When “Oops” Is Not Enough

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. James 3:2
I have never claimed to be a perfect man. Sometimes I stumble in ways that actually hurt others. Did you ever say something you shouldn’t have, and it hurt someone without your intent? I have.
Matter of fact, I just did last week.
Flip Wilson used to have his character “Geraldine” say “The Devil made me do it!” I really don’t want to give Ol’ Scratch too much credit. If he had a hand in it, so did I.
I’ve spent the intervening hours feeling bad about it and smacking myself in the forehead - which doesn’t help the one I offended. Nor does it help me, other than a renewed desire to more strongly discipline myself against future failures. I’ve played the scene over a few thousand times in my head, thinking of all the ways I could have had that conversation without wounding. There were quite a few, in fact. Many ways to bless, but out of my mouth came the opposite.
I usually keep a pretty close watch on what I say, but I have spent a lot of years loving “wise-cracks”, and sometimes they sneak out of mouth when I’m not being careful enough. There’s nothing “wise” about them, but they can - and do - cause cracks in relationships.
I’m not excusing, just explaining. I tell you the truth, if I could backtrack and stop myself from saying that stupid thing, I would. Next best thing is to keep a guard over my tongue to prevent future outrages. Did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body? I thought you might.
The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:6
And then there’s this:
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:36-37
Oops is not enough. The power of words to harm is something God takes seriously - and He expects us to as well. I wish I had something clever or funny to say here, but I can’t think of anything. So, learn from my mistake. Use your words to build and heal, and not to wound. Aim for perfection in your conversation. You’ll be glad you did!

A Smart Woman Thought of That

“Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” Prov 31:29
It’s kind of a family joke, every time we see some clever gadget we say, “I bet a smart woman thought of that." It’s because of my mother-in-law. She said it all the time, especially if it was something practical, functional, and pretty. There’s actually a pretty long list of things that are linked to a woman’s ingenuity - and probably an even longer list of things ostensibly invented by men but inspired by the women in their life. Here’s a few of the first kind.
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903. She was inspired by street car drivers who had to reach around and wipe their windshields with a rag. She soon patented a device they could mount on the roof and operate by hand from the inside. Imagine that, keeping dry while improving safety! Thanks, Mary.
And the next time you see a paper bag, remember Margaret Knight, who invented the machine that gives paper bags square bottoms in 1871. And while we re-use our little plastic bags in a lot of ways, there were a lot of uses for the paper ones that they just aren’t handy for, like covering school books and making kites and party hats - also designed by women.
I don’t want to leave out Ruth Wakefield, who in a happy accident invented chocolate chip cookies at the Toll House Inn. Let me just say, “Mmmm-mmm-MM!"
Then there was secretary Bette Nesmith Graham, who often had to retype whole pages because of one little typo. After watching some painters at work one day, she got the inspiration for Liquid Paper, getting a patent in 1956. Last time I checked, it was one of the more expensive fluids on the planet at $198 a gallon, and while it may end up going the way of the buggy whip, it was handy while it lasted.
And we could go on and on. Actress Hedy Lamar, who co-invented a wireless technology before WWII that is foundational to our modern cell phone, Stephanie Kwoleck, who invented Kevlar for bullet-proof vests, Marie Curie, whose work with radium led to many medical advances.
I happen to like smart women. I married one, fathered one, and owe my life to one, and owe a great debt to the mother of my wife, who is the inspiration of today’s column. She passed away unexpectedly January 3rd after a brief illness. She was not the kind of woman who wanted tearful accolades at her funeral, but she would want you to know one special thing about her that carried her through the crises of her life, her faith.
...Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day. 2 Tim 1:12
She carried that verse printed on a card in her wallet. It was a reminder to her that she was trusting in Someone who had her best interests at heart, and a word to us that we can know Him and trust Him, too. Learn from Jane, because she was a smart woman, and anyone she trusted deserved it.

