This film is not yet rated

I have this friend. No, my friend is not him. But, my little friend might have snagged herself a role as an extra in several scenes of a movie starring somebody who resembles him. I digress.

Said friend excitedly started her day early yesterday headed for a set destination and an expectation of spending a few hours getting filmed before returning home. Hours later, My Little Frau, aka “Mama”, dispatched herself on a relief mission to take some food to our little friend. As this friend returned about midnight, we heard tales of heat, hunger, sunburn, and an occasional WHM sighting. And, she gets to do it all again today. She remains excited to be engaged, but her experiences are not at all like she expected.

Therein lies a great metaphor for life. We never know what to expect. We have no promises. And yet, the opportunity to go about each day pursuing our plans, goals, and dreams keeps us going……

Pardon the interruption there. I had to go outside and squeeze my car into the garage to avoid what appears to be a rapidly approaching hailstorm. Again, I digress, but hopefully you get the point. I wasn’t planning for that anymore than we planned for the devastating tornados of earlier this week that have impacted so many both directly and indirectly. And yet, life goes on, and we are happy to be a part of it.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-14

So, this film remains “not yet rated”, and yet we know how the epilogue will appear. We win, so long as we keep running the race set before us.

Give that bell another ring today, little friend. WHM couldn’t do it any better than you.

Misinformed? Peace, be still.

The storms were raging yesterday. Soon thereafter, the misinformation began. Some misinformation is intended, but most is more innocent.

Social media posts last evening proclaimed that “all the school children have been accounted for”, but sadly the message was not quite so true. Later news reports haunted us with large numbers lost in the tragedy. Thankfully, subsequent reports improved the numbers dramatically.

People don’t take long to ask “why did this happen? Is God punishing us?“. No, one should say, we live in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down…. Go ask a Californian if San Andreas is a divine curse. Pardon me. I digress.

Some misinformation can be almost comical, but not without consequence. I drove a van early this morning containing a team of relief volunteers following yesterday’s tragic tornado in Moore. As we prepared to return home hours later, distance, rain, and differing projects and schedules had separated our group. My inquiry about empty seats in my van was met with “they went home early in another van” as a confident and innocent reply. Just after completing our 40 minute return drive and sitting down to a late lunch, the cell phone proclaimed they had been left behind. What’s an extra 50 miles between misinformed friends?

Other misinformation is not always so funny.

Genesis 3:3-5: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Misinformed, indeed, but not so innocent. And the storms of life have been raging ever since. It’s good that we have Someone to help us recover.

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadow with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.*

*lyrics by Mary A. Baker

Don’t lose your head

I’ve been challenged this morning. I’ve been challenged by words. Words like “maudlin“, which I admit I had to look up a definition for, were awaiting me this morning. I will confess to being occasionally, if not frequently, guilty of demonstrating said word. I might be sorry, or I might not. For now, I will settle for “guilty”.

And, I have been challenged by The Word. The Word was also awaiting me this morning in the form of an email challenging me to accept a reading plan. Would’nt you know that it started me in John chapter 1?

I don’t want to be maudlin about all of this. I don’t want to lose my head. Or, maybe I do. Maybe that is what He is calling me to. It certainly was the case for John, and he was but one to help point the way for others.

It is Mothers Day today. On this day of recognition, I hope to be learning the path to be a better father.

I may be losing my head. I’m OK with that. If I come across as maudlin in the process, I will plead guilty.

Word up?

Christopher Columbus!

Sometimes when you dream…
Your dreams come true.
In extraordinary ways…
Suddenly, a day can be so amazing…
And sometimes when you yearn, you burn the air.
And then you are not the same.
And the world is-

Oh. I apologize. Perhaps I should say “good morning”. Now, where was I? Oh, yes.

Once upon a time, I met a little woman. Sometimes, she is known in the space here as “The Little Frau”. And the rest is history. History, in the making, that is. You see, life comes at you fast. So fast, sometimes, that you don’t see what is coming next. Sometimes that can be bad, but more often than not, it is good. Very good.

Having number one son surprise you by signing up to be in a musical is just one such surprise. And, may I say, the performance was amazing. The beginning and ending lyric vault moments of this nostalgic post today are courtesy of “Little Women”, the Musical. A team of kids performed it wonderfully at his school the past two nights.

As I look around this morning, the women, and the men, in my life are not so little anymore. Sometimes they seem to me larger than life.

As a small child, I used to lie in bed at night and wonder what adulthood would be like. I hoped it would be good. I had no idea it would be like this. I think I like it, warts and all. That is an understatement.

It was not so very long ago that I sat around another’s breakfast table, a strange man in a strange house, learning of other’s ways that had not been my very own. This morning, the tables were turned, as one shared his breakfast within the routines that have become ours. Truthfully, it doesn’t seem all that strange from where I sit today.

In days gone by, I’ve visited with others about their kids, and others about their new grand kids, and the miraculous stories between them all. Amazing is an understatement, especially when we compare reality to those “sometimes when you dream” days gone by.

Lest I neglect the obvious, life is no cakewalk. But life can be very good. I think that is how God intended it. The challenge for us is to find the good, or even better, to help create it.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:19-21)

She asks how I am,
And so, how am I?
My days are the usual day.
I wake up, I go out,
Time goes by.
My days are exactly the days
I have lived since arriving here.
In fact, how I am is amazed how
This comforts me year by year.
I work and I eat.
Life is muffins and jam.
The house is nice and quiet now.
That is how I am.. Thank you, Professor Bhaer for helping open my eyes to it all.

