A Boy and His Tiger

For my 18th birthday, which seems like an eternity ago, I received a copy of the very first Calvin and Hobbes Collection from my friends.  As we read through the first few comics together, I literally received a phone call from my Mom informing me of my Grandfather’s death.  In the blink of an eye, my laughter turned to heavy sobs and a flood of tears.  Since my Dad's father died when I was 5 or 6, Grandpa Loughney was the only Grandpa I had really known.  He was full blooded Irish and would tell me he was going to be a saint one day.  I was in awe of that.  Of course, when you’re ten years old, you pretty much believe anything your Grandpa tells you. 

In reality, Grandpa was anything but a saint.  I’m not sure how many packs of cigarettes he smoked a day, but there were burn holes in his recliner.  The same recliner I used to fall asleep in while sitting on his lap in the evenings.  Grandpa also drank too much.  Yes, he was an alcoholic.  I know his drinking was often a challenge for his children; and yet, even with his issues and personal demons, the only thing I ever experienced was awe and wonder, and more love than I can imagine.

When he died, I was devastated.  As a teenager, I knew people died.  I watched it happen on TV and in the movies, but Grandpa’s death was the first death with a personal connection, which brings me back to Calvin and Hobbes.  In my sadness I found comfort in a boy and his “tiger”.  For short periods of time, I was able to forget about the hurt and instead find humor illustrated through the innocence of childhood. It’s no wonder they say laughter is the best medicine.

What prompted this?  It was this video clip posted by Wil Wheaton on his Google+ page.  When I watched this clip, I was immediately transported back to my 18^th birthday and the months that followed.  I was reminded of how fragile life is, and at the same time, about how much joy can be found in the simple things of life.  I was reminded that, as adults, we can still find joy in the simple things.  We only need to open our eyes and discover what’s in front of us.  It is there, we just need to look for it. 

Watch the clip and let yourself laugh out loud.  Its ok, no one will care.  Then, find someone to share it with, because joy is best shared with others.

Laughing with you,

David

When God Created Mother's

I am thankful for the Mothers who have been an influence in my life across the years, especially my own mom, Sharon Rose Chambers.  Thank you for getting me started in life!

Here's an appropriate poem by Erma Bombeck on this Mother's Day. I'm glad God made my mom this way, I'm sure I put her to the test in every way.

When God Created Mother

by Erma Bombeck

When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of “overtime” when the angel appeared and said. “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And God said, “Have you read the specs on this order?” She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 movable parts…all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said. “Six pairs of hands…. no way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” God remarked, “it’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”

“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. God nodded.

“One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. ‘I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”

“God,” said the angel touching his sleeve gently, “Get some rest tomorrow….”

“I can’t,” said God, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger…and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.

“But tough!” said God excitedly. “You can imagine what this mother can do or endure.”

“Can it think?”

“Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

“There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”

“You are a genius, ” said the angel.

Somberly, God said, “I didn't put it there.”

Erma Louise Bombeck, born Erma Fiste, was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for a newspaper column that depicted suburban home life humorously, in the second half of the 20th century.

For 31 years since 1965, Erma Bombeck published 4,000 newspaper articles. Already in the 1970s, her witty columns were read, twice weekly, by thirty million readers of 900 newspapers of USA and Canada. Besides, the majority of her 15 books became instant best sellers.

Whatever It Takes

As I write this, I am in the midst of being reborn. Yes, even a believer of 28 years can experience a new beginning.  My fresh start is not, however, a result of salvation or even complete surrender to God in my life.  Those "boxes" were checked some time ago.  My new beginning is growing from a sense of passion for what God wants each of us to become as we journey towards him. What is that, you ask?  He wants us to be sold out for him - heart, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30); he wants us to take responsibility for sharing the gospel and building the kingdom (Matthew 28:19-20); and I believe he wants us to take responsibility for the results, both positive and negative, of these actions.

While at District Assembly (a gathering of Nazarene churches in Washington from Canada to Oregon, West of the Cascades), I had an opportunity to listen to Dr. Jerry Porter, a General Superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene, speak to these concepts.  He shared an illustration that jump started some of these thoughts:
 

"Imagine you were responsible for a church. If someone came to you and offered you a  million dollars if you doubled the size of your church in six months, what would you have to do to make it happen?"

Think about that for a moment.  What would you do?  What would you change?  What would it look like for you?  I have been thinking on this question since the GS asked it.  As a result, I'm beginning to identify areas that could change and areas that NEED to change if Community of Hope were faced with this question.

I think it is fair to say most pastors/people would do whatever it takes if it meant getting one million dollars for doubling their church in 6 months.  Think about how amazing that would be.  More people would be part of God's kingdom and there would be a huge reward for accomplishing this feat.  But wait a minute, isn't there already a huge reward for doing this?  Isn't eternity with the God of Creation far more valuable than one million dollars?  Shouldn't that reward be the driving force?  I think it is.  I think it should.

This, of course, is what the GS was ultimately getting at.  We have an opportunity to receive the greatest reward ever, so why aren't we doing whatever it takes to make it happen.  Instead, we attempt to rationalize why something has not been accomplished and we fail to take responsibility for the results.

I believe God is responsible for salvation.  God and only God is capable of taking a sinner and forgiving their sins.  Only God is capable of paying the price for our sins and setting us free.  In fact, God paid the ultimate price. We see this evidenced in the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. While salvation can only come though God, God has intentionally chosen to spread the good news of salvation by using sinners who have been saved by grace.  Sinners saved by grace just like you and just like me.  We have an important role to play in the process.

Yet, how many sinners saved by grace take this role seriously?  How many of us give a 100% effort toward this end? How many of us are willing to do whatever it takes?  We would likely do it for a million dollars, but will we do it for eternity?

Now, I'm about to be completely vulnerable with you and that's not easy for me.  I'm tired.  I'm tired physically because of the need to be bi-vocational; I'm tired mentally and emotionally because of the efforts to revive a church in decline for more than 20 years; I'm tired spiritually, because I have a human desire to see spiritual fruit develop faster as a result of my human efforts; and as a result of my fatigue, I find myself attempting to rationalize why things are not different.

The challenge by the GS to do whatever it takes has also remind me that in the midst of my fatigue, I know God is still God; in the midst of my fatigue I refuse to give up on what God has called me towards; and in the midst of my fatigue I need to do whatever it takes to be used by God in the process of salvation.  I need to take responsibility for what I am capable of doing and/or changing.

As a result, I am evaluating different areas of my life.  I'm analyzing what I'm doing right, and what needs to change, so I can be more effective and productive in accomplishing what God needs done.  Self-evaluation is never easy, it is rarely enjoyable, but the results can be life-changing; and that's ultimately what I want to do, change lives for God.

What that looks like exactly, I don't know.  I do know this... I am willing to do whatever it takes.

Until next time,

David