The Slurry Wall

            Last week I was listening to an extraordinary NPR interview with Daniel Libeskind.   He is the architect chosen as the master planner for the new World Trade Center reconstruction project in New York.  Daniel tells of his trek 75 feet down to the bedrock where he was able to touch the huge slurry wall.   He described the experience this way, “that's the retaining wall, that's a dam that is holding back the pressures of the Hudson River.  If that wall had collapsed,(on 9/11)  all the subways would have been fried.  It would have been an apocalypse.”  

            I couldn’t help thinking about God’s amazing hand of protection.  Each day, He saves each of us from the flood of horrific consequences our sins deserve.   That must be why we are instructed so many times in the New Testament to pray for one another.   Even in the Old Testament we see Abraham interceding for the sinful city of Sodom.  When Miriam became jealous and spoke against Moses we see him interceding on her behalf and the leprosy was healed!  An then there was Samuel who’s intercession saved his people from the Philistines.    

            Who knows what calamities God has saved our nation from because of the faithful prayers of his people.   Be that Slurry Wall for God.   Through your prayers hold back the pressures that war against our society, city, and church.   Have a great evening.

“Products of Our Expectations”

                As a Psychology major I grew up thinking that about eighty percent of who we became was determined by our environment and about twenty percent resulted from genetics.  Then I became an adoptive parent and re-evaluated my conclusion.   Just a few years back, I began teaching in children’s church and learned I was wrong again.  We aren’t mere products of genetics or our environment.  Instead, I discovered each of us are most shaped by our expectations and the hopes others have for us.           

                In 1 Corinthians 1: 7-10 we find the apostle asking, “What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? ⁸ Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? ⁹ For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? ¹⁰ Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.”

                What are the deeds and acts you have been engaging in?  Are you expecting a return on your investment of time, blood, sweat, and tears?   You should.   Remember, our expectation is not in the amount of faith we have or even what actions we perform.  In Luke 17: 5-6, Jesus reminds us that even if our faith is only as tiny as a mustard seed it has the power to accomplish what we tell it to do.  Keep holding out faith regardless of what you see happening around you.   “Faith expects from God with is beyond all expectation.” (Andrew Muray).   Have a Blessed Day.

Margins

          When I write reports I’ve never been good with setting margins or knowing the correct amount of spacing for my headers and footers.  That’s why I was so thankful when I started using a computer and these were preset for me.   As a Writer we’re always told to us to leave more white space.   You know shorter paragraphs or anything else that shows more of the blank space.  Nothing turns a reader off more than a bunch of words crammed together on a page. 

          This week, I was thinking about white space and proper margins when it comes to our daily lives.   Have I been structuring my days to make sure they are aligned as they should be?  Do I allow adequate time for family, work, prayer, friends, meditation, and rest?   It’s so easy for me so fall out of bed and jump into the demands of life cramming something into every second of my existence.   That type of unbalanced living would resemble a sheet of instructions we might receive when purchasing something that has to be assembled.   If I’m not careful I know my life will start to look like a bunch of mind-numbing words stuffed together on a small sheet of paper which could have even been written in another language.

          Margins help us evaluate our capacities.   By apportioning our time in the correct amounts we can set realistic boundaries for our time and activities.   What types of margins have you constructed for your life?   Are they expanding your sense of freedom, health, and sense of well-being?   Even people in ministry have a problem with getting the margins right.   Above all else, let’s not forget Andrew Bonar’s warning:

           “One of the gravest perils which besets the ministry is a restless scattering of energies over an amazing multiplicity of interests which leaves no margin of time and of strength for receptive and absorbing communion with God.”

In The Thick Of Darkness:

I like to think of myself as one of those half-full cup people.  You know the ones that see the positive side of everything.  Yet, too often, life’s problems multiply leaving us in a black-hole of despair and a worsening sense of hopelessness.  It’s at that point that we become anxious and weepy, or feel nothing but numb.  As the weight of life challenges overwhelms us even the encouraging words from friends can cause uneasiness or even despondency.

Darkness comes as a consequence of the absence of light.  Light penetrates and pierces darkness because of its superior power.   In 2 Chronicles 6, King Solomon constructed a beautiful temple for the Lord’s presence to dwell in here on earth.   He prays in verses one and two, “Oh Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness.  Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”   Since God is the only source of true light, He alone can dwell with us in the darkest of situations.