The Gospel According to Cinderella

The other morning,‭ ‬I was in that transition between full-on sleep and rolling out of bed‭ ‬-‭ ‬not quite asleep,‭ ‬almost awake‭ ‬-‭ ‬when I began to consider how the story of Cinderella parallels the Gospel story.‭ ‬Maybe it began in a dream,‭ ‬maybe it was a Revelation from the Father,‭ ‬I can’t say,‭ ‬but what follows is more or less what occurred to me Sunday around‭ ‬6‭ ‬am.
Her early memories of joy and love in the bosom of her father are very much like the joy and love Eve‭ (‬and Adam‭) ‬experienced in Eden,‭ ‬or our own early days of innocence in life.‭ ‬Then tragedy struck.
In Cindy’s case,‭ ‬the loss of her father left her to the not-so-tender mercies of her step-mother and‭ ‬-sisters,‭ ‬and living in the shadowy edges of the home they had stolen.‭ ‬From her.‭ ‬In our case,‭ ‬sin broke the fellowship with our Heavenly Father and left us trapped with our Snaky Deceiver in the burnt out cinders of our hopes and dreams,‭ ‬slaves in the ruins of our inherited home.
Her day to day life was filled with dreams and hopes for rescue,‭ ‬our desire‭ (‬often sub-conscious‭) ‬is to return to those days of innocence and joy in fellowship with our Heavenly Father,‭ ‬a quest that seems even more far-fetched and impossible than a scullery maid longing for a Prince to rescue her.
Suddenly,‭ ‬in the midst of the gloom and dark of her daily struggle,‭ ‬a ray of hope broke through,‭ ‬and someone she had never known gave her the opportunity to meet the Prince.‭ ‬In one of the few‭ ‬accurate uses of this phrase,‭ ‬she said,‭ “‬I haven’t a thing to wear‭!” ‬With a few waves of the wand,‭ ‬Cindy is cleaned and coiffed and covered‭ ‬-‭ ‬through no power of her own‭! ‬Yes,‭ ‬just like her,‭ ‬all that we have in God’s eyes is‭ “‬filthy rags‭”‬.‭ ‬We’d‭ ‬never be fit for His Presence...without His intervention‭!
Then,‭ ‬at the Ball,‭ ‬she not only meets the Prince,‭ ‬he chooses her for love‭!! ‬That’s right,‭ ‬the very thing she’d been hoping for was coming true right before her eyes,‭ ‬so she did what so many in her place would‭ ‬-‭ ‬she ran away.‭
OK,‭ ‬you’re going to remind me about her deadline and everything turning back into pumpkins and mice yadda yadda.‭ ‬But in our story,‭ ‬when faced with the Promised Fulfillment,‭ ‬we often run and hide,‭ ‬either in shame or fear or astonishment,‭ ‬definitely knowing we’re not worthy of such Love.‭
So Love comes searching.
Do you think we would love the Cinderella story if there weren’t a‭ “‬Happily Ever After‭”? ‬The Gospel of Cinderella really is Our Gospel,‭ ‬because it has the only Happy Ending that matters.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:4-7

Another Day Closer

How does your diary read? Remember when we were kids, and right after Halloween we began to really realize that Christmas was coming? If I had kept a diary, along with stories about my wonder dog Useless and my annoying baby brother, I honestly believe that there would have been many times I would have boldly (with exclamation points!!) written “Another Day Closer To CHRISTMAS!!”
Now that’s not to say we weren’t anticipating Halloween - more than a few hours were spent ogling magazine pictures of fancy store-bought costumes and planning our home-made copies. And of course, Thanksgiving, with its built-in expectation of eating yourself into a stupor. But Christmas was the Big Day, combining the gluttony of Thanksgiving with the greed of Halloween in a wonderful melange of pseudo-religious (Saint Nick, anyone?) nervous anxiety. Plus edible decorations! Not to mention mangers and stars and wise men and shepherds in the annual Christmas Pageant.
So we began the Countdown. As I write this, I found a website that has an active countdown to Christmas, marking Days, Hours, Minutes, AND Seconds. (78 Days, 14 Hours, etc.) At this point in my life, that’s TMI (Too Much Information, Geezers). Days are quite sufficient, especially since it will still sneak up on me and catch me by surprise somehow anyway. Ah, the Desperate Hours of Christmas Eve picking-over-the-ruined-remnants Shopping! (Not that I’ve EVER done that for YOU, my sweet little Pie-maker!! Besides, Christmas Jerky is delicious.)
But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9
I’m looking forward to Heaven, and these Holiday SADs (Seasonal Affective Delights, to improve a phrase) are good training grounds for that. I suspect that if you’ve thought much about Heaven, you’ve thought of it in the sad and tired old fictional imagery of “Halos, Harps, and Happy Clouds” - none of which are mentioned in the only document with comments from actual inhabitants and visitors, the Bible. No, what you find in that Book are descriptions of a never-ending “Rave”, with music, dancing, and general celebrating. That’s definitely something worth counting down to, and maybe we should consider getting a little more “aerobic” with our worship, and little less “funeral parlor-esque” in anticipation. (smiley face goes here)
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Matt 25:21
“...into the joy...”
Now that deserves some exclamation points! Getting into Heaven is getting Into The JOY. All the joys of Christmas’s past rolled up together with whipped cream, a cherry, AND sparklers is only a taste of the joys to come for those who love Him. Every day really is “another day closer”, and that’s worth counting down to!

