Thanksgiving

“I never in my life remember a more seasonable year than we have enjoyed.”

Edward Winslow, Pilgrim, 1621 

About a month ago I turned 50. It was a pretty low-key celebration with family and a few friends. A few days after my birthday, my wife and I had a couple over for dinner. Towards the end of our evening together they presented me with two three-ring binders. An odd gift for sure…until I opened them up. Inside, dating from the present day all the way back to 1620, was my ancestry. For two months, our friend Dana pored over various websites in search of my lineage. I must admit that over the years I have taken a stab at Ancestry.com once or twice, but never got any further than my great grandparents. Now here before me, in these binders, was my family history. As I leafed through the pages, I could read obituaries of relatives from long ago and even a few newspaper clippings that shared a little more about their lives. Perhaps the most amazing discovery in this treasure trove was seeing that my 11th great grandfather was Richard Warren, one of 102 passengers on the Mayflower, and a signer of the Mayflower Compact. An original Pilgrim, Warren and others like him left their homes in England and traveled to the “New World” in search of religious freedom and a better life for their families. Wow! I am related to a Pilgrim! I had no idea. Despite the hardships they endured during the Atlantic crossing and their first New England winter, those Pilgrims were a fruitful bunch and produced many offspring. Although many people today can claim a Mayflower Pilgrim as their descendant, I still carry a little bit of pride knowing that I am related to someone who set about exploring our new world.

With Thanksgiving upon us and stories of Pilgrims once again filling our school classrooms and various news articles, I am reminded that Thanksgiving, although filled with food, friends, family and football, at its core is about giving thanks. Giving thanks to the One who so graciously bestows His goodness upon each of us. His goodness that comes in the form of family and work and friends.

I am also mindful that there are many among us who are having a difficult time giving thanks. Perhaps a season of hardship or loss prevents them from being thankful this time of year. My counseling friend, Matt Barnhill, says that Holiday depression is a very common occurrence and is really waves of grief that occurs during the holidays. His suggestion is to be a safe place for people who are dealing with grief and loss.

The journey crossing the Atlantic claimed many Pilgrims lives, and the first winter cut their population in half. Starvation and disease remained a devastating threat even after their first Thanksgiving. Despite the challenges they faced, they persevered and they gave thanks.

Wherever you are this Thanksgiving and whatever situation you are facing, may you, too, persevere and give thanks.

Baseball

 "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

Rogers Hornsby

This quote sums up my feelings exactly. Oh, sure there’s football that gets me through the baseball off-season. But there’s nothing like warmer temperatures, cut grass, the smell of Spring, and the umpire’s cry of “Play Ball” on the Opening Day of baseball.

The love for baseball in my family goes way back. I grew up hearing stories about my great grandfather who never missed listening to a game on the radio. Because of his deafness he would hold an ear horn to his ear and put it right up to the ball game that played on the radio. He could not believe, like many other Dodger fans, that they would actually leave Brooklyn for Los Angeles. Nevertheless, he continued following the Dodgers and the Yankees until his passing in 1956. Another grandfather, an old Maine potato farmer, had a love for the Boston Red Sox.

As a kid growing up in Anaheim my dad always had an Angel game on the radio. In the background it would play as we went about our evening business. And although my own baseball aspirations didn’t play out the way I dreamed they would, my love for the game has never changed.

I am writing this nine days removed from the crowning of the Houston Astros as champions of the baseball world. This Series between the Dodgers and the Stros epitomized everything that is right about the game; clutch hitting, clutch pitching, late inning theatrics, and the beauty of baseball played at the highest level. Much like the Cubs’ win last year, Houston’s win came after a long drought that culminated just a couple of years ago with losing 111 games in 2013. This year they did just the opposite, and although both teams had their own heroes emerge, it was Houston that pulled through at the end with a Game 7 win. A win that will do its part in helping to heal a city.

I cannot wait for next season. Until then I’ll be staring out my window waiting for Spring.

