I woke up the other morning just as my wife was leaving for work.
She left the lights off so as not to wake me, and was finding her way from the master bath to our door.
Since I'd woken in the dark, my eyes were already adjusted and I could survey the scene.
She had one hand extended out in front of her, moving slowly left to right. And her feet were carefully shuffling one step at a time.
To her, stepping out of the lighted master bath, all was darkness in the room. Her hand was out in front to protect her from hitting the doorway. Her feet were shuffling so as not to trip or stub a toe.
To me, I saw someone cautiously trying to find their way through what I could see clearly. What she could not see, I could see.
Light and darkness.
The first chapter of John's Gospel says a lot about Jesus being the Light of this world.
"In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4-5
and of Jesus' birth, John said,
"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." John 1:9-10
Knowing Jesus is like flipping on life's light switch.
You worry less about holding your hands out in front of you, worried about what you may encounter. You plant your feet more confidently, less concerned about stubbing your toe.
There is great joy and confidence walking in the Light of Jesus.
There is also great joy when you can see someone who used to walk in the dark, now walking in the light. Especially when it is someone you care about, someone you love.
Is there anyone you love enough to empower with the Light of Jesus? Or, will you let them walk in the dark, hoping they "find their own way?"
"For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life." Psalm 56:13
"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord." Psalm 89:15
"Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God." Isaiah 50:10
What do you believe?
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Healthy Grass Crowds Out Weeds
I fired my lawn service again last year.
After 5 years or so, my lawn wasn't any better and I was getting even more weeds.
"You just have to water it more," the service kept saying while my neighbors' yards looked beautiful.
So the new guys came in, very confident in their approach.
They recommended aeration, fertilization and something new...a compost top dressing.
The top dressing layer would be applied in the fall, about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rich organic matter to complement aeration and over seeding.
The lawn got off to a good start in late spring and summer.
The grass looked more consistent, although the same thin spots and patches of crab crass were there.
Then the weeds roared back in August.
"What are you going to do about this?" I asked. "It looks worse than before with all the weeds?"
The lawn guy confidently held his ground and explained his process.
"Sir, we're about to aerate and over-seed your lawn. We can't put down weed killer or we'll hurt the new grass that germinates."
Sounded like same-old, same-old to me, but he persisted.
"Sir, you have to think about what makes healthy grass. If you don't have a good base layer of soil throughout for healthy roots, then you'll never get out of this cycle. You'll have just what you have now. Patches of good grass and patches of bad. Its your lawn, but this is what I recommend."
I still didn't see how this would get rid of weeds. Wouldn't they just grow faster and healthier too?
But no.
Two months later, with a new base of soil and over seeding, the lawn looks fabulous.
And the darn weeds have been crowded out by...healthy grass.
I honestly would never have believed it.
A strong base helps the good thrive together and crowd out the bad. Just turn in your bible to the gospel of Mark, chapter 4 and read Jesus' parable of the farmer sowing seed.
But what got the job done for me? This young man was steadfast in his belief that a firm foundation would conquer the weeds. He risked his lively hood by NOT telling me what I wanted to hear.
"Sir, you could do it your way, but you'll just continue in the cycle that you have now..."
We have to be willing to tell people the Truth of the Gospel.
"Sir, Ma'am, you will not fix hate, envy, pride and corruption with weed control alone."
You must first build up the healthy layer of humility, honesty, mercy, forgiveness...and Grace.
We see ever encroaching patches of unhealthy philosophies. Thin layers of false hope. Ugly bare spots where past experiments have failed and withered - with nothing left to even build on.
Sir, Ma'am, without Jesus, we will simply continue in the ever worsening cycle we are in now.
With him, we are only a season away from renewal. I've seen it with my own eyes.
What do you believe?
After 5 years or so, my lawn wasn't any better and I was getting even more weeds.
"You just have to water it more," the service kept saying while my neighbors' yards looked beautiful.
So the new guys came in, very confident in their approach.
They recommended aeration, fertilization and something new...a compost top dressing.
The top dressing layer would be applied in the fall, about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rich organic matter to complement aeration and over seeding.
The lawn got off to a good start in late spring and summer.
The grass looked more consistent, although the same thin spots and patches of crab crass were there.
Then the weeds roared back in August.
"What are you going to do about this?" I asked. "It looks worse than before with all the weeds?"
The lawn guy confidently held his ground and explained his process.
"Sir, we're about to aerate and over-seed your lawn. We can't put down weed killer or we'll hurt the new grass that germinates."
