a vapor

wow! have you taken a look at the calendar lately? 2008 is almost history. impossible! it just began - i mean, just a few short weeks, er, months ago. and now it's gone - like a vapor. doesn't it make you just want to cry out and ask someone why it goes by so quick? yeah, we spend a few short years wanting to get older, then we spend the rest of our lives living in denial. i'm only 29! oh no, the big four-oh is just around the corner. oh no - is that 60 i'm starying at? know what i mean? could it be that we realize that life is only a vapor, but we're trying to stop it? could it be that we realize that we are but a vapor and we're trying to add significance to our lives by making it last longer? however, as the psalmist put it, at our best we are but vapor. something to think about as we walk out our lives. however, we can be assured of this - the next life will be eternal and the vapor will have a sweet fragrance - if our eternal state is found in Jesus.

CHRISTmas

Jesus was born - born of a virgin - the angels rejoiced - the shepherds quaked - the magi came - the heavenly host gave glory to God - people no longer had to "fear not" for their salvation - and God saw that it was good.

cold

hey, global warming, where are you? it is cold, cold, cold outside. i, for one, am not into single digit temperatures. actually, i'm not into low double digit temperatures. it brings ice. and ice is dangerous. trying walking across it. or driving across it. you slip. you slide. you fall down. you run into things. you slide off of things. and it hurst when you do. and people like this weather. what's wrong with them? what's wrong with me? i have to confess, i am comfortable in the 65-80 degree range. those are my favorite temperatures. and i live in a place where it's in that range well less than half the time during the course of a year. yeah, i know - i know the question you want to ask. why? good question. well, maybe not. maybe it's a bad question because it frustrates me. actually, i love the area where i live. the people. the small town atmosphere. the creation that surrounds me. it's just that the temperature, and yes, let's not forget the humidity we deal with in the summer, can be rather uncomfortable. but, ya know what? i don't think there is anywhere you can live where you are going to absolutely love everything about it. fortunately, though, there is someone you can absolutely love everything about - Jesus.

Jesus was born

i'm sitting here thinking about the weekend and contemplating what i am going to share on sunday at church. we're coming upon the season that this country traditionally celebrates as Christmas. the history of that even is long and interesting. the truth is that ancient authorities are not agreed on the date. some say december 25th, while others say january 6th, April 20th, may 20th, and sometime in the fall. you know, the actual date doesn't matter. yes, i tend to lean towards the fall because the shepherds were in the field - the sheep may have been gleaning the fields and eating the stubble of the crops. but, in the end, who cares. as Christians we should celebrate Christ's birthday 24/7/365. oh yeah, 366 on leap years. Christmas was originally started to offset a pagan holiday, and now the world is attempting to take back the ground - winter holiday, buying presents, etc. don't get me wrong - i do that stuff, put up a tree, decorate, celebrate, etc. it's an opportunity to share Jesus. in the end, that is the important part - Jesus. He was born. He was born of a virgin. God gave His Son to be born, to suffer, to provide eternal life, to be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace among other functions, titles, and offices. Let's rejoice, for He came and brought new life. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

poison ivy

i live on a piece of property that is surrounded by woods in the back and some on each side and poison ivy. now, the woods is great, especially since my training is in forestry and i love creation. well, at least some of it. up until this past summer i had never had poison ivy, even though i grew up in the country wandering constantly through the woods. but, then it happened - this past summer. i got poison ivy. granted, it was a mild case, but that is really inconsequential to me. i still had it. it didn't look pretty and it itched. up until that point in my life poison ivy and i had a neutral relationship. as long as it left me alone, i let it alone. but, the ivy couldn't resist. when i least expected it, the poison ivy attacked. reached out and struck me while i was innocently riding my lawn tractor mowing my grass. bam! got'cha! it struck and it therefore freed me to strike back. which i did with a fury. the cost didn't matter. the product didn't matter. so i went to my local dealer and bought the "good stuff" and i sprayed and sprayed and sprayed. i can't say i ever had as much joy as i did as i watched the leaves turn brown. well, that's not true. i had much more joy when Jesus came into my life.

