All of us, at some point in our lives, decide that that excellence is no longer needed in some area of life. Whether it be school, work, sports or blog writing, we reach a point when we decide it is OK to "just get by." We work only as hard as we need to for our efforts to be judged acceptable by those around us. Doing the best we can seems like a waste of effort, because really- who cares? Our attitudes are like that of the man who was hiking through the woods with a friend. As they moved into the deep forest, they suddenly encountered a bear. The bear smelled them and the food in their backpacks and began to chase them. After running for a long distance they had not lost the bear. One man sat down and began to unlace his boots and put on the sneakers from his pack. The other man looked at him incredulously and said, "Are you nuts?" You can't out run that bear!" The first man laced up his sneakers and relied, "I don't have to out run the bear. I just have to out run you..."
Even when it comes to following Jesus we often seek to do only what seems to be absolutely necessary. We go to church. We occasionally dust off our bibles. But when the message gets too tough, we find excuses. When the job gets too complicated, we bail out. We are like the man who falls off of a cliff, only to catch himself on a tree branch. He cannot climb up. The drop would be hundreds of feet. He cries out to God, "LORD, what should I do?" A moment later he hears a response- "Let go of the branch." The man hesitates, thinks about it and then says, "Is there anyone else out there?" We want to follow Jesus, but we want it to be easy. And it's not. Love our enemies? Walk a second mile? Be a peacemaker? Lose our lives so that we can find them? No thanks- I'll just sit in my padded pew and be comfortable.
In Acts 9:10-17 we read the story of a man named Ananias. God comes to him and tells him that he has a job for him. He wants him to go to see Saul, the noted killer of followers of The Way, who has been struck blind on the the road to Damascus and has been given a vision that Ananias is coming to heal his sight. Ananias responds as we often do- with all kinds of excuses and reasons why this is a bad idea and he is not the right person for the job. But God says to him, "GO!" We often hear God say the same to us in a variety of ways. God tells us to GO!- and repair broken relationships. He tells us to GO!- and be in ministry to the under-resourced and the lost and hurting. He tell us to GO!- and be witnesses for Jesus in our world. And we, like Ananias, find a plethora of excuses. But there is one main difference between our common response and the way Ananias responded. Despite all of the whining and the excuses, verse 17 gives us the bottom line: So Ananias went. And the Apostle Paul received his sight and set about turning the world upside-down.
And that is what God requires of us. Not that we be perfect, not even that we be qualified for the work He sets before us. It is not our own skill and talents that qualify us to serve God- it is His grace, power and love that sends us out into our world with everything we need. Perhaps, at the end of it all, the greatest thing that could ever be said about any of us is not that we have abilities as a teacher or am artist. It's not to hear others say that we can sing like the angels or preach like Billy Graham. Perhaps the greatest thing that could be said about of me (or you!) is simply this: So Carl went. Here's my heart LORD. Use me.
Because of Jesus,
I woke up this morning and had a longing to watch some classic cartoons. Well good luck with that. We have 9000 channels to choose from- and no decent cartoons. As I recalled some of my favorites from the 60s and 70s, I found myself singing theme songs. That was followed by a trip to YouTube. And now you get to share in my bliss. This post should probably been called An Old Fart Saturday, but I strive to be family friendly! Enjoy...and have a fun-filled weekend!
You may recall that my family gave me a new iPod Nano for Father's Day this year, allowing me to go from 230 songs at a time to over 1400 tunes currently stored on my device. The variety is wonderful, but it means that the shuffle feature is a lot less useful. Instead, I have a dozen or so playlists that allow me to focus in on a specific artist or type of music, depending on the day and my mood. This morning felt like a real Friday to me. When you don't have a regular job, days of the week become much lees important in your life. But this has been a "heavy week," and today felt like it should be a Friday- full of fun and hope. So today's playlist choice was easy- Rare Buffett.
Many of you know that I have been a Parrothead for a long time- since first attending a convert with Steve Semmler at an ice skating rink in Greensboro, NC in 1974. There is a lot of Jimmy Buffett music on my iPod, including the usual suspects like Margaritaville, Fins, Boat Drinks, Cheeseburger in Paradise and A Pirate Looks at Forty. My 35 song Rare Buffett playlist contains deeper cuts, songs many people may NOT know by heart. There are also very old (1978) live versions of Margaritaville (including the lost "Old men in tank tops" verse) & Why Don't We Get Drunk? (in which Jimmy tells the story of the inspiration for that classic!). These are songs that are near and dear to my heart- because they always make me smile. So this morning I pulled up that playlist and hit shuffle. These were the first 10 songs I heard, and a defining lyric from each one:
- Manana - "Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it. Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being WRONG!"
