Hammer on Anvil '

I saw this comic yesterday and I thought of the authority that personal experience has for some people. Anything outside of it is dismissed or suspected. You may be sharing a story and be told "Well, in my personal experience..." Is personal experience the final authority?

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:3

When I last read that verse, especially the line "wait in expectation," I recalled a story of George Muller on a trans-Atlantic voyage. In the middle of the voyage the captain of the ship slowed the speed because of the thickness of the fog. Muller went to the captain to say that he needed to be in Toronto (or someplace) by Saturday and he had never missed an appointment in 50some years. The captain began to explain the foggy conditions, but Muller confidently replies that his eyes are not on the fog but on the God, his God, that can control the fog. He then requests that they go below to the chart room to pray. Muller prays a short simple prayer and as the captain is about to pray stops him saying, "Firstly, you do not believe that God will answer and secondly, I know that my God has already removed the fog. They go above and sure enough the fog has lifted.

You do not believe he will answer--that struck me hard and weighed on my mind for awhile. Through much of June and especially when the Waldo Canyon fire was ongoing, we were praying everyday for rain. Throughout it I thought, why the delay? Why no answer? Was it because I didn't really believe God would answer?  Eventually he did, but how do you cope when there seems no answer? Is your prayer merely words or is faith behind it? Questions I must ask myself often.

A poem that has been on my mind recently. It's by Longfellow. Enjoy.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

LIves of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.

Last night was Man night for summer crew here at camp. We made the hour bouncing drive to a nearby peak, Mt. Baldy or something like that. Once we had driven as far as we could, we had a half-mile walk across an old reservoir and up a ridge. What waited for us was an awesome view of the Collegiate Range, Pike's Peak, and another reservoir below. While we watched the sun setting, one of the guys asked, "Isn't it amazing that the God of the Universe created all this?" I agree it's amazing, but as I stood at 13,000+ feet and saw tiny flowers of blue, purple, red, yellow, and white scattered around; as I saw the sun shine between clouds and mountain tops, I was struck by something else.

"The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again." (Ecclesiastes 1:5-7) So Solomon wrote and often I feel the same way. I tend to think of sunsets (which I've seen far more of than sunrises) as the same; once you've seen one you've seen them all sort of thing. As I watched it last night I remembered it is false that they are all the same. The sunset I saw last night I will never see again. The sunrise I missed this morning will never be seen again. This is what amazed me, not that God created the mountains once, but that every day he makes a unique display.

Malcolm Muggeridge once wrote, "Man is so avid for knowledge that everything he touches turns to facts; his faith become theology, his love becomes lechery, his wisdom becomes science." I am often this way, but do not wish to be. I want to continually be amazed at the work God is doing every single day. I do not want the knowledge I accumulate, the "maturity" I seek to remove from me the child-like delight and amazement of all that is around me. 

 "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." -Jesus

Cairns are small piles of stones that are set up every so often to let you know you're still on the path and going the right way. In the event that you go wrongly, you can always go back to the previous cairn and begin again. The cairns are also useful because you cannot always see the peak or destination you are heading for. Even in the event that you can see what you're after, a beeline or direct route may not be the best or safest. It is enough to follow one cairn at a time and arrive in due time and safely.

I don't like to make things over-spiritual, but I think about how we're told life is like a journey. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do or get to, but not the steps to get there. Sometimes I get off track and have to retrace my steps and begin again. Other times I have to be content with only seeing the next cairn and thankful for the glimpses of the peak and seeing it closer.

Thoughts?

You might be a grammar nerd if...

• you mentally edit what your friends are saying.
•  you use proper punctuation/capitalization in text messages, instant messaging, etc.
• your extensive vocabulary confuses those around you.
• you actually know the rule behind when to use "who" and "whom."

I don't believe I go overboard, but I am a bit of a grammar nerd. In conversation I will (half) jokingly correct a friend that uses "good" when they should have used "well." I leave them there anyway, but I feel a bit guilty for a dangling preposition. More important than the negative side, I find language enjoyable and some of my favorite jokes/puns are play on words.