Nahum 1:7 declares, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in Him.”   Isaiah 30:18: says, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.”  Micah 7:8 reminds us that, “Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”   

Remember today that the Lord is on your side.   He pierces any darkness and brings hope and joy to every humble heart.   Let His radiance shine into your dark spots today and receive the warm light and loving embrace of His presence.

Lawn Mowing!!!

Ok.. This isn’t mine.  I stole it from NPR, but it so perfectly describes a big joy I have in life.  Enjoy!!!

SEAN HURLEY: It was 7:15 in the morning, a Saturday, when the lawnmowers came back. Two of my neighbors, one near and one far, had seen the checkered flag of summer and were off and cutting. I awoke to what I thought were a pair of lions on the higher plateau, singing like crickets in a constant roar. All winter long the grass lays crushed beneath the boot of snow. When the snow stomps off, the grass stands up. And when the grass stands up, flash green and luxurious, the lawnmowers come stumbling out, dazzled as bears from their cave of sheds.

Then we push or ride them along the invented maze of our backyards, shaping out geometries, squares of tall trouble, triangles to harvest.  The improvised poetry, the made up math of it. Like motorized rivers, we glide down our lanes. Rolling the left wheels over the silvered path they made the last trip down. So convenient you can see where you’ve been. The green cuttings fan out over the road like a fallen fence. The birds whistle long and short, and flicker and fly and find their chairs in any tree or anything high to watch and ignore us at the same time, as they do, like everything wild.

All summer long the lawnmowers spin around our heads like homemade bees, cutting the grass, keeping the wildness tight and runable(ph).  Nipping about the rooty napes of our small trees, grasping under the wide dresses of our rhododendrons. The sound of the lawnmowers is the hypnosis of summer.  As we ladies and gentlemen start our engines, the earth obliges and starts up its grass.  Softly, over the old flat earth we rove and love and try to keep well in the way we imagine best.

It is a race of sorts with a finish line of snow. But this is just something we like to do, side by side, when it gets hot. Pretending our pleasure is our work, and finally when the lawn is cut and the mower stopped - standing for a moment in the quivering silence, as though we’ve turned ourselves into the purest air.

For NPR News, I'm Sean Hurley in Thornton, New Hampshire

Down In The Dumps

This was supposed to be something others struggled with.   You were the one who saw the glass half-full.   Then a treasured job is lost, an illness strikes, the empty nest comes, divorce happens, debt engulfs, care-giving overwhelms, or a thousand and one other things come trying to devastate.   Perhaps you have too much to do, accept undue criticism, require more help with an illness, or just need to end a relationship.  

The other day, I saw this picture of a depressed brain and it astonished me.  I’ve always known that depression is your body’s way of slowing down your brain, yet the picture is dramatic.  Today I’m sitting here waiting for the Lawn Mower repairman to open so I can have him look at an engine problem.   I’ve changed the spark plugs, but one still isn’t firing efficiently.  That’s the perfect analogy of what happens to hour human machine (the brain) when we allow ourselves to continue living in a state of depression. 

There is a way out.  Find a trusted friend who can really listen and accept you.   That someone needs to be able to identify and help you explore options.   If you don’t have a friend like that ask a Pastor to help you find a “someone” who can also introduce you to their friends or support group.  God doesn’t want us living down in the dumps.  He wants a relationship with us.   His goal is for us to share and show His love to others.  Why not let the God in others assist you?  Why not search out a facet of God with Skin-On?   

Here’s the link for the dramatic picture: Have a great day! 

Celebrating Milestones:

Last weekend, we commemorated our son Bradley’s high school graduation and launched him into adulthood.    He will be attending the University of Central Florida in August and studying Bio-technology, hoping to complete a Masters in that field.  In addition to working at Chick-Fil, securing the full Bright Futures & UCF Scholarships, he has also qualified for two grants.   In our eyes he is a very astute young man with a good sense of vision and strong character.   Please keep him in your prayers as he pursues his life’s profession. 

To make Bradley’s very special day even more significant Kim Lovejoy (Bradley’s birth-mom) joined us for the celebration.  (See the distinct similarities in the picture below.) Although we exchange Birthday cards, pictures, and email addresses this was the first time we have had face-to-face contact with her since Bradley’s forth birthday, so he was really excited.   It was an amazing day of fun and sharing that I’m sure will be followed by many more.   My Mom was also able to spend the day with us making it even more noteworthy.  Proverbs 10:1, says, “A wise son brings joy to his father,” (NLT).  We have boat-loads of joy!