- Ringling, Ringling- "Across from the bar there's a pile of beer cans, been there 27 years. Imagine all the heartaches and tears in 27 years of beer..."
- The Wino and I Know- "Strange situation, wild occupation, living my life like a song."
- Last Mango in Paris- "I had to search my memory as I looked into his eyes. Our lives change like the weather but a legend never dies!"
- It's My Job - "It's my job to be different from the rest, and that's the thing people expect from me..."
- Saxophones - "But if we had saxophones, I could make that joint shimmy like a big California earthquake!"
- Peanut Butter Conspiracy - "We never took more than we could eat, there was plenty left on the rack. And we all swore if we ever got rich we would pay the Mini Mart back...yes sir, yes sir...we would pay the Mini Mart back."
- Death of an Unpopular Poet - "But he left all of his royalties to Spooner his old hound. Growing old on steak and bacon in a dog house 10 feet 'round. And everybody wonders did he really lose his mind? No, he was just a poet who lived before his time..."
- Growing Older But Not Up- "I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."
- Nautical Wheelers - "That's 'cause everyone here is just more than contented to be living and dying in 3/4 time."
So there you have it. This is going to be a great day- I can just FEEL it! And if not- well it's always 5 o'clock somewhere- right?
This post first appeared on this blog in July of 2010. I share it today in memory of Vern and in honor of a great church staff with whom it was pure joy to work and share life. Enjoy this Throwback Thursday...
In 1996 the youth ministry of the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee immersed itself in strategic planning. This is a process through which you develop a scenario of what your dream ministry would look like in 5 years by beginning with a preferred future, and then through a process of refinement and voting select two or three aspects of the scenario that you will work towards in the coming year. One of the things that came out of our planning was the need for a "gymnatorium" at FUMC-K. Our idea kicked off a whirlwind of discussion at the church. The staff began planning how such a facility would benefit our school, our child care center and our congregation. Church members were buzzing with anticipation. Architects were brought in to draw up plans for the building, a new vestibule (gathering area) for the Sanctuary and a walkway that would connect it all. There was a ton of excitement. There was a need. The big question, of course, was how would we pay for it...
Even before we were first discussing the idea during our strategic planning session, our dear friend and faithful bus driver Vern Watson had announced that when he won the lottery, he would buy us a gym. His only demand was that we name it after him. I wrote an article for The UMYF Enquirer in February of 1996 encouraging students and parents to come to the meeting at which we would introduce the scenario and vote on our final goals. Accompanying that article was the picture you see on the left- an artist's (you will see Miss Take got the credit, but yeah, it was me!) rendering of what we had come to call The Vern Dome. That little drawing and article stirred up huge discussion not only in the youth ministry but in the church as a whole. I ran into a church member in Albertson's one afternoon. This was a lady from a wealthy family; in fact, her family had just a few years earlier given over $600,000 to pay off the debt on the church's administration building (see Video the Bishop). She told me that she would be VERY supportive of a gym facility with a raised walking track for business men to use at lunch and for senior citizens to use anytime. I went back to work and told Rev. John Willis we needed to add a walking track! It was an exciting time.
FUMC-K never got their gymnatorium. A variety of circumstances (money, problems with the city and failure to include the raised walking track among them) prevented it from going forward, and it finally died for good after over 2 years of work with the pastoral change that brought in The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named. The amazing facility plans that a wonderful staff (John Willis, Debbie Davis, Jill Augenblick, Andrew Lewis, Ginny Johns and more!) had labored on went to waste. Vern never did win the lottery, and he passed away shortly after we left Kissimmee. But if the day ever comes when FUMC-K does build a gym, I will be there standing next to Barbara, Becky, Brad, Brian, Dr. Jill and so many others. We''ll be armed with picket signs and bullhorns, demanding that the new facility be named The Vern Dome. I trust all of my faithful readers will join us on that day!
