I watched the last 90 minutes or more of the Republican debate tonight. Who impressed me as I watched? It was not exactly the ones I thought would impress me. My top three were John Kasich of Ohio, Jeb Bush of Florida and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. They were running on solid records as governors. They measured their words well, a trait I believe speaks for the wisdom, maturity and self-awareness of a candidate. Each handled a challenging question very well. My least favorite was Trump. He is full of himself and of empty rhetoric. He has no experience in government and said nothing of substance that I heard. Frankly, he could not be trusted. I could not give Rand Paul a chance because I have been familiar with his positions and he is way too libertarian for me, even though I thought he debated well. Ben Carson is a delightful person who seemed out of his element, he should be running for Surgeon General. He’s probably running for VP, but he would make a weak campaigner. Huckabee is probably the best public speaker in the bunch but his rhetoric is divisive. Both he and Cruz seem to harbor plenty of political rancor. Rubio said some divisive things too. He is still young. One wonders if he is running for a VP spot. Christie I dismissed because of the news out of New Jersey while he has been governor.
The danger in this campaign is that the conservative base is very angry at the state of the country. Candidates like Trump, Huckabee and Cruz are great at tapping into that ground swell of anger in the Republican conservative base. Voters in general vote their impressions and their feelings rather than looking for a strong leadership record. Today we tend to like brash, flash and attitude. But none of these make a good president. I pray that voters will have enough maturity this time to look past impressions and rhetoric and look for solid positions and elect people with wisdom, steadiness, and good character, people like John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker.
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
Psalm 103:1-2 NIV84
Today my daughter and her husband and our two grandchildren visited us. What a joy to hug them all. Even though we see them regularly, it is still a special gift to treasure their company.
This week I will be preaching on why Communion is called a means of grace among Methodists. One cannot reflect upon this topic without becoming profoundly grateful for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The seemingly simple gift of this sacrament has become for us a magnificent mystery full of both theological and existential richness. Every time we partake it not only reminds us of the facts of Jesus’ act of initiation of the sacrament, but it becomes for us an acted symbol of our own participation in the greater realities which it represents. We are prompted toward ongoing repentance and faith. It is no wonder that in many Christian traditions, this sacrament is called “The Eucharist.” The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek meaning gratitude or thanksgiving. How appropriate.
As I was studying for this sermon I noticed an excellent paragraph of encouragement to praise from Spurgeon in one of the devotionals in my Bible program.
The Lord always deserves to be praised for what He is in Himself, for His works of creation and providence, for His goodness towards His creatures, and especially for the transcendent act of redemption, and all the marvelous blessing flowing therefrom. It is always beneficial to praise the Lord; it cheers the day and brightens the night; it lightens toil and softens sorrow; and over earthly gladness it sheds a sanctifying radiance which makes it less liable to blind us with its glare. Have we not something to sing about at this moment? Can we not weave a song out of our present joys, or our past deliverances, or our future hopes? Earth yields her summer fruits: the hay is housed, the golden grain invites the sickle, and the sun tarrying long to shine upon a fruitful earth, shortens the interval of shade that we may lengthen the hours of devout worship. By the love of Jesus, let us be stirred up to close the day with a psalm of sanctified gladness. (Charles Spurgeon – Evening Devotion for July 31)
Today we have lots of knowledge and many experiences but little wisdom. That is a poverty!
Sometimes when I see one of those big flashing arrow signs on the highway pointing to a lane closure or a detour, I reflect on how we might wish that life came with flashing directional signals that we could not miss. I know I have needed such a thing more than once. But life does not, and so many people lose their way amid the maze of decisions, circumstances and pressures that face people every day. I remember when I first felt called to become a pastor, one who helps others along life’s road, one of the objectives in my mind was to be used of God in helping to teach people how to live wisely. I hoped to help folks learn to make wise choices. It’s a dangerous and slightly presumptuous undertaking because no matter how old or educated one is, one must undertake the task while very much a learner along the road.
