The Gift of Wonder

I may whine and complain about the west-central Florida heat (and the mercury has been pushing 95-98 here in Brandon pretty much every afternoon for the best part of 10-weeks!)... but the unique climate in this part of the world undoubtedly produces some of the most spectacular skies you'll ever see.

This photograph (above) was taken from the K-Mart parking lot on Hwy 60 around 5:00 Wednesday afternoon. I didn't have my camera so it's just a cell-phone shot. There's even a sense in which the urban landscape contributes to the view, with the huge ungainly light poles stuck in the middle of a parking lot that's at least three times bigger than it would need to be on even the busiest shopping day of the year.

I guess I could rail against the idiocy of a planning process that allows pavement to run a good hundred yards from the street to the storefront, when there is more than ample room for grass and trees - but I'd be wasting my breath in this particular neck of the woods.

So instead I'll pause in wonder at the handiwork of creation, where even concrete and steel can look good against a tropical sky.

WONDER: Wonder seems to be my theme this week. I hadn't really thought about it until talking with some friends yesterday about what exactly God is teaching us. It's a great question - what is God impressing on us, at this time, in this context of our lives...?

For one of my friends the answer was "trust"; another said that God wants him to learn to "surrender"; and the third pointed to "grace." For me the answer was this. "God is teaching me wonder," I said. "I've been struck this week at how easy it is to take things for granted. Love; beauty; prayer; worship; celebration. I'm learning - just a little - to allow the wonder of it all to wash over me, to open my arms wider, and to take it all in."

Allow the wonder of it all to wash over us... Open our arms wider... Take it all in....

Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them (Matthew 13:13-15)

The Song of the Shepherd

(photo: Tuscan hillside - I believe I got this from Andrew)

My Men's small-group has the summer off. But I still get together with a few of my friends occasionally just to talk and pray. Sometimes one or two guys, sometimes as many as three or four.

Last time we met we talked about Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd....). It's one of those readings that is so well-know it's become almost cliche. Then, because it's become so cliche, many people don't even know the Psalm any more. It's often parked on the sidelines because "That's overdone" - but for so many who are fairly new to faith it's not overdone at all... in fact it's overlooked.

So, those of us who have been kicking around the faith world for a long long time seem to be neglecting the 23rd Psalm... and those who are brand-new to Christianity haven't even talked about it in any depth for the first time!

Consequently, and because the content of the Psalm spoke directly to a circumstance we were discussing, my friends and I read it again. Then we agreed to re-read the scripture every day for a week, and to read it out loud. I used the C.E.V. translation, I like the nuances it reveals:

The Good Shepherd

You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, and you refresh my life.

You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths. I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won't be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd's rod makes me feel safe.

You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, LORD.

Reading the Bible out loud is a moving exercise. There's a sense in which the words of scripture are loaded with a spiritual presence that transcends the value of the words as mere language. This is heightened - in my experience - when the words are read aloud.

So I tend to meet God in a fresh way whenever I read God's word. It's a simple truth that I echo time and again in this space. But it's a story worth repeating.

Won't you accept this challenge? Take Psalm 23 and read it out loud - right now. Then repeat the exercise, daily, for one week. Add a few minutes of quiet prayer to the experience. But, most of all, simply meet up with God.

Grace and Peace - DEREK

Missed appointments and serendipity

Late post this morning... because I just returned from a non breakfast meeting. Or, more properly, a non-meeting breakfast.

The sequence of events was actually fairly amusing. My friend and I had made plans to meet for coffee (not breakfast) at a local "dive" in Lithia. So I cruise on down, hang around a few minutes, then sit at the counter and sip coffee while I wait. Eventually I order the breakfast special (no, none of it was on my new "diet"), and decide to give him another half hour.

This is the email I sent from my blackberry.

??? Normally I wouldn't drive all the way to Lithia just for coffee.... So I had the breakfast special while I was waiting !

Eventually it dawned on me I'm dining alone!
I'll give it another five then I'm heading to work. This will definitely be better if you come too!
- peace - Derek

So I arrive home, set up at my computer, and the phone rings. It's my friend:

- "Derek...." Silence... "I thought it was Monday."

- "That's OK. I loved the corned-beef hash. How did you think it was Monday?"

- "Well... I kind of set my internal clock based on when Susan goes to work. Then I just count forward from that day... so I thought yesterday was Sunday and that made today Monday."

- "You know in the old days they didn't have watches so people just used sun-dials to tell the time and the date. So you're telling me your wife is your sun dial?"

- "Yeah, but she's really not all that accurate."

But is was OK. I enjoyed the quiet drive down past FishHawk and into Lithia. The restaurant was very much down home - pleasant "salt of the earth" type folk. And then I got to enjoy a quiet, meditative meal, sipping coffee and getting the day lined up in my head and in my heart.

