"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John 1:1
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 199:105
Driving through Chickamauga Battlefield this afternoon, I was listening to my Straight Ahead CD of Amy Grant that I have enjoyed for many years. When she began singing "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path", I smiled remembering my five year old son singing every word. And remembered with awe and gratitude what happened on Lookout Mountain.
We all have done things that were dumb and dangerous. Maybe we got hurt and maybe we didn't. But since we lived to tell the tale, it makes for a really good story. Such was the case in the summer of 1986.
When our son was a baby and an adolescent we were fortunate to have found several really good babysitters. In the last few years of his need for a sitter, his favorite babysitter had a car. After that he demanded of us that any babysitter drive a car. But until then, the sitter either got a ride to our house or I went and picked her up and took her home. In this case I drove to Chattanooga Valley to pick her up and then later drove her home.
On my way back home at about ten o'clock pm, I noticed a thunder storm developing on Lookout Mountain. At that time I was under the illusion that my car would insulate me from a lightning strike. The metal frame of an automobile can offer some protection, but if 500 million volts of electricity had chosen to find the ground through me, then I would have been toast,
Until that night on Lookout Mountain, when I read Psalm 199 verse 105, I imagined God providing enough light in any situation for me to see the path ahead of me. I even recall a picture from childhood of a man with a lantern on a path to illustrate that verse. That's the light I imagined. What happened that night on Lookout Mountain changed all that.
I drove the four miles from the valley to the top of the mountain while I listened to Amy Grant. I shut off the engine. While continuing to listen to Amy sing, the storm was brewing. The lightning that had been approaching from a distance was now all around me, The lightning was blinding and the thunder was deafening. It was all simultaneous. There was no space between the two. The thunder actually shook the car. The only power I could compare it to was the televised roar and rumble of the Saturn V rocket as it lifted its Apollo payload off the pad at the Kennedy Space Center . Only I was witnessing this first hand. I was riding the rocket. Because of my delusional thinking, I had absolutely no fear; I just enjoyed the show. The light not only illumined the mountain, but illumined the valley as well. With each subsequent explosion, it was as bright as day. As the storm reached the peak of its intensity, over the roar I could hear Amy singing "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. When I feel afraid think I've lost my way still you're there right beside me. Nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be with me till the end." In a flash, so to speak, I experienced a paradigm shift of immense proportions.The "light of God" I realized is not a lantern or a flashlight, it is as bright as the surface of the sun, or of a billion suns. God doesn't give me light, He is the Light, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light."
The "Word" of John 1 is no less than the force that created the universe. That's what it says, "In the beginning was the Word." The Greeks called it Logos. The Chinese call it the Tao. Christians call it God. According to the very first verse of the Bible, when God stepped out into the void of nothingness, He said, "Let there be light! And there was Light." "Thy Word...is Light!"
Since that night I have never again intentionally put myself in harm's way regarding a thunder storm. I respect the warning, "If you can hear thunder, you can be struck by lightning." But when I'm in the presence of thunder and lightning, I'm also feel that I am in the Presence of the power of creation. I'm always reminded of who I am and Whose I am. I understand that God is very capable of helping me when I need Divine direction or whenever I'm going through a difficult time.
As I drove through Chickamauga Battlefield this afternoon and saw all of the artillery and stacks of cannonballs, I thought of the 125,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who fought there during the two nights and three days of that ferocious battle. I considered that the thunder of the cannons must have sounded a lot like the thunder on the mountain. The flash of the explosions was not unlike the flash of the lightning. But none of those soldiers were there intentionally like I was on Lookout Mountain. There was nothing fun or entertaining about those explosions. Whereas, I had no fear, fear was those soldiers' constant companion. I just hope that as those cannons boomed and cannonballs flashed, at least some of the soldiers were thinking, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" And walked in that assurance toward the light of a new day.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Saturday, October 22, 2016
The Canyon Grill
Yesterday we reconnected with lifetime friends at Fall Creek Falls State Park near Spencer, Tennessee. Before we parted ways we agreed to meet again relatively soon to continue our reunion. One of the top destinations we considered was the Canyon Grill. Although the name of the restaurant is the "Canyon Grill", it is not located in a canyon, it's located on top of a mountain--historic Lookout Mountain, Georgia. But the restaurant is located about a mile from the entrance to scenic Cloudland Canyon State Park.
I don't know how old the restaurant is, but we've been going there over twenty-five years. We don't go as often as we would like, but we get there several times a year. We have celebrated so many special occasions over the years with family and friends, but for us, if we want to have a special occasion, we go to the Canyon Grill. Maybe one reason we don't go more often is that we want it to remain a special destination and do not want to ruin that with too much familiarity.
The restaurant is special to us on so many levels. First of all the drive there is a beautiful drive and contributes to the charm of the experience. Although there are several routes to choose from that all take around forty-five minutes, we usually go southwest through Chattanooga Valley, Georgia. What an irony--go through "Chattanooga", Georgia to a canyon on a mountain. In Chattanooga Valley we hang a left on highway 193 to skirt the base of Lookout Mountain for several beautiful miles. At Cooper Heights we turn right on 136 to wind up to the top of the mountain. This drive affords many vistas to the left the higher we climb.
Then there's the restaurant itself. When you arrive, the restaurant looks like an upscale barn. It's really nothing to look at. But when you park and walk toward the building, the aroma of wood-fired food permeates the air. When you walk in you know that you have arrived somewhere special.
