More Than Today

I have been looking for video and picture ideas for this weekend's theme of "Why does God allow suffering?". I got out our video of "Love Comes Softly" and found a good clip from it that deals with people having trouble and yet still having faith in God. It is a good series of movies, probably wouldn't have known about it without having daughters who read those kinds of books and then found the movies. I have learned so much from them, they expose me to all kinds of things that I might have missed otherwise. There's a great quote from the "Love Comes Softly" clip I hope to use: "In all the moments of my life, God's been right there beside me. The truth of God's love is not that He allows bad things to happen, it's His promise that He'll be there with us when they do." There's also a neat quote from "Shadowlands," a love story between a man named C. S. Lewis (who wrote, among other books, the Chronicles of...

"...sometimes the greatest act of faith is simply hanging on until it gets better, and God knows what we're enduring and it matters to him." May this encourage you today to hang on. Let a friend know what is happening in your life so they can be there for you and help you hang on. Know that God loves you and will see you through. This is from a book I'm reading called "No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come as you are Culture in the Church" by John Burke, page 212. It is an excellent book with lots of great stories about how people's lives change when they are accepted as they are and invited into an atmosphere that invites them to grow at their own pace. Let's do that for others! Feel free to post a comment on this or other posts below. We can have an ongoing dialogue.

This is a wonderful story concerning the recent hostage taking by a man who had just killed at a local courthouse in Atlanta. Hostage's servanthood turns accused killer's heart, gains her freedom by Mark Kelly ATLANTA (PD)--Ashley Smith never dreamed that living out the principles of chapter 33 in The Purpose Driven Life would save her life. She hadn't even read the chapter yet -- the one entitled "How Real Servants Act." It was her next day's reading. But when an escaped prisoner forced her into her apartment at gunpoint, the young mother of a 5-year-old turned his heart by serving him. Smith was accosted on the parking lot of her apartment in suburban Gwinnett County about 2 a.m., March 12, when she returned from a store. Brian Nichols, an escaped prisoner suspected in four murders the previous day, tied her up while he thought about how to avoid the massive manhunt being conducted for him. He reportedly had overpowered a deputy escorting him to court for a...

"There is something compelling, powerful and liberating about living life in harmony with God, not in the isolation of an individual relationship but as part of a community that includes those around us, those far from us, those who came before us, and those who will come after us. At the center of this holistic, communal approach to spiritual formation is the creation of Christian communities that are a continuation of the story of God, from Abraham to Jesus to today." (Reimagining Spiritual Formation, Doug Pagitt and the Solomon's Porch Community, page 29) In the last few days I have experienced this "community" again as I have reconnected with an old friend. And in reconnecting with him I have remembered his parents who ministered to me at a time in life when I really needed a place to go to feel safe and cared for (which of course I always do!). This friend who I knew when he was little grew up and we worked together as the Church in touching the lives of y...

"This was the primary approach used by Jesus. He lived with his disciples. This allowed him to debrief their lives and ministry assignments. In effect, he taught them how to learn from life and ministry. He sent the Holy Spirit to be their ongoing coach when he ascended back to the Father." (The Present Future, Reggie McNeal, page 137) When we worship with others, we experience the Holy Spirit and share with followers of Jesus in a unique worship time. Each worship experience is unique. Last week was not the same as the one before and it will be different than what is coming up this weekend. As Jesus lives with his disciples in worship and each moment of each day, we are taught, we experiment, we are debriefed, and all in the context of a body of believers. We need to connect throughout the week with at least one other Christian, if not more, who will serve as our brother/sister in Christ and share our ongoing experience with the Holy Spirit. In the process ...

Interesting, if somewhat difficult reading, this link takes you to an article on an 81 year old atheist who has become a deist, not yet a Christian, in part because of increasing evidence for Intelligent Design. http://theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/21PbAr/Apl/FlewTheist.htm

This morning as I was preparing to lead worship I was reading the Bible and thinking of whether there was anything in particular that I wanted to share between songs, etc. Pastor Dennis Hall was sharing on "Death and Resurrection" and I thought of something that I think relates to our experiences with relating to death and and how we can face it. Max Lucado in his book "It's Not About Me" tells of a time when his Uncle had died and people were crying. He writes: "But then I look up. I see my father. He turns his face toward me and smiles softly. "It's okay, son," he assures, laying a large hand on my leg. Somehow I know it is. Why it is, I don't know. My family still wails. Uncle Buck is still dead. But if Dad in the midst of it all, says its okay, then that's enough. At that moment I realized something. I could look around and find fear, or look at my father and find faith. I chose my father's face. So did...

