Go With The Flow

For the past fifteen years or so I have worn my hair cut short. In fact, I usually scheduled a haircut every month 'whether I needed it or not' because my hair grows very quickly and is thick and part of the haircut is to thin it out.

When I conversed with my stylist about wanting my hair a bit longer, she said that it was pretty simple; all that I would have to do is stop scheduling appointments with her.

I say all that to state that I grew out my flow this past winter for hockey season. Not a big deal and yet the response (myopically speaking) was 'bigger' than I had expected. What I lacked in skills that are diminishing, I made up in my flow.

Flow is the slang word for the hair of hockey players. Typically it is long and flows easily out of hockey helmets. Usually, it is un-kept and greasy...or at least heavily gelled. 

Although my hair curls when it is long, in years past, I have permed the back in true mullet fashion to get the party in the back; all the while keeping the business on top.

I scheduled my haircuts for every six weeks because I had to at least keep it groomed since I still met with people in ministry....and oftentimes wore a hat. 

Generally, I received loving compliments from a variety of people who had never seen me when (in the past) I had longer hair, and they encouraged me to keep it long.

Several of my teammates encouraged me to keep it long as they lived vicariously through me; since most of them had installed a marble top on their heads a very long time ago. 

I would occasionally be stopped by complete strangers who told me that they liked my hair longer. Several neighbors called me over and expressed their love of my longer hair. Even as I write this at a coffee shop, a friend who is a pastor said that he wishes he had my hair. I told him that when I get it cut I will drop it off at his house.

I was really shocked when the elderly women at church would tell me to keep it long. 

I say "generally" I received compliments because I did get some razzing; including being called affectionate names such as hippie. I was asked what year it was because someone thought that it was the seventies. One person, when he saw my flow, asked if I road my motorcycle; offering to give me a bowl-cut.

A friend who played his career in the NHL asked me if I was going through a mid-life-crisis. I responded "I hope not, or else that means that I would live to at least one hundred and twenty years old!"

Little did I know that by not cutting my hair would I generate such opinions. I was simply going with the flow.

It reminded me of when I came to the Lord and I received some comments about what I wore as well as the length of my hair. After I cut my hair, a leader at church thought he was giving me a "compliment" when he said to me; "Now you look like a real Christian..." as he quoted 1Corinthians 11:14 where Paul tells us "Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair?"

This scripture 'messed' me up a bit for a few years as I swallowed the Kool-Aid and believed the lie (although it wasn't intentionally said) that having long hair on a man was shameful. 

This affected my need for performance in how I dressed and kept myself, believing (subconsciously) that somehow my grooming was connected with my holiness.

Even this past year I was so aware of my hair being out of place when the wind would blow and mess it up; rendering me unpresentable.

Little did I know (at the time) that it was simply this leader's opinion. He, in no way, was trying to lead me astray. He was simply trying express his opinion in an attempt to disciple me.

And he had omitted to read the whole scripture in which Paul adds;

"If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God." (1 Corinthians 11:16)

Paul is the same one who said a couple of chapters earlier in the same letter to the Corinthians that he "become all things to all men that I might by all means save some." (See Corinthians 9:19-23)

What am I saying? Whether or not you like hair that is long or short, keep your opinions to yourself. This includes trends in society for men or women to shave or not shave their faces, armpits, or other areas of their bodies. It's simply your opinion.

Your words may be heaping shame on men or women who choose to grow or not grow hair; to shave it or not shave it. None of this means that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is (and always has been and always will be) grace and grace alone.

Your words may have more of an influence than you might think. Your words may come alongside someone's performance mentality and lead them away from the grace of God Who wishes that none should perish, but all would have eternal life.

After all; "He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16 AND 17)

As for me, as my hockey season comes to an end, I will contemplate when or if I get it cut. For now, I will simply go with the flow.

Happy Hockey

Two weeks ago, I was sitting poolside in Sunny Florida basking in 85-degree weather.

This past week, the temperatures in Minnesota dropped and snow coated the ground. In fact, on one day the snow was actually deep enough that I had to use both a brush to sweep of our vehicles and a shovel to clean our sidewalks.

And all across social media I saw posts complaining about the snow and cold temperatures as though something strange was happening.

I realize that for some people who live in the northern region of the USA, this is not a happy time of the year. It is the season when leaves, temperatures, and snow fall and all reminders that this region is a very lush and green place to live are gone (for at least for the next five months or so).