There is not room in one blog entry to explain all of its amenities, but here are some things the restaurant says about itself. "We do not 'fly seafood in fresh daily' as no local restaurant does. But we do fly it in twice a week. We store all our meat, chicken, fish, pork under ice rather than refrigeration. Ice does not dehydrate and dilute the flavors. Our menu changes daily due to availability of fresh product, weather and fishing conditions."
I'm going to say little about the menu as you can easily find it for yourself in the internet, except that the food is exceptional. The service is exceptional. The understated music is exceptional. The experience is exceptional. The restaurant prepares much of its food, including its signature "slash and burn catfish" on a wood-fired grill. They used to offer the grill for sale for about $6,000, but they took it off the menu.
So is the Canyon Grill "fine dining"? That depends on how you define "fine dining" and the experience that you want to have. You can dress up and it will feel like "fine dining." Or come as most do and dress down the occasion in blue jeans or bermudas. So I would call it "fine dining in a casual atmosphere". And since Dade County is a dry county, bring your own bottle. And don't forget your own corkscrew. And just so you know, the a la carte menu is priced closer to "fine dining" than "casual."
Chattanooga has become an international destination. Among its accolades and honors. Outdoor Magazine recently rated Chattanooga as the #1 city to live in the United States. If you're not ready to move here, then at least try to visit soon. And when you do by all means make the drive to Lookout Mountain, Georgia to dine at the Canyon Grill. Rock City and Ruby Falls aren't the only fabled attractions on that mountain.
I don't know how old the restaurant is, but we've been going there over twenty-five years. We don't go as often as we would like, but we get there several times a year. We have celebrated so many special occasions over the years with family and friends, but for us, if we want to have a special occasion, we go to the Canyon Grill. Maybe one reason we don't go more often is that we want it to remain a special destination and do not want to ruin that with too much familiarity.
The restaurant is special to us on so many levels. First of all the drive there is a beautiful drive and contributes to the charm of the experience. Although there are several routes to choose from that all take around forty-five minutes, we usually go southwest through Chattanooga Valley, Georgia. What an irony--go through "Chattanooga", Georgia to a canyon on a mountain. In Chattanooga Valley we hang a left on highway 193 to skirt the base of Lookout Mountain for several beautiful miles. At Cooper Heights we turn right on 136 to wind up to the top of the mountain. This drive affords many vistas to the left the higher we climb.
Then there's the restaurant itself. When you arrive, the restaurant looks like an upscale barn. It's really nothing to look at. But when you park and walk toward the building, the aroma of wood-fired food permeates the air. When you walk in you know that you have arrived somewhere special.
There is not room in one blog entry to explain all of its amenities, but here are some things the restaurant says about itself. "We do not 'fly seafood in fresh daily' as no local restaurant does. But we do fly it in twice a week. We store all our meat, chicken, fish, pork under ice rather than refrigeration. Ice does not dehydrate and dilute the flavors. Our menu changes daily due to availability of fresh product, weather and fishing conditions."
I'm going to say little about the menu as you can easily find it for yourself in the internet, except that the food is exceptional. The service is exceptional. The understated music is exceptional. The experience is exceptional. The restaurant prepares much of its food, including its signature "slash and burn catfish" on a wood-fired grill. They used to offer the grill for sale for about $6,000, but they took it off the menu.
So is the Canyon Grill "fine dining"? That depends on how you define "fine dining" and the experience that you want to have. You can dress up and it will feel like "fine dining." Or come as most do and dress down the occasion in blue jeans or bermudas. So I would call it "fine dining in a casual atmosphere". And since Dade County is a dry county, bring your own bottle. And don't forget your own corkscrew. And just so you know, the a la carte menu is priced closer to "fine dining" than "casual."
Chattanooga has become an international destination. Among its accolades and honors. Outdoor Magazine recently rated Chattanooga as the #1 city to live in the United States. If you're not ready to move here, then at least try to visit soon. And when you do by all means make the drive to Lookout Mountain, Georgia to dine at the Canyon Grill. Rock City and Ruby Falls aren't the only fabled attractions on that mountain.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Detention
"Loving an inmate is not hard. The distance is hard. The worry is hard. The sacrifice is hard. But loving him. That's the easiest thing I've ever done." Unknown
" And now abides faith, hope and love these three, but the greatest of these is hope." Frederick Buechner
There was a meeting in progress, but I had no idea what kind of meeting it was. And I didn't ask. As I walked by, I glanced quickly at the room full of women to my right and several of them were looking at us. I couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking. I'm sure it was obvious to them that we were on our way back out into the light of day.
Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to visit the Catoosa County jail in Ringgold, Georgia. This jail is located about five miles from where I live. I was there with a group of sixteen residents of Catoosa County who were invited by the sheriff. Our sheriff, Gary Fisk, gave us about a one hour guided tour of the facility. I had visited a state penitentiary with a chaplain, but had never been inside our jail. It was an educational and eye-opening experience to say the least. And just so you know, I asked Sheriff Fisk what I could and couldn't say about the experience and he said, "Say anything you want to, but I hope you include something good."
So I'll start with that. Sheriff Fisk was extremely polite, respectful and courteous in every way possible. I wasn't necessarily surprised by that, I was just impressed with his warmth.and geniality He explained a personnel situation with a handicapped individual that endeared me to him all he more. Everyone else we met was the same way. I was also impressed with how clean the facility was. The floors were literally "spick and span". Everything looked clean and smelled clean. Again, I didn't expect to enter an unclean facility, I was just taken with how clean it was. All of that was good.