Hi. I came across a wonderful article on asking the question "Why?" in difficult situations. It begins here: "Why, God, Why?"Facing the painful questions that life keeps asking.By Anne Graham Lotz My mother's pale, gaunt face was transformed into wreathes of joy when I walked through the door of her hospital room. Although her eyes seemed sunken, they sparkled with the zest for life that is her own special trademark. With IVs dangling from her arms, she lifted her trembling hands to welcome me. I embraced her frail body, feeling the heat of her temperature and the protrusion of her bones through the thin hospital gown. She was unable to speak clearly, so I just patted her and sat down nearby. Within moments, she was asleep. And I was left to wonder, Why? Why does my mother's life seem to be ending in suffering and, at times, confusion? Why, after a life lived selflessly for others, must her old age be, in some ways, a curse? Yet I was reminded tha...

I saw this scripture in a newsletter I received today.  It is really something to think about. "Did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change."  Romans 2:4 (Msg)   And just for fun:  "Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will be out on DVD on August 31st. I'm guessing there will be no alternate endings with this one."      - Jay Leno

“Growing Up, Up, and Away” Yesterday I took our oldest daughter, Rosie, to the airport to fly across the country, from Pennsylvania to New Mexico, with stops in between. She went on a mission trip to share her faith and music with Navajo children and get to know people whose life experiences have been different than her own. She is 16 and quite ready for the adventure both as a Christian and musically. But am I ready for her to go? The last few days and especially on the drive home from dropping her and others in her group off at the airport I experienced the sadness of Rosie leaving. Oh, not just this leaving because I know she will be back in eight days. But all of this reminded me that in just two years she will be off to college and life as we know it will change. Most likely we won’t be up early together reading our Bibles and praying for her day at school as we have since elementary school. That doesn’t mean I won’t be praying for her and sometimes I might even get ...

“Third Time’s A Charm” Third time’s a charm…at least that’s how the saying goes. I failed once, failed twice, and now it was time for a third try. This is the one that will succeed, at least that was my hope. I was reminded of this the other night when Emily, my youngest daughter, brought up something that had happened and that I had said from a few years back. She mentioned it after we had been driving and gone by a hotel where nine years ago I had started a church. She hadn’t remembered the place but then she was only 3 years old. I had begun a new church in a hotel conference center. It had been exciting. The opening Sunday had a real good attendance. The people who got involved really enjoyed the newness and freshness of a brand new church. Small groups had started and people enjoyed them. But after a year it was obvious that the church wasn’t growing, in fact it was shrinking. So we made the decision to end it. People understood it and even kept their small ...

“Passing The Test” Tests are a part of life. It begins in school with written tests meant to show whether we understand what has been taught to us. Sometimes it is reciting back the textbook or teacher’s thoughts and sometimes in an essay it is putting our own ideas into it by writing what it means to us. Some tests count little. A “pop” quiz meant to keep us on our toes and do our homework regularly. Its point value is small in the larger scheme of total points but it still matters. Some tests count a lot. In Law School doing assignments throughout the term just qualified me to take the final. The only thing that mattered for the grade was the four hour final exam. All the pressure was there. Bad day? Too bad. Feeling sick? Didn’t matter. The only thing that was important was the grade gotten on that one test on that one day. Outside of school comes the test of interviewing. People talk to you, look at your resume, and check a few references and decide whet...

The Importance of “We” Sometimes it just has to be “me.” At least that’s the way “I” feel about it. It has to be “me” that gets the special word from God. “Me” that gets to speak for God. “Me” that gets the “attaboy.” But in Daniel 2:23, “we” becomes more important than “me.” Daniel says “You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” And what was this all about? King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and asked his wise men to tell him the dream and interpret it. It’s hard enough to interpret a dream but even harder to find out what the dream was in the first place and then interpret it. The wise men couldn’t do it and they were going to be killed for their failure to do so. When Daniel finds out he is to be killed along with his friends, he goes to them—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—and “urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Ba...