Sounded like same-old, same-old to me, but he persisted.
"Sir, you have to think about what makes healthy grass. If you don't have a good base layer of soil throughout for healthy roots, then you'll never get out of this cycle. You'll have just what you have now. Patches of good grass and patches of bad. Its your lawn, but this is what I recommend."
I still didn't see how this would get rid of weeds. Wouldn't they just grow faster and healthier too?
But no.
Two months later, with a new base of soil and over seeding, the lawn looks fabulous.
And the darn weeds have been crowded out by...healthy grass.
I honestly would never have believed it.
A strong base helps the good thrive together and crowd out the bad. Just turn in your bible to the gospel of Mark, chapter 4 and read Jesus' parable of the farmer sowing seed.
But what got the job done for me? This young man was steadfast in his belief that a firm foundation would conquer the weeds. He risked his lively hood by NOT telling me what I wanted to hear.
"Sir, you could do it your way, but you'll just continue in the cycle that you have now..."
We have to be willing to tell people the Truth of the Gospel.
"Sir, Ma'am, you will not fix hate, envy, pride and corruption with weed control alone."
You must first build up the healthy layer of humility, honesty, mercy, forgiveness...and Grace.
We see ever encroaching patches of unhealthy philosophies. Thin layers of false hope. Ugly bare spots where past experiments have failed and withered - with nothing left to even build on.
Sir, Ma'am, without Jesus, we will simply continue in the ever worsening cycle we are in now.
With him, we are only a season away from renewal. I've seen it with my own eyes.
What do you believe?
Yahtzee Imposter
Yahtzee is a game we've played since I was a kid.
It involves shaking multiple dice and trying to score a list of combinations - three of a kind, series, highest combined value, etc.
There are many other dice games out there. We walked through a game store recently and saw a different brand's version. Generally the same - shake the dice and accumulate various combinations to build your score. In both games, highest score wins. Pretty simple.
Standing there in the store, we were trying to decide whether we should try the alternative game. Nice packaging, lots of exciting, fun statements on the box. Pictures of happy, laughing people. Not too expensive.
But without additional information, we weren't convinced that it would be that different. And we weren't really dissatisfied with our old reliable version.
Back home, I typed both game names into an internet search and asked, 'which is better?'
Several blog posts described how they each worked, and how much the person liked their game of choice. But none of the authors made a compelling case to stay or change.
We still plan to ask our friends what they know about both.
Then just this week we encountered a spiritual version of the same dilemma.
One of our young, 20-something friends moved to a new neighborhood and decided to attend a nearby church.
He told us about the nice people there and how he enjoyed the service. They told him the roots of their church were Christian-oriented, although other faiths were welcome. "They call it Unitarian Universalist," he said.
We were able to explain to him that this was not actually Christian - that beneath the "packaging" and nice people was a philosophy, but not salvation in the sufficiency of Christ. He was grateful for the personal insight from people he knew. Better equipped to now make his own informed decisions.
This is why we need to be more openly engaged in conversations about spiritual matters. Do you have a young person or friends in your life who are talking about knowing 'god' or going to 'church?'
"What is it that you are looking for in a church?"
"What is it that you hope to find in a relationship with god?"
These are good starting points to help people understand the love and mercy of God, in Jesus.
"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1Peter 3:15
What is it that you are hoping to find in a relationship with god?
Find some answers here:
peacewithgod.net
What do you believe?
It involves shaking multiple dice and trying to score a list of combinations - three of a kind, series, highest combined value, etc.
There are many other dice games out there. We walked through a game store recently and saw a different brand's version. Generally the same - shake the dice and accumulate various combinations to build your score. In both games, highest score wins. Pretty simple.
Standing there in the store, we were trying to decide whether we should try the alternative game. Nice packaging, lots of exciting, fun statements on the box. Pictures of happy, laughing people. Not too expensive.
But without additional information, we weren't convinced that it would be that different. And we weren't really dissatisfied with our old reliable version.
Back home, I typed both game names into an internet search and asked, 'which is better?'
Several blog posts described how they each worked, and how much the person liked their game of choice. But none of the authors made a compelling case to stay or change.
We still plan to ask our friends what they know about both.
Then just this week we encountered a spiritual version of the same dilemma.
One of our young, 20-something friends moved to a new neighborhood and decided to attend a nearby church.
He told us about the nice people there and how he enjoyed the service. They told him the roots of their church were Christian-oriented, although other faiths were welcome. "They call it Unitarian Universalist," he said.
