Slow Down

Alberta roads are about to become a tad more exciting. My daughter Selina is set on obtaining her driver's licence. Fortunately she will begin with a learner's licence. So she's fervently studying the manual so she can pass the test in as few tries as possible. It's a cool system. You sit before a computer which gives you the exam. When you get to 17 correct answers or 4 incorrect answers, whichever comes first, the computer shuts down. You have either passed or failed (I'll let you figure out how that's determined).

But that's only half the story. The other half is that I am going to end the lease on my van as soon as possible and get into a junker for a while. The junker will eventually become the property of Will, Selina and Angeline (if it lasts that long). For now, though, I just want something cheap.

So besides finding Selina behind the wheel you'll be seeing a much different Smithmobile for a while. I'm alerting all Alberta drivers to be extra careful out there!

I'm reminded of the sign on the Anglican church that you see as you drive through Neepawa, Manitoba. It reads: Slow down, you might hit an Anglican. I agree. Slow Down! You might hit my daughter learning to drive a dilapidated car that needs to last another decade.

A sign that flashes across the highway on the way out of Red Deer reads: Slow down, the life you save may be your own!

Actually, I just think we should all slow down. Pace of life is too fast. When did my daughter get to be 16, anyways?!

...she just called for a ride from a music pratice so I gotta go.

(I can't wait til she gets her licence.)

(Wait a minute. Oh yes I can.)

If I don't see a hundred ribbons...

One of our brothers came home on Sunday. I don't know that he was looking for a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree but he certainly got at least a hundred all over the church property to welcome him. One of our teens alone had about 50 ribbons pinned to his shirt. It was all to say we are glad to have you back.

Jesus tells the story of the son's homecoming more beautifully than Tony Orlando's song. The father waits at the end of the lane with an eye on the horizon. The son, who left home as a young man with his whole inheritance to spend, was presumed lost, hopelessly lost and never to return. Presumed, that is, by all but his hopeful father.

Everyone heard of how the son shamefully spent his wealth on worldy pleasures, making new friends who were only too happy to help him spend his money. The far away land was neither far enough away for his older brother who hated how this younger sibling shamed their father nor was it close enough for his father who longed to embrace his wayward son. The young man eventually found himself penniless, which led to friendlessness, which led to desperation. As he slaved away on some farm to earn a meager pittance, he hungrily fought off the urge to eat the pods he was feeding the pigs.

The he came to his senses and realized there was one place where he was loved. Surely his father would be kind enough to take him back as a servant in his family's household. Then he could perhaps restore some dignity to his shattered life. He hurried home with a heart full of pentience.

He wasn't looking for a yellow ribbon. He wouldn't dare ask for a robe or a ring or a celebration feast from his father. However, his father was planning for all of that (except the ribbon, of course) and went running to welcome his son when he glimpsed him in the distance.

Sunday's yellow ribbons were our way of showing the same acceptance that our heavenly Father has for one of our brothers who fell badly. We all have fallen in our own way. At some point I too was lost and dead in my sins. When I brought myself humble and broken to God, he welcomed me as his son. All was forgiven.

The other half of the story is the older brother. He could not bring himself to forgive. But the lesson is that as I have been forgiven of all, so I must forgive my brother. How can I not show the grace that God has shown me.

Never have I been so happy to be part of a church!

Which Bible to Read?

In my position as minister for a church I get asked quite often what is the best Bible to get (although it happens less than it used to, which worries me that either people are less interested in good Bible translations or are less trusting in my opinion about it). I have my favorite translation which I sometimes will recommend, depending on what I know about the person asking and their needs. But my favorite Bible is not one I preach from nor is it one I ever tell someone to buy for their personal Bible reading. It is The Dramatised Bible. The translation used is the NIV (not my favorite) but it is the way the Bible is structured that I like. It converts Bible passages into character scripts that are suitable for acting out or presentation by multiple readers. I find it refreshing to see and hear the word of God acted out or rendered by dramatic voices. Somehow it makes it more real to me. Narration in the Bible lends itself to this quite easily but even other passsages, like Psalms or New Testament epistles can be shared in a group devotional or worship setting in a way that is very engaging.