The Good News is that one of the purposes of the Bible is to provide the principles to teach us how to live wisely. Consider, for example, the stated purpose from the prologue of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament.
For gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
For receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
For giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance— Prov 1:2-5 NIV 2011
In addition, God’s Holy Spirit has promised to guide Christ-followers in their journey. So there is hope!
The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Prov 2:6 NIV 2011
Recently, this focus on helping others live wisely has been impressed upon me again. Accordingly, I have decided to change the title of my blog to: Learn to be Wise. I hope that the change will accomplish several purposes.
It will help my blog focus more on wisdom for daily living. I want to write more in the wisdom category on my blog.
It will enlarge the blog’s appeal beyond those who normally look at the writings of pastors. This is an important factor in New England where fewer people have a relationship to a church that in upstate New York.
It aligns the title with the web address, an address chosen two years ago because we could not get one that looked like the old blog title. Could it be that God was already at work pointing in this direction? I think so.
Of course, there will still be some family posts; that keeps the blog personal. And there will still be some church-related posts; church gives me a great deal of context. But overall, I trust the percentage of posts will shift toward practical comments on daily life and reflections that help us find wisdom for our daily choices.
We canoed on Lake Eaton and walked on the Wild Walk at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake
I like sitting by the campfire late at night. JoAnne likes to read, sometimes even sitting in the car to get away from the bugs or the rain. Both of us love to canoe around the lake. I nearly finished one book this year. JoAnne pulls out her recorder and plays folk songs, gospel choruses and patriotic tunes by ear at the campfire. I roast marshmallows for s’mores.
For us camping is an Rx of sorts. Being a pastor is a very public vocation. So as part of our vacation time JoAnne and I try to get apart in the Adirondack Mountains. Getting alone as a couple like this provides a good antidote to the high level of people time that is normal for pastoral life. It gives time to process, time for extended devotions, and time to read. We always find it a bonding experience too. Whether it’s canoeing as a tandem, setting up camp together, enjoying a meal out at our favorite Italian restaurant in the Village of Tupper Lake, eating ice cream at Hoss’s, or holding hands watching the stars, we find ourselves drawn closer together in the Adirondacks.
This year we camped again at Lake Eaton State Park just Northwest of Long Lake, NY http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24464.html . Even though we had multiple rainstorms, we still had a great time. I had just finished sealing the tent fly again when the first downpour came. Amazingly, it didn’t rain during campfire times at all and I was able to gather wood at the right stage of dryness so that it would burn in spite of the dampness. But it did rain at suppertime twice. Trying to cook in a rainstorm is the pits so we ate out for supper both evenings; chili dogs and ice-cream at a corner stand one night and Italian at Little Italy the next http://littleitalypizzeriainc.com/Tupper_Lake__NY.html .
Probably the highlight of the vacation was the trip to the Wide Center in Tupper Lake. We highly recommend it http://www.wildcenter.org/ . They have a new section called the Wild Walk that has been a huge success. Thirty-five thousand people have visited the center in the twenty days since the Wild Walk opened. We took the walk and highly recommend it. The people who conceived this place have great imagination and make it so much fun for children. This year the theater inside featured an award winning film about climate change.
This article was reprinted in the Hartford Courant from the Washington Post. It is excellent both in content and in spirit. We need to realize that those who follow the values of the Bible are now more clearly than ever a minority culture in our own country. Moore’s challenge to the church to take its role of living its values with integrity more seriously is right on.
A corollary to this idea is that we need to cooperate more closely in the public sphere with Catholics and mainline Mormons whose family values are the same as those of conservative Protestants because they are drawn from the Bible.
Our hearts are broken by the horrific murderers at Emmanuel church in Charleston. It is unfathomable that the horrid deed was done in prayer service by a man who sat in the service for an hour and enjoyed the hospitality of the group before turning on them. The young man’s acts are certainly inexcusable, hate-filled and pure evil.
