As a dog returns to his....

In the Bible, we read: "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly." It is not a very appetizing thought. But, I was reminded of this phrase a couple of weeks ago. I was taking our cute little dog out in the backyard, for him to do his business. I wouldn't have always called her cute, so I've come a long ways. And, truth be told, there are some cute things Nikki does. But, there is one particular thing that I just can't get over. I do think the vomit thing would get me, and make me nauseous; but this is equally as bad...maybe worse.

I take Nikki out into the back yard, to "do her thing"; but instead she decides to "make me sick." What does she do? She goes directly to what she deposited in the yard earlier, and not only sniffs it, but seems to desire a snack. Are you kidding me? Is there anything more disgusting than that? Her nasty act tempted me to put her on ebay that minute. I gave her a little, let's make that big pep talk, counseling her against the dangers of eating that kind of thing. She didn't seem to get it.

Later, I began to reflect on the Scripture about a dog returning to other nasty stuff, and the spiritual connection was made. Like it or not, this is exactly what we do when we return to our sin. The sin that looks so good to us, smells so good, seems so desirable, is, in reality...disgusting, foul smelling, and can actually destroy you. Why do we keep going back to it? Why do we think it will taste good this time; and fully satisfy?

The key is seeing our sin the way God sees it. We must see it the same way we feel if our disgusting dog goes back to the vomit or dung. That makes us sick; and God is sickened by our desire to return to our sinful ways. If we can also see sin that way, we won't return to it, but we will properly bury it, and never return. Yes, sin will always be present, but we don't have to return to it, we don't have to pretend it smells good. We certainly don't have to eat it.

NASCAR IS LIFE

This last Sunday, on Father's Day, I had the opportunity to go with my brother and dad to our first NASCAR race. It was special because we live so far apart and to do something like this, together, is rare. Also, being Father's Day, it was great to treat my dad to this event. But, I wasn't quite sure what I would find. A couple days before the race, a friend of mine (NASCAR fan) sent me a picture of someone at one of the pre-races, wearing overalls with the belly cut out! What were we going to see? Would the fans have teeth; would they be hooked up to a beer hose; would they have all of their cousin wives with them?

Well, we came to find out that, at least in Michigan, the NASCAR fans are fairly normal. I use normal somewhat loosely, since these are people who like to sit in the hot blazing sun for 3 hours and watch cars go in circles. And the cars are going so fast when they pass you that its more like watching a blurry, large colored blip fly past, about 40 of them in a few seconds. What fun! Ok...Ok...I admit that it was fun. Standing under the grandstands for 2 hours in the pouring rain was not fun; but sitting in the stands, taking in all the sights and sounds of my first NASCAR race - that was fun. And to do it with my brother and dad was priceless. It was also cool that Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of the only racers whose name I knew, won the race. But, the reason it was so cool is that his father had died in a race car, and he won this race on Father's Day. I can get into that. Not sure if any of the 3 of us will now be wearing our Jeff Gordan t-shirts (chose him for the benefit of my one NASCAR fanatic friend), with the sleeves cut off; or buy an RV to travel to all the races...but I may be able to watch more of a race on TV, maybe 15 minutes more, before I fall asleep to take my NASCAR nap!

And, I don't know if it because I'm a pastor, or just someone who analyzes everything, but I had to consider what the NASCAR race has to do with real life. Now, there are some to whom NASCAR is life, meaning that they think about it, talk about it, watch it, and "live or die" on every turn. I can't relate to that, but I do think there are some parallels to real life that we see on the race track.

• Just as the cars go around the track at a blistering speed, and it is hard to keep up with them; so it is with life. We keep going around the track, faster and faster, and the years move on.
• Just as the cars need to periodically go to their pit stop for refueling, a change of tires or minor repairs, so do we. As we race through this life, we need the pauses to recalibrate, refuel and make some adjustments.
• Just as the driver has a crew chief that he stays in contact with, and a pit crew that helps with the pit stops, so we need the same. We need those people in our lives that can see what is going on in the race that we cannot see. We need them to caution us, encourage us, and help us through the race. We need a crew to be there to assist us, support us, and cheer us on. And we need to be a part of a crew for others as well.

