On Walden's Pond Scum

One day years ago my youngest, Becky, came to me and said,  "Hey Dad, I heard something funny today", to which I responded, "Funny Ha Ha, or funny interesting?"  From then on we always ask each other that same question when one of us wants to share "something funny".

I'm out on the road quite a bit, either working or commuting, and I tend to hear and see a lot of funny things.  Just in the last two weeks (1) I drove past a car parked along side the freeway and saw a heavy set man wearing grey sweatpants leaning into his trunk to get something, thus exposing his whole naked back end - Yikes!  Funny interesting, and (2) While riding shotgun on a road test I look over at a house and see a brown wood shelf inside at the middle of a picture window, curtains covering the window except for the shelf, and a big, very live grey cat sitting on top of the shelf watching the traffic go by - Also funny interesting.

And then there are things I hear on NPR (National Public Radio) on my commute.  I guess you be the funny judge.

I am very conservative and NPR tends to be very liberal.  Now just to generalize things, liberal thought is pro big government, pro choice, pro environment and pro tolerance.  Tolerance applies to any thought or action that is not mainstream but not to any Christian view that has absolutes.  This really all harkens back to the transcendentalist movement of the 19th century and it's literary masterpiece WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau, who, after sucking out all the marrow of life taught us that all ideas, especially those furthest away from conservative thought, are equally valid.  Thus if someone liberal associates you with the S word you should take it as a compliment, but if it comes from a conservative and now knowing what you know, you should respond - "That's funny".

I'm listening to NPR on the way home and there is a discussion on the ethics of doctors refusing to treat children whose parents have not seen that they have received their immunization shots.  I thought this would be interesting because I just talked with a very successful man who did not believe that immunization shots were safe for his kids.  He told me that he did a lot of independent research on the subject and that he believed that the doses given to very young children were way to much for their small bodies and that things such as autism could result.  His family stays away from processed foods and this guy says that his three children are never sick.

I'm not saying what is right and wrong here.  The guest professional in ethics, standing with current scientific opinion that there is no correlation between immunizations and autism presented clearly what the ethical problems were for doctors.  What I thought was "funny" here was her statement that "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of children have died from childhood sicknesses such as measles".  I began to wonder how much "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions" was.  Hundreds of millions would be at least 200 million, but hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions would be, what, billions or trillions?

And then, after agreeing with a call in doctor that a paternalistic approach works best with her patients in the South who believe all this non scientific mumbo jumbo, the guest professional went into a coughing jag.  A very bad coughing jag that went on for minutes.  It may have been minutes and minutes and minutes.  I thought back to the guy with the healthy kids and verbalized in my car, funny Ha Ha.

Usually at the time I drive home NPR has on The Environment Report, which is produced by Michigan Public Radio and so includes mostly stories involving environmental efforts in Michigan.  A while back there was an segment where, because of the players, there were no clear liberal good and bad guys.  It seems that there was a Hindu retreat center located along the banks of a popular trout stream somewhere in Northern Michigan.  They built themselves a meditation pond which of course is liberal good but were being sued by a Ducks Unlimited, a Michigan hunting and fishing organization, which should be liberal bad because they promote gun use except that here their cause was liberal good because the mediation pond needed to be flushed from time to time and the resulting silt destroyed hatching areas for the trout downstream.  Mind you, the Hindu's right to their pond was equal to the fishes right to reproduce but some bad karma led to the unfortunate but necessary lawsuit.  Conflict can be funny.

I thought of this story last weekend when Jackie and I drove down to Tennessee to see our grand kids play a little soccer.  Jackie has just gotten over a cold and now I have it.  We are in a Courtyard by Marriott near Nashville, it is the middle of the night, the room is pitch black and I need to get up and go to the bathroom.  I swing my legs over to the floor but in my sickened condition I forget that my side of the bed is only about a foot away from the wall, which my forehead crashes into when I begin to stand up.  This results in a quarter size round bright red wound in the middle of my forehead.

The next morning after taking a shower I notice that Marriott hangs a pretty tag on the towel rack  It says that being a "green" company is very important to them so we must be sure to hang up any wet towels.  They provided no other explanation.  Perhaps our landfills are being clogged with mildewed towels from Marriott. I did as requested but am pretty sure they would not care for the round blood mark left on the wash towel.

That morning we go see Dafney play and then drive over to Knoxville for Brendan's first game.  To get to the field we drive a few miles of curving back country roads and just before we get to the soccer field, on the same side of the road, is a Hindu cultural center.  I looked in my rear view mirror to check out the red circle on my forehead, scanned the property to locate a meditation pond and thought that this was all too funny. There was a pond about a mile prior with several cows nearby but none here.