With that said, the rest of the experience was very sad. It was just hard to see so many people locked up. These inmates still have legal rights, but they have, at least temporarily, forfeited nearly everything else. . They each share a small room with one to three other inmates. They wear jail clothes, eat jail food (two meals a day), buy personal items from the jail commissary, use jail bathrooms and showers. The small outside area where they have limited access is a concrete slab and is still in jail. The only thing they can do there is walk, but at least it's outside. All of their personal mail is opened in front of them by an official. All of their phone calls are monitored and recorded. They are watched twenty-four hours a day. We stood in an elevated room and watched them through two-way glass. Some of them were in their cells, others were playing cards, but most were walking laps around the pod. I asked the sheriff how often they did that and he said, "Most of the day every day." Although the inmates know they're being watched, I was not entirely comfortable eavesdropping on their activities so I mostly kept my back turned and talked to the sheriff.
I knew before yesterday that a lot of people were housed in our jail. I could tell that by the arrest records and by the number of bail bond agencies that are within walking distance of the jail. But I thought maybe there were seventy to eighty people there. The population yesterday was 239. 239 people live in that jail under the circumstances I have mentioned. About 40 are female. The men and women are totally segregated. About 30 are mentally ill. The worst of the mentally ill are segregated. The others are with the general population. Sheriff Fisk said that some of the mental illnesses are diagnosed and treated, others are diagnosed, but they refuse their medication and others are neither diagnosed nor treated. The latter tend to be the worst. Since the mental health situation in our county, like most counties, leaves much to be desired, the jail becomes the place they end up.
This may sound strange, but I also came away with the thought that if jail is inevitable, you could do worse than to be incarcerated at the Catoosa County jail. But from what I observed don't break the law, don't get arrested and don't go to jail. You won't like it very much.
It was just a glance, but the look on the lady's face in the room said "Who are you?" "What are you doing here?" and "What would I give to be on that side of this door? Don't forget us when you leave because we're still here." Whatever they were doing in that room, I hope it included reassurance and encouragement that their days in jail are numbered and that they too will soon see the light of day.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
"Just us."
I'll call him Benjamin. Benjamin is one month old and has lived in the NICU every day of his life and will continue to do so for several more weeks. He is of fair complexion, a little on the chunky side with incredible blue eyes that draw you in. Every newborn baby is special, but some... Well, you know. While I was rocking him, one of the nurses came over to talk with me. I always use that opportunity to learn all I can about the baby I'm holding. I learned more than I wanted to know. "What do you mean that nobody has ever come to see him?" "I mean that none of his family has ever been here." "Not his mother? Not his father? Not his grandmother? Not his grandfather? Not an uncle or aunt? Nobody?" "That's right. Nobody." "Then there has been no one to hold him and to love him?" "Just us."
The NICU is a physical place. There is a room of about 800 square feet. The room has walls, a floor, a ceiling, lighting, wall decorations, a break area, private rooms, cubicles, life-saving equipment : very complicated and expensive life-giving and life-sustaining equipment. clocks--lots of clocks, and telephones, All of this stuff is important and give the babies a fighting chance for a healthy and happy life.
But the physical space is just a small part of what the NICU really is. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is the people that bring all of that stuff to life. They are the ones who use these living, breathing machines to keep the babies alive. The NICU is the doctors, the nurses, the respiratory therapists, housekeeping and the volunteers. Those doctors, nurses and therapists are the ones who know how all that equipment works. When I look at it, it is so many blinking lights and beeps and gauges. When they look at it, it is life itself for the tiny newborn babies. "Just us."
In any profession that I know anything about, there are some employees who could not care less about their job or who is impacted by anything they do. Then there are the many who appreciate their job and want to do their best while they are working. Then there are always the few who take it all personally. What they do matters very much to them. They use every opportunity to make a positive difference for their customers, their supervisors, their co-workers and for themselves. My experience with the NICU is that everyone in the unit falls into that last category. They all care about what they do, which is to say they care about the babies in their unit. Many times if I didn't look to see for myself I would think the one feeding the newborn was his mother. The nurse cradles him lovingly and talks to him like he is her own. Because he is her own. "Just us."
Unless his parents decide to get involved, Benjamin will eventually leave the NICU and go into foster care. Thank God for foster homes and foster parents. If no foster home is available, babies like Benjamin will go into some sort of state-run group facility. And I mean nothing against a group facility. Those places certainly have an important place in "the system" for those children who have nowhere else to go. But how much better when these babies are received into a loving family home with parents, siblings and dogs and cats.
Does this story tug at your heart? Of course it tugs at your heart. Mine too. Would you like to help? Like me, you might consider becoming a volunteer. Not all hospitals that have a maternity ward have a NICU, but many do. Call your local hospital's volunteer services and find out if a Cuddler program is available. If so, they will be very glad to talk to you. If you aren't in the position to do that, then consider taking food to the NICU. Food can provide both nourishment and stress relief for the staff. Many church and civic groups provide food for NICUs, but caring individuals do too. The nurses always appreciate good food. And don't forget that the NICU is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred-sixty five days a year and three hundred-sixty six days on leap year. Consider taking the food by late at night for the third shift people. They get hungry too.
