The church piano is playing “turn eyes upon Jesus”
when their eyes are on their phones
checking status’ and messages
but the Spirit’s call gets sent right to voicemail.
The complaints of old parishioners
why are there less and less?
Perhaps if smiles instead of frowns
warmth instead of winter cold
were expressed.

The prayers of the selfish, the haves, and greedy
out weigh the care or concern for the needy
wrong motives, hatred and pride
breaking down families all trapped inside…the church.

turn your eyes upon…money?
turn your eyes upon…sunday (even)?
turn your eyes upon…women and men?
No, start again.
Flames of His Spirit descend again!
Consume all our folly and sickness again!
Tear down our selfishness, tear down our pride
A Bride of resplendence, a bride of love

Broken and selfless, the goal of above.

Turn our eyes upon Jesus

Looking full, ever full into His face

Father, return a new to this (now) holy place.

January 7, 2014 0

The question (a poem)

If you were to ask the old woman in the back pew
how long she has been here
sitting meekly, never slumping
respectable and proper
she would look at you through tired
and filmy eyes.

Eyes, crow feet with extra toes
blue as seas of winter snow collected
in our backyards in January.

She would exhale deeply
like a summer breeze gently
kissing juniper branches green and supple
as they bend and yield
to her affectionate wooings.
How subtle her movements
fragile even
yet it belies wisdom personified
beneath these brittle bones,
capturing decades of moments,
snap shots
mastered as well as the flaming

disasters on failure’s crushed dreams.

She would look at you,
warmly smile
and her answer,
beckoning as it may be,
will take another year
to finally sink in…and then,
perhaps you will return again
wiser and more sincere.

January 7, 2014 0

10 things…

Your top ten may look drastically different than mine, but here goes…

10) Cherish Life!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
― Helen Keller, The Open Door

That’s right don’t take a minute of this life for granted, no matter how mundane or boring it can sometimes get. Today, for example, the outdoor temperature is currently -15 below zero with a windchill of -40 below…so you can imagine we are not doing much outside today. Regardless if life is entertaining or not, cherish this gift, this spark of life that we have all be given!

9) Perspective.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

We don’t (or shouldn’t) live life in a box. Meaning that life and the living of it is so much broader than our own interpretation of life. So it’s important to understand our interpretation of life as well as other people’s perspective on this vital subject. If we only view life from our perspective then we fail to view humanity as a whole. It may sound rather philosophical but if we are to truly appreciate this gift of life and to cherish it, we ought to understand more than just our little box of living. Stepping back, viewing the world from someone else’ perspective might help us to better appreciate what we have in life. What this “stepping back” will also do is help us to see other people as well. When we can begin to see other people besides our own wants and needs, we can begin to see God’s handiwork through humanity and creation.

8) Fun & Laughter

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”
― Audrey Hepburn

If we fail to laugh, we fail to live. I want to and try to find humor in this life. I don’t want to take myself so seriously that I can’t laugh at my mistakes and my failures. Laughter and fun heals a lot of issues in life, and I want to make the most of living. They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile…so I try to smile often.

7) Healthy Living

A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul; a sick body is a prison. ~Francis Bacon

By now you might begin to think that I’m all about living…and you’d be right. Why create more pain and issues down the road by NOT living a healthy lifestyle? Confession time: I’m not as health conscience as I should be…but I know what I need to do to get there. I need to eat better and perhaps enjoy smaller portions. I’m not feeling guilty! Perhaps I should also stop staring at the elliptical machine and get on it more often. I ~~want~~ no I desire to live a healthy life…and eating right as well as exercise will help me.

6) Education

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

As a person who desire to know more about life as well as the One who created this life, it is my desire to read more about Him. There are many good writers out there who have many wonderful perspectives that would not only edify my life but others as well. In life education never ends. Education helps us grow as people. Education cultivates a broader understanding of the spiritual and physical world around us. My desire is to only stop reading and applying what I’ve learned on my deathbed.

5) Write about what I know!

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
― Ernest Hemingway

Here is where some lists may vary. I would probably explode if I didn’t write. When I have gathered inspiration and caught a hint of a spark from the writings of others I just have to share it. When I write, my world seems clearer and the page becomes my very breath. Thus, it becomes quite important to share with the world what other words of inspiration have taught me.

4) Fellowship of Believers

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

I have been renewed and re-tuned by times of genuine fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ! I crave it’s support in this life and I desire to grow more deeply in its waters as life progresses forward. I could delve into what is and isn’t genuine Christian fellowship, but perhaps that is for another time. Long story short, if you find friends and peers who encourage you and push you further in the faith with love and care, then you too are/have experience(ing) genuine Christian fellowship!

