What Are You Staring At?

When I was a youth I had a younger brother who was confined to a wheelchair due to an inherited disease. This was at a time before the American Disabilities Act required handicap access to any place in the universe except the moon. It was also a time before chairlifts and vans were common. Our family's first wheelchair accessible van was a used cargo van with a homemade ramp which required two persons (a pusher and a puller) to get my brother up into the van. So it was relatively rare to see someone out and about in a wheelchair. During this time if you wanted to get into most buildings you had to navigate steps in a wheelchair. Thus it was unusual to see a handicapped person out in public trying to circumvent the barriers of curbs, steps, and non-automatic opening doors.

Whenever we were out in the public away from our small hometown, my brother was very conscious of the eyes following him around. It was obvious that my brother was the object of many sets of eyes following him wherever he went. It bugged him so much that sometimes he would confront a person with the phrase, "what are you staring at?" It really was useful in getting someone to quit staring at you.

But let's face it. We find it hard not to stare at something that is spectacular - whether it is good or beautiful, bad or ugly.

Within the soul of man are eyes that have the ability to behold both a physical realm and a spiritual realm. It is far easier to behold the physical realm because it is so easily seen. (It really takes no effort to see the physical.) The spiritual realm is not so easy to behold as it is for the most part invisible. I say for the most part because the miraculous can be seen and is simply the spiritual realm manifesting itself in the physical realm.

The Bible encourages us to fix our eyes on the unseen, spiritual realm. One of the valuable reasons for fixing our eyes on the spiritual realm rather than the physical realm is the fact that the realm we are most conscious of will be reflected in the way we live. To fix our eyes on Jesus will bring a result in our inner character being transformed into His image which will then have the positive effect on our outward thoughts and acts.

I am finding the more conscious I become of the unseen spiritual realm, the more this focus brings into sight the spectacular nature of our Lord Jesus. And the more spectacular He appears to us the more irresistible He becomes to us. We just have to stare more at Him because of His awesome goodness manifested in and through us.

So friends, let's all have a "stare fest". Let's stare at the unseen, spiritual world and become more conscious than ever of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessings

Mind Stretchers To Think Over

I am spending this week at the Hem Of His Garment Healing Conference at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. What a marvelous time it has been these first 5 sessions. I have 5 minutes before I head off to start the day so here are some random "mind stretchers" to ponder on throughout the day from the first session on Monday evening.

"God loves us as much as he loves Jesus."

"Nothing is as important as the presence of God."

'The reason god does the miraculous is because he loves people."

"We do not need to work for what he has already given us."

That's it for now.
Blessings

Is It Worth It?

I am attending a conference in Redding, CA this week. The opening session begins in about two hours so this post is a poem I wrote several years ago. Hopefully you will enjoy it. I will post again on Wednesday if I'm able.

Is It Worth It?

Is it worth it . . .

To here a newborn baby cry?

To run to the finish line after having fallen?

To stand alongside King Leonidas at Thermopylae?

To see those first baby steps in your house or on the moon?

To be there when the "Fat Lady" sings?

To plant the flag on Mt. Suribachi?

To chase after the rainbow?

To aide an Anne Frank?

To sweat drops of blood?

To hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?

Back in the Posting Business

It has been way to long since my last posting. A whole lot of things have been happening since June 17. Mostly it has been very good. Mostly it has taken up my time so that when I do sit down I either don't want to write or I was too tired to write about my happenings. But this morning is different I want to blog! Maybe if I blog in the morning instead of waiting till midnight my mind would be a little more than mush and things coherent would come out.

As I sit to write this post I am listening to the music of Glen Campbell. Listening to Glen Campbell songs is like watching water rush over a 15 foot waterfall. It is something that you could listen to all day (or as the case of a waterfall - watch all day.) Now I know the younger readers of this blog will ask, "Glen Campbell, who is he?" But it is to their loss that they are so culturally deprived!

I have been asked with incredulity, "You listen to that?" Well, I'll let the secret out. I do listen to music other than Praise and Worship music. However, it is hard to beat what God is inspiring songwriters to put together expressing the wonderful nature and person of the Lord Jesus. So I go back to P&W everyday. So what's in my MP3 player? To begin with, you need to know that my music appreciation range is quite eclectic as you'll notice. It's sort of hard to pin down what my favorite style is so I just call it Eclectic.

My favorite song in my MP3 player is How Much Is That Dogie In The Window. Don't laugh, it was a number one hit sometime in the 1950s. Songs ranging from Roy Orbison to Patti Page, with the Temptations, Glen Campbell, Henry Mancini, Roy Rogers, Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkel, Three Dog Night tucked between them give pleasure to my soul. Oh, I almost forgot the classics, every MP3 player must have Maurice Ravel's Bolero in it. This is one for the ages! And of course, my MP3 player would be second rate if it did not have the military marches in it. Appreciation and gratitude always come to mind when you hear the likes of Anchors Aweigh or The Caissons Go Rolling Along or The Marine's Hymn or The Air Force Song.

On to other thoughts. Tomorrow marks the end of my first year of serving on the Pioneer Valley Association Board of Directors. It has been a real trip! I have two more years to fulfill my term. Last year at this time the annual election meeting needed to have the Sheriff's deputy called in to stop a scuffle between individuals. Shortly after things calmed down I was one of three newly elected directors sworn in. (Note: I was elected with one vote as a write-in candidate. And no, I did not vote for myself.) Many good things have been accomplished during the past year. One of them is that the people of Pioneer Valley now talk to each other instead of yelling at each other. That is always an improvement and hopefully will make the coming year even more productive.

One last item to mention. Sunday will see the last of our youth head off to the mission field for this summer. We have had youth serving in Oklahoma, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and now Italy. We also had an adult do mission work in Zambia this summer. Two others will go to Honduras in the Fall. That is 16 individuals out of our congregation of 80. Wow, well done CTC!

Children's camp this week, youth work days next week, youth camp the week after that (along with a conference in California). Then things will settle down in August. At least one can dream.