Who Do You Love

I haven't posted for a while here, but I did preach a few weeks ago. This is a link to my message.

(Click the title to listen.)

Xmas and Christmas

I have always loved this obscure piece written by C. S. Lewis. I hope you enjoy it as well.

XMAS AND CHRISTMAS

A LOST CHAPTER FROM HERODOTUS

And Beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed declares to be the same size and shape as Sicily, but it is larger, though in calling it triangular a man would not miss the mark. It is densely inhabited by men who wear clothes not very different from the other barbarians who occupy the north-western parts of Europe though they do no agree with them in language. These islanders, surpassing all the men of whom we know in patience and endurance, use the following customs.

In the middle of winter when fogs and rains most abound they have a great festival which they call Exmas, and for fifty days they prepare for it in the fashion I shall describe. First of all, every citizen is obliged to send to each of his friends and relations a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech is called an Exmas-card. Bur the pictures represent birds sitting on branches, or trees with a dark green prickly leaf, or eels men in such garments as the Niatirbians believe that their ancestors wore two hundred years ago riding in coaches such as their ancestors used, or houses with snow on their roofs. And the Niatirbians are unwilling to say what these pictures have to do with the festival, guarding (as I suppose) some sacred mystery. And because all men must send these cards the market-place is filled with the crowd of those buying them, so that there is great labour and weariness.

But having bought as many as they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent to them, And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, the throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also. And let this account suffice about Exmas-cards.

They also send gifts to one another, suffering the same things about the gifts as about the cards, or even worse. For every citizen has to guess the value of the gift which every friend will send to him so that he may send one of equal value, whether he can afford it or not. And they buy as gifts for one another such things as no man ever bought for himself. For the sellers, understanding the custom, put forth all kinds of trumpery, and whatever, being useless and ridiculous, they have been unable to sell throughout the year then now sell as Exmas gift. And though the Niatirbians profess themselves to lack sufficient necessary things, such as metal, leather, wood and paper, yet an incredible quantity of these things is wasted every year, being made into the gifts.

But during these fifty days the oldest, poorest and most miserable of the citizens put on false beards and red robes and walk about the market-place; being disguised (in my opinion) as Cronos. And the sellers of gifts no less than the purchasers become pale and weary, because of the crowds and the fog, so that any man who came into a Niatirbian city at this season would think some great public calamity had fallen on Niatirb. This fifty days of preparation is called in their barbarian speech the Exmas Rush.

But when the day of the festival comes, then most of the citizens, being exhausted with the Rush, lie in bed till noon. But in the evening they eat five times as much supper as on other days and, crowning themselves with crowns of paper, the become intoxicated. And on the day after Exmas they are very grave, being internally disordered by the supper and the drinking and reckoning how much they have spent on gifts and on the wine. For wine is so dear among the Niatirbians that a man must swallow the worth of a talent before he is well intoxicated.

Such, then, are their customs about the Exmas. But the few among the Niatirbians have also a festival, separate and to themselves, called Crissmas, which is on the same day as Exmas. And those who keep Crissmas, doing the opposite to the majority of the Niatirbians, rise early on that day with shining faces and go before sunrise to certain temples where they partake of a sacred feast. And in most of the temples they set out images of a fair woman with a new-born Child on her knees and certain animals and shepherds adoring the Child. (The reason of these images is given in a certain sacred story which I know but do not repeat.)

But I myself conversed with a priest in one of these temples and asked him why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas; for it appeared to me inconvenient. But the priest replied, It is not lawful, I Stranger, for us to change the date of Crissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left. And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, It is, O Stranger, a racket; using (I suppose) the words of some oracle and speaking unintelligibly to me (for a racket is an instrument which the barbarians use in a game called tennis.)

But what Hecataeus says, that Exmas and Crissmas are the same, is not credible. For first, the pictures which are stamped on the Exmas-cards have nothing to do with the sacred story which the priests tell about Crissmas. And secondly, the most part of the Niatirbians, not believing the religion of the few, nevertheless send the gifts and cards and participate in the Rush and drink, wearing paper caps. But it is not likely that men, even being barbarians, should suffer so many and great things in honour of a god they do not believe in. And now, enough about Niatirb.

The Clubhouse

So, our local baseball club has started the season 0 and 23. Every game was lost by default, because they wouldn’t come out of the Clubhouse. I managed to visit the Clubhouse after their 23rd loss and talked to a few of the players.

Rog said that this was his first year playing ball. He was really excited to get into some games, but some of the guys who had been around for a while “showed him the ropes,” so he’s following their lead. Rog admitted that before the third game, he actually left the Club house and made it all the way to the dugout, but then he saw all the people in the stands, and the opposing team looked pretty formidable. He noticed he was the only one in the dugout, so he headed back to the Clubhouse to be with his teammates.

