Category: personal

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May I Recognize That God Is Here

This past Sunday I encouraged those that make up Tapestry to join me in a modified “liturgy of the hours“. The hours (or Divine Office, Divine Hours, or any number of other names) are prayers and scripture readings that are said every three hours in certain Christian traditions. They start at midnight and then happen every three hours after. Their purpose is to continually direct our attention toward God. For as Methodist missionary E. Stanley Jones wrote:

Whatever we focus on determines what we become.

So the hours help us to focus on Christ and hopefully become more like Jesus. I encouraged everyone to pick some moments during their day to stop and recognize that God is near. For me those times are 9 am, noon, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm. I have various alarms set to remind me of the time. When I feel the alarm (I have my phone set to vibrate for these alarms), I take a moment out of whatever I am doing, or whoever I am with, and simply pray “Father, help me to see and know that you are here. In my circumstances right now you are here. Help me to see where you are.” That’s it.

It has been great and difficult at the same time. It has definitely redirected my thoughts a few times. I wasn’t thinking the best at a few moments and I had to change that because I was reminded that God was there. I have also discovered that if I am not focused on the hours happening it becomes easy for me to float right on through them. I have become aware of the time and how close the next hour is.

I’m trying this for a couple of weeks to see what happens. I’ve encouraged “threads” to join me and we’ll talk about it one Sunday.

SIDE NOTE – I took Montana out for her first ride with the top down in Buddy the Mustang today. She was pretty thrilled. Here’s a picture of my old gal of a basset hound to brighten your day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t take this photo while driving. We had just stopped at Belt’s for Montana to get a pup cup with Pamela, who was already there.

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240 Wagon

I can’t really say why but around 5 years ago I developed a fascination with Volvo 240 wagons, quite possibly the most stereotyped suburban vehicle ever. Take the stereotype of a minivan and turn it into a wagon and you will have a Volvo 240. They aren’t flashy. They aren’t fast1 . They are just boringly awesome. I think they are spiffy as all get out.

I want one as my winter beater. I picture driving around with my fishing equipment and duck hunting gear in the back. My canoe on the top. Ah, that’s living.

One day I will have one of these fine automobiles and drive it during the Winter when I am scared of the salt on the roads hurting Buddy the Mustang. Pam will be by my side, Montana in the back seat, and a Diet Coke in my hand. We’ll leave the cat at home. It will be a wonderful day.

SIDE NOTE – Since the Point area is a small area there is a decent chance that someone i know actually knows the person that owns the 240. If you do please pass on to them my respect. Whoever it is has a wonderful vehicle.

  1. I heard someone describe the take off speed of a 240 wagon as “zero to sixty eventually [↩]
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A High-Flow Toilet

Though i will readily admit that my writing is often crappy I wouldn’t normally post a video of a toilet on my blog. I ran across this toilet today and was surprised by how long the flush takes. Whatever the opposite of a low-flow toilet is called (I assume a high-flow toilet) is what this toilet is. If you care to

Also this has got to be the first toilet I have ever seen where the inside of the basin is a gray color.

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The Yellow Christ

When Jürgen Moltmann wrote “The Crucified God” he had a copy of Gauguin‘s “Yellow Christ” behind his desk. I can’t remember where I read or heard this but I believe he placed it there because it reminded him of the viciousness of the death of God in a world that pretends to be so pastoral and bucolic. It’s calm, beautiful, and life continues going on in a painting that is depicting the most tragic and meaningful event in history. It is a huge contrast.

I now have a print of the “Yellow Christ” behind me with the addition of a signed poster from Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. This should be even better, right? So if I don’t write a ground breaking work of theology in the next 5 years I’m blaming Taylor. Pull your weight Steve!

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Quote from Rutledge's "The Crucifixion" – Scripture

To understand the nature of gospel preaching, we need to understand the nature of the Scripture itself. There is a fundamental syntactical distinction between saying “we question the Bible” and “the Bible questions us.” It is common, in congregations, to hear of subjects like “Using the Bible in Small Groups.” But we do not “use” the Bible; if we attempt to do so, it will slip away from us, leaving something opaque and very much less dynamic in its place. Contrary to the story line in many “spiritual” journals, the biblical narrative does not tell of our journey toward God; it is the other way around. The right approach is not “What questions do I have to ask of the Bible?” but “What questions does the Bible have to ask of me?” God does not wait for Adam to start looking for him; it is God who comes looking with the question, “Adam where are you?” – the first words spoken to fallen humanity. God says to Job, “Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you will answer me.” God is the one who says, “i will shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer. 33:3 KJV)

Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, pp. 19-20

I remember Boo Helfin1 , my Old Testament professor at Southwestern Seminary, stewing when he heard someone say “I teach the Bible.” He was far to kind to call someone out in public for such an unintentional slip, but he would definitely rant to us, his students, so that we would learn that the Bible doesn’t need us to teach it anything, instead it is we who need to be taught by the scripture.

  1. Dr. Heflin was also one of the toughest and most amazing teachers I have ever experienced. I made two Bs during my Masters of Divinity and OT 2 was one of those Bs. He is also the reason that I love the book of Amos [↩]
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Can't Have It Both Ways

Just a quick note. If you normally want an unnamed person to eat leftovers during the work week then you can’t also be upset when that unnamed person eats leftovers that you decided to have for supper that night when the unnamed person had to leave early for training in Raleigh. It just can’t work that way.