Every moment is potentially redemptive. Every mis-step can bring serendipity. Each missed appointment, overshot exit, wrong turn... it's all open to the redirection of the Spirit.

We just have to keep our hearts open, and our awareness of God's grace on high alert.

Be blessed - whatever happens today - DEREK

Sunday message neither boring nor tedious!

Sometimes it's instructive to research the definition of a word and then measure that explanation against reality as experienced in real life. This is especially interesting when the word is faith-related. I've noticed that dictionary definitions tend to fall far short of the mark regarding the transformational nature of living faith.

The word "sermon" is a great example. I sat down at my computer this morning intending to post a blog about my experience in church yesterday, so I looked up the word "sermon" in several dictionaries. This is what I found:

ser·mon [sur-muhn] –noun

• A discourse for the purpose of religious instruction or exhortation, esp. one based on a text of Scripture and delivered by a member of the clergy as part of a religious service.
• Any serious speech, discourse, or exhortation, esp. on a moral issue.
• A religious discourse delivered as part of a church service. An often lengthy and tedious speech of reproof or exhortation.
• An oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic, usually expounding on a type of belief or law within both past and present contexts.

I especially chuckled at the phrase "lengthy and tedious speech." Tedious is the last thing you're going to encounter at First Presbyterian of Brandon! And yesterday was a great example of that. I've seldom felt the congregation so attentive. In fact, the word to describe the feel in the sanctuary was almost "rapt" (- adjective: deeply engrossed or absorbed). We laughed, we teared up, we grew silent and still, we even gasped

The Great Commission: Rebekah preached - with great enthusiasm - about what it means to be a Matthew 28 kind of a Christian. Matthew 28 contains what's known as "The Great Commission." It goes like this:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Rebekah talked about the danger of getting caught up in numbers - as if it's possible to quantify our response to Christ's words. She questioned the basic assumptions we own about what it means to be a church. She even took a jab at the generally accepted wisdom (touted at times by yours truly) that the best measure of a "successful" ministry is percentage of involvement, the ideal of having 80% or more actively involved in mission and ministry.

Rebekah said that "making sure more church members are busy" can still too easily mask a lack of depth, growth, focus and even commitment.

Comparison games: She talked about the popular pastime of playing comparison games vis-a-vis congregations with thousands in attendance, lavish facilities, full-service gyms, choirs that travel the world, etc. etc. etc. "But we're not Southern Baptist," she said; "we're not Methodists, and we're not Catholic... We're part of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

It turns out, she said, that we're actually a really large church as compared to the average Presbyterian congregation... "If, however, we're merely interested in numbers."

Then, and this is the reason I've included so much of Rebekah in this blog, she got everyone holding their breath and sitting on the edge of their seats when she went on to say that we're not called to be Baptists, or Methodists, or Catholics; and... "We're not necessarily - and this is one that could get me into trouble if it were taken out of context - even called to be Presbyterians." - GASP! - "What we're called to be is faithful disciples of Jesus." - AMENs came from several areas of the sanctuary!

"And," she added, "we're called to be faithful disciples of Jesus in the context of being a Presbyterian congregation." Saying that wasn't an escape clause, but a vitally important fact that informs the way we worship, and practice our faith, and witness to the life-changing power of the Gospel in this community.

What's the point? And what is the point, she asked, of gathering together in church if it's just to hear a message we're guaranteed to agree with, to pat ourselves on the back, and to never feel the need or the challenge to change or to grow?

Personally, I feel as if I am a different person, a more engaged believer, and a more faithful pilgrim - making progress - today than I was, say, at the beginning of 2010. I believe I am closer to God, and that I follow Jesus with more integrity. I understand that I am constantly learning and I'm committed to growing in faith and love.

As to my definition of the word "sermon"? It would have to be this: "To speak truth and life into a community of faith; to challenge and encourage, to apply the transformational power of Gospel to every day life."

It's Monday morning, and this is what is on my mind and in my heart today - DEREK

Community enhances everything...

Question: What do you do when it's too hot to do anything that requires movement, and when the A/C in your house can't keep up? Answer: Go play golf outside in the full sun for five hours!

But it was a scramble - always much fun, and it was a fund-raiser for a good cause (Family Promise, a new homeless ministry here in Brandon) - so the golf was essentially guilt free.

You can see my friends Gerard and Gary with me after we complete the last hole (the fourth, Jack, was taking the picture for me). The beautiful thing about "best-ball" is it enables even a group of fairly average golfers to turn in a decent score - in our case a 69. We only bogied one hole and came close to going really low.

