Touched by an Angel

I met an angel on Saturday. I was on my way to a speaking engagement and I stopped to pick up a biscuit at a fast food resturant. As I pulled up to the window to pay, I just stuck my hand out with my money in it, caught up in my own little world of very important things. Then something startling happened. The girl working the window just about climbed into my car, or at least it seemed. I was in my Corolla, so I was pretty low to the ground. She went out of her to lean out the window and stoop a little lower so she could make eye contact. As I relayed the story to my wife, she said the girl was flirting. Trust me, I'm at the age where that kind of ego boost doesn't happen anymore. This girl just knew the importance of eye contact and a pretty smile. Even if it was bit frightening!

She took my money and came back with my biscuit. She asked if I needed ketchup for my hash browns. When that transaction was finished, she gave another beautiful smile and wished me a great day.

Something interesting happened to me as I drove away from the window. I felt really good, really happy inside. It had not been a bad day by any means. My wife and I slept in. The kids were getting along well when I left. I was looking forward to my time with some children's ministry workers. But it was all suddenly better. And it all was the result of someone going out of her way to share a smile.

Naturally, it got me to thinking. Man, what a powerful experience! You might think I'm a little off kilter, but I was profoundly affected. I began to think about all the ways I could begin to practice such power. What if I just smiled more often, and even more importantly, went out of my way to share it with someone? All the ladies that work for me here at the day care know how task oriented I am. Any time I have the "man on a mission" look between tasks, some of them began to worry and ask "What's wrong?" They much rather see my happy joking face. This morning I was on the phone with a future employee and I was in the middle of a task, so I was quite focused. Very early in our conversation she asked if everything was ok because I did not seem my usual happy self. Which I found VERY interesting because you can count on one hand the number of times we have talked and all but one have been on the phone.

The power of a smile. The power of joy. Nothing profund to ponder here. I just wanted to share.

So, is it a sport?

Let the drama begin! The 20th Winter Olympics are about halfway over. I got lucky this weekend. We usually can't get the local NBC affiliate, but something magical happened to the rabbit ears. All weekend I enjoyed bobsledding, downhill skiing, snowboarding, and (gasp!) ice dancing. OK, maybe enjoyed is too strong a word when talking about ice dancing. The tv was on, providing background noise while the ice dancing athletes competed. While my wife and I sat there, I asked the question aloud, "Is ice dancing a sport?" Before you pass judgment on the "sport" or on me for what you assume may be my opinion, consider these thoughts.

First of all, I do not doubt the physical conditioning of the people involved. Like I told my wife, I'm sure that all the male ice dancers could kick my butt without any problem. They certainly show great coordination. I can barely do the dance steps in shoes, much less on a thin metal blades. But great physical condition and coordination do not a sport make, do they?

Maybe I shouldn't even be asking the question. Maybe my initial assumption is in error. I have always considered the Olympics a sporting event. When someone refers to the Olympics, they almost always say "Olympic competition". There are all kinds of competitions, including dancing. But the competitors are almost always referred to as "athletes" and to me that denotes a sport. I've never seen an ice dancer on a Gatorade or a beer commercial. If ice dancing is a sport, at what point did it become one?

Which leads me to an important question about people on a faith journey. At what point does a person on a faith journey become a Christian? There are lots of answers to that question. I think only one answer matters, that of the final judge - the person from whom the name "Christian" derives. I've got my thoughts and I'll admit that my interpretation of those thoughts is constantly evolving, though the center does not change. I'll be glad to post them later. But I'm really curious to hear from others on their own journeys. What do you think?

Tuesday 2/21/06 11:24 AM Afterthoughts
- Do ice dancers want to be considered athletes?
- When would someone on a faith journey call him or herself a "Christian"?
- Does everyone on a faith journey even want to be called a Christian?

Real Love

Valentine's Day is in two days. If you've not done so yet, make sure you go out and buy something special for the one you love. Two weeks from tomorrow, Feb 27, will the two year anniversary of my father's death. As we get ready to celebrate a day of love, here are some thoughts on my father's love.

I'll never forget the first time I realized how much my father loved me and how much he was willing to sacrifice for me. I was around eight years old. It didn't come in the form of a gift, a hug, or even in the words, "I love you." It didn't occur to me as some sweet "A-ha" when he came to my Little League baseball game. It happened across the street from our house, down at the shore. It was summer time. We walked down to the shore where our boat was moored. By the way, we call it "the landing" back home. We would always go down several times a week, just to check up on the boat - check the batteries, bail out any rain water, knock off some barnacles.