Recommended book to read: “The Pitch that Killed” by Mike Sowell. A great story about the pennant race of 1920 and the death of Ray Chapman; the only Major League Baseball player to die from an on-field injury.

What do you do with the mad that you feel?

What do you do with the mad that you feel? Catchy, isn’t it? It was a song written by Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood fame. He always had a way of taking simple concepts and turning them into something profound. I came across this song just recently and it caused me to stop and ask myself that question, “what do I do with the mad that I feel?”

I must confess that I get mad more than I let on. I know that I come across as a mild mannered, pastoral type person who is easy to get along with. While some of that may be true there is another side of me that tends to mope, curse under my breath, and do a LOT of talking to myself. Most of my anger tends to be directed toward members of my family who are under the age of 18. I have three children and it seems that I am rarely mad at all three of them at the same time. Instead I think they find it humorous for me to be mad at just one of them at a time. They seemingly take delight in taking turns doing things that cause me to burn with anger. My angry side is known around our house as “The Beast”. When The Beast takes over my body my children tell me that I get very focused, my eyes look as if I am straining to see something far away but really I am boring a hole right through their very souls. To help with my focus I am told that I begin to make strange noises that come from my nose as if I am a bull pawing the ground ready to charge the object of my anger.

And don’t even get me started when it comes to my wife. I mean after almost 20 years of marriage you would think that she would know how to avoid making me angry. But noooo….it’s just the opposite. She knows EXACTLY  the kinds of things that make me angry. Why just writing this I am beginning to feel my heart racing a little faster and the computer screen is coming more into focus. It’s time to stop. Because what do I do with the mad that I feel?

That’s a great question isn’t it. The answer of course lies in how I respond to whatever it is that is causing me to become angry. Anger is a powerful emotion. In fact, one could argue that it is just as powerful as love. It’s how we handle our anger that helps to define us as people and to go a step further, how it defines us as Christ followers. The Apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus tells the Believers there that in their anger they are not to sin. So apparently, it is ok to be angry about things; it’s just not ok to sin. Even Jesus, in His anger, cleared the corrupt money changers out of the Temple. It doesn’t appear that He was very polite as He went about his table overturning tirade. It was idolatry, corruption, and injustice that caused Jesus to become angry. He said, “you have turned my house of prayer into a den of thieves.”

When confronting injustice becoming angry seems to be justified in Scripture. So that begs the question, “when does my anger cross over and become sin”? I think it becomes sinful when we hurt people. Hurting comes in the form of both our words and our actions. We have all done it. And it’s almost always reactionary in nature. So, “what do you do with the mad that you feel?” Going to God in prayer is an obvious first step, but so is confiding in someone else and being transparent with them about your anger. If need be counseling might be another option to pursue as ongoing anger might be the presentation of deeply held wounds. Addressing these wounds, and thereby addressing your anger, hopefully will cause you to grow deeper in your faith in God.

“What do you do with the mad that you feel?”

Recommended book to read: “How People Grow” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. A wonderful book about both personal and spiritual growth.

Known or Noticed?

Known or noticed?

That was a question posed to us recently at our weekly Pastors meeting by our Executive Pastor Scott. As is usually the case me, being someone who can't stand the awkward silence that comes after a question is asked, spoke up with, “I feel that I am known after speaking in front a of a crowd”. But after thinking more about my answer I realized that public speaking doesn’t really allow anyone to be known. Oh, sure during the short time that I share in front of a group they get to know me a little bit. But to really know someone takes time. And both time and patience are commodities that people don’t seem to have a lot of in today’s world. Speaking allows for the speaker to be noticed but not to really, intimately, be known. I think that what I really want is to be known. I believe that’s what we all want. We all want to go deeper in our connections with others. I often wonder if many of the world’s problems could be solved if people simply got to know one another. As my friend and fellow Pastor, Dick Foth writes, “There is built into each of us the need not just to connect but the need to engage. We discover ourselves as we discover each other”. That’s what being known is all about.

