The Waffle House Whisper

Something beautiful happened in Waffle House this morning when I stopped there to have some breakfast. 

The customer finished his meal and approached the cashier to pay up. His conversation with Ashley, the young waitress was as follows:

Having read her name tag, he said, "Ashley, I am about to do something I have never done in my life before and am wondering if you will help me out."  She replied, "Sure, what can I do?"  The man whispered to her so nobody could hear.  He said, "I'd like you to quietly collect everyone's check and bring it here to the register.  I am going to pay for their breakfasts."  Although she gave him a very surprised and strange look, she did not say a word.  She did as the customer asked. The customer pulled out his credit card and paid the bill along with his own for seven tables.  I think the total amount was around 61.00.  As he left, I noticed all the workers in the restaurant were smiling.  He said, "Have a great day, yall.  And, be sure to say your prayers."  I can't remember which one responded but one of the waitresses said, "I always do!"

Having been a part of this experience overwhelmed me.  I had tears in my eyes as I got into my truck to leave.  Last evening at our weekly small group meeting we discussed those times in our lives when God whispers to us in that small, quiet voice that only He can use.  We discussed how it is up to us to discern whether it is God whispering to us or whether we were going crazy or whether we just make these promptings up in our minds.  Bill Hybels, the author of our study, provides us five ways to filter what we may think are whispers from God.  Basically, it's to ask some very simple questions.  1. Pray, "Is this really from you, God?"  2. Can it be scripturally verified?  3. What would the wise people I know of think about my response to the whisper?  4. Would responding to the whisper be out of character for me?  5. Would the people in my life that I trust the most sign off on my actions?

Something told me as I drove off that I had been part of one of those small, quiet whispers this morning.  I ran the experience through the filters I learned about last night and the customer's response to the whisper he had received passed them all in my heart.  I remembered the story of Solomon and how God had whispered to him in the night.  When I got home, I re-read the poem Bill Hybels has used all his life.  It was given to him by his teacher when he was a child:

Oh! give me Samuel's ear,

An open ear, O Lord,

Alive and quick to hear

Each whisper of Thy Word;

Like him to answer to Thy call

And to obey Thee first of all.

 

 

Blessings to you all.  <><

Dog Park or Kingdom of Heaven On Earth Around Us

The author of "The Divine Conspiracy", Dallas Willard, calls it the "Kingdom of Heaven On Earth Around Us".  

I take Josie to The Rabbit Hill Dog Park.  It's a wonderful experience each time I go with her. Those of you who have been to a dark park will understand what I'm talking about.  A magical thing occurs the minute we enter the gated area for dogs.  She takes on an air of total, complete freedom and I can see a burden immediately lifted from her shoulders.  You see, at dog parks, it is "neutral" ground for dogs.  They all know it.  They don't have to be burdened withe "alpha/subordinate" thing normally instinctive with dogs.  All of them, and I do mean ALL of them display this extraordinary transformation when they enter the dog park kingdom.  There are always a mixture of dog breeds, some big and some small; some fuzzy and some short-haired; some log legged, and some short legged; some old, some young;  it's a total mish-mash of diversity and ALL are equal.  Their joy is un-surpassed as they frolic and do things at the park you'd never see them do anywhere else!  The most significant of all being that they don't fight, they don't growl and they don't covet.....they share and play with the same toys and they all get along amazingly!

I guess the most amazing thing of all is that all the people I meet who have brought these dogs to the "kingdom" display the same trait!  At Rabbit Hill Dog Park, I have never met a stranger.  We all share common ground and we share our love of the dogs and we share smiles and stories about them telling stories of joy and pride.  Occasionally, our stories flow into our own personal lives...you know, things that are bothering us and things we need and things about God and our need for Him.  

Rabbit Hill is an escape from the "world" and a time for walking in The Kingdom of God on Earth Around Us.  It is a prime example of the Kingdom that Jesus tells us about.  There is no boredom, no tears, no pain, no worldly bothers there.  I feel it the minute I enter the gated area.  I notice it the minute I release Josie from her leash.  Matthew 13, verse 44 tells us Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven  is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and his again.  And from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."  Go and read Revelation 21, verses 3 and 4!  Then, after you read it, visit your nearest dog park and witness the Kingdom!  Blessings to you all.