But my focus in this article is how I am seeing the grace of God released in others surrounding this tragedy. To begin, consider the testimony of the woman who helped to catch the young man. http://www.today.com/news/debbie-dills-florist-who-helped-police-find-charleston-shooting-suspect-t27281. She could not have made it more clear in her interview that she considers the whole circumstances surrounding her noticing the car and helping the police locate him to be a direct answer to the prayers of people in Charleston. She testified that God was using her to accomplish what needed to be done.
I notice also the Christ-like desire of victims’ families to forgive even through their tears. http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/charleston-church-shooting-main/. Only those seeking to follow Jesus and drawing strength from his Spirit would even attempt this. And, speaking as a pastor, I know they will need continuing help from God’s Spirit to keep that intent through the days to come as forgiveness is usually a journey rather than a one-time thing.
Next consider how this incident is calling people across our country to prayer. Immediately in Charleston people were praying. Now even in Washington people are praying. Oh that we did not need tragedy to call us to prayer! But thanks be to God that when there is tragedy we do turn to Him who can truly help us. http://blogs.rollcall.com/hill-blotter/staff-lawmakers-gather-to-pray-for-charleston/?dcz=. Our church joined in prayer for the situation in our morning service. Perhaps God’s Spirit is using this tragedy to call us again as a nation back to God.
In addition, tonight (6/21/15) there is a great unity march in Charleston. Jesus prayed that God’s people would be united (John 17:21). At this time we are being drawn closer to one another by calamity.
Must be we made ourselves useful and didn’t cause too much trouble in 2014 because our daughter Keely and her husband Mark invited us to go with them on their annual spring Florida vacation again this year. Yeah! Of course, it is such a trial (wink, wink) for us to be with our two wonderful grandchildren, not to mention our daughter and son-in-law for a whole week!
We flew down and they rented a beach condo on the Gulf coast on Gasparillo Island in Southern Florida for a whole week (in the units behind my hat) (such severe hardships, I know). Thank you so much, Mark and Keely!
Annabelle and Sam love our attention (another tough break I know). Of course we thoroughly enjoy spoiling them a little too. Annabelle started learning to crawl on our vacation. We tried to allow Keely a little more rest as Annabelle is not much of a sleeper. JoAnne greatly enjoyed the pool, doing laps early every morning before others were awake. In the evening, she and I walked on the beach at sunset while Keely and Mark were putting the children to bed.
It is always a pleasure for me to watch birds in a different location. The only time while there that I took time away to specifically bird watch, I saw jungle but no birds. Yet, for example, while pushing Sam in the swing at the Community Center, I notched two new birds as they flew over. And as we walked on the beach, there were lots of shore birds to glass.
The attached gallery is a collection of pictures from vacation, some are taken with JoAnne’s camera and some with my phone.
As you know, I like to walk. When I walk, I look for beauty and joy. Today, on vacation, I walked out toward the beach, there was a wild yellow daisy flower in bloom in the sand dunes. It was beautiful! I learned by online research that its name is beach dune daisy (Helianthus debilis). Finding beauty in unexpected places is a habit I try to cultivate. When such a serendipity happens, it always makes me philosophical too because I think the experience confirms one of my maxims for life.
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
One’s approach to a walk is a clue to how you live
I’ve observed in this regard that one can learn much about a person’s approach to life from the way they approach a trail walk.
I meet some people who are always walking with friends. That tells me that they are people-persons who are energized as much by the conversation as by the walk. I bet they appreciate connectedness in other areas of life too.
Other walkers and runners are always alone. There might be many reasons but at the very least they don’t mind being alone. More probably, like me, they relish it as a time for thinking or just drinking in from nature or perhaps praying, as I sometimes do. These kind of people find joy in times of quiet.
Some people out on the trails are out more to “get the job done,” the task of getting in their exercise, that is. They usually have earbuds and don’t want to even give you the time of day lest you delay them. I imagine they are very task oriented people in other phases of life as well. I always pity them in a way as they miss so much by seldom stopping to look or listen. I’ve observed that it is hard for very task-oriented people to find a rhythm in life that includes time for contemplation. But they might reply to me that they enjoy the physical high that comes from aerobic exercise.