But for me, I am HAPPY and excited because that means that outdoor hockey season in Minnesota is a few weeks away. Soon all across this great state outdoor rinks in parks, lakes, and ponds will be filled with hockey games of all levels of age and experience.

This year marks my fifty first year of playing ice hockey. And for most of those fifty-one years, hockey has been one of my “happy places”.

I have many other happy places such as spending time with the Lord, my wife, children, grandchildren, friends, my workshop, at/on any body of water; as well as being outdoors simply enjoying God’s creation.

So where is your “happy place”? If it is hot, sunny weather and you live in Minnesota it will be subjective. If it is with people who always make you happy; again, it will be subjective.

It may surprise you that the word ‘blessed’ in the Bible means “happy”. We see it in Matthew 5 when Jesus gives His famous “Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5-7). “Blessed are…”

We find it in Psalm 1:1 which says; “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”

BOTH the Hebrew and the Greek word used in those passages means ‘happy’.

In fact, those of us who KNOW Him are SUPPOSED to be HAPPY! We are told in the Bible; “Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!” (Psalm 144:15b)

In other words, our happiness is not based on our circumstances or activities, but rather, based on whether or not we are in the center of God’s will for our lives because it’s in the center of God’s will that we will be happy.

And, it is in this place that not only are we happy in our happy place(s), but our lives become a testimony to our friends and all those around us.

When they see you glowing and happy in spite of the circumstances, it speaks to them; it causes them to think; “Why is this person happy? Why is their response to life different from mine?”

 

When you walk in His will and follow His direction, you shine with His light, His joy; His happiness.

And it is a powerful testimony because no matter what is going on around you, others will see the abundant life that Jesus came to bring each one of us who call upon His name (John 101:10).

Be happy my friend as you take steps to be and remain in the center of the LORD's will for your life. Allow your happiness in Him to emanate from your life to others.

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.

Boasting Weakness

“How was your game?” Cathy asked me when I came home from hockey this week. “Not great”; I told her.

I went on to say; “I played good defense and stopped and blocked several shots. At one point my goalie said thanks for saving some goals by taking the hit. But offensively, I didn’t score a goal or an assist and we seemed to be off as a team.”  

And, when I couldn’t play as well as I wanted to, I had to stop myself because I could feel self-criticism creeping into my vocabulary.

Yes, in the big picture, I will survive to play another and better game. And yes, it’s OK if I lose, but I don’t like to play and not make some difference to my teammates.

The fact is, parts of my game were out of my control and even though I did my best, I needed to admit that I had weakness in my game.

So, I have been pondering that word “weakness” this week as around me things have been beyond my control. People I have been working with have been making dumb decisions and seemingly throwing away all my sage advice.

All around me seemed (with my distorted lenses on) to be people whose lives were in chaos. Some of them ended up (actually) dying by drinking themselves to death or continuing to kill a relationship that at one point meant something to them.

Weakness is translated in the Bible:  feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: - disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness. more feeble, impotent, sick, without strength

None of us like to admit we have weakness in any part of our game or our lives. We want to believe that we are the superstar, the champion, the one who still has it (whether we had before or not).

And yet we all have weakness, no matter how hard we try to change the circumstance, and we all have areas we still struggle in or that are out of our control in our lives; and in the lives we try to help put back together.  

Simply put, this week I needed to admit that I had weakness in my life if I was going to survive this game of life.

I remember 22 years years ago when I was a young pastor some counsel that another older pastor gave to me. He said that IF I was going to work with people who wanted to kill themselves, I had to be “ok” with the fact that they may end up killing themselves no matter what I said or did. The same was true with people pondering an abortion or a divorce or struggling with an addiction.

The apostle Paul wrote about his weakness saying that he BOASTED in and about his weakness.

He had an area of his life that wasn’t as he wished it to be and prayed that the Lord would heal him so that he wouldn’t be weak any more.

He wrote that he prayed to be healed three times and that the Lord said to Paul; “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 

Paul’s responds (this amazes me) by writing; “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Earlier in that same letter to the Church in Corinth he wrote;“Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.” (2 Corinthians 11:29-30)

Boasting in his weakness? How??? Because Paul came to realize that his weakness was a conduit for the Lord to show His glory (through) Paul’s life. He didn’t have to have every area of his life working perfectly (as he thought it should be) for the Lord to use him.

Simply put, he could do his best and trust that God could still do great things through his best attempt; even if it wasn’t his best “game”.

