Losing A Bearing

A few weeks ago while in a worship service at church, the Lord "spoke to me" and said; “You will find your bearings; I promise you; you will find them."

For the past two years I felt that I was out of place, lost, displaced, uprooted, removed (and (luxated and ectopic for those of you who read your dictionary on a regular basis). Some of it started a over two years ago when I had sensed that it was time to leave both the place where I was working (for five years) and the church that we had been attending (for over twenty years).

I had spent the season seeking the Lord's face for direction. I had also sought counsel from Cathy, my friends, counselors, therapists, and my board of directors and board of advisers. And now it was time to step out into a place that was uncharted territory.

Simply put, I had lost my bearings and I couldn't find my true north.

To 'lose one's bearings' means to lose sight of or become unable to determine one's orientation, position, or abilities relative to one's surroundings or situation. 

I knew that I was still called to be a father to my children and their spouses and a grandfather to their children. I knew that I was called to be a pastor and to preach and equip others and to write; but where and to whom? 

On a side note, when a bearing is going out on a car, usually there is a loud noise coming from the tire or wheel of the vehicle. And, if a wheel bearing is missing, it is not recommended you drive the vehicle at all as the wheel can fall off entirely while the vehicle is in motion.

That sounded a lot like me, at least on the inside. And at times on the outside as my anguish came out in short reactions to bad drivers or misunderstandings with Cathy and other minor irritants.

So I filled my time with playing hockey and making guitars and walking and picking up pucks and praying and crying and wandering (seemingly) aimlessly. I worked on projects and traveled and drank a lot of coffee. I applied for many too many jobs; only to get no response...which fed into my sense of lostness.

But I came to realize that I was still seeking identity, validation, and affirmation from circumstances, places, accomplishments, and people; which can lead to a false identity.

Then, while my hands were lifted up in worship of a God who calls Himself Father, I heard His voice deep in my soul; “You will find your bearings; I promise you; you will find them."

Hope arose, for I knew that voice and I had confidence because of His faithfulness to me in the past. I KNEW that somehow I would get to where I needed to be and I could be quiet and not make a loud noise as the lostness of the bearing ground against my soul.

He has been and will be faithful.

In time, at unplanned places (many times and many places) such as at a wedding or while working with a friend, the Lord spoke to me through many voices to encourage me to keep doing what I was doing. To remind me that HE had called me and that HE would get me to where He wanted me to be. 

His gifts were without repentance:

"For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn." (Romans 11:29 NLT)

When did I forget that He is the One who holds it all? When did I forget that He is still holding me? He's a Good, Good Father who is still is Lord of All.

It’s A Miracle!

Most of my ideas for writing my blog come from events of my life. Many have been from family and from hockey.

Occasionally, Cathy will suggest an idea to me for a blog. And, oftentimes, it is “food for fodder” to get my creative juices flowing.

Recently, she suggested that I write on the casual use of the word or idea of “miracle”. Cathy had noticed just how many products use the word to describe how well their product works; such as a hair conditioner bottle that claims to be a “3-minute miracle”.

I suggested that she jot down some bullet points and set it on my desk; which she did.

In fact, it was around the same time that pastor and author Eugene Peterson passed away; October 22, 2018.

For those of you who don’t know who he was, Eugene was a clergyman, scholar, poet, and author who wrote over thirty books. One of his best-known books was his translation of the Bible called “The Message”; which is a paraphrase of the Bible in contemporary language.

And, as life usually happens, just as I was about to take Cathy’s suggestion and write a blog on miracles, I ran across a devotional by Eugene Peterson on miracles and decided that for this week, I would post it in honor of his contributions to the work of the Gospel.

A Skill of the Soul by Eugene Peterson

Eugene Peterson

When something happens that we can’t explain, we say that’s a miracle.

Under that set of definitions, most things that a magician does would be a miracle to me, and I know good and well they aren’t.

Miracle, through the biblical tradition, is not what we don’t understand but what is done for us that we can’t do ourselves.

Miracle is functional. It’s what God does for us or does for us through other people that we can’t do ourselves. 

It’s possible you could understand it, but even if you did, that wouldn’t make it stop being a miracle. The word does not mean that which is beyond our comprehension but rather that which is beyond our ability.

So in that way I can, when I walk out in the morning and see the sun coming up over the horizon, say, “That’s a miracle.” And I would be biblically correct. Every morning is a miracle. 

So how do you focus your eyes to see the miracle of each day?

How do you train yourself into that discipline that can tune out the cacophonous racket of the world so that you can hear the angel symphony singing God’s glory in the highest?

You can give your attention, your mental alertness, your curiosity, and your intelligence. Listening is not only a function of biological acoustics; it is a spiritual skill of the soul. 

Don’t be misled by the child in the manger. He was a child, but He is of the family of Moses the prophet and He speaks to you today.

He is saying something that is designed to rule your life, to lead you into a new way of existence, something that can evoke a response that has eternal dimensions to it.

He says that you are loved by God, that you are accepted by God, that your life has an eternal meaning and destiny.

Do I hear you say that you have heard all that before?

No, that is a crashing, enlivening, beautiful new word. Once you hear that, you will never hear anything old again. Everything will be new.

That is the kind of thing that keeps sounding new every time it is heard. 

What is one thing you could do today to attune your heart and mind to the miracles of God’s presence in your life?

From the book “Every Step An Arrival” A 90-Day Devotional for Exploring God’s Word by Eugene Peterson © 2018 WaterBrook & Multnomah Imprints of Penguin Random House.