A friend posted to this to my wall the other day.

For those who claim that all religions are basically the same, an illustration often used is that of a mountain. At the top of the mountain is God or the divine and all the religions are following their respective paths. Same summit/goal, different paths/methods. A nice idea but far from accurate. I will not here try to describe all the significant differences between the major religions, but want to focus on the idea of climbing the mountain.

As Americans and Christians, we are very fond of slogans and catchphrases. Unfortunately this is often accompanied by forgetting the origin and intention or overuse to the point of cliche. How many wore a WWJD bracelet at some point? I'm guilty. Own any of the merchandise parodying another corporation? Another example in my mind now is the "it's not a religion, it's a relationship." It would be better said: it isn't religion but the Gospel.

In reading the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), it is worth noting and somewhat humorous the use of direction/space words. The men gathered to build (goes up) "a tower that reaches the heavens" but even then God had to come down to see what they built. It's humorous because the greatest accomplishment of men was still so small that God had to come down to even get a glance at it. The Tower and the Religion Mountain seem to be related here. Even if all religions are going up different paths on the same mountain toward the same summit, they will all ultimately fail. As Isaiah said, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." So what is the Gospel?

In his book The Reason for God, Tim Keller contrasts religion and the Gospel this way: "Religion operates on the principle 'I obey--therefore I am accepted by God.' But the operating principle of the gospel is 'I am accepted by God through what Christ has done--therefore I obey.'" We cannot on our own effort climb the mountain to him. Instead all we can do is accept what Christ has done with gratitude.

Thoughts?

What's the difference between being childlike and acting childish? Often we view being child-like as a good thing, but acting childish is often used as a criticism of someone; typically associated with "act your age." Though I'm 24, every so often these phrases are directed at me (luckily childlike more than childish). My interaction with children is almost as a peer instead of an adult. The pranks I pull and jokes I laugh at are often childish. Yes, I'll laugh at a fart, a pun, cartoons, or popping bubble wrap. I'm easily amused with a hackeysack or spinning quarters on a table to entertain me and another kid. I'm comforted in my "lack of maturity" by Matt. 18:3, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Also by the following quote of Willy Wonka (author: Roald Dahl) "A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."


Like most times when I share stuff, I get asked what's my point. For all my childlike-ness in being easily amused, I'm concerned with how easily I'm satisfied. The problem here is a far more dangerous and subtle difference. While a child is easily amused by something simple and wants it over and over and over and over and over (once more) and over again, this is a far cry from an adult's satisfaction with how things are, how we are. What about continuing to search, explore, grow? Where's the curiosity, the adventure, the wonder? These are the questions I've been asking myself lately. Have I grown up too much in some ways?

Wonder is a strange and elusive state of mind. We know it when we have it. We talk about it as if we all know what we mean. We wish we could hold on to it forever. yet we have consigned nostalgia to the days of childhood and fairy tales. The world then was one to be conquered. We were going to soar to heights and breathe new air...Fatigue, care, worry, mistakes recognized, and yes, even farewells now evict the marvel of what we once envisioned. ---Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder

Thoughts?

"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known"

In a small group I'm a part of, we've been reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. The first part addresses common doubts about God/Christianity and the second part addresses reasons for faith. Our last discussion was over "Clues for God," and gave some arguments for the existence of God and talked about some of the arguments against his existence. Keller opens the chapter with "Though there cannot be irrefutable proof for the existence of God, many people have found strong clues for his reality..." (131). God cannot be proved to exist or not; it will have to come back to faith (Hebrews 11:6). This is not an empty or blind faith, the clues when added together can present a convincing argument. But is it really our end goal to prove his existence; why is it so important?

"For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-by-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want but the experience of God's presence. That is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get." (Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat, 47)

Forgive the lengthy quote, but when I first came across it, my mind latched onto it. Your thoughts?