Because of Jesus,
Sometimes you can KNOW something for years without ever truly being AWARE of it. It is not new knowledge to me that three of my friends, from three different eras of my life, were born on September 10th. What had never really occurred to me, however, is that ALL three of them were born on September 10th. That makes this a much more special day than I had ever realized. It's a birthday triple play!
Lisa Ramos Moran has been in my life so long that I don't actually remember when we met. It was probably junior high school, but it could have been earlier and it may have been a bit later. Lisa became a part of the New Garden Friends Meeting youth group around the same time I did (1972), and we shared many friends and many adventures. Everyone who was part of that group has a special place in my heart, and Lisa is no different. We were together on a New York trip in high school when she met the love her life, Dan Moran. They have been married 30 years now and have an amazing family. She has given her life to ministry and the service of others and is making a huge difference in the lives of so many young people. Lisa and I shared one special bond in high school, one little tradition that has never been forgotten. Anytime we would see each other we offered up this loving greeting- I would say "RAM IT Ramos!" and she would respond, "JAM IT Jones!" Now that's love. Happy birthday, Lisa. For the next few weeks, you are as old as I am!
Leigh Ann Everhart Venable was a camper at Quaker Lake Camp my first summer as a counselor in 1978. The first thing I remember about Leigh Ann was seeing her in the swimming pool on Sunday afternoon and thinking to myself that she could not possibly be a camper- she looked too old. The second thing I remember was eavesdropping on a conversation she was having with Cynthia Davis about a party one of them had been to. So I was able to embarrass her right off the bat! We became good friends that week, even surviving a prank where my guys stole her suitcase and hid it in a corn field.That closeness continued when we mourned the loss of another camper in car wreck later that summer. She was later with me when I drove a van from NC to NYC and helped keep me calm in the madness. There was also a legendary 6 hour brain game on the way back- but I will spare her the humiliation of saying WHY it took so long! As the years passed, we remained friends, and eventually worked together on the QLC staff. For reasons that cannot be rationally explained she married my good friend Terry Venable 29 years ago and I was honored to be in their wedding just as Terry was later in ours. Shortly after we left Springfield Friends Meeting, Terry became the pastor there and Leigh Ann and I struck a deal. If I didn't tell anyone at SFM any stories about her, she wouldn't tell any about me. It was a pact we each gladly honored. When anyone first met Leigh Ann back in those QLC days their immediate response was to comment on her beauty. Once you got to know her you realized that the beauty ran clear to the bone- and it still does. Happy birthday, Leigh Ann! And notice I am not mentioning any numbers...
Todd Willis was a junior in high school when Marilyn and I arrived in Kissimmee in 1994. He was the son of the senior pastor and an important part of that group. He immediately became one of my favorite people, despite accidently telling us to "GET OUTA TOWN!" on our third night in Florida. He cheated at every game we ever played; he had terrible luck with the ladies; and he was a leader in helping to bring that group back from the edge of extinction. When I was going to wait a tear before planning a New York trip, he pestered me to do in his senior year- and I did. His lovely wife Kristin has told me she feels like she was on that trip because she has heard his stories so many times. He visited us in Chicago right before his wedding. He has been a huge support to me through all of my trials, writing a beautiful letter for me that carried extra weight because he is an attorney. He and his family have recently moved back to Florida, and we cannot wait to hang with them again soon. Happy birthday, Todd! And don't cheat blowing out the candles...
Three wonderful people. Three birthdays. Three eras. Lisa and Leigh Ann know each other through Quaker circles, but neither of them know Todd. Celebrating with them reminds me how varied and blessed my life has been. And while they were part of my life at different times, we have a shared faith that binds us- and we'll always have New York! I am so blessed to know each of them. May this day be full of joy and blessings in their honor!!!
Because of Jesus,
This blog often contains references to the amazing grace of God. I know that our sins are forgiven and forgotten in heaven because of the love of God whose name is Jesus. Despite my own sinful nature and notorious failures, it is that gift of God that defines me before the throne on God Almighty- not my past. I know and believe that God's love is all I need, because love is always enough. But every now and then I am reminded that this world does not forgive so easily, and that it very seldom (if ever) forgets.