Trash to Treasure

There’s an interesting piece of real estate in California called the Glass Beach. Fort Bragg has been around a while, right on the Pacific Coast. Beginning at least in 1906 through 1967, they did what many towns did. They dumped their trash in a convenient location - the ocean. They were dumping so much out there that sometimes they had to burn it to keep it from blocking the view (I guess). But for 61 years, they had merrily dumped everything they could think of - from household trash to automobiles, including a LOT of glass bottles.
Then the wind and tide got to work.
One day, someone went down to the “Old Dump” to look around, and they noticed that the ‘sand’ on the beach was...colorful. And it still is. It somehow at the same time looks both man-made and natural.
Now my expectation when I first heard of Glass Beach is that it would be much more enjoyable from a safe distance. (I’ve been wrong about other things, too.) One of the pictures I found showed a person walking the beach bare-footed. Sans sandals. Naked toes! Apparently, time and tides not only “...wait for no man.”, they don’t waste their time idly either. They work, tumbling, polishing, shaping, transforming.
Made me think about the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. When they crossed the Red Sea leaving the broken remnants of Pharoah’s mighty army sinking out of sight, they were FREE. After 400 years of slavery, their chains were gone!
At least, the ones they could see.
But they had been dramatically warped by their slavery. Why else would they whine about going back to Egypt every other day? They had a lot of trashy thinking to get over, and it didn’t happen over night. 40 years of wilderness wandering was what it took to transform them from a rag-tag gaggle of discarded junk into a conquering covenant army.
An interesting tid-bit: somebody estimates that it takes 40 years to turn trash glass into Sea Glass, discards and junk into highly collectible treasures. There’s sea glass jewelry, an online magazine, a festival, and lots and lots of collectors that see the beauty and value in what once shared space with old coffee grounds and used diapers.
So the next time you’re wondering why it’s taking so long to get really free from the sins and failures of your past, remember Glass Beach. You didn't get where you were overnight, odds are you won't get over it overnight either. The transformation may take time -and trials - to get there, but it will be beautiful.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Cor. 4:8-10

Cross of Glass

At first, I noticed the colors. White, green, blue, yellow red, orange - even a little pink. They were all shapes and sizes. And then I saw that they were shards of glass, just pieces that had been chosen, sanded a little, and then carefully fit together in the shape of a Cross.
Brokenness made Beautiful.
Our lives, our heart’s desires get broken, shattered into a million pieces by any number of things. Cancer. Divorce. Death. Dementia. Autism. War. Accidents. Sin.
I don’t know what broke you, but I know you’ve been broken. We all have, because that’s what happens to fragile things in this fallen and dangerous world.
When Jesus saw the damages of sin, He didn’t despair. He chose to do something about it.
The Cross.
Those who come to Him with their broken bits of life find Him carefully arranging and fitting them together beautifully, skillfully, Masterfully.
There are some - not me - who hold to Chaos Theory, that order eventually comes out of chaos without an Artist. My experience has been in the opposite direction. Order degenerates into chaos, and left to itself, chaos just increases.
In this life, Chaos is only brought to Order by the Master, and He only does it through the Cross.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. 1Cor 1:18

Time Travel

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

The Future is something everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whoever he is, whatever he does. CS Lewis
Life's not made up of the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.

Time travel is one of the favorite inventions of fiction. Ever since HG Wells' The Time Machine - and probably before - people have been interested in the possibility of jumping into the past to some big event or into the future to see what's going to happen next. Who wouldn't want to be present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, or watching the Red Sea part, or Resurrection Morning? That's why I'm sure time travel will remain in the world of fiction. Otherwise, the thousands of significant events of history would have been crowded with on-lookers and sight-seers - and rubberneckers are not known for quietly staying in the background! (Hey, Moses, would you do that again? Everybody smile and wave this time!)
We'd all love to skip some parts of our lives. Dentist visits. Flu. Civics class. Anything painful or boring - or painfully boring - brings up the delicious fantasy of jumping to the end. The movie Click explores that fantasy and its major downside, that life is made up of moments and you never know when you'll find the ones that take your breath away. Take Jacob, for instance.
He was on a journey he didn't want to be on. He was not known for his adventurous spirit or out-doorsy ways, but his mother was concerned that his brother was planning a Cain and Abel reenactment, so she bundled him off for a visit to her old home place. On the way, he camped out at the ruins of a place called Luz, and had a dream: Angels were going up to and coming down from Heaven, and God passed on to him the Promise of Abraham.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Genesis 28:16
I don't imagine he was expecting to meet God on this journey. Most of us never do, but the Lord is the Master of perfect timing. Jacob's little vacation was going to be the defining point of his life, because God had a plan. Did you know that when God has a plan, even the apparently insignificant moments of your life - or better yet, the disastrous ones - can be charged with meaning and purpose?
And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good. Romans 8:28
I'm not saying (and neither is the Bible) that "there is a reason for everything", or even "it's all going to work out". What the Bible IS saying is that for those who are on HIS side, God is working things out with an eye to Eternity.
He has made everything beautiful in its time...Ecclesiastes 3:11
So? Enjoy the moment, what's about to happen may matter more than you know!