Category: The Spiritual

I’m sick. I’m running a low fever. My throat hurts. My head and nose feel full of gunk. The holidays are over and now is the “after the first of the year” time when I planned to do stuff. I don’t feel like doing stuff.  I feel like laying in bed all day. I’m not sick very often. I really don’t like it. It disturbs my schedule and makes me feel very vulnerable. How do people who are often sick handle it? What’s sickness about? Is its purpose to make us appreciate health? Is it an opportunity to savor hot drinks and chicken soup over meat and potatoes? Is it like dreary rainy days that make clear skies and sunshine so great? Is it about recognizing our dependence and morality?  Is it God saying “Stop and just be with me a moment and listen before you dive into all you think you have to do.”? Is it a closed-door to stop us from going somewhere we should not? Is it training in empathy to enable us to better minister to those who suffer greatly?  Is it a chance to see the miraculous power of prayer? I think I will […]

I began 2016 by removing a bumper sticker from my truck. The sticker proclaimed my support for a particular candidate for president. I didn’t remove it because I no longer support the candidate; it’s part of my new year’s resolution to be careful about where I place my trust. I still think this candidate would be best for the country, but I feared that the bumper sticker was an expression of trust in the ability of any candidate to really make a difference. That I don’t have. To me “trust” is a two-fold proposition. I have to trust the intentions of the trusted and the ability of that person to do what is necessary. I know longer believe that anyone in politics can do what this country needs; hence, the bumper sticker is gone. It’s strange whom we trust. For years I thought Bill Cosby was a great guy. One of the few comedians that didn’t rely on vulgarity for humor. He portrayed a wonderful family man on television. I would have trusted him with any woman in my family. Although I firmly believe in “innocence until proven guilty,” it certainly seems that such trust could have been greatly […]

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 My wife and I are celebrating New Year’s Eve in our traditional fashion. We are staying home. I am watching football and she is researching on the internet. I pretty usual night. It all started back in 1970 when we were dating. Rosemary got all dressed up to go out on New Year’s Eve and I showed up to pick her up in jeans and a t–shirt. She ended up agreeing to marry me anyway and we’ve never gone out on New Year’s eve for the last forty-five years. I’ve never understand the big deal over New Year’s anyway. I understand the fondness for newness. Who doesn’t like the smell of a new car or having anything “new?” The “newness” of the first of the year is pretty artificial. Frankly, for most of us, our lives are no different on January the first from what they are on December 31st. Even when we used to write a lot more checks it would take me weeks to update to the new year. I don’t know anyone who really makes long-standing […]

31“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:31-32 Millions world-wide are wrapping up the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I recognize that many of those celebrating don’t know Jesus as savior or even much about him. To many it’s just a really great holiday. That’s okay. It’s  part of the process. The nature of our Savior is that He continues to draw us closer and deeper. Our relationship with Him is never enough. There is always more. With Jesus, it’s just a higher form of the relationship we might have with any special person. A magnetic personality draws us closer and deeper. Jesus is the super magnet. We can never get enough. Of the millions who celebrated Christmas just as a great holiday, there will be some who are drawn closer wondering how a birth two thousand yearsago could still be bring joy. They will want to know more about the child. They will be draw closer. Of the ones who come to believe that Jesus was a real person and, yes, maybe even the son […]

I know it’s cliche’ to say that Christmas is more about presence than presents, but this year I experienced the truth of that like never before. As we age, family begins to experience conflicts especially around the holidays. It’s hard to be everywhere we are expected to be and even want to be. In modern society, this is more stressful than ever because there are more “step” relationships that multiple the obligations. Yesterday, from where I sat, I could see each person climb the steps to our back door. Someone would announce who had arrived and a bit of relief and excitement would spread through those already gathered. Not once was there a single moan or exclamation of “I hoped they wouldn’t make it.” I was thrilled with the presence of every single person who “made it” for Christmas. The time for Christmas presents has passed, but the opportunity to give our presence continues. The week between Christmas and the return to school and work after New Years Day is an excellent opportunity to continue to give presence. Perhaps for the first time ever I was unable to make my extended family gathering on the 23rd. I hope this […]

The message of Christmas is simply expressed, yet enormous in impact and miraculous in execution. Since the miracle at Bethlehem, God is now with us in a universal, savior of the world, sense as well as a God is with me personally sense. For this there is amble evidence. For the universal evidence,  there are stars in the east, skies filled with angels, travelling wise men, and a stack of fulfilled prophecies. The personal proofs are, of course, various and individual but just as convincing. Last April, for example, I was cured of rotator cuff tears in both shoulders. I don’t know if the tears are still present. All I know is I can now raise either arm, lift a reasonable amount, and swim as much as I want without pain. That’s God individually present. I have experienced God providing escape routes out of situations that seemed hopeless. I have known nearly sixty-seven years of faithful provision. I have seen God in loving eyes, felt him in reassuring hugs, and heard him during dark times of doubt. God’s task of keeping us aware of his presence is tricky. He doesn’t allow the lives of his children to be so […]

I have to admit that it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. I’m not sure exactly why that is. It could be the weather. Frankly in south Louisiana none of us expect a white Christmas but temperatures in the eighties, rain and tornadoes? Ho, Ho, No. Maybe it doesn’t seem like Christmas because life isn’t exactly jovial. This year has been a great challenge and 2016 doesn’t look better. Our family has dealt with a lot and will deal with a lot more and I know we are not alone. How did Christmas get so connected with winter weather, fabulous food and spending too much on gifts?  I grew up in south Louisiana and the Christmases I spent away from home were in places like California and Vietnam. No snow,  sleigh rides or fabulous feast on those Christmases past. The good Christmases I do remember involve wearing out the Sears catalogue trying to decide on the one gift Santa could afford that year for me and my eight brothers and sisters. There weren’t a lot of extra presents under the tree, a box of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups from Nan Mil was about all you could be sure of. Lots […]

Do you ever listen carefully to the songs of the season? Sometimes the words give cause for pause. Take Come all Ye Faithful. This is one of the oldest Christian Christmas songs. Written in the 1600’s by monks, originally it was sung in latin, Adeste Fideles. It’s certainly one of my favorites. It’s the opening line that has me thinking. Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. It’s a call to come and worship the Christ child. The strange thing is that the child is just born. Where could we expect to find “faithful, joyful, and triumphant” folks before God’s salvation plan was executed? The world was dark and lost and in need of a savior. Even now, two thousand years after Jesus paid the price for our sins, faithfulness, joy and triumph are rare. As I write this I can see a Christmas card set up on our kitchen counter with a single word on it, “Joy.” It comes across not so much as an experienced reality, but a hopeful possibility. I have experienced times of joy, great joy in fact, but it’s not nearly my normal state. Joy doesn’t describe my daily life, but rather something I experience […]