I cuddled Benjamin this afternoon. He's still fairly chunky and his eyes are as blue as the ocean. And just like the last time I was there, he was not alone. I'm so deeply thankful for the nurses who love him and take care of him. And I'm so deeply grateful that they share with me the opportunity to be "just us."
The NICU is a physical place. There is a room of about 800 square feet. The room has walls, a floor, a ceiling, lighting, wall decorations, a break area, private rooms, cubicles, life-saving equipment : very complicated and expensive life-giving and life-sustaining equipment. clocks--lots of clocks, and telephones, All of this stuff is important and give the babies a fighting chance for a healthy and happy life.
But the physical space is just a small part of what the NICU really is. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is the people that bring all of that stuff to life. They are the ones who use these living, breathing machines to keep the babies alive. The NICU is the doctors, the nurses, the respiratory therapists, housekeeping and the volunteers. Those doctors, nurses and therapists are the ones who know how all that equipment works. When I look at it, it is so many blinking lights and beeps and gauges. When they look at it, it is life itself for the tiny newborn babies. "Just us."
In any profession that I know anything about, there are some employees who could not care less about their job or who is impacted by anything they do. Then there are the many who appreciate their job and want to do their best while they are working. Then there are always the few who take it all personally. What they do matters very much to them. They use every opportunity to make a positive difference for their customers, their supervisors, their co-workers and for themselves. My experience with the NICU is that everyone in the unit falls into that last category. They all care about what they do, which is to say they care about the babies in their unit. Many times if I didn't look to see for myself I would think the one feeding the newborn was his mother. The nurse cradles him lovingly and talks to him like he is her own. Because he is her own. "Just us."
Unless his parents decide to get involved, Benjamin will eventually leave the NICU and go into foster care. Thank God for foster homes and foster parents. If no foster home is available, babies like Benjamin will go into some sort of state-run group facility. And I mean nothing against a group facility. Those places certainly have an important place in "the system" for those children who have nowhere else to go. But how much better when these babies are received into a loving family home with parents, siblings and dogs and cats.
Does this story tug at your heart? Of course it tugs at your heart. Mine too. Would you like to help? Like me, you might consider becoming a volunteer. Not all hospitals that have a maternity ward have a NICU, but many do. Call your local hospital's volunteer services and find out if a Cuddler program is available. If so, they will be very glad to talk to you. If you aren't in the position to do that, then consider taking food to the NICU. Food can provide both nourishment and stress relief for the staff. Many church and civic groups provide food for NICUs, but caring individuals do too. The nurses always appreciate good food. And don't forget that the NICU is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred-sixty five days a year and three hundred-sixty six days on leap year. Consider taking the food by late at night for the third shift people. They get hungry too.
I cuddled Benjamin this afternoon. He's still fairly chunky and his eyes are as blue as the ocean. And just like the last time I was there, he was not alone. I'm so deeply thankful for the nurses who love him and take care of him. And I'm so deeply grateful that they share with me the opportunity to be "just us."
Friday, October 14, 2016
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
"O the deep, deep love
All I need and trust
Is the deep, deep love of Jesus." Samuel Trevor Francis (1834-1925)
Jesus has known me and loved me for a very long time. And I've known Him for a long time too. My parents grew up in the First Baptist Church of Enterprise, Alabama. When I was just two years old they left First Baptist with my older brother and me to help form a "mission" across town, On October 30th, 1955 a groundbreaking service was held and the Hillcrest Baptist Church was born. I was raised in that church.
But my first memory of knowing Jesus for myself was an experience at the First Baptist Church and not at Hillcrest. My mother took my older brother and me to the Vacation Bible School back at First Baptist. As part of that VBS we were asked to memorize a Bible verse, Psalm 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." That verse had a powerful impact on me. It said, "What time (I) am afraid." I. Me. Myself. It said "Jesus knows me and wants to help me". That was an incredible realization for a five year old. It still is.
So as a five year old boy did I get saved? Well yes I think I did. If salvation means turning your whole self over to Jesus, then that's what I did. I wanted and needed to trust Jesus to help me when I was afraid. So I did. The records at Hillcrest Baptist Church will show that I made "a profession of faith" when I was ten. But I had professed that faith in my heart five years prior. That means that Jesus has been following me for sixty-three years and I've been following him for most of that time.
When my late and very great father-in-law was filled with the Spirit he would say, "David, I'm all full up." Well I'm all full up. It's hard for me to imagine life being much better. My wife and I are several months into the Golden Years and they are certainly as advertised. We've been able to get caught up with family and friends all over the country. "I'm sorry we're not going to be able to" is suddenly becoming, "Yes! We'd love to." There are just so many things going right. Neither of us has completely stopped working, but we both are learning a new definition of "leisure." I still enjoy my day job and several hobbies including one of my favorite hobbies "doing little or nothing." But my new avocation of holding newborn babies in the NICU is quickly becoming the love of my life. I'm still not sure what I do for them, but I am very certain of what they do for me. These babies are small packages of love, warmth and beauty. I look down at them and they look at me with "And who the heck are you?" and yet reward me with mutual comfort and trust. "O the deep, deep love of Jesus. Underneath me, all around me is the current of your love."
