Friday, September 26, 2008

I got nothin'

O.K. So, I keep telling myself I'm going to update my blog more frequently ... I also tell myself I'm going to start exercising regularly. So far it's been NO on both accounts. I know all the reasons I should exercise, but there are few reasons to update my blog regularly at this point in my life. I mean, it's not like there is anyone out there depending on what words I write in order to make some move in their life (at least I hope there isn't).

Sure I can reflect a few musings that people will find humorous or at least insightful, maybe even inspirational, but there's nothing that I've done in this blog that has changed someone's world. It kind of makes me wonder why I even have this thing sometimes. Wouldn't life be easier if I didn't have that nagging voice in the back of my head that says "write something"?

So, here I sit trying to come up with something interesting, yet, I got nothin'. I did have an amusing day today. I woke-up an hour later than I intended to which caused quite the shock through my system. Now, it's not like I was just late for work or breakfast or something ... I was running late to catch an early morning airplane! UGH! fortunately there was a little bit of a safety net in my plans and I have a loving wife who took care of me (by driving me to the airport as opposed to my earlier plan of taking Public Transit). When I got to the airport I was amused to go through the security line with a whole heap of people from Denmark (the flight was going from San Francisco to Atlanta and "continuing" to Copenhagen ... incidentally can you really call it a "continuing" flight if everyone has to get off and the people "continuing" have to go 5 terminals over in the airport to "continue"?) I was also amused as I walked to the gate and heard, "Ladies and Gentlemen we've overbooked this flight and are looking for volunteers to take a later flight"

Now, normally, I'm all for taking the later flight and taking the flight credit, however the next flight they could get me on wouldn't have me landing in Atlanta until 7:30 or later ... since I'm only here for a little more than 24-hours, that just didn't seem to make much sense to me. So I watched as a large crowd of people thought about taking another flight, but also seemed to be of the same thought "If that's when I'm getting there, forget it, I'll take my chances."

What kind of way is that to run a business anyway? Let's oversell by 10% hoping that folks won't show up! CRAZY! What do you do when everyone does show up?

Oh, well. There's plenty right with the world these days. Like the other day when I was traveling on Public Transit with my daughter (who is now 4 months, so active, but able to walk onto a bus herself). Somehow in the wisdom of the Bus Company it is safer for me to hold her on the bus than to leave her in her stroller and lock the wheels and hold on to the stroller (explain that to me if you can). When I was leaving the bus, they have this "kneeling" system where the front of the bus is lowered by hydraulics ... well, for some reason the bus driver wasn't close enough to the curb, so the bus was still about a foot off of the ground ... a long way to "tip" a stroller. Fortunately, a nice guy got off just before me and noticed the struggle I was going to have and he helped me life the stroller down. (this redeemed another young man ... teenager) who decided he had more of a right to sit on the BART seat than I did and pushed his way around me to sit in one of the few seats available to someone with a stroller ... do kids just not think?

Anyway, I've probably ranted enough. I sit here in Atlanta ... having made my flight, enjoyed the meager snacks they provide on a continent-wide flight, and enjoyed a humorous movie too (Leatherheads, I highly recommend it if you want a good light-hearted laugh). I am ready to enjoy a retreat ... I look forward to this chance to get away every year. I encourage y'all to retreat as well ... even if for a day ... go to the park, go to a quiet room and just be in the presence of God and see what God has to say to you ... right now God is saying, "you have a sermon to write, you might want to start working on it before Sunday morning" ... OK, God, I'm listening.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

It's not really about carrying your cross

This past weekend I preached on Matthew 16:21-28. Part of the passage is a point where Jesus is walking with his disciples (unusual, I know) and they just aren't quite getting it (even more unusual, I know). I'm sure most of us remember Jesus' words in the passage, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (16:24)

As I preached on this part of the text this past weekend, I remembered watching a series on A&E called "God or the Girl" The series tracked 4 guys who were discerning a call to the Catholic Priesthood (ultimately coming down to the question "do they feel called to the Priesthood or Marriage?").

I recall one of the guys, as part of his discernment, went to the lumber yard and bought some landscape timbers in order to build a cross (weighing about 100-pounds if I remember right) and then he would carry it a distance (maybe 20-ish miles).

As I thought about this act, I was struck by a few things that I think we can all learn from and I think are ultimately the point that Jesus is calling us to in carrying our own cross.

1. He didn't just head out, buy wood, build a cross and start walking. He planned ahead. He had a vision for what he wanted to accomplish through this act.

2. He didn't head out alone, he had a support group walking with him. While he carried the cross for the lion's share of the journey, he did have others walking with him ... reading scripture to encourage him, giving him water to meet his needs, helping him when he couldn't carry the cross alone.

3. He was open to what he would experience along the way. Even though he had planned things out, he was open to those things that he couldn't plan for.

In our own lives what are the crosses that we have to carry?

Where is God calling us to plan ahead and cast a vision in our lives?

Who are the people walking with us in our journey? Are they encouraging us? Are they willing to push us those last few miles when we don't think we can do it? Will they carry our burdens with us?

Are we open to what we experience along the way or do we simply "stick to the plan" no matter what? What is God teaching us when we least expect it?