NASCAR is something like life; and it is a pretty cool event. But, then again...in the end...
It is a bunch of 200 mph billboards (advertisements) going round and round, in circles, for 3 hours.
I guess I'll keep my belly revealing overalls in the closet...for now.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

On Sunday, Father's Day, I attended my first NASCAR race, along with my dad and brother. I will blog about that later. However: FIRST THINGS FIRST

Yesterday, I celebrated 18 years with the most beautiful, wonderful, godly woman ever - my wife, Teresa!
Outside of my relationship with Jesus Christ, Teresa is the most important person in my life. And since I missed being home for Father's Day, there was no way I was missing the next day: our anniversary. We dropped the kids off at camp (their first time); and headed to Amish Country, just me and T. God's timing is always perfect. He knew we needed this time together.

Sometimes, as the years go on, it might be easy to take one another for granted. But, I think, in times of stress - especially - I realize just how important, and what a blessing it is to have a life partner like T. After losing my most recent ministry job, which was heartbreaking, we are now immersed in the stress of a job search and trying to sell our home. And even though we are under contract, there are many details upcoming that may derail it. Add onto that the fact that my wife is releasing her kids to strangers for a week, for the first time, and you have quite a bit of stress coming together.

And God has given us each other - to pray together - to hold each other - to encourage, lift up, support and to experience everything together. I am truly blessed, to have Teresa in my life, to walk through this brief journey with me. So, as she gets some extra sleep this morning, I now need to spend some time with God, to be ready to spend the rest of today with my friend, my lover.............................................my wife.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

What did your phone just say?

So, I'm standing in the bank, at a counter in the corner, filling out my deposit slip. A guy is standing next to me, doing the same. All of a sudden, I hear his phone SAY: "you have a __________ing text." And then it said it again. In other words, that was his ringtone: a female, computerized voice shouting an obscenity! I couldn't believe my ears. I know phones can do a lot these days; but I have never heard one swear. The guys said "oops" and turned off the "ringer." A little too late my friend. I don't want to be prejudice or anything, but he did have a construction shirt on. I was trying to think of why someone would have that kind of ringtone that everyone else is going to hear. I mean: is he really at the construction site, impressing his construction buddies with his obscenity laden ringtone? It "rings" and all his buddies are echoing "cool man"! Really? I guess, if anything, I won't be as critical when I hear all of the lame ringtones out there on everyone else's phones. At least they don't swear at me!

FROM 0 TO 120 MPH IN 4 SECONDS

That sounds cool, doesn't it? At least, for many guys, that sounds awesome. We normally think in terms of having a car, where we can accelerate fast, and at least feel like we are going 100 mph (note to any officers reading this: I'm talking about other guys - certainly not about myself - that's not safe, right?)! But, when you are not in control of the driving, surrounded by dozens of people screaming, and after accelerating to that speed, going vertical for over 400 feet, "cool" is not the first word that comes to mind. I am, of course, describing the Top Thrill Dragster, one of the great roller coasters found at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.

It was a blessing, that with the kids pitching in some savings, and my wife using her "e-bay" money, we were able to finish our home school year with a great field trip to Cedar Point. With being out of work, and searching all over the country for another ministry, who knows if we will have this opportunity as a family again. We are very grateful. It was a beautiful, sunny day, it was not crowded (some were still in school), and everybody had a great time (not to mention that I didn't completely lose consciousness at any time).

Because there were not many people there, we were able to ride most of the rides multiple times, with less than a 15 minute wait. But, I learned there are some blessings to not being able to just keep riding roller coaster after roller coaster. I'm not as young as I think I would like to be. I realized I was getting older, not because I got dizzy riding the roller coasters, but because I started getting dizzy watching my kids ride some of the rides! They seemed tireless, riding one ride after another, as I searched for shade and place to close my eyes and bow my head (in prayer, of course!).

Amusement parks are fun, but for those who are seeking the next thrill, on the next greatest thrill ride, soon find it doesn't last long. And they are off, seeking the next thrill. Even the $10 hot dog, stuffed animal "won" after spending another $10 on silly games, and the endless twists and turns of the thrill rides, we are left with the reality that satisfaction doesn't come at 120 miles per hour, or at 400 feet on a steel track. Real satisfaction comes from living each day, taking slow steps at low altitudes toward Christ (albeit sometimes dangerous and difficult!); and doing it in the context of community of family.

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of enjoying a day like this with my family; but help me remember that every, ordinary day is an exciting opportunity to enjoy the thrills of knowing and following you!