Besides our other opportunities and responsibilities, my wife and I provide "respite care" for a foster family who have teenagers and a beautiful seven month old little boy. He was born into foster care through the NICU where I volunteer. We got involved with him when he was just a few days old. His mom is bringing him over this afternoon to spend the weekend with us. I have no words to express how much we love this precious and loving little man. My mother lost my little brother at just eight days old. For the rest of her life from time to time she would say, "David, James Burt looked just like you." Several people who have seen our little man or his photo have said, "David, he looks just like you." Who knows? Who knows?
"O the deep, deep love of Jesus. And it lifts me up to glory because it lifts me up to Thee"
As critical as I can be of churchianity, fundamentalism, narrow Bible interpretation and the like, I do believe that it is possible to have a real and personal relationship with Jesus. But I want to suggest that instead of looking for some disembodied presence, you will most often find Him as you love other people. Specifically, the nearest route to finding Jesus is by loving a child. "Suffer the little children to come to Me for of such is the kingdom of God."
That summer at the First Baptist Church, besides Psalm 56:3 that she had me learn, there was a teacher, a kind and loving teacher who took me under her arm and demonstrated the deep, deep love of Jesus. I'm quite sure of this. For that I'm deeply humbled and eternally grateful.
I have issues, an abundance of issues. But I have Jesus and am increasingly unafraid.
All I need and trust
Is the deep, deep love of Jesus." Samuel Trevor Francis (1834-1925)
Jesus has known me and loved me for a very long time. And I've known Him for a long time too. My parents grew up in the First Baptist Church of Enterprise, Alabama. When I was just two years old they left First Baptist with my older brother and me to help form a "mission" across town, On October 30th, 1955 a groundbreaking service was held and the Hillcrest Baptist Church was born. I was raised in that church.
But my first memory of knowing Jesus for myself was an experience at the First Baptist Church and not at Hillcrest. My mother took my older brother and me to the Vacation Bible School back at First Baptist. As part of that VBS we were asked to memorize a Bible verse, Psalm 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." That verse had a powerful impact on me. It said, "What time (I) am afraid." I. Me. Myself. It said "Jesus knows me and wants to help me". That was an incredible realization for a five year old. It still is.
So as a five year old boy did I get saved? Well yes I think I did. If salvation means turning your whole self over to Jesus, then that's what I did. I wanted and needed to trust Jesus to help me when I was afraid. So I did. The records at Hillcrest Baptist Church will show that I made "a profession of faith" when I was ten. But I had professed that faith in my heart five years prior. That means that Jesus has been following me for sixty-three years and I've been following him for most of that time.
When my late and very great father-in-law was filled with the Spirit he would say, "David, I'm all full up." Well I'm all full up. It's hard for me to imagine life being much better. My wife and I are several months into the Golden Years and they are certainly as advertised. We've been able to get caught up with family and friends all over the country. "I'm sorry we're not going to be able to" is suddenly becoming, "Yes! We'd love to." There are just so many things going right. Neither of us has completely stopped working, but we both are learning a new definition of "leisure." I still enjoy my day job and several hobbies including one of my favorite hobbies "doing little or nothing." But my new avocation of holding newborn babies in the NICU is quickly becoming the love of my life. I'm still not sure what I do for them, but I am very certain of what they do for me. These babies are small packages of love, warmth and beauty. I look down at them and they look at me with "And who the heck are you?" and yet reward me with mutual comfort and trust. "O the deep, deep love of Jesus. Underneath me, all around me is the current of your love."
Besides our other opportunities and responsibilities, my wife and I provide "respite care" for a foster family who have teenagers and a beautiful seven month old little boy. He was born into foster care through the NICU where I volunteer. We got involved with him when he was just a few days old. His mom is bringing him over this afternoon to spend the weekend with us. I have no words to express how much we love this precious and loving little man. My mother lost my little brother at just eight days old. For the rest of her life from time to time she would say, "David, James Burt looked just like you." Several people who have seen our little man or his photo have said, "David, he looks just like you." Who knows? Who knows?
"O the deep, deep love of Jesus. And it lifts me up to glory because it lifts me up to Thee"
As critical as I can be of churchianity, fundamentalism, narrow Bible interpretation and the like, I do believe that it is possible to have a real and personal relationship with Jesus. But I want to suggest that instead of looking for some disembodied presence, you will most often find Him as you love other people. Specifically, the nearest route to finding Jesus is by loving a child. "Suffer the little children to come to Me for of such is the kingdom of God."
That summer at the First Baptist Church, besides Psalm 56:3 that she had me learn, there was a teacher, a kind and loving teacher who took me under her arm and demonstrated the deep, deep love of Jesus. I'm quite sure of this. For that I'm deeply humbled and eternally grateful.
I have issues, an abundance of issues. But I have Jesus and am increasingly unafraid.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
The Truth about Bob the Builder
"How did it go so fast you'll say as we are looking back. And then we'll understand that we held gold dust in our hands." Tori Amos
From the time our granddaughter was old enough to walk she started enjoying the Creative Discovery Museum. Over the past five years she and I have spent dozens of blissful hours exploring every corner together. When she was two years old the upstairs display was on the theme of Bob the Builder. She called the display "Bobba Builder". And so the museum became "Bobba Builder" from that day, On subsequent visits to Georgia she asked that I take her to "Bobba Builder". When she was three years old she asked to go to "Bobba Builder". When she was four years, five years old and six years old she asked to go to "Bobba Builder." And that of course is how I referred to the museum as well.