3) Family

“Family is saying to one another “let’s go another mile together” even if the last was unbearable and painful…family is forever mile after mile.” -SES

I wouldn’t be where I am without family beside me. My parents and sister encouraging me, fighting with me and loving me. My extended family who love me in the best of time and the worst of times. The love that I feel as I converse with my children within my immediate family now, and the love of my spouse who challenges me to be better than I am right now. Family, my dear friends is vital to me. It makes life so much more worth living. Another aspect of having children is that I now have this important responsibility to teach them how to live appropriately. They are little mini-me’s walking around looking to me to set a good example of godly living. Sometimes I fail and sometimes I succeed…all the time I need God’s guidance and wisdom to help me. Sometimes…family is life.

2) My Wife

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
― Dr. Seuss

Some might say, “What? You didn’t put her at the #1 spot in your life?” She knows how important she is to me…at least I hope she does! My relationship with my Love is one of a kind and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. She is my other half, my friend and my compass. To say more, might get me in trouble.

1) My relationship with Christ.

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”
― Augustine of Hippo

Whether it’s meditating on His words in Scripture or talking with Him through out my day, this relationship has to take the number #1 spot. But don’t get me wrong, in every other listed thing of importance in my life Christ is invited in. These things that I list here are nothing without Him in it. Every moment of every day should be immersed in Him. I too must confess it is not always so…sometimes it is far from so, but this is my desire! My relationship with Christ is life, it means life to those who seek after Him, and it means life even after these final breaths on this side of the veil!

What does your top ten look like?

January 6, 2014 0

Stop Giving Dirty Diapers to God!

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.”
― John Lennon

I was driving down the road when I saw it. It was a purple bill board. It was the color that first caught my eye (someone please pay that advertising genius). As I got closer and adjusted my “old man” eyes I read what the sign said, “Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, we all worship TV.” Perhaps the advertisers were just trying to unify us by saying we all worshiped something together, but it just didn’t sit well with me. I drove past that bill board but in a way I was still staring at it for the next ten miles. Something felt sinking in my heart…was it really true? Do we worship the television?

What is the definition of an “Idol”?

i·dol

ˈīdl/

noun

noun: idol; plural noun: idols

1.

an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.

synonyms: icon, representation of a god, image, effigy, statue, figure, figurine,fetish, totem; More

Here’s another definition – an Idol is whatever you allow to take up and consume all of your time. How much time do we spend in church? Maybe four – seven hours a week (if you don’t work there). How much time do you spend in front of the television or perhaps the tablet device/computer screen? I would venture a guess that for the most part the hours spent here would out number the hours spent at church. But church isn’t the only place to find God is it? I mean we all own bibles don’t we? How many hours a day or even a week do we spend reading its pages?

What is consuming your time? Some might say, “well my family takes up a lot of it“, while others might say, “I work sixty hour weeks” and I certainly don’t want to sound as if I’m condemning any of that. It just hit me driving by that big purple bill board how little time I sometimes actually-physically give to God. Not just at work, but as a devoted lover and follower of God.

“Here God – take my left-overs”

It’s almost as if I’ve been saying to God, “You stay home while I go to work, I’ll be back in like eight hours…see ya!” or “Well God I’ve got more pressing things to do today, I have to catch up on all of my DVR’d shows, we’ll talk some other time”. God doesn’t have an on/off switch. He isn’t some toy you place on a shelf and only take Him down when you feel like it. God desires from us real and genuine fellowship, not our left-overs.

“CAIN & ABEL”

Do you remember Cain and Abel? (Read Genesis 4 again) Sure we remember that Cain kills his brother, but why? Because he was jealous of how he was blessed by God. But why was he blessed by God? Because Abel honored God with the first fruits and not his left-overs. Cain honored God with the scraps of his left-overs, the less desired cuts from his crops, while he feasted on prime rib of the land. Abel set apart the best of the best for God and then used the rest.

You see there’s an application here. Are you ABEL (pun intended) to give God the best of the best first? For far too long I’ve been giving Him my left-overs. I’ve been giving Him my after thoughts, my junk…my dirty diapers, and I’ve been thinking that’s good enough. WELL IT ISN’T! God didn’t send down some second rate half-wit of an angel to save us did He? No way! He sent us His best. He sent us His Son to save us from sin and death. God doesn’t want our scraps…He wants genuine fellowship with us. He wants us to set apart our hearts first for Him and then for others…then for our self. Be we get that backwards ~~sometimes~~…~~a lot of times~~…most of the time.