Paul responded to this revelation by writing; “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10)

Paul is saying; “I just let Christ take over! And so, the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

That is the kind of man I want to be, whether playing in a hockey game or in the game of life. A man who boasts in his weakness that the power of God and the glory of God may be seen by others who observe my life!

All Scripture Taken from 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.

Whose Team Are You On?

When I play hockey, one of my weekly tasks is packing up my hockey bag with my skates, clothing, and protective gear all that have been washed and dried from the previous game. Along with sharpening of skates or re-taping a hockey stick, it is a part of the ritual hockey players go through to get ready. 

If you play in an organized hockey league on which you will play different teams each game, one of the standard items that all team members receive is a jersey with the team’s name or logo or sponsor on the front.

Unlike the “participation award” that youth programs give away to ALL who play, the jersey actually has meaning because it lets everyone who cares to know that YOU are a member of a team.

If you play in any type of pick-up game where sticks are placed at center ice to pick teams, you will pack both a dark and a light jersey because you will not know which one you will wear until the group is divided up into two teams…that is unless you like to wear a “pinny” that has been sitting in a hockey bag reeking with sweat because it was never been washed since the last game!

Pinnies, which some people say/spell "pennies," are the loose mesh sleeveless jerseys every player gets on the first day of practice or when they show up to camp. They usually come in reversible colors- one side dark and one side light. They are used for everything- splitting up offense and defense, warming up before games, and playing scrimmages in the off-season to keep the game jerseys clean.

My dark and light jerseys that I bring are from teams in the USA and other countries and are rotated each game because I have a lot of jerseys!

If you love professional hockey, chances are you own a jersey from the team that you like. The jersey tells everyone which is your favorite team. It is worn with great pride while at the games or at home when watching on TV.

And wearing it allows a person to make believe that they too play on the team. Looking in my closet at all the jerseys that I have, you would probably say that I, too, live in a make-believe world!

I like every jersey that I have been given or purchased; but I treasure more the ones that I received when I played on a team.

Hockey player and coach Herb Brooks said in 1980: “When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates. And the name on the front is … a lot more important than the one on the back! Get that through your head!”

I like that statement because the name on the front of the jersey reminds the wearer of the jersey:

1.) That he or she is a part of a bigger team; usually with the same goal (pun intended). Together they can accomplish so much more as each person does their individual assignment. In sports and in life there are no lone rangers.

2.) That when they wear the jersey off the ice, they represent everyone else on the team. Where I used to work, we used to say; “One ‘ah-shucks’ can wipe out ten ‘at-a-boy’s”. In other words, what I do represents everyone else on the team. How I act or conduct myself reflects the rest of the team.

3.) That the wearer of the jersey also is a representative of the sponsor or owner of the team. Like it or not, they may be the only billboard that the community sees.

As a Christian, I realize how true this is supposed to be among the different Churches as well as among Christ’s followers. It is His team that we joined. It is His Name that is metaphorically on the front of our jerseys. He is the owner (or LORD) and the Head Coach; He calls the plays.

After all, to be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ or Christ bearer. We were signed up by Him in a team that is made up of so many people from all around the world.

It is a team that is in a variety of different church buildings on an average Sunday morning. Each one is a representative of Jesus and is unique in how the service goes, how baptism is done, what version of the Bible is read or whether we vote as democrats or as republicans.

2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are God’s ambassadors as though God were pleading through us. In other words, He is doing the work; not us.

That tells us that as Christians we represent God. It also reminds us that we might have the jersey, but it is the Name on the front that is so much more important than the name on the back.

So often Christians have forgotten that our lives not only are a representation of Christ but of His follows as well…

Brennan Manning said; "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

How many times have we as Christians misrepresented other churches or denominations or other Christians by not thinking about how we act or what we say?

How many times have we done things in the Name of Jesus that never really were in His Name?

How many countless souls have been pushed away in their hour of need simply because we are so proud of our name being on our metaphorical jersey that we have forgotten to realize that when you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates.

God is calling for the body of Christ to represent Him to this lost and dying world. Instead, the world sees the divisions in the Church.

The Apostle Paul wrote; “…that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26 NKJV)

Fellow Christians, I exhort you; we are on the same team! The name on the front is … a lot more important than the one on the back!

Jesus said; “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13:34-35 MSG)

Canoes, Kayaks, and Smelly Feet

Strange title, isn’t it? And yet, you are reading this; aren’t you…perhaps intrigued by the title…let me explain…

I grew up on the frozen pond across from my childhood home. And it set a course that would become a love and a passion for hockey that I enjoy no matter whether I am playing or watching; inside or out. I still get shivers as I walk into an indoor arena and catch a whiff of the ice, but there still is nothing like the feel of skating on a pond or outdoor rink.

