Think On These Things

Disrupting Schedules

It is looking like another weekend waiting by the phone to hear if a baseball game is going to be played or cancelled. J.D.’s Little League team got to play their first game - which finished an hour before it began raining again, after being sunny most of the day. Although the sun might possibly shine tomorrow, it would need to be considerable in order for games to be played tomorrow. Making planning for the day difficult.

Not that it is a simple matter to plan for what might be construed as a normal day. Something always comes up to disturb what Cyndy and I mistakenly thought was the schedule. Each of the boys can - and do - change their minds faster than the wind (which changes quickly here in Texas). What they want to do can change when they get tired of doing what they were determined to do the night before. Usually the change involves something that costs us money.

They call me at that time and want money for a drink or a snack - both of which we either have here or could buy in the store for cheaper. Or they want to come home because they are bored - even though they were bound and determined to spend all day at the recreation center. Or they need a dollar to go swimming - even though they swore they did not want to go swimming. Or a friend they were playing with went home and they want to come home, too.

Yet it is not like Cyndy and I have never changed our minds - sometimes in mid stream. At times our change of mind disrupts the family schedule. But the only time that either one of us has changed our mind is when the other one of us can take the boys where they need to go. Which means Cyndy and I disrupt our own schedule while keeping the boys on theirs. Our boys, on the other hand, rarely consider anyone else’s plan for the day.

A time will come when the boys may actually come to consider and respect the schedules, plans, and feelings of people around them. But - if we are honest - we grown-ups are prone to change the plans our heavenly father is leading us toward. We always seem to want favors. We want something new to happen in our lives simply because we are bored. But we frequently jam a wrench into the works. Oftentimes wandering from the path that the Lord brought us to follow.

As our boys need to follow the family’s plans, we all need be aware when we pray and hear God when he speaks to us. Maybe then we would not need any favors. Maybe we would not get bored. Maybe we will spend more time listening than talking and see where the Lord is leading us. We should not following our own timetable - we are on God’s timetable. We should listen, watch, and learn - traveling along the path to which we were led.

Peace be with you.

Rain and Arks

It has been raining - and raining - and raining. Fortunately, there have been brief daily bouts of sunshine and blue skies. Unfortunately - as the saying goes - that just brings higher humidity. Conner, our oldest son, plays for the high school baseball summer team. He will be starting high school in the fall. J.D., the youngest, is on the Little League All Stars team. The All Stars games were to begin this past Monday. They have yet to play a game. The high school team has several rained out games as well.

Conner and Cameron were at a church summer camp until yesterday. Cyndy has been on vacation from work all week and even with the oldest two gone we still couldn’t get much done around the house. Half of what we wanted to do was in the yard and now it will be a while before we get to it. We want to scrub the tile floor in the dining room and kitchen, but with the rain, the dog keeps tracking mud and water into the house. Luckily we have kept it mostly confined to the tile floor. With the exception of a few instances when Spot Shot came in handy. Yet that does not take into account the in and out activities of boys who have much more important things to do than remember to wipe their feet off when they come in the house.

Then there is the constant semi darkness outside the windows. The fleeting sunshine is only a tease. Just when we get used to it, the sky grows dark, we begin to hear thunder, and the satellite signal begins to go in and out. These storms have been coming for several months while we were trying to get moved into our new home. Adding to the misery is the summer months in which all boys are home all the time and I get very little work done. When Cyndy is home from work we take turns taking and picking up the boys.

Having them not be able to go to baseball games - running around expending energy and visiting/playing with friends. When it is raining, they can only go to the recreation center. Except for playing basketball in the gym, they have little opportunity to expend energy. With few outlets, they end up messing with each other at home. Cyndy and I get to referee the fights.

And it is supposed to rain today and all weekend. I have not mentioned the humidity that sets in when the rain stops and all the standing water attempts to evaporate. There are times when we would prefer to have a month of dry heat with no rain. Just for a break from the rain and humidity. It is getting really monotonous and old.

J.D., Cyndy, and I went to see Evan Almighty on Wednesday. We thoroughly enjoyed it - as did, apparently, the rest of the audience - the ending was a little Sound of Music-ish, but it was a good movie. The script was for the most part well written and thought out. What struck me as odd though, was the timing of its release.

I am not saying that the producers had anything else in mind other than hitting the summer movie market in a timely fashion. The movie has obviously been in the works for a while. But one cannot help but think it strange when the summer movies, in a year in which rain has been more prevalent across the country than ever, begin with a movie about an ark being prepared for a flood.