The best dramatised Bible, however, is not the one that sits on my shelf. People touch my life in significant ways with the scriptures because they live them out in their daily lives. One Christian brother got wind of me looking to purchase a vehicle when I was young, single and needing wheels for my independence. Upon learning what I was making as a downpayment, he generously mutliplied it by a few times which cut my period of financing down to a year instead of 2 or 3. I have bought many vehicles since and now more fully appreciate how generous his gift to me was. He did not let me pay him back but recommended I look for an opportunity to show the same kindness to someone else. I've read from a lot of translations about doing your good works before others that they would glorify God but none as clear as my friend's action. I take his words to heart and endeavor to be generous to others in a way that glorifies God. I figure this to be a much more importan part of ministry than pointing people to a good translation. They need to see God's word translated first and foremost in my life.

(By the way, I prefer the New Revised Standard translation, if you must know.)

Doesn't it look like a positively beautiful day in Red Deer today?! Just looking at the brightness of the sun and how it lights up the evergreens and fresh-fallen snow makes me want to run outside and play. I love to walk in winter wonderlands of God's creation. Today looks like a perfect day for it.

It is indeed beautiful looking here today.

But I stepped outside and immediately froze anything exposed (and some things that were not).

Quickly, I ran back inside and re-evaluated my desire to be outdoors. Decision: today is a beautiful day to remain indoors and enjoy the sunshine from this side of the window. (And to blog.)

A lot of life is like that. Looks like something beautiful. Looks like this will be fun. Looks like this is a good idea. I must confess a terrible addiction (affliction?) to how a thing looks. My favorite cars always have to do with their sharp lines and colorful paint jobs. What clothes I wear used to be always about the appearance and never about the weather forecast. (I'm doing better with age. Age-related arthritis, that is.) Even my favorite sports team was largely adopted on the basis of what their uniform looks like. They look as good as ever in their orange, black and white. That is, until the puck drops and the game is played. They're in last place! They used to always be good but now they only look good.

I've learned (except with hockey teams) to pick less on the surface appearance of things and people. Behind every facade and under everyone's skin is where I find good. God made people in His image (minus the sinstains, of course) and his creation is awesome. Sometimes I have to look below the surface to see it but it's always there.

I hope people can appreciate me even if I look like a clown (maybe I should lose the outfit and makeup). I also hope they can appreciate me, the real me, even when I'm dressed to the sixteens (better than nines, I figure) and looking like a million.

Back to the beautiful day. Today is a beautiful day. Not because its sunny and bright or unbearablý cold (minus thirty-something with the wind). It's beautiful because God built it. If the sun never came up this morning (or the earth stopped rotating, I guess) what kind of a day would it be (besides dark)? If everything looked great but God withdrew the air, that would pretty much have sucked any enjoyment out of the day for me. If my heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped inhaling (or exhaling) or my eyes stopped blinking, how beautiful would the day seem to me? God has made today beautiful by building it and building me into it. What I see on the surface, what I choose to look at, is only skindeep.

Rats, I need to go. Outside into the cold.

That's okay. The wind only chills me to the bone. The Spirit is in my soul!

Thank you, Lord!

And the rest of you... have a beautiful day!

Fitness in 2007

Every new year begins for me with a renewed commitment to get myself into better shape. This year will be no different. My membership at the local recreation center will be used to swim, run, lift weights, play a few sports and keep up my juggling skills. The few extra pounds that I carry all seem to concentrate in a couple of body zones--tummy and tush. This year I have to deal with an extra challenge, a hernia that has worsened over the last year and requires surgery. This, of course, changes what I will do for awhile until I am properly healed.

Being healthy is much more than just having my body in shape. Jesus talked about the mind, soul and spirit, also. Therefore my attention is also focused upon getting into better spiritual health. A small Bible study group with which I meet once a week has just embarked upon a set of studies from Abiding Life Ministries. Our weekly meetings will now be augmented by personal daily devotions which engage us with the material. Then our meetings become a time of sharing and mutual ministry based on the spiritual issues with which each of us wrestles. This regular spiritual exercise helps us grow and strengthen spiritually much like my time at the recreation center will helps me physically. If you are interested in Abiding Life Ministries please follow the link that I place with this blog. Don't be surprised if some of the reflections I share here in 2007 come from this material.
All in all I am looking forward to a boost to my health in 2007, both physically and spiritually. My only apprehension is that some spiritual condition may be identified for which the Lord will prescribe surgery, a sort of spiritual hernia operation.