Most of you reading this know my story of sin and failure over 7 years ago. You know that I confessed, repented and have started life over again in many ways. You know that I served a probation and was granted an early termination this past April, having done anything that was asked of me during my supervised time. Freedom was mine- or so it seemed. Since then there have been a series of disappointments and frustrations in my life because of that single act committed in late 2006. I try to stay positive, and I try to press on. But the world keeps tapping me on the shoulder and reminding me of my sin. And it makes me sad. It is hard to escape your past when the system keeps reminding you of the worst thing about you.
The most recent reminder came at the end of last week. One of our neighbors (whom I had talked to numerous times while we were out walking dogs) appeared at my door one morning and said she needed to talk to me. She and her husband (they are an older couple) are trying to sell their house and have had all kinds of problems. They are currently on the third potential buyer. She told me that they were all but signed on the dotted line when this latest prospect discovered that I lived in the neighborhood. And now they were going to back out. My mere presence was scaring them away. My neighbor had not known of my offense previously, and she was there to get details and reassurance in the hope that she could change they buyer's mind. She listened to my story, and like many of you have been she was amazed that I shared it so openly and so easily. It was her opinion that I had more than paid the price for my crime and have rehabilitated myself, but she was not the one who needed to be convinced. She left in the hopes that she had enough information to do just that.
She did not. She was back a few hours later asking a few more questions and getting the phone number of my last probation office so the buyer could call. This mother- at least I assume there were kids and that was the reason for her concern- was about to give up a beautiful home in a great neighborhood simply because I live there. And that, my friends, was a hard dose of reality to swallow. I am still awaiting word on their final decision.
It continues to amaze me that my presence on a list because of something that happened over 7 years ago can still cause such turmoil in my life, let alone in the lives of others. I am not on the list because of law enforcement or the judicial system, I am there at the whim of legislators who years ago decided to "protect" the public from people like me by lumping dozens of different types of offenders on one easy-to-hate list. Instead of offering protection, this has led to great confusion as no one can differentiate the truly dangerous from the sinfully stupid. This is not just my opinion- it is the opinion of law enforcement officials and counselors all over the country. But no lawmakers listen, because standing up for the rights of an offender like me is political suicide. So despite the love and support of so many friends and family (and neighbors, I might add) and the knowledge that God loves me, there are days I feel like a monster. People are avoiding my neighborhood because I live there. My spirits are often most easily defined through music. And this makes me feel like a sad song...
There are things none of us can control once they happen. We deal with consequences both earned and undeserved that enter our lives and bring us joy or sorrow. The thing that we must remember- each and every one of us- is that none of these earthly sorrows have any impact on the love of God in our lives. Jesus loves us no matter who we are, no matter what we have done and no matter what the world may say to us. Even as I struggle with feelings of sadness and inadequacy I can feel the arms of God wrapped around me, reminding me that He will never leave nor forsake me. My family and friends are by my side. And so despite feeling like a sad song, the song in my heart remains one of hope- because God's love is always enough. To continue this week's theme, I've gotta' keep pressing on...
Because of Jesus,
Yesterday I wrote that the Apostle Paul once famously talked about the need to keep "pressing on." I have mentioned before that our theme for my first summer in Kissimmee was Don't Look Back. We based that theme on the scripture found in Philippians 3:13-14: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the prize that is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ." We wanted the students in our ministry to focus on what lies ahead rather than the past, both in terms of our programs and their relationship with Jesus. So many times we feel that the sins that we have committed in our pasts somehow keep us separated from Jesus forever. Nothing could be further from the truth. With Jesus, my potential always trumps my past.Grace comes to us new everyday. Dwelling on our past sins may keep us from feeling connected to God, but that is because we have not forgiven ourselves. God is ready to love us and give us purpose this morning no matter how we may have failed Him last night. It is truly an amazing thing. But in order for us to accept this gift of grace, we have do do what Paul told us to do in the Philippians passage. We must forget what is behind us and press on toward a goal of living life with Jesus.
Years after the summer of 1994 and our Don't Look Back theme, the great band Relient K wrote a song about this scripture called Pressing On, and today I share it with you below. All of us can look back and see moments (or months!) that we would like to erase from our lives. Jesus does that for us. We just have to believe it! The lyrics to the song remind us that while God is always looking down on us, He is never "looking down" on us! What a blessing! I encourage you to take the song's challenge: "To go back to where I was would just be wrong; I'm pressing on!" Have a blessed week everyone!
Because of Jesus,