On this particular day, the tide was low. While my father worked on the boat and my little sister played on the shore, I walked around on the shoals that were exposed by the low tide. There was so much to do as I wandered along those microcosms of life. I'd find sand dollars and watch them bury themselves to get away from me. Sometimes a sea horse or even a baby sand shark would be stranded in a tidal pool. Most of the time I would dig up clams, look for conchs, or just sit around eating raw scallops.

On this day, I was playing around in one of those tidal pools when I raked my foot across a jackknife clam. It "slit my foot wide open", as we used to say. The water turned bright red in a hurry. I guess I gave one of those screams that every parent recognizes - the one that indicates REAL pain or trouble, not just frustration or anger. My dad jumped out of the boat and ran over to me.

To stop the bleeding, he pulled his shirt off and wrapped it around my foot. As he did so, I distinctly remember thinking, "Wow! He is using his shirt. He will never be able to wear this shirt again. He is willing to sacrifice this for me." That may not seem like a big deal, but to an eight year old kid, it was pretty big. Then, he threw me up on his shoulders and carried me home while my sister walked beside us.

I don't remember anything else that happened that day. I probably got rushed to the emergency room for my yearly tetanus shot. I got quite a few of those as a kid. But I'll never forget the feeling of my father's love, a shirt wrapped around my bleeding foot.

Interestingly, as I finished writing this story, I am reminded of another son who bled, but his father chose to watch because of the greater love he felt for us. Something to think about, isn't it.

Grace & Hollywood

I thought about writing about the Super Bowl and all the hoopla that comes with it, but quickly got bored with the idea. I instead wanted to comment one more time on End of the Spear. I came across a post on another blog via another blog I read regularly. He touches on an interesting subject which I myself wondered about, but in a slightly different vein. I'll post a link to his blog at the end.

As someone who is concerned about the faith journeys of other people, I wonder how a film like Spear affects the people involved with its production. This is a movie with an obvious Christian message. It is, afterall, about missionaries. I wondered the same thing when The Passion of the Christ came out two years ago and you don't have to be a rocket theologian to know what it's about. I have no reason to believe that everyone involved called themselves a "Christian" just like I have no reason to believe that everyone in my church on any given Sunday would call themselves one either.

I posted last month how overtly Christian themes pop up with regularity in movies all the time. Are the people in those films affected in any way by the presence of those themes and ideas? Do they see and recognize the hands of grace at work around them? For that matter, do we always see the hands of grace at work around us? Do we see the gazillion ways that God is talking to us through the everyday events of our lives? Judging from my own experience, I'd say no. Usually it happens after the fact with a big "a ha" moment. Whether we recognize grace or not, I think it it still working and I think it is steering us in the right directions for our faith journeys.

How have you seen grace working in your life? How has God been talking to you?

BTW, here's the other blog.

End of the Spear - the power of forgiveness

This weekend my wife and I saw what may be the best movie of the year because it is true and gives us a very powerful message. Of course, I'm a little biased because of the content of the message. If you plan on seeing End of the Spear and don't know the story and don't want it spoiled for you, then skip the next two paragraphs or STOP READING NOW ;-)



Man, what a powerful movie. I've known the story of Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries that were killed by the Waedonis (us white Americans called them Acusa's which meant "naked people"). And I knew the ending of how the wives of these men moved into the village ANYWAY because sharing the Gospel was too important. But this story focused very little on Elliot. It centered around Nate Saint, the pilot of the mission and his son Steve. Steve later came back as an adult to live with the Waedoni to help them cope with the change in their society as they tried to integrate into the modern era.

There were a couple of lines that were extremely powerful. Right before Nate Saint takes off in his plane with plans to make contact with the violent Waedoni, his six or seven year old son Steve asks, "Will you use your gun if they attack? Will you defend yourself?" Nate stops and looks at his son and says, "I can't. They aren't ready to go to heaven yet." Forty years after the event, one of the Waeadoni who was part of the attack that killed all five missionaries recounted the story to now adult Steve. He described seeing heaven open up to receive the souls of the men, very much like Stephen witnessesd in Acts chapters 6 & 7. The leader of the tribe who actually killed Nate finally admitted his act to Steve, opening himself up to be killed for his act. Nate's response to Mincayani was, "No one took my father's life. He gave it!"