I set up my lawn chair, breathed in the fresh country mountain air, watch my grandson score a beautiful goal and forget for awhile that I am sick and wounded.  Ah, wonderful meditation!

This Year's Family Fast

Once again we get the chance to spend the next 40 days praying and fasting for what the Holy Spirit has placed on our hearts.  Earlier this week Jackie and I talked about what we felt we should be praying for and this morning, day one, I opened up my daily scripture reading to Psalm 112.  In God's wonderful timing it  spoke to me deeply about this year's prayer goals but also about what has been heavy on my heart for quite some time.

The Psalm speaks about both blessing and judgment.  The perspective though is not about praying to get something,  Instead it is about an awareness of who and where we are in God's plan while in the midst of this mixed up world.  It assures me that what I do today will have meaning long after the struggle is no longer mine.  So much in this world is but an allusion.  While we are driven to lust for what will become dust, obedience and trust in Him will never disappoint.

Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, 
who greatly delights in His commandments,
His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed,
Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever,

Light arises in the darkness for the upright;
He is gracious and compassionate and righteous,

It is well with the man who is gracious and lends;
He will maintain his course in judgment,
For he will never be shaken;

The righteous will be remembered forever.
He will not fear evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord,
His heart is upheld, he will not fear,
Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.

He has given freely to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted in honor.

The wicked will see it and be vexed,
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked will perish.

"Love Means . . . "

In the 70's movie LOVE STORY (#9 on the lost of all time romantic movies) pretty Ali MacGraw tells even prettier Ryan O'Neil that love means never having to say your sorry.  Half way through the movie O'Neil's character finds out from a doctor that MacGraw's character has an incurable disease but he doesn't tell her because graduating 3rd from Harvard Law School he learned never to give a direct answer.  She suspects something is a foot when O'Neil cries every time MacGraw calls him "Preppy" and never recovers from her bad luck, bad writing and bad acting.  Later on Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman parody the movie with one of my favorite lines ever, which goes something like - "Love means never having to say your sorry (cough, cough)."

Saturday morning I get up and ask Jackie if she had a good night sleep.  She tells me that she has a terrible sore throat.and that I better load up on vitamin C.  We ride to work together and soon my first customer arrives.  "How are you doing today Julian?" I ask.  "Not so good.  I have a teweble cold." he mumbles.  After a half an hour drive with my window down and purposely not engaging in any unnecessary conversation with Julian my next person arrives.  Dylan has thick glasses, a really bad greased down hair cut, is barely audible and his mouth is constantly open.  I think perhaps this guy is mentally challenged and don't converse with him either but realize half way through our drive that this is just another sick dude breathing through his mouth who happens to have a bad hair cut.

Well, right now I'm felling good.  I've taken another 1000 whatever of vitamin C this morning and have been praying for protection from nasty germs.  This should be a good week (cough, cough). 

This Will Be Written For The Generation To Come

From Psalm 102 we read:

You, O Lord, abide forever,
and Your name to all generations. (v 12)

This will be written for the generation to come,
that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.

For He looked down from His holy height;
from heaven the Lord gazed upon the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,

That men may tell of the name of the Lord (vs 18-21)


This psalm reminds me that I am more than a cog in the wheel of time, spinning out my days with no purpose.  One day I met the Master and His Spirit formed in me a desire to honor, serve and praise Him.  He is good!  He is trustworthy.  He has not disappointed.

It also reminds me that my life is not my own.  I find myself as the psalmist did with shortening days in a world filled with prisoners, sick and in self centered misery, who are condemned to spend eternity apart from the loving Lord.  Although I can only do what I can do I am charged with proclaiming to this generation the mercies of the Lord with the hope that many more will be able to join in the chorus of praise to their Savior.

And I am charged as well to remind this world the old saying that God has no grandchildren.  I proclaim to my children and others what the Lord has done and is doing in my life.  They must have their own God stories to proclaim, to family, to friends and to the next generation.  We change, but the Lord does not.  One day all generations of the redeemed with join together to worship and praise Him.

Of old you founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of your hands.
Even they will perish,
but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.

But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.  (vs 25-28)      

On Gretel's Path

When the Beasty was young

parents took Gret aside

showed her the beauty

mixed knowledge and pride

said if you are careful

our Beasty to ride

she'll love you and serve you

but Gret's parents lied

Seems Beasty was hungry

but always well fed

so thousands adored her

from doorway to shed

they'd pet from stone benches

she'd follow where led

Gret thought it was tame

it was hungry instead

One day parents left

to never return

and Beasty stayed still

missing love that was earned

then let out a roar

for appetite spurned

the Beasty was wild

and not our concern

Years later I heard

Gret looked for that beast

gathered plump juicy tasties

and set out a feast

found doorway and shed

on a path made her peace

such a beautiful creature -

WATCH YOUR BACK AT LEAST

More Than Coupon Snippers

As I approached the car I noticed that Lydia had a very sour look on her face.  In 14 years I've seen nervous.  I've seen happy.  I've seen nervous covered up by happy but this was something quite different, definitely a sour look.