snow

o, how beautiful you are as you fall from the sky. slowly wafting back and forth, floating with the breeze, each flake different from the rest i'm told. it's majestic the way each flake approaches the earth and so softly lands upon the ground. how magnificent is your power as you gather together with your brother and sister flakes to form a layer that blankets creation. how mighty and powerful you are as you accumalate and bind together, combining your muscles and bring man and car to a standstill. and then you begin to show your evil side as yoy become merciless, stopping even those that must get from here to there, from home to work, or to help those in distress. and how resistant you can be as people begin to try and remove you as you fight every shovel that is struck into you, every blade that is plunged into your side. and then yes, the final blow, even as you are loosing the battle to be done away with, you strike this person's back in pain, or this child's arm or leg as they plunge down a hill, or how about the novice on the ski slope for the first time. yes, snow is so beautiful and yet so unwelcome; so pleasant to the eyes and yet can be so harmful to those that try and master it. snow is so amazing and powerful in it's many attributes. in fact, it kind of reminds me of it's Creator - God, who can be so awesome when you walk with Him and yet so devastating when you oppose Him. thank You Lord for snow and it's many mysteries and personalities. And thank You Lord for Your many mysteries and mercies and grace.

christian hedonism

what's this - christian hedonism?! aren't those two words that don't fit together. i mean, hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure! christianity is a bunch of rules, regulations, charts, cannots, and hypocrisy. what's that have to do with pleasure? well, nothing! if that is what christianity is, then the two words don't fit together. but, the bigger question is, is that what christianity is all about. well, that's what you see in most places. i remember attending a church service many years ago and this dude had this chart that was a good 15-20 ft long - depicting time from the beginning to the end. it was full of symbols and things - even had a john deere combine on it. it supposedly laid out everything God was up to, all the way to the end. i walked away believing that was what christianity was all about - for many years. then i discovered something, i was wrong. it's not about all of that - it's about how a couple of people use to have such a great relationship with God that they hung out with Him in this fantastic garden - and they were naked. then the relationship was broken - and they got dressed to hide their shame. the rest of the story - God is restoring that relationship through Jesus. why? relationship - not rules, regulations, charts, have-tos, cannots, and hypocrisy. man, is that cool, or what? relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords - for eternity.

cobwebs

cobwebs - yech! they're everywhere, everywhere. don't believe me. move a piece of furniture in your house - any piece, it really doesn't matter. now look behind it. cobwebs - guarantee it. or, start looking into corners in rooms where the walls and ceiling come together. you'll find one somewhere. or, how about your brain? if you live with yourself long enough you'll find some cobwebs even there. do you ever wonder, where do they come from. well i did some research and found this at straightdope.com: "Arachnologically speaking, a "cobweb" is a web made up of short irregular strands arranged haphazardly, as opposed to the elegant and elaborate orb webs made by spiders of the family Araneidae. The "cobweb spiders" make up the family Theridiidae. One of the commonest in the U.S. is the common house spider Achaearanea tepidariorum. Because the strands are sticky, they gather dust, producing the long fluffy streamers you see." aren't you glad you read this blog entry? don't you feel more enlightened? but the problem still exists. they're everywhere - i mean everywhere. kind of like Jesus.

flashlight

when you sit down and study a flashlight you can come to only one conclusion - they are an amazing invention and a needed device. you should have one everywhere so that they can be used in a multitude of ways. what if you're driving down a dark road and your car dies - and no flashlight. what if you were camping and it started raining, the lantern died, the fire went out, and no flashlight. what if you were sleeping in your bed and the electricity went out and no flashlight. what if you were spelunking in this magnificent cave and went around a corner and no flashlight. what if you were searching for a lost coin in a dark corner and no flashlight. what if you were hiking in the mountains and you miscalculated the time and it got dark and no flashlight. get the point. we need, i mean, we need flashlights. the world can be a dark place and when we find ourselves in those places we must have a flashlight. on the other hand, even though the world is a dark place, Jesus is the light of the world.

cyber sale monday

yes, the internet strikes back. not to be outdone by black friday, it has produced cyber sale monday. when i turned my computer on this morning i found that i had received a number of emails from various on line companies announcing fantastic sales with various percentages off because it was cyber sale monday. now, this makes sense. no pushing and screaming. nobody getting trampled to death at a store. no waiting in long lines in the cold of night. just a few clicks on the keyboard, answer a few questions, provide a credit card numbers, and then a few more clicks - presto! no gas expenses and parking problems were present to produce further irritations. the product is now winding its way through processing, packaging, shipping, and delivery - and i'll still be in the comfort and peace of my home. i love it. and think of all the extra time you'll have to spend in the presence of Jesus' peace.