The Simple Life

Today in high school youth group and in "big" church I heard words that had a theme for today. They were words like 'genuine' and 'sincere.' I have always tried to be unassuming and real with not only myself but with everyone. Hopefully those who know me would say that "what they see in me is what they get."

I'm now 50 years old and don't understand why some people make life so complicated or see things in others that may or may not be there. I can't be anyone else than myself and it's taken me this long to be really comfortable with who I am. We can easily be deceived about who we are and fool ourselves by looking at others and thinking we're not so bad off. Jeremiah 17:9 says that "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" I need to keep that in mind. God knows the hearts of all and more importantly, He knows my heart.

The apostle Paul refers to the Church in 1 Corinthians 12 as the Body of Christ. He uses this analogy to illustrate the relationship that we have one to another in Christ and also how we are a representation of Christ here on earth.

One of the things that is great about being a member of the Body of Christ is that I am one of many members that make up the whole with Christ as the head. In the body of Christ, there is diversity and when we are all functioning correctly, everything goes smoothly. Just as a physical body gets injured or sick, so does the body of Christ. I'm a musician not a medical student (even though I accidently took a pre-med biology class my freshman year at UCLA). I can't figure things on my own nor can I function alone. I need to be in relation with others. There is no benefit to doing things on your own. I guess that's one of the reasons that I'm a tuba player. By myself, it's pretty boring. But with a whole band or orchestra, my part becomes part of a larger whole that is much better than if I play solo.

I know that this may sound very general and perhaps I'm rambling on, but it troubles me when the Body of Christ is hurt and not functioning the way it should. I'm being vague on purpose. I guess I'll stop now otherwise I can become self absorbed and think I'm something special.

You've probably seen those motivational posters at corporate offices or schools. I found Demotivators and they really make me laugh because many of them are true. I bought this one a couple of years ago and it sits somewhere near my work area. Maybe I'll edit this blog entry later this week and post it. It reminds me that we are all unique and yet, we're the same.

Finder of the Lost

The Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10)

Today during Kaylene's soccer game at Concussion Park (our name for Selma Layne Park, Wendi asked me to hold on to Kaylene's ring. It was a Black Hills gold ring that we had bought for at Wall Drug last summer in Wall, SD. I put it on my pinkie finger and then refitted it loosely so that it wouldn't stay permanently on. Wendi told me to be careful and not to lose it.

Well, after her game was over at 2:00, we took her to her next game at the indoor soccer complex over by Fresno St. After that game Wendi and I went home to get ready to go to a wedding that started at 5. As we were sitting in the ceremony I realized that I didn't have Kaylene's ring. I hoped that I had left it in the car or taken it off when I had taken a shower before going to the wedding. It wasn't in the car and when we got home at 9 P.M. It was about then that Kaylene asked for her ring. I told her that I might have lost it but had to check a couple of places.

It wasn't in the bathroom and it wasn't in the bag that the folding chairs were in. By now it's after 10 P.M. and Kaylene was pretty bummed and also dealing with another unrelated difficult situation. I changed out of my wedding clothes, got a flashlight and drove to the park to look for the ring. As I drove there a section of scripture that we had studied at our Net Team meeting on Thursday was echoing in my mind - the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10).

In this parable, a woman who has 10 silver coins loses one. She lights a lamp and sweeps the house diligently searching the house until she finds the coin. When she finds it, she calls her friends together to rejoice over the found coin. Jesus says in verse 10, "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Kaylene's Ring

I prayed to God that He would guide me to the coin and I would search diligently like the woman in the parable until I had found the ring. It was dark and with only a flashlight I searched the area where we were sitting in the middle of the park. After 45 minutes, I found the ring!!!

I was amazed and called home right away. If I didn't find the ring I had planned on taking Kaylene out to buy a new one, but it wouldn't be the same as her ring. I know that God knew where the ring was and though He was under no obligation to answer my request, He granted it gracefully.

This may seem like a coincidence to some or just a silly story but to me it illustrates how much God does care about the 'small' things that happen in our lives and that He truly is the finder of the lost - both things and people. "What about that missing sock of mine? Are you saying that God knows where that is?" He does but do you really want it? I suppose if you do, you can always pray, light a lamp and start searching. I think I'd rather go to Costco and buy another bag of 12 pairs.

Birthdays

Yesterday I celebrated the big 5-0. It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had - right up there with my 40th. It's hard to top a weekend at a beach house in Cambria with a drive up Highway 1 in a convertible rental car. The highlights of this 50th celebration were:

1. My wife surprised me at work with a party that involved the people from my district office. I'm so clued out that I didn't notice everyone was wearing yellow, my favorite color.
2. I had over 160 birthday wishes on Facebook from friends, family, former students, co-workers, and my church family. Through all of those messages I felt God's unconditional love and blessings. That was probably the best birthday gift of all time!
3. Thursday night we had our first networker dinner and meeting with our three networkers. Again, everyone was wearing yellow and we had All-American Chocolate cake from Costco. It was great to take a short break from the diet (or life-style change) and I didn't feel guilty.

50 or half a century sounds so old. But I really don't feel old at all. It is amazing how fast the time is starting to fly. It seems like only yesterday that I was in college, getting married, having babies. Now they're getting married or approaching college.

My brother-in-law reminded me that I'm closer to Jesus than I was to being born. That's true, but what does it matter when I'm with Him for eternity? 

"So, put another candle on your birthday cake, you're another year old today!"

Fortunately this didn't happen to me, but this is a funny commercial.

iStuff

This past week I got an iPhone at work. My old phone was dying and I needed a new one. Just two weeks before that I got an iPad too. I thought that it was Christmas day with all of this new technology!! There's some benefits as well as pitfalls. I can check my e-mails from anywhere (it can be a plus or a minus). I can text much faster. I can access the Internet and get information from almost anywhere. I can watch movies or listen to Pandora any time.

"Where are the pitfalls?" you ask. For someone that realizes that he can totally lose himself on the 'net, this can be another distraction that keeps me disconnected from people. Facebook and FaceTime(a cool Skype-like feature from Apple) can give one some connection with people, but I believe that this is a poor substitute for real face-to-face interaction. On the other hand I found a great free bible app. that has a bible devotional plan that is keeping me on track to read the bible in one year. There are also lots of free ebooks online.

I'm thankful that I have not dealt with the issue of internet pornography, but I still need to be careful and have people to keep me accountable.

iStuff can be good, but like anything in life I need to keep everything in balance.