It's essentially a small-group experience. Everyone brings what they have to the table; you learn the truth about the other guy's game (because it's not about what you say anymore it's about what actually happens); you play off one-another's strengths, and when things go south for one person the rest of the team has more than enough ammunition to bring them along regardless.

I've said this before and it will come out time and again in my writing and speaking - "Christianity is, at best, a team sport." We weren't designed to live alone and our creation didn't come with the idea that we should isolate ourselves in any way. Community simply makes meaningful life more possible.

I talked with a young(ish) man this week who is going through some real struggles in his home. I asked him what kind of support system he and his wife had. He said they were on their own. We've invited him to church, we've invited him before, and we'll continue to whenever we see him. He and his wife need the community of faith, simple as that.

Interestingly, everyone on my golf-scramble team contributed. I'll bet that if we counted it up we'd find out we used at lest 15 shots from each member. It's not that we all had the same ability... the truth is more along the lines of "There's a different dynamic at play when we do anything in community."

Notice I didn't say "committee". I said "community." Huge difference.

Grace and peace - DEREK

Excess - and why more doesn't add up to better

I started off in the yard early this morning - intending to beat the heat. The strategy didn't really work, but I do have a nicely mowed, edged and (partially) weeded garden for my trouble.

It's hard to follow yesterday's blog post - especially in terms of the photograph - so today I'm posting a couple of our recent cooking adventures.

What's been best about this has been the all out flavor-fest! It's much easier to deal with smaller portions when the taste is so good.

Take yesterday's evening meal, for example (not pictured). I tossed a salad of mixed baby greens, garbanzo beans, chopped red onion, chopped tomato, sliced (fresh) mango, and Italian dressing... with a little salt and pepper and a touch of diced garlic. Then I grilled a dozen fresh large shrimp. I served the salad with the shrimp on top and a slice of whole-wheat flat bread on the side.

The flavor combinations were spectacular! We were more than satisfied.

But isn't more always better?

This cooking process is making me think - and re-think - about the idea of excess. Here in the West, and in North American in particular, we go in for a lot of conspicuous over-consumption. We do it because we can, because "This is America, gosh darn-it; it's our God-given right", and because there's this cultural overlay that declares, "More is always better."

Here's how it works. If a four-ounce steak is good... then an eight ounce fillet is better, right? Simple math then concludes the full one-pound tenderloin would be best of all. Or, if my family is happy in a 2,000 square foot home... then we'll be even happier in a 3,000 square footer, right? And if a $50,000 income leaves me satisfied, then earning $250,000 is going to make me more satisfied still. It stands to reason!

But isn't it possible to be satisfied and fulfilled (and a free American) without overindulgence? Apart from avoiding the heartburn, and the weight gain, and the cardio-vascular problems, and looking bloated, and being generally unhealthy... could it be true that we can actually experience more pleasure when we accent flavor, and creativity, and invention, and balance over the mantra of "more = better"...?

The parallels for life in general are self-evident. Focusing on the quality of the experience, and enjoying the benefits that go along with balance and flavor.

I'd like to think we're living that way: within our means, always bringing the most flavor out of the moment, balancing the spiritual with the physical, enjoying what we have rather than looking for the next big bite.

Maybe that's it. When it's always about more then there's no enjoying the moment - there's simply getting in line for the next slice... while stuffing your mouth with the perfectly adequate portion on your plate without even enjoying what you have....

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life" (Matthew 6).

lessons from the dog (well, she is cute...)

Gotta love the attitude of the average family dog! I noticed this morning how consummately accommodating Scout is - enthusiastically so.

It started when I got out of bed. As I walked past her in the dark I could hear her tail thumping on the floor: "Oh Boy! Daddy's up! If I'm lucky he'll walk into the kitchen!"

I eventually do. And there she is, already waiting for me, lying on her side on the tile floor pretending to be asleep. But I see her eyes follow me all the way to the sink, and she can't help but thump the floor with her tail once again.

So I down a glass of orange juice and get the coffee started. She knows what's coming and just can't contain the excitement: "Daddy's going to go for my leash, I just know it. Walk time. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...!"

And off we go. Walk on the grass? "Oh boy!" Cross the road? "Oh boy, oh boy!!" Turn down this street... or that one? "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!"

Eventually we make it back home and she's just as excited. Can't wait to get into the house. Can't wait to check her water bowl. Can't wait to eat her breakfast. Can't wait to take mama her coffee: "This is great! This is the best! This is the most wonderful morning I've had since - well - yesterday morning!"

But it's more than simply "Oh boy!" It's a huge dose of grateful along with the enthusiasm. She looks at me as if to say, "Thank you. Thank you so much for this life. I love you, I love you, I love you. There's a reason my tail won't stop wagging, you know..."

PSALM 100 -

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

AMEN! (Oh boy, oh boy!!)