I often think of preparing my "ark" when the rains are relentless. While I am not so concerned about saving two of each species, I am inherently concerned with my particular branch of the species. I think about having enough supplies to provide for the family for enough meals to last out the bad weather. We are not as bad off as those living by rivers and large creeks, but we hate driving when it is raining.

Whether there is rain or not, our house is our family "ark." We try to fill it with what we think we need to survive in our society as it constantly changes. We do not have to simply worry about having two of each animal and our family. We have to worry about constant input from outside sources such as TV, radio, cell phones, MP3 downloads, and the like. Respect from our children does not come as naturally as it should. Sometimes the members of our family are working for their own particular goals rather than the family’s goals as a unit.

I can relate to Noah. I am just trying to take care of my family and do what the Lord leads me to do. I am trying to pass along a message that the Lord wants me to convey. I am working against fluctuating odds. And - like Noah - people think I’m nuts. At the same time, the Bible is full of people who bucked the odds and spread the Lord’s message in their own way. Hopefully, I can learn from them and follow their example.

Peace be with you.

We Complement Each Other - You and I

We complement each other - you and I,

You are "I want to do it,"

I am "Let’s think about it."

As usual - together the halves make a whole.

We complement each other - you and I,

We are both madly in love with each other,

We are dedicated to each other,

We are meaningful together.

We complement each other - you and I,

We share the duties with little conversation,

Our love lets us share

Thoughts that others do not have.

We complement each other - you and I,

There’s not much more to say,

Our love is so incredible that no matter what,

We complement each other - you and I.

"Family Size"

When the label says "Family Size" I often wonder what size family they had in mind. It certainly was not mine. We have five in the household, six in the family. Seven actually, since I now have a son-in-law. But I only shop for five - Cyndy, myself, and our three sons - two of which are teenagers. There are numerous families in our church with as many children (at least as the three boys) and several have more.

A family size package of vegetables would just make the two teenagers hungry. The bowl would not even make it through one trip around the table before it was empty. Cyndy and I usually get smaller portions than our sons and no one has seconds. A two pound bag - which should have the family size label, leaves just enough for the oldest two to fight over who got the most seconds when the bowl is empty. And they are the only two to get more.

I do not understand what companies are thinking when they have meetings about packaging. Even at Sam’s where most items are really family size, the packages come in odd numbers. Some sandwiches come ten to a box - that works for us. We can get two meals out of it. But most come in packages of six or eight, which is useless for us. We get one meal and have several left in the freezer waiting for arguments about who gets them.

We have a better chance with a package of eight than six. One meal for all of us and each of the boys gets one some other time. But it still does not come out even. Ketchup is one exception - only because the package of two super size bottles certainly seems truly family size. The same is true with the double package of ranch dressing. Both items are what I would consider - even with my misgivings about the title - family size. But no - even what I think is family size is not enough.

It seems that every time I turn around, someone is complaining that we are out of ketchup or ranch dressing. I’ve always liked ketchup and I’ve used ranch dressing since we had to make it at home with the contents of the package and buttermilk. Shortly after the only place to have ranch was in a restaurant with vegetables during happy hour buffets. Chicken wings followed soon after and ranch was a customer’s alternative to bleu cheese dressing. Which was precisely why I began using it - I am not fond of bleu cheese.

My brother - rest his soul - when we were growing up, used more ketchup than I would. But that is not to say that I did not use my share. I have never used ketchup on everything, but there are some things on which I need to have ketchup. Regardless, I have never gone through as much ranch dressing or ketchup as our boys do. The youngest boy pretty much refuses to eat anything without ranch on the table. The exceptions are amazingly few. Usually only meals with gravy.

Yet no one thinks to tell Dad when he uses the last of a bottle of either - not to mention anything else they may happen to finish. The time to tell Dad - in their world - is when dinner is hot, ready, and cannot be eaten without whichever we are out of. Dad having to run to the store while his dinner gets cold is irrelevant. Just as long as there is ketchup and ranch. Then there is the complaining because they are proof positive that it is my fault their food is not piping hot.

Back to the subject at hand, when a store or company says "family size" I am suspect. A family size box of cereal and a gallon of milk gives our family one breakfast. Naturally, I understand that two of our boys are teenagers with the third in the wings. Their appetites are as large as their supply of testosterone with both levels increasing seemingly daily.

Maybe there should be small, medium, and large family packages. Perhaps there should be someone on the packaging committee who has four children or more, two of which are - or have been - teenagers. But any of the packages could be more than enough for some families. Families who do not have three boys launching into their teenage years. Yet to simply label a package "family size" is a little misleading and presumptuous.

