When I Look to the Mountains

by Randy Stonehill  

When I look to the mountains

I can see you there

In the wild churning ocean

I can feel you there

In the warm summer breeze

Your voice is in the air

Oh my Lord

You reflect Your perfection

In the smallest leaf

In your vastness You render time

A captured thief

I stand naked before You

In amazed belief

Oh my Lord

Oh my Lord my Creator

You have captured my heart

With a love I can never repay

And I fall to my knees to try to

Tell You what words could never say

Though You hold all creation

In Your holy hands

Though the world is as weightless

As a grain of sand

Still You told me my name

And gave me strength to stand

Oh my Lord

(repeat chorus)

(repeat first verses)

from the album Celebrate This Heartbeat

I Made This For You

Cathy was sitting on the front porch at our family cabin drinking a cup of coffee as she took in the beauty outside. She loves this place and is very grateful for it.

The cabin was built by her father (and other family members including myself) thirty years ago as a gift; which has deeper meaning and memories for us now that he has gone to be with the Lord over twelve years ago.

The cabin was made for vacations, retreats, and other forms of respite. Some have spent their honeymoons there. It has served me well for many sermons and times of meditations.

I am very happy to see our children taking their families to it and enjoying it the way it was intended... laughter and life and memories filling the air.

Cathy shared with me, as she came back inside to the kitchen table where I was sitting, just how grateful she is as she can even now see her father saying to her; "I made this for you!" many years past when we first cleared some trees on the property and poured the footings.

"I made this for you as a place for you and your family as a place for rest, relaxation, restoration, and community..."

"I made this for you far beyond some gifts that are made for you."

And then she shared with me how she saw beyond the physical structure of the porch and realized that her father had made the cabin to be a place to sit and ponder the place where he had chosen to build it. He wanted her to enjoy what he had seen and treasured about the lake and land.

 

It was more than just the cabin that he wanted her to enjoy....there was a world beyond the cabin; which really was a shelter for when this place had changed and the elements were cold or hot or windy or snowy or rainy...

And then she thought of the Lord who had literally created all that her dad had seen...

And she heard Father saying to her (deep in her spirit) "I made this for YOU!"

And she was filled with gratefulness for her dad to have built the cabin, to create a space for her to sit and ponder this place that meant so much to him. A place designed and created by a God who reveals Himself as "Father" who had made all of this for her.

“Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelations 4:11 KJV)

When Was the last Time You Fainted Going to Church?

It was September 1990 something and the Sunday Morning Service was about to start. And then they came in. 

They arrived after the service started and all eyes were focused on them as they made a bit of a ruckus trying to get inside the sanctuary; especially since some of them were in wheelchairs.

They were adults who had some disabilities and all lived with a young couple who had driven them to church.

I was up front and hadn’t noticed them until they started to sing during the worship portion of the service. Their voices were loud and they enthusiastically waved their hands in the air.

In all fairness, they did sing on key; just not the same key as the rest of us!

During the message they were attentive and responsive to my preaching.

After the service I was able to introduce myself and thank them for attending our service.

The following Sunday they returned and once again “interrupted” the tranquility of our sanctuary. Once again, they had trouble getting to their seats. Once again, they sang “off key” and enthusiastically waved their hands during worship.

The couple who brought them told me that they had returned because this was the first church that had accepted them. All other churches that they had gone to had asked them not to return because of the commotion that they caused.

I told them that they were welcomed and that I appreciated having them in the service.

The following Sunday they returned and once again “interrupted” the tranquility of our sanctuary. Once again, they had trouble getting to their seats. Once again, they sang “off key” and enthusiastically waved their hands during worship.

This went on for several weeks and then THEY came to talk to me; religious Rachel and Ralph. THEY had been sitting watching all of this, week after week, not saying anything as their own comfort levels were being stretched.

THEY issued a complaint because THEY thought that these people were too much of a distraction and wanted to know what I was going to do about them.

I replied that I wasn’t going to do anything because this group of adults wanted to be a part of our congregation and communicated that other churches had asked them not to return.

And then I shared how the couple who brings them each week told me a story about one of the women who came each week and who was the loudest in all aspects; including singing, clapping, and trying to get to her seat.

This woman, I was told, got up at five-o-clock in the morning every Sunday, got dressed, and waited by the front door so that she wouldn’t miss the van ride to our church.

On some Sundays she would get so excited anticipating going to church that she would have a seizure as she stood by the front door waiting to go.

I told “Rachel” and “Ralph” that this group of adults were now a part of who we were as a church.