Stop giving God your dirty diapers, your rubbish, your “good enoughs”. Only your best will do! Maybe it’s time to turn off the television for while, or put down that novel. Maybe it’s time to let God consume you instead of you consuming stuff and work and play. Are you prepared to give God your best instead of the rest of the left-overs and the dirty diapers?

-Just a thought to consider.

“But I do know we’re deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted.”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays With Morrie

January 5, 2014 0

Summer dreams (A poem)

In the bliss of winter’s frozen kiss
as Ice is formed, abrasive and painful
an Angel with wings unfurled
left her mark in the mounds of silky snow.

I do not know what transpired there
as some walk by and some don’t care
But I’m almost sure I glimpsed heaven’s door
looking out from my frosted window.

With rooftops coated white and wisps of smoke
dancing or escaping elegantly into the crisp atmosphere
I remain here, tightly bundled, blanketed train behind me
perfectly content to let the days of winter kiss another
but not my cheek, nor these feeble hands
I am a child of summer weighted down by this
absence of her soft warming embrace.

And for now…I bide my time.

January 3, 2014 2

Announcement: Pastor’s Ponderings – “Perspectives”

I hope the new year is treating you well and that you know the rich blessings of the resurrected Christ!

I wanted to let you know of something very exciting taking place here on this site in the coming months. I have asked various writers, speakers and thinkers to contribute to this site in what will be called “Perspectives”. This wonderful segment will be posted at the end of each month with a featured writer/pastor. I would like to invite you to join us and offer support as well as be nourished under their very talented words.

It’s coming…are you ready for it?

January 2, 2014 0

January 1st = Forgiveness (The 70X7 Principle)

New beginnings. That’s what some people are hoping for at the start of 2014. Cue the song “High Hopes” (I’m really not being cynical here either…really). I believe in the God of second chances, do you? I believe that when His disciples asked Him how many times they had to forgive Jesus told them seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22). I know that He wasn’t just giving them a random number out of His head and it wasn’t legalistic in the sense that they only had to forgive 490 times (that’s 70 X 7 by the way for us who had to use a calculator cause we suck at math). I believe the disciples eventually got Jesus’ point. Forgiveness isn’t really about how many times we have to forgive but rather about the conditions of our hearts and the willingness to find grace for others. Isn’t that what God has done for us? We mess up royally and we don’t deserve God’s forgiveness and yet His prevenient grace is offered to us through Christ. He forgives us COMPLETELY!

I don’t wish to imply that there are conditions on forgiveness here but think of it this way: Forgiveness of others and those who have wronged you alleviates the burdens and scorn you may still have in your heart for that person(s). They may not even seek sincere forgiveness from you but when you wipe the slate clean of transgressions done to you, you are clearing the weight of that burdens of wrongs done to you. It may sound selfish, but why live life burdened by the wrongs of others? It holds you back. It holds you captive. You will always be a prisoner to their wrong doings done to you even if they have moved on. So why let it fester? Why let that kind of emotional/spiritual sliver remain? Pluck it out and move on for your own health and well being.

Secondly, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you become naive and trust people who haven’t earned that trust yet, but it does mean that you move on. We must be wise in how we let others effect us coupled with the decisions we make which also impacts others. Forgiveness and trust aren’t always mutually the same. What forgiveness allows you to do (and the offending party) is to move on. I don’t believe that we have to automatically forget but we forgive. Afterall we can’t expect someone who has been sexually or physically abused to forget what was done to them right out of the “forgiveness gate”…it will take time to heal and to cope. In the same way that it may take years of counseling and healing for the abused, those who have been wronged in other ways will find that time needs to pass before trust and “forgetting” can ever take place.

Lastly, I mentioned earlier about what the year of Jubilee meant in the Hebrew culture. It was a year in which all debts were erased and people could start over. Perhaps 2014 is that year of Jubilee for you. Perhaps you’ve been holding onto pains, hurts, and grudges that need to be wiped completely away. Forgiveness heals and lifts burdens of all parties.

Are you willing to forgive? For those also who are seeking to find forgiveness, be strong. It takes a lot of courage to own up to wrong doings so that you can grow and move on. Don’t miss this opportunity on the first of the year to begin on the right foot!

-Just a thought for new beginnings.