Imagine how the Lord feels. Millions of people of your own creation, having free will, going in millions of different directions. Many of those feel that the Ten Commandments need their interpretation in order to be significant. Some blatantly ignore commandments when they feel they can rationalize their actions through "interpretation" of the commandment they are selfishly ignoring.

I would prefer to worry about an extra trip to the grocery store than convincing someone steeped in sin to change his or her ways. Shopping for growing boys does not seem like such a chore next to guiding a sinner to the path he should be traveling. I’ve worked with my boys and the youth at church enough to experience the difficulty of guiding someone who is refusing to be influenced. I cannot conceive of that experience multiplied by millions.

The problems of parenting make good stories and are often humorous. But the feelings are quite real. God feels them at a least a million times over. As parents, at times we feel out of control. Anything we do is not enough or does not work. The closest we can get to God’s parental feelings is by imagining losing complete control. The Lord would not lose control, but that is the closest we can come to understanding his parental feelings.

If you’ll pardon me, I need to go to the store for ketchup.

Peace be with you.

Adam, DNA, and Creation

I’m helping with the summer Bible study for the youth of the church. We meet on Tuesdays from noon to two in the afternoon. It is called B.A.N. - Breakfast At Noon. Conner and Cameron - our oldest two sons - are in the study as well. We actually call it a book study because we are studying The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross. Henceforth, we are studying a book, not the Bible itself.

I disagree with some of the things in the book, but the author’s object was to get people to read the Bible and think for themselves. I have to agree that he gets people to think, even if it is to argue with him. But this is not about my opinion of the book. In Chapter 4, Cross has a page with an informational box with excerpts from articles and corresponding verses, that illustrates that DNA can be traced back to "a single woman from whom we all descended."

That does not surprise me. When archaeologists discover evidence that some event in the Bible actually happened, I am not surprised. I never doubted it. But it is nice to have proof. But when it comes to the DNA question - and the fact that scientists (who reportedly do not believe in creation) have found evidence - I am even less surprised. Even if you believe in evolution, logically there is no other answer.

Even if we are descended from apes, there would have to have been that first ape to evolve. Chances are they would not evolve in a group. One man would have had to have been first in order to start the change. Which would not only support creation, but evolution. I, for one, do not have a problem with the fact that God made man through a process. The Bible says that God made man in his own image, but I do not necessarily believe that God has an image. If he does not have an image, he would have needed to experiment to find the image he wanted to present to us as "in his image."

Therefore, God would have needed to go through a process - henceforth evolution. It would mean that God did not create the world in six days, but I do not believe that his "days" and ours are the same thing. Since Adam and Eve, we can no longer live forever - our time frame and his are distinctly different - we cannot conceive of his time frame. I also believe that God is humble except when man is being an idiot.

When he inspired the authors of the books of the Bible, I think he would have wanted to shorten the actual creation story. Since man was incapable of conceiving of God’s creative process, he did not think it was necessary to spend a lot of time on it. "Let’s just tell them I did it in six days and get on with the important part," I can hear him saying. The importance of the creation story is to set the stage for man’s purpose, man’s flaws, Satan’s relationship to man, and man’s difficulty with handling free will.

So it does not surprise me when archaeologists and scientists prove that something in the Bible took place. I never doubted it. But if they could not prove it I would readily accept the fact that it cannot be proven. That would not - in my mind - mean that it did not happen. I would still believe. God could cause something to happen that we would not be able to prove - no matter how much digging we did. But enough happened that we can prove to convince scholars that the events in the Bible actually happened.

There are continual discoveries that prove that the events in the Bible happened. What I find odd is that when something is proven that was not formerly known, it is presented in books and other media as a surprising occurrence. When, if you have faith, it should not be a surprise. It should seem entirely natural. Why are we surprised when we use the faculties that the Lord gave us to prove the physical validity of something he did and end up proving it? Did the Lord prove it to us or did he allow us to prove it for ourselves with the faculties that he gave us.

Peace be with you.

There Is a Woman

There is a woman,

a sweet, soft, lovely, cuddly,

warm, beautiful woman,

who loves me more

than I deserve.

A smart, intelligent woman

who complements me

and makes me complete.

We fill each other’s gaps

While our faith seals the cracks.

A woman whose touch

makes me feel all warm and cozy,

warms my body,

takes my breath away

and makes me feel special.

This woman and I

are two halves of a whole,

two souls blended together

with the Lord as the foundation

for our love to rest upon.

Thinking of You

I went home last night,

And thought of you;

For a good long while.