I asked “Rachel” and “Ralph” when was the last time had they set down their preconceived ideas as to what was pleasing and acceptable to do during worship?

Then I asked them when was the last time that they had a seizure or fainted because of anticipation of going to church?

In Psalm 84, the writer exclaims that he faints in anticipation of being in the house of the Lord. 

He says that he LONGS to be with the Lord;

 “How lovely is your dwelling place,

  O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
  I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.
  With my whole being, body and soul, 

  I will shout joyfully to the living God.”(Psalm 84:1-2)

King David wrote in Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

He longed to be in the presence of the Lord and with God’s people.

My friend, when was the last time that you pushed through all of the obstacles that prevented you from being in church?

When was the last time that you had a seizure or fainted because of anticipation of going to church?

All Scripture is from The 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.

A Beautiful Bride

One of my daughters (Judith) got married this past week. Man, was that was tough on this old man! No, not because of any costs or time associated with the wedding, but because of the emotions connected with being the father of the bride as well as the officiant.

I am a pastor and at the time of this writing, I have about eight weddings to officiate this summer and several booked for next year...so weddings can be “old hat” for me…yet they never are. I guess I am just a romantic at heart.

Or, as one of my other daughters (Elizabeth) said to me eight years ago just before I walked her down the aisle; “Dad, you’re not as tough as you think you are!” pointing out that the pastor who had done premarital counseling for her and her husband was in the audience just in case I “couldn’t finish the task” of being both dad and officiant.

I have done this before, so you would think that it would get easier; no, it doesn’t! With each of my children I appreciated that they had asked me to even be a part of their wedding as a guest.

On the day of Judith’s wedding, my heart was on a roller coaster of emotions as I made a protein shake. I was using the time to deal with my nervous energy awaiting decision as to whether the wedding would be outdoors or inside depending on the weather.

Rain, rain, go away….

 

As I stood in the kitchen drinking my shake, I was filled with gratefulness as I thought about how the Lord had faithfully walked us through some tough times as she, as a teen, had questions and struggles about life and its meaning.

To use up some of my time I went back into my office and re-edited the message over and over until I told myself to stop.

My OCD was interrupted by a text from my daughter confirming that we would go ahead and do the ceremony outdoors. The weather had shifted and instead of rain, the clouds gave way and became a very beautiful day filled with sunshine.

My heart shouted out a responsive; “Praise God!” because I knew that the outdoor location had great significance for my daughter (as well as for the rest of our family).

So, I packed up my briefcase, a podium, and my dress clothes and headed out the door to meet my soon-to be son-in-law to set up the place for the wedding; which was located twenty minutes from our house.

The location was fifty yards from a river in a state park that has a large bridge overhead. The shore was lined with geese and this year’s goslings and a couple of fishermen who offered to move somewhere else; but we told them to stay and enjoy the weather.

This was a special place where my daughter searched and cried out for answers during a season in her past when life didn’t make sense. And here today we celebrated the some of those answers.

It was also a spot very close to where grandpa Gene died almost ten years earlier; in the same state park and below the very same bridge.

The time came for me to walk my beautiful daughter, dressed in a stunning dress, down the aisle to the front; looking into each other’s eyes, knowing the grace of this precious moment. Tears of joy filled my eyes as we exchanged private tender words to each other as we made our way to her awaiting groom.

Up front I assumed the role of officiant and added some comic relief as I asked; “Who gives this woman away?”; quickly stepping back into my position as dad as I replied; “I do”.

As I looked out at the audience made up of immediate family members, I realized just how handsome my two sons (and sons-in-law) are and how beautiful my four daughters (and daughters-in-law) are; I am so grateful that I had married a beautiful woman!

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet and went off without a hitch, that is until I looked at each of my four daughters, my wife, and my mother-in-law as I recalled to the audience the significance of this place.

At that point, I became so chocked up with emotion that I could hardly speak as tears began to fill their eyes. Maybe Elizabeth was right that I’m not as tough as I think that I am!

I regained my composure and finished joining these two in matrimony and then took time for the photographs.

After we packed up and loaded our vehicles with all of the props, I headed home to change my shirt, now saturated from the humid air and from standing in the bright sunshine, and then headed off to the reception located twenty minutes away.

Feasting and joy was on the itinerary for the evening as a large group of friends and family joined us to celebrate this delightful couple. The food was out of this world and the service was second to none!

Cathy and I were able to mingle from guest to guest playing the role as two of the hosts and hostesses; that is, in between times of chasing the grandchildren around at their request.

When I was asked by my Judith to join her for the “Father-Daughter Dance”, I made my way to the awaiting audience of one. As we danced, it became another opportunity for us to exchange private tender words to each other as we held on to each other and slowly shuffled our feet to the music.  

