Sunday Morning Blessing

 Sunday Morning Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand. (an Irish Blessing)

May you always know the love of God,

The warmth of family,

The fellowship of friends,

And the kiss of your love.

For with the love of God comes forgiveness for error, 

Grace for the journey,

And peace continually.

With the warmth of family comes love without limits,

Acceptance without merit,

And care for a lifetime.

With the fellowship of friends comes joy in good times,

Shared tears in sad times,

And someone to lean on in hard times.

With the kiss of your love comes feelings of belonging,

Connectedness to someone who loves you without reserve,

And a hand to hold as you pursue life.

The Journey – Day 15

 The Journey – Day 15

It’s been two weeks since moving to a campground, living in an RV. It is still a process to become acclimated to this new lifestyle. Some habits die hard.

I joined a new gym, Planet Fitness, which is working out ok. I’m getting into a new routine, or more accurately, working my old routine into a new setting. Staying focused on priorities is my greatest challenge. Right now, everything seems to be a priority. However, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, it will open up to a beautiful, lush valley, filled with colorful flowers, a million shades of green in the trees and meadows below, and the sweet smell of new beginnings, leading to a whole new set of mountain peaks to climb.

I’ve written about this many times over the years, but for me, this is one of the greatest events in scripture. When Moses successfully orchestrated the release of Israel from Egypt, they made a path for Mt. Sinai, the place God set as a meeting place. One of the first things God told the people was this: Today is the beginning of days for you! With one statement, God changed their calendar and made that day “January 1” in a new year. He is God, so He can do this anytime He wants, for anyone He wants.

It was a new beginning which took 40 years to complete the process. I don’t know if I have 40 years left, but I don’t want to waste time in the wilderness before entering into the next season of life. I’m still searching for “the promised land” which God has prepared for me, but I believe it will be revealed in due time. Right now, I will focus on Him, learn more about Him, spend my days becoming like Him, and one day break out of the tunnel into the beauty described above.

The Journey – Day 12

 The Journey – Day 12

I met one of the campers here on Saturday. Her name is Jan. She and her husband live here permanently. We had a nice conversation. I mentioned I write. I shared some of the thoughts from a previous blog post, where I mentioned people are here for various reasons. Some have stopped over for the night to get some rest. Others wound up here unintentionally and are stuck, waiting for something new to occur.

Jan spoke up at this point and said, “That’s us. We didn’t plan to be here.” They sold their house and bought a camper. The intent was to spend their retirement years traveling. Then her husband had a stroke. Now they live at a campground while she takes care of him, which is a full-time job. It’s quite sad.

This is a stark reminder that you never really know what is going on with those you may encounter every day. It would have been easy to assume Jan was enjoying retirement, traveling around the country, living the life they had always dreamed.

Jan spoke of a relationship with the Lord. Her eyes sparkled when she shared with me the intimacy that she has with her heavenly Father. I gave her a copy of my book, The Names of God. She was very appreciative, but I’m pretty sure she could probably teach me some things on God’s character, because she spoke as though she knew Him very well.

I look forward to meeting other travelers here, to hear their stories and learn more about the dreams that brought them here, or those which will perhaps take them from here.

The Journey – Day 7

The Journey – Day 7 

Learning new habits is easy when you separate yourself from everything familiar. I found it easier to do things like eat meals at home instead of going out so often. I discovered I don’t need TV when there is not one to watch. Reading has become more natural since there are fewer people with whom I can converse.

I’m actually thinking of things I want to do instead of always looking to do things for others. I still have a heart to serve. Giving is way of life for me. But now, I have the option of doing what I want instead of always yielding to the desire or wishes of others. It is no fault of the others. Many times they don’t even realize I’m giving in to their preferences. I have simply chosen to suppress my wants in order for others to have theirs.

This is ok until you reach a place where you no longer feel you have the right to what you want. Your needs go unmet, leaving you with feelings of unworthiness, being unfulfilled, even hopeless. I immediately heard the voice of many sermons expounding on the altruistic nature of living the Christian life. If we are to truly give up “everything” for Christ, why do we still make choices about what happens to us? We choose to earn money instead of being dependent on others to give us what we need. We buy a car because we choose to drive instead of walk everywhere we go. We have a preference on things like hairstyle, clothing, and personal care items (toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.). We can claim the name of Christ and still have an identity, including preferences, feelings, desires, etc.

I’m not playing the martyr card here. I made the choice to live the way I did. I gave up my right to have what I wanted because I thought it was more spiritual. I now understand my motives were based more on pride than on humility. I misunderstood the concept of priority vs. relinquishing. 

