Quote of the Day

"It's been a very bad hair year."
~ Kim Thompson

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She was apologizing (which she does waaay too often) for spending more than usual on getting her hair done. We're on a pretty tight budget with the new addition to our family and the accompanying extra expenses for medical paraphernalia.

Apparently Kim felt guilty for spending so much on a haircut and felt (unnecessarily) that she needed to justify the expense. She had gone all summer, living in a hospital room and caring for her mom practically round-the-clock.

It was worth it -- her hair looks great!!!!

Happy Anniversary

Twenty-four (and counting) years ago, today, Kim and I made a (hopefully) lifetime commitment to God and to each other. Those promises have been tested over the course of those years, but so far, by the grace of God, we are still enjoying this exhilarating, exasperating, joyful, sometimes painful, adventure of sharing life together in marriage.

Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She willingly works with her hands.
She rises while it is yet night
And provides food for her household.

She girds herself with strength,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all."

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31:10-31 (NKJV)

O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here came the wise men from Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our friend!

He knows our need, To our weaknesses is no stranger.

Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His Gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Christ is the Lord, O, Praise his name forever.

His power and glory every more proclaim!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

God's Marvelous Creation

On a table in my office there is a picture of me, along with two dear friends, standing on the banks of the Mekong River in Southwest China. Wild, wonderful terrain. So the report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) about the discovery of "new" species in the Mekong Region of Asia caught my attention.

At least 1,068 new species were identified in the Greater Mekong from 1997 to 2007 -- a rate of two per week for the past decade -- along with several thousand tiny invertebrates. Striped rabbits and a spider larger than a dinner plate are among new-found species discovered in this remote wildlife hotspot.

The Greater Mekong covers portions of China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand and is described as "one of the last scientifically unexplored regions of the world."

Among the most "bizarre" creatures to be discovered were the hot-pink, spiny dragon milipedes laced with cyanide.

I'm one of those crazy creationists who believes in intelligent design and an infinitely intelligent Designer. To me, the beauty, creativity and intricacy of the natural world point to a Creator.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."
(Romans 1:20)

It is amazing to think that these species have been on the planet the entire time and we are just now finding them. I imagine God enjoys watching the scientists find something "new" that He put there long ago; joining in their jubilation over the discovery. All of creation points to the Creator, and the natural world with all its wonders is the grandest of cathedrals.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all people life and breath and everything else.

From one blood he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (Acts 17:24-28)

That we can have a relationship with the God who created us is the most amazing discovery of all.

Simple Christmas

With the economic downturn many families are looking to be more frugal with their gift-giving this holiday season, which is actually a good idea every season of every year. Here are some (hopefully) helpful ideas for spending your time and money wisely this Christmas:

¨Draw names instead of giving to everyone.

¨Let others help; tell them your intention to give less and ask them not to buy an expensive gift.

¨Give family gifts instead of individual gifts.

¨Give gifts only to children.

¨Don’t give children money to give you a gift.

¨Design and make your own gifts.

¨Set a spending limit with spouse and family and stick to it.

¨Don’t buy a gift that simply will be returned.

¨Bake something.

¨Go caroling.

¨Create a homemade gift certificate for a favor or service.

¨Give to mission or benevolent projects in someone’s honor.

¨Give and wrap gifts in a way that cares for the environment, God’s creation.

¨Give the gift of your time and talents—more presence, fewer presents!

¨Teach someone a skill you possess.

¨Make cards or postcards on your computer.

¨Send electronic cards—often FREE.

¨Write a story or poem, make a song or create art as a gift.

¨Write a letter of love and/or appreciation.

¨Adopt a family in the community—names are available through churches or community agencies.

¨Support church missions around the world.

Check out http://simplechristmas.org/ for more suggestions. You might also find this book helpful: “Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season” by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli.

Roll (over) Tide!

Having grown up in Mobile, Alabama I've been a University of Alabama football fan most of my life. Also, having grown up on the coast, I understand the "Crimson Tide" reference; but no, I still don't know why we have an elephant as a mascot. Anyway, my #1 ranked team fell to Southeast Conference rival Florida today.

No I'm not sad; it's just a game. In the spirit of good sportsmanship I offer this congratulatory post to all my friends in Gator-nation. Good job, and good luck. I'll be pulling for the Gators to win the big bowl game and finish the season at #1. That way at least I can say my team only lost one game all season, and only one team was better than "we" were -- this year. Wait 'til next year! Roll Tide!!

PS: No I'm not sad; it's just a game. Slave trafficking makes me sad--and angry. Innocent and defenseless children being abused makes me sad and angry. Lost football games don't make me sad. Half the teams that played this weekend were "losers" -- it's just a game.