I realized this wasn’t anything that I had “earned” by being a "perfect dad", nor was I “owed” this opportunity; this was a gift of love! And, hockey player or not, I was deeply moved and once again tears came to my eyes. 

She chose me to walk her down the aisle, and she chose me to officiate, and she chose to invite me to be a dad at her wedding, and she chose me to dance with her and to share this joyous day with her.

The evening continued to be filled with great joy and much more food as guests made themselves available for conversations with people who, prior to this event, had not known each other and now could because we were all friends of the bride and groom.

Eventually, the celebration wound down and we all headed to our homes or to an adjoining hotel. God had clearly heard and answered this poor man’s cries.

“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:6 NKJV)

Savoring the Lamb

As I sat in my home office late on a Friday afternoon I was joined by Cathy who asked; “What do you need?” It had been another busy week of ministry during which there always seemed to be one more thing to do. I had just expressed my ‘frustration’ of getting to the bottom of my “to-do list” only to see that somehow one more thing had been added.

 

Every suggestion from her seemed (from my perspective) to be met with an apathetic response; something that I really had no intention to do. Realizing what I was potentially communicating, I stopped, turned, and said; “Yes, let’s go to the gym early and then get some take out.”

 

We decided that what would feed our souls the best would be take out from one of our favorite restaurants – “Beirut Restaurant” in West Saint Paul, Minnesota. It specializes in Lebanese cuisine and over the years we have always experienced great service and great food.

 

So, before heading up to the gym, we made the call to the restaurant to place our order to be picked up in a couple of hours. This would give us ample time to go to the gym, shower, and not feel rushed.

 

As it turned out, I ended up staying longer at the gym and returned to find Cathy about to head out to the restaurant to pick up our food; despite my protest that I was planning on making the trip to pick it up. Cathy insisted that I stay home to take a shower so that when she returned we could sit down and enjoy our meal while it was still hot.

 

Having some extra time after I took a quick shower, I decided to make the coffee table in our family room a little more ‘romantic’ by bringing down a nicer table cloth and candles; which I lit to set the mood just in time as Cathy returned from her trip to pick up the food.

 

Maybe it was the person whom I was with, maybe it was the fact that we were eating by candle light, or maybe I had simply found a way to slow myself down by eating the food more slowly than I normally do to savor every bite…

 

But for some reason the meal of charred lamb, humus, tabouli, flatbread, onions, rice, tomatoes, lettuce, and garlic (lots of garlic!) …tasted so much better than all of the other times we had eaten food from that restaurant in the past.

 

As I was enjoying eating the lamb, awareness came over me as to what it was that I was eating. I realized that a lamb had been raised to be slain for my benefit. In my mind’s eye I could see a little lamb and for the first time in my life I had a deep appreciation that a lamb was raised to be slain for me.

 

Just before a meal is eaten, it is commonplace to thank the Lord for His provisions. Sometimes the praying person will think of and thank the person who prepared the meal.

 

Today my mind was totally aware of the person who raised the lamb, the person who killed the lamb, the person who cooked then lamb, and the person who brought the lamb to me.

 

Tears came to my eyes as I much more slowly savored the piece of lamb that I had been chewing and offered up thanks to my Heavenly Father for providing this lamb for my benefit. I was truly grateful for what had been sacrificed for me and all that went into this meal.

 

As I sat there in the dark illuminated by only the candle light, I thought of another meal I had eaten during the previous week; one at which another lamb had been sacrificed for my benefit…

 

It was a communion service, or Lord’s Supper, that I had shared with some of my co-workers…

 

Maybe it was the people whom I was with, maybe it was the fact that we were eating by dim light, or maybe I had simply found a way to slow myself down by eating the bread more slowly than I normally do to savor every bite…

 

But for some reason the meal of earthy bread that had been dipped in sweet grape juice tasted so much better than all of the other times I had eaten it before.

 

As I was enjoying eating the bread, awareness came over me as to what it was that I was eating. I realized that this bread and juice represented a lamb that had been raised to be slain for my benefit. In my mind’s eye I could see what these elements represented and I had a deeper appreciation that a Lamb was raised to be slain for me.

 

Just before the communion elements are eaten, it is commonplace to thank the Lord for His provisions; I listened deeply to every word as the prayers were offered up for this meal.

 

Tears came to my eyes as I much more slowly savored the piece of bread that I had been chewing which represented the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and offered up thanks to my Heavenly Father for providing this Lamb for my benefit. I was truly grateful for what had been sacrificed for me.