Host that appeared to the shepherds, singing and praising God on high. I thought how wonderful it would be to experience what they did exactly the same way. To witness the sky light up and to be visisted by actual, real Angels sent by the Lord. How wonderful it must have been when they found their way to where the Christchild lay in the manger and to be able to experience first hand that He was sent as the Savior of the world.

I suppose one of the best ways we can celebrate His birth is to try and put ourselves there 2000 years ago. Try to imagine the excitement, the beauty and the shear reality of the scene. For me, Christmas is being there. It is stepping back in time and feeling the burden being lifted as those Angels tell us the Messiah has come!

This year, I invite you to celebrate with me. Put yourself there and revel in the awe, the majesty and the wonderful promise He has made to us all. As we lead up to Chrismas day, 2009, remember the Angel's words, "Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy."

Shopping At Christmas

I got up early yesterday and got an early start on shopping. It seems I always wait til the last minute to Christmas shop, partly because I always dred the crowds and I really don't enjoy going to malls.

I'm such a skeptic too. I noticed that the cashiers and sales people in the department stores were all displaying smiles that to me seemed artificial. And all the shoppers appeared stressed to me. There must have been a couple thousand shoppers in the mall and about 90 percent of them had no packages in their hands. It seemed as though they were all trying to make up their minds what to buy but couldn't quite get there......me included.

My wife had given me a list of things she'd like to have for Christmas and you would think I would have no problems finding everything on it. I came to realize it wasn't the list itself but trying to make each item I purchased special, just for her, was the chore. You know, the outfit had to be her color, the slippers had to be her style, the jewelry had to be her brand....

By the time the day was done, I had walked what seemed like a hundred miles. I did find all I was looking for and came out with a different frame of mind. As I was driving home, I wondered at the choice of gifts the wise men brought to Jesus when they visited him. How did they choose what to give? What thoughts went into choosing and did they worry about whether it would be pleasing to Him or Mary or Joseph? I had found myself worrying about whether the gifts I give will be pleasing to the recipient when in fact, my wife will be pleased no matter what I give her, even if every item given is not on the list.

Shopping is a lot easier if you just remember what our Lord said...."It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Let It Go

As I approach my retirement date (January 22, 2010), I have a lot of loose ends at work to get tied up. One of them happens to be going through my files and discarding anything that isn't needed to be left behind to future folks doing my job. This morning, as I was going through these files, I came to one that was rather large. It housed expense vouchers that I had completed for various business trips over the years.

I found myself reading some of the business reasons for trips to various places like Dayton Ohio, Rochester New York, Bristol Tennessee and began remembering the details of those trips. Some dated all the way back to 1988!

You see, I have always had this paranoid thought in my head that one day the company may want to audit my vouchers and by hanging on to them, I would have a way to defend myself. I began thinking about what Jesus said according to the Gospel of Matthew....Chapter 6, verse 31: "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Over all the years of my career, I always had the fear that "big brother was watching". And now, as I throw away these files, it seems like I kept them all for nothing. As I think about our Lord and Savior, I now am striving to let go of a part of my life that has ruled me for 36 years....I'm finally letting go of "work worry". Yes, I am a little apprehensive about the days to come, only because I do not at this time know what they may bring. But I do know one thing...I will go wherever He may lead me.

Thanks, Lord

My son and I took a stroll yesterday evening to the Chapel at Gainesville's Northeast Georgia Regional Hospital. After the birth of his first child (my first grandson), I invited him to accompany me to the chapel to pray thanksgiving and to my joy, he accepted the invitation. I was so supprised I hardly didnt know what to pray when he got down on his knees next to me at the little altar set there. He had told me on the walk that he felt like God was in the birthing room with them while Kelly was in labor. Apparently, the doctor had been telling them that if the baby's heartbeat continued to drop during the contractions, they would have to seriously consider a c-section birth. He told me that he was praying that that would not be necessary......

A new life brings out the best of us and helps us realize the true reality that our God does, in fact, exist. The Holy Spirit was in the room with Dan and Kelly and little Oliver during those precarious few minutes. As it turned out, no c-section was needed and yet another of the Lord's gracious answers to prayer was answered.

So, what am I thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, 2009? Actually, I dont have the space or time to list it all. Even if I spent the rest of the day listing it all, the list would be incomplete. Formost on the list, however would be the following:

Thanks, Lord for answering prayer and thanks for your loving Grace. I for one will do my best to be deserving. Amen.

Comfort

As a pallbearer in a dear friend's funeral yesterday, I was escorted to the front row of the chapel so that I (and the others) could exit the side door at the end of the service to help with placing the casket into the hearse.

I have never sat on the front row at a funeral and it is a very revealing place to be. Of course, directly in front of me was an astounding array of flowers. As the minister spoke of comfort and as the family grieved, I stared at all the flowers to help me fight off tears. I could smell the fragrance and see the glory of their beauty. The thought hit me that my friend must be walking in a beautiful garden at that time. I was comforted with that thought throughout the service and even through the graveside service as well.

The Lord answered my prayer for comfort by showing me His wonders and assuring me that this was not a goodbye...it was "until we meet again".