January 1, 2014 0

Faith – A Rules Changer

My daughter is five years old, and already she is very clever. If you ever cross her, I don’t envy your position because she is the most cunning strategist that I know at the age of five.

It all began with a game. Actually it started when she wanted something that her twin brother had, and she was determined to have it and get it her way. So she played a game with him. It was a kicking game, and she made up the rules right then and there. In a very commanding voice she told her brother, “If I kick you I win, and if you kick me I win and I will win the mask“. -the mask was what she wanted from her brother. She had devised a game with rules in place in which the outcomes would benefit her either way. At no point in this game would her twin brother, who is taller and quicker than she is, have an edge or even a chance to win.

My daughter’s cleverness made me laugh. In part I was proud of her for being quick on her feet, yet surprised at the lengths at which she would go just to obtain what she wanted most. She had devised a strategy in which she could outsmart her brother even though she knew that she was no match for his physicality.

Sometimes life is kind of like that isn’t it? We are greatly outmatched and the thing(s) that we want so badly are just beyond our reach. We want our families to be closer, our health or the health of loved ones/friends to be better, our financial situation more profitable, our jobs more enjoyable, love and respect that goes unfulfilled. Life can sometimes be like that cruel master which dangles a carrot in from of a donkey just to get it to work and be productive. We want so desperately to change the rules, to make a life more to our advantage…to win. But what do we really desire to win? Will we truly be happy? Can we really change the rules in life?

How does faith play into this thing called life? Is faith important? The simple answer is YES, absolutely! Despite how much we might plan for every contingency and strategize for every positive outcome, life doesn’t play according to our rules. Life can sometimes be unpredictable and we can find ourselves grossly out of winning options. But faith isn’t some wild card or last resort. The key is the source behind our faith. If our source is simply our own powers and motivations we will eventually face disappointment and discouragement. But if our source is God, in whom made all things and our faith takes us to the understanding that we are indeed loved and important to the Creator then regardless of what happens to us we can have this immeasurable unending faith.

Faith is a rules changer. Faith can propel us from self-sufficiency to something much more sustainable and everlasting…if we allow it to grow in us. Are you willing to let this kind of everlasting faith take root in you? Give it a try and perhaps you will begin to see life in a whole new perspective.

-Just a thought.

December 31, 2013 0

Finding Hope (A Poem)

Finding salvation and comfort…is that even possible?
In a world that seems so wrought with pain and sadness,
these half-timbered, dimly lit dwellings
plastered with the scabs of hurts and slings of words
how can hope spawn from such a place?
These tall escarpments seem too far,
and we, with reaches far too limited
how can hope ever stoop, low and bending
to such a place as this?

Yet, when the babe, cherubic and glorious
came to this fallen shambles of a place
we now, with arms extended
broken and needy
can embrace this light
beaming and radiant.

Hope? Don’t speak of such a thing,
live it, experience it, vivid and streaked
with Theophonic glory…speak not
of falsities and half promises of this word!
Instead, with hearts extended
grooved and bending
no longer a barren land but
but rich, empirical
blazing in His glory!

December 30, 2013 0

New Year’s Resolutions…love em’ or hate em’???

I have to admit it, I’m a cynic when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made them, broken them, and other years I have purposely gone out of my way to avoid them. So what is your take on New Year’s resolutions? Love em or Hate em? Please leave me some comments and tell me why you make New year’s Resolutions or why you don’t make New Year’s resolutions…and perhaps some stories of resolutions gone by!

Via Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year’s_resolution)

New Year’s resolution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A New Year’s resolution is a secular tradition, most common in the West but found around the world, in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement starting on New Year’s Day.^[1]

[hide]

Religious origins[edit]

The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.^[2]

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.^[3]

In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.^[2]

At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.^[4]

There are other religious parallels to this tradition. During Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one’s wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People may act similarly during the Catholic fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility, in fact the practice of New Year’s resolutions partially came from the Lenten sacrifices.^[4] The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvementannually.

Participation[edit]

At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Year’s resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did.^{[citation needed]}

Popular goals[edit]

Early 20th-century New Year’s resolution postcards

Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become moreenvironmentally responsible.

Popular goals include resolutions to:^[5]^[6]

Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stopbiting nails, get rid of old bad habits
Improve mental well-being; think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
Improve finances: get out of debt, save money, make small investments
Improve career: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents
Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
Take a trip
Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization (NGO)
Get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
Make new friends
Spend quality time with family members
Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
Try foreign foods, discovering new cultures
Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual

December 30, 2013 1