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Stranger Things Soundproof Houses

Watching Stranger Things with Pam and one thing I have noticed is that apparently everyone else’s house is easier to climb into and much more soundproof than any that I have ever lived in. These people can have very loud conversations in their basement and nobody on the floor above them can hear a single word. Also apparently anybody can climb onto the roof of a house and sneak into a bedroom without anyone noticing. Apparently these people have some very well insulated houses. I’m not sure who built them but movie houses are either high quality work or everyone in Hollywood is deaf.

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This American Life Episode on the Travel Ban

If you haven’t listened to the “This American Life” episode on the travel ban (609: It’s Working Out Very Nicely) I would recommend doing so. I believe it does a very good job of putting faces to some of those affected by the ban.

I have embedded it below.

UPDATE – so I was wrong that it was embedded. I’m presently working on fixing the link.

UPDATED UPDATE – not sure why the embeddable player isn’t working on my blog since I copied the code from This American Life’s share feature. Therefore, I am just posting a link here. Go listen to it on their site or better yet subscribe to their podcast and listen to it on your favorite podcasting app. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/609/it%E2%80%99s-working-out-very-nicely

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Praying for the President

NOTE – I wrote this blog post a little over a week ago based on some struggles I had been experiencing with people who I care for. I was going to post it right after writing it, then the Executive Order travel ban happened. As a result of the ban I worried at that time because of the circumstances that my post might not be viewed I in the manner I had intended. So I postponed this post until today.

I have said before that I talk politics not politicians at church, chaplaincy, and on this blog but I’m going to break that for the beginning of this post. The reason I am going to break my previous statement is because it is necessary for the subject that I wish to write about – praying for the president.

My friend Kirby, a poli sci professor at Texas A & M, posted a Google Chrome extension (PolitEcho) that analyzes one’s Facebook “friends” and places them on a continuum of political ideology. Below is its analysis of my “friends”.

 

As you can see from the above graphic of my friends, if it is accurate, I am apparently drawn to people who have an extreme range in political thought. I know for a fact that several of my friends are having trouble praying for our current president and I also know that some other friends have had trouble praying for previous presidents. I have heard this as a friend, a pastor, and a chaplain.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 reads as follows:

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

That isn’t a suggestion. It is a directive. Following that command is obviously easier when you like the president that is currently in office. It isn’t necessarily very easy if you really don’t like the president and feel like he (and thus far it has always been a “he”) is dangerous for the country.

Yet scripture tells us believers to pray for him. is a pretty big deal since Paul was telling Christians to do this during a political regime that would soon want to kill them. Yes praying for the emperor was smart. It showed that Christians, while having very different values, weren’t trying to overthrow the empire. Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire for many things but the biggest reason was that we were viewed as bad citizens for not being willing to sacrifice and worship the emperor1 . Christianity wants to transform countries, not necessarily depose kings. Praying for Caesar didn’t mean supporting what he was doing in Rome. In fact, the followers of Christ worked to change the world that the Caesars wanted to create. So Paul instructed followers of Christ to pray for their political leaders. This is usually fine and dandy with people when we like the leader.

But not so much when we don’t.

One of my favorite aspects of Anne Lamott’s book “Plan B” is her honesty in admitting that she didn’t want to pray for President George W Bush, a president that I voted for twice. She knew she needed to pray for him because she claimed to follow Christ. She knew that it is written scripture that Christians should pray for their political leaders. Of course, this didn’t mean that she wanted to pray for him. So she prayed for God to help her pray for the president. I love prayer like that and I believe God does too. It reminds me of the father in scripture who prays “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief”2 .

I’m convinced that praying for President Trump means asking for God’s best for him while also asking for the best for our country. Asking that the duties of the office of the presidency won’t destroy his marriage or family. That love in his marriage and family will grow during his time in office. Asking the Father to help President Trump to make very difficult decisions and to make the right decisions. To know when to listen and to whom to listen.  Praying for him to be surrounded by people who will offer him good advice and help him to see the American way. Praying for humility for the man who now sits in the oval office. Praying for him to be able to find ways of peace for our country in a world off war. Most importantly praying that God will make himself known to President Trump and that Donald Trump will also know that he himself is known by God. That’s actually a pretty dangerous prayer because while it is best for all of us to encounter God it also tends to flip everything one thinks upside down.

None of the above means that we can’t pray for certain of his policies to be stopped from going into action. Nor does it mean that one can’t pray for his time in office to be as short as possible. It just means that we need to be praying for him and his life. I believe that praying for our leaders affects our attitudes toward them. It might help to love him like Christ does, as a child created in the image of God no matter how marred that image might be. I can pray for President Trump while also praying for policies that I am convinced are more consistent with the American way.

  1. The Emperor Cult was a crucial part of Roman power and the witness of Christians that “Jesus was Lord” was a direct affront to the Roman thought that “Caesar is lord”. [↩]
  2. Mark 9:24 [↩]
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Micah 6:8

Pam made these pillows a while back. They serve as a very good reminder.