"I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me"

If you are like me and lack a GPS in your car, then you have likely gotten some odd directions in order to get somewhere. Turn by turn, hills, curves, landmarks, and sometimes (if I'm lucky) street names. Over the weekend I was in St. Joseph for a friends wedding. This was only the second time I'd been in that area, so I am reliant on directions to a lot of places. People wonder at how I can get to some places with the worst directions. Part of it is being confident in being able to figure it out, but my biggest secret? I'm not afraid to turn around. Even if I had a GPS it would probably say "please make a legal U-turn" the most. When looking for someplace I don't worry about passing it if I don't know exactly where it is. Plus by exploring a little more, I learn the area a lot better.

This is how I am with driving, but often quite the opposite in life. In life I become so caught up in if this is the right thing, can I afford to do something like that, will I like that job, is this God's will? The result is that I end up stuck and make no change. It's almost like a deer in the headlights, blinded and unmoving, until thud (unless you're one to swerve). Should I be more like I am in driving and just try a bunch of different things with less thought? Not be so afraid of making a mistake? How big a part does God's will play into this?

Since it isn't resolved in my own mind, it seems only fair to leave it unresolved here. Thoughts?

Brett

The coolest thing about working at the Edge (high- & low-ropes challenge course) was talking people through their fear and do something they wouldn't otherwise do. This could happen on any of the elements, but the zip-lines were the two that you could actually be right behind the person listening and talking to them. Most are just hesitant, but then go on after a few moments. Others take a bit more coaxing, convincing, advising, etc. though never an actual physical push. One such occasion, a boy was on the zip line platform and I was talking to him about going. He was quite fearful and it seemed the longer he took, the more scared he got. The saddest/funniest part was when a well-meaning girl from his youth group shouted up from the ground, "Remember, 'I can do all things..." and the boy shouted "SHUT UP! Just SHUT UP!" We heard this verse quoted a lot at the Edge and elsewhere. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (NKJV)

Like the previous time I talked about My least favorite verse, it is not that I hate or do not believe in the veracity of the verse, but dislike the way it is often mistakenly construed. I heard it the most when I was in high school with FCA. People would say it after they had completed a game or event successfully. At the Edge, people would use it to encourage others to try an element or work through their fear. This is closer to the meaning, but not quite. When we read the verse, we hone in on the "can do all things" when the context of the rest of Paul's letter refers to something else. In the verse just before, Paul says he has learned to be content in any and every situation. A bold statement considering he was in prison at this time. And it is in light of this that the verse gets its true power. It is not the promise of being able to do great things that is big here (though God can work wonders through us if He so chooses). The strength in this verse is knowing that no matter what the circumstances, we still have Christ strengthening us, and so we can withstand it, can still be joyful, etc.

2012 is a crazy year. We had Leap Day today, Summer Olympics will be in London, it's an Election year (groan), and to top it off the Mayan Calendar ends in December. Personally going to have an "End of the World" Watch party on December 20. With all this going on, the coolest thing I have come across this year is in the evening sky. Whenever I ask people about it, I find that many never look up at the stars at night. One night I looked up and saw Venus, but then saw another bright "star" above it. I had to google it to find out what was going on. Turns out that February/March is a great time to be watching. What I was seeing was Jupiter and about March 9, Jupiter and Venus' orbits will appear to cross and the two will be shining right next to each other. At the same time in the eastern sky, Mars is clearly visible. So every night when I get off work, I look up to see the progress of the three. (If you want to find out more, click here)

Mostly I've just been fascinated with this, but it makes me wonder at how many are completely unaware of what is happening in the sky. What is the reason? Busy, distracted, city-lights (though the two planets are quite bright). I wonder if it is just taken for granted. We are so full of seeing that we no longer see. Example of this: did you know that you can always see your nose, but the eyes/mind dismisses it because it is always there and seen. My thoughts here are similar to Nick's point on Monday with "If my Earthly needs are provided for, why do I need God?" I feel like I get the same way with God that others do with the night sky. Always there, I'm distracted or worse: satisfied. I begin to take Him for granted, slumbering while He is all around to be enjoyed and that I need to get off my duff.