Last spring at the end of her second grade year we went together, as we always did when she visited us, to "Bobba Builder." Only this time after about an hour she had seen enough and told me that she was ready to go back home. I was disappointed that our Creative Discovery Museum days were probably nearing their end, but I knew it had to happen. But then as we were leaving the parking lot something happened that I didn't see coming. From the back seat she asked,"Big Dave, if it's the Creative Discovery Museum, why do they call it Bobba Builder?" I gulped and confessed, "Dear heart, you're the only person who calls it Bobba Builder, it has been the Creative Discovery Museum all along." And that was that.
Besides no interest in the children's museum she has expressed no desire to go back to her second favorite attraction, the Tennessee Aquarium (the "kawarium), either.
In her bestselling book Necessary Losses, Judith Viorst states that as important as it is for us to manage our gains, it's even more important that we learn to manage our losses. As losses go, losing "Bobba Builder" was certainly not a tragedy, but it was a loss. The Creative Discovery Museum is such a marvelous place for children and adults, but "Bobba Builder" was our special place. No one but my granddaughter, my wife and me ever visited "Bobba Builder". When she was here last week she didn't even mention going at all.
As my wife and I were leaving town last Sunday to take her back home, we went downtown to the Tennessee Aquarium for her to look for something for her teacher in the gift shop. The water in the man-made creek was cold, but was just too much to resist. She took off her shoes and gleefully splashed through the water until we told her we needed to go. After she bought her gift and we were walking back to the car she asked, "The next time I'm here, can we go to the aquarium?"
Although "Bobba Builder" and the "kawarium" are history, I look forward to the time together in the Tennessee Aquarium with this very grown up little girl. It will be so good to go. And it will be very important that we go. "How did it go so fast you'll say as we are looking back." We can't save the time that we have together, but we can spend it.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Jesus Unplugged
Do you think that it is possible to be a devout follower of Jesus and not be a Christian?
Before I comment on that question, I have another question. Is it possible to be a Christian and not be a follower of Jesus?
Regarding the second question, yes I think it is very possible to be a Christian and not follow Jesus. Being a Christian means that you subscribe to some aspect of Christianity. "The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christendom and the church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present." (Wikipedia). Nowhere in the definition do we find a reference to Jesus.
Many religions existed at the time of Jesus. Did Jesus intend to start a new religion? It depends on who you ask. Most preachers, teachers and scholars would say "yes', Jesus lived, died and rose again to establish Christianity as the world's only true religion. The verse quoted most often is Matthew 16:8. when Jesus said, "And I tell you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church." Here Jesus used a clever play on words as the Greek for Peter is Petros(rock) and for rock is petra. Teachers are quick to point out that Jesus said He would build his church on petra and not on Petros. Some think it was a tongue-in-cheek comment meant to invoke laughter among the disciples that such a great undertaking would have anything to do with Peter. Peter's propensity for putting his foot in his mouth was well known.
Regarding Christianity being the only true religion, most teachers quote John 14:6. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but my me'
A follower of Jesus in my opinion involves emulating the life of Jesus, which is to say the life of love. "Love your neighbor as yourself." If there is no love there is no Jesus.
I want to relate an experience that I had over thirty years ago to illustrate the point that it is rather easy to be a Christian without being a follower of Jesus. At the time I did quite a bit of whitewater rafting on the Ocoee and Nantahala Rivers. When rafting the Ocoee, the more dangerous of the two rivers, it was necessary to participate in a school. After the rafters put on all their gear including life vests, helmets and paddles, they sat for instruction of how to navigate the river safely. At the Ocoee the rafters sat front to back, about eight to a row, on benches of cut logs to listen to the instructor. Since I had rafted quite a few times I really wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. So there I sat on the back row looking at all these people decked out in their orange equipment, paddles straight up, sitting in nice, neat rows listening to the teacher. Meanwhile I could hear the river gurgling over the rocks about twenty five feet from where we sat. A thought was trying to get in my head about what was happening. And then I had an eureka moment. "This is church! I'm in church! I've heard all this before. He's explaining about the equipment, the river, the rocks, the swirling hydraulics and the danger. But the river is over there and we are sitting here." It would be possible to come to river rafting school week after week after week and learn everything there is to know about whitewater rafting and never put a boat in the water. I could have a doctorate in whitewater rafting and still be high and dry.
To follow Jesus you've got to put your boat in the river. . You've got to get cold and wet. You've got to take risks. You've got to navigate rapids and boulders. At some point instruction must become experience. It's not enough to know about Jesus, you must know Jesus. Which is to know love.
Did Jesus say that only Christians are going to Heaven? Is that what He meant by "no man comes to the Father but by me" ? Or was He saying that "just like I am love, my Father is love. The only way to know us is through love. Love is the way. Love is the truth and love is the life. Love is the only way to know me. There is no other way. I and the Father are One."
So if it's possible to be a Christian and not know Jesus, is it then possible to know Jesus and not be a Christian? Keep in mind that Jesus was a Jew. The disciples and those who knew Him were Jews. There were no Christians. They were all Jews and Gentiles, And then the early Christians had to answer the question, "Can you be a Christian and not be a Jew?" Jesus told the story of the Samaritan, a non-Jew, who saved a man's life. And He asked the question. "Who was the neighbor to the man who was assaulted? Was it the religions leaders who kept on walking or this Samaritan who stopped and helped him?" Love is as love does.