The key to living Christlike has to do with placing our relationship with Him first, then sort everything else out, including our own wants and desires. You don’t have to add a spiritual “spin” in order to justify them. Oh, how I wish I had learned this sooner.

As You Go

 As You Go

As you go, life is in front of you.

Keep pursuing, dreaming, planning.

Each step with purpose, walking in destiny.

Each moment cherished.

As you go, memories remain.

Let them teach you.

Let them comfort you.

Let them inspire you.

As you go, allow yourself some space.

To grow into what you have yet to become.

To make mistakes.

To love yourself until you believe it.

As you go, know you are loved.

By family who care for you.

By friends who find a treasure in you.

By me, because I cherish you.

The Journey: Day 5

 The Journey: Day 5

I have never cared for the term, “the new normal.” This phrase is normally invoked when things have gotten bad and appear that they will stay that way from now on. During the height of COVID, I would hear the phrase often. I never accepted wearing masks, social distancing, and fear of human contact as “normal.” It is as far from normal as you can get.

Acceptance of negative change might reduce stress for some, but for me it causes more stress. I never want to settle-for or accept as normal things which are nether good or normal. Let me give you an example. Pancreatic cancer is a very bad disease. The survival rate is very low. I have known several people who have had this dreaded disease, all of whom died from it. Several of the people I knew accepted the prognosis and began preparing to die. 

One had a very different approach. He started fighting from the first day of the prognosis. His mantra was “NEGU – Never Ever Give Up.” He pursued every possible treatment, including volunteering for experimental regimens; anything which he thought would give him another day to live. He lived well beyond the average survival rate. Before any of these that I knew developed the disease, I had read a book by a mathematics professor named Randy Pausch. His book on time management, The Last Lecture, changed my mindset on ways to utilize time to make it productive.

Randy had several young children when he was diagnosed. He wanted to live for them. He did not want them growing up without a father. Through all of his efforts to recover, he lived much longer than originally expected. He left a legacy for his children which could influence them well beyond his grave, including a video for his daughter to view if she ever got married. In it, he was able to say all the things he would have said at her wedding, even though he would not be there to walk her down the aisle.

For all these folks, the prognosis was the same. However, some “accepted” their fate as “the new normal” and others did not. I want to think that I am in the group that would fight tooth and nail to live. I never want to settle for anything less than the “zoe” life Jesus spoke of; a Greek word which means, “life and plenty of it.” There is something more than I have yet to experience. I don’t know what it is, or at this point, even where to search. Until then, I want to squeeze the life out of each day, to live in the moment, and live life to the full. If you want to call it “the new normal,” then so be it. But there is nothing normal about this, and for that, I am thankful.

The Journey - Day 3

 Journey: Day 3

Today was a bitter-sweet day. Time to move all the stuff. It is impossible to actually start over. You’re already alive, with many life experiences behind you. Good times, bad times, mundane times, stressful times, hurtful times, joyous times; a bank of memories which both sooth and haunt you. The reason for a restart is to attempt to separate yourself from the cause of pain and shame in order to experience peace and significance. There are also those you have harmed out of your own woundedness who remain fixed in your mind.

It is very easy to see how some would turn to things like drugs or alcohol to get immediate relief from the constant replay running through their brain. It is nearly impossible to shut it off. Vices only provide a temporary solution. Once the substance wears off, the replay begins. The only way to get lasting peace is to come to a place of reconciliation. This is not necessarily making peace with the individual or individuals involves. Sometimes this is impossible due to logistics or death. Using the concept of reconciling an account is more appropriate. You review the debits and the credits, attempting to determine if things balance out. Can you move forward with the way things stand between you. Perhaps there is something more you need to do before progressing.

For now, you pack up all the things you feel you will need to take on your journey. Traveling is not as easy as being stationary. You have to make some hard decisions about what goes and what stays. Some things you once thought were not optional lose their appeal because there is simply no room for them. Essential becomes preeminent. Only things that have utility go in the box.

There are already some things I miss, simply because I enjoyed knowing I had them. But when you are on a journey sentiment becomes the slave to necessity. Laser focus is required, because you don’t want to miss a thing. There may be milestones which need to be placed, like Ebenezer in the Old Testament, where in 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” He then set a “stone of help” (ebenezer) to mark the spot. Some use the expression, “So far, so good.” It’s the same meaning. These markers become reminders that God is faithful. We are able to measure progress and growth as we begin moving toward the next destination, even if we have no idea where it is.