Lydia who is 18 passes the Basic Skills and so we go out on the driving portion of the test.  Eventually I learn that she had attended a Christian school in town and because I was not familiar with it I asked her what denomination the students came from.  That too was new to me but given the name I could guess that it was to the far far conservative side of the Reformed tradition.  Around here we have from left to right;  Reformed, Christian Reformed, Protestant Reformed and then these guys.  I casually remark to Lydia that I suppose when she is looking to get married she is expected to choose someone from her denomination.  She tells me that is true and it might be a little difficult because there are only two local congregations and one of them is a little suspect in their theology.

I was able to get Lydia to almost smile a couple of times and being the curious type I did some research on her church when I got home.  Although I'm not going to go into any of the particulars just let me say that if I was a woman who attended that church I might look a little sour myself from time to time.    

Twice this past week I have been humbled by the example of women who heard from God and were obedient to His lead.  God moved through them into the lives and situations of others.  They had support from their husbands but the courage was theirs to step out in faith and then trust that God would do His part.  My response when hearing their reports is one of logic - Yes, this is the way the Holy Spirit moves, I am pleased and encouraged by the testimonies.  On the contrary their response to the move of God included logic plus emotion - We have heard from One who loves them and us, He has blessed the situation, He is so good!

It was to man that God gave the original prime directive.  God planted a garden, put man into it to cultivate it and keep it and then caused to grow out of the ground all sorts of trees that were pleasing to the sight and good for food.  In the midst of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Before the first woman entered the scene God charged mankind with this command; From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.

Later on a woman (taken out of man) was placed in the garden to be a helper suitable for man.  She was with him when the serpent questioned the prime directive.  "Has God said you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?  The woman replies that God said they may eat from any of the trees in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, adding that they were not even allowed to touch it or they would die.  (My guess is that the man said to the woman one day on a walk;  "Honey, see that tree. The fruit'll kill you.  Don't even touch it!)  The serpent responds; You surely shall not die!  For in the day you eat from it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

It was the woman who saw that the tree was good for food and was a delight to the eyes and that it was desirable to make one wise.  It was the man standing next to her that did nothing.  He let the serpent talk.  He watched her pluck the fruit from the forbidden tree and then eat from it.  Then when she didn't keel over but instead offered him some he took the fruit from her and ate as well.

For the first time the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew they were naked.  In response they sew fig leaves together and make themselves loin coverings.  They then hear the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and attempt to hide among the trees.  God finds them and the man does the manly thing, he tries to blame it on the woman.

Later God says to the woman; I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth your children;  Yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

To the man God says;  Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying "You shall not eat of it";  Cursed is the ground because of you;  In toil you shall eat of it . . . By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground because from it you were taken.  For you are dust and to dust you shall return.

Now the Lord God makes garments of skin for the man and the woman and clothes them.  Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil . . . God banishes them from the garden less they also eat from the tree of life and live forever.  Man loses his position as caretaker of the garden with all the benefits that provided.  He must now fight the rocks and thorns and thistles to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. The woman would be his partner.

This is the story of all of us.  It is where we came from and speaks of who we are and shows us where we are going.  Time and space does not permit me to explain to you the love that is in the blood, implied from the skin coverings, which is the story of our redemption.  I cannot here show you how many themes are carried throughout scripture that begin with this simple story.   Many times I have started here to help explain and understand how God designed us - body, soul and spirit - and what went wrong there by the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  But not today.

Instead I want to focus now in the most simple way upon the condition of the heart of man, a condition began those thousands of years ago and just as evident today as ever.  For the unbeliever it leads to eternal death.  For the believer it leads to temporary separation from fellowship with the Father.  For both it leads to legalism, with or without religion, that substitutes for the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  It would seem reasonable to assume that prior to the tree incident man had walked and talked with the Lord God many times.  Sometimes they might discuss the needs of the garden.  Sometimes God might ask how things are going with the woman.   Sometimes God might tell man the story about how he made everything, saw that it was good and rested from His labors.  Sometimes God might explain the rebellion of the evil one, the most beautiful creature who was a murderer and liar from the beginning.  By walking with God man and woman had all the wisdom they would ever need.