If it's possible to follow Jesus and not be a Christian and to be a Christian and not follow Jesus, is it possible to be a Christian and follow Jesus? It's not impossible to be a Christian and follow Jesus, but it's not always easy. Along the path of loving Jesus there are too many ways to get lost in the Christian religion. Religion by definition is a particular system of faith and worship. Your intention may be to experience "faith and worship", but in reality you never get beyond the "particular system". It is quite a bit different to love your dog or to love your dogma. One will gently lick your face and hands; the other will lick you to death.
So finally, 'How do I know if I know Jesus?" It's the simple test of love. WWJD? What would Jesus do? In each and every circumstance Jesus loved. "Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world." "Love is the way, the truth and the life. You will never know Me without love." I once heard a preacher say, "When you come to know Jesus, even your dog should notice the difference." Amen to that.
Before I comment on that question, I have another question. Is it possible to be a Christian and not be a follower of Jesus?
Regarding the second question, yes I think it is very possible to be a Christian and not follow Jesus. Being a Christian means that you subscribe to some aspect of Christianity. "The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christendom and the church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present." (Wikipedia). Nowhere in the definition do we find a reference to Jesus.
Many religions existed at the time of Jesus. Did Jesus intend to start a new religion? It depends on who you ask. Most preachers, teachers and scholars would say "yes', Jesus lived, died and rose again to establish Christianity as the world's only true religion. The verse quoted most often is Matthew 16:8. when Jesus said, "And I tell you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church." Here Jesus used a clever play on words as the Greek for Peter is Petros(rock) and for rock is petra. Teachers are quick to point out that Jesus said He would build his church on petra and not on Petros. Some think it was a tongue-in-cheek comment meant to invoke laughter among the disciples that such a great undertaking would have anything to do with Peter. Peter's propensity for putting his foot in his mouth was well known.
Regarding Christianity being the only true religion, most teachers quote John 14:6. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but my me'
A follower of Jesus in my opinion involves emulating the life of Jesus, which is to say the life of love. "Love your neighbor as yourself." If there is no love there is no Jesus.
I want to relate an experience that I had over thirty years ago to illustrate the point that it is rather easy to be a Christian without being a follower of Jesus. At the time I did quite a bit of whitewater rafting on the Ocoee and Nantahala Rivers. When rafting the Ocoee, the more dangerous of the two rivers, it was necessary to participate in a school. After the rafters put on all their gear including life vests, helmets and paddles, they sat for instruction of how to navigate the river safely. At the Ocoee the rafters sat front to back, about eight to a row, on benches of cut logs to listen to the instructor. Since I had rafted quite a few times I really wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. So there I sat on the back row looking at all these people decked out in their orange equipment, paddles straight up, sitting in nice, neat rows listening to the teacher. Meanwhile I could hear the river gurgling over the rocks about twenty five feet from where we sat. A thought was trying to get in my head about what was happening. And then I had an eureka moment. "This is church! I'm in church! I've heard all this before. He's explaining about the equipment, the river, the rocks, the swirling hydraulics and the danger. But the river is over there and we are sitting here." It would be possible to come to river rafting school week after week after week and learn everything there is to know about whitewater rafting and never put a boat in the water. I could have a doctorate in whitewater rafting and still be high and dry.
To follow Jesus you've got to put your boat in the river. . You've got to get cold and wet. You've got to take risks. You've got to navigate rapids and boulders. At some point instruction must become experience. It's not enough to know about Jesus, you must know Jesus. Which is to know love.
Did Jesus say that only Christians are going to Heaven? Is that what He meant by "no man comes to the Father but by me" ? Or was He saying that "just like I am love, my Father is love. The only way to know us is through love. Love is the way. Love is the truth and love is the life. Love is the only way to know me. There is no other way. I and the Father are One."
So if it's possible to be a Christian and not know Jesus, is it then possible to know Jesus and not be a Christian? Keep in mind that Jesus was a Jew. The disciples and those who knew Him were Jews. There were no Christians. They were all Jews and Gentiles, And then the early Christians had to answer the question, "Can you be a Christian and not be a Jew?" Jesus told the story of the Samaritan, a non-Jew, who saved a man's life. And He asked the question. "Who was the neighbor to the man who was assaulted? Was it the religions leaders who kept on walking or this Samaritan who stopped and helped him?" Love is as love does.
If it's possible to follow Jesus and not be a Christian and to be a Christian and not follow Jesus, is it possible to be a Christian and follow Jesus? It's not impossible to be a Christian and follow Jesus, but it's not always easy. Along the path of loving Jesus there are too many ways to get lost in the Christian religion. Religion by definition is a particular system of faith and worship. Your intention may be to experience "faith and worship", but in reality you never get beyond the "particular system". It is quite a bit different to love your dog or to love your dogma. One will gently lick your face and hands; the other will lick you to death.
So finally, 'How do I know if I know Jesus?" It's the simple test of love. WWJD? What would Jesus do? In each and every circumstance Jesus loved. "Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world." "Love is the way, the truth and the life. You will never know Me without love." I once heard a preacher say, "When you come to know Jesus, even your dog should notice the difference." Amen to that.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Current Issues
Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions and interjections are some of the "parts of speech."