But, even as I write this now, the natives are awaking. The house will not be so quiet soon. The dream lives on.

Sometimes when you dream…
Your dreams come true.
In extraordinary ways…
Suddenly, a day can be so amazing…
And sometimes when you yearn, you burn the air.
And then you are not the same.
And the world is-….Amazing. Christopher Columbus, indeed.

Four. Score. Monkey see, Monkey do.

What is killing you?

No, I didn’t just call Neil Arter a monkey, but if I had, it would have been a complement, for I have been imitating him in some ways for a while now.

As I’ve said before, it was Neil and his posse that coerced, if not forced, me to participate in my first ever OKC Memorial event three years and four races ago. I quickly caught the bug, and have done a few more events since then. Mostly, I’ve tried to just be more active.

Yesterday was my 4th time in this specific event, and I was not alone. After completing it with my family, some of us walking, and others running like the wind, it was great to reflect on something Little Frau had said to me in the car much earlier that morning as the six of us headed toward Downtown OKC: “This is your deal”. She was right, but it was great to have some with me, both those who had been coerced, and those who were becoming fellow imitators.

As we arrived at church later that morning, the lesson was entitled “Monkey see, Monkey do”, and was all about becoming imitators, and encouragers.

Ephesians 4:1-3: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Ephesians 5:1-2: Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Philippians 2:1-4: Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

I don’t have it all figured out. I need to be better about taking care of my health, both in level of activity, and in what I consume. I need to be a more diligent student of the Word. I need to be better about taking care of things, whether it be my lawn, my car, what I say, or otherwise. And, I need to let my kids (and others) see me doing it. Hopefully they will be encouraged to imitate the same.

The first time I participated in this Memorial event, there were two of us. By the next time, there were still just two. Two times two is four. By the third time, there were four of us running. Four times four is sixteen. This time around, there were five of us running. Five times sixteen is eighty. Fourscore, indeed.

Four. Score. Yes, I think we did. We have the medals, muscle aches, and memories to prove it. I hope we continue to run to remember. And to imitate, for whatever is killing us, we can help each other by word and deed.

Just like Neil does. Monkey see, Monkey do. Yes, I just called myself a monkey.

Through no fault of their own

It has been a week filled with headlines. At times alarming, and in other moments surreal, it seemed as if we could not stop shaking from the events going on all around us.

In the middle of it all, there were the earthquakes. I believe I counted 21 or more quakes between a 2.0 and. 4.3 on the Richter Scale that hit within 30 miles of home over the past several days. Thankfully, there were no injuries, nor was there any damage, to those close to us as all the shaking was occurring.

Then, there was the quake that was not really a quake at all. Measuring a “mere” 2.1 on the scale, the force that shook the small town of West, Texas (pronounced “Vest” by those who hold it close) was shocking and sad. And yet, it occurred through no fault of their own.

You see, West does not lie on a fault line. The town contained a fertilizer factory, and this measured quake was caused by a terrible fire and subsequent blast. While a seemingly small number were killed, lost, or injured, no number is so small as to not hurt deeply when things like this happen.

Oklahoma City is no stranger to this type of earth jarring loss. Some eighteen short years ago, a coward and a fertilizer bomb took 168 people away in a heartbeat, and left thousands of others to recover, and to remember. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we do just that.

Matthew 10:28-31: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

“Those who kill” were present this week in Boston. The phrase “You can run, but you can’t hide” can certainly be said for each of us, but thankfully for those who do evil as well. We run the race set before us, but have no promise of safety or immunity from the broken aspects of humanity. But we run, undeterred, nonetheless. To do anything less would be to shortchange ourselves of the experience of living, and would be to let the cowards and the bullies win. They can run, or attempt to do so, as well, but they cannot hide. Justice prevails, in the end. Even if not today, a Day is coming, and in that Day, we will hurt no more.

But, for today, we run. Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We felt the earth move this week. Many people did. For most, it was through no fault of their own. And we will remember this week, and those it lost, as time goes by.

What is a memory?

We attended a funeral yesterday. Participated in, might be a better stating of that. It was a time full of sadness, singing, and celebration. I went alone, but was instantly among friends. There were tears, hugs, and kisses.

And, there were memories.

What is a memory? Something warm. Something from long ago. Something that makes you cry. Something that makes you laugh. Something precious.

The life being celebrated was that of a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. She loved to read. She loved children. And she had a favorite book, just for them.

Wifrid Gordon Mcdonald Partridge is a book about a little boy, and his friendship with a lady who has lost her memory. The teacher who befriended so many was just such a lady, and disease fled with her memory much too soon.

But, in remembering her yesterday, even for those of us who did not know her well, the blessing of memories, how we make them, and how we cherish them, was as warm as sitting in your grandparent’s lap so many years ago with a good book. My favorite was called “Little Black a Pony”, and was about how a smaller creature, sometimes overlooked by those bigger, sleeker, and faster, used his gifts and rose up to save the day for those around him. I am sitting in a lamp lit room on Pentagon Parkway, hearing it read to me, and seeing its illustrations, even now. Please pass the tissues.

Here was hers:

As the preacher finished reading the book to us all yesterday, there was hardly a dry eye in the house hundreds strong.

The message for me? Live for today. Love every moment. Love those who are near and dear to you. Make good memories. Ignore moments that won’t. Marti would not have it any other way.

What is a memory? I think we leaned a little better yesterday, and I am thankful.