Doc was really talkative and a really fun guy to have around. He plays a lot of practical jokes, and gets the guys to open up and talk. Doc makes the Clubhouse a fun place to be. The problem is Doc’s more of a night owl, and he often doesn’t get home until its getting light again, so Doc doesn’t even make it to the clubhouse at all some days.

Ruben has been around for a while, and has some injuries that cause him a lot of pain. The whirlpool and massage just do wonders for him. So he will often come in and get his massage and spend some time in the whirlpool then catch a bite to eat before heading home.

Tank tells me the buffet they put out for the team is fantastic! He said he has never had such good food with any other team, that’s why he loves this Clubhouse so much! He has the menu memorized every day, and helped me get a plateful of food like I haven’t had in a long, long time. The lobster tail was amazing, and the Death by Chocolate mousse was top notch. Tank admitted he’s put on a few pounds since joining the club, but assured me it was worth it.

I visited with a couple rookies in the film room. They were studying film, and picking apart the opposing pitchers in the league. They were able to point out subtle little things that these other players that were doing that were all wrong – if they ever faced them, they would be able to read these unwitting signals these opposing players were giving, and just tear them to pieces. But they both said they needed to spend more time in the film room before they even thought about dressing for a game.

Management has brought in the best coaches available, modern equipment, all the resources this team could ever need to win. I was really impressed with every person in this organization – they have great chemistry on this team! This is a team that wants to win, that has one of the best Clubhouses around, great coaching. And some day, when they take the field, they will be awesome!

The local church is our Clubhouse. It’s where we go to encourage one another. To learn. To heal. To rest.

But the local church is not what we are here for. There is a battle to be fought. And it’s not against another team, it’s against the evil spiritual forces that oppose God and his people. We are called to attend our local church so we can charge out of the clubhouse, get on the field, and have a “winning season.” We won’t win every game, but we know in the end, the championship is secure.

Jesus Christ, God in a body, is the reason we gather. He is the reason we go out into a hostile world and share the gospel with those who have never heard. Or those who have heard and not yet understood. Or those who have been predisposed against the gospel and need to see it lived out before their very eyes. If we stay in the clubhouse, we have missed the reason we are on this team.

We don’t get people to join the team by inviting them into the Clubhouse. We get people to join the team when they see what the team does, how passionate the team members are about what the team is doing (living a life of worshiping God). The team only has any impact when it is out on the playing field, doing what they are intended to be doing.

Each team member is welcome in the Clubhouse any time, but the Clubhouse is not the most important place in the team’s life. The team needs to study the play book, to understand the fundamentals of the game. The team needs to work out, to exercise, to practice on their own so they will be ready. Sometimes the team will have team meetings where more extensive training and instruction is given. They are expected to attend these training sessions and learn all they can to be better team players.

We have one life. When we are with Jesus for eternity, we will no longer be able to engage in the sport of bringing people who are spiritually dead the Good News that Jesus is LIFE.

So go to your local “Clubhouse.” Spend some time there. And then get out and play ball!

Stand By Me

Ok - I love music and this compilation of Stand By Me is amazing. Hope you enjoy it.

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Growing Faith

Randy, our pastor called me Friday evening and said he and his family were sick. Was I ready to preach on Sunday? Fortunately, I had a message that I used about 4 or 5 years ago that I had been looking at recently, so I was ready. We've started recording our messages, so I can share it with you here.

Click here to listen to my message. (It starts with Tina reading a passage.)

Preach the Gospel . . . (and if you must, use words.)

Forty of us descended upon Camp Katrina the last week of October from five different states. We all preached the gospel.

The 12 and 14 years olds crawled into an attic to blow in insulation. The 70-something guy installed a shower door. About fifteen of us dug a 200 foot long ditch to connect two mobile homes to the sewer main. A few middle-aged women cleaned filth and bugs out of a worn-out trailer home. Others hung and “mudded” drywall, mowed the lawn, rewired electrical boxes. Some held their tongues when the third building inspector didn’t agree with the second building inspector who didn’t agree with the first building inspector, and they had to re-do the work for the third time.

Camp Katrina is located on the Gulf of Mexico and took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Waveland and the surrounding communities are on a small section of land wedged between the Gulf and St. Louis Bay. A “tropical depression” is truly a depression – the weight of the atmosphere literally pushes the water down under the storm. When you push water down, it has to come up somewhere – and in Waveland, the waters rose in St. Louis Bay first, then rose in the Gulf and came crashing together in the middle of Waveland. The water stood at between 20 and 30 feet for as long as fourteen hours.

We noticed a lot of dead trees with the tops broken off about 20 to 30 feet up. We were told these trees were underwater, which stabilized the base of the trees, and what was still above water snapped off at the water line.

The devastation of the land was overwhelming, but the human suffering continues. Most of the businesses in the area have never reopened. There are concrete slabs or posts standing on overgrown lots with For Sale signs everywhere. There are no jobs. Their homes are destroyed. And many of them have been cheated out of their money to rebuild their lives by unscrupulous con men posing as contractors.