It seemed like the best thing

for me to do.

It dawned on me

there were still some things

I wanted to say.

I wrote them down

so I would not forget.

Knowing that you want

to hear my songs

Is enough to make me want

to live forever,

just to play songs for you.

I love you - very much

with no pressure behind the love.

Being with you now

Is all that matters.

I am here - anytime you need me.

Observations of Our Dog

When we moved into our new house in January, our dog, Misty was enthralled with the larger backyard. When she first went into the yard, she ran around the perimeter as if it was a racetrack and she was determined to come in first. Misty is part Labrador Retriever and part sight hound. With a large tree and other neighborhood dogs - a few of which look like her - she was in hog heaven.

It was not long before Misty adapted to the new surroundings and new rules. She found new methods of doing the same things she had always done - in particular, chasing squirrels and barking at birds. To date, she has never succeeded in catching either one. The squirrels and birds have their own peculiar ideas as to what the rules of the game are to be.

The birds will continually taunt Misty when she is in the house. When she looks out the back door, the birds deliberately land on the ground about four or five feet outside the door. Misty barks and begins to scratch at the door. When we open the door she explodes into the back yard at the precise moment the bird takes flight. The bird lands in our tree just to taunt Misty.

Squirrels operate in about the same manner. Yet the squirrels do not come as close to the house as the birds. They have to run to the tree whereas the birds just take flight. Misty comes closer to catching squirrels than she does birds - although she has come quite close to both on a few occasions. I witnessed a situation in which the bird slightly miscalculated the distance Misty could jump. It’s wings were approaching double-time as Misty missed it by inches. Another time a squirrel - as with the bird - misjudged Misty’s speed coming out of the door.

Misty barked at the squirrel in the tree. She continued to bark as the squirrel scurried out on a limb to the top of our shed and into another tree. She finally quieted down when the squirrel was out of sight. Then Misty wanders around the yard, looking up into trees for sight of the squirrel. When that proves futile, she continues to wander until she finds a shady spot on which to lay down.

We let Misty out in the backyard when we leave to go somewhere. When I return from errands or running the boys somewhere during the day, I’ll leave her outside until she wants inside. At times I will stand at the window and watch her. It’s interesting to watch her routine and wonder what is going through her mind.

After Misty lays down a while, she will get up and wander around the perimeter of the fence. Occasionally she will turn her head up as if she is trying to throw her voice into the air and over the fence and sound off in short, quick barks. As if she is checking in with the neighborhood dogs to see if any of them are out in their yard. If she does not get an answer, she wanders around the yard some more. Just in case he spots a unique place to lay down again.

While I was standing in the silence watching Misty in the back yard, I thought of the Lord watching us. I was thinking of the things that Misty was doing that looked rather silly. Then I began to think of the times in my life that I did something I later acknowledged was silly or stupid. Some of those times I keep to myself and share with very few people - mainly out of embarrassment.

Yet I still feel the embarrassment when I realize that the Lord was watching me out of his window and sees the times I act other than how I should. There are a few - I’m happy to say they are very few - times that I have acted in a way that it saddens me to recall then. Doubly so when I know that God is readily aware of my times of weakness and shortcomings. I am glad that I forgive Misty when she does things that affect the cleanliness of the inside of our house. Because I hope that the Lord forgives me for my times of silliness, stupidity, and indescretion.

Peace be with you.

Our Love Is...

Our love is

Considerable - worthy of regard as being great,

yes, but...

Astonishing - wonderfully great,

well, almost, still...

Consummate - perfectly great,

Absolutely.

Our love is also

Ineffable - too good to be represented in words,

but it is not...

Inexpressible - not to be expressed,

That is my job...

Precious - of great value,

Naturally.

Our love is continually

Noteworthy - deserving attention,

yet also...

Noble - distinguished for good qualities,

yes...

Monstrous - varying greatly from the natural,

God has blessed us with the love of Adam and Eve.

The We That God Gave Us

Times of love,

Times of grace,

Years of waking up

To your sweet, lovely face.

Times of sorrow,

Times of tears,

Years of having you

To love away my fears.

As I have you,

You have me,

We are us,

Us is we.

Our love was beautiful

Thirty years ago,

Now it is amazing,

Incredible, mind-boggling.

Thinking of you

Being in love with me,

Makes me dizzy

And it’s difficult to see.

When I think

of the beauty that is you,

I’m so thankful it was us

On whom God’s love sparks flew.

Our love is so complete

I sometimes get silly, or nervous,

Living in awe of the magnificence

That is the we that God gave us.