Forgiveness was woven throughout this film in a powerful way. And what it made it so easy to do was because it was true. We're not talking forgiveness for stealing something from me or for lying to me. This was about forgiving you despite killing someone I loved. And of course the ultimate act of forgiveness was the fact that God allowed US to kill his son so we COULD be forgiven! Now that's a concept that can be hard to wrap your mind around.

I don't have any original earth shattering thoughts of my own. I do have some questions that continually run through my mind. I am curious about the role or frequency of forgiveness in our society. I wonder if I could ever be as forgiving as the families of these men. I wonder if anyone else wonders about forgiveness. I wonder how many people out there are crippled because they need forgiveness and can't find it or maybe they're crippled because they are withholding it. I know where the true power of forgiveness comes from. If you are looking for such a power yourself and don't know where to start, I'd suggest this movie. It will definitely help you on your faith journey.

Group Karaoke

First, I need to apologize. My response to dlucks earlier this week came off as harsh to some who read it. dlucks is a personal friend of mine and we've talked about it, but anybody else out there wondering what my problem is, I just wanted to let you know. I did not intend to say or imply that people should not follow their dreams. Nor was I trying to blame the victim. My real beef is with people who by their apathy or lack of response, although well meaning and in love, allow those they love to head in the wrong direction.

Which is why I have a proposal. American Idol - the Home Version. Every week you get together with your friends and sing away. You can even dress up and pretend to be one of the guys who is really just pulling a stunt so he can get on tv. Laugh it up and have some fun. Somebody can play Simon, Paula, and Randy, except without some of the more bitter comments. The "judges" can offer advice on how to improve your performance for next week.

What I think would be really cool is Faith Journey - The Home Version, also know as Faith Journey - the Multiplayer Version. Every week a group of folks would get together and talk about their journeys. They could talk about the really cool things that have happened. They could share about anything they are really struggling with. And because it's all done in (serious) fun and with a group of folks who really care about you, you can get some advice on how to make your journey better if you need it. You can even hear about some things that you need to change because they might jeopardize your journey.

For me, some aspects of the faith journey are like going to the gym and working out. You get stronger because you struggle with the weights. The good thing about the gym is there are other people there to assist with the struggle so you don't get injured. There are even special machines to help you with the right motions to further prevent injury. It's a safe environment. A faith journey should never be taken alone. It should be done with others, in a safe environment where you can struggle and have the help of others to prevent injury. Of course, the people in your group must be willing to help and not just watch you get injured, just like you shouldn't just watch another yourself.

But you have to be willing to play Faith Journey - the Home Version instead of Faith Journey for 1 player. One of the reasons I can't bench press 250 pounds, besides not working out (smile), is I typically work out alone so I have to stop the struggle short of what it could potentially and beneficially be. I'm glad my faith journey has not been that way. My journey has always been a group activity and I am so much the better for it. Give it a try. Go get your own copy of Faith Journey - the Multiplayer Journey wherever Faith Journey products are sold.

You can be the Next American Idol - Yeah, right!

It’s back! American Idol returned last week. I admit it. I got hooked last year. I really wanted Bo to win. But I NEVER EVER voted. For the next few weeks, I will carve out a couple of hours a week to watch people with big dreams try to do something they should never attempt – sing in public. I’ve got friends and family who will stop watching as soon as the real contest begins and they no longer show the rejects from the tryouts. Admittedly, that’s what got me to watching. Seeing William Hung’s rendition of She Bangs convinced me I better not miss such “quality” entertainment.

Now, I don’t for a minute think that Simon, Paula, and Randy suffer in the slightest. But would you want to sit thru thousands of obviously untalented people who really thought they were the next American Idol? There are some who tryout and it’s clear by the stunts they pull that they are just trying to get on television. But I honestly think that most of the contestants believe they have a chance. Besides Simon acting like a jerk, why else would they come out so hurt emotionally?

I have never been accused of being an overly compassionate guy, but I also have to wonder why some of these people’s friends and family don’t stop them from making fools of themselves? It’s one thing to be supportive and I know that mothers never want to hurt their children. But come on! Don’t pump somebody up and encourage them to do something that they really can’t do.

I know it’s a hard row to hoe, but as a real friend or father I have to lovingly encourage people NOT to do certain things. It’s part of that tough love thing. There are times that I watch people on their faith journeys and I can see they are doing things they never should be doing. Or they are just heading in the wrong direction. It has to be done delicately in some cases, but it is far better to help someone make the corrections before they get too far. Maybe it’s the delicate part that steers most people away from helping their friends and families.