The Quest “The quest of several Dover Area School Board members to find a high school biology textbook that teaches both evolution and creationism…” And so a recent news article begins. It is a quest. Good word choice. I don’t know the writer of the article and I don’t know the school board members but I do know that a quest is significant. Whatever the outcome of the quest, whether or not evolution and creationism are taught side by side for intelligent minds to consider, the quest to do so is a good thing. I applaud the quest. To go on a quest is to be willing to learn and grow and challenge and change and be changed. A noble endeavor. In this quest there is no absolute human opponent. There are varieties of opinions and persons and groups who will decide for a time what may be taught in Dover High School. But the only absolute in this world is God. God is not appalled or surprised or humiliated when ideas collide. After all, God created us to think, to gro...

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD , who has compassion on you. -Isaiah 54:10

It's my day off...which is a wonderful thing in itself. A day off from my "paid" work and a chance to do the work of restoration, relaxation, and re-creation. A good thing for all of us to do. God tells us to take the 7th day and not work but to dedicate and re-dedicate ourselves again to God [and we realize that the world will go on without our busyness]. We "rest" from our work and connect with God in a fresh way. In "The Journey" by Os Guiness there is a section called "A Time For Answers" which has some great thoughts to think about (throughout pages 116-118). So here are these thoughts for consideration in the process of taking at least a few "sabbath moments" today. C.S. Lewis was asked by an interviewer during World War II what he would think if the Germans got the atom bomb, dropped one on England, and he saw it falling right on top of him. "If you only had time for one last thought, what would it be?...

It's the Tuesday before Easter and this morning I read some more in "The Journey, our quest for faith and meaning" by Os Guinness. It is a collection of writings by some prominent authors down through the centuries. "The Journey" is divided into 4 sections: a time for questions, a time for answers, a time for evidences, and a time for commitment. In the first section, a time for questions, Abraham Heschel was quoted as saying, "It is not enough for me to be able to say 'I am': I want to know who I am and in relation to whom I live. It is not enough for me to ask questions; I want to know how to answer the one question that seems to encompass everything I face: What am I here for?" Just last week I finished reading (for the second time) "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. It is a very good book about answering this very question, What on earth am I here for? Pastor Warren gives us the answer--to live out the 5 purpos...

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was finally time to go through my books and weed out those that I probably would not ever read or use again. Some of these were books that I had carted from Pennsylvania to Iowa and back and many locations in each state. These were good books. I threw away a few into the trash but most of them I boxed up to give to a friend who is in Seminary and who will be able to put many of them to good use. Some of them will go by the wayside to be gotten rid of by her and others will bring her new information, insight, and even some inspiration I suspect. But these books were doubled up on my shelves since I had arrived in Dover, Pa. a year and a half ago. I knew that I hadn't opened them in years and probably never would. So it was time to move them out. Less clutter...more space to find what would be helpful to me at this point in life. Along the way I found some old friends that I had read a long time ago and that I might read again. One...

“Healing takes time…It takes remembering—sorting through the pieces of your past and savoring what was good, learning from what wasn’t. In that way you honor your yesterdays.” (Remember, Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley, page 92) I read this today and it struck me as so true. Healing takes time and remembering. Often when we have been hurt we want to be healed “right now” and even when we have realized that it will take some time, we don’t want to deal with the remembering part. In the remembering, however, we realize that even in the unpleasantness from the past, there were most likely some good things to savor, to enjoy, to remember with a smile… however faint. At different times in my past I have had terrible “break-ups” in job relationships. Other times I experienced separation in relationships with friends and back when I was single, with girl friends. Sometimes the endings were so harsh that I didn’t want to think about them at all and when I did it was just to rem...

Four months ago when I began "writing" this blog called More Than Today, I personally hoped that it would be a way for me to develop my writing abilities and have a place to share my writing with others. But as those of you who have read this know, what it has turned out to be is a collection of my past writings (perhaps you didn't know how past they were) and some excerpts from my current readings. Nothing wrong with that, some of you have even found it helpful...and for that I am glad. But it still hasn't become what I envisioned. Last night on TV I was reading an interesting novel while watching the TV show "Ed" ... doing both and also leaving for awhile to pick up a daughter after her youth group. From what I caught of the TV program, Ed's fiance Carol was writing a novel because she wanted to be a writer and get an agent to look at her work, which was pretty non-existent. She was having trouble writing and didn't know why. Then a frie...