the cure for Monday

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Looking into the new week

At the entry point to a busy and seriously over-scheduled week, I thought I’d let my grandson, David, offer some perspective. He’s not exactly “quotable” at this point in his life (he tends to laugh, clap his hands, or run away when I ask him direct questions), but he is communicating loud and clear when it comes to perspective.

The official title (from Naomi) to this first picture is, “David spying on the neighbors.” But I’m re-captioning the image as, “David looking into the new week.” He has climbed up on the heating vent to get a better look, he is constantly loaded with anticipation, and his enthusiasm for “what’s next,” and “what’s possible” simply cannot be contained.

“I’m swinging! When I’m done I may just move over to the hammock!”

NON-STOP!!! David’s default setting is “Go;” his forecast is constantly “Sunny with an occasional chance of brief, local, thunderstorms;” his curiosity is boundless; and his schedule is “Now!”

With all the details I have planned for this week, I could use a good shot of David to get things off to a humming start.

Fact is, none of us really know exactly what this day has in store, and what we’ll see in our rear-view mirror once we make it through to Friday. But we can choose how we approach each day, and how we engage each moment along the way.

My grandson may not be talking yet, but if he could I’m sure he’d say something along the lines of the Psalmist’s words in the following translation of the well-known “This is the day the Lord has made!” passage (Psalm 118:21-25).

Thank you (God) for responding to me;
you’ve truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
is now the capstone!
This is God’s work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
let’s celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

Our opportunity is to respond with enthusiasm, with passion, and with joy. Our opportunity is to live – every day – like we mean it! Because God most certainly meant it when God created us.

Peace and promise - DEREK

O When the Saints Go Marching In

photo from Jayne/Steve Parker

If you missed this afternoon’s “Celebration of Life” memorial service for our great friend Roy Crenshaw, then you missed an opportunity not only to pay tribute to an extraordinary human being, but to learn something vitally important about what it means to walk with God.

I’ve already written a detailed post about Roy’s life (Tribute to A Life Well-Lived), so this weekend I simply want to draw attention to his testimony.

Rebekah put it well when she said that Roy’s testimony was a story he lived on a day-to-day basis. Some people stand up and share a five-minute, classic, “How I got saved” testimony, but one of the most eloquent, compelling witnesses to Jesus I’ve ever seen was the way that Roy Crenshaw told the truth about Gospel of Love, simply by being.

CAN I GET A WITNESS? Roy was a “Larger than Life” man who lived faith out loud. Roy constantly challenged the darkness by being the light, and he followed Jesus with such integrity that those privileged to know him could no more argue against the truth of the Gospel than they could argue against the fact of the sun having first been introduced to the moon.

image by Kelly Poirson

That’s my definition of a saint: a person who goes out and lives their faith while other people are arguing about it. So it was more than fitting that – after Rebekah offered the benediction – we ended with a lively rendition of “O when the saints come marching in.” Mark started on the piano, Don jumped in immediately with his trombone, I added a simple progression of chords on my guitar, and Dave danced all over the music with blues edged New Orleans trumpet that sounded like it came from the angel Gabriel himself.

As we finished the first verse, the extended Crenshaw family (plus Rebekah) all fished colorful umbrellas and parasols from beneath the pews, and commenced to promenade around the front of the church and down the center aisle for the recessional. We must have played at least six to eight repeats, and the arrangement grew more festive every time.

Pic by Julie Hellman

And when I say “promenade” I mean shimmy, and dance, and sway, and wobble a little bit, and ripple, and spin those umbrellas, and occasionally glide sideways, and circle, and do a bit of a jig, and hold out one leg, contemplating the foot for a moment before placing it on the ground again. It was a Coming Home of A Saint kind of a shimmy post-benediction move-up-the-aisle rendition of “O When the saints come marching in.”

And another fine saint went marching home.

just hit the back of the ball

Well, another Wednesday has come along with no video-post. And that’s a shame, because last week’s saw a significant up-tick in views. Most of you still ignore the invitation to view the brief message, but I honestly think it’s worth a look. Each video runs two-minutes and you can find them at my You-Tube channel, just click this link: www.youtube.com/user/DerekMaul.

GOLF! Mostly I’m late posting today because I played golf this morning on the course behind my house. It’s a good thing I enjoy being out there, and that I appreciate the company of good people, because the quality of golf being played today was sub-standard at best!