Jesus had a knack for getting to know people. He had a way of getting past a person’s rough exterior and getting to know the heart of a person.

Jesus knew Peter. Despite his tough talk and rough outer edges, Jesus knew that Peter’s passion would one day build the Church.

Jesus knew the woman caught in an adulterous act. He saw through her embarrassing circumstances and knew what she really needed was to be loved and offered forgiveness.

Jesus knew the hemorrhaging woman. He knew that she had a need to no longer be ostracized because of her medical condition, but instead desired to be healed and included.

Jesus knew the dying thief on the cross. He knew the crimes that landed him there, and offered the man much needed forgiveness from an all-forgiving God.

Jesus knew people, and He knows you. He knows all the desires of your heart. He knows all of your pains and struggles. And in your struggle Jesus desires to draw you closer to Him. And as you come closer to God you will come to know Him in new ways today.

Recommended book to read: “Known” by Dick and Ruth Foth. An easy read that, as the tag line says will help you in, “Finding deep friendships in a shallow world.”

Nests

When my boys were younger I would frequently take them to our local park to hit a baseball, throw a football, or play some tennis. During the Fall and Winter months I oftentimes would catch my middle son Owen looking just above the horizon and counting 1….2….3…4. When it first happened it obviously sparked my curiosity so I asked him, “O what are you counting?” “I’m counting nests,” was his reply. As I looked toward the area that peaked his interest I could see numerous bird nests in trees off in the distance. These nests were hidden throughout most of the year due to the leaves on the trees. One would never notice the nests under the Spring & Summer foliage and it's only during the harsh Fall and Winter months that we are allowed a glimpse of the life within.

Now allow me for a second to take a bit of a leap here in equating leaves with the stuff that I like to surround myself with in my life. The most common things that I enjoy and hope for are good health, a good job, a nice house, two cars, and my wife having the ability to purchase clothes whenever she wants. But what happens when those things are taken away? Oh maybe not all of them, maybe it’s just one…or three. I’ve noticed that whenever something that is of value to me has been taken away I am forced to look at life a little differently (depending on what has been taken) and I can truly see what I value and what I’m made of…the life within so to speak. I’m sure you have encountered this as well. There are times when I’ll reflect back on my life and notice that God has had to strip the leaves off my branches as a way of truly revealing the life that is within me. When my stuff (the things that bring me comfort) have been taken away I tend to feel vulnerable and less unsure of myself. Perhaps like birds nesting in a bare tree. The stuff that I have been hiding behind no longer provides me with the security that I value and long for. And I am forced to ponder the question of what does provide me security? What is important to me? What do I really value?

I say all of this because I remember how I used to make weekly visits to 50 yr. old man who was slowly dying of cancer. Within four months he went from weighing a healthy 165 lbs. to when I last visited him a frail 120 lbs. As we talked I asked him what he was most fearful of? Interestingly he said that he wasn’t afraid of dying but that his biggest fear was for his wife and daughter. Who was going to take care of them after he died? I assured him that his family would be taken care of. As his leaves were slowly falling I saw what was important to him, what he valued, and who he was as a person. Interestingly he didn't blame God for his condition, which was a testament of what he believed about God.

What I’ve learned from bird nests and a 50 yr. old dying man is that my hope ultimately cannot and should not lie with the things of this world. I am reminded that my hope instead needs to be on the eternal promises of God. Although there are numerous promises throughout Scripture that I can hang my hat on below are a few of my favorites:

“He will never leave me or forsake me” Heb. 13:5

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Rom. 8:28.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Rom. 10:9.

So when I am faced with the difficulties of life, my hope is that I maintain an eternal perspective, remember God's promises, and that what is revealed to others is both encouraging to them and glorifying to God. See you next week, Owen and I are going to count nests.

Recommended book to read: "The Search for God and Guinness" by Stephen Mansfield. For those who love both God and a good beer you’ll enjoy reading how the Guinness family (going back to the 1700’s), by living out their Christian faith, have made a huge impact on their world.