In the summer months when the ice was melted (is your glass half empty or half full?) I would spend time on the pond in a canoe. My dad thought that it would be a good way for us children to learn to work together while learning water safety.

To further our skills, my brother Joe and I took a canoe safety class at the local YMCA in which we learned how to roll a canoe upright if we ever tipped it over and fell out.  We also learned how to sink a canoe to the bottom of the pool thus producing a frustrated instructor; but that story is for another time…

During all of these trips on the pond, my brother Joe and I learned how to paddle together. Whether the waters were rough or smooth, we knew how to navigate in almost perfect harmony and synchronization. Stroke for stroke we would have made the greatest Olympian rowing team look like mere amateurs.

Following our classes and multiple trips around the pond, several brothers and I my dad went to a trip to BWCA in Northern Minnesota where, together, Joe and faced the roughest waters on Burntside Lake with ease and great rapport. Together we could take on the best canoeists in the world. Or at least we thought we could.

My wife Cathy, on the other hand, had learned her canoeing experience while paddling with her father. They too had taking many trips together, including trip to the very same Burntside Lake on their way into the BWCA. They too had logged many miles together.

So when Cathy and I decided to take a canoe excursion together on the lake at the cabin, it only made sense that we too would be harmonious in our joint adventure. Instead, we were perplexed to discover that we really didn’t do well paddling together in the same canoe. 

We discovered that her idea of paddling was different than my definition of paddling. My definition meant that BOTH persons in the canoe paddled stroke for stroke. 

Her definition meant that when the waters got too rough or she was tired or simply wanted to look at the wildlife on the lake, she could STOP paddling and her dad would do ALL of the paddling; including the steering.

Needless to say, we really stunk at canoeing together and really didn’t enjoy canoeing together. Simply put; she was not my brother Joe and I wasn’t her dad.

In fact we had some trips when we weren’t sure that we should even stay together.

OK, maybe that was a bit over dramatized. Or was it?

Eventually, harmony was restored when a family member purchased a couple of kayaks for the family cabin. From the first trip that we took around the lake (each in our own kayak), we experienced the joy that each of us had had while paddling with our old canoeing partners.

Together we had come to a solution, a compromise in which we both could go at our own pace and yet Cathy and I could still go around the lake at the same time; usually side by side. If one got ahead, it was no big deal to simply wait until the other caught up.

Together we have had many memories from trips around the lake, sometimes two times a day as we spent time at the cabin. Together we have had many trips that resulted in us becoming closer even though we were in different water vehicles. 

Ok, Tommy O, I get the “canoe” and the “kayak”, but what is the “smelly feet”?

Well, as I thought of the obstacles that we faced while trying canoe together, I thought of how many times we let our differences keep us from going the same direction or left us feeling as though we weren’t a part of the same event. 

Even though we were husband and wife and friends who were joined together, we felt as though we weren’t connected. But we were in spite of what our emotions were telling us. And we had to find a way to get along and appreciate what each brought to the relationship; we were called to be together…“What God had joined together…

And the same applies to you the reader; I’m sure that you understand what I mean. Even though you and I don’t get along with every person we come across in our life, that doesn’t negate the fact that they have a place in our lives. 

No, I don’t believe that everyone is going to LIKE everyone else, but still we need to appreciate what the other brings to the table, or should I say body.

This is true for our neighborhood, places of work, family, churches, and yes, even with our spouse. Each person has a unique place or role to play; kind of like the different parts of the human body.

Have you ever wondered why the nose is located so far away from the smelly feet (as well as the other parts of the body that smell)? Perhaps it is because even though we are a part of the same body, we don’t have to like every other part…nor are we always going to get along.

But, take away the feet or the nose (as well as part in between that smell) and you will discover that you have one messed up body; especially if you take away the orifices that are in between! As difficult as it was for Cathy and I to not paddle at stroke for stroke, to not have a nose, or yes, even the smelly feet, would be even more difficult.

My point? Just as Cathy and I had to learn how to walk in harmony, each of us must learn how to walk in harmony; especially with others who are different from us. In fact true unity takes places not just when we agree, but when we don’t; then what will we do…? 

In this day and age when there is so much hatred and killing I am imploring each of us to appreciate each other and to look for ways to walk (or paddle) together.

1 Corinthians 12:15-26 says: “If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.