Bullwinkle

My wife and I have a frequent visitor to our yard.  Bullwinkle is a yearling buck that insists on browsing on my daylillies.  Although I am reluctant to call him a "pest", it is rather nerve racking whenever he shows up because our dog, Josie, goes nuts whenever he wanders into the yard.  She can't tolerate any intruders.  She refuses to allow any other animals into her "space" because she owns it and covets it to the point where she loses it in barking and huffing and puffing when Bullwinkle visits.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was at times overwhelmed with crowds gathering into His space.  Ironically, He usually welcomed this.  His disciples often tried to protect Him from people crowding in on Him.  One story tells us about a crowd one day and a woman, so desperate to touch the hem of His robe just to be healed.  (Please read Mark 5:24-35)  

We as Christians so often are reluctant to allow people into our "space".  The only problem is that if we don't, we can't, like Jesus, heal anyone or comfort them.  How much do you covet your space?  Do you pick and choose who "gets in"?  

Josie is the most beautiful little dog I have ever owned and she is so sweet.  But, like the rest of us, she has a space problem!  Let others in.....let them touch the hem of your garment and be healed today.

"Bullwinkle"

Danny and Perseverance

     A dentist, two Methodist Pastors, an ex-prisoner, a retired businessman and another businessman entered Lincoln County jail yesterday to speak, sing, pray and show Gospel comfort.  

     Danny, the ex-prisoner, matched all the male inmates we encountered.  He had visible scars, including lewd tattoos everywhere on his neck and arms.  He was partially blind from a meth lab that blew up in his face several years back, and walked slightly skewed from three near-fatal automobile wrecks.  And, oh, by the way, he prayed as fervently as anyone I have ever heard.  Danny led us in prayer before we left the parking lot to go in, he prayed in front of every group we saw, and he prayed in the parking lot before we left....for county sheriff deputies getting ready to get off work.  The dentist, Gregg, had told us that Danny could give his testimony in thirty minutes....and Perry, the other businessman piped in with, "He could spend longer though if you let him."  (He had heard the long version!)  I had heard the short version over lunch.  Danny hardly had time to eat for all the speaking he did telling us of a most tragic life style in and out of jail, in and out of prescription and home-made drug addiction, in and out of hospitals from car wrecks, in and out of marriage, in and out of and now back into spiritual renewal  He seemed to live to tell of his salvation, about how Jesus had saved him, and about how now that he could not work a normal job, he could spend all his time "witnessin' ".  

     Some of the prisoners, including females we visited, Danny knew by name.  He has been going to the jail for several years now doing this and it was clear he knew what he was doing.  

     The Pastor there read from James and gave a brief sermon to the inmates.  He read and spoke from the book of James. "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."  (James 1:12)  He spoke of how even we who are outside the prison are under trial and how all people must learn perseverance.  The inmate's faces all reflected broken spirit, fear, uncertainty, determination, surrender, anger, vengeance....you name it.  Some cared that we were there, some were curious as to why we would be there, some didn't care....all wanted to be in another place.  Some didn't understand the word perseverance.

     By the time we left, I felt comfortable and strangely contented.  We had Danny with us.

Remember the Sabbath?

       Sometimes, conversations about other people, loved ones to be exact, can bring out inspirations from the Lord that simply would otherwise not be mentioned.  I was talking the other day about how some of us work so much that we don't seem to ever take a day off or take time to smell the roses.  It brought a new thought into my head which seemed to ask the question, "Why did God COMMAND us to remember the sabbath?"  

The NASB version shows it like this:

⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

       One of God's most blessed commandments, we break all the time with no thought that we are breaking it.  Even on "our day off" we stay on call, or we work part time to earn a few extra bucks, or we work to satisfy what we think is a loyal and noble cause.  Why do we break this important commandment from God? We would never, ever, think of breaking others of the ten commandments such as "Do Not Steal", or "Do Not Murder".  What makes this one such that we can ignore it?