Offensive Christ Followers

In the news: OBERLIN, Ohio — A northern Ohio artist known for envelope-pushing holiday displays is back - with Santa Claus in a wheelchair being pushed down stairs by a crazed tree. The Santa in Keith McGuckin's installation at the Oberlin Public Library has no legs because of an accident involving alcohol and some power lines. An accompanying narrative explains that the tree later goes off to a strip club with money from Santa's Salvation Army kettle.

McGuckin's holiday creations have raised eyebrows for years. His 2006 gingerbread Nazis drew so many complaints that he was forced to remove them from a hardware store window. Library director Darren McDonough said the latest display is staying. He jokes that "If a library doesn't have something that offends, it's not doing its job."
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I'm not endorsing McGukin's work, but I was struck by the statement of the director of the library. There are too many businesses and public places that remove every religious symbol and reference for "fear of offending" some minority group or individual; so it's interesting to see what someone will defend and allow, and what they censor. Interesting.

What really got me is that what Mr. McDonough said of his library could be said of the church. In fact I'll be so bold to say that as Christ-followers, if we are not offending people (especially modern-day Pharisees) then we're not following Jesus closely enough.

Just a few examples that Jesus had a reputation for being offensive:

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
John 6:61-65 (NIV)

On another occasion:

Jesus went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
Mark 6:1-3 (NIV)

One more:
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him (Jesus) will not be put to shame."
Romans 9:33 (ESV)

I like the advice my friend Mark Batterson gave:
"As a pastor, you have to preach what God put in your heart and let the chips fall where they may. At the end of the day, the only true validation is whether or not we said what God wanted us to say. The sermon your congregation liked the least may be the one God liked the most. Or vice versa."

I think too often the church misses it by offending the kind of people that Jesus most catered to, and catering to the kind of people that Jesus most often offended.

An Open Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

I heard it again today, "Beware of having an open mind...your brains might fall out." I've seen it expressed different ways: "I tried to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out", or "people with open minds lose their brains", or "some people are so open-minded they will fall for anything."

Are they advocating close-mindedness? Slamming open-minded people and implying they are stupid? I've always equated close-mindedness with ignorance, not the other way around.

Personally, I reject both. I choose to opt for a filtered-mind. Not so closed-minded so as to be unable to consider new ideas; nor so open-minded that one becomes gullible enough to fall for anything.

All ideas are not created equal. Some think an idea is good simply because it is new, while some think an idea to be good simply because it is old. Some are convinced that every new idea is bad, while others are convinced that every old idea is bad, outdated and irrelevent.

So we throw out some "old ideas" and traditons that need to be treasured, reject some wonderful "new-fangled" advancements, and hold on to a bunch of garbage--ideas both old and new that are not helpful for anybody.

The filtered-mind considers every idea, and checks it for truthfulness and value. What is your filter? By what standard do you evaluate every notion that vies for your allegiance?

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?". But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthian 2:14-16)

To be led by the Spirit of God, to have spiritual discernment, to have the mind of Christ--to think and act like Jesus. A filtered mind.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

* Just a Thought: some people have closed their minds to even the possibility that God exists, and yet think they are open-minded. Do you know everything there is to know? Let's be generous and say you know 25% of all the world's knowledge (languages, histories of every nation, etc); is it possible that God exists in the 75% you don't yet know? Just a thought.

Inspiration

Sunday was a very busy day, but very fulfilling. One of the highlights was my "brother" Jim L. telling the story about the amazing changes God has made in his life and then singing "He Was There All the Time." Beautiful!

Time after time
I went searching for peace in some void.
I was trying to blame
All my ills on this world
I was in.
Surface relationships used me 'til
I was done in.
And all of the while someone was begging
To free me from sin.

Chorus: He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time.

Never again
Will I look for a fake rainbow's end.
Now that I have the answer
My life is just starting to rhyme.
Sharing each new day with
Him Is a cup of fresh wine.
And oh what I missed,
He's been waiting right there all the time.

(music and lyrics by Gary S. Paxton, who has a pretty incredible life-story of his own)

Field Trip!

Friday night we loaded up two vehicles worth of kinfolk and headed out to the oceanfront of Virginia Beach. On the Boardwalk they have displayed the McDonald's "Holiday Lights at the Beach" sponsored by Verizon--nothing like corporate sponsorship.

It was beautiful and helped everyone get in the spirit of the season. Peggy was very upset and took awhile to realize we weren't taking her back to the nursing home.