I became fascinated with language in the third grade when we started diagramming sentences. To see all those words on lines connected by diagonal lines under lines under lines was a fountain of joy. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but better. With a puzzle I could already see the picture I was making. It would never be more than that. Even as a third grader I understood that these words and sentences could become anything I wanted them to be. Diagramming sentences struck fear in the heart of some of my classmates, but I looked forward to it with eager anticipation. The process made perfectly good sense to me as I saw how adjectives and pronouns were connected to nouns and how adverbs were connected to verbs. Only with diagramming they were not connected in an abstract sense, but in a literal sense. "They are connected ! I'm looking at it."
During this language experience in the third grade I began wondering what we would be diagramming in high school. I imagined that we would diagram entire chapters of books. The spreadsheet would cover pages and pages of words and lines. It would be extraordinary! I think we diagrammed some in the fourth grade and that was about it.
The beauty of my education at the College Street Elementary School in Enterprise, Alabama is that sometimes I actually learned something. In the process of naming each word of sentences and putting it on a chart, I internalized that separation. Not so much when I speak, but when I read and write I can still see that separation to this day And it still makes sense to me.
Although all of the "parts of speech" are essential to language, I find nouns to be particularly appealing. Although language consists of all of these elements, the world consists of nouns. The earth and all therein are persons, places and things. Proper nouns relate to people and places that are important enough to be capitalized, but common nouns are more plentiful and just as important. Then there are ideas, such as love and kindness, that aren't things but they are nouns as well. You can't "show me love" as in something that I can hold it in my hand. But you can definitely "show me love."
Nine years later at the Enterprise State Junior College, in freshman composition class we had an exam that involved two days of class. On the first day of the exam Mr. Smith gave us all blank composition paper and the assignment was to create an outline for the subject we had chosen. That was easy. On the next day of the exam he gave us our graded outline along with more paper and said,, "Write your essay from your outline." That was easy too.
Forty five years later it is still a joy to me to pull from thin air words that express the way I think and feel about things. Things? Nouns? Well, yes nouns, but more those things that aren't things than the things that are things. And the whole experience is so easy with a word processor. That blinking cursor's one directive is "Your wish is my command." And I can not only create words and phrases, but I can backspace, delete, cut and paste to my heart's content.
So is this post you're reading a person, place or thing? The knee jerk response is probably a thing. But I'm a person and you're a person, so there are at least two people involved. And we're both sitting in a place. What you see is totally different than what I'm seeing,so this involves at least two places. And if you said it's a thing. Then what is it? What you read is only a digital image of my thoughts. My thoughts don't exist and your image doesn't either. The letters you see on your screen are nothing more than ones and zeros repeated trillions of times coming to you courtesy of a programmer who used a language that meant something to her, and to the computer and to you.
Programmer? Diagrammer? Processor? Educator? Which is primarily at work here? Probably electricity.
I became fascinated with language in the third grade when we started diagramming sentences. To see all those words on lines connected by diagonal lines under lines under lines was a fountain of joy. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but better. With a puzzle I could already see the picture I was making. It would never be more than that. Even as a third grader I understood that these words and sentences could become anything I wanted them to be. Diagramming sentences struck fear in the heart of some of my classmates, but I looked forward to it with eager anticipation. The process made perfectly good sense to me as I saw how adjectives and pronouns were connected to nouns and how adverbs were connected to verbs. Only with diagramming they were not connected in an abstract sense, but in a literal sense. "They are connected ! I'm looking at it."
During this language experience in the third grade I began wondering what we would be diagramming in high school. I imagined that we would diagram entire chapters of books. The spreadsheet would cover pages and pages of words and lines. It would be extraordinary! I think we diagrammed some in the fourth grade and that was about it.
The beauty of my education at the College Street Elementary School in Enterprise, Alabama is that sometimes I actually learned something. In the process of naming each word of sentences and putting it on a chart, I internalized that separation. Not so much when I speak, but when I read and write I can still see that separation to this day And it still makes sense to me.
Although all of the "parts of speech" are essential to language, I find nouns to be particularly appealing. Although language consists of all of these elements, the world consists of nouns. The earth and all therein are persons, places and things. Proper nouns relate to people and places that are important enough to be capitalized, but common nouns are more plentiful and just as important. Then there are ideas, such as love and kindness, that aren't things but they are nouns as well. You can't "show me love" as in something that I can hold it in my hand. But you can definitely "show me love."
Nine years later at the Enterprise State Junior College, in freshman composition class we had an exam that involved two days of class. On the first day of the exam Mr. Smith gave us all blank composition paper and the assignment was to create an outline for the subject we had chosen. That was easy. On the next day of the exam he gave us our graded outline along with more paper and said,, "Write your essay from your outline." That was easy too.
Forty five years later it is still a joy to me to pull from thin air words that express the way I think and feel about things. Things? Nouns? Well, yes nouns, but more those things that aren't things than the things that are things. And the whole experience is so easy with a word processor. That blinking cursor's one directive is "Your wish is my command." And I can not only create words and phrases, but I can backspace, delete, cut and paste to my heart's content.
So is this post you're reading a person, place or thing? The knee jerk response is probably a thing. But I'm a person and you're a person, so there are at least two people involved. And we're both sitting in a place. What you see is totally different than what I'm seeing,so this involves at least two places. And if you said it's a thing. Then what is it? What you read is only a digital image of my thoughts. My thoughts don't exist and your image doesn't either. The letters you see on your screen are nothing more than ones and zeros repeated trillions of times coming to you courtesy of a programmer who used a language that meant something to her, and to the computer and to you.
Programmer? Diagrammer? Processor? Educator? Which is primarily at work here? Probably electricity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)