It REALLY bothers me in the church when a group of people on their faith journey together don’t step in to help a friend. If you see a friend heading in the wrong direction, shouldn’t you help turn them around? Why are we so afraid of being labeled judgmental? Is it better as a church family on a faith journey together to mourn with a person who is suffering the consequences of some bad choices because we didn’t step in? Or even worse, to mourn the absence of that friend from our family because they have abandoned the journey altogether? I don’t think either one is a viable option.

So what do we do about it? If you are on a faith journey, how and when do you want to be advised of how you are doing? I’d like to know your good AND bad experiences. What are your thoughts?

They're gonna put me in the movies . . .

I saw the teaser trailer for Superman Returns the other day. As you watch scenes from the movie, you hear the voice of Jor-El, played by Marlon Brando. This isn’t an exact quote, but he says, “They are not a bad people. They can be a great race. All they need is someone to guide them. That’s why I’m sending you, my only son, to be a shining light to guide the way.” I immediately recognized what I’m sure is an intentional comparison by the movie writers – Jesus. Jesus, God’s only son, called himself the “Light of the world”. He was sent to save us from the destruction caused by sin.

Watching that trailer made me think about all the other parallels to Jesus you find in the movies or even in literature. I could write for days and never exhaust the list. George Lucas borrowed many elements from Christianity in the theology of Star Wars. Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, gives us a Jesus-like character with suddenly miraculous powers, brought about by sudden flash of light one night ( a star of Bethlehem perhaps?). Eleven year old Trevor McKinney in Pay it Forward shows us how we ought to live and then gives his life for a friend. You certainly can’t leave out Neo from the Matrix Trilogy.

There are others that might not seem so obvious like John Conley from The Green Mile. He performs miracles and even has the same initials. Some movies never set up a perfect or even miraculous hero, but always end with a moment of self-sacrifice for the good of the world – Bruce Willis in Armageddon or Robert DeNiro in Sudden Impact. Mr. Spock even said the “good of the many outweigh the needs of the few” right before giving up his life in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, only to be resurrected in Star Trek 3:The Search for Spock.

Here’s my question. Why is this such a popular theme or motif? Is there something within us that is naturally searching for such a person? If so why is that need there? Why don’t we find obvious widespread use of Hindu themes and theology in film and literature or any other religion for that matter? Is it because down deep we somehow know there really is only one way and it is through Jesus Christ?

Just a thought. What are yours?

Little Old Lady's yard

Driving home today I passed one of those immaculate yards. It's not very big. The house that sits on it is modest, possibly even invisible it is so "unimpressive." A little old lady lives there. I've never spoken to her, but having seen her many many times, I estimate she is close to ninety years old, if not older. On my numerous trips past her house, I have watched her shuffle her feet to her mail box or some other task in her yard. If by chance I had stopped and timed her, I bet it would take her over five minutes to "walk" a short distance of twenty yards. Today I drove by and watched her slowly shuffle around, picking up stray leaves that had fallen during last night's rain. Like I said, her yard was already spotless. It was just these three or four more leaves.

I wonder, is it easier to keep your yard immaculate the more time you have? Is it easier if you have been doing it longer? I know that size certainly matters.

Are our faith journeys easier as time goes by? The longer we journey, do we find it easier to be more thorough in picking up or dealing with those little things that litter our relationships with God? Do we discover that we WANT to be more thorough? If this is one of those process kinda things where we find we get better as time goes by, can we speed up the process? I bet by the time I'm ninety I'll know.

yard work

I finally got all my leaves ready for pickup. I had raked them into nice piles about a month ago. Here in Asheboro, the city will come by and vacuum them up if you pile them on the curb. I've not had an opportunity to get them to the curb til today. They're all piled up, on the curb, ready for the big vacuum truck to come by. Well, almost all. I left one big pile for the boys to play in, partly as a reward for helping me get them to the curb.

As I was wrapping things up, I surveyed the yard. I compared my yard with many that I have seen. Some yards are absolutely immaculate. There is not even a stem from a leaf to be found. My yard, by those standards still has quite a few scattered here and there. I'm also one of the last in my neighborhood to get the leaves to the curb. Some guys finished their immaculate yards back before Thanksgiving. But I'm satisfied with how my yard looks.