Golf is a funny sport. Analysts will dissect the mechanics of a swing and pinpoint probably 20 or more constituent parts. “Just make these forty-three small adjustments,” they’ll say, “and we believe you’ll be able to hit the ball better.”

Personally, I favor the approach touted by 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson when he was asked about technique, training, and fine-tuning his game: “It’s simple,” Watson said, “I just try to hit the back of the ball.”

That’s pretty-much it. I stand in front of the golf ball, square the face of the golf club behind the ball, take a quick look at my target, then draw the club back and try to return it to “Position-A” as rapidly as possible.

People who worry too much about the mechanics of golf run the risk of losing the simple joy of whacking something hard with a piece of metal and watching it fly through the air.

MAKING CONTACT: Sometimes I think that’s one of the main problems with the way many people approach faith. They get caught up in the mechanics and the details and frequently forget the essential point of putting themselves in the presence of God and then responding to the invitation to live in the truth of God’s great love.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Ultimately, it’s about making contact, because everything else involved in the equation is useful only inasmuch as it facilitates reconciliation. Faith is about mending the broken relationship between people and God; Jesus came to take care of the distance between us, to “square us up” as it were; the power comes when we learn to make that contact count.

Or, as Bubba Watson said, “Just try to hit the back of the ball.”

- DEREK

Global "Weird"-ing Rampant

“O the depth of riches, and wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways!” (Romans 11:33)

I am nowhere close to making sense of the Bible, or fathoming the mystery of Creation; but in a way I’m glad about that, because following Jesus is the only possible response that constantly, consistently, reassuringly leads me in the direction of understanding, that faithfully illuminates my relationship to God, and that opens my mind at the same time as both opening and healing my heart.

his morning, when I left the house at 6:30 to walk Scout, it was 55-degrees and clear. This is South-Central Florida, and it’s the middle of May; I had to wear a light jacket; what a treat; unbelievable! But it’s been that kind of a year.

Ridiculously high temperatures in the early spring. Deliciously cool days before and after Easter. 90-degrees plus a couple of weeks ago. Now some cool mornings seemingly out of nowhere. Friends in other parts of the country have experienced similar situations; ditto for those living overseas.

If it’s part of a pattern, then the pattern can be described as no pattern at all.

Fact is, I don’t think the term “Global Warming” is any help; what we’ve got here is more evidence of “Global WEIRDing,” and it’s obvious that “what we don’t understand” has got “what we do understand” beat by a long shot. And what we don’t understand seems to be growing by the minute.

NOT A SCIENTIST: It’s important to note at this point that I’m not a scientist. But I’m not a politician either, and that hugely important qualification more than makes up for my non-scientist credentials. What I am is an observer; I tend to pay close attention to what’s going on and I’m more inclined to generate questions than answers.

This sometimes perplexes people who think it’s my job to tidy things up for them. “What do you mean you don’t have a pat answer for stuff that doesn’t make sense?”

Believe me, I’m a hugely reasonable guy, but I have no interest in reducing the universe, science, faith, God, or global weather to a manageable set of equations or a set of pithy explanations.

MYSTERY: On the other hand, I don’t believe that mystery is an excuse for non-action. Take the “global weirding” thing, for example. Just because it’s not easy to pin climate change on industrialization doesn’t mean that corporations (or individuals) should be off the hook for blatantly harmful practices.

What part of “Be nice to the Earth, it’s the only one we’ve got; if you break this one it’s not like we can go back to the store for a new one” do we not understand?

Likewise, the fact that so much of the story of God’s relationship to the Children of Israel leaves us scratching our heads, and the fact that the miracles associated with Jesus are pretty-much impossible to account for outside of faith, shouldn’t mean that we walk away from the relationship… or that we have to check our brains at the door… or dismiss the invitation of Jesus to live as committed followers of The Way.

I am nowhere close to making sense of the Bible, or fathoming the mystery of Creation; but in a way I’m glad about that, because following Jesus is the only possible response that constantly, consistently, reassuringly leads me in the direction of understanding, that faithfully illuminates my relationship to God, and that opens my mind at the same time as both opening and healing my heart.

- DEREK

Mothers Day Evening of Pops

Flowers for Rebekah from Andrew and Naomi

Here’s a truism I’ll never tire of repeating: A great Sunday is always the most effective preparation for Monday. Spending the day with my community of faith is hands down the best possible way to start the week.