We met Dave and Cheryl. They paid to have their home raised and restored. The home was raised, 13 feet instead of the required 8 feet, and the contractor disappeared. No steps. No walls. No electricity, no water, no sewer, and now no money. They have been sleeping outdoors on a twin mattress under their home. The volunteers erected stairs so Dave and Cheryl could get into their home. Dave and Cheryl joined us for the shrimp boil that we had on Thursday night, and I saw Cheryl without her coat for the first time. She was as malnourished as anyone I have ever seen, including my trips overseas.

What would you expect from Cheryl? Bitterness? Anger? Despair? You might expect these, but she didn’t show any of them. She was a joy, always welcoming and smiling. She told us how she had been reading her Bible every day, and spending a lot of time praying. And praise God, she only had one beer yesterday! But she went out and bought Halloween candy for the volunteers. Cheryl, who has absolutely nothing, spent money buying candy for us. Amazing!

I could tell you story upon story. Nancy, who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Catherine, who waved her arm at the road next to her house and flatly said that all those people had died in the storm.

I could tell you so many more stories. But perhaps you should consider coming to Waveland someday, and hearing them yourself.

www.campkatrina.com

http://www.flickr.com/groups/959086@N22/

Dancing With Your Spouse

My wife, Mary, and I started taking ballroom dance lessons a few months before my son, Peter’s wedding in October 2006. We enjoyed the lessons, had fun learning together and we have continued taking some lessons. We have also learned that dancing with your wife and living with your wife have some remarkable similarities.

We often read in the Bible that the man is the head and most teaching emphasizes that the wife must submit to the husband. In reality, the Bible teaches that the man must submit, too, but that’s another topic. So what have we learned in our dance classes?

First of all, dancing with someone takes a lot of work. Neither of us had a lot of experience dancing, but we had to start somewhere. They didn’t exactly paint big letters R and L on our shoes, but we sure spent a lot of time looking at our feet. We would learn some basic dance step, then practice it a million times, until we were adequate, then they would teach us a new dance step, and it felt like we were starting all over again! But we kept at it.

As happens when dancing with a partner, there are times I make a mistake, there are times when Mary makes a mistake, and there are times when we both mess up. But, oh, it so much fun when we both get it right and can actually dance well for a few minutes.

Then one night, Mr. Otero explained to us that when the man makes a mistake, it is the man's fault. And when the woman makes a mistake, it is the man's fault. This didn't seem fair to me, but the man is responsible to properly lead the woman, and not allow her to make mistakes.

We also learned the proper way to start a dance. It’s not the caveman move, where the guy drags a woman where he wants her and starts dancing. The man asks the woman – the man is taking the initiative, but giving the woman the choice. Assuming she gives her consent, the man then escorts the woman to the floor, and the dancers get into position to dance. But the man is not allowed to begin dancing until the woman is ready, which she signifies by putting her left hand on the man’s right arm. Then the man has permission from her to start. And off you go!

The man is then expected to lead. If he wants the woman to spin around, he has to give her a signal, such as lifting her arm, which tells her what he would like her to do. If he wants to change direction, or perform some other turn, he is always communicating what he wants to her. The woman is expected to follow. I’m told that is not always the easiest thing to do. (Remember that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in heels!) It is especially difficult for the woman if the man is not giving a strong lead, communicating well or in a timely fashion what it is he would like the woman to do. Often the man is surprised that they actually completed the last move, and has not thought ahead far enough to know WHAT he wants to do next.

But over time, with lots of coaching, our dancing has improved significantly. We’re not great dancers, and never will be, but we have a solid foundation and enough confidence in our dancing together that we will actually dance in public!
So, do I even need to explain the correlations to marriage? Good communication, thinking ahead, mutual respect, willingness to accept blame, getting better over time. The most important thing we have found is that the more we practice, the better we get. The better we get, the more we enjoy it, and the more time we spend together dancing.

P.S. A couple weeks ago, we took a special group class with Tony Dovolani, who has been on the popular Dancing with the Stars television program. He basically taught us how to move our hips: it was good. But there was one comment he made that caught my attention. He asked, “When you are dancing, who is leading?” In unison, we all obediently said “The man leads.” Tony said, “No, that’s not right!” We were all stunned – we’ve always been told the man leads. Then Tony went on and said, “When you dance together, the man does not lead, the music does.”
The more I think about that the more I like this idea. Jesus is the song that rises up in my heart, but he is not just for me. He is the one that Mary and I both must stay in step with – together.




Special thanks to our dancing instructors: Miss Kooper, Mr. Woods, Mr. Otero, and Miss Linn of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Wales, WI.

Pictures from Peter and Liesl’s wedding, the catalyst for our dance mania, can be found at www.joyjensen.com/peteliesl.