Tumultuous Tomato

I love all types of tomatoes; especially ones that are vine-ripened.  And this is the time of the year when they can be picked and eaten right off the vine.

But, since I live in Minnesota and I don’t have a greenhouse, all winter I settle for eating pink tomatoes that were harvested and shipped before they could come to full maturity.

As I eat them, I dream of summer when I can go into my garden and pick one at the fullest possible time of maturity; ripened to perfection!

This year is no exception…

Day after day I have been watching for the first red tomato of the season, eagerly and patiently anticipating the day when it would be introduced to my taste buds.

I should also add that this year I removed our six-foot high barrier fence because it blocked the sun from fully reaching our garden…

 

And I built a new much shorter picket fence in its place so that neighbors would have an easier time picking our abundant raspberries - that we can’t possibly use all for ourselves. Year after year we get so many that even with freezing we still don’t have enough room to store them.

This year was no exception and because we would be on the road for much of July, we decided to invite all of our neighbors to partake so that none of the raspberries would be wasted. The same went for any of the other fruits and vegetables that were in our garden.

One of the days that we were home (in between our many road trips), I noticed that one of the tomatoes was starting to ripen. I was hoping that it would come to maturity the next time that we were home.

The next time I came home from our travels, I heard from many neighbors and friends who thanked us for the raspberries; confessing they had come multiple times and each time hauled away a “boat load”.

I also noticed that the tomato was almost perfect. I would give it a few more days so that it would be perfectly ripe. My mouth waited in eagerness for this day of bliss that was coming!

 

The next morning, I noticed that the tomato was missing. My immediate thought was; “Who would take my tomato without asking me?” (now that I was home). I used my placid facade to conceal the tumult of my mind.

Just as quickly as the tumultuous emotions tried to come up, they were replaced by thoughts of my own stinginess. After all, I had invited neighbors to take whatever they wanted; I should be glad that I had something to give.

Believe it or not, over the next two days whenever I went into the garden to pick raspberries, I would look at the tomato plant and wonder who took it?

And, just as quickly as the tumultuous emotions tried to come up, they were quickly replaced by words of scripture:

“You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19b) 

“Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.” (Proverbs 21:23) 

 “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)

“…but the godly are generous givers.” (Psalm 37:21b)

Today when I went into the garden to pick raspberries and I looked at the tomato plant, my eye saw something red. No, not me but a tomato. But it wasn’t in the garden. It was laying beneath a tree and about one forth of it was eaten…

A squirrel had taken it; not a person; I had been wrong...I realized that it was a good thing that I hadn’t allowed my mind to “take someone to court” over a tomato.

I almost took an offense and got mad at “someone” over a missing piece of fruit! Thank God for His grace!

 “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” (Proverbs 13:3)

Reflecting, I find it amazing how stingy I (we) can be over something like that. Who cares if it had been a person and not a squirrel who took it; that is what it was there for!

It also shows just how much I (we) don’t trust God for His provision. The Apostle Paul wrote;

 “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” (2 Cor 9:8-9)

May God change our hearts and open our hands of anything that we would hold back from one who needs something.

All Scripture if from New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

You Can’t Help Me; I’m Overwhelmed!

When we think of the word “Overwhelmed” we often think that this is something bad.

We picture negative things such as being overwhelmed a day jamb-packed with things to do; and not enough time to fit everything in.

Or being overwhelmed in our minds by remorse or regret that causes the brain to be stuck in circular logic.

Or being overwhelmed in our feelings as though life all around us is squeezing in on us.

Or being overwhelmed by an attack; or over powered; especially by superior forces that have the potential to crush or destroy.

Or being overwhelmed such as in a disastrous situation that could bury, submerge, or cover us, like a flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, avalanche, volcano, earthquake, etc.….

So, if I were to say to you; “I hope that today you have an overwhelming day!”, you’d probably reply with; “No thank you!”

If you are super-spiritual you might reply with; “Get behind me Satan!”; but that wouldn’t be nice because I am really just trying to help you.

But “overwhelmed” isn’t necessarily really a bad word

With the right understanding and perspective, “overwhelmed” can be a

good word.

Or as George Costanza (Seinfeld) said; “…So, anyway, if you think about it, manure is not really that bad a word. I mean, it’s ‘newer’, which is good, and a ‘ma’ in front of it, which is also good. Ma-newer, right?”

But I digress…and some of you are more overwhelmed because I have taken time from your already busy schedule…

Hang in there; I do have a point.

“Overwhelmed” is a word that can be used to describe BOTH negative as well as positive situations. It can be bad or good depending on what’s whelming whom over.

If you have a sports team that has “an overwhelming offense”; that’s a good thing; especially if they are winning the game.

The word “overwhelmed” means ‘to load, heap, or address with an overpowering amount of ANYTHING’.

And “ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with provision of presents or food or clothing or cars or houses or job opportunities or extra days of vacation…

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with too many friends and too many invites to celebrations such as weddings or graduations or parties. 

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with hugs or kisses.

“ANYTHING’ can mean overwhelmed with good things such as overwhelmed with comfort or love or joy or peace or patience or kindness or goodness or faithfulness or gentleness or self-control or understanding or forgiveness. Can we ever have too much or be overwhelmed with these?

“ANYTHING” can mean (as King David wrote in Psalm 68:19) being overwhelmed or loaded (imposes a heavy burden) with benefits or blessings from the Lord!

So, I to say to you; “I hope that today you have an overwhelming day!”

I hope that you are overwhelmed by the goodness and grace of our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Especially if, when you are reading this, you are feeling as though your day is already (in a negative sense) overwhelming.  

Take some time to let this song minister to your heart...