Mother’s Day started out with beautiful flowers from Andrew and Naomi. Our children may be miles apart, in Connecticut and Italy, but they did a great job of collaborating and Rebekah was more than delighted.

By the time we added the arrangement I gave Rebekah and then the bouquet we bought for my mum, our house was completely brightened with fresh-cut flowers.

MUCIC & PRAISE: Sunday morning at church, during the prelude, I invited the Praise Band to join me in a free-form jam around “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” All I did was lay down a simple progression of chords, and then the brass-section got going like they were a parade coming down Bourbon Street in New Orleans! So I just stood there and let the music wash over me and, consequently, I was pretty much full to overflowing with the Spirit before church officially began.

Later, that sense of musical connection found another expression when Rebekah and I joined some of our friends for an outdoor concert at Tampa’s River Tower Park.

singing the National Anthem

We picnicked on the grass and then enjoyed an exhilarating Pops presentation by the amazingly excellent Florida Orchestra.

Again, the sound literally washed over us. Live music is great; live music in a fine concert hall is marvelous; live music in church is uplifting; but there’s something magical, something enchanted, something extra-special about a full orchestra in the open air playing a free concert for a couple of thousand enthusiastic fans.

Chuck, Rebekah, Peggy, David, Karin

The program comprised a wonderfully eclectic range of work. Opera fromCarmen; stage from The Sound of Music; film score from Indiana Jones, andPirates of the Caribbean; Moon Riverby Mancini, a brilliant selection from Stravinsky, and the crowning finale of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

ENCHANTED EVENING: It was, in every sense, an enchanted evening. By the second half of the concert the sun had gone down and a pleasant breeze carried the glorious music well beyond the park.

The idea of putting a world-class orchestra in a park, and letting absolutely anyone come and listen, without paying a penny, reminded me in a way of how we are called to present the Gospel of Love in a world that is largely indifferent to faith.

We are called to be – literally – an illumination. “It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

This is an invitation to shine, to let the light of the knowledge of the glory of God wash over this world as the music of a great orchestra washed over the city last night - DEREK

Dr of Thinkology

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12)

“The Thinker” fromhttp://www.algomamariner.blogspot.com

Most of us have attended meetings, conferences or retreats where we’re asked to “Describe yourself in ten-words or less,” or “Pick five words that sum up your personality,” or “Write a one-paragraph summary of how you think others see you,” or “Imagine you are being eulogized at a memorial service, what are five things people would say about you?”

It’s a useful exercise, and thinking that way can get our attention in a hurry, especially if we perceive incongruence between what we’d like to be true about ourselves and what really is.

As a writer with an emerging public profile, it’s instructive to pay attention to how I am described by other people. Some places (church groups, conference organizers, retreat centers, web-sites) simply cut and paste a standard biography, a paragraph or two they found somewhere else. Others write up an introduction based on personal experience, having read me, met me, or heard me before. Then – and these are the best – I sometimes run across a review written after an event is over.

JOYFUL CHRISTIAN: Two such descriptions stand out in my mind. The first was on a church sign, and read, simply, “Come hear Derek Maul. Author, Storyteller.” I loved that one. Then, just this past month, a church newsletter review reported on a men’s retreat “Led by author, speaker, thinker, and joyful Christian Derek Maul.”

• “Author; Storyteller.”
• “Author, speaker, thinker, and Joyful Christian.”

To be described as a “Joyful Christian” is beyond encouraging. It means that – for those folk – I actually represented my foundational premise of “real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of,” and “The life that is truly life.”

Then, the moniker “THINKER,” has given me pause. The designation brings to mind the medieval role of “A Contemplative,” meaning someone whose engagement with life is defined in terms of contemplation. I’d love to be experienced as someone who has a faith and a way of living that is thoughtful rather than reactive.

It’s good to be a  ”Thinking Christian;” this world needs more people of faith who are committed to contemplation. But it would be a mistake to confuse thinking with a sense of need to either conjure up tidy answers or dismiss faith when reason appears to be on the ropes.

DR. OF THINKOLOGY: I am happy to be perceived as a “Thinker,” and I’m even happier that it came in the same sentence as “Joyful Christian.” But I don’t think I’m ready to be conferred the tittle (See Wizard of Oz) “Doctor of Thinkology.”

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to try to live the words of Paul: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” - DEREK