Have you noticed that people view the conditions for walking differently too.
I comment to some about the day and they will always be enthusiastic about what a great day it is to walk, even on winter days. These have learned to enjoy the moment.
Other people find something wrong on the best of days; they may note the bugs or the heat or the cold or the rough trail or too many bicyclers or doggy dodo or whatever. Though, frankly, those kind are usually not consistent walkers.
There’s a difference in what is appreciated on the walk too.
Some are always observing whatever nature has to offer that day.
Others are not observant of nature at all.
Some may be only looking for deer and so most days they are disappointed as one only very occasionally sees one while on the trail.
Appreciate the joys the moment brings
It’s the same in life. Some are constantly discovering new blessings in different areas of their lives. Other people seem only to be able to focus on troubles; the bugs and poison ivy patches of life seem to be everywhere for them. Still others are looking only for one or two kinds of rewards in life so they are frequently disappointed as usually the kinds of things they look for are infrequent occurrences.
Michael Cannon Loehrer put it this way, “If people only allow their hearts to enjoy what delights them, they will soon become bored most of the time. If we train our hearts to find joy in drudgery, we will rest content with whatever comes our way and our lives will remain on an even keel. Complainers bounce between ever increasing extremes of delight and despair” (From the book “Porch Talk with Gramps on Parenting: A Framework for a Functional Family”).
For example, I love to observe birds. And thankfully spring days like we have been having in May are the peak of the season for that. But not every day or every walk is ideal for bird watching. For example, one day, I forgot the binoculars. Don’t ask me how, but it happened. So I watched for what I could see with the naked eye. I peeked over the bridge over Salmon Creek and thought I saw movement. So I moved to the other side and had the privilege of watching a young mink forage along the edge of the stream for five or ten minutes, a once in a lifetime event. If I had remembered the binoculars I probably would not have looked in the streambed. I chose to enjoy what was available and was rewarded.
Another day it was windy and my walk happened midday, neither of which is best for birding. But the sun was out and so were the reptiles. That day a tree frog hopped across my path and I saw a black snake sunning himself on the edge of the road. I took pictures of both. I chose to watch what was moving and enjoyed the walk more for it. Choosing to look for the joys a moment offers is a great habit to cultivate. As I say:
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
I’m posting a few pictures of things I’ve seen on walks, especially flowers found in unlikely places or trees growing in unusual forms. I call this gallery “Serendipities.”
I love a good walk. It gets the heart pumping and fills the lungs with fresh air. It eases the tensions of to-do lists and day-to-day circumstances. Sometimes I pray aloud on my walks too. Here in Northern CT, we are blessed to live near the Granby Land Trust area as well as a rail trail. So I have places to walk. I walk for exercise first, but I love the fresh air and I love watching nature, especially birds, plants, rocks, animals and flowers and trees.
Today I walked farther than usual, hiking to Carpenter Falls, a beautiful hidden falls near the top of Broad Hill. Because of the rain last night the creek there was running a little more than usual too. One has to hike down into the small gorge to see it. The collage and the gallery with this post are from that spot today.
This spring the birds have seemed more abundant than usual. Probably I have just been walking at better times. I keep a journal of my bird walks, jotting down the species seen on each walk when I get home. In May I have seen about 36 species of birds on my walks, and I seldom stop just to bird watch for very long. I mostly just glass what moves.
I also had the unusual privilege of observing a small mink hunting up the shore line of our local creek just as I looked down from the Broad Hill Road Bridge. He darted in and out of holes in the rocks both above and below the water searching for prey. Once he swam across a section to a small group of rocks he wanted to check out.
I have advocated for some time that American Christians have an ongoing giving relationship with a reputable charity that helps in third world countries. When crises such the earthquake in Nepal happen, my wife and I know how we can help because of our continuing relationship as donors to World Hope International. We are fortunate to know both the founder of World Hope and also the current leader, John Lyon. We can’t give very much by ourselves, but every little bit helps and as we each do our part, the need is met.