Thoughts?

"Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!"

Have you ever done something that was a waste of effort? If I was asking about a waste of time, someone might suggest video games, which is something I spend more time on than I should. When I think of a waste of effort, I think of putting all your energy into something and nothing come of it. Like completing a project for a competition, only for your partner to bail out before. Maybe weeks of training to run a race, only to be sick that day. For me recently, to work on a college class only to be told that it doesn't apply toward anything. As a Latin phrase puts it: parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus; literally, a mountain give birth to a silly mouse, idea: "all that work and nothing to show for it."

Today was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. When I was a kid the only thing I knew of Lent was that it was the time before Easter and meant that for lunch on Fridays, it would be fish sandwiches. I didn't like them then and I still don't now. I also knew that it meant a time when many would give up something; things like chocolate, soda, etc. What is the purpose of this fast? Is it merely just a requirement to follow? The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Israelites began to see fasting as such. They asked of God, "Why have we fasted and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed?" (58:3) They missed the focus of fasting, what God wanted them to do with the time.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains fo injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" (6-7)

All the effort the Israelites put into their fasting and assemblies amounted to nothing because their focus was misplaced. So, if you participate in Lent, where is your focus set? Is it just on what you're giving up, or are you using the time to bring your attention back to God? If you do not typically participate in Lent, is there anything you could give up and would?

For a couple summers I had worked at a high ropes course, Windermere's The Edge, which Nick has also worked at. It featured zip-lines, a cargo net, a couple rock walls, a giant swing, etc. There was one particular element that I always disliked the name of: the "Leap of Faith." I described this element in last week's post but I wonder about the name. Without jumping there is no hope of reaching the trapeze, so it is quite literally a leap, which is likely the reason for the name choice. However, a leap of faith is generally has a negative connotation. To trust Wikipedia could be one, but anyway it describes it as "act of believing in or accepting something intangible or unprovable, or without empirical evidence." This is very much the opposite of what is done in this element.

When facilitating the "Power Pole" as it's otherwise called, we remind the participant that they are 99% safe (harnessed, hooked to a rope and other equipment) and we give them all the facts, the trapeze is 8feet away, 1foot up, etc. We are not asking them to jump blindly and without caution, though some do climb blind-folded. Rather on the basis of past participants' success and the evidence of their safety, we invite them to jump. If we apply this idea elsewhere, what does your faith look like? Is it more characterized as a blind leap or a reasoned step?


"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life."

Brett

I decided to post something I had written a few years ago. Enjoy.

Recently I was thinking about the place I used to work, The Edge, a challenge course with high ropes, climbing tower and most challenging at times, the Leap of Faith. You have a rope attached to your back, climb to the top of this pole, about 25 feet high, 1 foot in diameter, stand up on top of it and face a trapeze that's 8 feet away. Once you've done all that, you're still standing there with the pole rocking, not from the wind, but from your own body shaking. Then the choice is left to you, will you jump out to the trapeze?

This led me to think about other "risks" that I have taken. Most infamous, especially to my mother, is the time I hitchhiked. I had a couple days off at Windermere and wished to go home. So I got a friend to drive me to Eldon and I started walking toward Jefferson City, about 27miles away. After trying the thumb, which didn't work, I just continued to walk. Within an hour, a guy named Gary in a yellow delivery truck, pulled up behind me and offered me a ride. I accepted and we talked until he dropped me off in JeffCity. At this point, I walk the 9blocks to my mom's work and smiled as I rode the elevator up and smiled even more when my mom figures out that I hitchhiked and proceeds to call my dad and tell him what his son had done.