Of course, I began to look at this situation with spiritual metaphors in mind. There are about a gazillion that could be explored. I'll leave the exploration up to you. I'm just going to list a few.
- The scattered remnants of leaves are like the remnants of sin left in our lives, even after our "conversion experience". What can be done about those and how does it affect our faith journey?
- I may be satisfied with my yard/current state of my faith journey, but should I be? How does God feel about it? Am I ignoring something important for my journey?
- from a more cynical perspective, are the yards that LOOK more immaculate on the surface any better than the others around it?

Just a thought.

Parable of the iPod - Part 2

It's here! And it came a lot sooner than I expected. I went home during my break this morning and my brand new, engraved, ready to change my world iPod had arrived.

An interesting thing has happened since announcing my purchase. I've been getting links from friends about all sorts of things iPod related. Some of them lead me to more expensive technology that looks really cool but too expensive. Others are about the types of things you can do with your iPod. I haven't checked into it yet, but I bet places like CompUSA or Best Buy even have classes on how to use your iPod.

Which got me to thinking. I've got some good friends who are very encouraging on how to get the most out of my iPod. I know there are books out there as well to help me in that same area. How would my faith journey be any different if after having my conversion experience my friends had been as equally encouraging in getting the most out of my relationship with God? Besides the Bible, were there any other books or manuals that could have helped in that area? What about some kind of beginners class?

To my friends defense, they didn't know much more than I did and they certainly had not been shown how to help others. After struggling for a couple of years, I was fortunate enough to be part of a church where there was someone to encourage me and teach me such important lessons. I later learned that this what they call "discipleship." That church and its spiritual leadership are a big reason why I am who I am today.

I hope that anyone who makes such an important decision in their lives finds that type of encouragement and guidance. A new users group so to speak. Nobody likes to go buy a new gadget or device and have no idea how to best use it. Just a thought.

iPod!

Well, I finally did it. I bought an iPod. Engraved on the back and everything. That probably puts me in the late adopter category. Some of the early adopters out there would look down upon me as a band wagon fan, finally getting on board after everyone else is doing it. Some might even be a bit more snobbish, saying I’m just buying the latest gadget because everyone else has one and I want to be cool.

Both perspectives would be wrong. I’ve wanted an iPod since the first one hit the market back around 2000. I remember Christmas of 1999. MP3 players were just hitting the scene. Most had 256 MB capacity. I considered buying one. Then Apple announced the iPod. Whoa, its capacity was huge – 5 MB I think. So was its price tag. The price tag and hardware requirements kept me from buying one. My grape iMac did not have the necessary port, and since that machine was less than a year old, I was not about to replace it, just so I could buy an iPod.

I’ve since had access to computers that would enable me to use an iPod, but I have held out on buying one till now. Why? Because I knew the price would go down and the capacity would go up. Now that I have taken the plunge, I’m sure that within four months Apple will upgrade again and for the same price or less I will be able to store twice as many songs, video, or photos. Heck, they will probably enable it to play video games as well. For me, adoption of the latest technology is not about understanding or lack of vision. I’m as big a gadget freak as the next male. I get excited about technology and all its uses. It’s about economics. I still have that grape iMac, only because I can’t afford to buy another machine. When I count the financial cost, it almost always becomes prohibitive.

When I think about my faith journey, I don’t know if I would be considered an early or a late adopter. I grew up in church. Went almost every Sunday. I would not say that I came from a particularly religious family, but I went to church enough to understand what was going on and all the implications it had for my soul. During the spring of my senior year of high school, right before my seventeenth birthday, I took the faith plunge. I had my official “conversion experience”. All my friends had made similar decisions throughout the previous year. I kept holding out because there were certain sins I wanted to commit before pledging to live a life of holiness.

Looking at all this from an adoption perspective, some might consider me an early adopter because of my age. Some might categorize me as a “early” late adopter because most people who make such decisions do so before the age of 14. Another group would argue I only did it to keep up with my friends, therefore I was a late adopter.

I wonder how others feel as they go through their own faith journey, especially those who already are or will be late adopters. What do they really want and why? Do they feel the snobbish glances from the long-time Christians who wonder when all the sinners around them are going to finally straighten out? What is the cost analysis taking place in the late adopters' hearts and minds that keeps pushing the decision back? Let’s not forget the early adopters and their journeys. What caused them to make such an early decision as to pursue a life of Christian faith?

Oh well. I can’t wait for my iPod to get here. I’m excited about all the ways it will change my life. Just a thought.