And you will be like God, knowing good and evil.  Why did the Lord God place in the midst of the garden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and then command man and woman not to eat from it? This I do not know.  I do know that throughout scripture God tests man to see where his heart is.  Will we trust Him even if we don't understand?  Do we want Him alone to be our Lord God?  Can we admire the beauty of what He has created and still not touch?

I am going to tell you a secret.  A lot of people in modern society believe that they are like God, knowing good and evil.  As long as they try to live a good life as they themselves define it or are mostly obedient to their particular religion they will be OK.  Obey the rules and you will get your golden ticket.

Some think that there is no hope for them, realizing that they have fallen far short of what their religion demands or what they have designed themselves.  They believe the hill of redemption is not climbable.

Friends, all of these avenues are nothing but fig leaves.  

I will not blame the woman of the story for the state of this world.  I will not deny her the chance to walk with the Lord God in the cool of the day by eating from the forbidden fruit and becoming her Lord.  I will cherish her and protect her and encourage her to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  And then we will sit down and admire the beauty of creation and plan how together we can follow this awesome Lord of ours.  And when I fall short, as I often do, she will show me what love and compassion and generosity are and tell me what she is hearing the Spirit say.

                

Simultaneous Translation

When you look at the list of names for the day's tests and see the second to last one is someone identified as Saw Tee thoughts run through your head.  Will he or she need a translator?  Have they ever driven before this month?  Is my will up to date?

Yesterday a car arrives at the appropriate time, a nice Asian gentleman gets out of the vehicle, says "Hello Bob, and then informs me that the guy who will take the test is on the way but will be using this car.  Since there are many times when people say they are "on the way" and will be there any moment but then they still have not arrived a half an hour later I tell the gentleman that his friend has 10 minutes to get here or I will not have enough time to conduct the test.

He tells me that he is doing a favor for the pastor of the church that is sponsoring this particular group of refuges, then gets out his cell phone, calls someone, and for several minutes is very insistent with whomever he is talking to, speaking in another language but interspersed with "right now!"  Five minutes later another vehicle arrives and out from the back pops Mr. Tee.  He is a nice looking, well built guy and I'm guessing he is originally from someplace like Burma or Nepal.

Before they arrived I asked the first guy if he would be translating and because he was I asked to see his driver's license to record the name and license number on my test form.  He told me that most people called him Tom.  I tell Tom to have Mr. Tee get in the car and we would begin by conducting a vehicle inspection.  Tom points to his vehicle and says to Mr. Tee; "Get in car!"  I then go to the front of the car and say to tap the horn.  "Horn!  Beep! Beep!" translates Tom.  Then I ask for the right and left turn signals.  "Signals!" translates Tom, pointing first to the right one and then the left.  At the back of the car I ask for Tee to step on the brakes.  "Brakes!" insists Tom to Tee.

I then begin to give the instructions for the parking maneuvers.  Now here to get the full impact of my experience I want you practice saying "that way" as Tom would say it.  For me to be able to duplicate it I need to first close my eyes as hard as possible and then pronounce "that" a little clipped, as in "tht" and "way" a little elongated and through the nostrils in a higher pitched voice as in "wAAAy".  Got it?  Good.

I tell Tom to tell Tee that it will be a penalty any time the vehicle goes over a yellow line or hits a cone and that it is also a penalty each time the vehicle goes from reverse to forward.  Immediately Tom informs Tee; "Yellow line.  Bad!  Cones.  Bad!  Your car go this way, not that way!"  Then I point to the yellow forward stop line which is the first exercise and tell Tom to tell Tee that he needs to pull forward and get his vehicle close to but not on or past the yellow line in front of us. When he is done put the vehicle in park and tap the horn.  Tom responds; "You go that way!  That way!  Yellow line bad!  Then horn.  Beep!  Beep!"

We go on with the parking lot portion of the test.  About every fifth word is in another language so I'm thinking that maybe Tee really needs a translator but it's like I'm saying something and the echo comes back instantly and everything has somehow become quite garbled.  Mr. Tee does quite well on the parking portion and we go out for our drive.  The first section is in a residential area.  I say to turn left at the next intersection, Tom translates; "Intersection.  That way!"  We get to the four way stop and Tee blows right through it.  We head back to start and I spend a few minutes explaining the error to Tom and Tee using visual aides as best I can.  Although Tee hasn't said one word this whole time Tom tells me that Tee doesn't understand why he failed so he will drive him back to the spot and show him.

I get out of the vehicle and head to my car and then Tom walks over.  I have 5 more guys that need to get their test.  When can we do it?  And I'm thinking that I really need to look at that will again.