        God gave this commandment I think to protect us.  I know several people that died from work-related stress.  I know of people that ended up divorced and lonely because they refused to take a day off with their families.  Did you hear that?  WITH THEIR FAMILIES!  Not only that, but God meant also for us to be able to worship him freely, with no distractions; worship Him only.....not the dollar or the pride we sometimes get from being a martyr.  

        Check out verse 11 again.  ".....therfore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."  If the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy, why would we not want to relish it?  No matter what day of the week you choose, remember the Sabbath.  It is holy.  It is for your good and for God's good!

What's In a Biscuit?

Papa Jack's County Kitchen gave us a pretty good deal on sausage biscuits.  For a planned community outreach, we purchased 150 sausage biscuits from Papa Jack's and set up two stations at stop signs in front of the church.  On Monday, November 26th (the Monday after Thanksgiving holidays), we gave out the breakfast biscuits to folks as they were headed out to work in the morning.  We started at 7:00 AM and were done giving them away at 8:00 AM.  No charge, just love........

It didn't seem like that big of an outreach to begin with, however.  We know we need to get out into the community more and be good Christians but something always seems to keep us pinned up within the confines of the church. So, instead of going door to door, we stopped folks from neighborhoods around the church as they were heading out to work after having a four day holiday.  We gave them a free breakfast biscuit with our church web address and "Have a blessed day!" sticker on the wrappers. 

Peoples' reactions to our good will offering were great!  One guy came back by after running some errands and forced us to take a monetary donation for the church.  Another person came back, parked in the church parking lot, crossed the street and chatted with the pastor about what we were doing.  We saw many grins and smiles and received genuine thank-you's for what we were doing.  We got looks of amazement for our braving the cold weather.  We were ignored by some who were in too much of a hurry to roll down their window.  And when the biscuits ran low, we got a little sad to see it all end.  It was that good....it was the kind of feeling one gets when the bitter-sweet end to a mission trip comes.  Often, you find yourself feeling more blessed than the ones you were sent to help and yet, without fail, you feel you blessed them.  God made it that way.  It was Jesus' plan.

He said, "Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, body and soul and love each other."  It's what's in a biscuit.

 

Was Paul a Brown-Noser?

Several years during my career, I found myself in the position of being thought of as the boss' "favorite".  In fact, those years saw me winning top awards for performance, not only in extravagant trips but in pay bonuses as well.

I used to examine myself quite seriously and ask whether or not I was "kissing up" to my boss and I grew extremely depressed whenever I would overhear co-worker comments that alluded to it.  The fact was I was only trying to do a good job and earn a good day's pay.  I found myself, upon occasion, actually avoiding my boss to make sure that nobody thought of me as a brown-noser.  Some days, I even let my efforts grow lax because of the dilema I faced.  It wasn't easy for me.

I have come to the conclusion that what I misunderstood many times was the position that a boss holds.  If you are the boss, who will you choose to do special projects?  One whom you can trust and whom you know will succeed and complete the project on time? Or, will it be one whom you know will whine, complain and mess things up? 

Certain things these days have made me think of God and the choices of people He made to do certain great things.  It wasn't because those people were great or because they had any "super powers".  God chose his people very carefully knowing that He could trust them and that they would hold true to His purposes.  From Job to Moses, from Peter to Abraham, from Noah to Joseph, we see individuals who were unwavering in their faith and loyalty even in their faults.  Was the Apostle Paul a brown-noser?

Before we go "blaming" a person for being the boss' favorite, before we go blaming the boss for "playing favorites", I think we should take a very long, hard look at ourselves.  What are our motives and what are our intentions?  How loyal are we to our company and how much do we want to see it succeed?  Does our boss see this or know it?  How much do we know about our boss and how worthy is our boss of our efforts?  Is our co-worker and boss, whom we are criticising, actually selfish people only looking out for themselves or are they truly just trying to help the company succeed?

Pray about it.  The answers will come.