We were able to explain to him that this was not actually Christian - that beneath the "packaging" and nice people was a philosophy, but not salvation in the sufficiency of Christ. He was grateful for the personal insight from people he knew. Better equipped to now make his own informed decisions.
This is why we need to be more openly engaged in conversations about spiritual matters. Do you have a young person or friends in your life who are talking about knowing 'god' or going to 'church?'
"What is it that you are looking for in a church?"
"What is it that you hope to find in a relationship with god?"
These are good starting points to help people understand the love and mercy of God, in Jesus.
"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1Peter 3:15
What is it that you are hoping to find in a relationship with god?
Find some answers here:
peacewithgod.net
What do you believe?
God in the Rear View Mirror?
Yesterday I was merging into a two lane stretch of highway about a mile from home. I make this merge 100's of times in a year, coming back from work or shopping.
This two lane very quickly collapses to one lane before the curve. You have to jockey for position to get over from right to left. If you are patient and polite, you accelerate slowly and simply slip into the back of the line. If you're aggressive or impatient, you hit the accelerator and try to jump out in front of a few cars before the merging lane ends. Of course, if the other lane's drivers are aggressive, THEY may accelerate to squeeze you out of the merge, forcing you to back off and slip further back in line.
The time difference to anyone involved is a few seconds at best.
Yesterday I was distracted with other thoughts and automatically looked left to judge the oncoming traffic speed before starting my entry to the two lane section. I toyed with the idea of accelerating ahead of one more car before changing lanes, but I did not. However, I smiled to see the car ahead of me do just that, and he almost got pinched out by a left-laner accelerating to close the gap and block him out.
Seconds later, we all rolled to a stop at the red light. It was then that I looked in the rear view mirror.
The guy behind me looked familiar. He was wearing a distinctive white collar with his black shirt. It was my church pastor!
I immediately blushed and quickly recounted the previous 30 seconds of my life.
In vivid color I recalled my merge in front of the oncoming car, and how I had gaged his speed before sliding left in front of him. That was ok, there had been plenty of space, so he didn't have to brake. And how about my last minute consideration to pass the car in front of me, could pastor have detected my latent aggression simmering right below the surface? Probably not. And most likely he had no idea it was even me in that car. Or did he?
Sometimes that's exactly how I replay scenes in my life when I finally think about God in my rear view mirror. Did I treat that person at work unkindly? Was I wasting too much of my spare time when I could be volunteering? Am I praying and reading scripture as diligently as I follow the news? And I do blush to think he knows of my willful "merging tactics"...
Better that I drive life like God is always beside me, not to "catch me" doing things wrong, but to help me stay strong on his path of righteousness.
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4:25-27
What do you believe?
This two lane very quickly collapses to one lane before the curve. You have to jockey for position to get over from right to left. If you are patient and polite, you accelerate slowly and simply slip into the back of the line. If you're aggressive or impatient, you hit the accelerator and try to jump out in front of a few cars before the merging lane ends. Of course, if the other lane's drivers are aggressive, THEY may accelerate to squeeze you out of the merge, forcing you to back off and slip further back in line.
The time difference to anyone involved is a few seconds at best.
Yesterday I was distracted with other thoughts and automatically looked left to judge the oncoming traffic speed before starting my entry to the two lane section. I toyed with the idea of accelerating ahead of one more car before changing lanes, but I did not. However, I smiled to see the car ahead of me do just that, and he almost got pinched out by a left-laner accelerating to close the gap and block him out.
Seconds later, we all rolled to a stop at the red light. It was then that I looked in the rear view mirror.
The guy behind me looked familiar. He was wearing a distinctive white collar with his black shirt. It was my church pastor!
I immediately blushed and quickly recounted the previous 30 seconds of my life.
In vivid color I recalled my merge in front of the oncoming car, and how I had gaged his speed before sliding left in front of him. That was ok, there had been plenty of space, so he didn't have to brake. And how about my last minute consideration to pass the car in front of me, could pastor have detected my latent aggression simmering right below the surface? Probably not. And most likely he had no idea it was even me in that car. Or did he?
Sometimes that's exactly how I replay scenes in my life when I finally think about God in my rear view mirror. Did I treat that person at work unkindly? Was I wasting too much of my spare time when I could be volunteering? Am I praying and reading scripture as diligently as I follow the news? And I do blush to think he knows of my willful "merging tactics"...
Better that I drive life like God is always beside me, not to "catch me" doing things wrong, but to help me stay strong on his path of righteousness.
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4:25-27
What do you believe?
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