Now those that have not heard this story will wonder how much of a risk taker is Brett? I would have to say that I do not feel like much of one. The first example of the Leap of Faith, while it stills shakes me up a little each time I do it, does not enter my mind as too much of a risk. I know I am safe because of experience and knowledge that the equipment is good. The hitchhiking episode, while at first glance would appear risky, was actually very planned out on my part:
1) I chose a time early in the morning so that I could most likely walk the distance by the time my mom got off work.
2)I had a cell phone with me to call just in case I was not able to.
3)I brought water with me so as to not get dehydrated.
4)I would have enough common sense to refuse a ride with someone I did not feel safe with.
5)There are no large towns between Eldon and Jeff, so I reasoned that if anyone was to give me a ride, it would be all the way.
So I had really thought out and measured the "risk" I would be taking ahead of time. This is how I am with a lot of things. The "risks" that I appear to take are usually not that big to me because I have experience in it or have measured it out. For instance the rooftop expeditions I have taken with some friends, are not scary because of experience in climbing. The reasoning behind all this talk is that I wonder about the risks that are before me now and because of no experience to fall back on and the inability to to fully measure it out. I am left unsure as I stand on top of the pole as it shakes, wondering, will I take the leap?

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Here's a random factoid: much of Ashland, MO is on a water table. While this will probably never be on Jeopardy, the effects are important. This is where my parents' house is located and they've had foundation problems ever since they first moved in when I was still in high school. Because of the water table, the weight of the house causes the ground to shift and the foundation to begin to crack, this in turn can cause cracks in the walls and ceilings, and eventually if nothing done, could split open the house. Relax if you're worried, they've been working on resolving the issue.

The relevance of my parents' house is this, for any structure to remain strong and whole, it needs a good foundation. My thoughts have been on this for a couple weeks now. Previously I asked about showing your work and how this is essential to math, but is also important when we say "Jesus is the Answer." Now my thoughts are zeroed in and revolving around these verses:

Basic Algebra: 3X=12, solve for X. If you're like me, you'd say 4, but still get points taken away for not showing the work. I always hated that in math classes. If my answer is correct, what does it matter? This was a recurring question from me to one of my teachers, but she won. (Being in charge of grades helped her a lot) It wasn't that I wouldn't show work, but it seemed so unnecessary for simple problems like above. Go a bit further back. Do you remember memorizing times tables? 8x8=64. It is so engrained now that I do not consciously think about 8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8=64

What's my point in this math review? I've been thinking about how somethings become so basic to us that we no longer give any thought to the process anymore. We forget about how we came to this point, all the work, all the studying, all the headache. I imagine trying to get my 9 year old niece to understand X=4 without her having learned about what I'm doing in my head; she wouldn't. So I now wonder about other things that I have taken for granted, things I have forgotten about the long process to get me where I am, understanding what I do.

We often hear or perhaps have even said, "Jesus is the answer" but have we forgotten the process of how we got to that conclusion. Do we remember all that we went through to arrive at the point where we believed that was so? Would someone be as quick to see the answer?

Among the random bits of information and names from my history classes, I always remember the John Duns Scotus. Don't really remember anything about him, just that his name is the origin of the word "dunce." This brings images of old classrooms with a kid in the corner wearing the "dunce cap." What a way for your name to live on, right?

I started thinking about this last week as twitter exploded with tweets about Tim Tebow. I am very apathetic when it comes to spectator sports (Superbowl commercials are what I watch) so when I can actually name a player, his position, and his team...it is because I've been hearing about him a lot. I find it interesting that his name is becoming a verb. Type "Tebow" into Urban Dictionary and you'll get a variety of entries (some a bit more....colorful). Two of my friends also have been tweeting and retweeting about him. "James" retweets anything and everything positive, while "Alan" retweets all the criticism and negative stuff.

Though I'm apathetic about sports, this typhoon of tweets on Tebow (yay, I pulled off some alliteration) has me intrigued. Why do you think Tebow receives so much attention? And, what do you think of him?

Brett